Chapter 77 Looking at the expression on Akamatsu's face...

Seeing the disbelief on Chishong's face, Xie Baoqiong's eyes flashed with confusion.

Akamatsu's words were implying his true identity; wasn't that coercion?

As for Chishong's later statement that Xie Zhuo would raise piglets, Xie Baoqiong automatically ignored it.

His true form is a rock, not a pig. If Xie Zhuo were to raise one, it would be a rock.

"I am not a pig demon." Xie Baoqiong frowned and turned her face away, avoiding Chisong's increasingly presumptuous hand.

"He's not too stupid; he knows who I'm referring to as the little pig."

Chishong, seizing the opportunity, pinched the "little pig's face," his lighthearted tone suddenly shifting, his expression turning cold as he warned:

"Don't be fooled by Lin Zhechun's gentle and harmless demeanor. He's not some kind senior. If you want to live longer, stay away from him, and it's best to leave the capital..."

His fingers slid down, through her clothes, and touched the jade pendant hanging on Xie Baoqiong's chest:

"It's a waste to have this treasure on you. It's at least a..."

Chishong muttered something to himself, then looked directly into Xie Baoqiong's bewildered eyes:

"Use it to create a distraction and escape far away, so he doesn't find you."

"Why?" Xie Baoqiong's eyes were blank and confused. Her hands covered the jade pendant on her chest through the fabric, shielding it from Chisong's fingers. Her words were blunt:

"Senior Akamatsu is the one who bullied others, why should I believe you?"

Xie Baoqiong recalled his several encounters with Lin Zhechun, whose attitude towards him was vastly different from that of Chisong. He recounted his first meeting with the two men, in which their forms of address were worlds apart: Lin Zhechun called him "little friend," while Chisong called him "little devil," clearly demonstrating the difference in their status.

"You trespassed first. Our relationship is merely a chance encounter. I did not retaliate against you because of my kind heart. I forgive you out of consideration for our shared demon race."

And why would someone as arrogant and disdainful of everyone in the world as Lin Zhechun, a complete stranger to you, treat you, an ordinary little demon, any differently? To say he has no ulterior motives is simply unbelievable.

Chisong was not angry when his hand was blocked. While secretly praising himself, he did not forget to take a jab at Lin Zhechun, who was all show and no substance, pretentious, heartless, and fame-seeking.

Hearing that Lin Zhechun, whom she remembered as a bright and virtuous man, was reduced to nothing by Chisong in just a few words, Xie Baoqiong recalled the statue she had seen with Su Xiaochun at the Fox Fairy Temple and felt that Lin Zhechun couldn't possibly be that despicable.

"But my father and brother were very kind to me from the moment they met."

Chishong raised his hand and touched the red mole between his eyebrows, commenting, "As expected of a stone, it's just so stubborn."

He chuckled, his eyes full of mockery: "They treat you this way only because of a blood connection. If you revealed your identity, would they still treat you this way?"

Xie Baoqiong, his true identity revealed, stood frozen in place, his head thrown back as if poked. He didn't even notice the mischievous hand on his forehead, and stammered:

"I told you..."

His words lacked a certain confidence, and he didn't want to get entangled with Akamatsu on this issue any further, so he asked instead:

"But I've only met Senior Chishong a few times, so why would you help me?"

Chishong lowered his eyes to Xie Baoqiong, whose expression was somewhat unfocused. His gaze shifted, and his expression remained ambiguous as he threw the question back at her:

"You've only met Lin Zhechun a few times, so why are you speaking up for him?"

Xie Baoqiong snapped out of her daze, her eyes practically overflowing with questioning intent. Her left cheek seemed to say, "Don't you know the reason?", while her right cheek seemed to say, "Ask your mouth."

A light cough from Akamatsu broke the increasingly awkward atmosphere:

"I have some grudges against Lin Zhechun, and I'm happier than anything else to see him suffer a setback."

Ruining his plans is a huge boon for me.

Xie Baoqiong was able to ascertain the truth of Chisong's claim of a feud with Lin Zhechun from their past conversations. She knew that Chisong's words were not untrue, and considering Chisong's temperament, the credibility of this reason was even greater.

Chisong's words implied that Lin Zhechun had ulterior motives towards him, but he didn't quite believe it. He was just a minor demon with nothing of value. His best treasure was the jade pendant given to him by Xiaochun. If Lin Zhechun really wanted this jade pendant, he could have snatched it from him long ago with his status and strength. Why would he need to use a conciliatory policy towards him?

Akamatsu watched the expressions on his face shift, then pinched his cheek and shook his head:

"If you don't believe me, fine, you're the one who'll suffer anyway..."

"Aka pine!"

A voice interrupted Chishong's evil deeds.

Akamatsu loosened his grip before being slapped.

Two red finger marks were left on Xie Baoqiong's cheek, standing out against her fair skin.

"Lord Chishong's skills have improved, and now he doesn't even spare children." Xie Zhuo's pained gaze lingered on the marks on Xie Baoqiong's face for a moment, then turned to Chishong with an icy expression.

The culprit rubbed his fingertips, his gaze falling on the red mark on Xie Baoqiong's cheek. He raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised. How could a stone leave such a mark? Was he trying to stage an accident?

