Chapter 266 With me here, she won't touch you in the slightest!
Li Qinglu noticed that his expression was unusual and quickly asked, "Does Your Highness really recognize him?"
"Your Highness, whose jade pendant is this? Do you know?"
Duan Rongshi asked her, "Where did you get this?"
Li Qingluo: "It was handed over to me by someone in the palace. Does this jade pendant belong to Princess Qinyu?"
Prince Su stood up, reached out and grabbed Li Qingluo's wrist, pulling her in front of him.
"Li Qingluo, do you know how serious this matter is? If you investigate further, you may not only lose your life, but you will also be dragged into an even deeper vortex."
Are you sure you still want to know?
Li Qingluo swallowed hard.
She really didn't want to know anymore...
But looking into Prince Su's eyes, so close to hers, their dark depths seemed like a whirlpool, yet also held glimmers of starlight, drawing her in involuntarily...
“Your Highness, Princess Qinyu has threatened me. When she returns to Jinling, she will never let me go.”
"It's already the end of February, and she'll be back in a month."
"Does she expect me to go before her, kowtow, and beg her to let me go?"
“Although I have no power or influence in Jinling and only my grandmother to rely on, I am not a spineless person who would flatter and fawn over the powerful.”
"Therefore, if this matter is related to Princess Qinyu, I would like to know."
"It's always better to take precautions early than to have no evidence at all."
For the first time, she laid bare her innermost thoughts and feelings in front of him.
This is not the demeanor one would expect from a kind and innocent young woman.
However, Duan Rongshi knew from the beginning that she was different from others and that she was resolute and courageous.
She was even somewhat ruthless.
Even now, he felt a little happy because of her honesty.
He asked in a low voice, "When and why did she threaten you with such words?"
Li Qingluo first managed to free her wrist.
"Your Highness, isn't it all because of you?"
She couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Princess Qinyu must have misunderstood that I have some kind of relationship with you. So, ever since you asked her to take me home on the snow mountain, she has already threatened me once."
"Later, on the sixth day of the month, I went to Prince Su's residence to look for you, and she saw me again."
"It seems Princess Qinyu is jealous, which is why she's holding onto this humble woman so tightly..."
Duan Rongshi: "Misunderstanding? Jealousy?"
He scoffed, "What makes her jealous? Who I am close to is none of her business."
As he spoke, a cold glint appeared in his eyes.
Why didn't you tell me about this sooner?
"Furthermore, you only have your grandmother to rely on. Have I never provided you with support or protected you?"
"Those I've saved so many times, are they just some cats and dogs?"
"Li Qingluo, I've made it so obvious, don't you understand anything?"
As he spoke, he walked closer and closer to Li Qingluo, while Li Qingluo kept backing away.
She leaned against a pillar, with nowhere left to retreat.
"Your Highness, weren't we talking about the jade pendant? How did you bring this up with me?"
"Yes, yes, yes, you are now my greatest support. Otherwise, how would I dare to take the initiative to meet Your Highness?"
"But Your Highness, how did you manage to leave the manor and the city? I originally thought you would let me secretly visit you at your residence..."
When Prince Su saw her beating around the bush and even rambling on, his heart skipped a beat.
"Are you trying to escape from me?"
Li Qingluo looked up at the sky: "What did you say?"
Duan Rongshi stared at her.
There were some things he really wanted to make clear.
But considering my current situation, I can only regretfully endure it.
"Alright, you little brat pretending to be confused, I'm too lazy to expose you."
He reached out and gently flicked her forehead.
It didn't hurt; in fact, it felt a little too intimate.
Li Qinglu sighed inwardly.
It's all those shoes' fault!
She glared resentfully at the shoes on the chair, then fell silent.
Duan Rongshi lifted her hand and took the white jade pendant from her palm.
"This was a gift from the Emperor to the deposed Crown Prince ten years ago."
"I remember it so clearly because I was there at the time, so this is a gift from His Majesty."
Li Qingluo: "An imperial gift? Or one given to the deposed crown prince? How did it end up in Pan Li's hands?"
Duan Rongshi: "Are you investigating the incident outside Zhaohua Hall?"
Li Qingluo no longer concealed anything: "Yes, Your Highness. Although Pan Li has been brought back to life, we personally heard that a noble person specifically requested the Pei family to arrest her when she was taken to the dungeon by the Pei family last time."
"I suspect that this person is Princess Qinyu."
"That night outside Zhaohua Palace, Qinyu attempted to kill Pan Li but failed. Could the jade pendant in Pan Li's hand be the cause of the dispute?"
"Your Highness, could it be that Princess Qinyu and the deposed Crown Prince have some connection?"
Duan Rongshi stared at her for a long time before saying, "Do you know how perceptive you are?"
Li Qingluo was taken aback by this sudden praise...
Duan Rongshi suddenly whispered again, "Don't worry, with me here, she won't do anything to you."
Li Qingluo knew he was referring to 'Qinyu', but she lowered her head and said, "I am very grateful for Your Highness's kindness and care, but Your Highness cannot watch over me every moment, and there will always be times when something goes wrong."
"Therefore, no matter how difficult or dangerous, I believe that relying on others or mountains is not as good as relying on oneself."
These are Li Qingluo's honest words.
People you rely on will run away, and mountains you rely on will crumble.
Only by relying on yourself can you never betray yourself.
