Obsessively Raised by My Doll 46

Chapter 46

—A flower that can be plucked should be plucked. This girl’s handwriting is ugly, but she is not bad.

The Crown Princess’s slow, deliberate words made the atmosphere even more… even more ambiguous.

The little deer in Lu Dieqing’s heart was about to pound itself sore. In just this short stretch of road, her heart had been flipping and flopping.

“You… Your Highness…” She was so ashamed and annoyed.

Lu Dieqing raised her hands to push the Crown Princess.

Her small hands were soft, her hand bones slender. When they touched Zheng Xuening, they had no intimidating force at all.

Zheng Xuening had practiced martial arts since she was a child. Of course, she was not comparable to a girl like Lu Dieqing whose bones and muscles had never been trained. In fact, if she didn’t hold back her strength, Lu Dieqing wouldn’t be able to push her at all.

But the Crown Princess was very cooperative. When Lu Dieqing pushed her, she stumbled back, letting out a muffled groan.

“Your Highness?”

Seeing that her gentle push had made the Crown Princess crash so painfully against the stone wall behind her, Lu Dieqing panicked. “What’s wrong with you?”

I didn’t use any force just now.

Zheng Xuening’s voice held a trace of suppressed pain. “It’s not your fault. It’s just that my injuries haven’t healed yet.”

Huh? Her Highness is injured?

Lu Dieqing grew nervous. She slowly approached Zheng Xuening, her movements cautious.

“Are you bleeding anywhere?”

The little girl was at a complete loss.

The smile on Zheng Xuening’s lips widened, and she finally couldn’t hold it in, letting out a low laugh.

“Little fool.” She pinched the girl’s cheek, her smile brighter than ever before, like the sun breaking through the clouds.

“I was tricking you.”

In the past eighteen years combined, the Crown Princess had never been so mischievous.

But in front of Lu Dieqing, she had unconsciously revealed this side of herself. She teased the girl, tirelessly.

This made Lu Dieqing so ashamed and annoyed. The girl puffed out her cheeks, her soft, tender cheeks swelling, and she couldn’t help but raise her hand to hit the other.

“Your Highness is too mean.”

Zheng Xuening clutched her heart, frowning and bending over. “This time it’s real.”

Lu Dieqing immediately grew worried again, supporting the Crown Princess. “Should we see an imperial physician? What kind of injury is it?”

Zheng Xuening pulled her forward and pinched the girl’s cheek.

“You. Fell. For. It. Again,” she said, word by word.

Lu Dieqing was furious.

Even a little kitten will have a temper when it’s teased too much.

The girl, without thinking, bit the back of the Crown Princess’s hand.

The Crown Princess is too mean!

Lu Dieqing had never been teased like this in her life.

Perhaps because they were in a secret tunnel, with no one passing by, and the world consisted of only the two of them, the distinctions of status and identity seemed less important.

Zheng Xuening began to shed her identity as the “heir,” becoming more vivid and distinct.

And Lu Dieqing, like a little cat, slowly stepped onto her, tentatively revealing her claws and teeth.

Zheng Xuening didn’t make a sound, letting the girl bite her.

But in truth, even in her anger, the girl hadn’t used much force. It would probably only leave a faint tooth mark, not even breaking the skin.

“Happy now?”

She lowered her head to capture Lu Dieqing’s gaze, completely unconcerned about the back of her bitten hand.

Lu Dieqing’s reason returned, and she began to feel a delayed sense of embarrassment.

“…” How could I have done something like that?

The girl was annoyed, ashamed, and wished she could hide in a crack in the ground immediately.

Zheng Xuening saw her guilt and sighed leisurely.

“It seems you’ve vented your anger.”

Lu Dieqing didn’t dare to look up.

She hung her head, looking at the ground, her heart in a turmoil. The shame and annoyance hadn’t completely passed, but it was mixed with a strange sense of self-reproach.

The Crown Princess had saved her. Not only had she not thanked her properly, but she had repaid her kindness with a bite.

