Chapter 82 Killing Intent

Cen Yan's change of attitude was sudden.

The prince's guards followed quickly. By the time the Third Prince and the other officials reacted, the minor official who had led them in was already kneeling on the ground, wailing and howling.

The prefect and the governor exchanged a glance, then subconsciously looked at the third prince, Li Zhuo.

Li Yang: "..."

Originally wanting to say something, Li Yang realized that none of the officials took him seriously, so he sat back down and kept quiet.

Deep down, he also wanted to investigate this place, and Cen Yan's outburst coincided with his own thoughts.

Such extravagance, and the fact that the young men remained so calm and composed when they met the officials, suggests that this pleasure boat must have some history.

Stared at by the prefect and governor as if pleading for help, even though Li Zhuo knew that speaking up would be useless, he didn't want to be the bad guy, so he went along with it and said, "If the Prince of Dingxi is not pleased, he can just send someone else. Why go to such lengths?"

They subtly changed the nature of Cen Yan's outburst, attributing it from bewitching the prince to Cen Yan's dislike.

Well... it was quite an unexpected stroke of luck.

She genuinely disliked him, but as for the excuse of seducing the prince, Zhuang Dongqing thought it was probably just that—an excuse.

After fiddling with his hands, Zhuang Dongqing lowered his eyes and sat up straight obediently.

As expected, Cen Yan refuted Li Zhuo's words, saying, "I do dislike it. A man dressed as a woman is to reverse yin and yang, which is against human ethics. The Sixth Prince has only just come of age, and his coming-of-age ceremony has not yet been held because he has been traveling around for the past two years. He has been working day and night to make it a grand affair, and he hasn't even married a princess yet..."

"As the elder brother, does the Third Prince still think it's not necessary?"

Having been rebuffed, Li Zhuo, lacking any real stance, seized the opportunity to switch sides, saying, "Indeed, my sixth brother is not yet married, so it's not really appropriate for him to be looking at these things..."

Prefect: "..."

Governor: "..."

Cen Yan walked up to the minor official and asked, "Who gave you permission to bring the prince to this filthy place?"

"Your Highness didn't... Ah!"

Before he could finish speaking, Cen Yan's boot rolled over the official's little toe.

The guards understood and held the minor official firmly in place, then pressed his five fingers to the floor, opening them all.

Zhuang Dongqing lowered her eyelashes.

Making an example of someone to scare others is a way of establishing authority.

Cen Yan: "You have four more chances."

"I...I..."

"Ahhh, ahhh—"

Another finger was stepped on and crushed.

Cen Yan coldly replied, "Stop talking nonsense."

For a moment, only the minor official's screams could be heard in the room.

Zhuang Dongqing looked up at the people around her. The dancing boy was no longer calm and was kneeling on the ground, trembling.

The prefect and the governor were both ashen-faced. Cen Yan had acted too quickly, was of too high a status, and was even waving the banner of "corrupting the prince." For a time, their attempts to dissuade and reprimand him were ineffective, and the two sat stiffly in the room.

The other officials were in similar situations, but compared to the two high-ranking officials' ashen faces, which revealed not only their bewilderment but also their fear.

"Ahhh—"

"I'll tell you, I'll tell you. It was the prefect who ordered me to do this."

Finally, someone was identified through the investigation.

The prefect wiped his sweat, quickly stepped forward, bowed and knelt before Cen Yan, and confessed without hesitation: "It was indeed I who arranged this banquet for Your Highness and the two princes, but there was more than one painted boat listed. Even if I had ten heads, I would not dare to instruct them to bewitch and confuse. I hope Your Highness will understand!"

Cen Yan nodded. "So, the problem with this kind of dance is entirely this pleasure boat's fault?"

"Your Highness is wise!"

Seeing the prefect's resolute and fearless bow, Cen Yan knew he wouldn't get any more information out of him, so he nodded and said, "Alright."

"Take the prefect and him away to take their statements."

"The pleasure boats have been surrounded; take the people away."

The prefect finally couldn't hold back any longer and said, "Your Highness is new to this place. Why not leave such trivial matters to the government?"

Cen Yan: "It's alright. I've been in the Dali Temple for a few years, so I'm quite familiar with these things."

"Guards, take him away!"

*

Cen Yan suddenly had a fit, so naturally they couldn't have the meal.

When the prefect and governor left, their expressions were quite interesting; they probably never expected Cen Yan to be so domineering.

It is said that even a powerful dragon cannot suppress a local snake, but Cen Yan came with troops, all of whom were skilled at taking people down. With the addition of Zhang Daqi, the flattery backfired. After the prefect and governor bid farewell, Cen Yan flicked his sleeves and left.

