Time Travel: Pampered by the Aloof Prince
Chapter 189: Discovered Some Interesting Things

Chapter 189: Chapter 189: Discovered Some Interesting Things

Shi Zhou heard these words and froze in her expression.

Had she heard wrong?

But to Shen Xiheng, her reaction meant that she was already disappointed in him and did not believe his words.

He hurriedly said, "Everything I’m saying is true, I will definitely convince my parents, and once we arrive at the capital city, I... I will go propose to the village chief!"

Shi Zhou felt like she had been struck, with waves of tingling numbness radiating through the tip of her heart.

For the first time in her life, she couldn’t stay calm and said with a trembling voice, "Everything you’re saying is true?"

Shen Xiheng nodded, "Yes, it’s true. I’ve made up my mind, I want to be with you."

Shi Zhou pursed her lips, slightly lowered her gaze, and her ears were thoroughly red, yet her tone remained relatively calm, even carrying a hint of threat, "You can’t go back on your word, or I won’t let you off."

Shen Xiheng smiled, like the light of April’s spring, making the somewhat dark room brighten up, and Shi Zhou couldn’t help but be somewhat dazzled by it.

His tone was gentle, yet very firm, "I won’t go back on my word."

Shi Zhou sniffled, and for some reason, although it was a good thing, she felt an overwhelming urge to cry.

Perhaps she had subconsciously overlooked that during this time, her emotions had not been so stable.

In her midnight reveries, she would also be anxious and restless, tossing and turning at the thought of whether Shen Xiheng might like her.

She was strong and composed, almost forgetting that she was just fifteen years old, at the age where love blossoms for the first time, prone to worry and feel insecure.

But fortunately, it seemed that the bitterness had finally led to sweetness.

Not wanting to cry, she buried herself into Shen Xiheng’s chest and hugged his waist, her voice muffled, "You can’t lie to me."

Finally showing a bit of a capricious demeanor, Shen Xiheng looked down, raised his hand to touch her soft hair, and patiently promised again, "I won’t lie to you."

Though he appeared frivolous, deep down, he had always been steadfast in love, devoted to one person for a lifetime.

It was just that he had been unlucky before, never meeting the right person.

Now he knew that fate had already decided, and he had been captured by a girl as radiant as the morning sun and as sharp as a blade.

From then on, willingly, his eyes and heart could only hold one person.

Qi Yu secretly listened from outside the door for a long time, and finally hearing the good news, she walked away satisfied.

It wasn’t for nothing that she had exerted so much effort to stage that drama.

Back in her room, she told Li Mingjue about it, not forgetting to boast about herself, "If not for me, with Shen Xiheng’s wooden head, would he have figured things out so quickly? By the time he got it, she might have already run away without a trace."

Li Mingjue quietly listened to her self-praise, not bursting her bubble about her enjoyment of the drama.

After chatting idly for a bit, they quickly returned to serious matters.

Qi Yu said, "The situation with Commander Zhou is relatively easy to handle; after all, he wouldn’t dare to arrest the Empress. If we can get past that, it would be playing right into his hands."

Li Mingjue nodded slightly, continuing her line of thought, "Commander Zhou is upright and has my father’s full trust. But if he wants to survive in the capital city, mere loyalty is far from enough."

Qi Yu naturally understood this principle.

The officialdom is like a battlefield, the only difference being that in the officialdom, killing does not require a blade, nor does it result in bloodshed, but amidst the clinking of wine cups, destinies have already been overturned.

Without going into distant examples, a recent one would be Song Ling, who serves as the best illustration.

Having gone through this ordeal, he too has lost faith in holding office. He regarded himself as upright and just, but those like him are, after all, few and far between.

Most people linger in a grey area of ambiguity. Some aim to keep themselves safe, while others struggle for a better future—all for their own sake.

Those rare officials who truly have the common people’s needs at heart are even scarcer. Not to mention the capital city, even the prosperous lands of Jiangnan fail to nurture one.

Three days later, Li Mingjue was finally allowed by Qi Yu to go outside and move around.

His wound had healed long ago, but his body had been weakened. After a few days of recuperation, he slowly returned to his pre-injury state.

Qi Yu personally took his pulse before she felt relieved. Every day, she made sure Li Mingjue took his medicine and had to think of ways to coax the servants into buying pastries, gradually enticing him to drink the bitter concoction.

Perhaps Li Mingjue himself found it somewhat embarrassing to admit his aversion to the bitterness. Except for Qi Yu, he did not allow anyone else to enter the room when it was time for his medicine.

Even Zhou Hong and Shen Xiheng had to report their matters after he leisurely finished his medicine before they could step inside.

Just after noon, news from the capital city arrived. Qi Yu grabbed the carrier pigeon and retrieved the secret message from under its leg.

Upon reading it, she almost laughed out loud. She said to Li Mingjue, "A letter from the capital city says Noble Consort An has offended Noble Consort Wan. His Majesty was enraged and has placed Noble Consort An under house arrest again."

She hadn’t expected An Ruoya to fall into such straits again without keeping quiet.

She burned the secret message and watched it turn to ash, grinding the tips of her fingers, where traces of ink seemed to linger still.

Li Mingjue was not surprised, "An Ruoya has grown accustomed to throwing her weight around. It would be truly suspicious if she were to lead a quiet life all of a sudden."

Qi Yu nodded and then pondered while touching her chin, "However, I didn’t expect Princess Lingya to be someone not easily provoked. I guess, in this matter, An Ruoya is at most ten percent to blame. The remaining ninety percent must be her own machinations."

Li Mingjue looked at her and asked with a rising tone, "Why do you think so?"

Qi Yu extended a finger and waved it in front of him, "Are you silly? Now that the Empress is pregnant, even if An Ruoya dislikes Princess Lingya, she wouldn’t target her. The one she hates the most must undoubtedly be the Empress, who sent her to the Cold Palace."

Li Mingjue hooked her finger and chuckled, "Although you, Princess, are not in the capital city, you see things clearer than anyone else."

Qi Yu’s mood brightened at his compliment. She entwined her pinky with his, made a pinky promise gesture, and laughed, "The harem is now like a play staged by three women. There’s no need to trouble a theater troupe at all."

She couldn’t help but laugh out loud at the thought of how flustered Li Tianze must be.

Li Mingjue lifted his other hand and tapped her forehead, "Father Emperor has not treated you poorly; yet you’re always hoping for his misfortune."

Qi Yu withdrew her hand and huffed, "He has only been good to you. When has he ever shown me a kind face?"

Li Mingjue just shook his head helplessly at her words, not offering an argument.

The topic ended there, and Qi Yu remembered another matter, telling Li Mingjue, "These past few days, I’ve had Nanxing secretly watch every move of Ling Xiao and indeed discovered something interesting."

"What is it?" asked Li Mingjue, sensing nothing good from her sly smile.

Qi Yu, not to be left out, scratched her two fingers under his chin, intentionally irritating him, then slowly said, "According to her, Ling Xiao has been trailing Cai Qin recently. She must have discovered some secret from that maid."