But he felt neither guilty nor embarrassed by Xie Zhuo's veiled criticism; on the contrary, he spoke with a cheerful tone:

"It's been a few months since I last saw Young Master Xie, and he has grown quite a bit. It seems that Lord Xie has the talent to serve in the Animal Husbandry Bureau. I will definitely report this to His Majesty when I return to the capital."

Having said that, she ignored Xie Zhuo's gaze and slowly walked away.

Xie Rongjing, who was two steps behind Xie Zhuo, frowned as he watched Chi Song brush past him, and quickly walked to Xie Baoqiong's side:

"Qiong'er, what did he say to you?"

The content of the conversation just now must not be mentioned in front of Xie Zhuo and Xie Rongjing. Xie Baoqiong blinked and buried her face in Xie Zhuo's palm.

"Dad, I'm not a little pig."

“How could Xiao Bao be a little pig?” Xie Zhuo still remembered what Chi Song had said to him last. He looked down and touched his son’s face, which had indeed become quite chubby recently. He said confidently, “Don’t take Chi Song’s words to heart. He never says a nice thing to anyone.”

Xie Baoqiong lowered her eyes, concealing the emotions within them. It was hard for Yao not to overthink the conversation between Chisong and him just now.

He grabbed Xie Rongjing's sleeve with his other hand and said with dissatisfaction, "Brother, Father is back, why didn't he call me?"

"Your brother and father were just about to go to your room to see you," Xie Rongjing said with a slight smile as he looked at his younger brother. "But what about you? Why did you come out all by yourself?"

Xie Baoqiong looked up at Xie Rongjing and saw that his expression was as usual. She explained that she had been woken up by the noise in the courtyard...

Listening to his younger brother's still-childish voice, Xie Rongjing's thoughts drifted away without him realizing it.

When Xie Zhuo returned, after asking Xie Baoqiong and learning that she had already gone to sleep, he mentioned the situation in the city to Xie Rongjing:

"I'm leaving with Chishong tomorrow. Take good care of yourself and Qiong'er."

Xie Zhuo glanced at Xie Rongjing, who was sitting upright to one side, sighed, and said softly:

“Jing’er and I are at ease, but Qiong’er isn’t a peaceful person. If he gets bored in the courtyard, please keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn’t sneak off to who-knows-where…”

Xie Rongjing was distracted and somewhat uneasy, not because of Xie Zhuo's words, but because he didn't know how to bring up the matter on his mind with Xie Zhuo. Hearing Xie Zhuo's words only intensified his unease.

"Father, what are you saying? Qiong'er is my younger brother, and it is my duty to take care of him."

Xie Zhu chuckled softly and said with relief, "Father knows that you and Qiong'er have a deep affection for each other, but you don't need to spoil his temper all the time. If he offends you, you don't need to tolerate him because of me or because of your status as his older brother."

"Father couldn't bear to see Qiong'er suffer, so he made me play the bad cop. How could such a thing be?"

Xie Rongjing feigned a complaint, but the anxiety in his heart gradually subsided. He looked up and found Xie Zhuo's calm gaze fixed on him:

"Jing'er, what are you hiding from me? I noticed you were distracted just now."

"I..." Xie Rongjing was speechless for a moment after Xie Zhuo pointed it out.

Xie Zhuo looked at him calmly and tolerantly: "As long as it's not a serious offense, I won't force you if you don't want to talk about it."

Xie Rongjing shook his head: "I just... I just haven't figured out how to tell Father."

He looked up with hopeful eyes: "Father, what if I really committed some serious crime?"

"Heh, what can we do? Of course, we'll throw you into the Zhaoyu prison and let others punish you as they please."

Xie Zhuo left out a sentence in an odd tone, and unsurprisingly, received a dissatisfied complaint from Xie Rongjing:

"father?!"

"You clearly have the answer in your heart, but you insist on testing me." Xie Zhuo didn't give in and refused to give Xie Rongjing the answer he wanted.

Xie Rongjing's heart calmed down, and he complained in a somewhat childish tone, "Father and Qiong'er would never do this."

"You're even jealous of your brother. How have I ever been biased towards either of you?" Xie Zhuo teased, then, recalling Xie Baoqiong's straightforward manner in his memory, he said with a headache, "If Qiong'er were a bit as tactful as you, Father would feel more at ease with him."

Xie Rongjing felt completely relieved. He took out a series of good letters from his sleeve and handed them to Xie Zhuo.

Xie Zhuo didn't answer immediately. Instead, he stared at Xie Rongjing's solemn expression with interest and teased:

"Did you really get into trouble outside?"

Xie Rongjing, with a bitter face, said:

"Father, this is a letter that the Princess asked me to give you."

Upon hearing the news of Xie Zhuo's predicament in the capital, Xie Rongjing immediately visited the Princess to inquire about the truth and the location of Xie Zhuo's accident.

Although the princess was momentarily surprised when the news reached him, she still told him the truth.

Before leaving, he wrote another letter for him to pass on to Xie Zhuo, and told him to pass it on to Xie Zhuo in private, and specifically mentioned that it was not allowed even if Xie Baoqiong was present.

Xie Rongjing, who occasionally visited the Princess with Xie Baoqiong, had witnessed Lin Yu's affection for her. Upon hearing this, and seeing the somber look on the Princess's face, he was surprised and had many guesses flash through his mind.

What if Xie Baoqiong isn't Xie Baoqiong?