Chapter 31 Part 3

However, Xiao Jin estimated that Su Tan wouldn’t be in any major trouble.

After all, if the guards had arrested Su Tan, it meant the keywords the Fourth Prince had given his subordinates were most likely along the lines of “wheelchair” or something similar. That’s the only reason they would have taken Su Tan, who was sitting in the wheelchair in her place.

It also indirectly indicated that the person the Fourth Prince was looking for was highly likely to be herself.

Once the Fourth Prince discovered that Su Tan was not the person he sought, he would probably find it all quite tedious and release her.

If he didn’t, she could always use her status as Prince Yan to forcibly intervene in the matter.

Still, planning early was always better. They had shared trials and tribulations as teammates. She wouldn’t just stand by and watch her die.

Xiao Jin was pondering how to rescue her teammate, and completely overlooked the fact that her other teammate was looking down at her, staring fixedly, and hadn’t responded at all.

At this moment, Chu Shao was actually somewhat perplexed.

Earlier, following Xiao Jin’s instructions, she had kissed the other’s neck. Her initial thought was simply that it seemed like fun.

But when her lips parted and touched Xiao Jin’s damp skin, she caught a faint, cold, and subtle fragrance.

That scent felt… somewhat familiar to her.

Though this thought arose, Chu Shao did not understand why it felt so familiar.

But looking down at the wine stains on Xiao Jin’s neck, she deeply missed the sensation of her lips pressing against the other’s most vulnerable spot—the instinctive stiffness of this person’s body, along with the performative, light moan.

Truthfully, Chu Shao knew Xiao Jin was putting on an act for the guards who had barged into the room.

But when she turned her head and told those guards to “leave,” her face smiling, she had, for a rare moment, gotten somewhat into character.

After all, those uninvited guests were indeed extremely unwelcome intrusions.

Xiao Jin noticed Chu Shao’s distraction, but she had grown accustomed to this person frequently being lost in her own world.

Right now, only one thing concerned her.

“Your Highness, shouldn’t you untie the silk ribbon from This Prince’s hands first?”

Xiao Jin’s tone was exceedingly calm, her expression also very composed.

As the saying goes, if you help someone, see it through to the end. That is only natural and proper.

After coming back to her senses, Chu Shao didn’t think so. Gently, she said to Xiao Jin, “My Prince, but this is a dead knot. This humble wife cannot untie it.”

Xiao Jin: “…”

Amazing.

Who was it that just swung a fan barehanded and blew up the elevator? And now who is it that can’t even cut through a dead knot?

Chu Shao smiled. “However, there still seems to be some wine stain on your neck that hasn’t been wiped clean. So allow this humble wife to wipe it for you.”

Xiao Jin fell silent.

So what if the wine wasn’t wiped clean? The priority should be untying the ribbon.

But the next moment, that thought vanished without a trace, because Chu Shao leaned down once more and kissed her neck.

Unlike the previous act, this time Chu Shao’s kiss was very realistic. She even used her lips and tongue to touch—a patch of soft, wet warmth gently swept over the remaining wine on her skin.

An itchy, tingling sensation spread from her neck. Xiao Jin stiffened again.

She truly hadn’t expected that Chu Shao’s method of “wiping clean” was… wiping clean like this.

Does she know how many bacterial colonies are in saliva?

Before she could even calculate the bacterial count, in order not to be bewitched by Chu Shao’s beauty, Xiao Jin had already begun replaying the classic scene of this person committing murder in her mind.

The smile on Chu Shao’s lips, the fresh blood splattered on the back of her hand… and Xiao Jin instantly felt she had lost all worldly desires.

Her gaze gradually came into focus. She could clearly feel the other’s lips attempting to move downwards again.

It seemed Chu Shao truly loved probing into the original host’s secrets.

Only, she was looking in the wrong place.

The saying goes: grievances have their source, debts have their debtor. The original host had long since gone cold. The one lying before her now was merely an innocent transmigrator.

Chu Shao thought her gradual movements were very natural and wouldn’t be detected by Xiao Jin at all. Just as she prepared to secretly advance, Xiao Jin suddenly raised her bound hands and rapped her on the forehead.

Actually, Xiao Jin had wanted to punch her.

She wanted to use her iron fist to knock some sense into this pervert.

Alas, her hands were restrained. Plus, she couldn’t really beat Chu Shao to death. So she changed the punch into a light hammer, delivering a fist of justice.

Only, considering the other was still a beauty, she ultimately couldn’t bring herself to be too harsh. In the end, it became a light tap.

Xiao Jin’s force was indeed very light. So light, in fact, that even Chu Shao was stunned, lifting her head from Xiao Jin’s neck.

“It is already clean enough,” Xiao Jin said.

Chu Shao looked at Xiao Jin’s cold expression, then at the faint purplish-red bite mark on her neck, and only then realized she had accidentally used her teeth just now.

The smile on her lips deepened.

So, Xiao Jin had felt pain and was dissatisfied, and that’s why she rapped her with her hand? Truly interesting, and somewhat adorable.

