Su Xiaoning looked serious, her eyes sparkling, but Su Qingcai dared not look her in the eye.
He lowered his eyes and said softly, "There are some things you shouldn't know. I'm doing this for your own good."
"You didn't even ask for my opinion, yet you know this is for my own good?" Su Xiaoning approached Su Qingcai, her determined expression suggesting that she wouldn't give up until she got the truth. "Actually, I've always wanted to know, what kind of 'ordinary person' could attract the pursuit of the Seventh Prince of the capital?"
Su Qingcai's identity is shrouded in mystery, which Su Xiaoning had deliberately ignored in the past, but now she has no choice but to confront it.
Knowing that he could no longer hide the matter, Su Qingcai sighed and simply told the whole story.
"If you really want to know, then I'll tell you. I am the Ninth Prince of the palace, and the current Emperor is my elder brother. Now that my elder brother is seriously ill and his children are still young, it is uncertain who will hold the throne. The Seventh Prince is scheming to take the throne, which is why he sees me as a thorn in his side."
"You, you're actually a prince!" Su Xiaoning gasped, never expecting that the person she had casually picked up would have such a noble status!
But recalling what Wang Fan had said earlier, Su Xiaoning hesitated again, "Chief Wang clearly stated that he would not work for the royal family, so why did you ask Ding Yi to keep it a secret? Isn't that inappropriate?"
“I didn’t give Ding Yi any instructions, but his meaning is my meaning.” Su Qingcai shook his head. “You don’t understand. No one can always be honest and kind. Sometimes, to achieve great things, you have to hide something.”
His statement aroused a lot of dissatisfaction in Su Xiaoning's heart.
Su Xiaoning frowned and said with some disgust, "I really don't understand. To achieve your so-called 'great things,' you have to deceive the people around you? Then what's the difference between you and the Seventh Prince? If you want others to do things for you, you have to be sincere with them first. Otherwise, what do you expect to use to win their sincerity?"
"Gold and silver treasures, beautiful women and power—people are always interested in one of these things," Su Qingcai said calmly. He had his own set of principles and did not agree with what Su Xiaoning said.
"You think just anyone can be bribed?" Su Xiaoning almost laughed in anger. "Chief Wang isn't that kind of person! If you insist on hiding it, you'll probably be setting yourself up for trouble. You might as well come with me now and explain things to Chief Wang. Maybe there'll be a chance for things to turn around."
Su Qingcai remained silent, his eyes gleaming with a cold, menacing light, as if he were rejecting Su Xiaoning with his gaze.
"What kind of attitude is this?! If you insist on doing this and cause trouble, I'll no longer care about you!"
Su Xiaoning understood the meaning in Su Qingcai's eyes and was extremely angry. She stomped her foot in anger, turned around and ran away, not wanting to say another word to Su Qingcai.
Unusually, Su Qingcai did not chase after him. He stood there blankly for a long time before letting out a soft sigh.
...
The next day, Wang Fan came to find Su Xiaoning early in the morning.
"We follow our ancestors' teachings and must always respect the Holy Maiden. We need not hide our skills from her. Although we have lived on an island for a long time, we have not lost the craftsmanship passed down from our ancestors. I wonder if the Holy Maiden would do us the honor of seeing the ships we have built?"
"Can we still see these? Okay, then take me there." Su Xiaoning was very interested and nodded, then followed Wang Fan to see their shipbuilding techniques.
Although there had been some friction last night, Su Qingcai still followed after hearing about it. Su Xiaoning secretly rolled her eyes at Su Qingcai but said nothing, tacitly allowing him to follow.
The group ventured to the deepest part of the island, only to find a vast open space at the end of the dense forest.
On the open ground, there were many huge ships that had already been built, and some semi-finished products were placed to the side. People from the tribe were busy on site, carefully filling parts into the semi-finished products, and the finished products were unusually exquisite.
Su Qingcai clicked his tongue in admiration, examining each of the completed ships one by one. The exquisite craftsmanship left him in awe, and he was deeply moved.
With the island navy's sophisticated shipbuilding technology, they can definitely perfectly recreate the ship model made by Su Xiaoning. Wouldn't it be wonderful if they joined forces?
Thinking of this, Su Qingcai remembered his argument with Su Xiaoning last night and hesitated.
The people of this tribe only listen to Su Xiaoning. If you want their help, you must first talk to Su Xiaoning. According to what Su Xiaoning said last night, does he have to reveal his true identity to Wang Fan?
Su Qingcai was conflicted and didn't know how to resolve the matter.
He hesitated to make a decision, and soon it was evening. Wang Fan had prepared a bonfire dinner to welcome Su Xiaoning, and it was tonight.
The entire group attended the bonfire dinner, where everyone sang and danced, creating a lively atmosphere.
Because of her conflict with Su Qingcai, Su Xiaoning truly ignored him. She sat alone next to Wang Fan, enjoying everyone's singing and dancing.
Bathed in the firelight, Su Xiaoning poured herself a drink, her delicate profile taking on a unique charm.
Several men in the tribe were eager to try their luck. One of the bolder ones even came up with a jug of wine and said with a grin, "Holy Maiden, you are so beautiful! I've never seen anyone as beautiful as you in my entire life!"
"This... thank you..." Su Xiaoning was a little shy when someone praised her appearance so directly.
She lowered her head and smiled shyly. Her delicate shyness, almost too delicate for the cool breeze, completely captivated the man before her. The man chuckled and poured wine for Su Xiaoning, saying, "Holy Maiden, we hope you won't mind and will have a drink with us!"
"I won't look down on anyone." Su Xiaoning gave a bright smile and picked up her wine glass to drink it all in one gulp without saying a word. Suddenly, a hand reached out and snatched the wine glass from her hand.
"She doesn't drink, so don't keep trying to persuade her to do these things."
Su Qingcai held a wine glass in her hand, looked at the man in front of her with an unfriendly expression, and spoke in a very harsh tone.
Su Xiaoning was a little unhappy. She snatched her wine glass from Su Qingcai's hand and said irritably, "Who said I can't drink? I just drank so much. Are you blind? Besides, what kind of relationship do we have? Do you have to tell me what to do?"
"You..." Su Qingcai was furious that Su Xiaoning would so rudely expose him, and his face grew increasingly gloomy.
Wang Fan, who had watched the whole thing unfold, found it quite amusing. His eyes lit up as if he'd come up with a brilliant idea. He ordered someone to bring over some unusual wine, then loudly proclaimed:
"We're offering our final drink to our most respected guest. Drinking this drink can make one dream of their deepest fears. Anyone want to try it?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