Sob, sob, sob, Lu Dieqing, you have no conscience.

The girl, blaming herself, after recovering, apologized in a small voice.

“I’m sorry… Your Highness. I should have thanked you properly.”

This journey through the secret tunnel had suddenly become like a gentle haven, making Zheng Xuening unable to take a step away.

Lu Dieqing was like a moon that the heavens had placed before her, seeing that her life was too dim. It shone with a faint light, not too dazzling, but enough to illuminate the gloom and darkness in a person’s heart.

“It was because of me that you were implicated. I should have saved you. You don’t need to thank me.”

Zheng Xuening was not used to the girl’s solemn thanks.

Especially when she was used to shedding her identity as the heir and just being Zheng Xuening, standing before the girl. That sense of awe for power would pull them apart.

“I still have to thank Your Highness,” Lu Dieqing said, biting her lip. Her clear, black and white almond eyes revealed a pure, deer-like dependence.

Zheng Xuening sometimes found it hard to face such eyes.

Because they were too clean.

She felt that she was not worthy of such a clear gaze.

“I’m leaving.”

Zheng Xuening suppressed the surging emotions in her heart.

Lu Dieqing immediately felt that the Crown Princess had returned to how she was when they first met.

Unattainable, with a strong sense of distance. Though she was right in front of her, it felt as if they were separated by a thousand mountains and a myriad of rivers.

“Your Highness…” Lu Dieqing subconsciously called out.

Zheng Xuening looked back and paused for a moment. She picked up the torch on the ground, lit it again, and gestured for the girl to hold it.

“Turn left at the end. When you reach the partition, knock three times, and someone will lead you out.”

Zheng Xuening showed her how to go from here.

“Go on,” she said, pushing the girl’s shoulder and sending her to the left turn.

Lu Dieqing suddenly felt very reluctant to part with the Crown Princess.

The torch in her hand was something she had initially thought of as dangerous, but now that it was in her hand, the Crown Princess had taught her how to hold it, so she could see every step of the path beneath her feet.

“If you don’t go back, your parents will be looking for you.”

Zheng Xuening leaned against the wall, a casual smile on her lips.

Lu Dieqing thought of her parents and immediately grew anxious.

“Then I’ll be going.”

The girl finally made up her mind.

Zheng Xuening slightly raised her chin. When she wasn’t smiling, her aura returned to being cold and composed.

She looked strong, proud, and aloof, but she had her own path and her own mind. She was a person who would never get lost and would always find her way back.

Lu Dieqing walked away with the torch.

Following the Crown Princess’s instructions, she turned left and walked to the end. After about the time it takes for two incense sticks to burn, she successfully walked out of the secret tunnel.

At the end of the secret tunnel was the Crown Princess’s Changning Palace.

Matron Zhang heard the noise and quickly lowered the mechanism to let the person inside out.

When she saw Lu Dieqing, she froze.

“Why isn’t it Her Highness?”

This secret tunnel, since its construction, was known only to the Crown Princess and her closest confidants.

Now, a little girl as beautiful as a celestial fairy had walked out of it. Matron Zhang’s heart lurched.

Lu Dieqing explained, “It was Her Highness who led me out from here. She’s inside and said she’s going back to the sky prison first.”

A troubled look appeared on Matron Zhang’s face.

“Since Her Highness let you out from here, you must be a trustworthy person. I won’t bother you. You should go back for now. I’ll go in and find Her Highness.”

Matron Zhang was very worried for some reason.

Lu Dieqing was uneasy, but thinking of her parents, she quickly bypassed the crowded areas and went home.

Before nightfall, she heard the news.

An assassin had infiltrated the imperial city and assassinated the Second Prince. The Second Prince was still unconscious, and it seemed he had been castrated.

This matter was something Lu Dieqing already knew about. She was not surprised. But what truly shocked and confused her was the second matter.

—The Crown Princess in the sky prison had written a letter in blood and committed suicide by taking poison.

Lu Dieqing couldn’t believe it.