Chapter Thirty-Five Is Not For You

  Feng Changqing got angry, but the reason for his anger was not the scandalous affair between the sacred jade maidens of Fenghuangguo, but rather that his clothes had been touched by a lowly servant girl.

  Qilin quietly watched Liuxi, and couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness. Accompanying the lord is like accompanying a tiger; she had long heard from Yu Mu that Feng Changqing was a suspicious, cold-blooded, and ruthless person, but she never thought that what she saw today would still shock her into a cold sweat.

  Finally, Feng Changqing turned to Bu Yao with a cold face, just about to speak, but Long Ye beat him to it, kneeling down and saying seriously "Your Majesty, I have an impolite request."

  Zi Yun slightly stunned, his eyes fixed on Bu Yao's body, and he had a name in mind. He walked up and knelt down, saying "Your Majesty, please calm your anger."

  "What's there to say?" Although the tone was still unpleasant, it softened a bit as he glanced at Bu Yao "Is it because of her? Is that what you're saying?"

  But who would have thought that Bù Yáo had not yet recovered from the bloodiness earlier and was still staring blankly at the spot where Liǔ Xī's body lay, and Lóng Yān pulled her skirt without her even noticing.

  "Your Majesty." Zhi Lin saw Feng Changqing frowning, thinking it was terrible. In her anxiety, she grabbed onto Feng Changqing's sleeve and forgot to kneel down. She hastily said, "Your Majesty, the trouble originated from a commoner woman, Bu Yao is just an innocent bystander. At present, she is still in shock and can't help but forget etiquette. I hope Your Majesty will forgive her."

  After finishing speaking, Qilin suddenly discovered that Feng Changqing's expression was calm, but his eyes flashed with a fluctuation she had never seen before, and his furrowed eyebrows were inexplicable. Suddenly, he felt several gazes shooting towards himself, and Qilin sensitively turned her head to the side, only to see Zi Yun furrowing his brow and staring in their direction.

  Qilin suddenly came to a realization, her heart turned cold, and she slowly lowered the curtain. Her last glance fell on the hand grasping Feng Changying's sleeve, and with a slight movement, the smooth sleeve slipped from his hand.

  He died, originally wanted to beg for mercy, but ended up killing himself instead.

  Qilin's gaze shifted away, but he hesitated and didn't kneel down. Long Ye and Zi Yin couldn't help but sweat for Qilin.

  "Aren't you afraid of death?" Rang Yu looked at Qi Lin's pale face with interest, obviously frightened and sweating profusely, yet still so calm. Feng Changqing smiled slightly, raised his hand to lift Qi Lin's chin and said "Tell me, are you afraid of death?"

  "Scared." Trying to calm down while looking into Feng Changqing's deep eyes, she also saw her own shadow in them. Qi Lin smiled "But Meng girl is more afraid of pain."

  Pain?! Feng Changqing didn't understand, looking at Qi Lin's gradually calming eyes, the smile in his eyes became more apparent. He let go of Qi Lin and walked into the courtyard with big strides, paused for a moment, and said "Since she is the victim, then I'll leave her to you to deal with. Long Ye, your unkind request has been noted."

  Long Yan was slightly stunned, and he hadn't said anything yet.

  Everyone saw Feng Changqing was about to leave and quickly knelt down to bid him farewell.

  In the end, only a few people were left in the garden, including Qilin, Bu Yuxuan, Long Ye and Zi Yun, and suddenly it was quiet and a bit uncomfortable.

  Long Yan silently picked up the slightly trembling Bu Yao, and walked slowly to the garden. However, he was tightly grabbed by Mudan's pant leg as she woke up from her stupor. Long Yan coldly stared straight ahead, ignoring her.

  "Clouds fly... clouds... save me." Peony said intermittently, but because of the red swelling at the corner of her mouth, she couldn't speak very clearly.

  Yunfei's name suddenly flashed in Qilin's mind. Wasn't that the name Yumei called out back then?

  "Peony, you are indeed a strange woman... But..." Long Yan cast a disgusted glance and continued, "You have hurt the woman this king loves."