The minor official and the prefect were naturally taken to the government office.

They were all officials; once their statements were recorded, they could be let go.

However, Cen Yan pointed out a few people on the pleasure boat: "That man in blue, and all these women in the room, take them all back and detain them. Make a record of everyone on the pleasure boat, and search the boat overnight to see if you can find anything."

Hao San accepted the order.

Cen Yan looked at Li Yang at this moment, and Li Yang was speechless.

Cen Yan then slowly inquired about the reason, asking, "What brings you to a place like this? Are you looking for clues?"

Li Yang nodded: "It looks extremely luxurious. I was still wondering what pretext to use to investigate, but I didn't expect the prince to come along and take over this pleasure boat in one fell swoop. He's really impressive."

Zhuang Dongqing: "..."

Cen Yan smiled, but it was a forced smile. "Alright, then you can stay here tonight and investigate this pleasure boat tonight."

Li Yang: "Huh? All night?"

“Yes, the people on board who can operate such pleasure boats and remain unfazed when they see officials must be backed by local powerful families. We are outsiders, and if you delay the investigation until tomorrow, someone might find some excuse to interrupt it. If you're going to investigate, you need to be quick.”

Li Yang was taken aback, and subconsciously said, "But I haven't eaten yet..."

Cen Yan: "I'll have Liu Qi deliver it to you in a bit, you can go now."

Li Yang: "?"

Zhuang Dongqing couldn't bear to look and silently lowered her head.

Cen Yan: "You don't want to?"

Li Yang: "No, no, no, I am..."

"Alright, go ahead, I'm going back to my residence."

Li Yang: "?"

There's just something that feels off.

Li Zhuo, standing to the side, scoffed.

Cen Yan took two steps, paused, and glanced back. Feeling guilty, Zhuang Dongqing immediately followed, no longer trying to fall behind. She took the opportunity to comfort Li Yang and gave up the idea of ​​talking to him.

After the group from the Prince's mansion had gone far away, Li Zhuo waved his fan and said, "It seems that Cen Yan really dislikes homosexuality."

Li Yang was completely bewildered by the sudden order to search overnight: "Really?"

"He's angry, didn't you notice?"

"ah?!"

"..." Li Zhuo glanced at his sixth brother with disdain, then walked away, fanning himself with a complicated expression.

Not far from where he walked, for some reason, Li Zhuo kept thinking about Cen Yan's gaze, and he couldn't forget it.

Well, at first glance, he looks just like a normal person.

Yes, although it sounds strange, Li Zhuo knew that Cen Yan was similar to him in some ways, the kind of person who could be crazy and not care about anyone else, so that one glance was quite interesting.

"It doesn't seem like it. When I saw that boy dancing, Cen Yan didn't react at all."

Li Zhuo muttered to himself.

Li Zhuo paused abruptly, tilted his head, and looked at his advisor, saying, "I vaguely remember that Cen Yan is a bit of a germaphobe?"

The staff had no idea about this and remained silent.

Of course, Li Zhuo wasn't looking for someone to discuss this with.

Li Zhuo closed his fan, stood there for a moment with his mind racing, and muttered to himself, "Could it be that Cen Yan really drank that pot of wine?"

*

Once inside the carriage, Cen Yan's face fell, and Zhuang Dongqing hung her head, not daring to speak.

Midway through, Liu Qi wanted to add tea, but Zhuang Dongqing quickly took the task from Liu Qi and fawned over Cen Yan, filling his cup and placing it in front of him.

Unfortunately, Cen Yan only glanced at it and did not take it.

Zhuang Dongqing: "..."

Liu Qi sensed that something was wrong, so he made an excuse to get out of the carriage and ride away on horseback.

When only the two people remained in the carriage, the air froze again.

Zhuang Dongqing folded his left hand over his right, not daring to pick at it in front of Cen Yan (Cen Yan would always stop him from doing this in the past). After a while, he tentatively pushed the teacup a little closer to Cen Yan in a conciliatory manner and whispered, "Want some water?"

In response, she replied coldly, "Not thirsty."

"..."

Zhuang Dongqing reached out with his right hand to grasp his left.

Are you... still angry?

Cen Yan only glanced at Zhuang Dongqing.

Zhuang Dongqing understood from the other person's eyes: angry, very angry.

Zhuang Dongqing raised her left hand and then grabbed her right wrist.

Cen Yan lowered his eyes.

The shadow covered his light-colored eyes, making him appear even more expressionless.

