Time Travel: Pampered by the Aloof Prince
Chapter 188: I Want to Take You Back to the Capital City

Chapter 188: Chapter 188: I Want to Take You Back to the Capital City

Shen Xiheng pressed further, "Have you already figured out how to... deal with this matter?"

Influenced by Qi Yu, even his speech had become much more circumspect.

Since the Empress could send an assassin here, there might still be her people in Gusu City.

They had to be cautious with their words; otherwise, they might give someone with ulterior motives the chance to accuse them of disrespecting the Empress.

Zhou Hong, who was not good with words, simply kept silent, staring eagerly at Qi Yu.

Qi Yu took a sip of tea, his gaze leisurely as he looked at them. "What are you looking at me for? I don’t have any solutions either."

Shen Xiheng didn’t believe him, "How can you not have a solution?"

Qi Yu spread his hands, "Really, I don’t."

The discussion couldn’t go on any further, so Zhou Hong excused himself first.

He still had to patrol the streets with the constables. After the assassin appeared, the citizens were in a panic. With no government officials in the city, he had to step in for now.

Once he left, Shen Xiheng looked at Qi Yu with a mocking expression. "Do you truly have no solution?"

Qi Yu didn’t fall for his trap, asserting, "I don’t."

"All right then." Shen Xiheng stood up disappointingly, about to leave, when Qi Yu called him back.

Qi Yu, supporting his chin with one hand, said lazily, "What exactly do you think of Shi Zhou?"

Shen Xiheng was taken aback, subconsciously denying, "Nothing at all."

Qi Yu raised an eyebrow; this man was truly stubborn to the extreme. Then he shouldn’t blame her for using a stratagem.

She feigned a sigh of relief, speaking cheerfully, "In that case, since I’m planning to send her away, you shouldn’t mind."

Shen Xiheng felt a sinking feeling, the smile finally unable to be maintained any longer, and he said deliberately, "Why would you send her away?"

Qi Yu did not immediately answer his question, but took a sip of tea instead. When he was nearly bursting with impatience, she slowly began, "A few days ago, the old village chief of Tuyun Village sent me a message, saying someone was coming to fetch her. I don’t want to cause trouble, so I can only let her go."

She pretended to be serious, but was inwardly laughing her head off.

Shen Xiheng gave her a sidelong glance, grinding his teeth, "Just to avoid offending Tuyun Village, you would heartlessly send her away?"

"Yes." Qi Yu nodded without any guilt.

To add credibility to her lie, she even pretended to analyze, "Right now, the Empress has kept Prince and me so preoccupied that if Tuyun Village joined the fray, even I, with all the power of the Qiyun Sword, couldn’t withstand it."

Having said that, she even sighed deeply, appearing to be in a difficult position.

Shen Xiheng never imagined she was just deceiving him. Upon hearing her words, he fell silent, his tone somewhat cold, "Back in Tuyun Village, she found you an antidote against the village chief’s orders, and after coming to Gusu, she saved you several times. How can you, out of concern for a fight with Tuyun Village, just hand her over?"

Speaking with such righteousness, Qi Yu almost couldn’t hold back her laughter.

It was rare for Shen Xiheng to be this serious; he must be extremely angry.

She looked up at him, still unruffled, countering, "Shi Zhou is my lifesaver. Once she returns to her village, I will naturally send people with gold and treasures. Constable Shen doesn’t need to trouble himself over this."

Shen Xiheng moved his lips, wanting to say something more, but Qi Yu interrupted, "Besides, she came to Gusu only for you. Even if I don’t send her off, once her heart is completely broken, she’ll leave on her own."

Her words were piercing, leaving Shen Xiheng speechless for a long while.

He seemed to realize for the first time that this girl, who had always clung to him, would leave as well.

But he couldn’t make her any promises.

Seeing him caught in his dilemma, Qi Yu remained silent, not interrupting.

After pondering by himself for quite some time, unable to come up with a better solution, he slowly began to speak, "You said you don’t even like her, yet you keep her hanging. That truly isn’t what a gentleman would do."

"I..." Shen Xiheng wanted to argue, but he had no valid point to make.

Qi Yu was right, but he had his own difficulties as well.

"My marriage isn’t for me to decide, even if... what difference would it make." Shen Xiheng said, somewhat flustered and infuriated.

With a mocking laugh, Qi Yu’s tone was full of derision, "Since that’s the case, there’s nothing more to say. You don’t have to worry about hurting her feelings. I will go and speak with her myself, let her give up on this once and for all."

As she said this, she actually stood up and headed towards the back courtyard.

Shen Xiheng quickly followed her, "Don’t!"

Qi Yu frowned at him, "Mr. Shen, what exactly do you want? Whether you like her or not is entirely up to you, why keep dragging this out?"

"It’s not like that, I don’t mean to..." Shen Xiheng felt like his head was about to explode.

Countless thoughts flashed through his mind. He had wanted to think things through slowly, but Qi Yu wasn’t going to give him that chance. She snorted coldly and continued to walk forward at a quick pace.

Qi Yu feigned anger, but inside she was thoroughly amused.

She knew Shen Xiheng wasn’t a scoundrel, nor did he intend to lead anyone on.

He just hadn’t dared to face his own heart, and being the second son of the Duke of Shen, the idea of being with Shi Zhou seemed as difficult as scaling the heavens.

Even if the Duke of Shen was open-minded, he would definitely not allow his son to marry a girl from a bandit’s lair.

This was the real concern holding Shen Xiheng back.

He couldn’t easily make promises, yet he couldn’t let go of his feelings.

Qi Yu was pushing him to make a decision sooner rather than later.

It’s all in human effort, how could one know it’s impossible without trying?

And the longer it dragged on, the more it would hurt both of them.

If it wasn’t meant to be, then it was better to end it sooner rather than later. In the future, they would both meet someone suitable.

Shen Xiheng couldn’t care less; he quickly ran in front of Qi Yu, blocking her path, and said with conviction, "I will go talk to her myself."

Qi Yu gave him a skeptical look, "Have you really thought this through?"

Shen Xiheng nodded his head, fearing she wouldn’t believe him, and said, "Although my parents might not agree at first, they are not rigid people. I am confident I can persuade them."

Seeing that he had made up his mind, Qi Yu stopped pressing him.

She stood still, watching Shen Xiheng’s fleeing figure.

Once he was out of sight, she finally allowed herself to laugh out loud.

In the backyard, Shi Zhou was packing her bags as Qi Yu had instructed.

She didn’t have much confidence, but Qi Yu was right; everything should come to an end.

She hefted her sack with her sword, intending to set it aside, when the door was pushed open from the outside.

Seeing that she had finished packing her bags, Shen Xiheng became anxious and quickly said, "I won’t let them take you away."

Shi Zhou’s expression froze, but she was always expressionless, only thawing like ice melting when she smiled; otherwise, her emotional state was unchanging.

Shen Xiheng didn’t notice anything amiss, stepped forward to take her sack, along with the Qiyun Sword, and tossed them aside, his expression earnest as he said, "I want to take you back to the capital city."