Chapter 200: Deliberate Seduction

Never mind merely injuring her — even if he had truly taken her life, they could only endure it.

Su Yuqing had not dared to say that she had tried to seduce him and failed, only being taught a lesson instead; she merely said she had inadvertently offended him. Though Old Master Su was dissatisfied in his heart, he could only instruct Su Yuqing to stay far away from Mo Junyan.

Now, seeing the person beside Mo Junyan, Su Yuqing subconsciously shrank back.

She had come here today hoping to see the young master who had come to her rescue that day.

After Su Yuqing's injuries healed, she had come several times in succession but had never been able to see the person she wished to see again.

"Miss Su." Yun Shan nodded. Su Yuqing tucked her chin in, gave a response, and ducked into the private room.

Seeing this, Yun Shan could not help but startle.

Had Miss Su been frightened by his master?

Su Yuqing had originally assumed she was entering her own private room. She never imagined that the moment she stepped inside, two steel blades would be pressed against her neck.

Su Yuqing was about to cry out when someone clamped a hand over her mouth.

Her eyes went wide, filled with terror.

"Such audacity — do you think you can just barge into His Highness the Crown Prince's private room?"

Gao Feng saw clearly who the newcomer was and could not help but frown deeply. "Miss Su?"

He recognized her?

Su Yuqing looked closely and felt that the person before her was very familiar.

The Crown Prince's personal bodyguard!

So the person in the private room was... His Highness the Crown Prince?

"Gao Feng, what is going on?" Mo Junheng's voice came from within the private room.

Su Yuqing's eyes darted about. Before Gao Feng could answer, her body went limp and she collapsed to the ground.

Gao Feng looked at the unconscious Su Yuqing, at a loss for what to do.

"Your Highness, it is Miss Su, but... she seems to have fainted from fright."

Miss Su?

"Which Miss Su?"

"The Right Minister's granddaughter."

The Right Minister's granddaughter? Su Yuqing?

The one who had nearly become his secondary consort.

Why would she come here?

Mo Junheng walked forward at a leisurely pace and looked at Su Yuqing lying on the ground with her eyes tightly shut. A glint of understanding flashed through his eyes, and the corners of his lips curled into a cold sneer — he had seen through Su Yuqing's trick of feigning a faint at a single glance.

Barging into his private room and then pretending to faint — her intent was self-evident.

"Miss Su has fainted, so carry her into the inner room! It is cold today — we must not let her body suffer from the chill."

"Yes."

Gao Feng wrapped Su Yuqing in a fur coat and laid her on the soft couch.

Mo Junheng regarded her with cold eyes, his gaze brimming with mockery.

He had assumed that Grandfather Su's granddaughter would be dignified and self-possessed. He never imagined that for the sake of power and status, she would even cast aside her own reputation.

In truth, it was not that she had cast it aside — from the day the marriage was called off, her reputation had already been all but destroyed.

Su Yuqing timed it carefully and slowly woke up.

From the moment she heard the Crown Prince order someone to bring her into the inner room, she had been leaping with joy.

She had always been very confident in her own beauty. She believed that as long as the Crown Prince saw her face, he would surely conceive the idea of taking her as a secondary consort once more.

Moreover, she had already entered the Crown Prince's inner chambers. If word got out, the Crown Prince would have no choice but to take responsibility.

"I... what am I..." She turned her head to look at Mo Junheng, feigning surprise. "Your... Your Highness the Crown Prince!" She hastily rose and knelt on the ground in a fluster to pay her respects. "This subject's daughter, Su Yuqing, greets His Highness the Crown Prince. May Your Highness enjoy boundless fortune."

"Rise." Mo Junheng's voice was flat and even, without the slightest inflection, and the gaze that fell upon her face held not a trace of amazement.

"Many thanks, Your Highness." She slowly rose, but halfway up, her legs seemed to lose all strength and gave way beneath her again. Her boneless body pitched forward — and the direction she fell happened to be exactly where the Crown Prince was standing.

