Chapter 432 Dragon One (Second Update)
After the Crown Princess left Zhuque Street, she planned to return to the East Palace immediately. However, halfway there, the wheels of her carriage got stuck.
Although autumn is gradually cooling down, the sun is strong during the day, and the carriage is unbearably hot.
"Your Highness, there's a teahouse over there. Let's go sit down," Chunying said.
"Very well." The Crown Princess touched her cheek. Princess Xinyang's wound medicine was indeed very effective. The swelling on her cheek had actually subsided. Even so, she still wore a veil.
Chunying went to the counter and booked a quiet private room on the second floor.
As the Crown Princess was walking with Chunying down the corridor on the second floor, a hand suddenly reached out and pulled the Crown Princess into a private room!
The Crown Princess turned pale, gasped, and almost cried out in alarm.
"It's me."
The man put his arm around her waist and stroked the veil on her cheek with his fingertips.
The Crown Princess gave him a cold look, pushed him away, and pulled herself out of his embrace.
Prince Ning was not annoyed by the rejection. He smiled, walked to a chair, sat down, and pointed to the chair next to him, saying, "Aren't you going to sit?"
The Crown Princess turned to look at Chunying, but the door had already been closed.
It goes without saying who closed it.
The Crown Princess's icy gaze fell upon him: "You bribed Chunying?"
The first time behind the artificial hill, he also needed to knock Chunying unconscious, and then give false testimony for Wenyang's incident, which she thought was a threat to Chunying.
Prince Ning spread his hands: "I did not bribe her. She worked for me willingly. If you don't believe me, call her in and ask her in person."
The Crown Princess chuckled and said, "Where would she find the courage to tell the truth?"
This man is terrifying; even she is afraid of him, let alone Chunying, who comes from a humble background as a maid.
Prince Ning looked at her with amusement: "Are you not coming over here? Are you waiting for me to carry you over?"
A hint of mockery flashed in the Crown Princess's eyes: "What? Didn't Princess Ning satisfy you?"
Prince Ning's expression changed instantly, a chilling aura flashing across his face: "Don't involve her in our affairs."
The Crown Princess felt a chill run down her spine, gave him a cold and stubborn glare, and turned her face away.
Prince Ning released his grip, returned to his chair, and glanced at the person beside him out of the corner of his eye: "Come and sit down."
The Crown Princess walked over and sat down expressionlessly.
Prince Ning's gaze swept over her wrist beneath her wide sleeves, and he asked, "Are you injured?"
The Crown Princess remained silent.
Prince Ning took her wrist and held it carefully and lovingly in his palm. Seeing that she had applied medicine, he asked, "How did this happen?"
The Crown Princess's anger flared instantly. She turned to him, her eyes blazing. "How did this happen? You really want to know how? Fine, I'll tell you. It was the daughter of the Marquis of Ding'an who did it! That's right, that Doctor Gu who grew up in the countryside, repeatedly embarrassed me, and was favored by the Empress Dowager! She suspected that Xiao Heng's disappearance was related to me! So she injured me! Not only was my wrist injured, but my whole body is covered in wounds! You have the guts to ask, do you have the guts to avenge me?!"
Prince Ning was silent for a moment, then suddenly laughed: "Why are you arguing with a child?"
The Crown Princess frowned slightly: "The child?"
Prince Ning smiled and said, "She's still young and inevitably a bit naive. I will clear your name and make sure she no longer suspects you."
The Crown Princess, enraged and humiliated, retorted, "It wasn't me! It was you!"
Prince Ning chuckled and gently massaged her wrist, saying, "Alright, alright, it's my fault. I've dragged you into this."
The Crown Princess angrily pulled her hand back: "If you want to make me happy, then go and kill her!"
Prince Ning pulled her hand again: "Are you saying hurtful things again? Princess Ning needs her because of her illness, and the Empress Dowager needs her too."
The Crown Princess bit her lip: "Yes, you all need her, but you don't need me! Then why are you coming to me? You go back to being your Prince Ning, and I'll be my Crown Princess. From now on, we'll keep to ourselves and never see each other again!"
"Are you really that angry?" Prince Ning held her wrist with one hand and gently stroked her neck with the other. "Anything you want, except to avoid touching her, I will grant it to you."
The Crown Princess frowned, whether from dislike of his touch or his words, it was hard to tell: "Wasn't your storeroom emptied? Didn't you consider that she might have done it?" The fact that the Ning Prince's storeroom had been emptied was not publicized, but a few people still knew about it.
Prince Ning said, "It was her. I offended her first by burning down her workshop, so we're even now."
The Crown Princess chuckled and said, "To demand the entire treasury of Prince Ning's mansion as compensation for a mere workshop, Prince Ning is truly generous!"
Prince Ning looked at her with amusement: "So sour. It's just a small treasury, nothing special."
