Chapter 307

Hu Xiaotian followed Qiqi out of the Fragrant Tranquility Palace, looked back, made sure no one was following, then raised his hand and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.

Qiqi stopped and said, "Hey, you didn't get taken advantage of, did you?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "I just got kicked by Wang Decai."

Qiqi giggled, and on her flawless white face appeared a sinister expression utterly mismatched with her age.

Hu Xiaotian, the princess. Also maybe Qiqi.

Qiqi lowered her voice: "Then isn't he as good as dead? With your vicious, spiteful, grudge-holding nature, you surely have murderous intent toward him."

Hu Xiaotian, the little princess.

"Did I get it wrong? Hu Xiaotian, Hu Xiaotian, no need for me to remind you about Wei Hualin and that..."

Hu Xiaotian reached out and covered her mouth; Qiqi, angry, lifted her leg to kick him in the groin, but Hu Xiaotian had anticipated this move, raised his right leg to block her incoming kick, then released her mouth and stepped back two steps, saying, "Little Princess, thank you for today's affair."

Seeing his gentlemanly demeanor, Qiqi found it boring, shook her head and said, "Boring, Hu Xiaotian, you don't want to take revenge, do you?"

Hu Xiaotian, young lady.

Qiqi laughed and said, "All right, come to the Reservoir Elegance Palace."

Recalling how Qiqi had schemed to punish him in the Reservoir Elegance Palace, Hu Xiaotian hesitated, then smiled and said, "I've been out too long; I should head back. Let's talk another day."

Qiqi, Hu Xiaotian, aunt; Princess Anping.

Hearing that, Hu Xiaotian's spirits lifted at once—Qiqi's aunt is none other than Princess Anping; thinking of Long Xi Yue, that little beauty, he felt a certain longing. There's no reason to refuse, no reason not to go!

Hu Xiaotian, Qiqi, Chuxiu Palace, Shi Xuedong, eunuch.

Shi Xuedong saw that Hu Xiaotian was unharmed, his heart completely at ease, he smiled and turned away.

Qiqi, father Shi Bu chui.

Hu Xiaotian knew that although Qiqi was young and her temperament willful, her wisdom was extraordinary; she always had a clear plan, and her willfulness at times might merely be a superficial pretense. He nodded and said, "Yes, just like me, to atone for my father's sins, I entered the palace as a eunuch."

Qiqi said, "It's not so bad; people like you haven't done many good deeds in the past either."

Hu Xiaotian thought, Shi Xuedong got what he deserved, while I am truly wronged, okay?

Upon entering the Reservoir Elegance Palace, he discovered Princess Anping wasn't there at all; Hu Xiaotian knew Qiqi was deceiving him again, but since she was a princess, he couldn't very well seek trouble with her, especially after she had just rescued him from Empress Jian.

Qiqi sent all the palace maids and eunuchs away, pointed to a chair, and said, "Sit!"

Hu Xiaotian put on an act and said, "In the princess's presence, I dare not sit!"

Qiqi sneered, "Put on an act, go ahead! I know exactly what kind of person you are!"

Hu Xiaotian, Qiqi.

Qiqi pointed at his nose and said, "Murderer! Don't forget you have two lives on your hands!"

Hu Xiaotian mentally corrected her, three items; King De Sheng also let me kill him, okay? Little girl, you'd better not provoke me; if you make me angry, I'll just kill you too. With corpse-dissolving water in hand, that's called killing without a trace. But Quan De'an's sinister, frightening face appeared in his mind; recalling his warning, Hu Xiaotian felt a chill. Actually he was just thinking; if he really had to kill Qiqi, he probably couldn't bring himself to do it.

Qiqi said again: 'With that nasty grin, do you secretly hate me? You must be cursing me for deceiving you again.'

Hu Xiaotian shook his head and said: 'I wouldn't dare.'

Qiqi said: 'I summoned you here to discuss something; I plan to transfer you to serve by my side. What do you think?'

Hu Xiaotian said: 'Little Princess, you keep calling me sinister and vindictive; if someone like that were to guard you day and night, wouldn't you be afraid?'

Qiqi shook her head and said: 'Not afraid; actually I find it quite interesting. Hu Xiaotian, let's see what you can do to harm me.'

Hu Xiaotian, Qiqi.

Qiqi said: 'If you obediently agree, I'll help you think of a way to kill Wang Decai!'

Hu Xiaotian had originally harbored murderous intent toward Wang Decai, but Qiqi's blunt statement made him reconsider; he gave a dry cough and said: 'Little Princess, you've misunderstood—I don't mean that. Wang Decai is a favorite of the Empress; I dare not offend him.'

Qiqi sneered: 'So what about the Empress? At worst, we'll kill her too.'

