The Seventh Princess Insists on Making Me Live Off Her - Chapter 22

Her next words were, “Seize her.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Before Luo Qian’er could react, several people bound her hands and took her back to a room in the inn.

Several braziers burned inside the room, making it slightly too warm.

“Where is my Princess Consort?” Gao Jingxi sat upright beside the round table, her gaze as sharp and cold as the ice outside the window.

From the moment she was captured, Luo Qian’er had been secretly studying Gao Jingxi. The Seventh Princess’s black hair billowed like clouds, while the crimson ribbon woven through it made her snow-white skin resemble smooth, flawless jade. Her elegant brows were faintly furrowed, and her phoenix eyes naturally carried authority even without anger. She possessed a noble, restrained beauty that felt almost forbidden.

So a woman could truly be this beautiful! Her bearing was so extraordinary that it even overshadowed her appearance.

“I don’t know any Princess Consort. Young lady, haven’t you arrested the wrong person?” Luo Qian’er immediately adopted the strategy of denying everything, hoping to bluff her way through.

That day had been so chaotic, and she had hidden behind that pretty-faced Princess Consort the entire time. Gao Jingxi had kept her attention fixed on the pretty face and might not have seen Luo Qian’er clearly at all. Perhaps she was merely a blind cat that had stumbled across a dead mouse.

Gao Jingxi did not become angry at Luo Qian’er’s excuses. She asked the waiter to bring a pot of plain tea, leisurely drank a cup, and only then said carelessly, “Is that so? Yet I know you quite well. Luo Qian’er, nineteen years old. You grew up in the prosperous south, surrounded and indulged by everyone in Sanhua Tower. Your star chart is a short-tailed squirrel.”

Luo Qian’er fell silent. Gao Jingxi filled another cup two-thirds full, and the emerald-green tea released a refreshing fragrance.

“Those with squirrel star charts possess light and agile bodies. Being an assassin is a rather suitable profession for you.” Gao Jingxi walked over and offered her the tea. “Untie her.”

Once her restraints were removed, Luo Qian’er accepted the cup from Gao Jingxi and drank. She immediately felt refreshed, the fragrance soothing and pleasant. “How can this tea smell so wonderful?”

Seeing Luo Qian’er staring blankly at Gao Jingxi, A-You wished she could step forward and kick her several times. “It is merely the most ordinary tea.”

“How did Your Highness learn about me?”

“The next time you work as an assassin, remember to cover your face. I also know someone whose star chart is a box of rouge. It was once mocked as one of the most useless star charts, until its talent for disguise was eventually discovered.”

The person Gao Jingxi was referring to was Luo Qian’er’s mother. For some reason, Luo Qian’er suddenly became impatient. She put on her cheeky smile again and said, “Your Princess Consort? I killed her with one strike and abandoned her in the wilderness. Wild dogs have probably eaten her body until not even scraps remain.”

Gao Jingxi’s breath caught. Her fingers tightened around the armrest as she stared carefully into Luo Qian’er’s eyes. “You are lying.”

“Hmph. What makes you think I’m lying?” Luo Qian’er felt that she was slightly more handsome than Lian Liejin. Still, what if the Seventh Princess suddenly decided to kill her, ruined her face, and abandoned her corpse in the wilderness as well?

After all, the Seventh Princess Gao Jingxi looked exactly like a beautiful but venomous snake.

When faced with a beauty like this, there were only two choices: conquer her or run away.

Luo Qian’er’s thoughts spun rapidly. She coughed twice and said, “Actually, I lied. Your little Princess Consort is still alive and perfectly well.”

Luo Qian’er changed her story with every sentence. Gao Jingxi’s heart gradually settled, and she asked coldly, “Then where is she?”

“She left. She begged me to let her go.”

A-You said angrily, “Would an assassin like you truly be so kind?”

“Hmph, of course I’m not that kind.” Luo Qian’er suddenly giggled coquettishly. “But that pretty-faced Princess Consort of yours is quite delightful. I merely crooked a finger, and she became utterly captivated by me. Since the Princess Consort is so good-looking, why would I refuse her?”

“Stop spouting nonsense!” A-You was so furious that smoke nearly rose from her head. She wanted nothing more than to find an embroidery needle and sew Luo Qian’er’s mouth shut.

Gao Jingxi remained expressionless, her deep eyes fixed coldly on Luo Qian’er. A shiver ran through Luo Qian’er’s heart, so she decided she had nothing left to lose and continued fabricating her story. “See that bed? The Princess Consort held me tightly right there. She said she had long grown tired of the sallow-faced wife waiting at home, who wears a gloomy expression all day. A young and beautiful woman like me was much more delicious.”

A-You’s heart pounded as she listened. If the Princess Consort had truly said such a thing, then Her Highness…

“What? You don’t believe me?” Luo Qian’er’s eyes rolled mischievously. “There is a mole on the Princess Consort’s waist. Think about it and tell me whether I’m right.”

Luo Qian’er had expected Gao Jingxi to fly into a rage or at least become visibly furious. Unexpectedly, the Seventh Princess remained silent. Apart from her face turning several shades paler, she displayed no other emotion.

As expected of the imperial family. They never allowed joy or anger to show on their faces. Could the Seventh Princess already be considering how to silence her permanently? Luo Qian’er continued pretending to be smug. “Hmph. In any case, I am the only person who knows where she is. If you still want to see her, you had better release me. Perhaps when she sees how merciful you are, she might even be willing to take you back.”

The entire room fell silent. After being tied up, Luo Qian’er’s right hand hurt even more intensely. She endured the pain and looked toward Gao Jingxi.

Darkness had already fallen outside the window. Amid the flickering candlelight, Gao Jingxi stood with her back to Luo Qian’er. Her slender, graceful figure carried an inexplicable stubbornness that made Luo Qian’er’s heart ache faintly.

Unable to bear it, she swung her legs and spoke with a slight blush. “Your Highness, actually… why don’t you throw away that pretty-faced Princess Consort and let me stay with you instead?”

When Gao Jingxi still said nothing, Luo Qian’er tilted her head. “I’ll return to Changyong with you immediately and never leave your side again. I certainly wouldn’t abandon you to spend your nights alone like that Princess Consort did.”

Those words were what truly sent A-You into a fury. Breathing heavily, she said through clenched teeth, “You vulgar woman! You are indulging in a ridiculous fantasy. How could someone like you possibly covet the Seventh Princess?”

“Hey, young lady.” Luo Qian’er looked A-You up and down and raised an eyebrow. “I am Luo Qian’er. My family background is respectable, my beauty is unparalleled, and I have no improper habits. I am clearly far superior to that pretty-faced Princess Consort. Besides, once I’m with the princess, having two children in three years and three in five would be no problem at all.”