289: Chapter 69 A Settlement? He needs to be taught a lesson!

"Could it be that Duke Duan tried to force himself on the Madam, and Cousin Miss walked in on them?" A Bi thought to herself, voicing the speculation aloud before realizing how inappropriate it was. She quickly added, "This servant spoke out of turn."

Meng Li flicked her forehead with his finger and put on a stern face. "Since you spoke out of turn, you deserve to be punished."

"I'm busy right now. Come to my room tonight to receive your punishment."

Hearing this, A Bi instantly understood. Her face flushed bright red, and she gave a soft, gentle response: "Yes."

Seeing her like this, Meng Li found her exceptionally charming and couldn't help but lean down to peck her on the lips.

"Young Master~" A Bi pouted coquettishly, her expression a mix of shyness and joy, before adding, "This servant will go attend to her tasks now."

With that, she covered her flushed face and hurried away.

Meng Li chuckled and didn't stop her, walking on towards Guanqi Wenxuan on his own.

When Li Qingluo visited Canhe Village, she usually went there.

He intended to find her and ask about the situation, but unexpectedly, he ran into her halfway there.

Li Qingluo habitually held a round fan. As soon as they met, her gaze carried a hint of scrutiny.

"What did you do to Yu Yan?"

"She just went to find you, but returned shortly after, hiding in her room with a red face and even kicking me out."

Meng Li was somewhat surprised.

He hadn't expected his words to have such an impact on Wang Yuyan, but upon further reflection, he understood. Although Wang Yuyan had had relatively intimate contact with him, they had not yet reached the final Breakthrough, and fundamentally, she was still a young girl. Added to that, she was thin-skinned and still essentially a goody-two-shoes, so naturally, her resistance to certain remarks wasn't very high.

Understanding the reason, Meng Li replied casually: "Nothing much, just had a private conversation."

Then, he changed the subject: "How did Yu Yan suddenly find out about her parentage?"

Upon hearing this, Li Qingluo's attention was immediately diverted.

She looked around and frowned, saying: "This is not a place to talk."

Meng Li said: "Let's go to my study."

Before long, the two arrived at the study and sat down opposite each other.

"Now you can tell me."

Li Qingluo sighed softly: "The problem lies with Duan Zhengchun..."

Shortly after, she finished explaining the whole story.

Meng Li went over the matter in his mind and compared it with his previous guesses. Finding it was much as he had anticipated and not a major issue, he intended to end the topic there. However, seeing Li Qingluo hesitant to speak, he couldn't help but ask: "Is there something else?"

Li Qingluo bit her lip and said softly: "You and Yu Yan are getting married soon. Let's end our relationship here, how about that?"

Meng Li was slightly stunned, then thought for a moment and nodded: "Fine."

Li Qingluo: "..."

She had been considering this matter ever since Wang Yuyan and Meng Li got engaged, and it had taken her a long time of inner struggle to make up her mind.

She had anticipated that Meng Li would refuse without hesitation, or propose other conditions, or even get angry and then treat her even more excessively. She would have to continue to pull and push with him, perhaps even pay a price, to get him to relent.

But she had never imagined that Meng Li would agree so readily.

He didn't get angry; he just thought for a few seconds, without hesitation or struggle, and with no extra conditions.

Logically, with things going so smoothly, Li Qingluo should have breathed a sigh of relief, felt liberated, and felt happy. But when it came down to it, not only did she not experience these expected positive emotions, but instead, a surge of negative emotions emerged: loss, confusion, heartache, bitterness, anger...

With all these emotions welling up in her heart, she couldn't help but ask: "You agreed so readily; had you already thought about this?"

Meng Li shook his head and truthfully replied: "I hadn't thought about it."

Li Qingluo felt a surge of joy and asked again: "Then why did you agree so quickly?"

"Isn't this the result you wanted?" Meng Li retorted.

Li Qingluo: "..."

Seeing that she didn't speak, Meng Li stood up and said: "It's settled then. Is there anything else?"

Upon hearing this, the joy in Li Qingluo's heart dissipated, and various negative emotions surged up. For a moment, she felt chest tightness and shortness of breath, her eyes stung and her nose felt sore, and her eyes quickly turned red.

"Do you not have even a shred of affection for me?"

Meng Li laughed, leaned close to her ear, and whispered: "So-called romance, in a certain sense, is a game. In this game, there is a law: whoever takes it seriously first, whoever falls for it first, loses."

Li Qingluo was stunned.

The next second, she was swept up horizontally into Meng Li's arms.

"What are you doing?" Subconsciously reaching out to wrap her arms around Meng Li's neck, Li Qingluo asked angrily.

Meng Li chuckled softly: "You lost, so you must pay the price."

With that, he lowered his head to seal the lips she wanted to use to retort.

Li Qingluo really wanted to resist, but her body was truly uncooperative; with just a little effort from Meng Li, she went limp and couldn't summon any strength.

In the end, she could only whimper: "It's daytime, be careful someone might see."

Hearing this, Meng Li paused his actions, pulled his hand away, and twisted the lamp base nearby.

In a second or two, the bookshelf creaked and opened from the middle to both sides, revealing a passageway.

Li Qingluo stared blankly. Before she could recover from her shock, she was carried by Meng Li into the passageway and entered a secret chamber.

"Kneel."

...

After several rounds of spring in the secret chamber, Li Qingluo nestled in Meng Li's arms and said gloomily: "You only know how to degrade me!"

Meng Li glanced at her sideways: "Isn't that exactly how you like me to be? You little wretch!"

As he spoke, he grabbed with his five fingers, and the state of the moon in his hand instantly shifted from Perfection to overflowing.

Li Qingluo let out a soft cry, the emotion in her voice containing both pain and pleasure.

Noticing this, she couldn't help but blush. Not knowing what she thought of, she pressed her face against Meng Li's chest and hummed: "That's right, I am a wretch. The more you degrade me, the more I enjoy it. Go ahead and degrade me as much as you want; there isn't much time left anyway."

"Once you marry Yu Yan and take those little hussies around you as concubines, I'm afraid you won't even spare me a glance."

Meng Li rolled his eyes at her: "You were saying you wanted to break it off earlier, and now you're jealous again. I think you just need to be disciplined."

After finishing, he made a gesture as if to start his methods again.

Li Qingluo's expression changed, and she hurriedly softened and begged for mercy.

Meng Li then stopped and, feeling that it was about time, got up to tidy up.

After everything was tidied up, Meng Li went out first to check the situation, and only after ensuring there were no problems did he let Li Qingluo come out.

The two had just left the study when they suddenly encountered Wang Yuyan.

"Mother, Cousin, what were you doing in the study?"

Meng Li looked composed and replied casually: "Naturally, we were discussing important matters."

"What important matters?" Wang Yuyan pressed.

Meng Li said: "Our wedding."

"Ah?!" Wang Yuyan exclaimed, a flush of red rapidly covering her fair, jade-like face.

Immediately after, she felt puzzled: "But wasn't this already settled before?"

Li Qingluo followed up: "It was settled, but your parentage..."

She stopped speaking halfway through at the right moment.

Wang Yuyan understood the unspoken meaning, and the shyness and joy on her face faded, replaced by a touch of coldness.

Seeing this, Li Qingluo sighed softly: "Regardless, he is your biological father after all, and he now knows about your parentage. So, I discussed with Meng Li to let him attend the wedding and witness it."

As soon as she finished speaking, Wang Yuyan flatly rejected it: "No! My surname is Wang, not Duan!"