Then her—

Just when would she be able to fulfill the Alliance Vow and take Xiao Jin’s hands?

Chu Shao extended a knuckle, stroking over the white silk that entangled Xiao Jin’s hands. In a flash, she felt that perhaps this Alliance Vow could be extended a bit longer.

After all, Xiao Jin truly made her very happy.

So happy that it almost made her forget… that in this world, nothing could make a person happy forever.

…

Misty Rain Pavilion, main hall center.

The Fourth Prince sat in his chair, taking a sip of tea.

Then he set down his porcelain cup and said to Bai Zheng with a smile, “This prince has heard that the wine in the cup bears the elegant sobriquet ‘Lord Forget-Sorrow.’ The tea in the cup is called ‘Child of Cleansing Annoyance.’ Might this prince, having drunk Miss Bai’s tea, be able to dispel some vexations?”

Bai Zheng looked at the Fourth Prince and replied coolly, “Your Highness, the cure for sorrow lies not in the cup, but in the heart.”

“Is that so? This prince, however, feels the cure for sorrow lies right here in your Misty Rain Pavilion.”

The Fourth Prince raised his head to look at the third floor. Watching the guards escort a woman in a wheelchair onto the cloud ladder, he wore a rather playful smile. “After all, Miss Bai, this Misty Rain Pavilion of yours is truly a fine place to admire the scenery and listen to music. It’s just that after hearing too many songs, they all become the same old tune, lacking in novelty.”

He spoke pointedly: “Opera, on the other hand, is different. One performer exits the stage, another enters. It is truly quite fascinating.”

Bai Zheng frowned. She honestly didn’t quite understand what exactly Xiao Yi was alluding to.

However, considering the earlier trio’s inquiry about “Spring Mountain Void,” and Xiao Yi’s repeated claims of a conspiracy to assassinate Prince Yan, her intuition told her this matter was likely connected to that fragrance pill.

But earlier, when she had used the Misty Rain Pavilion Master’s influence to gather information from the Court of Judicial Review, the only news she received was that several dozen corpses had died in a similar manner. No other useful information.

Could it be that Xiao Yi knew more than she did?

But Xiao Yi was still young, merely a prince with no real power. How could he know more than the Pavilion Master?

Bai Zheng recalled the early days of establishing the Misty Rain Pavilion. The Pavilion Master had made her the nominal person in charge, possibly just needing to utilize her identity.

As for other superfluous matters, the Pavilion Master probably wasn’t interested, and thus wouldn’t investigate with full effort.

But regarding Prince Yan, the Pavilion Master had always paid exceptional attention. So how could she consider this matter superfluous now?

Bai Zheng couldn’t quite figure this out. But the Fourth Prince had an even harder time figuring out what would happen next.

The Fourth Prince leaned back in his chair, waiting for the guards to escort the person down. He lifted his tea and leisurely took a sip. When he raised his head and saw the young woman in green seated in the wheelchair, his face instantly changed color.

Even seated in the wheelchair, the young woman’s back remained ramrod straight.

Meeting his gaze, there was no emotional fluctuation in her eyes.

This woman’s lips were like rouge, her appearance considered outstanding. Only, her attire was plain and simple, her whole person looking quite elegant, like bamboo in a forest.

Bamboo was always used to describe a gentleman.

Yet, looking at the woman in the wheelchair, the Fourth Prince somehow felt that although this person seemed somewhat down-and-out now, in the past, she must have been of noble birth.

However, the Fourth Prince wasn’t curious about the woman’s identity. Right now, only one matter concerned him.

Looking at the woman in the bamboo wheelchair, the Fourth Prince frowned and asked, “Who are you?”

Su Tan’s face was expressionless, because she also didn’t know how to explain to him who she was.

She understood that who she was no longer mattered.

Bai Zheng was right here, and she was sitting in Xiao Jin’s wheelchair. No matter who she claimed to be, her cover would be blown.

Might as well just smash the pot and be done with it.

Su Tan moved her lips, preparing to casually fabricate an identity, when unexpectedly, Bai Zheng’s icy voice sounded from beside her: “Your Highness, the Fourth Prince, you are still asking who she is?”

Meeting the Fourth Prince’s slightly puzzled gaze, Bai Zheng’s eyes were quite sharp, her words resounding with force: “You are still asking who she is? As if you wouldn’t know!”

“She is an innocent, pitiful person, caught up in the ripples caused by you!”

Su Tan: “…”

Although absurd, Bai Zheng had offered her an out. There was no way she wouldn’t take it.

Seated in the wheelchair, Su Tan cupped her hands and bowed to the Fourth Prince. “Your Highness, this commoner woman merely came to the Misty Rain Pavilion to listen to music. I know not what crime warrants such an unprovoked calamity.”

The Fourth Prince stared at Su Tan, his brow utterly unable to relax. He thought to himself: You still have the nerve to claim you’ve suffered an unprovoked calamity.

Encountering you, this prince is the one truly suffering an unprovoked calamity.