He could break the ropes binding him with his internal force, but she had to be untied using the usual methods, otherwise she would also be affected the moment the ropes were broken.
Seeing that he didn't answer, Wei Shuwan became even more certain that he was doing it on purpose, and her tone was already tinged with annoyance: "Then why did you pretend to have no other choice and make me painstakingly break it with a hairpin?"
"Furthermore, since you were able to untie it, why did you need to use... when you tore the handkerchief out of my mouth..."
She bit her lip, not uttering the word "mouth".
“I wasn’t pretending.” As Li Qingchen said this, he had completely untied the ropes binding her, turned around and threw away the ropes in his hands, his back to Wei Shuwan.
"You made up your mind all by yourself without ever asking me."
Wei Shuwan frowned, thinking this person was simply a scoundrel!
However, she could only mutter such words to herself and dared not say them out loud, both because he was the young prince and because he had ventured alone into the bandit's den to save her.
Thinking of the latter, Wei Shuwan's anger quickly dissipated, and she asked instead, "How did you know I had fallen into the hands of bandits? Even if you came to rescue me, why didn't you bring any men with you?"
Li Qingchen had already prepared his answer to these two questions and immediately began to speak: "After Yuan Que informed me, I anticipated that you would come to Niujia Village on your own. When I arrived at Niujia Village, I learned that the bandits had come down the mountain to plunder today and discovered a carriage engraved with the Wei family crest."
“Now that I’ve gotten involved in this matter, I naturally won’t stand idly by. However, it would be too difficult to force my way into the mountain stronghold with men. It would be better to go in alone and rescue you without anyone noticing.”
"Oh, I see... Then I'll take it."
Before Wei Shuwan could even utter the words "thank you," she was stunned by Li Qingchen's sudden turn and the solemn expression on his face. She stammered, wondering why Li Qingchen had suddenly become so stern.
At this moment, Li Qingchen's voice was filled with displeasure: "Now it's my turn to ask you! I have already promised to help you find out what happened to the Wei family twelve years ago, so why are you in such a hurry that you can't even wait a moment and insist on taking this risk all by yourself?"
"I..." Wei Shuwan's momentum immediately deflated, and she lowered her head somewhat guiltily, but dared not say what was on her mind.
Her reaction earned her a cold laugh from Li Qingchen. "Does that mean you don't trust me? If you don't trust me, why do you need my help?"
Wei Shuwan bit her lower lip hard, initially not wanting to say a word, but after holding back, she couldn't help but say, "I naturally trusted you before, but now..."
She stopped mid-sentence and continued biting her lower lip.
"How is it now?" Li Qingchen pressed.
But this time, Wei Shuwan was clearly determined not to say anything.
Receiving no response, Li Qingchen nodded: "Alright, I won't force you if you don't want to talk. I've already rescued you. Since the trust between us is gone, let's go our separate ways."
After saying that, Li Qingchen indeed took a step and left.
He was incredibly agile; with a single step, he leaped more than ten paces away. Wei Shuwan was so startled that she stood up: "Li Qingchen, wait for me!"
In her haste, she forgot about social status and called out his name as she lifted her skirt and chased after him.
Li Qingchen only wanted to scare her; he certainly wouldn't really leave her alone in this dark, deep mountain. Seeing that she was scared, he stood on a rock and silently waited for her to catch up.
He turned around, looking down at the panting Wei Shuwan and asked, "What, you want to talk now?"
Wei Shuwan looked up and met his dark gaze. A hint of emotion appeared in her clear eyes. "You know that Princess Yun'an has always regarded me as a thorn in her side."
"So what?" What business is it of his?
Wei Shuwan seemed aggrieved: "The Qiaochuan Prince's Mansion and the Jing Prince's Mansion are about to merge into one family. How can I be sure you won't help me when she tries to deal with me again? I don't even know if you're friend or foe. How can I trust you?"
"The Prince of Qiaochuan's Mansion and the Prince of Jing's Mansion have merged into one family?" Li Qingchen was initially confused, but then suddenly realized what was going on and raised an eyebrow: "Last time at Tianxiang Tea House, you really did eavesdrop on our conversation?"
"How can it be considered eavesdropping?" Wei Shuwan felt no guilt at all when the matter was brought up, and defended herself emphatically: "You were the one who arranged to meet me there. My appearance was reasonable. Princess Yun'an was the one who appeared unexpectedly!"
A smile appeared in Li Qingchen's eyes; it turned out it was about this matter.
He calmly sized her up for a few moments: "How much did you hear?"
Wei Shuwan looked away, her tone somewhat defiant: "Anyway, I heard everything I should and shouldn't have heard!"
That's good, he was afraid she would just hear one sentence and take it out of context without knowing the whole story.
“Since you heard everything, you should know that I said I wanted to marry more than just her.”
Upon hearing this, Wei Shuwan felt even angrier and let out two cold laughs.
“Young Prince, you are being a bit too sentimental. I know that your Qiaochuan Prince’s Mansion has a tradition of having three palaces and six courtyards, but not all women in this world are as obedient and compliant as they are. There are always a few who are clear-headed and strong-willed, who do not like to follow the crowd and do not like to spend their days competing for favor with other women in the backyard.”
After listening calmly, Li Qingchen nodded as if in agreement: "But this clear-headed and strong-willed woman is a bit too obtuse. She can't even tell that her words were just meant to provoke someone to leave."
Wei Shuwan blinked rapidly twice with her lowered eyelashes. It wasn't that she didn't understand the meaning behind Li Qingchen's words, but some words, once spoken, are easy to cause estrangement, even if she knew that the other person didn't mean it that way.
But she couldn't quite explain why she was so bothered by it.
She lowered her head slightly to avoid looking at Li Qingchen, but she could feel his heavy gaze on her head. She felt that if the topic continued, she would only become more insecure, so she thought for a moment and brought the topic back to the previous one.
Suddenly raising her head slightly, she questioned Li Qingchen, who was standing on the rock, in a questioning tone: "So, Your Highness is such an upright and honorable gentleman? Then why did you hide your strength and treat me, a weak woman, so lightly when we were in the den of thieves?"
Li Qingchen's eyes held a smile: "You're saying I did it on purpose?"
"Otherwise what?" Having finally found out the other party's weakness, Wei Shuwan spoke with righteous indignation.
Li Qingchen did not argue with her. He simply leaped down the rock and appeared in front of her. Before she could react, he reached out and grabbed her slender waist, turned her around halfway, and pinned her against the rock wall where he had jumped down earlier!
"What are you doing?!" Wei Shuwan was so frightened that her face turned pale.
Li Qingchen still had a slight smile on his lips, but this smile looked a little evil at this moment: "I just want to prove to you that if I really wanted to take liberties with you, I wouldn't need so much scheming and conspiracy in this dark and windy wilderness."
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