Su Qinghe completely ignored Qin Yunyun. He turned around, took Su Xiaoning's hand, and asked with concern, "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," Su Xiaoning replied perfunctorily. She felt a little uncomfortable and directly shook off Su Qinghe's hand.
Su Qinghe glanced at his eyes, which had been flung away, a flash of ruthlessness crossing them, but he quickly concealed his emotions and said with feigned disappointment, "Why do you treat me like this? You should know that I'm the only one who can help you now."
His act was so contrived that Su Xiaoning was speechless. She silently rolled her eyes and took a few steps back.
"No need, I will handle these matters myself, Seventh Prince, you can rest assured."
As she spoke, Su Xiaoning turned to leave, but Su Qinghe stopped her.
"You're that confident? Do you really think Su Qingcai can help you?" Su Qinghe scoffed, her tone full of disdain for Su Qingcai.
"If he could really help you, why would he let the rumors develop like this? Why not submit to me? I can clear your name immediately, what do you say?"
He still hadn't forgotten about trying to win over Su Xiaoning, which was precisely what made Su Xiaoning extremely uncomfortable.
Su Xiaoning glanced coldly at Su Qinghe and said in a chilling voice, "I believe him. He has his reasons for everything he does. You can't sow discord between us with just a few words. Seventh Prince, I advise you not to waste your energy. I refused before, and I will refuse again now. Your efforts are utterly ridiculous to me."
She raised her head arrogantly, pushed Su Qinghe aside, and left.
Su Qinghe's expression was not good. He stood frozen in place, staring at Su Xiaoning with a mix of emotions churning within him, which eventually merged into resentment and hatred.
Seeing that Su Qinghe seemed to want to pursue Su Xiaoning, Qin Yunyun gritted her teeth, grabbed him, and put on a pitiful look, saying, "Your Highness, she has already rejected you, why are you still going to chase after her? I've become like this, don't you even care..."
She used her usual coquettish tone, but right now she reeked of sewage, her head and face covered in dirty water, and something just didn't look right.
The nauseating smell reached Su Qinghe's nose. He glanced at Qin Yunyun with disgust, shoved her away, and said sternly, "Don't play the victim in front of me. Don't think I'm stupid! Where did these rumors come from? What are you really thinking? Do you really think I don't know?"
"Your Highness!" Qin Yunyun panicked, wondering how Su Qinghe had figured it out. "It's true that I spread these rumors, but I only did it to put Su Xiaoning in a difficult position so that Your Highness could win her heart more quickly..."
"You still dare to spout nonsense in front of me?" Su Qinghe sneered and walked impatiently toward the palace.
"This is my final warning to you: don't waste your time!"
He didn't even glance at Qin Yunyun, leaving behind a warning before departing.
Qin Yunyun's face turned pale and then flushed, and she felt dizzy and almost fainted on the spot.
...
Su Xiaoning didn't care at all about what happened after Su Qinghe and Qin Yunyun. After rejecting Su Qinghe, she was afraid that someone would throw water at her again, so she hurriedly returned to the Prince's Mansion.
She originally wanted to go to Su Qingcai to tell him about the grievances she had suffered today, but she heard Shen Jun and Su Qingcai talking outside the study.
"Your Highness, the Emperor has heard the rumors circulating in the city recently and has issued an imperial edict instructing me to tell you not to appear in public with Su Xiaoning anytime soon, so as not to be implicated."
Shen Jun remained calm and conveyed the emperor's message to Su Qingcai.
These words clearly reached Su Xiaoning's ears. Recalling everything that happened on the street today, Su Xiaoning gave a bitter smile and had no more intention of looking for Su Qingcai. She turned around and left dejectedly.
Soft footsteps drifted into the study. Just as Su Qingcai was about to answer, he subconsciously looked towards the door. Through the half-closed door, he could only catch a glimpse of Su Xiaoning's clothes.
Oh no, could she have overheard these words?
Su Qingcai's heart tightened, and he strode over to find Su Xiaoning, but Shen Jun stopped him directly, frowning as he said, "Your Highness, have you forgotten what the Emperor said?"
“I remember, and I don’t need you to remind me.” Su Qingcai glanced coldly at Shen Jun. “What I do is none of anyone’s business. You just need to convey the Emperor’s wishes and mind your own business.”
After saying that, Su Qingcai pushed Shen Jun away and strode off to find Su Xiaoning.
Su Xiaoning locked herself in her room. Through the door, Su Qingcai, who had so much to say, suddenly fell silent.
He knocked on the door and said softly, "I'll take you out to town tomorrow."
Without offering any further explanation, he simply wanted to prove his stance through his actions.
Not long after, Su Xiaoning's muffled voice came from inside the room.
"Aren't you afraid of being a burden if you take me out?"
Su Qingcai shook her head and said firmly, "What's the big deal about being a burden? Rumors are just rumors. As long as I know what kind of person you are, that's enough. Why care about what others think?"
After he finished speaking, the room fell silent again.
After a long while, Su Xiaoning finally spoke in a voice so soft it was almost inaudible.
"good."
...
The next day.
Su Qingcai indeed took Su Xiaoning out in a high-profile manner, holding her hand firmly, seemingly declaring their relationship in silence.
People on the street avoided her like the plague. Some of the people who had been hurling insults at her in the street yesterday dared not speak again in front of Su Qingcai. Their eyes were filled with astonishment and confusion, as if they were wondering why Su Qingcai would still be with the "demoness".
With various gazes cast from all directions, Su Xiaoning felt a little suffocated. Seeing that A-Lian's restaurant was not far away, she hurriedly pulled Su Qingcai into the restaurant.
Ah Lian was standing at the entrance of the restaurant greeting guests. When she saw Su Xiaoning arrive, her eyes lit up. She didn't care about what happened yesterday and still warmly welcomed Su Xiaoning and Su Qingcai inside.
The huge restaurant was completely silent. The guests were almost startled, but they didn't dare to tell Su Qingcai to kick Su Xiaoning out. They could only angrily put down their chopsticks.
Ah Lian pretended not to see the stern looks from the guests, smiled and handed over the menu, then went to the kitchen to prepare the food and brought it to Su Xiaoning's table.
Su Xiaoning and Su Qingcai ate their meal in silence, the delicious aroma of the food lingering on their tongues, which eased their tense mood a little.
Unfortunately, this peaceful moment didn't last long. Suddenly, an old man rushed in with a child, pointed at Su Xiaoning, and shouted:
"You quack! You've harmed people with your treatment, you should compensate me!"
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