After the wheels had been rolling for a while, Zhuang Dongqing finally spoke, "I didn't mean to."

Cen Yan didn't completely ignore him; when he spoke, Cen Yan responded to him clearly and logically.

"I know. Otherwise, we wouldn't be here now."

"..."

Zhuang Dongqing thought to herself that Li Yang was a traitor, but she forced herself to argue again: "When Li Yang dragged me there, my mind hadn't even processed what was happening..."

Cen Yan: "When you sent Liu Fu back to report the news, you didn't even realize what was going on?"

Help!

Why do people have to be so logical?

He didn't answer, but Cen Yan wouldn't let it go: "Hmm?"

Zhuang Dongqing lowered her head, muttering dejectedly, "I found out back then..."

Cen Yan: "But you still boarded the ship?"

“No, after all,” Zhuang Dongqing said hesitantly, “it’s already dragged on like this, and I don’t know what Li Yang is thinking. No matter what, he is a prince, and I can’t… embarrass him in front of outsiders, can I?!”

Cen Yan chuckled.

It wasn't a forced smile, nor was it a cold laugh, but it always carried a hint of mockery and was very brief.

Cen Yan said in a low voice, "His pride is more important than my feelings."

"?"

Zhuang Dongqing's eyes widened. This can't be compared like that, can it?

Zhuang Dongqing glared at Cen Yan for a while, and seeing that he didn't say anything, she explained, somewhat confused, "You know that's not what I think!"

"No, it's just..."

Seeing Cen Yan's unmoving expression, something flashed through Zhuang Dongqing's mind, and she said, "Is he really that angry?!"

They've been together for a while now.

Cen Yan was not unaware of Zhuang Dongqing's personality.

If that's the case, then saying it on purpose can only mean you're just saying it out of anger.

Cen Yan paused for a moment, then neither denied it nor denied it: "Not at the beginning."

"It just came about as we talked about it."

Zhuang Dongqing: "Huh?"

Cen Yan raised his eyes and stared at Zhuang Dongqing for a moment. Zhuang Dongqing couldn't read the emotion in that glance, but she felt it was very complicated.

Their gazes met briefly before parting, and their eyelashes drooped down again in the next moment, densely obscuring their pupils.

"Do you know what I was thinking when I first saw you standing outside the door?"

Zhuang Dongqing asked uneasily, "What?"

Cen Yan: "I want to draw my sword."

"..."

Zhuang Dongqing was somewhat shocked.

In fact, Cen Yan's tone was not intense, and could even be described as calm, but Zhuang Dongqing knew that what Cen Yan said was true.

"Wait, it can't be that bad, can it?"

Noticing that Cen Yan was not in a good mood, Zhuang Dongqing reached out and pressed down on the back of Cen Yan's hand. Cen Yan glanced at it, neither refusing nor returning the handshake.

But then he added, "You know, people in places like this are very good at reading people's expressions."

Zhuang Dongqing was truly bewildered: "So?"

"Have you ever considered this: you all entered together, the official was the guide, and Li Yang is a prince, so why did that young man insist on dancing in front of you? Doesn't he know that Li Yang's status is higher?"

That's impossible, of course.

The minor official had introduced their identities.

Realizing the crucial point belatedly, Zhuang Dongqing opened his mouth but remained speechless.

Cen Yan said sinisterly, "His heart is despicable."

If Zhuang Dongqing weren't so kind and didn't dislike killing...

If it weren't for Cen An already being with him, Cen Yan would want to accumulate some good karma...

The boy couldn't have simply been splashed with wine, and the pleasure boat couldn't have been left to be searched by the soft-hearted Li Yang.

Taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly, Cen Yan lowered his voice and asked, "Did I scare you a little?"

Zhuang Dongqing didn't know what to say.

Because it seemed to be the first time he had felt Cen Yan's killing intent so directly.

Zhuang Dongqing swallowed.

He didn't answer, and Cen Yan didn't dwell on it. He gazed at the back of Cen Yan's hand, which was placed in his own, and slowly said, "Actually, it was somewhat unexpected..."

Even if they knew it wasn't Zhuang Dongqing's intention.

I know it was due to a series of unforeseen circumstances, but...

Feeling the anger churning in his chest, Cen Yan suppressed it and said, "Just think of me as being unreasonable."

The carriage stopped.

Cen Yan glanced at Zhuang Dongqing and saw obvious surprise on the other's face.

With a sigh of relief, Cen Yan said, "We're here. Let's go."

He got up and got out of the car.

Zhuang Dongqing's hand slid off Cen Yan's hand, but he still didn't shake it back.