Chapter 350: The Stern King

Li Qingluo could hear her own heartbeat clearly.

She had never been so intensely frantic before.

"Your Highness? What are you saying? Are you mad?"

Although she was a coarse girl raised in the wilderness, she was not one of those Jinling women molded by propriety and etiquette.

But after all, she knew shame, and knew that unmarried men and women should not have skin‑to‑skin contact!

He actually tried to strip her clothing to look at that Hudie scar?

Li Qingluo's whole face flushed bright red.

Even though her appearance was plain now, at this moment she was dazzlingly radiant, as if drunk, enclosed by him in a small little world.

She hadn't escaped yet, and Duan Rongshi tightly pinned her to the wall.

"I, the King, am not mad!"

"I, the King, have always been overly strict with etiquette, which is why you think I am a proper gentleman!"

"I'm telling you, you can only be mine."

"How else do you plan to escape?"

"What, you don't remember what you did to me in that cave back then?"

"I was clearly unconscious, how did you take the medicine?"

"When I woke up, why was I stripped bare? Do you really think when I mentioned it before that I was just playing dumb with you?"

"I give you time, hoping you will slowly see your own feelings, my feelings."

"I am willing to wait for you slowly!"

"But today I no longer wish to wait!"

"Li Qingluo, I will say this only once more. The woman I, Duan Rongshi, have set my eyes on in this life can only be mine; even in death, she will be my corpse, my ghost!"

"Even if your mind is not on me now, I can make you, over the rest of your life, slowly grow a heart for me!"

"I have said so much; will you listen or not!"

Li Qingluo opened her mouth, tongue‑tied.

Looking at his beautiful face, now filled with shame, annoyance, and anger, his ears already flushed red, yet he still looked fierce.

At some point, she thought he was terrifying, a Yama King she could never approach.

But now, even with his fierce, angry demeanor, she didn't feel the slightest fear.

Is it because deep in her heart she already knew he was different, giving her confidence without fear?

Seeing her stay silent.

Duan Rongshi tilted his head slightly, his red lips a hair's breadth from her cheek.

Li Qingluo's breath caught, still keeping a sliver of clarity: "Your Highness, Your Highness, you know, a common woman cannot match you…"

Duan Rongshi: "Whether one is worthy or not, I decide, or do you decide?"

Li Qingluo tried her best to tilt her head backward.

Until she was pressed firmly against the wall, his hand reached around from behind, gripping the back of her head.

Li Qingluo watched Duan Rongshi press his face against her scorching cheek.

She heard him say: "You only need to tell me whether you truly have me in your heart?"

"Everything else, leave to me to handle."

"I will let you stand beside me with dignity."

"Not as a concubine, nor any side consort."

"I only want you, understand?"

Li Qingluo's tears welled up.

Duan Rongshi tasted a salty flavor.

He looked at her with surprised lowered eyes.

Colliding with Li Qingluo's fragile, tearful gaze, he felt a hint of panic.

"What's wrong? Did I scare you again?"

His tone softened; the fiery rage that had just erupted was gone.

He even rose slightly, no longer standing so close to her.

He worried that his reckless, rash demeanor had indeed frightened her.

Just as he was about to step back further, Li Qingluo suddenly threw herself into his arms.

Her hands clutched tightly onto his chest's garment, her shoulders trembling slightly.

She dared not lift her head, only murmuring: "Your Highness, if I stay with a common woman, it will be hard. Do you truly not find me troublesome?"

"You treat a common woman with such kindness and specialness; actually, I have always known it."

"It's just... I don't dare to think, like a cowardly deserter."

"But now, I must admit... you have won."

"Even if it's a gamble, so what?"

"At worst, a heartbreak, then I will leave."

"And... she didn't even know how many days she had left to live."

"If after five days..."

"Just assume she had long been blinded by desire; she simply could not watch him any longer, like a trapped beast, yearning but unable to obtain."

Duan Rongshi had never been this delighted.

He tightly embraced the woman in his arms.

Luoluo, you have agreed to this king?

Give this king a clear word!

Li Qingluo raised her head, gave a slight smile: "I, Li Qingluo, have a bright moon in my heart. And Your Highness, you are that crescent moon."

When exactly did it start?

She couldn't say either.

Again and again she forced herself to stay awake and not indulge in fantasies, but that vine that had long taken root in her heart—when exactly had it already become lush and verdant?

She didn't know either.

But now, since she doesn't know what future life or death holds, she boldly lets herself go wild once.

Who knows what lies ahead on the road?

Even if she dies, it will be worth it.

The two exchanged a smile, and Li Qingluo boldly reached out to cradle Prince Su's face.

Suddenly, he said: "This king wants to see that Hudie."

Li Qingluo: ……

Her face whooshed, redder than if she had applied rouge.

She felt a fit of madness, struggling and tormenting herself for a long while, knowing that if he couldn't see it today, he wouldn't let it rest.

She had no choice but to pull open her collar decisively, turn her head away, and expose half of her fragrant shoulder to him.

Please have a look.

She turned around.

