Five Years After My Death, the Mad Emperor Still Summons My Spirit

"Today is the Dragon Boat Festival," Li Yun said.

"Yes?" Ming Lingyi said. Of course she knew.

Li Yun couldn’t help but glance in Ming Chengyu’s direction. ’How can someone be so utterly clueless? At a time like this, shouldn’t a third wheel know to make himself scarce? To think that after five years away from Shangjing City, Ming Chengyu has only become more disagreeable.’

"I want to spend it with you," Li Yun said. Since he’d already said that much in front of Ming Chengyu, there was no reason to hold back the rest. "There’s a dragon boat race near Qujiang. Want to go see it?"

Before Ming Lingyi could even answer, Ming Chengyu had already erupted.

"It’s improper for an unmarried man and woman to be together."

Li Yun: "..."

’I must have been kicked in the head by a donkey to think that having this "brother-in-law" back in Shangjing City would be a help to me.’

’Looking at it now, why did I even bother sending people to find this Ming fellow?’

’Letting him rot in Jiangnan on his own would have been the most appropriate course of action.’

Although Ming Lingyi had used the same excuse to shut Li Yun down before, she couldn’t help but burst out laughing now, hearing her own brother use it to rebuke Li Yun until he turned pale.

At her laugh, the two men at the stone table turned to look at her in unison.

One looked at her with anticipation, the other with reproach.

Ming Lingyi instantly felt the pressure.

’If I grant one of their wishes, the other is bound to be disappointed.’

Without a second thought, Ming Lingyi rejected Li Yun’s invitation.

It wasn’t that she was choosing her brother over Li Yun; she had simply been busy all day and genuinely didn’t have the energy to go watch a dragon boat race.

"I’m tired," Ming Lingyi said. "I just want to rest this afternoon."

She was even planning on slacking off for dinner, leaving it all in Wu Zhao Yu’s hands.

As if he’d just found ammunition to use against Li Yun, Ming Chengyu stood protectively in front of Ming Lingyi. "Yuan Niang is tired and needs to rest. Your Majesty had best take your leave."

Li Yun acted as if he hadn’t heard Ming Chengyu at all. "Then I’ll keep you company."

Ming Lingyi: "?"

Ming Chengyu: "!"

’Why would his sister need an unrelated man to keep her company?’

"Your Majesty..." Ming Chengyu said, suppressing his anger, "this is improper."

"How is it improper?"

"Propriety must be maintained between men and women. You two are not related."

"In that case, Brother Chengyu, your presence here is hardly appropriate either," Li Yun sneered. "If Yuan Niang is not my wife, then she is also not your sister. What right do you have to be here? You’re the one she should be wary of."

Ming Chengyu was completely stumped by Li Yun’s twisted logic, unable to think of a rebuttal for a moment.

Ming Lingyi just found their bickering noisy. She shot the two men a cold glance. "Why don’t you two go outside and settle this? We can talk after one of you wins."

Li Yun and Ming Chengyu fell silent in unison.

Ming Lingyi added, "Since it’s a festival, you two could go for a stroll by the lake hand-in-hand and watch the dragon boat races."

Li Yun instinctively started to shake his head, but the image of himself and Ming Chengyu strolling by the lake "hand-in-hand" popped into his mind, and he couldn’t help but shudder.

Ming Chengyu’s expression also turned rather odd.

Seeing the two of them had finally fallen silent, Ming Lingyi stood up, satisfied. "I’ll leave the courtyard to you both. I’m going back to rest now. Do as you please."

It looked like they wouldn’t come to blows—at most, they’d have a war of words, a childish squabble. Ming Lingyi had no interest in getting involved, so she leisurely returned to her room.

Ming Chengyu remained seated.

Li Yun looked away, annoyed. ’If it weren’t for this troublemaker Ming Chengyu, Yuan Niang wouldn’t be shutting me out right now.’

"Why haven’t you left yet?" Li Yun asked, looking at Ming Chengyu.

Ming Chengyu: "You haven’t left either, have you? I need to stay and watch you."

Li Yun: "..."

’Fine, then I’ll leave.’

Standing up from the stone bench, Li Yun also hauled Ming Chengyu up from his seat.

"Then we’ll leave together."

’Neither of us is getting left behind.’

Ming Chengyu hadn’t wanted to stay long in his sister’s courtyard anyway; he was just there to supervise Li Yun.

The two walked to the front hall, and without a moment’s hesitation, Li Yun strode right out the main doors of Ming’s Restaurant.

Ming Chengyu stood where he was, a puzzled look on his face.

’He just left? Just like that?’

’Since when was that Li scoundrel so easy to get rid of?’

He felt both surprised and incredulous.

After Li Yun left Ming’s Restaurant, he turned and entered the small courtyard he had bought next door.

’Of course he wasn’t going to pass up a chance to be alone with Ming Lingyi. This was just a strategic retreat to get rid of Ming Chengyu first.’

Once in the backyard of the neighboring property, Li Yun brazenly hopped the wall into the next one.

As for Ming Chengyu back in the front hall, he was still completely clueless.

Li Yun thought, ’It doesn’t matter if I don’t get to stroll by Qujiang and watch the dragon boat races with Lingyi today. As long as I’m with her, this Dragon Boat Festival will feel like a true celebration.’

Li Yun had been to Ming Lingyi’s room many times, so he needed no directions. He pushed the door open and slipped inside without alerting a soul.

As soon as he entered, Li Yun’s ears twitched.

The distinct sound of splashing water came from behind a screen, exceptionally clear in the modest sitting room.

Li Yun froze. He wasn’t so dense that he couldn’t recognize the sound of someone bathing.

’So, did I just barge in while Ming Lingyi is taking a bath?’

"AHEM—"

Li Yun coughed softly to announce his presence.

Ming Lingyi had just asked Xiao Chun to prepare her bath. She was now soaking in the warm tub, dozing off as she leaned against the rim. Suddenly, a low cough sounded near her ear, jolting her awake.

"Who’s there?!" Ming Lingyi sank deeper into the tub, as if that would make her feel the slightest bit safer.

"It’s me," Li Yun’s low voice replied, echoing in the room.

Ming Lingyi let out a sigh of relief. Knowing it was Li Yun, she was no longer tense, but she was hardly in a good mood. "What are you doing here now? Don’t you know my brother can’t stand the sight of you?"

Li Yun felt terribly wronged. ’All I ever wanted was for Lingyi to be happy to see me; why would I care what Ming Chengyu thinks? If Lingyi weren’t keeping me at such a distance and making me feel so insecure, I never would have thought of trying to get on Ming Chengyu’s good side. Not that it matters—that idea was brutally strangled in its cradle today.’

"Then are you happy to see me?" Li Yun asked from behind the screen.

Ming Lingyi: "..."

’Who’s supposed to be asking the questions here?’

"If I said I wasn’t, would you leave right now?" Ming Lingyi secretly rolled her eyes.

"No. I recently learned a technique from the Imperial Hospital that can relieve fatigue," Li Yun said, cleverly changing the subject when he heard an answer he didn’t like.