The CEO's Woman

"You can come in, now."

Li Qiang smiled at the King's Chief Knight as he strutted inside his brother's quarters.

"Your Highness," he bowed and waited for King Zenu to acknowledge him.

"What are you doing?" the king's words were as sharp as the memories that the previous Li Qiang gave him. "Stop bowing."

"Your highness?" Li Qiang lowered his head, he looked at his brown tunic.

"You never call me your highness." This was a fact. Li Qiang always used the word brother to address the king. Even when he was living in the capital, Li Qiang called him brother. It was a way to tell everyone that he is his brother and not his king.

"I am a changed man." Li Qiang said. His eyes were glued at the marble floor. Silence followed as he felt the king's eyes on him.

"Lift your head and look at me." The king ordered. "Do you have a particular reason why you are doing this, all of a sudden? Did you hit your head from that recent accident?" Li Qiang did not miss the mockery in the king's voice, yet, he maintained his serious expression.

"It was partly because of the accident." Li Qiang said. "It was… it was my mother's request." King Zenu's eyebrows immediately lifted.

"The late princess? You hated her… and yet you are calling her mother, now." King Zenu propped his chin on his palms are he rested his elbows in his velvet chair. His aqua eyes shone with inquiries. "Interesting."

"When I was fighting for my life… I saw mother…" Li Qiang started reiterating the story he told everyone. Tear's welled in his eyes as he fidgeted. His hands were balled into a fist as he fought the urge to cry. "She told me… how disappointed she was. She said that I have been the worst brother for not respecting you." He made a deliberate pause gauging, the mockery in his brother's eyes.

Li Qiang couldn't help but wonder how did he miss this look before. At this point, he already knew that the previous Li Qiang was really dumb. Still, he never thought he would be this… oblivious. He closed his eyes, masking the irritation that was flashing in his orbs. "I would like to apologize for causing a lot of headaches. I am now a changed man, and I vowed, in my mother's name, to change my ways."

"Hmmm… I never expected that you would realize your mistakes." King Zenu said, his eyes crinkled as he smiled. Despite being older than Li Qiang, the king had maintained his youthful appearance because of medicine and exercise. "Because of a dream, you say?" Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Li Qiang nodded. "Since you claim that you wanted to change yourself… do you have any plans for the future?"

"I was planning to read."

"Read?" the king repeated. "Read books?"

"Yes, your highness. I am not able to learn magic because of my constitution and… I believe I don't have the talents to become one of your ministers. So I would like to read and widen my knowledge about this world."

The king's laughter followed his words, his deep voice reverberated inside his quarters. "So… you sent away all of your mistresses, so you could… read books?"

"YOU?" the king cackled. "You, wanted to read books?" he asked, disbelief apparent in his mocking tone.

"Yes, your highness. I only wish to know more about this world." Li Qiang added. "I would like to become… a scholar." He said almost passionately. He lifted his chin and proudly met the king's eyes. "I want to be the most knowledgeable person in this kingdom!" he declared.

Once again, the king fell into a puddle of laughter. He clutched his stomach as he struggled to contain his emotion. "All right." He nodded repeatedly. "All right… I will accept your apology. And for making me laugh, I will… I will give you access to the library in the castle."

As if on cue, Li Qiang's eyes brightened. Like a child that received his first candy, he beamed at the king. "Really? I — I mean, " he cleared his throat and lowered his head in embarrassment. "I mean… thank you, your highness."

This reaction immediately gave the king another thing to laugh about. "Ah…. Li Qiang… I was not expecting that the accident will change you so much. For this… I will reward you. Gold… I will ask my servants to send you some gold and silver tomorrow."

Li Qiang nodded at the king's words as he patted himself inwardly. Who could act better than him? Convinced that he had accomplished his mission, Li Qiang's lips lifted into a smile as he bowed. "May his highness live a thousand years more."

"All right… all right…" King Zenu gestured his hand. "You can go now. You can leave. I will see you at the celebration tomorrow."

Li Qiang gave another bow towards his own brother before leaving without another word.

"That was surprising." The king uttered as he stood from his seat. "I was not expecting him to become… this muddle."

"The butler said that he had been acting as if he is forgetting a lot of things, lately." The voice came from the place behind the king's seat. "He believes it was because of the poison."

"Hmmm… I can see that." The king accepted the tea that the man wearing a hooded black suit gave him. "His mannerisms are different. It was as if I am talking to a.. child."

"Now that he is like this… it would be easier for me to implement my plans." The king added.

"So… the marriage will still happen?"

"Of course! That woman… Wang Ruoyun is gaining popularity because of her achievements. I need to limit her family's power."

"Why not just kill her father? The General is old. If he dies because of…"

"Fool." The king sneered. "If that old general dies, his daughter will surely suspect me. Since her husband died five years ago, she had been… crazy and fearless. I can't have her wage war against us. At least not now."

"The king is wise." The man complimented. In response, King Zenu scoffed.

"One thing is for sure… the Wang Family… will suffer soon." King Zenu said as an evil smile bloomed on his face.