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Scarlet Rose [ABO] - What Happens When the Villain Dies at the Beginning? (28)
Payne ordered people to send Lu Shijin back to the Lu family and didn’t bring up the matter of Lu Shijin becoming his Empress again.
Knowing that his son had returned safely, Prime Minister Lu was naturally very happy and had been waiting in front of the mansion early on.
But seeing that only Lu Shijin was there, Prime Minister Lu felt a bit surprised.
Everyone in the Lu family was happy that their young master had returned, especially Lu Shijin’s mother. During the time Lu Shijin was in captivity, she had cried enough tears to fill multiple basins.
After being welcomed back, Prime Minister Lu called Lu Shijin over to the study, instructing that no one was to come close.
He stared at his son for a while, then frowned, mysteriously asking Lu Shijin, “Where’s his Majesty?”
Lu Shijin was confused, “What majesty?”
“His Majesty didn’t personally send you back?” Prime Minister Lu stroked his beard, then looked at his son’s stomach, “You’re his lifesaver, and you carry his blood. He actually didn’t even bring you back personally, how coldhearted.”
Lu Shijin was speechless, his cheap dad had quite the imagination.
It seemed that the little prince had made a lot of preparations beforehand in order to tie him down.
Lu Shijin laughed in his mind, but didn’t show anything on his face as he explained, “Did he actually tell you that? There’s no child, he just misunderstood.”
“No?” After Prime Minister Lu recovered from his surprise, he looked a bit regretful, before immediately firing off, “Then did he say he wanted to marry you?”
Lu Shijin glanced at Prime Minister Lu with a false smile on his face. “He did, I didn’t accept.”
Prime Minister Lu was shocked. “You rejected him? That’s the position of Empress you’re refusing! A real position of being only under one! It’s an incomparable, honourable position!”
Lu Shijin sneered disdainfully, deliberating saying, “It’s either I don’t accept, or accept and become higher than thousands of people. But to me, to be under one person has no difference from being under countless.”
“I think you’re crazy!” Prime Minister Lu angrily pointed at Lu Shijin. “Refusing his Majesty is tantamount to ruining your future! Not just that, your entire life!”
“Are you afraid of his revenge?” Lu Shijin loosened his collar, casually saying, “He won’t.”
“How do you know that?!” Prime Minister Lu was so angry he slammed a palm on the table. “You’re just some immature brat who doesn’t know the weight of the world! He already knows you’re an Omega, if he decides to investigate further, not only will your dad, me, lose his black hair, the entire family will be implicated!’
Lu Shijin smiled as if nothing was wrong. “Don’t get too excited. In the end, I’m still his Majesty’s lifesaver, he wouldn’t bite the hand that fed him.”
Prime Minister Lu sneere. “You didn’t see how he got the throne. He gambled with Steven, making him crazy, and bribed the former Emperor’s most loyal chamberlain. Just with that, you can see how cruel our new Emperor is! He definitely won’t let you go!”
Lu Shijin’s mouth twitched, thinking, How could I not have seen, not only did I watch all that, I was the chamberlain you said who was bribed.
“Either way, rest assured. I think his Majesty is pretty open minded. He knows not to force things. If I’m not willing, surely he wouldn’t force me.”
“I don’t understand why you would refuse?” Prime Minister Lu sighed, heartfeltly saying, “In the end, you’re still an Omega. You have to choose an Alpha to spend your life with at some point. Although Payne is a bit shrewd, he’s not that bad. Once you become the Empress, no one would dare look down on you. And besides . . . you two almost had children . . .”
“Okay okay, it’s not that I don’t understand the logic, I just don’t want to.” Lu Shijin felt his head hurt from his cheap dad’s nagging, so he stood up and waved his hand. “Let’s talk about this later, I’m tired and don’t want to talk any more.”
Prime Minister Lu wanted to continue preaching, but thinking about how his son had just escaped danger and should probably rest, he endured it and angrily glared at Lu Shijin before waving him away.
——
In the Emperor’s office, Payne was working at his desk. Portraits of all the previous Emperors hung on the wall behind him. The last one was flipped around, the picture stuck to the wall.
The young Emperor seemed to have lost his immaturity, his actions seeming very experienced and steady, not showing his emotions easily.
Payne had been working the entire day. He supported his forehead on the table with one hand, closing his eyes as he rubbed the center of his eyebrows. His handsome face showed fatigue.
“What did you find?”
Maupay stood up straight in front of the desk, reporting, “As you ordered, I went through everyone Major Lu has been in contact with before and found two people who have a similar name to the ‘Huo Lian’ you were talking about. I have their background checks.”
Payne opened his eyes slightly, coldly saying, “Bright them out.”
Maupay raised his wrist and tapped on his smartwatch, bringing up a holographic document.
“There are two. The first is a female Beta, Huo Lian with the ‘Lian’ from lotus. Age forty five, already married. She’s currently working as a chef in the Royal Academy canteen. Her husband is also a Beta and they have a son . . .”
“Next.” It was clear that this Huo Lian wasn’t the person in Lu Shijin’s heart. Payne waved his hand, not wanting to continue listening.
Maupay switched pages and continued, “The second is Huo Lian*, with the ‘Lian’ as ‘connection.’ He’s a male Omega, twenty years of age and unmarried. He is a gardener at the Lu family who has been working there for 2 years . . .”
*This Huo Lian has the exact same Chinese characters as the ML from the previous arc whereas the other one had a different character for “Lian”
Payne narrowed his eyes with interest, this Huo Lian seemed fitting.
Payne looked at the hologram, “Do you have his picture?”
“Yes.”
Maupay pulled out Huo Lian’s picture. Although he was a humble servant, the Omega had a delicate appearance.
This Huo Lian wasn’t tall, but his features were clear and straight. With a pair of large eyes, he could arouse an Alpha’s desire to protect very easily.
A male Omega?
Payne curled his lips, coldness appearing in his eyes.
Interesting.
“Let’s go prepare to visit Prime Minister Lu.” Payne stood up, impatiently pulling on his tie.
Maupay immediately took Payne’s coat from where it hung, helping Payne put it on. “Should I tell the Prime Minister that you’re going?”
Payne tidied his clothes, shaking his head, “No need, it’s for a private matter.”
As soon as Prime Minister Lu got home from his office, the butler came to report that the Emperor was here for a private visit.