Lu Liangwei said pointedly, “Did she give you such a small amount? Or did you hide the rest, Jiu?”

Chu Jiu glanced at her. “Is this too little? Please give it to me, then. I was the one she wanted to bribe, anyway, and I’ve done what she asked. I didn’t reveal her presence to you.” Chu Jiu had initially planned to inform Lu Liangwei about Li Tong’er’s presence at the imperial holiday home after taking her money. However, Li Tong’er had conspicuously jumped into the lake before she could do so.

Lu Liangwei knew Jiu’s personality quite well.

Jiu was not money-minded. She was just teasing Jiu with her words.

“Jiu, I can’t believe you’ve now learned to scam money from others.” Lu Liangwei looked like she was relieved and comforted over this.

Even though she had no idea what exactly the words exchanged between Jiu and Li Tong’er were, she knew what Jiu was like. Jiu would never take the initiative to extort money from another.

Jiu must have done this for Lu Liangwei’s sake because she knew Lu Liangwei liked gold.

Chu Jiu’s mouth twitched. “She forced me into accepting it. I can’t say no to that, can I?”

Lu Liangwei smiled and put her hand over Chu Jiu’s shoulders while giving her an understanding look. “I knew that Jiu treats me the best. You know I like gold, so you went out of your way to give the gold to me.”

While her hand was intimately draped over Chu Jiu’s shoulder, Lu Liangwei did not notice that a certain Emperor, who was supposed to be busy fishing, had put down his rod and was walking toward them.

Long Yang’s handsome face darkened when he saw both women being so physically close.

Chu Jiu treated her the best?

This girl must have lost her conscience.

All Chu Jiu did was gift her a box of golden leaves and she was touched to the point of spouting such words.

Long Yang’s lips were pressed into a thin, unhappy line.

Zhao Qian made a hasty escape the moment he sensed danger emanating from his Master.

Take care of yourself, Jiu!

Chu Jiu picked up the scent of danger very quickly.

When she saw His Majesty striding over to them, her face turned pale and she quickly helped Lu Liangwei up in a stable manner. “Your Highness, I still have something to attend to and will take my leave now.” She ran off before finishing her sentence.

Chu Jiu had let her guard down and allowed herself to offend His Majesty once again. He would not beat her to death this time, would he?

Lu Liangwei watched her as she scurried away faster than a rabbit. It took only a blink of an eye before Chu Jiu completely disappeared. Lu Liangwei was feeling flummoxed when she was suddenly covered by a shadow towering over her.

She slowly turned around, only to see the man’s cold face hovering directly over her.

Lu Liangwei took a sharp breath and rubbed her arms, laughing drily. “Your Majesty, the fish is nibbling on your bait.”

Long Yang grunted coldly. “I wanted to catch a few more for you to boil into soup tonight, but I think it’s not necessary now.”

Lu Liangwei noticed he was looking grimly at the box in her hand. She blinked and very dutifully passed the box over to him. “Please do as you deem fit, Your Majesty.”

Long Yang took the box and threw it into the middle of the lake without looking at it.

Lu Liangwei gave a shout when she saw where the box landed in the water. It was such a waste.

That was an entire box of golden leaves.

Even though she was not short of money, and had plenty of gold, who would ever say no to having more wealth?

“Do you find it a pity?” Long Yang’s eyes narrowed.

Lu Liangwei sighed and said untruthfully, “No, I don’t.”

Long Yang’s expression relaxed slightly. “I can give you however much gold you desire, but you’re not allowed to accept any from others.”

Lu Liangwei nodded vigorously and said obediently, “I’ll listen to you, Your Majesty.”

Long Yang finally felt satisfied and caressed her hair. He held her hand and both of them sat by the lake once more.

Lu Liangwei quietly criticized him. Could His Majesty be jealous of Jiu again?

Just because Jiu had given her the golden leaves?

That box of golden leaves was such a pity!