Chapter 117 How Did He Die?

Chapter 117: How Did He Die?

Liu Qingci thought that after the unpleasantness with Xiao Jing this time, Xiao Jing would need a few days to cool down.

If Xiao Jing didn't come, he could enjoy a few days of peace.

But to Liu Qingci's surprise, Xiao Jing appeared again early the next morning.

He put on the airs of a gentle gentleman, wearing the moon-white brocade robe he used to favor, with a warm smile on his face.

This struck Liu Qingci as somewhat odd.

Hadn't they just exchanged harsh words yesterday and parted on bad terms? And now he was shamelessly showing up again?

This didn't seem like Xiao Jing's style.

Xiao Jing cared about face. The fact that he could tolerate being scolded over and over again and still keep Liu Qingci around was already beyond expectation.

"Qingci, the weather is nice today. How about I accompany you for a walk?"

Xiao Jing walked over to Liu Qingci with a composed demeanor, wearing a gentle smile as if the words from yesterday had never existed.

"You're actually willing to let me out?" Liu Qingci's expression was strange.

Xiao Jing's smile remained: "Of course. I'll go with you to the Imperial Garden for a stroll."

"I won't go."

Xiao Jing's smile faltered for a moment.

Then he smiled again, even more gently than before, like he was coaxing a stubborn child.

"Why not?" he asked. "Don't you want to go out?"

Xiao Jing lowered his voice: "Are you still angry?"

Liu Qingci looked at that smiling face and suddenly felt something was wrong, but he couldn't pinpoint exactly what.

He could only ask, sounding even more puzzled: "Angry? You think this is just about anger?"

Xiao Jing smiled and asked, "Isn't it? Then what are you still pouting about?"

Liu Qingci thought it was absurd: "Xiao Jing, you'd better just stay away from me. Otherwise, I'll only find you even more disgusting."

Xiao Jing's expression suddenly darkened.

Liu Qingci felt this scene was a lot like yesterday's.

He called Xiao Jing disgusting, and Xiao Jing gave him a dirty look.

But what confused him was: if he didn't want to hear it, why come knocking on his door?

"Qingci!" Xiao Jing said sharply. "That's going too far."

Liu Qingci: "???"

"I've already apologized to you! If you're angry, I can make it up to you in the future!"

Xiao Jing's voice turned cold and harsh, his smile gone, replaced by a restrained anger. He continued,

"Yes! It was me who personally plotted to send you to Prince Yu's manor. It was me who caused your injury! But... but I had no choice. Besides, aren't you fine now?!"

"What?" Liu Qingci froze, his eyes suddenly widening in shock and confusion.

He seemed unable to process what Xiao Jing had just said.

But Xiao Jing had no idea what was going through his mind and simply pressed on, his tone even carrying a hint of self-righteousness:

"What? Are you going to blame me forever over this? Why can't you just forgive me?!"

Liu Qingci's mind went completely blank.

Every word that came out of Xiao Jing's mouth was clear to him, but strung together, they sounded like a foreign language.

When had they ever talked about this? And...

"Are you saying... it was you who sent me to Prince Yu's manor?" Liu Qingci frowned, his expression serious.

Xiao Jing calmed down a little, and he frowned too: "Didn't I already explain this to you?"

Liu Qingci looked at him coldly, saying nothing.

Xiao Jing took a deep breath: "Back then, I only sent word to Xiao Yan, letting him know where you were. I didn't do anything else besides that."

Liu Qingci had found out about this by chance and had held a grudge against him over it.

So Xiao Jing couldn't deny it; he could only apologize.

But how long had it been? Liu Qingci's anger hadn't subsided at all.

Every time he came, Liu Qingci gave him a dirty look!

After speaking, Xiao Jing watched Liu Qingci's expression and saw that he seemed deep in thought.

He remembered how, when Liu Qingci first found out, he had come to confront him with pure fury.

Now... had he already started to forgive him a bit?

Xiao Jing thought to himself, but then he suddenly heard Liu Qingci speak:

"So... because of you, I met Xiao Yan?"

Liu Qingci's voice was flat, light and distant, as if he were in a daze.

Xiao Jing frowned, thought it was odd, but replied: "You could say that."

The moment he finished, he saw Liu Qingci suddenly smile.

The smile was faint, and then he looked at Xiao Jing and said: "Then for this matter, I should thank you."

Xiao Jing was totally baffled, like he couldn't understand those words at all.

He opened his mouth, frowned more deeply, and stayed silent for a long time.

Finally, he could only ask: "...What are you talking about?"

"Because of you, I met Xiao Yan. Shouldn't I thank you for that?" Liu Qingci explained calmly and patiently.

Xiao Jing found it even more absurd, so absurd it was almost laughable.

"Thank for what? What's there to thank about meeting Xiao Yan?!" He finds the whole situation completely ridiculous, so he blurts out without thinking, "What, do you like him or something?"

"Of course." Liu Qingci's tone was even more matter-of-fact than Xiao Jing's just now.

He didn't know what was wrong with Xiao Jing today, but considering he was the matchmaker between him and Xiao Yan, he could say it again.

So, enunciating each word, he said: "I told you, he is the one I love."

A riot of emotions crossed Xiao Jing's face.

On that gentle and refined face, shock, absurdity, anger, and disbelief intermingled like a spilled paint palette.

"You..." His voice trembled. "What did you say?"

Liu Qingci knew Xiao Jing had heard him.

But he didn't understand why Xiao Jing was so surprised.

Xiao Jing's chest heaved violently. He stared intently at Liu Qingci and almost growled:

"Are you crazy? Xiao Yan has been dead for ages! Besides, you only met him once, and here you're talking about liking him? About loving him?!"

It felt like a bomb went off in Liu Qingci's head.

His throat tightened as he looked at Xiao Jing's twisted face. Even so, he spoke with utter seriousness, not as a joke.

"What did you say?" His voice was a little hoarse. "I've only met him once?"

Xiao Jing was taken aback by his question.

"Wasn't it?" He frowned. "You were sent to Prince Yu's Mansion, he ordered you to be flogged, and the next day he died."

Liu Qingci's face turned pale inch by inch.

Many thoughts flashed through his mind. From the sparse information Xiao Jing had given, he latched onto the crucial words and asked:

"How did he die?"

Xiao Jing looked at his pale face and suddenly let out a cold laugh.

"A piece of trash like him, how else would he die?" He paused, a smirk of undisguised contempt on his lips. "He died from overindulgence in sex."

"He gave you a flogging, threw you into the Listening Bamboo Courtyard, then went back to the Moon Embracing Pavilion, summoned a bunch of men and women, drank through the night, and the next morning was found dead on the sleeping couch. The coroner said it was excessive drinking, plus... sexual excess."