Time Travel: Pampered by the Aloof Prince
Chapter 163: The Prince’s Heart is Indeed Cold as Ice

Chapter 163: Chapter 163: The Prince’s Heart is Indeed Cold as Ice

Li Mingjue heard her words and showed little reaction, his tone indifferent as he said, "If it truly was her who poisoned, I will not let her off."

Qi Yu clicked her tongue lightly and sighed, "Prince is indeed as cold-hearted as ice."

However, she was just teasing him. If Li Mingjue really dared to have any other thoughts, she would directly cripple him with her silver needles.

Li Mingjue gave her a glance and suddenly chuckled, teasing, "Who asked for a princess so capable that she has managed to keep the Prince’s heart so obediently in check."

Qi Yu blushed at his words and turned her head away, refusing to look at him.

She cleared her throat and spoke lightly, "Although I have my suspicions, I don’t want to wrong a good person. I’ll deal with her once I find the evidence."

Li Mingjue’s lips moved, but he did not say anything.

In his view, there was no need to be so polite to Ling Xiao, a Hidden Guard. Just capture her and search her, and they would surely find the remaining Soft Muscle Powder.

Even if they captured the wrong person, what did it matter? She was just a Hidden Guard after all.

But he also knew that Qi Yu had her principles, so he let her be.

"How do you plan to find the evidence?" Li Mingjue asked.

Qi Yu took a couple of sips of tea, her eyes shifting, and immediately came up with an idea. She winked at him, "Naturally, it’s a waiting game. She failed to poison me and surely wouldn’t let it go so easily."

Upon hearing this, Li Mingjue frowned, "No, that’s too dangerous!"

The last incident had already scared him enough. If something were to happen to Qi Yu again, his heart probably couldn’t take it.

Qi Yu patted the back of his hand to signal him not to worry, "Listen to me until the end. She’s also panicking right now, so her actions won’t be as meticulous as before. Moreover, now that we are on guard against her, it won’t be hard to catch her slip-ups."

Li Mingjue still found it risky, but Qi Yu laughed, "I’m not planning to take the risk personally. As long as Shiqi and Shen Nanxing keep a close watch on Ling Xiao’s actions and report anything unusual in time, won’t everything be fine?"

If it really was Ling Xiao who did it, then she would definitely harbor deep hatred towards her and would surely look for another opportunity.

Moreover, Qi Yu frowned slightly, considering how much Ling Xiao must hate her, to the point of resorting to poisoning.

She shook her head with a light sigh. Although she had no intention of harming others, there always seemed to be people out to get her.

Life was indeed fascinating.

After their talk, Li Mingjue secretly summoned Shiqi and Shen Nanxing separately. He didn’t directly mention the poisoning, simply instructing them to pay extra attention to Ling Xiao’s comings and goings and to report anything suspicious.

Of all this, Ling Xiao was completely unaware.

Upon arriving at the village, Shi Fuyou arranged accommodations for the three of them. Besides paying her respects to the Prince and Princess every morning, Ling Xiao rarely left her quarters.

Occasionally, she would go to the back mountain to practice her swordsmanship, taking out her frustration on the bamboo, imagining them as Qi Yu, and cutting them down with fierce Sword Qi.

That day, despite poisoning her victim, she had failed to kill her.

Ling Xiao was annoyed. Gasping for breath, she thought resentfully that she must find another good opportunity to finish the job in the next few days.

Otherwise, it would be difficult once they descended the mountain.

In Tuyun Village’s back mountain, Shi Zhou stood under an ancient tree, practicing the moves he had learned a few days ago with his sword.

He had few interests, and martial arts was one of them.

When he was younger and his mother was still alive, she had once thought of raising him to be a fine lady, befitting an Aristocratic Family. But whether it was needlework, women’s work, or studying and practicing writing, he had no patience for any of it and had managed to drive away several scholar-teachers from the mountain.

Eventually, Shi Fuyou realized that she simply wouldn’t mature into a gentle and virtuous lady, so he gave up on that notion.

He thought it quite straightforward; his sizable Tuyun Village should surely have no problem finding a man willing to marry in.

But what he had failed to predict was that Shi Zhou would take a liking to that Assistant Minister Shen from the capital city.

"Ruhai, what do you make of this, sigh, whatever shall we do!" In the study, Shi Fuyou sighed continuously with worry, "I never expected her to marry into a very wealthy household; all that mattered was someone she liked who could join our stronghold and provide mutual support. Yet, look at what she’s done!"

Zhou Ruhai felt helpless after listening to his complaints for several days.

If their young lady had taken a fancy to an average man, that would have been fine, as their poverty was of no consequence here—they didn’t concern themselves with matching social statuses.

But it had to be the son of Duke Shen, and moreover, the current Assistant Minister of Rites. Not to mention whether Shi Fuyou would agree to such a match, Duke Shen himself would never consent to it!

This truly was a dilemma.

"The best plan for now is to have a good talk with our young lady, and persuade her to give up," suggested Zhou Ruhai, seeing no other solution.

Shi Fuyou shook his head, "You know what her temper is like! She wouldn’t turn back even if she ran into a wall, let alone now when there’s not even the slightest connection."

Zhou Ruhai agreed deeply; he had watched Shi Zhou grow up. Her looks were as fine as those ladies from prominent families, but her temper left much to be desired.

The two men brooded in frustration for a long while, then suddenly, Zhou Ruhai had an idea and said to Shi Fuyou: "I think since our young lady has always lived in the village, she hasn’t seen many other men, which is why she fell for the first one she met. Why don’t we organize a martial contest for marriage? Not only will it show our young lady that there are better men out there, it could also settle her marriage."

"That’s not a bad idea, but I’m afraid she won’t agree to it," Shi Fuyou was still somewhat hesitant.

Zhou Ruhai waved his hand dismissively, "What’s there to fear? If we take the initiative and post notices at the foot of the mountain, she’ll have to comply when the time comes, whether she wants to or not."

After thinking it over for a while, Shi Fuyou finally nodded in agreement.

The two schemed throughout the day, and Zhou Ruhai composed the wording. Once the notice was written, they had someone sneak down to the villages below to post it.

The next morning, after a few caws from the roosters, the villagers shouldered their hoes and made for the fields.

Just as they reached the edge of the village, they saw a few robust men posting a white cloth. Recognizing the clothing of Tuyun Village, people steered clear of them.

Fortunately, the bandits left soon after, leaving only the solitary piece of white cloth, on which a few large characters were written in red ink.

The characters were written with power and flair, not at all like the handiwork of bandits.

However, not many in the village could read, and even if the writing was exquisite, they couldn’t appreciate it.

A passing scholar was promptly grabbed and asked to read the contents of the notice aloud for everyone to hear.

The scholar first glanced at the writing, inwardly praising the fine script, but his face turned ashen when he made out the actual message.

The notice stated that a martial contest for marriage would be held after Qingming Festival at the grain drying ground in the back hills.

Upon hearing this, families with sons in the village were horrified; no one wanted to send their hard-raised sons into the den of bandits to suffer.

Moreover, no one had ever seen Shi Fuyou’s daughter, and the rumors spreading were all unfavorable. It was said that the young lady was unruly, coarse by nature, conducted herself like a bandit, and was utterly unreasonable.

Even her appearance was a subject best left untouched.

Villagers gathered around the notice, took a few more looks, and walked away, shaking their heads and sighing.

Still, most people just took it as a joke, and didn’t take it seriously. The matter became a topic of after-dinner conversation, adding a bit more excitement to the village.

Meanwhile, at Tuyun Village, things were far from peaceful.