Chapter Ninety-Seven: Stepping on a Green Tea Girl
"Your Highness! Don't you want to know why I left without saying goodbye back then?!"
"Because that night, I couldn't face you bravely! I ran out of the city and was kidnapped again!"
"Your Highness! You can't be so cruel to me!"
As Qingluan had predicted, Li Bao'er stopped in her tracks, turned around, and raised an eyebrow at the man who was holding her waist.
"Explain?"
Although Bao'er was still smiling, Linglong, who had been by her young mistress's side since childhood, knew very well that her young mistress was angry, and quite angry at that.
Your Highness... good luck to you. It's his own fault for being unclean!
A disdainful look was given to Mu Cenlin, whose jaw tightened and who was feeling agitated.
Mu Cenlin felt the resistance from the person in his arms and was somewhat annoyed, but he didn't know how to refute Qingluan's words for a moment.
Li Bao'er originally thought that Qingluan was just spouting nonsense and deliberately trying to provoke her, but she never expected that Mu Cenlin would actually remain silent. So, could what Qingluan said just now be true?
"Sweetie, shall we talk when we get back to the manor?" Mu Cenlin tried to grab Bao'er's hand, but she dodged it by turning to the side.
"Be good my foot!" Bao'er said irritably.
Then, glancing at Qingluan, who was deliberately attracting attention by crawling on the ground looking pitiful, he sneered, "Zhu Zhi, you stay here and guard Qingluan. Since she likes crawling on the ground so much, let her crawl all the way back to the manor."
"If she doesn't want to suffer this, then let her get out of here as soon as possible."
Contrary to his usual behavior, Zhu Zhi readily accepted the order. In the past, when he didn't particularly like the princess, he wouldn't have obediently listened to her. But with a green tea like Qingluan as a contrast, he was happy to listen to the princess.
Qingluan stared at Li Bao'er in disbelief, and in her desperation, shouted, "Li Bao..."
Before he could finish speaking, Linglong covered his mouth with a handkerchief, saying, "Shut up, you old green tea."
What made Qingluan even more desperate was that even after she had said so much, Mu Cenlin still didn't look at her, but instead chased after Li Bao'er.
This shouldn't be happening! Watching the figure recede into the distance, she tried to get up, but just as she managed to brace herself with her hands, she was pushed back to the ground by another force.
She was nearly made to fall flat on her face. She looked up, her eyes filled with malice, and saw a man in black, arms crossed, grinning and looking down at her: "My princess said you have to crawl back."
"If you don't want to climb, you can leave on your own."
Qingluan was furious. "Who do you think you are? Where is Xiao Yizhi?! I need to see him!"
"Oh, you mean that unfortunate fellow? He got fifty lashes from the prince and can't get out of bed," Zhu Zhi said, kicking her again, his smile still mischievous. "Want him to be your hero? Dream on."
"Zhu Zhi! We've known each other for a long time! Get out of my way!"
Zhu Zhi looked frightened. "You're talking nonsense. You've forced yourself to stay in the Prince's mansion just because you said you knew me. I don't have any money. Don't try to extort me."
The atmosphere inside the Prince's Mansion was oppressive.
Li Bao'er remained silent the whole way. After getting off the carriage, she headed straight for her courtyard without looking back. With a loud "bang," she shut the door on Mu Cenlin, who was chasing after her, and gave him a solid cold shoulder.
Mu Cenlin stared at the tightly closed courtyard gate, his jaw clenched, his brows furrowed with frustration and a rare sense of helplessness.
He raised his hand to knock on the door, but didn't know how to explain himself.
Linglong stood not far away, watching her master's discomfiture, and recalling her mistress's restrained anger earlier, she finally couldn't hold back. Mustering her courage, she took small steps forward, her expression clearly resentful and indignant on behalf of her mistress:
"Your Highness, this is so unfair!" Linglong blurted out, her words flying. "Although our young lady did... she mistook someone for someone else and offended you in the past, ever since she married you, she has been devoted to you and has no one else in her eyes! She is a pure and virtuous young lady! And you! You actually... you actually have such a romantic entanglement outside! That Qingluan girl described it so vividly, like that night she left without saying goodbye, how is our young lady supposed to feel?!"
Linglong grew angrier as she spoke, her voice trembling with tears: "Our young lady has never suffered such injustice since she was a child! If you already had someone you loved, why did you agree to this arranged marriage! Waaah..." She dared not continue, wiping away her tears with the back of her hand.
Linglong's words pierced his heart like needles. He knew that Bao'er definitely didn't want to talk to him right now, but things couldn't go on like this!
Mu Cenlin's eyes sharpened, and without further hesitation, he lightly leaped into the air, easily clearing the wall and landing in the courtyard.
"Ah!" Linglong was startled, not expecting the prince to actually climb over the wall and get in! She stood there, stunned, unsure whether to call for help or pretend she hadn't seen anything.
Inside the courtyard, Li Bao'er, who was sitting on a stone bench sulking, heard the noise and looked up abruptly. She saw Mu Cenlin descending from the sky and landing steadily in front of her, his clothes fluttering.
She was startled at first, then her anger flared even more. She grabbed a teacup from the table and threw it at him: "Mu Cenlin! Get out! Who let you in!"
Mu Cenlin easily dodged the flying teacup, the porcelain shattering behind him. He strode forward, grabbing Li Bao'er's flailing wrist with an unyielding grip, his gaze calm yet resolute as he looked at her:
"Listen to me, things aren't what you think."
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