Chapter 36 What is it about me that catches the prince's eye? I…
The man's eyes held a smile, but his voice was cold.
His fingertips casually traced the throbbing pulse on her wrist. Biezhi's body tensed slightly with his movements, clearly sensing his anger, and her spine stiffened.
Are they even that close? Why are you being so aggressive?
Bie Zhi couldn't help but grumble inwardly. She slowly pulled her wrist back, and halfway through, she met the man's dark gaze again. She pursed her lips and answered softly, without any sense of justice or arrogance, "I still value my life."
Although she would occasionally say things like, "Whether you die sooner or later, you're going to die anyway, so why care so much?", when she was truly outmatched and in danger, she would run faster than anyone else.
Fu Huaiqing saw her reaction; her trembling eyelashes seemed to accuse him of losing control and express her fear that she would run away the moment he let go.
His eyes darkened, and his fingers, which had loosened their grip slightly, suddenly fell, trapping the girl's hand as she tried to break free.
Biezhi winced in pain and frowned.
Confused, she slowly called out, "Your Highness?"
Fu Huaiqing gazed at her intently, his large hand tightening slightly inward as he met her gaze for a long while before asking, "You once said I was a bit fierce, do you still think so now?"
"Ah..." Biezhi didn't know why he suddenly brought up the matter from many days ago. Glancing at her tightly held hand, she quickly shook her head and said righteously, "No, absolutely not. Your Highness is the most understanding person I have ever met."
Fu Huaiqing: "..."
For some reason, even though the words were pleasant to hear, he found them extremely jarring.
Fu Huaiqing looked down at her, remained silent for a moment, and then let go of her hand.
In an instant, the branch seemed to be reborn.
She instinctively put her hands behind her back, and when she came to her senses and realized what she was doing in front of Prince Su, she gave an awkward laugh.
A hesitant and bitter smile appeared on her face. Fu Huaiqing frowned, his Adam's apple bobbing as he followed her words: "That's good. If you're afraid of me, I'll have a bit of a headache."
Biezhi didn't understand, and didn't ask any more questions, fearing that asking too many questions would lead to mistakes.
However, it was obvious that Prince Su did not intend to let him go. A faint smile flashed across his face as he looked him over and said slowly, "After all, if the person you love is afraid of you, I don't think anyone in the world can stand it."
The moment the words left her mouth, Biezhi was so startled that she hiccuped.
She seemed to have a bit of a lapse in understanding.
Where did this person I love come from?
Who was the person Prince Su favored?
she?
Does Prince Su like her?
Are you kidding me?!
Her almond-shaped eyes widened slightly. Biezhi found it unbelievable. She didn't care about anything else. She was willing to be killed or tortured. She forced herself to find a reason: "I suddenly remembered that Xu Wenche seems to have made an appointment to meet someone tonight. It is inconvenient for him to stay here for long. I hope that Your Highness and the Emperor will allow me to go and investigate."
She lowered her eyes, not daring to look any longer. In the instant she caught a glimpse of Prince Su nodding, she hurriedly bowed, turned around, and fled in panic.
Watching Biezhi's figure disappear into the distance, Fu Huaiqing frowned.
I was prepared for her to be frightened, but I didn't expect her reaction to be so intense.
Having witnessed everything, Fu Mingzhan suppressed his astonishment and asked, "Shall we continue practicing?"
Fu Huaiqing looked at him and said, "Someone, escort the Emperor back to the palace."
"Why don't we practice instead!" Fu Mingzhan quickly grabbed his brother's leg. He had finally managed to leave the palace, and he didn't want to be sent back alone to face the empty palace after only a short time. A thought flashed through his mind: "If you like that girl, I have a way."
Fu Huaiqing stopped and glanced at him.
Fu Mingzhan silently let go, sighed helplessly, and followed closely behind his brother. When the figure in front of him suddenly stopped, he bumped into him in his annoyed mood. Before he could even rub his forehead, he heard a man's faint voice beside him.
He asked, "What method?"
Jiang Yue, who was following behind, twitched his eyelids. He felt that his master was just grasping at straws in desperation. The emperor was only ten years old. Not to mention how to pursue a girl, he probably didn't even understand the feelings between men and women.
