Chapter 266: With Prince Su here, she won't lay a finger on you!

Li Qingluo noticed his expression was off and hurriedly asked, "Your Highness, you really recognize it?"

"Your Highness, whose is this jade pendant? Do you know?"

Duan Rongshi, however, asked her, "Where did you get this?"

Li Qingluo: "Someone in the palace passed it to me, a commoner girl. This jade pendant, could it be Princess Qinyu's?"

Prince Su stood up, reached out and grabbed Li Qingluo's wrist, pulling her toward him.

"Li Qingluo, do you know this matter is of great importance? If you keep probing, you might lose your life, and you'll also be dragged into a deeper vortex."

"Are you sure you still want to know?"

Li Qingluo gulped hard.

She really didn't want to know anymore...

But looking at Prince Su's eyes up close, the deep darkness seemed like a vortex, yet it held specks of starlight, drawing her in involuntarily...

"Your Highness, Princess Qinyu has threatened me, a commoner girl; when she returns to Jinling, she will certainly not let me go."

"It's already the end of February; in a month she'll come back to kill."

"Or should I, a commoner girl, go to her, kowtow and admit my mistake, beg her to let me go, and she will then let me go?"

"Although I, a commoner girl, am powerless and penniless in Jinling, and have only my grandmother to rely on, I am not a spineless person who would fawn before the powerful."

"So, if this matter concerns Princess Qinyu, I, a commoner girl, want to know."

"Taking precautions early is better than having no leverage at all."

"The first time she was in his presence, she laid out all those winding thoughts of her heart."

"This is not the bearing of a kind and pure young woman."

"But Duan Rongshi knew from the start that she was different, resolute and decisive."

"She even had a hint of ruthlessness."

"Even now, because of her frankness, he felt a hint of joy in his heart."

He asked in a low voice, "When and why did she threaten you with such words?"

Li Qingluo first struggled to free her wrist.

"Your Highness, it's all because of you."

She couldn't help but roll her eyes, "Princess Qinyu surely misunderstood that I had something to do with you, so ever since that time on the snow mountain when you had her send me home, she has already threatened me once."

"Later, on the sixth day of the month, I, a commoner girl, went to Prince Su's Manor to find you, and she saw me again."

"I suppose Princess Qinyu was jealous, which is why she grabbed me and wouldn't let go..."

Duan Rongshi: "A misunderstanding? Jealousy?"

He snorted coldly: "What kind of jealousy is she eating? Who I get close to, what right does she have to interfere?"

As he spoke, a layer of coldness appeared in the depths of his eyes.

"Why didn't you tell this to me earlier?"

"Besides, you only have your grandmother to rely on; hasn't Prince Su let you rely on him, hasn't he protected you?"

"All those I've saved before were merely cats and dogs, weren't they?"

"Li Qingluo, Prince Su has already made this so obvious; do you really not understand anything?"

Saying this, he stepped step by step toward Li Qingluo, while she kept backing away.

Until she leaned against the pillar, with no way to retreat.

"Your, Your Highness, we weren't talking about the jade pendant, were we? How did you drag me, a commoner girl, into this?"

"Yes, yes, yes, you are now the commoner girl's greatest support; otherwise, how could I dare to actively request a meeting with Your Highness?"

"But how did Your Highness leave the manor and the city? I originally thought you would let me sneak over to your manor for a meeting..."

Prince Su saw her evading, even dragging the conversation off-topic, and his heart skipped a beat.

"Are you avoiding Prince Su?"

Li Qingluo looked up and said, "What are you saying?"

Duan Rongshi stared at her.

There were some things he very much wanted to make clear.

But thinking of his current situation, he could only reluctantly endure it.

"Alright, little pretender of ignorance, Prince Su can't be bothered to expose you."

He reached out and lightly flicked her forehead.

It didn't hurt; in fact, it was overly intimate.

Li Qingluo also sighed in her heart.

It's all because of those shoes!

She resentfully glanced at the shoes placed on the chair, then said nothing more.

Duan Rongshi, however, lifted her hand and took out the white jade pendant from her palm.

"This item was bestowed by the late emperor ten years ago to the deposed crown prince."

"Prince Su remembers this so clearly because he was present at the time, so this is an imperial gift from His Majesty."

Li Qingluo: "An imperial gift? Or an imperial gift given to the deposed crown prince—how did it end up in Pan Li's hands?"

Duan Rongshi: "Are you investigating the accident outside Zhenghua Hall?"

Li Qingluo no longer concealed: "Yes, Your Highness. Although Pan Li died and was resurrected, the last time she was seized by the Pei family and thrown into prison, we personally heard that a nobleman named and ordered the Pei family to seize her."

"This person, I suspect, is Princess Qinyu."

"That night outside Zhenghua Hall, Princess Qinyu attempted to kill Pan Li but failed; could this jade pendant in Pan Li's hand be the source of the dispute?"

"Your Highness, could it be that Princess Qinyu and the deposed crown prince have some connection?"

Duan Rongshi stared at her for a long moment before saying, "Do you know how perceptive you are?"

Li Qingluo didn't know how to respond to this sudden praise.

Duan Rongshi suddenly lowered his voice and said, "Rest assured, with Your Highness here, she won't harm you in the slightest."

Li Qingluo knew he was referring to Qin Yu, but she lowered her head and said, "I, a commoner girl, am deeply grateful for Your Highness's care and protection, but Your Highness cannot watch over me every moment; there will always be times of lapse."

"Therefore, amidst myriad difficulties and dangers, I, a commoner girl, believe that relying on others or on power is never as good as relying on oneself."

These are Li Qingluo's sincere words.

Relying on people, they will flee; relying on mountains, they will collapse.

