After Pei Qingfeng exited the city gate, Ling Xian"er sneaked back to the residence. After all, she had been out for quite some time and even if she didn"t manage to keep the secret from Honored Tian Yun, she would be able to avoid him for the time being. While Ling Xian"er was thinking about hiding from Honored Tian Yun, she headed for the stargazing pavilion. She never expected to run into him the moment she entered.
"Honored Sir, what are you doing here?" When Ling Xian"er saw Honored Tian Yun waiting for her, she panicked a little and asked carefully.
Honored Tian Yun was able to sense her unease but he wasn"t in a hurry to expose her. He felt that her fl.u.s.tered expression was rather hilarious and he wanted to see what kind of lie she was going to come up with.
"Didn"t you go and look for Qingfeng? Did he agree to come for dinner?" Honored Tian Yun had already guessed Pei Qingfeng"s answer but asked anyway.
Ling Xian"er stuttered, "Big Brother Qingfeng still doesn"t know if he has anything important to do tomorrow. He will send a message before coming."
Honored Tian Yun knew that he wasn"t going to get an answer from Ling Xian"er and he quickly left. When she saw that he was finally leaving, he let out a long breath of relief.
"Things are really not going according to plan. I haven"t thought of a plan yet and he immediately appeared. Seems like I need to make a lot of preparations for tomorrow..." Ling Xian"er commented and immediately headed upstairs. Excuses started swimming in her mind and she thought of how she could hoodwink Honored Tian Yun the next day.
Time pa.s.sed by quickly and it was time for the dinner appointment with Pei Qingfeng. Honored Tian Yun sat on the host"s seat and looked at the empty chair while thinking about something.
At the side, Ling Xian"er was like a cat on a hot tin roof. She wasn"t able to sit still as she waited for the inevitable question.
"Xian"er, didn"t you say that Qingfeng will deliver a message to us? Why isn"t there any news yet?" Honored Tian Yin raised his brows and quietly waited for Ling Xian"er"s reply.
"Honored Sir, this... Big Brother Qingfeng might be busy. I will go and check on him." Ling Xian"er ran off as though there was oil smeared at the bottom of her feet.
She was pulled back by Honored Tian Yun after taking a few steps. "Nevermind. I will personally head over. It is getting late and it is inappropriate for a young lady like you to look for a man at night.”
Alarm bells went off in Ling Xian"er"s head. She knew that she wouldn"t be able to stop Honored Tian Yun from heading to the Second Prince"s residence and immediately asked to tag along.
Honored Tian Yun raised his brows after hearing Ling Xian"er"s request. He narrowed his eyes when he looked at her and she could feel beads of cold sweat dripping down her forehead. After what felt like an eternity, Honored Tian Yun said, "Fine, you can come along."
Ling Xian"er let out a breath of relief and quickly followed behind him. In her heart, she was praying that everything would go smoothly. If he discovered their plan, they would both be in deep trouble.
Of course, everything that could go wrong would go wrong.
The instant Honored Tian Yun entered the room, Pei Qingfeng"s personal guard appeared before him as sick as could be. Everything went smoothly until Honored Tian Yun reached out to pull off the human skin mask before he left.
When Ling Xian"er saw the human skin mask on Honored Tian Yun"s hand, her heart turned cold. She knew that she couldn"t hide it any longer.
"Xian"er, can you tell me what is going on? I think you are the only person that can make a human skin mask like this..." Tian Yun held the human skin mask in one hand and turned to look at Ling Xian"er.
Ling Xian"er stammered for a long time and she finally found the courage to speak up, "It is... Big Brother Qingfeng has something private to settle but he felt that someone had to oversee the Second Prince"s residence, hence, I thought up this idea..." Ling Xian"er voice became softer the more she spoke.
Tian Yun sneered after listening to the explanation, "Heh, why don"t I tell you what is happening? Why don"t I tell you what Qingfeng is going to do? You are really muddle-headed!”
Tian Yun threw the human skin mask on the ground before criticizing Ling Xian"er, "Qingfeng is probably heading to the Desolate Region right now to take care of Divine Physician Bai or whatever you call her. Even though I don"t know what happened to her, for Qingfeng to disregard everything to head to the Desolate Region, it has to be serious. Do you know that the Desolate Region is a battlefield right now? Even if Qingfeng is able to escape unscathed with his strength, he is an imperial prince! If he enters the battlefield secretly, he will be committing the same crime as colluding with the enemy to betray the nation! You"re getting really bold! How dare you get someone to disguise as an imperial prince? Do you think that you are above the law in the Cloud Water Nation? Do you think that with my overwhelming strength, we will be able to avoid all punishment while living in the capital city?” Honored Tian Yun was getting more irritated as he spoke and his entire face was flushed red. It was obvious that he was truly infuriated.
"I"m doing it for Big Brother Qingfeng! It"s for the person I love and even if I make a mistake that offends the entire world, I won"t regret it! I am not in the wrong and neither is Big Brother Qingfeng! All of you are the ones at fault!" Something snapped in Ling Xian"er as she actually yelled back at Honored Tian Yun.
"I think that you are thinking too highly of yourself. Love is important but so is responsibility! You cannot start to disregard everything just because of your so-called love. From today onwards, you shall be confined in the stargazing pavilion to reflect on your mistake. We will talk again when you have thought things through." After speaking, Honored Tian Yun restrained Ling Xian"er and headed back.
"I merely spoke the truth! Why are you confining me? I am speaking up for Big Brother Qingfeng today, but I will be the next Big Brother Qingfeng!" If an outsider heard what Ling Xian"er said, they would be utterly confused. However, Honored Tian Yun wasn"t an outsider and he knew exactly what Ling Xian"er meant.
"Are you not satisfied with the way you disgraced yourself in public? Hurry up and return with me!" Honored Tian Yun then forcefully pulled Ling Xian"er back.
No one in the residence knew what was going on but Honored Tian Yun had a gloomy expression when he returned to his room. He didn"t even eat dinner.
"I am not angry because you argued with me. I am angry because you stirred up trouble without being remorseful for it. If this carries on, you will get into deep trouble sooner or later. Instead of watching you get into trouble, I would rather you hate me now. Why do you have to be so impatient? You and Qingfeng are both the same. As long as you don"t wish to do something, no one can force you. Not even the Sect Patriarch… Even if I have to fight him, I will protect the both of you…" Honored Tian Yun mumbled to himself after returning to his room.