Chapter 1329

Quan De'an answered but didn't move his feet. Hu Xiaotian said, "Princess, the person who tried to harm you is definitely not her; you must not do this!"

Qiqi sneered, "If not her, who? If not her, why does she have the antidote?"

"The matter isn't that simple as you imagine."

Qiqi stepped toward Hu Xiaotian and said, "Are you saying this to tell me you know the inside story?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "May we speak privately for a few sentences?" He noticed Qiqi gradually becoming unreasonable; could it be that Xi Yan's presence stimulated her.

Qiqi shook her head: "Hu Xiaotian, how long do you intend to deceive me? Who exactly is she? What's your relationship with her?"

Hu Xiaotian secretly thought it was bad; he thought his past acquaintance with Xi Yan being known to Qiqi, but he didn't expect the situation to be worse than he imagined. He didn't retreat, saying: "I, Hu Xiaotian, always keep my word; whatever I promise others, I will definitely fulfill."

Qiqi sneered, "Keep my word! What a 'keep my word'..." Because she was overly agitated, she kept coughing, her delicate body went limp, and she almost fell; Hu Xiaotian hurriedly reached out to support her.

Quan De'an sighed, "Your Highness, you should go rest; I'll handle this."

Qiqi wanted to break free from Hu Xiaotian's embrace, but her body was weak and limp. Hu Xiaotian sent a mental transmission: "Qiqi, calm down; let me explain first."

Qiqi seemed to calm down a bit, sighed, and said, "Eunuch Quan, guard this place; without my order, no one may enter. I'll interrogate thoroughly later." Her words showed she had made a concession; it seemed ordering Quan De'an to kill Xi Yan earlier was just an angry remark.

Hu Xiaotian escorted Qiqi back to the sleeping palace. To keep Xi Yan safe and help her leave unharmed, he had to convince Qiqi; without her help, he might have to break with Dakang and forcefully storm the palace with Xi Yan. Before taking that final step, Hu Xiaotian didn't want to make such a choice.

After Qiqi sat down, she took the freshly prepared bird's nest porridge from a palace maid's hand; her face no longer showed the earlier anger, calm and composed. Hu Xiaotian couldn't help but marvel at how quickly she changed, patiently waiting for her to finish the porridge.

A palace maid brought a hot towel. Qiqi leisurely wiped her delicate lips, blinked her bright eyes, and her gaze finally landed on Hu Xiaotian's face; she then gestured for the surrounding palace staff to withdraw. Softly she asked, "Are you hungry? Would you like them to serve you a bowl of porridge?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "I'm not used to it; that stuff gums up my mouth."

Qiqi looked at his still composed face and lightly laughed: "Doesn't it feel a bit like sitting on pins and needles now?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "Am I really that impatient?"

Qiqi said, "You've known that demoness for a while, right?"

By now Hu Xiaotian saw no need to hide it further; he nodded and said, "We met when I was in Xichuan. If I had to say why, it's because of you."

"Oh?" Qiqi showed some surprise.

"If it weren't for escorting you to Harmony Prefecture, I wouldn't have met her."

Qiqi nodded and said meaningfully, "Old flames reignited, huh!"

Hu Xiaotian said, "It's not the kind of relationship you imagine; I only know she's a member of the Wuxian Sect, and I didn't expect her to appear in the Palace of Reserve Elegance."

Qiqi said, "Is the bee venom that afflicted me her doing?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "I'm not sure about this either; we originally planned to go to the Prince Consort's Residence today. But on the way there I was ambushed and took a cold arrow to the shoulder." He paused deliberately, but saw Qiqi's expression unchanged, seeming indifferent to his injury, and he felt a bit annoyed—her fiancé got hurt and she didn't even show concern? Since Qiqi remained unmoved, he continued: "Fortunately I reacted in time, dodging the vital point; but just after arriving at the Prince Consort's Residence I heard you'd been poisoned, so I rushed over with Hong Beimo."

Qiqi said, "We had agreed to go to the Prince Consort's Residence; besides you and me, only Hong Beimo knew."

Hu Xiaotian nodded and said, "That's why I suspect him; he has always wanted to prop up Long Tingzhen to power—could he be using this opportunity to get rid of us?"

Qiqi shook her head and said, "He probably doesn't have that much courage." Her beautiful eyes fixed on Hu Xiaotian as she added, "Your being ambushed probably has nothing to do with him."

Hu Xiaotian sensed the doubt in her gaze; Qiqi likely suspected that the assassination he suffered was self-staged. Hu Xiaotian did not answer her question but continued, "His Majesty summoned Meng Zizai from Xuantian Guan, who proposed a method of relocating the palace and exchanging blood, asking me to perform the blood exchange for you."

Qiqi asked, "Did you agree?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "As long as I can save you, I will try even if it costs a great price."

Qiqi bit her cherry lips, seemingly moved by his words, and whispered, "Why go through all that trouble?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "Just then, that demoness appeared, disguising herself as Mu Rongzhan, but she didn't realize her true identity had already been exposed."

