Chapter 170: Sticking to No Ordinary Words

If anyone could actually believe such an excuse, their brain must certainly be missing a screw. Yuwen Lingxi wore a look of utter helplessness as he met Lianyue’s meddlesome glance, feeling a bitter laugh rising in his chest.

"What is Miss Yue trying to do?" Qingruo asked, a trace of anger lacing her tone as she reluctantly pulled herself away from Qiao Zhi’s embrace. Her soul had nearly frightened right out of her just moments ago; had Young Master Yuwen not stepped in to block the blow, her own martial arts skills would never have been enough to stop it, and His Highness...

"Qingruo, do not make a scene." Qingruo froze in place, dumbfounded by Qiao Zhi’s reprimand. She stared in absolute disbelief at Qiao Zhi, whose expression was equally grim. That woman had clearly just... yet he was still defending her... Could it be...

Watching the color drain slowly from Qingruo’s face, a flicker of unbearable guilt stirred in Qiao Zhi’s heart. He had not expected Lianyue to make a move against him. Although she hadn't genuinely intended to hurt him, she had still followed through with a real strike. He hadn't planned to dodge; despite not knowing Lianyue for very long, he understood her temperament reasonably well. The entire incident stemmed from the fact that Lianyue had been stirred to sympathy by Qingruo’s zither music. Her actions were meant to fight an injustice on Qingruo’s behalf, as well as to teach him a lesson.

A quiet wave of desolation rippled across Qiao Zhi’s face. It seemed his impression in her heart was truly far from favorable. No wonder he had been the first to know her, yet she had given her heart to another. If only he hadn't gone to see Qingruo off back at the Luoluo Mansion, would he have missed the chance to travel alongside her? If only he had done so, would he have left no opening for that man called Anming?

Yet another voice in his mind retorted: Even so, the two of you could never be together. She is the fiancée of your closest friend, and besides, what has happened has already happened. Those "ifs" and "maybes" are utterly impossible to repeat.

In Qiao Zhi’s dimmed, peach-blossom eyes, a heavy surge of self-mockery welled up. He looked at the somewhat absent-minded Qingruo and offered an explanation: "Younger Sister Yue already said she lost control; she didn't mean to do it."

Hearing these words, Qingruo felt a distinct and bitter sting. She had constantly stayed by his side—whenever he was in Xijing, she was in Xijing; when he traveled to Luoluo, she pursued him all the way to Luoluo, even willing to lower herself to a life in the pleasure quarters. When the Cuiwei Pavilion where she resided met with disaster, he was the very first to arrange a place for her to stay. She had foolishly believed she was slowly walking into his heart, only for him to make a trip back to the Luoluo Mansion and vanish completely, leaving not a single message behind.

She had spent her days and nights yearning for him in the annex, only to finally receive news that he had risked his own life to search for the eldest Miss Yue. While she had been sick with worry, she finally got word that he had returned to Luoluo Mansion, yet he had rushed away once again without even sending her a word.

All of this she could still use to comfort herself, telling herself he was simply too busy and had been careless. After all, hadn't she still followed him to Xijing? But she never imagined that Xijing would turn out to be the place she wished least to stay. First came the news of his marriage alliance, and then his constant, all-encompassing protection of a woman who already had a fiancée.

Although he often spoke with sarcastic taunts when conversing with Miss Yue, the underlying joy inadvertently leaking from his tone clearly demonstrated how much he enjoyed bantering with her.

Even now, after Miss Yue had behaved in such an outrageous manner, he was still shielding her at every turn, calling her "Younger Sister Yue" with every breath.

From beginning to time immemorial, he had only ever called her Qingruo, never once offering a single word of intimacy. Should she finally wake up from this dream? After trying so hard, this was still the result she received. Should she finally let go of the obsession weighing on her heart?

While everyone else merely saw Qingruo's hollow and desolate state, none of them realized that her feelings for Qiao Zhi were also cooling down bit by bit.

Seeing her appearance, a deep wave of pity and sympathy welled up in Lianyue's heart. Such a woman, displaying such profound devotion, and even throwing herself recklessly into danger when Qiao Zhi was threatened—such a wonderful girl, why was Qiao Zhi so utterly incapable of cherishing her?

If he had never felt anything for her from the start, why give this woman hope in the first place?

Could it be that Qiao Zhi looked down on Qingruo because of her background, feeling she wasn't a match for him? Otherwise, why hadn't he refused when the Emperor bestowed the marriage? The more Lianyue thought about it, the more convinced she became that her guess was correct.