Unsurprisingly, she fell right into the Crown Prince's embrace.

A heavy scent of rouge and face powder assailed his nose. Mo Junheng frowned in intense distaste.

"This commoner's legs went numb and I could not stand steady. I beg Your Highness not to take offense."

Su Yuqing gazed at Mo Junheng with an exceedingly frail look in her eyes, glistening and wet, enough to make anyone who saw it brim with the desire to protect her. But Mo Junheng was unlike other men.

Ever since Chi Nan Yi had applied acupuncture to him when he took over the Crown Prince's Residence, Mo Junheng had grown increasingly devoid of interest in the women of the inner quarters — he did not even have the patience for them.

Right now, with Su Yuqing looking at him like this, not only did she fail to stir his protective instinct, he found her even more artificial and repulsive.

But he did not show it.

After all, he had been the one to propose the marriage alliance with the Su family in the first place.

He did not like Su Yuqing, but what did it matter whether he liked her or not?

What Mo Junheng had never wanted was Su Yuqing herself, but rather the Su family behind her.

Grandfather Su, as the head of all officials, held a pivotal position in the court.

"How could I possibly blame you?" Mo Junheng said with a smile. "Come to think of it, if not for the turn of events in between, Miss Su ought to have been my secondary consort."

Su Yuqing had been wondering how to bring up this very matter. Now that Mo Junheng had raised it on his own, she only needed to follow his lead and pick up the thread.

"I never expected Your Highness to still remember this subject's daughter. It is this subject's daughter's ill fortune that she could not marry Your Highness." She wiped away tears that did not exist and said softly, "This subject's daughter came to the street today to buy a few things that might come in handy when she goes to the temple."

"Go to the temple?"

Su Yuqing nodded. "This subject's daughter has had her engagement broken off and has already become a laughingstock in Jingcheng, bringing shame to her father, her grandfather, and the entire Su family. This subject's daughter thought that since she could no longer marry anyone anyway, she might as well go to a temple to take the tonsure and cultivate the Dao, spending her life accompanied by the green lamp and ancient Buddha, and in so doing preserve the Su family's reputation." She curtsied to Mo Junheng. "Rest assured, Your Highness — when this subject's daughter speaks thus, she does not mean to blame you. This subject's daughter will pray for Your Highness in the temple every day, blessing Your Highness with good health and fortune for ten thousand years."

Ten thousand years...

In this world, only the Emperor was worthy of the words "ten thousand years."

Mo Jun Heng looked at Su Yuqing and suddenly realized she wasn't quite so foolish after all.

"I have disturbed Your Highness today; this official's daughter takes her leave." Su Yuqing bit her lip and prepared to leave, silently repeating Mo Jun Heng's name over and over in her heart.

Just as she passed by Mo Jun Heng, a large hand clasped her wrist and gently drew her into his embrace.

A cry of surprise escaped Su Yuqing's lips, yet her heart was already wild with joy—her position as side consort was secured!

"Your Highness…"

"Since you think of me so, how could I bear to let you go to a temple and keep company with the ancient Buddha and a lone lamp?" He reached out and stroked Su Yuqing's hair: "Such beautiful hair—I wish to see it every day."

Gao Feng and the others, hearing the conversation from the inner room, quietly turned and left the private room.

It seemed their household would soon welcome another master.

Chi Nan Yi arrived at the Chi Family old residence; a maid supported her as she stepped down from the carriage.

Chi Zhongshan walked to her side, his tone light yet unable to hide his excitement: "You're back, you're finally back. Yi'er, come with me inside, let's have a good look around, and I'll take you to see the courtyard where your mother once lived."

"All right."

The group crowded around her as they walked into the Chi Family residence.

Along the way, Chi Shao yuan had already learned of Chi Nan Yi's identity.

"Little Aunt's daughter—she's actually Little Aunt's daughter!" Chi Shao yuan rubbed his hands together excitedly: "I actually brought Little Sister home!"