Fu Mingzhan immediately perked up: "They say even the most virtuous woman is afraid of a man's persistence. Brother, you should keep pestering her, and you'll surely be able to get her to open her heart!"
After listening, Fu Huaiqing only asked, "Where did you learn that?"
“In the book.” Fu Mingzhan was overjoyed at the thought that he could stay outside the palace for a while longer.
Upon hearing this, Fu Huaiqing's eyes turned slightly cold. He glanced at Jiang Yue and ordered, "Send him back."
Fu Mingzhan's smiling face froze instantly, not understanding why his brother would suddenly change his mind.
Before he even returned to the palace, all the palace servants in his bedchamber were replaced, leaving only the guards he had chosen to follow him when he was young.
Biezhi fled in panic, running three miles away from the Prince's mansion before stopping. Panting, she looked back to see if anyone was following her. Only after confirming that no one was trailing her did she lean against the wall and breathe calmly.
Biezhi was quite frightened by Prince Su.
He can love anyone he wants, why does he have to love himself!
It's absolutely terrifying.
It took Biezhi a while to recover, and she felt more and more that her current environment was no different from that of a dragon's den or a tiger's den. Suddenly, she thought of Jiran, whose mind was extremely pure.
Xu Wenche really had no plans for tonight; she simply made up an excuse to escape. Fortunately, Prince Su did not pursue the matter.
Biezhi counted on her fingers; half an hour had passed in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. She pondered for a moment and happily decided to have Su Wang's men guard Xu Wenche's side as compensation for him scaring her. Then, she walked briskly along the stone path toward the thatched hut where Jiran lived.
Fu Huaiqing was already waiting for her in the thatched hut.
He sat on the bamboo platform under the eaves of the thatched house and spotted the girl skipping and hopping towards him from afar. Even from a distance, he could clearly feel her joyful mood, which was much better than when he was at the Prince's mansion.
As soon as Bie Zhi ran out of the Prince's Mansion street, the Shadow Guard came to the study to report. The road she subconsciously ran towards was precisely the direction leading to the Vermilion Bird Gate.
Just in case, the shadow guard immediately reported to Fu Huaiqing.
Fu Huaiqing, disguised, did not arrive long before Biezhi. He had just arrived at the thatched hut when the shadow guard came to report that Biezhi had already stepped onto the bluestone road.
With her sharp eyes, Biezhi spotted Jiran weaving a straw hat under the eaves. Her steps quickened, and she jogged to the front of the thatched hut. She saw him fiddling with his straw hat with his eyes down. When she was about fifty steps away from him, she hurriedly stopped and tiptoed around the road.
Taking advantage of the silence, Biezhi approached him from the side, bent down slightly, and suddenly peeked in front of him. When she saw the surprise that appeared in the man's calm eyes, she laughed with pleasure.
A light and melodious laugh, like a wind chime, drifted in on the breeze. Fu Huaiqing was slightly lost in thought, staring blankly at the smiling girl.
Biezhi sat casually beside him, glanced at the pile of straw hats under the eaves, pointed at the hats and then at him: "Are you going to sell them yourself?"
As before, Fu Huaiqing lowered his eyes and stared at her hand movements for a long time before nodding.
“If I didn’t have any missions, I would have gone with you.” Biezhi put her hands behind her back, looked up at the starry sky, knowing that he couldn’t hear her troubles and wouldn’t let them affect him. She said slowly, “Suddenly I feel a little helpless.”
In Fu Huaiqing's memory, Biezhi had always been full of energy, and he had never seen her so at a loss. His expression turned slightly serious, and he thoughtfully put the straw hat in his hand aside and watched her silently.
Fortunately, Biezhi's gloom lasted less than half a breath. She seemed to remember something, and the light in her eyes suddenly gathered into a ball. She clenched her fist and said angrily, "It's all their fault!"
"We've known each other for less than half a month, and I can count the number of times we've met on one hand. As for his supposed affection for me, I think he's clearly just lusting after me—"
Biezhi suddenly realized that she had only wanted to get to know Jiran because of his appearance, and it seemed that she had inadvertently included herself in the insult.
She remained silent for a moment, then changed her tone and said, "Of course, it's only human nature to like men and women who are good-looking."
