Time Travel: Pampered by the Aloof Prince
Chapter 176: Don’t Want to Drink, or Don’t Dare to Drink?

Chapter 176: Chapter 176: Don’t Want to Drink, or Don’t Dare to Drink?

Mrs. Xie’s earth-shattering cry startled Gu Jun, who quickly stepped forward and asked, "What’s wrong? Who has bullied you?"

Seeing that he still cared for her, Mrs. Xie’s anger dissipated somewhat.

Leaning into Gu Jun’s embrace, she said softly, "I just had Zhirou make a cup of tea for the Princess, but not only did the Princess refuse to drink it, she also used this cup of tea to bully me!"

Gu Jun believed her and frowned disapprovingly.

Today was his birthday celebration, and anyone who crossed him was disrespecting him.

He turned to address Qi Yu, but Gu Fengmian stopped him with just a look.

Gu Fengmian approached Qi Yu with his cane, consoling her, "My dear granddaughter, don’t be afraid. With this old man around, no one can bully you!"

Qi Yu felt a warmth in her heart as her grandfather unconditionally supported her, and Gu Jue also took a timely stance, "I would like to see who dares to spout such falsehoods."

Gu Ting found himself in an awkward position, caught between his parents and his grandfather.

Unable to please either side, he could only stand silently to one side.

After a glare from Gu Fengmian, Gu Ting sheepishly moved over.

Gu Jun, with a headache, said, "Father, what are you doing?"

Gu Fengmian tapped his cane and huffed, "Yuyu is my granddaughter and your niece. How can you side with an outsider?"

At the word "outsider," Mrs. Xie felt so enraged that her nose could have been askew.

Although Gu Jun also felt unhappy, with Mrs. Xie’s cries and sobs seeming pitiful, his internal balance unconsciously tipped in her favor.

Qi Yu didn’t waste words with this uncle, who couldn’t see Mrs. Xie’s true nature, and said with a cold laugh, "What did I do? I merely offered the concubine this cup of tea."

Gu Jun spoke in a heavy tone, "Why did you do that?"

Qi Yu smiled dismissively, "What if I said that something has been added to this cup of tea, Uncle—would you believe me?"

"Something added?" Gu Jun looked baffled.

Mrs. Xie and Zhirou’s faces, however, suddenly changed.

Everyone else was similarly astonished—they had originally thought Qi Yu was just making things difficult for Mrs. Xie, but now a plot was uncovered.

Qi Yu picked up the tea from Zhirou’s hand and said indifferently, "It’s been spiked with aphrodisiac powder."

"What?" Gu Jun asked incredulously.

Gu Fengmian looked at Mrs. Xie with disgust, and Gu Jue frowned.

Setting aside why Mrs. Xie would use an aphrodisiac on Qi Yu, the mere fact that she possessed such powder was horrifying enough.

Gu Ting hung his head, his thoughts inscrutable.

Shi Zhou glanced at him and found his reaction odd.

While everyone else was shocked, he seemed relatively unfazed.

It was as if he had always known that Mrs. Xie possessed such a thing as aphrodisiac powder.

Mrs. Xie’s face went pale, but she kept muttering, "You’re slandering me!"

Qi Yu chuckled scornfully and looked straight at her, "If the tea is untainted, then drink it, concubine."

Mrs. Xie looked panic-stricken and dared not accept the cup of tea.

Even as Gu Jun was blinded by beauty, he could now see that something was off.

He took the tea from Qi Yu’s hand and said with a furrowed brow, "If that’s the case, then drink the tea."

If Mrs. Xie could not prove her innocence, she would be subject to gossip.

Moreover, it would also affect his reputation.

Thinking of this, Gu Jun’s expression grew colder.

Mrs. Xie swallowed hard, her eyes filled with panic as she forced a smile and said, "My lord, I... I don’t want to drink this tea."

