Chapter 52 Chapter 52 Ji Ran was still the best; he wouldn't be mean to her...

In the nearly five years since entering Qingyin Pavilion, Biezhi had met all sorts of people.

Some appeared gentle and gentle, yet were ruthless, others appeared wild and unruly, yet possessed a soft heart. Invariably, when rage or cornered, the darkness hidden deep within them was revealed.

Her eyelashes trembled slightly as she gazed at the man before her with mixed feelings, taking in the suppressed rage beneath his deep, dark eyes.

He was clearly furious, his turbulent aura subdued. Besides gripping her, immobilizing her, he made no other move, not even threatening her with a sword.

It seemed he truly wouldn't kill her.

It had been a mere suspicion, but now Biezhi was certain he wouldn't take her life.

Her tense heart suddenly relaxed, and she felt at ease.

As long as he didn't want her life, everything was fine.

After a long pause without an answer, a flash of paranoia lingered in Fu Huaiqing's eyes. He pressed harder, "Even if it were anyone else, would you have agreed?"

Biezhi, her emotions suddenly clearing, pondered for a moment and shook her head, "Not necessarily."

The emotions that had reached their peak were suddenly gently caught by a passing cloud. Suddenly, Fu Huaiqing was stunned, and even his thin lips, stretched into a straight line, began to droop.

He lost his focus for a moment, and after a moment, his mind slowly returned to its normal state. "Not necessarily?"

Biezhi nodded calmly.

She herself was still confused, which was why she wanted to meet the real Ji Ran. She hadn't expected Prince Su to take the matter so seriously. Someone uninformed might have thought Ji Ran had stolen something. And she wasn't forced into lying. "No matter what, in my eyes, the man that night was Ji Ran, that's all."

From beginning to end, she had been facing only Ji Ran.

He was also pretending to be Ji Ran.

Fu Huaiqing clenched his knuckles slightly, lowering his gaze to survey her slightly relaxed form. Unlike the resistance she had shown earlier, she was no longer as furious as a civet cat with its fur standing on end.

His thoughts were so preoccupied with her, he suddenly overlooked the fact that her nature wasn't as harmless as it appeared. Her usual quirky, charming, and adorable demeanor made her appear easy to tease, but in reality, if you stroked her against her will, she would bite back fiercely, without mercy.

Reason returned, a flicker of resignation crossed Fu Huaiqing's face, and he agreed, "You're right."

The man suddenly changed the subject, and Bie Zhi, somewhat unresponsive, doubled down, confirming, "Really?"

"Yes." Fu Huaiqing released her hand and returned to pour another cup of tea. "It's indeed as you said. I've always appeared before you as Ji Ran, unrelated to anyone else."

Hearing this, Bie Zhi couldn't help but mutter, "That's how it is." She

didn't know what he was angry about.

It wasn't her who asked him to appear before her as Ji Ran, so blaming her for not recognizing him was asking too much.

She could only mutter these words to herself now, never daring to bring them up in front of him, lest a new account be brought before the old one was settled.

Fu Huaiqing took a sip from the teacup.

The cool, clear spring water washed over his throat, dispelling some of his inner annoyance. He said to her, "Ji Ran has already left the capital."

"Huh?"

Bie Zhi was stunned, incredulous.

Wasn't there any comparison?

Fu Huaiqing hummed lightly, as if it weren't him who had ordered Ji Ran to leave the capital overnight. "He has a mission to complete, and he can't delay."

He emphasized the last four words.

Bie Zhi paused before asking, "When will he be back?"

"Maybe in a year or two," Fu Huaiqing said, his expression unchanged. "It depends on how soon he can finish his work."

Bie Zhi: "..."

In a year or two, the flowers would have withered, and the grass on the grave would have grown half a foot tall.

"Can't you return to the capital earlier?"

"No," Fu Huaiqing said firmly.

Hearing this, Biezhi was at a loss.

She was also following orders, so she naturally understood that unless there were special circumstances, she would have to complete the mission before returning to Beijing. However, in this way, there was no place to compare.

After thinking for a while, Biezhi asked again: "Can I go find him?"

Fu Huaiqing: "..."

He stared at the girl who didn't notice anything at all, and said word by word: "No."

As soon as the voice fell, Biezhi frowned, thinking that he was going to force her like he just did, but she didn't expect that there was no next step after he finished speaking. Her heart slowly fell again.

No, no.

Why be so fierce. Ji Ran

is still the best, he won't be fierce to her.

Biezhi didn't understand, he was obviously gentle when he pretended to be Ji Ran, why did his mood become so changeable when he changed back to his original body.

She quietly moved to the side to avoid his gaze.

Fu Huaiqing took in this scene, raised an eyebrow, and asked calmly, "Besides that, is there anything else you'd like to know?"

Bie Zhi shook her head, "Not yet."

She hadn't made up her mind about her next move.

She'd been thinking from the beginning, waiting until she saw the real Ji Ran before deciding, all her plans centered around that meeting. Suddenly, she realized she wouldn't see Ji Ran for a year or two, and she couldn't think of anything else to ask.

Fu Huaiqing was silent for a moment, then couldn't help asking, "About me—"

As she pondered, Bie Zhi suddenly remembered something and looked up, "There's something I do want to know."

Fu Huaiqing's lips curled slightly, "Ask."

Bie Zhi: "Haven't you found your senior brother yet?"

Fu Huaiqing: "..."

His heart skipped a beat. "No."

Bie Zhi curled her lips.

Failure to find his senior brother meant she couldn't uncover their reason for pursuing her. They'd been hunting her for seven days, and after failing to succeed tonight, leaving the palace now would undoubtedly draw their attention.