Yes, she's just a young lady from a minor noble family, nothing special. Why should I care so much?
She's not someone who hasn't seen her share of storms; she understands better than anyone that it's easy for someone to enjoy temporary glory, but true skill lies in maintaining it for a lifetime.
She is the Crown Princess and will be the Empress of Zhao in the future. She is the mother of the nation and has a noble status. She has no need to care about a little girl.
But why is it that she, who is usually so rational, can no longer maintain that composure?
The Crown Princess took a deep breath and said, "Now that you've offended her husband, you can't settle things amicably, and she'll come after you!"
Prince Ning said without any concern, "She can't touch me."
The Crown Princess looked at Prince Ning with a puzzled expression: "So you've just been tolerating her all this time?"
Prince Ning removed her veil and gently stroked her cheek with his fingertips: "Linlang, don't be unreasonable."
The Crown Princess turned her head away, avoiding his hand, and said irritably, "I'm not being unreasonable."
The Prince of Ning's smile faded. He grabbed her chin, forcing her to turn her head. The tenderness in his eyes vanished, replaced by a coldness and ruthlessness: "Fine, you want to kill her. Is it because she offended you, or because she married Xiao Heng?"
The Crown Princess froze.
...
When the Crown Princess returned to the East Palace, the Crown Prince greeted her anxiously: "Linlang, where have you been? Hey? What happened to your face?"
The Crown Princess's face had actually recovered long ago, but the Crown Prince still noticed something was off. Perhaps only this man in the world cared about her so much.
Before the Crown Princess could answer, the Crown Prince rolled up her sleeve and exclaimed in surprise, "Your hand!"
The Crown Princess said without changing her expression, "I accidentally tripped and fell."
"Where did you fall?" the crown prince asked, his heart aching with worry.
The Crown Princess smiled and said, "In Princess Xinyang's courtyard."
"You went to visit your aunt?" the Crown Prince muttered. "Why did you go to your aunt's again? Didn't I tell you to rest and recuperate properly in the Eastern Palace? Aren't you in pain?"
Princess Xinyang was the emperor's younger sister. Before she got married, the crown prince called her aunt.
Later, she married Marquis Xuanping, who was also the Crown Prince's maternal uncle, so the Crown Prince began to address her as "Auntie".
The Crown Princess said softly, "My uncle hasn't returned to the capital, and my aunt is all alone. I'm worried about her. The medicine has already been applied, and it doesn't hurt anymore."
The Crown Prince took her hand in his, blew on it tenderly, and said, "You're just too considerate of others. When will you ever think of me? I went out to look for Xiao Liulang all night and I'm exhausted. When I came back, I still couldn't find you. I'm so heartbroken."
The Crown Princess looked ashamed and said, "It was my fault. I will be more careful next time."
In fact, the Crown Princess was not as free as the princesses outside the palace. It was only because the Crown Prince and His Majesty trusted her that they gave her the right to leave the palace freely.
"Is there still no news of Xiao Liulang?" she asked casually.
The Crown Prince was preoccupied with her injuries and did not notice the unusual expression on her face. He replied, "No, the Imperial Guards suspect that Xiao Liulang has been taken back to the capital again. The only people who entered the city that day without being checked were Minister Zhao of the Ministry of Works and my aunt, but both of them said they did not see Xiao Liulang."
"aunt?"
The Crown Princess suddenly thought of the men's clothes that Yu Jin had hung out to dry, and the tightly closed bedroom of Princess Xinyang.
Could it be... that Xiao Liulang was still saved by Princess Xinyang?
If that's the case, then it's not hard to explain why Prince Ning and the Crown Prince searched almost the entire capital but couldn't find any trace of Xiao Liulang.
Why did Princess Xinyang keep it a secret? Was she worried that if one plan failed, the other side would try another?
Gu Jiao must have known about it.
She didn't come to treat Princess Xinyang's illness, but because Xiao Liulang was there.
Looking back now, Yu Jin's words are truly laughable.
She kept calling him Doctor Gu and saying she was closer to the princess, but in the end, she even kept Xiao Liulang's whereabouts a secret from him.
The Crown Princess clenched the handkerchief in her hand.
The Crown Prince clearly sensed the change in the Crown Princess's aura, and he looked at her with concern: "Linlang, what's wrong? Your face suddenly looks terrible."
The Crown Princess closed her eyes briefly: "It's nothing, I'm just tired."
The prince hurriedly said, "Then I'll help you back to your room to rest."
Meanwhile, on the other side, Gu Jiao, who had been sitting on the wall for a full hour and was almost roasted into a small salted fish, was finally picked up by Long Yi.
Gu Jiao opened her mouth, exhaled a puff of black smoke, and said expressionlessly, "From now on, if the princess gets angry again, please let me face her wrath directly."
Gu Jiao strongly suspected that Long Yi's proficiency stemmed from having taught Xiao Heng to do the same thing when they were children.