Qiqi obviously wasn't so easily fooled; she whispered softly, "Knowing full well the danger, why did she come here?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "She came to me, proposing that I help her find something, and in return she could help detoxify you."

"What thing?"

Hu Xiaotian deliberately put on a look of deep thought, and after a moment he said, "It seems... it is the Seven-Star Chain..."

Upon hearing the three words "Seven-Star Chain," Qiqi's beautiful eyes suddenly brightened. Hu Xiaotian noticed the change in her gaze—could she have already known about the Seven-Star Chain? It seemed his guess was correct; to make her believe, he needed to produce something tangible. The Seven-Star Chain was something he had found in the scroll of Ling Jiazi's portrait, and he had a feeling that it was closely related to Qiqi.

Qiqi asked, "Did you agree to her?"

Hu Xiaotian nodded and said, "Of course I will agree; although I don't know what the Seven-Star Chain is, as long as it can save your life, I wouldn't hesitate even if she asked for the Big Dipper in the heavens."

Qiqi's lips curled into a faint smile as she said, "So you're just pacifying her—how could you bear to deceive a woman?"

Hu Xiaotian sighed and said, "The circumstances force my hand; I have no choice but to sacrifice my principles to save you."

Qiqi said, "I think if she knew you were deceiving her, she would be heartbroken."

Hu Xiaotian's heart sank; Xi Yan's situation was now the most perilous. He could not let her bear it alone, and now that Qiqi was safe, he would rescue her no matter the cost.

Qiqi asked, "Then what?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "Mu Rongzhan suddenly appeared, exposing her disguise, and he, Meng Zizai, and Hong Beimo joined forces to capture her."

Qiqi said, "With the three of them working together, hardly anyone in the world could escape from them easily."

Hu Xiaotian nodded and said, "When Mu Rongzhan and Meng Zizai strike, it's a killing move; they intend to kill the demoness on the spot."

Qiqi said, "So you stepped in to help her? You really do care about her."

Hu Xiaotian said, "Think calmly: if the demoness died, where would I go to find an antidote for you? Moreover, this is very strange—since Mu Rongzhan and Meng Zizai believe the demoness poisoned you, why rush to kill her? Don't they realize that killing her would indirectly harm you as well?"

Qiqi said, "This matter is indeed somewhat suspicious."

Hu Xiaotian said, "If Meng Zizai really had the confidence to save you, why didn't he say so at the outset? I dare assert that Meng Zizai and Mu Rongzhan harbor ulterior motives; they likely intend to harm us."

Qiqi sighed and said, "People's hearts are truly complicated."

Hu Xiaotian said, "That is precisely why I am unwilling to hand the demoness over to Mu Rongzhan."

Qiqi poured two cups of tea, handed one to Hu Xiaotian, and said, "Let's have a sip of tea first."

Hu Xiaotian took the cup of tea and inhaled its fragrance.

Qiqi also lifted a cup, smiled at him, and said, "How come? Are you afraid I'll poison you?"

Hu Xiaotian chuckled and said, "Even if you really put poison in it, I would still drink it."

"Aren't you afraid of dying?" Qiqi said with deep meaning.

Hu Xiaotian said, "Death isn't frightening; spending a lifetime in regret is what's truly scary. If you were the one who killed me, you would never know happiness again in this life."

Qiqi giggled and said: "You really are confident, do you really think I can't leave you?" She lifted her head and drank that cup of tea, then gently set down the empty cup.

Hu Xiaotian picked up the Chazan to drink, but Qiqi grabbed his wrist, and she said softly: "I really put poison in it!"

Hu Xiaotian laughed and said: "Then let you regret for a lifetime." He thought to himself, I have taken the Five-Colored Spider King's inner elixir, now I am immune to all poisons; even if you really put poison, what can you do to me? Furthermore, I have carefully smelled this cup of tea and there is no strange taste, and besides, I am anyway your fiancé; even if I have some connection with Xi Yan, all my actions today are also to save you—do you really dare to repay kindness with enmity? Hu Xiaotian tilted his neck and drank that cup of tea completely dry.

Qiqi looked at him, her expression somewhat complex.

Hu Xiaotian smacked his lips and said: "This tea is not bad, Qiqi, let me discuss something with you—how about we release that demoness?"

Upon hearing him bring this up again, Qiqi's pretty face instantly covered with a layer of severe frost: "After all that, you're still thinking of her in your heart."

Hu Xiaotian said: "I just want to let her go, then secretly follow her, to see her……her……" He suddenly felt a cold qi surge up from his dantian, involuntarily shivering. A bone-chilling coldness flowed from his dantian, in an instant passing through the eight extraordinary meridians; Hu Xiaotian, astonished, lifted his head, only to see Qiqi already risen from her seat, standing about a zhang opposite him, her beautiful eyes icy coldly staring at him.

Second update uploaded, double first day, request Monthly Ticket support! (To be continued~^~)