Qi Yu chuckled lightly, his gaze as piercing as icy blades as he enunciated, "Is it that you don’t want to drink, or that you don’t dare to drink?"

Being ridiculed by a junior made Gu Jun feel that he had lost face, and he forcefully stuffed the tea into Mrs. Xie’s hands, "Enough with the nonsense, drink the tea quickly."

The longer this farce dragged on, the more disadvantageous it was for him.

Mrs. Xie’s hand trembled, and she glanced guiltily to the side.

She might as well smash the tea to the ground— that way, there’d be no evidence left behind.

As she thought about it, she intended to pretend she hadn’t held on securely, then naturally let the teacup fall and smash.

But before she could act, Qi Yu gave Shi Zhou a look.

Shi Zhou moved swiftly, catching the teacup that had nearly been knocked from Mrs. Xie’s trembling hand, then took the cup in her other hand, pressed it to Mrs. Xie’s lips, and poured it into her mouth without another word.

"Cough cough— " Mrs. Xie choked, a series of coughs escaping her.

Once she realized she had swallowed the tea, she tried to spit it out.

But the tea was already in her stomach, and no matter how much she coughed, it was no use.

Shi Zhou had poured half a cup into her, and soon, Mrs. Xie felt a burning heat coursing through her body.

Enduring the waves of heat within her, she gritted her teeth and said to Qi Yu, "I’ve already drunk the tea."

Seeing her expression, Qi Yu knew she was trying her hardest to endure, and the effects of the drug must have begun to take hold.

Gu Jun, watching Mrs. Xie’s pathetic state, asked in dissatisfaction, "Is this how you treat your elders?"

Qi Yu, having lost all affection for this uncle who couldn’t distinguish right from wrong, replied indifferently, "In what way is she an elder to me?"

Gu Jun was speechless with anger, pointing at her and saying, "You—"

Qi Yu cut him off, speaking first, "Uncle doesn’t know people well, allowing her to affront grandfather, and even plotting against me."

Gu Jun frowned, clearly disagreeing with her words.

But Qi Yu couldn’t be bothered with him, and scoffed coldly, asking indifferently, "Does uncle think that because the Prince isn’t here, you can bully me as you please?"

Since Qi Yu hadn’t been putting on airs before, Gu Jun had almost forgotten her status as a Princess.

Moreover, the Qi Prince was not someone easy to provoke.

Gu Jun was taken aback, unable to speak.

Gu Ting, unable to bear it, looked away and sighed before advising, "Father, let the concubine apologize to the Princess."

While the Qi Prince hadn’t yet come knocking, if they apologized now, Qi Yu might let it go on account of them being relatives.

But Gu Jun felt as if he had been slapped in public.

Having been proud all his life, bowing his head was impossible.

Mrs. Xie was still struggling to suppress the burning heat in her body, and upon hearing Gu Ting’s words, she cursed, "You won’t stand by me and your father, and now you’re speaking up for an outsider!"

Gu Ting hung his head low, speechless for a moment.

Gu Jun looked at Mrs. Xie and seeing that her complexion still seemed normal, he felt reassured and said to Qi Yu, "The tea has been drunk, yet we see no signs of the aphrodisiac powder you spoke of. Shouldn’t the Princess give us an explanation?"

Mrs. Xie’s hands, hidden inside her sleeves, twisted tightly together; her face flushed, her lips clamped shut.

Glancing at Mrs. Xie, Qi Yu said lazily, "What’s uncle in such a hurry for? Just wait a bit longer, and we’ll know whether there was something in the tea."

To be able to hold out until now, one had to admit, Mrs. Xie was indeed ruthless.

Gu Jun watched her with a look of dissatisfaction, "How much longer do we need to wait?"

Qi Yu curved her lips in a smile, looked past him at Mrs. Xie, and silently counted to three in her mind.

Gu Jun, growing impatient, took a couple of steps forward, about to say something, when suddenly he heard a noise behind him of someone falling to the ground.