  When he heard the two words "heart's desire", Zi Yun couldn't help but feel surprised. Long Yan had always been a flirt, but he had never said those two words to any woman before. No wonder he would risk his life to plead for her earlier, and in the end, it was still Qi Lin who went to beg on his behalf.

  "Someone, take her away and take good care of her, don't let her die." After saying this coldly, Long Ye carried Bu Yao away quickly.

  The incoming guard dragged Peony away, who had not reacted yet, leaving behind a trail of intermittent blood stains.

  Only Ziyuan and Qilin were left, along with Lüzhú and Qià'er kneeling beside them.

  "How did you and His Majesty end up together?"

  Qilin raised her eyes, slightly revealing a puzzled expression. Could it be that this guy wasn't the one who knocked her out? If not, then forget it. She walked slowly down the steps and said softly, "I was wronged by a scoundrel."

  Zi Yun was taken aback, completely not expecting Qi Lin to say something like that, and her tone seemed to carry a hint of resentment.

  "What will be done with Liu Xi's body?" He thought for a moment before asking, although he had already understood in his heart that it would certainly be the so-called pauper's grave.

  "Chop it into meat sauce and feed it to the dogs." Zi Yun said slowly, as if talking about a very trivial matter.

  Qilin's heart skipped a beat, cold sweat broke out, and her stomach churned violently, but she forced herself to endure it. She stared at Ziyu with wide eyes, yet couldn't find any hint of joking in his expression. It wasn't until after a long while that she finally accepted what he said was true.

  Gently nodding, how can you be so ruthless?

  Back in her own boudoir, Qilin was still shaken, her face deathly pale. She dismissed Green Bamboo and the others, curling up alone at the head of her bed, trembling slightly.

  Until nightfall, Qing Zhu knocked on the door with all the maidservants. Looking at this scene, it was necessary to dress up for the occasion. After all, tomorrow was the last day, and such things couldn't be stopped, could they?

  The quiet maidens helped her undress, and Qilin numbly walked into the prepared bathtub, where rose petals floated on the surface. Qilin couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness, for wasn't she just like these small flower petals, drifting in a completely unknown world, without any sense of security. As she thought about it, Qilin tightly hugged her body and submerged half of her face into the water.

  The maids who were washing her didn't know what to do, but Green Bamboo quietly dismissed them and softly said "Miss, Peony Miss has left."

  This was also an expected thing, but Zilin still couldn't help asking "Was it painful when you left?"

  "It's really painful." Green Bamboo said in a low voice, at that time when she saw Peony's appearance, she couldn't bear it either. "Miss Bu Yao didn't do anything, but just heard that the prince was furious and cut off Miss Peony's hands, fed them to the dog, broke her neck and threw her out of the door, only instructing to throw her into the An River."

  What's wrong?

  "It's like going to the toilet."

  Suddenly remembering the man's voice, Qilin abruptly lifted her head from the water, and the faint tea fragrance slowly wafted into her nose. Turning back, she saw Lüzhú's eyes tightly closed, quietly lying in the man's arms. The man gently let Lüzhú lean against the pillar to sleep, then raised his gaze and smiled slightly at Qilin.

  Qilin's face suddenly turned red with anger, she frowned and glared at the man, saying in a stern voice "The emperor is also present today, aren't you afraid of being dragged away to be chopped up and fed to dogs?"

  Who would have thought that the man just smiled slightly, not taking it seriously, and walked forward, scaring Qi Lin to quickly retreat backwards, her hands wrapped around her chest. She originally wanted to get up, but found that this was even more inappropriate, getting up wasn't an option either, nothing seemed right, and now she was in a very awkward situation.

  The man walked over to the bucket, picked up a towel that was hanging on the side and swished it in the water, looking at Qilin with a playful expression and said "Do you want me to help you?"

  "Go die." came the blunt retort, as Qilin glanced at the clothes just out of reach and thought about how to get them. But suddenly she felt a warmth on her shoulder, hot water slowly flowing down from her body, extremely soothing.

