Time Travel: Pampered by the Aloof Prince
Chapter 167: Do You Want to Make a Bet with Me?

Chapter 167: Chapter 167: Do You Want to Make a Bet with Me?

After leaving Tuyun Village, Qi Yu and her two companions had been traveling for several days and finally arrived in Gusu by the end of April.

Zhou Hong had been waiting outside the city gates early, accompanied by Gu Jingping.

Gu Jingping remembered waking up in the inn that day to find that the group had already disappeared without a trace, which left him feeling somewhat lost.

Although they had met by chance, he had already come to consider these people as friends.

After returning to Gusu, he had even pleaded with his father to send people out to look for them several times but to no avail.

It was not until ten days ago, when Zhou Hong suddenly showed up at the Gu Residence, that he learned the true identities of these people.

Especially realizing that Qi Yu was actually a woman, and moreover the Princess, he felt incredibly embarrassed.

Before, he had almost misunderstood her relationship with Li Mingjue.

Fortunately, both the Prince and Princess were magnanimous people; otherwise, having an extra head wouldn’t be enough to spare him from the consequences.

"Big Brother Zhou, they’ve arrived!" Gu Jingping, with sharp eyes, spotted the three people riding horses in the distance and said to Zhou Hong.

Zhou Hong went forward to greet them and paid his respects to all three.

After entering the city, Gu Songhua, along with his entire family, paid their respects in front of the government office.

He personally led them to the accommodations that had been prepared, "The Prince, Princess, and Master Shen must be exhausted from the long journey. I will not disturb you today. Tomorrow, I will arrange a reception to wash away the dust of the road."

Having said this, he retired with great respect.

But Gu Jingping refused to leave. He insisted on finding out where they had been these past few days.

After the group rested briefly, Gu Jingping took them to the largest restaurant in Gusu City and ordered all the specialty dishes.

Qi Yu had no appetite as she looked at the dazzling array of dishes.

She still remembered being poisoned after eating a piece of osmanthus sugar lotus root that day.

Seeing her not touching her chopsticks, Li Mingjue guessed her concerns and chuckled softly, whispering, "Don’t worry, I’ve had Shiqi keep an eye on the food."

Qi Yu raised her eyebrows slightly, and since he had assured her, it surely wouldn’t be a problem.

She relaxed and picked up a few chopsticks’ worth of squirrel mandarin fish, which tasted just as she remembered.

"After not seeing you for a few days, why does Brother Shen look so pale?" After the meal, Gu Jingping couldn’t help but blurt out the question that had been on his mind since they entered the city.

Qi Yu glanced at him without saying anything.

However, Zhou Hong commented in a calm tone, "Master Shen has sustained some injuries."

He had refrained from disclosing the entire incident, which was in fact saving Shen Xiheng some face.

Gu Jingping wasn’t a fool; hearing Zhou Hong’s comment, he immediately guessed they must have encountered some serious trouble.

Considering their special status, he knew he had misspoken and quickly laughed it off.

Shen Xiheng looked pale and seldom spoke during the meal, only occasionally adding a comment or two, and it was obvious to everyone that his mind was elsewhere.

Qi Yu tugged at Li Mingjue’s sleeve and leaned in to whisper, "Shall we make a bet?"

"What kind of bet?" Li Mingjue asked, curious.

Qi Yu let out a heh-heh laugh, raised her eyebrows, and said, "Let’s bet whether Miss Shi will show up in front of us within a few days."

Li Mingjue pondered for a moment before asking, "What’s the stake?"

Qi Yu was taken aback, as she hadn’t actually thought about that.

She looked outside the window, where the twilight was dimming and the city was lit up with decorative lights. Along the riverbank, boats were moored.

An idea suddenly came to her, and with a sly twinkle in her eye, she said, "If I win, the Prince has to grant me a wish, and vice versa."

"Agreed." Li Mingjue saw her mischievous smile and snorted softly.

Each of them shared their thoughts, and Qi Yu felt that within three days, Shi Zhou would surely arrive at Gusu.

But Li Mingjue thought that Shi Fuyou would definitely not let Shi Zhou leave the mountain easily, and said, "After three days, ten days at most."

After finishing their tea, Gu Jingping, fearing they were too tired from their journey, did not suggest any other leisure activities.

However, Qi Yu, having taken some tonics at Tuyun Village for a few days, felt that her health had improved significantly.

Even though they had been traveling for several days, she didn’t feel very tired, truly Medicine King Valley lived up to its reputation.

She took Li Mingjue’s hand and headed toward the river, where many people were releasing lanterns.

In the past, she was a complete homebody, living in the soft affection of a wealthy neighborhood, rarely venturing out of her home’s gates.

Apart from going up the mountain to gather herbs, there was little to make her take a step outside.

Only now did she realize how much she had missed, and Qi Yu happily took out some silver to buy two lanterns.

Using a brush, they wrote wishes on the lanterns and let them float gently down the river.

In the shadows, Shiqi had to keep an eye on the Prince and Princess as well as watch Ling Xiao.

Ever since the day he unintentionally caught a glimpse of the naked killing intent in Ling Xiao’s eyes, an alarm had been ringing in his mind.

Although the Prince had not spoken explicitly, he had his suspicions.

Perhaps, the reason they couldn’t find the poisoner at the restaurant that day was because he had never suspected that person.

Ling Xiao, unaware she had been exposed, watched intently as the two walked side by side in the crowd, a trace of malice flashing through her eyes.

A few days earlier, in Tuyun Village, with guards everywhere, she couldn’t find the right opportunity.

She had endured until today and just moments ago, she tried to use her old trick again by putting the remaining Soft Muscle Powder into Qi Yu’s food.

But Shiqi had been monitoring the kitchen, preventing her from taking action.

With hatred growing deep within her, Ling Xiao could hardly restrain herself from pulverizing Qi Yu at the sight of her.

From the moment Li Mingjue had saved her, she had fallen deeply in love with him.

For many years, being a Hidden Guard and staying by the Prince’s side had been enough for her.

Until Qi Yu, the Princess sent as a funeral offering, entered the door, and for the first time, jealousy sprouted in Ling Xiao’s heart.

At first, she consoled herself by thinking the Prince didn’t care for the ugly, foolish Princess and was just keeping her at the Prince Residence for appearances.

But as time went on, things gradually changed, the Prince no longer maintained his aloof and proud demeanor, and anyone could see he truly cared for the low-born Princess.

Ling Xiao finally panicked.

So this time, when Li Mingjue assigned her to protect Qi Yu, she had made up her mind to get rid of this woman.

She had thought it would be easy since she had succeeded once before, but she hadn’t counted on Shi Zhou reviving that wretched Qi Yu.

Ling Xiao’s eyes coldly fixed on the silhouettes by the river, her hand gripping the knife tightening slightly.

Tuyun Village.

Shi Zhou, holding the Qiyun Sword, nagged at Shi Fuyou for a long while persuading him to let her leave the mountain.

Naturally, Shi Fuyou disagreed.

Shi Zhou hummed lightly and said with the sword in her embrace, "I have said what I wanted to, if you don’t agree, I will leave the mountain tomorrow anyway."

Shi Fuyou, so frustrated his head ached, pointed at this rebellious girl for a long while without saying a word.

As they were at an impasse, Zhou Ruhai suddenly walked in hurriedly.

Seeing his troubled expression, Shi Fuyou waved Shi Zhou away.

Zhou Ruhai handed over a sealed letter to him, saying gravely, "This is from the capital city."