Chapter 349

Do you think I, Li Qingluo, have no chance in this life to take revenge on you, or are you again pretending to be mad and foolish, thinking you can fool me?

Li Yunchu, what kind of person are you? Don't I know?

After saying that, she shoved Li Yunchu hard, causing them to fall heavily to the ground and unable to get up for a while.

Li Yunchu lifted their head again, and the expression on their face had already turned to anger.

Kill me or cut me, do as you wish!

I merely regret that I actually believed your nonsense back then… In fact, you never had the ability to save my older brother and the others, did you? You were just deceiving me!

Hmph, just don't think you'll get off easy either!

Kill me, and even if my husband dies, he won't help you restore your appearance.

Under heaven, only he can make the appearance-restoring salve.

In this life, you'll just have to live with that ordinary face!

Hahaha… Do you think, with that face, you can still seduce anyone?

Even if that person truly has a bit of sincerity toward you now, as the river of time flows on, no matter how much sincerity, it will eventually vanish completely because of that face of yours and your stubborn nature.

Ha, hahaha…

She seemed to have already seen Li Qingluo's miserable future.

Li Qingluo, however, didn't care at all: 'Who said I wanted to kill you?'

Am I that stupid?

You're right; if you stay alive, I can use you to operate on your husband!

Unless you kill yourself, I won't need you.

But are you willing to die yourself?

Li Yunchu's expression froze.

Li Yunchu certainly didn't want to die.

Especially since she had once escaped death, she knew how easy it is to die and how hard it is to survive.

She glared at Li Qingluo resentfully, 'You, you're really a lunatic!'

After all, I am your biological aunt; with your arrogant behavior, you will surely incur heavenly punishment—being struck by lightning is not too much!

Li Qingluo stepped forward, no more nonsense, raised her hand and slapped Li Yunchu several times.

Old Man Wu exclaimed 'Ah!' and rushed in, shouting: 'Miss, what are you doing with all this effort? It would hurt less if you used your own hands.'

For such matters, next time just let a servant do it, wouldn't that be better?

Zhui Yu also walked in, glaring at Li Yunchu with a fierce gaze.

Li Yunchu covered their burning face, feeling wronged: Are they blind? It was her who got beaten! Why do they feel sorry for that lunatic?

Sniffle…

Li Qingluo clapped their hands: 'No problem, doing it yourself is more satisfying.'

After saying that, she squatted down again, looking at Li Yunchu: 'Aunt?'

Have you ever acted like an aunt yourself? Ridiculous!

But I keep my word; I won't go back on what I promised you.

I just hope your husband cooperates well; otherwise… you really shouldn't think about living anymore.

Li Qingluo tore off Li Yunchu's skirt hem and spread it on the ground.

Ignoring Li Yunchu's screams, she cut her finger, letting her write a line of poetry on the cloth: 'Blue mountains share the same clouds and rain; the bright moon has never belonged to two lands…'

It's simple to handle Qin Ling.

One Li Yunchu is enough.

Holding the verses written in Li Yunchu's blood, Qin Ling cried, trembling all over, heart-wrenching.

As long as you don't move her, everything… I'll obey you.

As for his wife, he is utterly sincere.

Moreover, those who understand the times are outstanding.

He quickly realized that it would be better to be honest from the start rather than wait until after enduring torture to confess.

That way, he could also suffer less physical pain.

Li Qingluo then asked again: 'That girl, who exactly killed her?'

Qin Ling swallowed, wondering if this meant they were about to be completely exposed.

If they don't speak, maybe there will be no future at all.

Yun Niang's poem also hopes that the couple can reunite soon; I absolutely cannot let down her expectation.

It… it is a person called Master Zong.

Zong?

Li Qingluo's mind flashed with a face.

The Master Zong met at the Spring Banquet Pavilion.

That man, who inexplicably helped me, then suddenly turned and took away Princess Qin Yu.

But wasn't he the one who smuggled Princess Qin Yu out of the West City Gate at that time?

How could he have so quickly found this Qin Ling to kidnap me?

Li Qingluo felt a bit confused: 'The Master Zong you mentioned, isn't that the young, handsome gentleman from the Spring Banquet Pavilion?'

Duan Rongshi happened to walk in just then, hearing this remark.

Young, handsome, gentleman?

He said nothing, merely staring at Li Qingluo with a faint smile.

Looks like her trip to the Spring Banquet Pavilion wasn't for nothing.

Li Qingluo felt a sudden chill down her spine, and as she slowly turned her head, she saw Prince Su with a dark, grim expression yet a faint smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

She jumped in fright.

This this this…

He he he…

You didn't misunderstand anything, did you?

Qin Ling, seeing the atmosphere was off, hurriedly said: "Yes, yes, yes. That day, after I knocked the young lady unconscious with a stick, I quickly took her away."

"At that time, Young Master Zong was right there."

"So… that little girl must have been killed by him!"

If it's the same person, then at the city gate amidst the chaos he handed Princess Qinyu over to the contact.

He turned his head, and yet he began scheming against himself again.

But what does he have that's worth his scheming?

Li Qingluo was completely bewildered.

Li Qingluo's gaze fell on Qin Ling again, recalling the conversation she had overheard between this couple in the medicine hut, and she asked: "So you're now helping him while carrying Princess Qinyu on your back?"

"You must know exactly who he is, then."

Qin Ling wanted to cry but had no tears.

How would he know!

He merely saw that Princess Qinyu was somewhat wary of that person, several times turning green with anger at him, yet still helpless toward him.

So, when that person probed and tried to use him, Qin Ling would secretly defect.

Today, he defected again.