Duan Rongshi gazed at the exposed fair shoulder before him, smooth and delicate as congealed fat, and felt no improper thoughts whatsoever.

He reached out and touched the Hudie with his fingertip.

Qin Ling's words kept echoing in his ears.

Those who take the medicine will develop butterfly-shaped scars on their bodies... first one, then over time it becomes two, three... finally, it will cover the entire body.

He pressed his thumb down firmly on that Hudie, his voice low and hoarse: "Don't be afraid, this king will seize Zulya, and will absolutely not let you suffer greatly from this Hudie's torment."

Li Qingluo looked up in surprise at Duan Rongshi.

Aside from her grandmother, he is the first who truly wants to protect her.

Although she is always rash and headstrong.

Often she could only crawl out of those abysses covered in blood.

But when she once again walks into this pitch‑black dead end,

This time, with him, it doesn't seem so frightening anymore.

Li Qingluo had intended to pull her clothes up herself, but Duan Rongshi gently helped her close her collar.

Luoluo, you are not allowed to leave this king.

Promise me.

He tightly embraced her from behind, his overbearing, unyielding aura enveloping her completely.

Li Qingluo raised her hand and lightly grasped his fingers: "All right, Your Highness."

……

The two quickly dispelled the awkward atmosphere.

Furthermore, Duan Rongshi picked up a scroll casually tossed into the paint bucket beside the bookshelf.

After unrolling it, he pointed at the man in the painting and asked Li Qingluo: "Is the Young Master Zong you have seen this person?"

Li Qingluo walked over, stood beside him, and after seeing the person in the painting clearly, she was greatly surprised: "Your Highness, how do you have this... painting of someone surnamed Zong?"

Duan Rongshi lowered his head and asked her: "Do you know the surname of the Da Chu royal family?"

Li Qingluo: "It seems to be Zong... Zongzheng?"

She finally realized: "Could it be that he is not just a Young Master Zong, but actually Young Master Zongzheng!?"

Is he a member of the Da Chu royal family? Your Highness, do you know who he is?

Duan Rongshi stared at the person in the painting: "Zongzheng Wuheng, the sixth son of the Da Chu royal family."

Her original name is Qin Yu, and her full name is Zongzheng Yuer.

Li Qingluo suddenly understood: "So he is the elder brother of Princess Qin Yu? No wonder, after Your Highness appeared, he suddenly defected to Qin Yu. It's because he could never truly watch Princess Qin Yu die."

From the start, when he helped me unleash a massacre at the Spring Banquet Tower, he must have already harbored another motive toward me.

But what exactly is his motive?

Duan Rongshi: "Half a month ago, this king already received a secret letter and this scroll, saying that Zongzheng Wuheng might have already infiltrated DaLiang."

I never expected that he would have already infiltrated Jinling so quickly.

Zongzheng Yuer can become a princess of both states because her mother is also a princess of DaLiang, and her aunt has long since passed away, allowing the DaLiang royal family to become her reliance as a foreign-related princess.

But Zongzheng Wuheng, a prince of a neighboring state, dares to openly sneak into my DaLiang state—what could his intentions be?

This brother‑and‑sister pair dare to act so recklessly in DaLiang, as if the DaLiang royal court were a bunch of good‑for‑nothings!

They're practically asking for death!

Duan Rongshi flung the scroll down heavily, causing it to fall to the ground.

His eyes were already filled with intense killing intent!

Zongzheng Wuheng must die, both publicly and privately!

Seeing that he was extremely angry, Li Qingluo went to pour a cup of tea.

Seeing her so sensible, Duan Rongshi's hostile aura gradually faded.

He gently stroked her head before taking the tea cup.

Li Qingluo turned bright red again.

Although they had been frank with each other about their feelings, she told herself that her words and deeds must continue just as openly and unreservedly as before in order to feel at ease.

But each of his relaxed intimate gestures makes her chest jump uncontrollably, as if a small animal were hidden there, impossible to suppress, always a little flustered.

She did not want to become even stranger.

He quickly gave a light cough, then continued speaking about this Zongzheng Wuheng: "According to Qin Ling, this Zongzheng Wuheng seized me, changed my face and voice, and then still wanted to control me; he must want to obtain something from me……wait!"

Li Qingluo remembered something.

"Your Highness, Wu Gonggong seems to know the underground passages of the Spring Banquet Building as clearly as the back of his hand, as familiar as knowing where every door in his own house is."

"That day, the two of us……"

Li Qingluo recounted in full detail what had happened between her and Wu Gonggong that day, including having seen Zongzheng Wuheng in the prison of the Spring Banquet Building.

And she did not dare to conceal the fact that she had disappeared before him either.

After listening attentively, Duan Rongshi quickly pinpointed the crux: "Wu Gonggong's background means he indeed knows many of these underground passages and city defenses."

"Zongzheng Wuheng must have taken notice of this."

"He thinks you are the key to this matter, so he wants to get a hold of you."

Li Qingluo:!!!!

All the undeserved suffering she has endured these past days actually stems from this?