Even if they knew she was in Prince Su's mansion, they wouldn't dare to act rashly.

Going against me is just like killing a killer from Xianyun Tower. When they are interrogated in the future, they can say that they are old enemies. But going against Su Wang Mansion is not something that can be explained in a few words.

What's more, there may not even be a chance to explain.

Biezhi thought about it and felt that Su Wang Mansion was indeed her best hiding place before the truth came out. However, there was one thing she needed to do to reverse her current weak position.

She glanced at the man with a slightly unfriendly expression, and her mind was stunned for a moment. He

is indeed handsome, and his unhappy expression has a unique flavor.

Realizing what she was thinking, Biezhi couldn't help but curse herself, and then pulled the corner of her mouth, looking at him with a forced smile, "There is something I want to discuss with the prince."

Fu Huaiqing saw this and had a bad premonition.

"You say," he said calmly.

Biezhi put on a unique smile. "Senior Brother hasn't found the source yet, and the crisis hasn't been resolved. Can I stay at the Prince's residence for the time being?"

Fu Huaiqing's lips twitched.

He didn't seem to recall ever saying he'd let her leave the palace.

Biezhi saw clearly that he wasn't going to let her go, and she didn't know how to torture her, but she also had her own ulterior motives.

If Prince Su agreed to her offer to stay at the palace, she would be a guest. No matter how cruel Prince Su might be, he wouldn't want to kill a guest, let alone humiliate her.

Most importantly, from what Cheng Jin had said, it seemed he'd been mostly at the palace handling government affairs, except today. Their chances of meeting each other on weekdays were unlikely.

After watching her for a moment, Fu Huaiqing vaguely understood her thoughts. A hint of a smile flickered in his long, cold eyes, amused by her playfulness but also admiring her tenacity and perseverance.

He asked slowly, "Are you afraid I'll bring this up again?"

Biezhi was certainly afraid.

And it seemed there was no need to wait until later, since he had brought it up now.

She pursed her lips and said with a fake smile, "Don't be afraid."

"The Prince Su's Mansion is neither too big nor too small, it can accommodate you." Fu Huaiqing's gaze passed through her eyes and landed on the dimples that appeared as she smiled. "It's okay to throw a tantrum."

Bie Zhi hadn't thought of throwing a tantrum.

"Su Ci will bring Fang Tingzhi here in the future." Fu Huaiqing walked back to the desk, took out a memorial and handed it to her. Seeing her eyes suddenly widened, he raised his hand again to signal her to take it, "If you are idle and bored, you can also chat with her."

Even if Biezhi didn't know things, she could see that what he handed over was a memorial submitted by a court official. She hesitated whether to take it. When she heard him mention Fang Tingzhi, she remembered that when she saw Fang Tingzhi some time ago, she was dressed in men's clothes again. Biezhi pretended not to see the memorial he handed over and asked, "Does Tingzhi know that her master is you?"

"Of course she doesn't know." Fu Huaiqing didn't urge her, and casually dropped the memorial on the tea table in front of her, "If she knew, you wouldn't know it today."

"That's right." Biezhi ignored the memorial and asked, "Is she safe in the Su family?"

"Su Ci and I mentioned that if something happened to her, the Su family would be demolished." Fu Huaiqing glanced at her meaningfully and said, "We must be on guard against things that have been learned from the past."

"The Chen family's burned-down warehouse hasn't been rebuilt yet."

Having finally diverted his attention from her, Biezhi, surprised by his attention, smiled awkwardly. "They brought it upon themselves, and it wasn't me who stopped them from rebuilding."

A year ago, Fang Tingzhi left Beijing on a mission, only to return with numerous injuries. She didn't need to be questioned; she simply complained bitterly.

The Chen family's second son was also a peculiar individual, adept at gambling, drinking, whoring, and all things sexual. Disguised as a man, Fang Tingzhi sought employment at the Chen family, but within days, she was summoned by the servants. Upon arrival, she learned that the second son had taken a fancy to her, disguised as a man.

Naturally, Fang Tingzhi refused to comply, and, unable to restrain herself, injured the second son.

The Chen family was enraged, and they immediately bound her and took her to the authorities, but the second son stopped them, saying he liked her personality and that a proper discipline would be all she needed.

Fang Tingzhi fought tooth and nail to escape the Chen family, abandoning her mission and rushing back to the capital overnight.

Upon hearing this, Biezhi was so enraged that she couldn't wait until the next morning, leaving the capital on horseback. She learned from Fang Tingzhi that the Chen family's most valuable possession was their warehouse, and that her purpose in this journey was to uncover their true wealth. Arriving in the town where the Chen family lived, she burned the warehouse that very night.

Except for the gold ingots, which couldn't be burned through, everything else was completely consumed.

She hadn't bothered with the Chen family since then, but she had heard that they had rebuilt the warehouse several times, only to be stopped by the government at the outset or collapse halfway through.

Even now, a year later, it still hadn't been completed.

"If my family's traditions were not upheld, even Heaven would not tolerate it," Biezhi said, her anger rising.

If the Su family were to suffer the same fate, she wondered if she wouldn't tear it down.

Seeing her angry look, Fu Huaiqing was no different from a pufferfish. An almost inaudible laugh escaped from his throat, and he looked at her indulgently.

He caught a glimpse of the smile spreading from the corner of the man's eyes, and his almond-shaped eyes flashed, staring blankly.

Mottled lights occasionally passed by the man, and bathed in the dim light, the smile on his thin lips was fully revealed, and he was incredibly handsome.

Fu Huaiqing noticed her gaze and said nothing.

He let her look at him.