QT: Don't fall in love with the Male Lead

Liao Min looks at Xi Zirui as if it's the first time she's seeing him. 

Her features rearrange themselves into a complex mixture of disbelief and amusement. "What?" she asks, her chin held high and the scales of her armor glimmering iridescently under the morning sun.

"I heard you agreeing to offer a minor god a post while bypassing proper channels." Xi Zirui says, straightening his back and making himself taller. "Something like that can get you in a lot of trouble."

Liao Min raises a single eyebrow at him. "And who is going to believe the brat who painted peacocks and set them loose in the imperial courtyards?"

That's a good point, but she's severely underestimating how desperate Xi Zirui is.

"Enough people will believe me. Enough to make a lot of trouble for you."

The smirk vanishes from her face, she no longer looks amused. "Just tell me what you want, it seems I'm in the mood to answer the prayers of the needful today."

Xi Zirui didn't expect her to go straight to the point. "I need you to get me a meeting with Li Siqi," he says. "There's something I need to discuss with her."

Actually, what he needs is to probe her for some information about the tribulations, and then get access to the civil bureau of mortal affairs.

The rest, he'll continue to figure out as he goes.

He expects a lot of reactions from Liao Min, but not the throaty laugh she lets out.

"I would love to get a meeting with her myself." Despite her laughter, all the traces of amusement are well and truly gone from Liao Min's face. "I'm her wife and I can barely get a few hours alone with her, let alone get a meeting for someone else."

That stumps Xi Zirui. He doesn't know what to say.

He has never been close to Liao Min or Li Siqi, and therefore has no idea about the particulars of their marriage. 

It is odd, to imagine them being anything but close, though.

"I can help," he blurts out. "I can get her to spend more time with you."

"Really?" Liao Min asks, doubtful.

With good reason, because Xi Zirui is just talking out of his ass.

"Absolutely."

"How would you know? Haven't you been avoiding your betrothed since...," she scrunches up her nose, trying to come up with a measure of time. "since the dawn of time, basically?"

Xi Zirui is very successful when it comes to romance with the man he actually loves -- but he can't really boast about that, now, can he?

"Believe me, I know everything about romance."

And to prevent his incomparable knowledge from being lost forever, he really needs to reach Li Siqi and find a way to thwart his grandmother's plans. 

So Xi Zirui puts on his most trustworthy face and hopes Liao Min is really desperate.

After a moment of silent deliberation with herself she lets out a sigh and hangs up her head in defeat, as if ashamed of how low she has sunk. 

"Fine, I might as well try." She shakes her head despondently. "It's not like I can humiliate myself any further."

---

She leads Xi Zirui to the civil bureau of mortal affairs, where it takes them an age and a half to locate Li Siqi.

They eventually find her in the upper floor, hidden halfway behind a large shelf as she attempts to organize a series of scrolls according to a system that makes sense only to her.

She looks high-strung and frazzled, and very annoyed to be interrupted in the middle of her important task of organizing bamboo-strip scrolls by thickness of strips -- from what Xi Zirui can tell.

"I'm really busy," she tells Liao Min, voicing it like an accusation. "Is this important?"

Liao Min stumbles on her words for a good five minutes before being able to croak out a garbled, "The imperial prince has some urgent matters to discuss with you."

She turns on her heel to leave, but Xi Zirui holds her back by the skirt flap of her armor, forcing her to face Li Siqi again. 

He gives her a meaningful look, a silent reminder to say the words they practiced on the way to the civil bureau.

Xi Zirui might have second intentions, but that doesn't mean he can't do his best to delivery a quality blackmail(ish) service.

"Uh, you look particular radiant today," Liao Min says, stammering some more. Xi Zirui is secretly proud that she added her own flair by calling Li Siqi 'radiant', it has character. "I'll be going now, but I look forward to hearing all about your day, and the work you've done later today at home."

Her eyes never once meet Li Siqi, but she leaves with her head held high. Her arms swing a little mechanically at the sides of her body with each step, but Xi Zirui considers it a good sign that she only stammered a little instead of a lot.

When he chances a surreptitious look at Li Siqi he finds her giving Liao Min's retreating back a puzzled stare.

She shakes her head and refocuses her attention on Xi Zirui. "What can I help his heavenly highness with?"

Such formal ways of address aren't common among high gods, and the fact that Li Siqi is so deferential to him makes it clear that she's only entertaining him because of his status.

"Due to my recent behaviour I've been told to come here and offer my assistance, in order to reflect on my conduct and contemplate the important place all of us occupies in the balance of the universe."

Xi Zirui is very proud of himself for coming up with something so believable on the fly. He has Ji Limei to thank for inspiring him with all her boasting about volunteering to help other gods with their prayers.

Li Siqi doesn't look like she doubts his words, but she isn't pleased to hear them. She shoves the scrolls back into the shelf haphazardly, her arched brows knit in annoyance.

"Why must his heavenly highness' punishment be a punishment for me as well?" She rubs the bridge of her nose and inhales loudly. "I don't mean to say that his heavenly highness's presence is unpleasant, merely that I have a lot of work to do and supervising someone else, however useful they may be," -- the corners of her lips flatten gravely, a sure indication that she doesn't expect Xi Zirui to be the least bit useful -- "is still very time consuming."

Xi Zirui nods, matching her tense posture and serious expression. "Why, though?"

All of the goodwill he earned by looking serious and diligent just now is gone in a flash as she shoots him a withering look. "Why what?"

"Aren't there several other higher gods and minor gods who can do this work as well? Why must it all fall on you?" 

She's silent for a long time, her cheeks growing redder.

Xi Zirui barrels on. "You are married, you should spend some time with your family as well."

"I appreciate the concern." No she doesn't. "But I don't see how that's any of his heavenly highness's concern."

That last part is true. She really doesn't understand what business Xi Zirui has prying into her private life.

"It's good to be diligent and hardworking, but not at the expense of family time and personal fulfillment."

Li Siqi smiles tightly. "I'll be sure to take that advice into consideration." She turns her attention to the shelf in front of her. "His heavenly highness can start by organizing these records by date, while dividing them geographically. It's a time consuming task, so my advice is to get started as soon as possible."

Xi Zirui is like a dog with a bone now, Li Siqi has something else coming if she thinks she's getting away that easily.

"Just now Liao Min seemed so eager to see you at home later. Wouldn't it be a good idea to finish work for today and spend some time with her?"

That would also have the added benefit of allowing Xi Zirui some time to poke around the civil bureau undisturbed, which, in the advent of Li Siqi not cooperating, is the next best thing.

His words hit Li Siqi like an arrowhead, she tenses immediately and her face goes blank. "I appreciate his heavenly highness's marital advice, but it is unwarranted. I'm well aware of my spousal duties and will act in accordance to them."

Her stiffness while talking about her marriage is concerning. He doesn't understand why she's so reluctant to spend time with Liao Min, when Liao Min is clearly head-over-heels in love with her.

Or maybe he understands too well.

Just because Liao Min and Li Siqi often ended up together in the Transmigrator 4000's worlds, doesn't mean their relationship was harmonious to begin with.

Tentatively Xi Zirui asks, "Is there something preventing you from going home?"

Surprisingly, Li Siqi nods. "Yes, my desire not to be there."