But she suspected that Xiao Heng's need to stay outside for so long wasn't because Princess Xinyang would really be angry for that long, but simply because little Xiao Heng was being mischievous and wanted to run wild outside all the time!
"You've been scammed, do you know that?"
Gu Jiao looked at him with a resentful expression, "Your little master is a little rascal."
Long Yi did not react.
"I'm so hungry." She was starving after being baked by the sun for so long.
There happened to be a scallion pancake stall nearby, so Gu Jiao bought two. These pancakes should be eaten while they're hot, otherwise they'll harden if you take them home, so she didn't bring any for Xiao Liulang and Princess Xinyang.
"Ten coins in total," the vendor said.
Gu Jiao took out a copper coin from her purse and handed it to him. She then took the scallion pancake and gave one to Long Yi.
Long Yi caught it in his hand, but didn't eat it.
Gu Jiao took a bite of the crispy scallion pancake and looked at him strangely: "Why aren't you eating?"
By the way, I haven't seen Long Yi eat anything yet.
This big guy always wears a mask and seems to never take it off.
Gu Jiao thought for a moment and said to Long Yi, "Let's eat on the rooftop, no one will see us."
Long Yi took Gu Jiao to the rooftop.
The angle was perfect; they could see the people on the street, but the people on the street couldn't see them.
“A mask,” Gu Jiao said to him.
Long Yi did not react.
Gu Jiao paused, then reached out to remove his mask.
Just before they were about to meet, she could feel Long Yi lean back slightly, a subconscious movement to avoid the impact.
But he didn't look up too much.
Gu Jiao hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Should I pick it?"
This time, when she touched Ryuichi's mask again, Ryuichi did not dodge at all.
Gu Jiao removed Long Yi's mask.
Gu Jiao had met the Emperor's Dragon Shadow Guards before and thought that Long Yi was like them, with a rather frightening appearance. But when she saw Long Yi's appearance clearly, her eyes widened in shock.
What happened to the promise of being unremarkable in appearance?
Isn't he a little too handsome?
He had long, narrow phoenix eyes, thick eyebrows that slanted upwards to his temples, and resolute features; his entire face exuded an extreme coldness.
However, he didn't have any tattoos on his face.
Gu Jiao grunted and said, "Long Yi, where's your tattoo? Don't all the Dragon Shadow Guards have tattoos?"
Long Yi, of course, did not respond.
"Then, you can have the pancake." Gu Jiao handed him the scallion pancake.
Long paused for three seconds, then took the scallion pancake and ate it expressionlessly.
Fifteen minutes later.
Gu Xiaojizai Jiao: "Don't pinch me! Don't pinch me! I'll throw up!"
The two returned to Zhuque Street only to learn that Princess Xinyang had actually returned to her residence.
No wonder that old woman was in such a hurry to clean the room; Princess Xinyang had returned, and they had just missed her.
Gu Jiao went to Xiao Liulang's bedroom. Xiao Liulang had already gotten out of bed. He was wearing clothes that Long Yi had brought him from the princess's residence. The clothes were obviously too small for a fourteen-year-old and looked somewhat comical.
"Are your clothes dry? If they are, please bring them in for me." After speaking to the maid, he turned around and saw Gu Jiao and Long Yi at the door.
"No need to pack, I brought clothes." Gu Jiao took a bundle from her small basket, took out a set of his clothes, and handed them to him. "Are your hands okay? Do you want me to help you?"
Xiao Liulang said, "No need, I can change it myself."
Gu Jiao: "Oh."
...I really want to change it for you.
Gu Jiao went to the courtyard to wait for him.
Long Yi didn't go out; he stared straight at Xiao Liulang's right leg.
The first time Long Yi saw Xiao Liulang in the woods, Xiao Liulang suddenly rushed over, and Long Yi didn't notice how he was walking.
At this moment, Long Yi seemed to finally realize that his leg was lame.
Long Yi knelt down on one knee to examine his legs and feet.
"Long Yi!"
Xiao Liulang stepped back.
Long Yi looked up at him.
His eyes seemed somewhat lost and confused.
Suddenly, Long Yi stood up and darted away.
A short while later, he darted back in.
Gu Jiao was standing at the door, her eyes squinting from the two gusts of wind that Long Yi had whipped up.
Long Yi brought over a large pile of wound medicine. He pressed Xiao Liulang down into a chair, bent his strong and tall body, knelt on one knee again, opened the bottles and jars, and applied the medicine to Xiao Liulang.
Apply a kind of medicine to make Xiao Liulang move.
When Xiao Liulang was a child, he was a big conman. He would pretend to be seriously injured after falling down, and trick Long Yi into applying medicine to him and taking him out to play.
He never imagined that one day he wouldn't have to lie to Long Yi anymore.
He really will never get better.
(End of this chapter)
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