Hu Xiaotian stared, stunned. 'Damn, this isn't even blood-related—what huge grudge does Qiqi have against the Empress to utter such treasonous words?' Hu Xiaotian said: 'Princess, please watch your words; I can let such talk slide if I hear it, but if others hear it, it could cause serious trouble.'

Qiqi snorted: 'You're utterly hypocritical. Just now in the Xin Ning Palace, didn't you also secretly think about killing her?'

Hu Xiaotian said: 'By my conscience, I absolutely harbor no such thought.'

Qiqi said: 'Don't be afraid; if you truly harbor such thoughts, I won't betray you.'

Hu Xiaotian felt this little princess was absolutely a dangerous violent element; associating with her was like dancing with wolves—he might be dragged down by her, or even if not, she might hurt him. He had no time to waste playing around with her, so he bowed and said: 'I should be going.'

Qiqi didn't stop him; after he had taken two steps, she said: 'If I kill Wang Decai tonight, do you think others will blame you for it?'

Hearing this, Hu Xiaotian involuntarily stopped again. Qiqi's mood is unpredictable; others might just be joking, but since she said it, she'd dare to do it. If Wang Decai were really killed, this blame would ten** fall on him. Hu Xiaotian asked: 'Princess, what exactly do you want me to do?'

Qiqi said: 'I don't want you to do anything; I'm just bored—I want you to keep me company and have fun.'

Hu Xiaotian said: 'Killing isn't easy, but to kill without leaving a trace—that's true skill; that's what's fun.' He turned away.

Qiqi's beautiful eyes brightened: 'Go on, tell me what you have in mind.'

Hu Xiaotian saw that hearing about killing didn't frighten her but instead made her unusually excited; he silently cursed this little brat as a pervert, yet to deal with someone like Qiqi he had to cater to her tastes. He said: 'Now is not the time to rush; give me three days, I'll plan this carefully. In any case, I will definitely bring you along for the killing.'

Qiqi, Hu Xiaotian.

Hu Xiaotian reached out his hand to her, and they slapped palms.

Hu Xiaotian decided to quickly uncover the truth of the underground passage; he hadn't originally planned to wait for Baobao, and that very night after returning from the Xin Ning Palace to the Si Yuan Bureau, he entered the wine cellar alone. Because of his current authority, no one suspected his comings and goings there; the cellar is unguarded at night, and the key is in his own hand, so coming and going is very convenient.

Two of the three passages had already been cleared; the central one remained unexplored. Hu Xiaotian proceeded down the middle passage, finding it much longer than the other two—he walked underground for over three li before seeing an exit ahead. He poked his head out, only to discover the exit was on the well wall, just about a zhang above the water surface, not far from the well mouth. The well water reflected a clear moon silhouette, and the moonlight glinting off the surface illuminated the well interior brightly.

Hu Xiaotian left the lantern behind and climbed up the damp well wall. In the past he couldn't have done it, but having gained Quan De'an's ten years of inner strength and trained in the Xuanming Yin Wind Claw, his agility had increased manyfold unconsciously; his fingers hooked like claws, catching the brick crevices, and he easily reached the well opening.

Reaching the well mouth, he didn't rush to climb out but instead listened carefully to the sounds outside.

In the dark night he heard a girl's voice: 'Princess, I heard the Empress is arranging your marriage for you.'

Then a soft sigh sounded; it was incredibly familiar to his ears, exactly like Princess Anping Long Xi Yue. Hu Xiaotian felt both surprised and delighted—he hadn't expected that digging underground would lead him to Long Xi Yue's residence; what fate! Yet just this sigh alone couldn't confirm it.

After a moment, the voice sounded again: 'Zijun, don't listen to outside rumors.' At this point Hu Xiaotian could definitively tell that the speaker was Long Xi Yue without a doubt.

Zijun said: 'Your Highness, this isn't just idle gossip—I've heard that recently many people have been proposing marriage to the Princess.'

Long Xi Yue.

Zi Juan said: "I don't think it's a bad thing at all. The Grand Emperor Emeritus once had the idea of sending you far away to marry in Shajia; if it weren't for the Xichuan rebellion, this would already have become reality. If the princess were sent off to that barbaric land of Shajia, wouldn't she be lamenting her fate for life, with no happiness in this lifetime?"

Long Xi Yue said: "No matter where you marry, it's all the same."

Zi Juan said: "Not the same; our Dakang boasts talented people, spiritually rich lands, abundant treasures, and splendid China—certainly not comparable to those barbarians. I've heard the Shajia people hardly ever bathe in a lifetime, filthy to death."

Long Xi Yue couldn't help but laugh: "Zi Juan, you just spout nonsense; things you haven't seen with your own eyes aren't necessarily true."

Zi Juan said: "I, as a servant, will never in my lifetime get to see a Shajia person bathe." Saying this, both master and servant laughed together.

At this moment, a soft, delicate voice suddenly announced: "The Empress has arrived!"

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