It wasn't that she disliked Prince Su.
Rather, she knew very well that she and Prince Su had no relationship whatsoever now; even calling it a gentleman's friendship would be an understatement.
Actually, things are a bit unclear...
Moreover, Li Qingluo knew that she still had something that could be used against her, otherwise Prince Su would not have extended a helping hand to her time and time again.
Thinking of this, Li Qingluo took out the pattern she had brought with her today.
"Your Highness, this is the manuscript I owe you for the past few days. Are you satisfied with it?"
Duan Rongshi was still watching her, but when he saw that she had given him something again, he took it and carefully flipped through it.
The meaning in his eyes grew deeper and deeper.
"It's very well drawn."
He looked up and smiled slightly at her.
In the firelight, Li Qingluo felt a heavy lump in her throat.
This Prince Su's smile is absolutely deadly.
"I'll collect the money I owe you tomorrow."
Li Qingluo understood the implied meaning: "Tomorrow?"
Duan Rongshi: "Tomorrow, the King will take you to a place."
"Remember, it's best to wear makeup that makes it impossible for anyone to recognize your true identity."
After saying that, he first put the jade pendant back into Li Qingluo's palm, then called Zhuiyu and asked Zhuiyu to safely send Li Qingluo back to Xishan Pavilion.
After Li Qingluo left, Duan Rongshi remembered something and quickly took out the taro cake from his bosom.
I opened it and sure enough...
He was already completely crushed by her sudden embrace.
Duan Rongshi frowned deeply.
This time, I completely lost my appetite.
But I can't bear to throw it away...
In the end, I could only wrap it up again and stuff it back into my arms.
Looking at the shoes she had personally delivered, Duan Rongshi picked them up and smiled slightly: "They're quite clean."
The newly arrived Pofeng was startled: Why is His Highness laughing again?
He's still laughing at a shoe!
Such a scene in the mountains late at night is too eerie and terrifying!
Duan Rongshi saw Po Feng approaching, acting suspiciously, and asked, "What is it?"
Po Feng hurriedly reported, "Your Highness, a message just came from the manor saying that Your Highness's double was almost exposed today."
Duan Rongshi put the shoes away before asking, "Have you caught the spy? Have you interrogated him thoroughly?"
Po Feng: "Yes. Yes... His Majesty's man."
Duan Rongshi sneered, unsurprised.
"His distrust of me is not a mistake."
"Make sure the stand-in stays in the room. If he makes another mistake and gets caught red-handed, he'll be the first one to die!"
Po Feng: "Yes, Your Highness."
When I returned from chasing the rain, the power came on just in time.
He hurriedly caught up to ask a few questions, but Leng Dian rushed to Prince Su's side.
"Your Highness, the old Duke is dying!"
Duan Rongshi: "What happened? Get Pei San to save him!"
Leng Dian: "If Pei San refuses to save him, it seems he intends to drag the old Duke to his death."
Judging from Leng Dian and his methods, Pei San seems to be a tough nut to crack.
What was Duan Rongshi thinking?
"What did the Ministry of Justice say? Did they find anything in the Pei family's dungeon?"
Leng Dian: "Originally, they were going to dig it out, but Zhang Yi from the Ministry of Justice was summoned to the palace by His Majesty, and a large number of coroners from the Ministry of Justice were also transferred away."
"When Zhang Yi returned to the Pei family, the dungeon had already been destroyed."
"But Zhang Yi said that the remains that have been unearthed so far are all female corpses."
"There may be countless more corpses below, but the Pei family refuses to cooperate, and His Majesty is trying to cover something up, so it's very difficult to proceed."
Duan Rongshi: "Are they all female corpses?"
"Go, catch a girl from the Pei family... preferably from Pei San's branch, and feed her some human blood to that Duke Pei."
Leng Dian was startled by what he heard.
Human blood?
But he could only do as instructed.
Li Qing stayed peacefully at her grandmother's estate for one night.
Strangely, she had a dream about Prince Su.
In his dream, he chased after Li Qingluo, shouting, "You owe me a meal! You still owe me a meal! Hurry up and cook me a meal—!!"
Li Qingluo was startled awake.
She patted her chest and told herself: Dreaming of Prince Su must be because she was thinking about the money he was going to give her today.
Fortunately, it was already getting light.
Li Qingluo lost her sleepiness and quickly got up to prepare for dressing herself.
Prince Su said he would take her somewhere today and that she should dress herself up so that no one would recognize her.
Isn't that simple?
Li Qingluo called Que'er and several nannies in.
A moment later, an ugly woman with a high ponytail, a long scar running from her forehead to her ear, countless freckles under her eyes, and thick eyebrows stood before everyone.
Even the sparrow couldn't help but exclaim, "Girl, you're so ugly!"
The old women laughed so hard they twisted and turned, and they also scolded the sparrow for not knowing the rules.
Li Qingluo stared at herself in the bronze mirror with great satisfaction: "The uglier, the safer. Come on, let Master take a look!"
Before Nangong Di could even be seen, someone knocked on the door of the manor.
Li Qingluo thought it was Zhuiyu, so she wanted to go and scare him herself.
But when she went to open the door herself, she was surprised to find that it was His Highness Prince Su, dressed in a moon-white robe, clean and aloof like a jade gentleman, noble and peerless!
Li Qinglu was startled.
Duan Rongshi was also startled by her.
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