In the depths of her heart, Lianyue had long since regarded Qiao Zhi as a good friend, which was why she allowed him to call her "Younger Sister Yue" so brazenly. Since a friend had done wrong, Lianyue felt it was her bounden duty to point it out, especially since Qiao Zhi’s current demeanor was truly infuriating.

Chai Mengqing had already anticipated Lianyue's next move. She shifted slightly, yet ultimately refrained from stepping forward to stop her. With a complex gaze, she glanced at the desolate Qingruo; perhaps this scene caused by Miss Yue was for the best after all.

Yuwen Lingxi certainly wanted to intervene, but right now, he had no way of stopping Lianyue's mouth.

"You stubborn old diehard, stop putting on this hypocritical act! Miss Qingruo is gorgeous, plays the zither so wonderfully, and just look at how she threw herself into danger for you without a second thought! What reason do you have to treat her like this? If you like her, then be together openly and honestly. If you don't like her, then say it clearly and cleanly. You're a grown man—how can you act like a coward hiding in his shell?"

A rapid-fire string of accusations spilled forth. Qiao Zhi’s heart was filled with bitter agony, yet he could not voice his grievances. A coward hiding in his shell? It seemed that was precisely what he was right now. If he could, he too wished to be open and upright, but the royal court was in such complete chaos right now, and the perils surrounding him were so immense—how could he possibly utter such simple words as "I like you"?

Clearly, Qingruo had not expected Lianyue to defend her at every turn. Hearing Lianyue's words instead brought a sudden spark of enlightenment to her heart.

To like someone was to like them; to dislike them was to dislike them. Perhaps one day fondness would turn into aversion, or aversion into fondness. Yet a huge part of the kindness and indulgence Qiao Zhi showed her was actually due to her maternal aunt, Lady Qin. By constantly clinging to him this way, hadn't she simply been keeping him in a state of perpetual torment all along?

Lianyue had initially expected Qiao Zhi to retort with a few words, but he merely stood in place as if his soul had been sucked out. Looking at his desolate figure, a trace of reluctance stirred in Lianyue. Her previous righteous boldness began to wane, and she tentatively probed, "I just think that whether you like someone or not, you shouldn't bury it deep in your heart. At the very least, you should speak it out. Once you say it, even if..."

Before Lianyue could finish her sentence, she felt a gust of wind sweep past her. Immediately afterward, her wrist tightened, and her body was pulled uncontrollably toward the doorway.

Watching the scene unfold before her, the smile on Chai Mengqing's lips grew increasingly brilliant, while the radiant light that had just surfaced in Qiao Zhi’s eyes instantly dimmed once again at the sight.

Zizhuy stood by the door, hesitating left and right over whether she ought to follow them right now. Yet after a brief moment of indecision, she cast a careful glance into the room, gave a brief greeting to Duoli, and hiked up her skirt to chase after Lianyue, who had already been dragged to the stairwell by Yuwen Lingxi.

Once Lianyue finally recognized the person dragging her away, an inexplicable wave of anger surged within her. This iceberg of a man had absolutely no manners! She hadn't even finished speaking, and yet he pulled such a stunt!

Lianyue struggled vigorously for a few moments, but failed to break free—this man's grip was far too tight. She roared, "Let go of me!" Then she felt her wrist loosen, her body stumbling forward a couple of steps before she managed to steady herself.

The moment she regained her footing, Lianyue immediately went on the offensive. "What are you doing? I wasn't finished talking yet! Don't you know that men and women shouldn't have physical contact when passing things?"

Yuwen Lingxi kept his back turned to Lianyue, forcing himself to regain his usual calm composure. Yet the moment he recalled what Lianyue had just said and Qiao Zhi's reaction, a deep sense of crisis gripped him. Even though he knew in his heart that Lianyue fancied him, that object of affection was Anming—an Anming who would rarely appear in the future.

Aside from holding the title of her fiancé—an advantage he wasn't even sure counted as one—his current status left him completely shut out from Lianyue's inner world.

Furthermore, judging from Qiao Zhi’s drunken truth-telling the night before, that young man had already developed deep roots of affection for Lianyue, even if he hadn't yet realized the profound depth of Lianyue's place in his heart, compounded by his deliberate suppression of those feelings.

However, had he allowed Lianyue to finish speaking those words, it likely would have caused Qiao Zhi’s dam of suppression to burst completely. And once that happened, things would truly spiral beyond all control.