Right now, this is already the third household.

If caught by the first two households again, he'd likely lose his life.

He shrank his neck and stammered: "Well… it seems… a noble of the state of Chu…"

"As for his exact position, I really don't know."

"Originally, Yun Niang and I just wanted to escape Princess Qinyu, go to the state of Chu to find a peaceful spot, and live a reclusive life…"

"Why is it so hard!"

Li Qingluo: "Stop pretending."

"You're just an old fox—how could you not know?"

He just didn't dare say it!

Li Qingluo wanted to press further, but Duan Rongshi suddenly spoke: "How can her appearance be restored?"

"If you can easily change a person's face but can't change it back, then I see no need to keep these hands of yours."

This is Prince Su!

Who in the world doesn't know his brutal methods of interrogation?

Qin Ling trembled with fear, not daring to hide anything: "Miss Li, restoring your appearance isn't difficult. It's just a matter of whipping up a batch of appearance-restoring salve. But this salve needs five days to steam and prepare……"

"Moreover, the ingredients are rare and hard to find; you need to have everything ready for me to get to work."

Zhui Yu: "No matter what rare treasure it is, for the Prince Su's manor it's no trouble."

"But you'd better not try to fool us, or…"

He clenched his fist, and Qin Ling immediately shouted: "No, I wouldn't dare!"

Qin Ling lifted her head, gave Li Qingluo a guilty glance, and said: "Just in five days, you'll also start to show the poison's effects."

Duan Rongshi: "What poison outbreak?"

He instantly caught Qin Ling's words, and his fierce gaze turned into a sharp blade shooting toward her.

Seeing his stance, Qin Ling raised her hands in fright: "It's not my fault!"

"It's… it's that Young Master Zong; he gave me the pill."

"He said this medicine was given to him by Zu Li Ya, and that Zu Li Ya had spent five years refining it into a precious treasure."

"This time, having captured Miss Li, Young Master Zong also ordered me to, when necessary… when necessary, give her the pill, so that at that point I could fully control Miss Li for our use."

"I, I may also be guilty of serious crimes, but I'm just following orders!"

Qin Ling also realized that if the plot were exposed in five days, she might not escape death.

It would be better to expose it early; then they'd spare his life for the sake of the appearance-restoring salve.

Qin Ling gulped hard: "That day, in order to let Miss Li go down the mountain to save Yun Niang's two brothers, I took the opportunity to have Yun Niang bring the medicine to give to Miss Li."

"Who would have thought Miss Li wouldn't follow the rules, and in just these two days she'd turned the tables and had us arrested instead."

Had we known, we should have fled when they first let her go, and we wouldn't have been caught.

After all, we still underestimated her.

Li Qingluo's complexion had already turned awful.

When was the poison taken?

Could it be that the strength-restoring pill from that day was actually the poison?

"What visible changes might occur after taking this medicine?"

Qin Ling: "According to Young Master Zong, those who take the medicine will develop butterfly-shaped scars on their bodies—first one, then over time two, three… eventually covering the entire body."

Li Qingluo unconsciously reached for the spot on her shoulder.

So, will she become a monster covered in butterfly scars?

She lifted her gaze to Duan Rongshi.

I had meant to keep it from him, but I never thought I wouldn't be able to hide it at all.

Will the poison on her body cause her to die instantly?

Or… will it turn her into some kind of dazed puppet?

Only then did she understand why they, as a couple, had agreed on seven days later!

She also finally realized that the butterfly on her shoulder was actually their doing.

"What exactly is this thing? Do you have any idea?" she asked.

Qin Ling forced himself to shake his head.

Zuliya's vicious wickedness — I myself am not even one percent of that!

How would he know what kind of evil thing that crazy woman is practicing?

Anyway, it definitely won't be anything good; otherwise, they wouldn't have offered it to that young master of the sect.

This time, I've even harmed myself.

Qin Ling felt that all those eyes staring at him right now seemed about to devour him.

Heavens, please let him quickly make the antidote; he's really spilled everything.

But now, who in this room dares to speak?

Duan Rongshi's face was overcast; his usual gentle gaze when looking at Li Qingluo was now as cold as frost, sharp as a blade.

It seemed he wished to pierce her heart just to see what color it was.

She had always known.

But she was hiding it from herself!

This truth filled him with anger and disappointment.

His brows were tightly knit, and between them gathered an indescribable sense of oppression.

A blue vein faintly pulsed at his temple, and his whole body was straining to suppress the complex, surging emotions within.

Even so, he merely grabbed her wrist tightly, then turned and strode away with her.

Li Qingluo stumbled along, being dragged behind.

She could barely keep up with his steps.

"Your Highness... Your Highness?"

"Your Highness, please slow down..."

Li Qingluo also didn't understand why he was so angry.

Shouldn't the one who is more vexed and agitated be me?

It's clearly her who's been poisoned.

But now, the person burning with rage, on the verge of losing control of their emotions, seems to have become him.

Li Qingluo was brought by Duan Rongshi to the study in the main hall.

All the servants along the way, upon seeing them, hurriedly knelt in greeting, daring not to make a sound, and not daring to glance more than once at the honored guest young lady of today.

And Li Qingluo, even when forced into the corner of the study, still didn't know what he intended to do.

She could only look anxiously at the person before her: "Your Highness, standing this close is improper."

He stepped forward and gently pinched her collar with one hand.

"I... may I take a look?"

Li Qingluo widened her eyes in surprise: "Your Highness, what are you saying?"

Duan Rongshi lowered his head and slowly leaned in, bringing his mouth to her ear.

"I want to look at that butterfly."