Fu Huaiqing smiled helplessly, looking at her radiant expression as she chattered on and on. It was clear that she had been holding back for a long time and didn't know who to talk to, and now that she saw Ji Ran, she burst out with bitterness.
"But I didn't take a giant leap to the point of being in love all at once. Does he still dare to say he's in love with me? Does he know I like handsome men?" Biezhi paused as she spoke.
To be fair, Prince Su's appearance was indeed top-notch. Her reasoning faltered instantly, and her confidence faltered: "Yes, he is indeed handsome, but does he know that his voice is really awful!"
Fu Huaiqing: "..."
He heard it, of course, since it was spoken so loudly.
Even if you pretend to be deaf, you can hear it perfectly clearly.
"That guy who gets lustful at first sight." She curled her lip. "Let's just sprinkle some mute-inducing drug on him and make him mute."
Fu Huaiqing, whose eyes held a slight smile, frowned slightly upon hearing this and glanced at her.
Biezhi was seething with anger. If she hadn't been afraid, she probably would have confronted him on the spot: "What is it about me that caught his eye? Can't I change it?"
Fu Huaiqing: "..."
Biezhi felt increasingly uneasy. Both Prince Su and her fake brother had expressed similar sentiments on the same day. She frowned and made a diagnosis: "It seems like neither of them is quite right in the head."
Fu Huaiqing, who was diagnosed with one of the mental disorders, looked slightly dazed. Although she didn't seem to mention him, every word she said was actually directed at him.
Fu Huaiqing wanted to pry open her brain to see where she was so sure that she was abnormal, that he was abnormal, and that her childhood friend was normal.
"Oh, and my senior brother too," Biezhi suddenly remembered.
In an instant, Fu Huaiqing felt a bit better, while she herself was quite downcast.
If he doesn't get along well with the other branches, they certainly won't get along well either.
Of course, if only one person can please you, it can only be him.
At this point, Biezhi was no longer indignant as before, but instead sighed deeply and said after a long while, "Wouldn't it be better to just be fellow disciples?"
“Compared to the two of them, I don’t know how to face my senior brother.” She tilted her head and rested it on her knees, glancing up at Ji Ran, whose eyes were fluctuating. She remained silent for a moment: “The two of them are strangers to me. In two and a half months, we’ll go our separate ways. But my senior brother is not.”
Her senior brother was like family to her, even though he wasn't.
"If I had known, I wouldn't have asked my senior brother to help investigate those people's whereabouts."
Bie Zhi's mind flashed to the wound on Jing Qing's arm. In Youxu Pavilion, his arm was as important as his life. If there were a regret pill that could turn back time, she would definitely take a handful.
She sighed again, "And it seems that the master has assigned him another task, and he is to leave the capital in two days."
Fu Huaiqing had indeed assigned a task to Jing Qing, which had been decided ten days ago. He looked at Bie Zhi, whose eyes had suddenly turned slightly down, and pursed his thin lips.
Once an order has been given, there is absolutely no reason to take it back.
He stared at her intently for a long while, pondering whether to postpone the mission for ten or fifteen days, when he saw her suddenly sit up straight.
Bechichi decided, "I will go see my master tomorrow."
Fu Huaiqing remained silent; he did not plan to go to Xianyun Tower tomorrow.
However, if she takes the initiative to seek him out.
It's not that he can't go there.
“Talk to the master about the task my senior brother is handling and see if it can be postponed for a while. If he doesn’t agree—” Biezhi pondered for a while and muttered to herself, “I might as well just kill him by crashing my head into his head.”
Fu Huaiqing's hand, which was resting on his lap, froze. He opened his mouth slightly, looking at her as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.
"That wicked profiteer!" Biezhi looked up at Jiran, who had been staring at her silently, and accused him: "My senior brother was away for nearly seven months last time. He finally finished his mission and returned to the capital. He should have had half a month to a month of rest, but he was assigned a mission again in less than ten days."
"He's utterly inhuman." She suddenly realized it was quite normal that her master hadn't married or had children. "How could an inhuman, unscrupulous merchant know how to treat women he likes? He must scare them away one by one."
"If I were the woman he liked, I wouldn't just be the first to run, I'd lead the others to run with me!"
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