Chapter 65 Prince of Lingnan Soothes Young Master

Chapter 65: The Prince of Lingnan Coaxes the Young Master

This was a fierce, fiery kiss, tongues intertwining, intensely intimate. Qin Jiao felt the air in his lungs being slowly drained, while Xie Nai, insatiable, pushed deeper into his mouth.

"Mm, let, let go... Hss."

Qin Jiao struggled to speak, but the next second Xie Nai bit him lightly, a sharp sting on his tongue, and Qin Jiao fell silent.

In the quiet, dim alley, a single dim yellow lantern flickered weakly. Beneath the tall holly tree, the two embraced intimately. Gradually, Qin Jiao was kissed into a daze, a light sweat breaking out on his back. His slender fingers dug into his palms, leaving faint crescent marks from his nails.

In the midst of winter, the fiery red holly berries filled the tree, vibrant and lively. One small berry, as if shy, fell and happened to land right on the tip of Qin Jiao's nose.

Snapped out of his daze, Qin Jiao pushed hard, and this time Xie Nai was shoved back.

"You're utterly shameless!"

Qin Jiao stepped back, pointing at Xie Nai with a trembling hand, whether from rage or exhaustion.

"Just some intimacy, and you're this angry?" Xie Nai wiped his mouth, looking up with a lazy smile.

"What intimacy? This is molestation!"

Qin Jiao was furious, unable to fight back, his face flushed. The angrier he became, the more he wanted to run away, but Xie Nai immediately blocked his path.

"Don't you dare touch me again!" Qin Jiao said sternly, stepping far away from Xie Nai.

"Fine, no touching."

The young master's lips were still as red as a flower.

Xie Nai knew he had been a bit too hasty, so he silently stepped back, keeping his distance from Qin Jiao.

Seeing Xie Nai back off, Qin Jiao's expression softened. "What else do you have to say?"

Xie Nai stared intently at Qin Jiao's moist, reddened eyes and asked in a deep voice, "Why did you mess with Lin Wen today?"

Around and around the same topic, Qin Jiao naturally refused to answer. "I don't—"

"Of course, I know you won't tell me the truth, so let's trade answers." Xie Nai cut him off before he could finish.

"Exchange answers?"

"Yes. You asked me before why I gave you a fake token and said Lin Wen wanted to kill you. I can tell you the reason, but you have to tell the truth."

Qin Jiao lowered his head in thought, then said, "Fine. You go first."

"Alright." Having received confirmation, Xie Nai began slowly, "Actually, at the time, there were two tokens Luo Yue brought back from Huojishan: one was the White Jade Seal, and the other was a painting. Because that painting was related to a murder case I've been investigating, I kept the painting and didn't give it to you."

"What did the painting show? Does it have to do with Lin Wen?" Qin Jiao pressed.

"A bridge. As for whether it's related to Lin Wen, I'm still looking into it."

A bridge? Qin Jiao frowned, puzzled.

Xie Nai continued, "Since this case is far-reaching, I didn't want you to be dragged into this, so I only gave you the White Jade Seal. But it turned out that seal was actually yours."

It seems that when Qin Jiao was kidnapped earlier, he lost the seal during his escape, and the two black-clad men found it and put it with the painting.

Xie Nai's tone was somber. "I hid the truth about the token, but it was for a good reason. I didn't mean to deceive you."

"Then why did you kill the two assassins who attacked me?" Since they were trading answers, Qin Jiao naturally had to ask directly.

Xie Nai locked eyes with Qin Jiao, his eyes sharp and intimidating. "Because they crossed my taboo."

"What taboo?" A taboo was something you didn't speak of, but Qin Jiao was bold enough to ask.

Xie Nai shook his head. "I can't say."

"Alright." Though Xie Nai didn't elaborate, Qin Jiao had a feeling that Xie Nai's taboo was related to the murder case he was investigating.

"Anything else you want to ask?" Xie Nai asked.

"Yes." Qin Jiao's eyes were bright. "Why did you keep implying that Lin Wen wanted to kill me?"

"It wasn't implying. I initially thought that seal was Lin Wen's private stamp." His gaze was deep. "But I did have an ulterior motive."

"Your Highness's ulterior motive was to make me break off the engagement with Lin Wen and to let Mingjia have Lin Wen?"

"You..." Xie Nai was taken aback.

"Don't be surprised, Your Highness. I know that young man named Mingjia knows you."

At today's lantern festival, Mingjia kept looking at Xie Nai, probably without Xie Nai himself noticing, but Qin Jiao did.

"Since we agreed to exchange answers, I'll be honest."

Qin Jiao continued calmly. "Earlier, I suspected your falling out with Lin Wen was due to someone. Only today, when you and Lin Wen argued over the lantern and Mingjia kept nervously watching you, did I confirm that Mingjia is the reason for your rift with Lin Wen."

"So today, while you were testing Lin Wen, you were also testing me."

Qin Jiao deliberately interacted with Lin Wen, partly to test the relationship between Lin Wen and Mingjia, and partly to verify Xie Nai's attitude toward them.

"Yes." Qin Jiao nodded directly. "All this time you've been telling me to break off the engagement with Lin Wen—it's because of Mingjia, isn't it?"

Xie Nai's attitude made Qin Jiao even more curious about Mingjia's identity. "So who is that Mingjia? A friend of yours? A relative?"

For Xie Nai to treat him specially and Lin Wen to care about him so much, Mingjia's identity must be extraordinary.

"He's my nephew," Xie Nai said.

"Nephew?" Qin Jiao quickly racked his brain. How many nephews did Xie Nai have?

Xie Nai's eyes were as deep as a deep well. He continued, "Mingjia is just his courtesy name. His real name is Xie Xuanran."

Qin Jiao: "..."

Xie Xuanran?

Was it the Xie Xuanran he was thinking of?

Seeing Qin Jiao's thunderstruck expression, Xie Nai gave a slight smile. "It's exactly who you're thinking of: the eldest son of the late crown prince, the Young Emperor of the Tianyuan Dynasty, Xie Xuanran."

"I..." Qin Jiao was at a loss for how to describe his feelings.

Xie Xuanran and Lin Wen?

The young emperor and the grand chancellor?

Qin Jiao suddenly looked down at his hand. What had this hand just done? Pulled the sleeve of Lin Wen, the young emperor's sweetheart, right in front of the young emperor?

"I... do I need to have my two eyes stand guard in shifts tonight?" Qin Jiao was horrified. "Will my hands still be there when I wake up tomorrow morning?"

Would His Majesty the Emperor send someone to sneak into the Qin residence in the dead of night to chop off his offending hands?

The young master's face visibly paled. Xie Nai sighed helplessly. "Now you're scared?"

"Who wouldn't be afraid after doing something guilty?"

No wonder his bluff worked on Lin Wen—Lin Wen must have thought Xie Nai had already told Qin Jiao about Xie Xuanran's identity, so he gave in. Lin Wen had no idea that Qin Jiao had just been guessing blindly.

Qin Jiao figured Lin Wen certainly hadn't told his family about his relationship with Xie Xuanran, which was why he came privately to annul the engagement. But Qin Jiao, stubborn as a mule, absolutely refused to agree.

"So it couldn't have been Lin Wen who sent someone to assassinate me, right?" Qin Jiao frowned, continuing to let his thoughts wander. "Or maybe Lin Wen and your nephew together sent someone to kill me? After all, if I die, they can be together openly."

The more Qin Jiao thought about it, the more scared he got. He twisted his fingers nervously. Xie Nai beside him was almost amused despite his exasperation. "Is this how you normally use your brain?"

"You're scolding me?"

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