Only by relying on oneself will one never be abandoned.

She does not, however, disdain Prince Su.

Rather, she fully understands that she and Prince Su currently have no relationship whatsoever; to call it a gentleman's friendship is merely pleasant talk.

Actually, things are somewhat unclear…

Moreover, Li Qingluo knows she still has some use value; otherwise, Prince Su would not repeatedly extend a helping hand to her.

Thinking this through, Li Qingluo took out the sketch she had brought with her today.

"Your Highness, this is the draft I, a commoner girl, owe you for these past days; please take a look and see if it still meets your approval."

Duan Rongshi had still been staring at her, but seeing she had something else to give him, he took it and lowered his head to examine it seriously.

The depth in his eyes grew ever stronger.

"The drawing is very good."

He lifted his head and gave her a faint smile.

In the firelight, Li Qingluo felt a heavy tightness in her chest.

This Prince Su, when he smiles, is truly deadly.

"The silver I owe you, come collect it tomorrow."

Li Qingluo caught the implication in his words: "Tomorrow?"

Duan Rongshi: "Tomorrow, Your Highness will take you to a certain place."

"Remember, it's best to paint a makeup that lets no one recognize your true identity."

Having said that, he first stuffed the jade pendant back into Li Qingluo's palm, then summoned Zhui Yu and had her safely escort Li Qingluo back to the West Mountain Pavilion.

After Li Qingluo left, Duan Rongshi suddenly remembered something and hastily pulled out the taro paste cake from his bosom.

He opened it to look, and indeed…

It had already been squashed into a mushy mess by her just‑now thrown‑into‑his‑arms embrace.

Duan Rongshi furrowed his brows tightly.

This completely killed his appetite.

He wanted to throw it away, but couldn't bear to do so…

In the end, he could only wrap it up again and stuff it back into his bosom.

He then looked at the pair of shoes she had personally sent him, picked them up, and gave a small smile: "They're washed clean."

Po Feng, who had just arrived, was startled into a shiver: "Your Highness, why are you laughing again?"

"And you're laughing at a single shoe!!"

"In the mountains at this late hour, such a sight is too eerie, too terrifying!"

Seeing Po Feng approach with furtive movements, Duan Rongshi asked, "What's the matter?"

Po Feng hurriedly reported, "Your Highness, just now a message came from the manor saying that your double today nearly had his identity exposed."

Duan Rongshi put the shoes away, then asked again, "Have you captured the spy? Have you interrogated him thoroughly?"

Po Feng: "Yes. Yes… it's someone from the Emperor."

Duan Rongshi gave a cold chuckle, not at all surprised.

"He doesn't trust me this much, so his guess isn't wrong."

"Keep the double confined to his room; if he makes another mistake and gets caught first, he'll be the first to die!"

Po Feng: "Yes, Your Highness."

Zhui Yu returned, just as Leng Dian arrived as well.

He hurriedly caught up, wanting to ask a few questions, but Leng Dian rushed ahead to the Prince's side.

"Your Highness, that elderly duke is about to pass away!"

Duan Rongshi: "What's going on? Have Pei Three save him!"

Leng Dian: "Pei Three refuses to save him; it looks like he intends to drag out the duke's death."

Given Leng Dian's methods, Pei Three still appears to be a tough nut to crack.

Duan Rongshi thought of something.

"What does the Ministry of Justice say? Have they unearthed anything from the Pei family's dungeon?"

Leng Dian: "It was supposed to be excavated, but Zhang Yi of the Ministry of Justice was summoned by the Emperor into the palace, and a large number of the Ministry's coroners were transferred away."

"In the end, when Zhang Yi returned to the Pei residence, the dungeon had already been damaged."

"However, Zhang Yi said that the few skeletons unearthed so far are all female."

"There may be countless more skeletons below, but the Pei family refuses to cooperate, and the Emperor seems intent on covering something up, making progress difficult."

Duan Rongshi: "All female corpses?"

"Go, seize someone from the Pei family… preferably a young lady from Pei Three's household, and have her feed the Pei duke some human blood as a test."

Leng Dian was startled badly upon hearing that.

"Human blood?"

But he could only hurry up and do as instructed.

Li Qingluo rested peacefully and comfortably for a night at her grandmother's estate.

Strangely, she actually dreamed of Prince Su.

In the dream he chased Li Qingluo, shouting: "You owe me a meal, don't you? You still owe me a meal! Hurry up and cook for me——!!"

Li Qingluo was startled awake.

She patted her chest and told herself: Dreaming of Prince Su must be because she's been thinking about him still owing her silver today.

Fortunately, the sky had already brightened.

Li Qingluo, no longer sleepy, hurriedly got up to prepare her grooming.

Prince Su said he would take her somewhere today, and also wanted her to disguise herself so that no one would recognize her.

Isn't this simple?

Li Qingluo called Que'er and a few grannies inside.

Soon, with a high ponytail, a long scar running from the forehead to the ear base on her face, countless speckles under her eyes, and thick eyebrows, this ugly freak stood before everyone.

Que'er couldn't help but exclaim: "Miss, you're too ugly!"

The grannies laughed, bending sideways, and also struck Que'er for not knowing etiquette.

Li Qingluo, however, stared at her reflection in the bronze mirror, very satisfied: "The uglier, the safer. Come on, let Master have a look!"

Nan Gongdi hadn't even arrived yet, when someone knocked on the door outside the estate.

Li Qingluo thought it was Zhui Yu, and wanted to go scare him herself.

But when she personally ran to open the door, she saw that it was Prince Su, dressed all in a moon-white robe, pure and icy, like a jade-like gentleman on the path, unparalleled, noble and peerless!

Li Qingluo was startled badly.

Duan Rongshi was also startled badly by her.