Chapter 290: Chapter 291: The Arm Can’t Twist the Thigh

Li Ji said coldly.

"Feihua Zhenren examined your injury and found that the wound on your head was caused by repeatedly striking the same spot multiple times.

If you had fallen by accident, how could you possibly fall on the exact same spot over and over again?"

Hua Manman quibbled in a small voice.

"Maybe someone quietly hit my forehead a few times while I was unconscious?"

Li Ji: "You were already unconscious. If someone wanted to harm you, why not just kill you with a single blow?

Why would they do it slowly, in several hits? Did they have nothing better to do?"

Hua Manman was cornered, with nothing to say.

Li Ji brought the spoon to her lips, forcing her to continue drinking the medicine.

Knowing she was in the wrong, Hua Manman didn’t dare complain anymore and could only finish the medicine with tears in her eyes.

The bitterness made her feel like she was in a living hell. She struggled, reaching a dramatic hand out toward Si Yun.

"Give me a candied plum! I need a candied plum!"

However, Li Ji shot a cold look at Si Yun.

"Don’t give her any."

Si Yun stood frozen, at a complete loss, her face a mask of distress.

Hua Manman covered her face and started to fake cry.

"My life is so bitter! I can’t even have a single candied plum. What’s the point of living? WAHHH!"

But no matter how much she cried and fussed, Li Ji remained unmoved.

He was infuriatingly cold.

Putting on a one-woman show is very awkward.

Hua Manman couldn’t keep up the act any longer. She could only lower her hands sheepishly. Her face was perfectly clean, without a single tear.

She looked at the damned man before her and ground her teeth.

’Hmph, as if I can’t handle you!’

Hua Manman suddenly lunged forward, cupped Li Ji’s face, and quickly licked his lips.

Si Yun’s face turned beet red at the sight. She hurriedly covered her eyes and turned away.

Hua Manman let go of the damned man and said with a grin.

"It’s not bitter anymore."

’Even though Si Yun couldn’t see, she could hear. She silently gave the Princess Consort a thumbs-up in her heart. ’The Princess Consort is so smooth!’’

The cold aura around Li Ji melted away at a visible rate.

He subconsciously stuck out the tip of his tongue and licked his lips, where a hint of the medicine’s bitter taste still lingered.

Even though he knew perfectly well that Hua Manman was deliberately coaxing him, there was nothing he could do. He just fell for her tricks every time. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Noticing that the man’s anger level was dropping rapidly, Hua Manman immediately seized the opportunity and said pitifully.

"I was wrong."

Li Ji: "What were you wrong about?"

Hua Manman: "I shouldn’t have harmed my own body."

Li Ji: "And?"

Hua Manman: "I shouldn’t have lied to you."

Li Ji: "And?"

Hua Manman looked completely baffled. "What else is there?"

Li Ji: "It’s fine that you want to protect your sister, but the prerequisite for protecting others is protecting yourself first. Do you remember how many times you’ve been injured protecting your sister?"

Hua Manman instinctively retorted, "I wasn’t protecting her."

Li Ji stared at her, his gaze so piercing it seemed to see through her skin and into her innermost thoughts.

Feeling guilty, she lowered her head.

"Fine. I won’t act impulsively to save someone again."

Li Ji no longer believed her verbal promises at all.

He had someone bring a brush and paper and made Hua Manman write a letter of guarantee on the spot.

"Write down everything you just promised in this letter. If you break your promise in the future, you can forget about ever sleeping in again for the rest of your life."

Hua Manman’s scalp tingled with fear. This punishment was too terrifying!

’A life without sleeping in is basically hell mode!’

However, the weak can’t win against the strong.

She couldn’t beat him in a fight, nor could she win in an argument. In the end, she could only write out this humiliating and unequal treaty.

Li Ji put away the letter of guarantee.

Hua Manman thought the matter was over and had just breathed a sigh of relief when she heard Prince Zhao ask.

"Why did you hurt yourself? Is there some reason you were forced to do it?"

Hua Manman’s heart leaped back into her throat.

’She began to rapidly think of what to say. ’How can I answer this to bluff my way through?’’

Li Ji heard her inner thoughts and let out another cold laugh.

"If you dare try to fool me again, not only will you not be able to sleep in, but you can also forget about ever eating snacks again."

Hua Manman shrank further into the blankets.

The lower half of her face was covered by the quilt, revealing only a pair of pitiful-looking eyes.

"I do have my reasons, but I can’t say them. My heart will hurt if I do."

To make her point more convincing, she deliberately emphasized it.

"It will hurt a lot. The kind of pain that’s worse than death."

Li Ji stared at her, hearing no other voice in her mind.

’It seems she isn’t lying.’

’She really can’t say it.’

So, Li Ji didn’t press the matter further. He reached out and ruffled her hair.

"I will help you."

Hua Manman looked bewildered.

’What could this damned man possibly help me with?’

Li Ji: "Are you hungry? Do you want to eat something?"

His reminder made Hua Manman suddenly remember just how hungry she was!

She had been unconscious for a day and a night, which meant she hadn’t eaten that entire time. The only thing she’d consumed was that bowl of medicine so bitter it could kill a man.

Hua Manman nodded vigorously. "Yes, yes, yes! Food!"

She nodded so hard that her vision went black and the wound on her forehead started to throb again.

Seeing this, Li Ji immediately grew tense.

He sent someone to summon Feihua Zhenren.

Feihua Zhenren examined the wound on Hua Manman’s head and said in a relaxed tone.

"Now that she’s awake, she’ll be fine. It’s nothing serious anymore."

Li Ji said, "She says the wound hurts."

Feihua Zhenren: "Pain is normal. A wound that deep is bound to hurt for a few more days. I’ll add some pain-relieving herbs to her medicinal soup later. That should lessen the Princess Consort’s pain."

’The moment Hua Manman thought of that horribly bitter medicine, she felt it would be better to just die from the pain.’

Li Ji had the kitchen prepare a special meal suitable for an injured person for Hua Manman.

Hua Manman was truly starving.

Even though the dishes were bland, with very little oil or salt, she still devoured everything like a tornado sweeping through.

After eating and drinking her fill, Hua Manman grew sleepy again.

Once she had fallen asleep, Li Ji silently withdrew from the bedroom.

He pondered silently.

’What kind of secret pain could make Manman’s heart hurt whenever she tries to tell the truth?’

’Could it be that someone has placed some kind of Gu on her? Someone is using a Gu Worm to control her body, forcing her to be unable to speak the truth.’

Li Ji had heard people talk about Gu Worms before, but the stories were always so exaggerated that he had remained skeptical and never looked into them deeply.

’Now, it seems I have to find a way to have someone investigate what kind of Gu Worms in this world can control another person.’

’If I can find out the reason for Manman’s control, perhaps I can find a way to help her regain her freedom.’

But before that, there was another matter Li Ji needed to handle immediately.

He rode on horseback with his men to Ruyi Building.

Ruyi Building specialized in selling all sorts of antiques. With its substantial capital and vast collection, it was very famous in Shangjing City.

Others didn’t know how Ruyi Building could possess such substantial funds, but Li Ji did.

The true owner behind Ruyi Building was Liu Ze.

And Liu Ze was none other than Consort Liu’s elder brother.