Time Travel: Pampered by the Aloof Prince
Chapter 199 Who Said I Was Alone Here?

Chapter 199: Chapter 199 Who Said I Was Alone Here?

Soon, a maid led Qi Yu to a small courtyard. Qi Yu glanced around the well-maintained courtyard and nodded in satisfaction.

Zhou Lanting, following behind, waited until the maid left and then asked in a lowered voice, "Princess, do you really intend to stay here?"

Qi Yu pushed open the door, saw that the room was fully furnished, sat down in a Taishi Chair, and casually pointed to the chair beside her, "Sit."

Zhou Lanting sat down absent-mindedly and heard Qi Yu slowly say, "If I don’t stay, how can I find Miss Su?"

"But, this is too dangerous," Zhou Lanting objected, shaking his head.

After this morning, he had already witnessed the capricious and selfish nature of the Lin family.

Especially Lin Wenxuan, when they were classmates, how had he not realized that he was such a despicable, shameless, greedy, and lustful person?

Qi Yu didn’t dwell on this issue but said, "We don’t have much time now. If we don’t find the person quickly, I’m afraid Lin Wenxuan will resort to killing."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Lanting no longer cared about the danger and quickly asked, "Did the Lin family really hide my cousin?"

Seeing that he still didn’t get it, Qi Yu felt both annoyed and amused.

They say a person caught in the midst of things is often confused; perhaps Zhou Lanting was too worried to notice the anomalies of the Lin family.

She closed the door, turned to Zhou Lanting, and asked, "Don’t you think there is something odd about everything concerning the Lin family?"

Zhou Lanting paused, remembered the eerie feeling he had when he first entered the house, and tentatively said, "The Lin family seems to have changed."

Qi Yu did not deny his conjecture and asked, "What do you remember the Lin family should be like, in your memory?"

Zhou Lanting followed her lead, thought for a while, closed his eyes as if reminiscing, and said, "I remember, the Lin family’s business was doing well, and they were quite wealthy. When I came to visit last year with some classmates, the Lin Residence was much livelier than now, Lin Wenxuan was healthier, and his parents didn’t look as worried as they do now."

Having said that, his mind became clear, and he finally pinpointed what was wrong.

"I know now, something must have happened in the Lin family, that’s why there are fewer people in the residence now, and Lin Wenxuan fell sick because of this incident."

Qi Yu nodded, "Your analysis is very accurate. Yesterday, I went to inquire at the Lin family’s snack shop, where the business was as usual, no different from before. Since it’s not due to poor business that they sent away the maids and servants, something must have happened that made the elderly couple of the Lin family feel these people couldn’t stay."

Zhou Lanting hadn’t thought so deeply before this analysis, but now a cold sweat broke out on his back.

Now, it seemed, the Lin Residence was full of secrets.

Before he could recover, Qi Yu continued, "I guess the reason the Lin family wants me to stay is firstly to treat Lin Wenxuan, and secondly, to wait for Lin Wenxuan to be completely cured before killing me."

"What?" Zhou Lanting exclaimed in surprise.

He had never expected that under the seemingly cordial invitation of Lin’s mother, there lay such intentions.

Seeing him pale with fright, Qi Yu silently shook her head.

The scarier details she hadn’t yet revealed, and Zhou Lanting was already terrified out of his wits.

Well, she decided not to say it for now, lest she scare him silly.

The two sat for a while until it was time for lunch, and Lin’s mother sent someone to invite them to the front hall for a meal.

Qi Yu took the distraught Zhou Lanting with her, and at the dining table, Zhou Lanting dared not directly look at Lin’s parents.

Fortunately, Lin’s parents didn’t mind, and they were only focused on talking to Qi Yu, inquiring about her background.

Qi Yu pulled out her well-prepared story, perfunctorily dealing with them. When Lin’s parents heard she was an apprentice of the Divine Doctor Lou Qingming, their eyes visibly lit up.

"So, you are an esteemed apprentice of Divine Doctor Lou, our apologies for the oversight," Lin’s father’s attitude improved significantly.

Seeing this, Qi Yu smiled inwardly, as she effortlessly used Lou Qingming’s name.

After all, Divine Doctor Lou was still trapped in the Imperial Palace, concocting fetus-preserving medicine for the Empress. With insurmountable distances between him and the Emperor, the elderly man was unaware of the deeds being done in his name.

Zhou Lanting, however, glanced up at her, feeling that she had crafted her identity so flawlessly and convincingly.

After the meal, Qi Yu

Zhou Lanting was courteously asked to leave.

As an outsider, he could not simply linger in someone else’s residence indefinitely.

Before leaving, Zhou Lanting couldn’t help but repeatedly look back at Qi Yu, concerned for her well-being.

Finding it amusing, Qi Yu told Lin Father and Lin Mother that she would escort him out herself.

At the gate, Zhou Lanting spent some silver to dismiss the guarding servant and said to Qi Yu, "Won’t you be in danger here alone?"

If anything happened, Zhou Lanting had no doubt that the Prince would have his head.

Qi Yu looked at him amusedly and arched an eyebrow, "Who said I was here alone?"

With those words, she snapped her fingers, and swiftly, someone dropped down from the eaves.

Shiqi, holding a sword and with a stoic face, nodded slightly at Qi Yu and said, "Princess."

Zhou Lanting was dumbfounded; he rubbed his eyes, wondering if he was hallucinating.

Where did this person come from?

Qi Yu waved off Shiqi, "Go, don’t let anyone spot you."

Shiqi leapt up and vanished just as quickly before their eyes, as if he had never been there.

Zhou Lanting curiously looked in the direction where he disappeared. If he hadn’t seen the man standing before him just moments ago, he would never have believed it.

He had always thought that such agile, elusive figures existed only in martial arts novels.

Qi Yu explained, "He is a Hidden Guard from the Prince Residence. With him here, the Lin Family can’t harm me."

With this assurance, Zhou Lanting finally felt relieved enough to leave.

In the afternoon, after Lin Wenxuan had taken his medicine, Qi Yu went to check his pulse.

Lin Father and Lin Mother watched anxiously from the side. Hearing Qi Yu say there was nothing wrong, they finally relaxed.

Lin Wenxuan’s body had already gone numb when her supple white fingertips touched his wrist; he was too entranced by Qi Yu’s jade-like pristine hands to care about his condition.

Qi Yu wished she could blind him with a silver needle.

Yet, her expression remained calm, showing no displeasure, as she advised Lin Wenxuan, "In the future, you should exercise more restraint and frequent brothels less. If you do not replenish what your body lacks, this ailment will never heal."

She spoke solemnly, causing Lin Wenxuan’s face to flush with embarrassment.

"Cough, cough—" He coughed a few times, trying to divert the attention of others.

Qi Yu lowered her head, subtly wiping the back of her hand with a handkerchief, completely ignoring him.

Lin Father and Lin Mother also felt disgraced and glanced at their disappointing son before leaving.

With just the two of them remaining in the room, those restless thoughts in the depths of Lin Wenxuan’s heart surged forth once again.

He eyed the elegantly poised figure, swallowed hard, and then looked down at her hands again, his heart stirring slightly as his hands moved restlessly, wishing to grasp hers.