  "When you're startled, it's usually best to take a warm bath to calm down. Of course, adding some mountain tea is even better." As she spoke, she took out a packet of mountain tea flowers from her bosom and slowly sprinkled them into the water, completely ignoring Qilin's stiff body. "You almost died today, did you know that?"

  "If I had known I would be treated like this by you, I'd rather die." Qilin said coldly, and at the same time lowered her body, she couldn't struggle in the water.

  Looking at the smiling handsome face reflected in the water, Qilin tightly bit her lips.

  "I'm worried about you."

  Who would have thought that when the man said this with a slightly gentle tone, Qi Lin's face actually flushed red, and she coldly said "Worrying about it and offending you are two different things."

  "Offended?" The man couldn't help but raise an eyebrow and smile, gently pulling out the hairpin from Qilin's head. A cascade of black hair flowed down like a waterfall, falling into the water. The man picked up a strand and carefully kissed it on his lips. "I thought you were mine."

  Upon hearing this, Qilin suddenly stood up from the water, with some flower petals still clinging to her body and hair. To her surprise, instead of being ridiculed, she found that her body had instantly acquired an extra layer of clothing, which clung tightly to her skin when wet. Qilin's expression changed slightly, but she quickly regained her composure and continued to gaze at him with a cold stare.

  "That's just your imagination." Slowly walking out of the water, Qilin smiled and said "I won't fall in love with anyone."

  "So fall in love with me then." The man stepped forward, hooked up Qilin's chin, and lightly printed a kiss on her lips. He knew that Qilin didn't dodge because she couldn't avoid it, and then said "I will make you fall in love with me, and then give birth for me, die for me."

  "That's beneath you." Qilin suddenly spat out a few words, also reaching out to hook up the man's chin, and said with the same expression "Even if I fall in love with you, I would be born for love, die for love, absolutely not for you."

  The man slightly furrowed his brow, and the faintly flickering candlelight in his eyes was just like her determination at this moment, which also stunned him.

  It's as if a man's dignity has been trampled on, what a wonderful thing it is to live and die for love, but not for him.

  He stretched out his long arm and wrapped it around Qilin, his body tilted, and pressed Qilin to the ground. With a triumphant smile at Qilin's slightly flustered eyes, the man covered Qilin's eyes with his hand.

  A man's hot and cold breath was transmitted from his neck to his shoulders, Qilin couldn't move, but he didn't struggle either. He said coldly, "Isn't it that you've fallen in love with me?"

  As soon as these words came out, everyone around her was stunned, looking up quietly at Qilin's face, only to see the corners of her mouth slightly raised, seemingly sneering.

  "Don't touch me again before you fall in love with me." The voice came from afar, vague and uncertain.

  Suddenly feeling a lightness on her body, she faintly heard the creaking sound, Qilin slowly opened her eyes, the man had already left, leaving only the faint tea fragrance filling the room.

  I thought it would be a quiet night, but when I saw Bù Yāo dressed in finery appearing at my door, Qí Lín was still slightly surprised, dismissing the attendants and leaving only Bù Yāo to sit down in the room.

  "It seems I underestimated you." Bu Yao gazed coldly at Qi Lin, as if trying to see through her. She had expected to see a hint of guilt or shame in Qi Lin's eyes, but Qi Lin remained calm and unruffled as always. Bu Yao felt a surge of annoyance and slammed her hand on the table, knocking over a nearby teacup and spilling tea everywhere, which also sobered her up considerably.

  Looking at Qilin with disdain, he suddenly smelled a strange tea fragrance and couldn't help but frown, saying "Has Yu Mu been here?"

  Yumu? Qilin's heart skipped a beat, she didn't expect Buxiao to have smelled out that guy's scent, but surprisingly, she had mixed it up with the scent of Yumu.

  "It's just that Green Bamboo went to fetch some new tea leaves." Qi Lin pretended to be calm, but in her heart she was afraid that Bu Yao would discover something.

  She raised her eyes and looked at Bu Yao carefully, still able to see the dark red mark on the collar of her clothes. She must have suffered greatly, who could accept such humiliation? Although she wasn't much better off herself.

  But thinking carefully, being pounced on by a man is better than being pounced on by a woman.