Time Travel: Pampered by the Aloof Prince
Chapter 209: Driving the Lin Family Mad

Chapter 209: Chapter 209: Driving the Lin Family Mad

Qi Yu had just jumped off the low wall behind the Lin Residence when she fell into a warm embrace.

With her arms wrapped around Li Mingjue’s neck, she asked in a lazy tone, "How did you get here?"

Li Mingjue held her tightly, as if afraid she would be stolen away, and looked at her seriously, his voice soft, "I was worried about you."

Qi Yu felt a tremor in her heart at his earnest expression. She bit her lip, cupped Li Mingjue’s face with both hands, and slightly leaned forward to plant a light kiss on his deep-red lips.

After the kiss, she shifted her gaze away somewhat embarrassedly and patted Li Mingjue’s shoulder, signaling him to let her down.

Li Mingjue did not comply with her wishes.

He realized that after the two slaps in the afternoon, he seemed to have triggered some inexplicable switch, and could hardly contain the impulse in his heart anymore. He frequently yearned to do something more intimate.

Thus, instead of releasing her, his arms tightened, and he swept her sideways into his arms. Then, under Qi Yu’s puzzled gaze, he leaned down and kissed her fiercely.

"Mmmm—"

His suffocating way of kissing made it hard for Qi Yu to breathe. She pushed at his shoulders, trying to push him away.

Li Mingjue licked her lips and took a gentle suck before reluctantly moving away from her mouth, savoring the aftertaste.

Qi Yu raised her hand, harshly wiped her lips, and glared at him angrily.

Li Mingjue knew he had gone too far and rubbed his chin against her cheek appeasingly. After receiving a disdainful roll of the eyes from Qi Yu, he smiled with the corner of his mouth and carried her back using qinggong.

Shiqi followed far behind, his face expressionless, desperately trying to erase the scene he had just witnessed from his mind.

For the first time, he felt his master, the Prince, really seemed like a libertine.

After returning to the residence, Qi Yu called for Gu Jingping, and they all sat in the study, reviewing various pieces of information they had gathered in the past few days.

On the day she went to the Lin Residence, Gu Jingping had also disguised himself as a servant and entered the Su Residence.

In these past few days, he had also gathered some information.

Once Gu Jingping received Qi Yu’s signal, he slipped out of the back door of the Su Residence.

He organized the information he had heard from the servants of the Su Residence in his mind and reported to Qi Yu, "The Su Family’s servants are all very tight-lipped. When asked about Miss Su’s affairs, they are evasive. Fortunately, the steward of the Su Family is greedy for silver. I spent some money, and pried quite a bit of information out of him."

"According to the steward of the Su Residence, in the half-month before her marriage, Miss Su kept herself locked in her room, not seeing anyone. It seems she was dissatisfied with the marriage arrangement, to the point of even refusing to see her parents—a display of quite a strong character indeed."

"Indeed, on the day before the marriage was to take place, Miss Su left behind a letter and disappeared without a trace. No one knows when she left."

Qi Yu waited until he had finished his lengthy report before asking, "Did you see Miss Su’s personal maid?"

Gu Jingping shook his head, "No, the steward said that after Miss Su ran away from her marriage, the maid was driven out by Mrs. Su for failing to keep an eye on her daughter."

It sounded reasonable enough, but Qi Yu still felt something was off.

Just the fact that Su Guihe would run away from her marriage was baffling enough.

She continued to ask, "What kind of person is Miss Su?"

Upon mentioning her, Gu Jingping immediately started spilling everything like beans from a bamboo tube, everything he had coaxed out of the butler after getting him drunk the night before, "If the Su Residence’s butler wasn’t lying, Miss Su is a lady of average appearance but a gentle nature, educated for a few years, particularly fond of copying Buddhist scriptures—she must be a woman as elegant as a chrysanthemum."

As he talked, he became somewhat sentimental, "I didn’t expect such a peaceful person would do something so shocking and unconventional."

Qi Yu neither agreed nor disagreed, interrupting Gu Jingping’s mournful emotions, "After Miss Su ran away from her marriage, what was her parents’ reaction?"

Gu Jingping thought for a moment and said, "I’ve seen Mr. and Mrs. Su a few times these past days, and they have been quite indifferent, showing no signs of sorrow. However, according to the servants in the residence, Miss Su has become taboo in the Su Family, no one is allowed to mention her, otherwise they’re sure to be thrown out."

He also found it odd after he finished speaking. According to the rules of Su Residence, Mr. and Mrs. Su should have been very angry and disappointed at their daughter’s actions, but after observing closely, he saw no excess emotion on their faces, not even sadness.

It was as if, to them, Su Guihe was just an outsider.

"What’s even stranger is that after discovering the disappearance, their first reaction was not to search for her, but to seal off the courtyard Miss Su had always lived in, then negotiate with the Lin Family. Both parties compromised, the Su Family gave some silver, and the matter was put to rest."

The more Gu Jingping spoke, the more he felt that the whole affair was becoming eerie. While he was in the Su Residence he hadn’t noticed anything strange, but now, after straightening out all the clues, many things didn’t seem right.

Their daughter had run away from her marriage, yet Mr. and Mrs. Su were not at all angry, instead, they were as calm as if nothing had happened.

He poured out all his doubts in one breath and then asked, "Is there anything unusual about the Lin Residence?"

Qi Yu took a sip of tea, speaking indifferently, "I drove the Lin Family mad."

"What?" Gu Jingping’s eyes widened in disbelief as he looked at her.

Qi Yu nonchalantly tossed the empty tea cup in her hand to Li Mingjue, her lips twisting into a scornful smile as she spoke with contempt, "The Lin Family aren’t good people. Tonight was just a warning. I want them to fall into fear and slowly march to the end that they’ve carved out for themselves."

Her tone was grim, sending a chill down Gu Jingping’s spine.

Once again, he silently cautioned himself not to offend Princess Qi.

He stole another glance at Prince Qi, who was calmly serving tea and water to Qi Yu at her side, wondering curiously whether the prince had not heard what the princess had just said, for he showed no reaction whatsoever.

But Li Mingjue just quietly placed the refilled tea cup beside Qi Yu, showing no other response.

Appreciative of his efforts undercover in the Su Residence over the past few days, Qi Yu waved him off to rest.

"We can talk about anything else tomorrow."

In her heart, she already had an idea, finding the mysteriously vanished Miss Su was merely a matter of the next few days—there was no rush at this moment.

Although Gu Jingping was full of questions, he couldn’t just ask them outright.

Moreover, in the quiet of the night, sitting there like a third wheel was extremely awkward.

He rose, made a bow, and silently withdrew.

Before leaving, as he closed the door, he caught a glimpse through the crack of Princess Qi nonchalantly throwing the tea cup at Prince Qi.

Gu Jingping hurried his steps, not wishing to remain and become collateral damage.