Chapter 143 A Dog That Bites Doesn't Bark

Fu Langxing's hand froze in mid-air. He turned around in horror and saw Xiao Yongjing standing by the door with a half-smile. He was so frightened that his soul almost left his body.

Fu Langxing glanced at the door in disbelief. Why was he here? Where was Song Sangyu?

He spoke with a forced smile:

"Your Highness, the Crown Prince? You... how did you get here?"

Xiao Yongjing slowly straightened up, walked closer step by step, and looked Fu Langxing up and down:

"I would like to ask Prince Fu why he was in the side room. Did he intend to...do something improper with my fiancée? This is the palace. Why can't I be here?"

Fu Langxing broke out in a cold sweat, trying to distort the truth:

"Your Highness, please see the truth! It's...it's Shen Yiqiu! She seduced me. She invited me here, saying she didn't want to marry into the Eastern Palace, but she still had feelings for me. Yes, that's it!"

The more he talked, the more he felt he had found an excuse, and a fawning smile appeared on his face:

"Your Highness's presence here at this moment, could it be... also a pre-arranged meeting with her? Since we are all of the same ilk, why bother..."

Before he could finish speaking, Xiao Yongjing had already appeared beside him without him noticing, and before he could utter any more foul words, he slammed his fist into his stomach.

"Ugh!"

Fu Langxing cried out in pain, curled up and fell to the ground, clutching his stomach, and glared angrily:

"You...you dare to hit me? I am the heir of the Earl's mansion!"

Xiao Yongjing flicked his wrist, looking somewhat disgusted at the spot where his fist had touched Fu Langxing, and laughed condescendingly:

"Ha, Your Highness? I'm still the Crown Prince. I'll hit you if I want, why would I need to pick a day?"

He bent down and looked at Fu Langxing as if he were looking at trash.

"Tell me, what if Father Emperor knew that the Earl's heir intended to rape the Marquis of Yongjia and casually slandered the future Crown Princess's innocence..."

He casually pointed to a handkerchief, still scented with sedatives, lying on the table to the side:

"With witnesses and physical evidence all presented, can your Fu family's honor still be preserved? Can you still hold onto your title of heir?"

Fu Langxing fell silent instantly. He had always been afraid of his grandfather. If his grandfather found out about this, he would be severely injured, if not killed. Fear overwhelmed everything.

He immediately knelt down and kowtowed, begging for mercy incoherently:

"Your Highness, please forgive me! Your Highness, please forgive me! It was...it was I who was bewitched, it was I who drank too much horse piss and became confused. I beg Your Highness to forgive me this time, considering my youth and ignorance, and considering the past relationship between our two families."

He begged for mercy, but out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at the unconscious Shen Yiqiu on the bed. He was almost there. There was no remorse in his eyes, but rather a deep sense of resentment.

Taking advantage of the pause in his kowtowing, he pulled out another packet of sleeping pills from his sleeve and threw it towards Xiao Yongjing's face, who was standing right in front of him.

"Your Highness, be careful!"

A low shout came from the shadows.

However, Xiao Yongjing acted even faster. He had already anticipated this, and with a wave of his wide sleeve, the airflow repelled all the powder, which landed directly on Fu Langxing's face.

"Cough cough cough!"

Fu Langxing choked on his own drug, tears streaming down his face.

Xiao Yongjing's eyes were icy cold. He grabbed Fu Langxing's wrist, twisted it in the opposite direction, and slammed him to the ground, pressing his knee against Fu Langxing's back.

"Stubborn fool! I gave you a chance, but you insisted on courting death!"

Fu Langxing was pinned down and unable to move. Coupled with the fact that he had inhaled an excessive amount of sleeping pills, he felt weak all over and was filled with shame and indignation. He couldn't be bothered to keep up the act any longer.

"Xiao Yongjing, you hypocrite! What right do you have? Shen Yiqiu should have been mine! You've only stolen her away by taking advantage of your status as the Crown Prince! You..."

Xiao Yongjing tightened his grip, listening to his bones cracking.

"Sure enough, the dogs that bite are usually the ones that don't bark. They just hide in the gutter and resort to these underhanded tricks."

Having said that, he stopped wasting words and rained down punches, targeting painful but not fatal spots.

Fu Langxing initially cursed incessantly, but soon all that remained were painful wails.

A moment later, Xiao Yongjing used a hemp rope he found somewhere to tightly tie up Fu Langxing, who was lying like a dead dog, and then tore off a piece of his clothing to stuff into his mouth.

The world is finally quiet.

Xiao Yongjing stood up, straightened his slightly disheveled sleeves, and looked past the messy mess on the ground before returning his gaze to the bed.

Shen Yiqiu remained unconscious. Her usually cold face softened considerably in her sleep, though her brow remained furrowed, indicating that she could not find peace even in her dreams.

He approached as if possessed, sat down on the edge of the bed, his slender fingers curled slightly before slowly extending.

The cool fingertips gently brushed across her cheek, the movements careful, as if handling a rare treasure.

Feeling the touch, Shen Yiqiu unconsciously let out a soft moan, tilted her head slightly, and rubbed her fingertips against his.

This sudden display of dependence left Xiao Yongjing stunned, then a smile played on his lips as he spoke with a mixture of affection and helplessness:

"The outside world is in complete chaos, yet you're sleeping soundly."

"Your Highness?"

Mo Yu stood silently behind him, watching his prince's gentle movements and the finger that hadn't been withdrawn in time, and was momentarily stunned.

Xiao Yongjing abruptly withdrew his hand, revealing an unusual dishevelment and haste.

He quickly stood up, his back to Mo Yu:

"It's alright. Tie him up and send him to the East Palace."

Mo Yu nodded thoughtfully and replied with her head bowed:

"yes."

He glanced at Shen Yiqiu on the bed and then asked for instructions:

"Your Highness, what should we do if His Majesty and the Empress ask about the Marquis of Yongjia's long absence in the front hall?"

Xiao Yongjing pondered for a moment:

"Send a reliable person to report that Marquis Yongjia is not in good health due to alcohol consumption. I have arranged for her to rest in the side hall of the East Palace and will send her back after she sobers up. Tell Father and Mother not to worry."

"Make sure things are done cleanly, so no one notices anything amiss and disturbs the Marquis's peace."

Mo Yu understood immediately:

"Understood, I will take care of it immediately."

Without saying another word, he swiftly dragged the two people off the floor and led them out of the room, then gently closed the door behind him.

Silence returned to the room, leaving only him and the sleeping Chen Yiqiu.

Xiao Yongjing turned around, his gaze complex as he looked at the person on the bed. He tucked the blanket around her and whispered:

"Go to sleep. Leave the rest to me."

...

When Shen Yiqiu woke up, she found herself in an unfamiliar room, covered with a brocade quilt, while Xiao Yongjing sat on the soft couch by the bed, propping his head up and looking at her.

She was startled and immediately checked her clothes. Finding them intact, she breathed a slight sigh of relief. Only then did she realize the awkward atmosphere.

Just as she was trying to sort out her thoughts, Xiao Yongjing, who was sitting on the couch, suddenly moved.

Without warning, he leaned in, instantly closing the distance between them so close that Shen Yiqiu could clearly smell the faint woody fragrance emanating from him.

He braced one arm against the bedpost beside her, trapping her between the bed and his chest, while raising his other hand as if to caress her cheek.

Shen Yiqiu's eyes widened, and instinctively her body tensed. She touched the soft sword at her waist and warily hissed:

"Your Highness! What do you intend to do?!"