Chapter 66 Lantern Festival Conflict, Qin Han Attacked

Chapter 66: Lantern Festival Conflict: Qin Han Attacked

"Are you cursing me out?"

Qin Jiao stared in disbelief—was this what men were like? Just moments ago, he had been holding him in a tender, intimate way, and now he was calling him brainless?

"No." Xie Nai rested his forehead on his palm and slowly leaned closer to Qin Jiao. "Mingjia won't send anyone to kill you, I guarantee. As for Lin Wen, since the whole seal thing was a misunderstanding, find a chance to ask him directly. Just don't mention the painting, then."

Seeing that Qin Jiao still seemed uneasy, Xie Nai reached out and ruffled his hair. "Don't worry, they won't do anything to you." He then chuckled lightly, "Of course, you don't need to sleep with both eyes closed and not worry either."

Qin Jiao was stunned for a moment. Xie Nai, that jerk, was mocking him again. But he just let it slide.

"However, Your Highness, why don't you want Lin Wen and Xie... well, the emperor, to be together?" Qin Jiao was genuinely curious.

"Because the pig rooted up my cabbage without asking permission."

Qin Jiao: ... Well, that metaphor was straightforward and easy to understand.

"Yet you still want me to annul the engagement with Lin Wen?"

"No choice. The cabbage doesn't know what's good for it—it just loves that pig." Xie Nai glanced at Qin Jiao as he spoke.

At that moment, fireworks burst open beneath the distant sky, their sparkling fragments like countless half-hidden stars, casting the young man's already striking features into even more delicate and noble relief.

"Moreover..."

"What?"

"I like the Qinjiao flower. I want it to bloom only by my side."

Qin Jiao: "?"

The faint blush that had just faded from the young man's handsome face instantly crept back. "What business is it of yours where it blooms? Stop changing the subject—let's keep talking about Lin Wen!"

Qin Jiao's voice carried an unmistakable panic, but Xie Nai didn't call him out on it. He smiled and went along, "Alright, let's continue. Want me to tell you about their romantic history?"

"No, no... no need." Qin Jiao quickly interrupted. He didn't want to know the private matters of those in power. He always lived by: know too much, die too fast.

Qin Jiao glanced at Xie Nai. "What?" Xie Nai asked.

"You're acting strange today, Your Highness."

"Strange how?"

"Well, you're answering everything I ask..."

Earlier at Taiyu Temple, Xie Nai had refused to answer anything, which led to their fight and parting ways. Today, however, Xie Nai seemed willing to tell him everything, even offering to share details about his nephew's love life.

Xie Nai stared hard at Qin Jiao, his eyes burning. "Because you've been angry," he said.

Qin Jiao's chest tightened.

Xie Nai continued, "Qin Jiao, I never intended to use you as a tool to get back at Lin Wen."

A strange, nameless feeling churned inside Qin Jiao—a faint bitterness, a budding delight, the first flutter of something new. This vague feeling left him flustered and at a loss.

"Oh, I see, I understand." He could only avoid Xie Nai's gaze and stammer a reply.

Watching his red, flustered face, the corner of Xie Nai's mouth lifted into a faint smile.

But the moment passed, and Xie Nai's expression changed... Suddenly, footsteps echoed from the quiet alley outside.

Someone was coming!

"Master!"

"Young master? Are you in there?"

It was Luo Yue.

Afraid that barging into the alley might expose something inappropriate, Luo Yue waited cautiously outside.

"What is it?" Xie Nai called out toward the alley.

Earlier, Xie Nai had ordered everyone not to follow him, so as his close bodyguard, Luo Yue would never disobey. Something must have happened.

"It's the second young miss of the Qin residence. Something's happened—please hurry, young master."

"What?" Qin Jiao was so stunned he wondered if Luo Yue had misspoken or if he had misheard. "The second young miss of the Qin residence? Qin Han?"

"Yes. With Miss Qin Han is a small vendor named Luo Yiqi..."

Before Luo Yue could finish, Qin Jiao rushed out in a frenzy, with Xie Nai following calmly behind.

"Where are they?" Qin Jiao asked urgently.

"At, at the boat we were on earlier," Luo Yue said, stammering.

Qin Jiao didn't notice Luo Yue's odd behavior. He was about to run off when Xie Nai grabbed him from behind.

"What are you doing?"

"You need to cover that up."

"Huh?"

The lantern light illuminated Qin Jiao's face. The color on his lips was gone, but the bite Xie Nai had left on his neck was still clearly visible. His skin was so pale and thin that the red mark looked like a plum blossom in full bloom.

Only when Xie Nai loosely wrapped a silk cloth around his neck did Qin Jiao suddenly realize why Luo Yue had looked so strange just now!

And at that moment, Luo Yue was staring at the sky, playing invisible.

Qin Jiao: Why can't necks be made of iron—hard and leaving no marks? Seriously?

After tying the scarf to cover the mark, Xie Nai withdrew his hand. "All set."

"I'm out of here!" Qin Jiao couldn't stay another second. He ran like a beast was chasing him.

Under the brilliant fireworks, the elegant young man smiled warmly and strode after the boy.

By now it was past nine o'clock, but Xiusheng North Street was still bustling. When Qin Jiao reached where the boat had been, he saw Jiang Qingrong with his fist raised, about to strike a man in his thirties wearing black. Luo Bei stood nearby holding his sword, not far from Jiang Qingrong.

"You punk! I, the prince, will beat you to death today!" Jiang Qingrong grabbed the man's collar and bellowed.

"Come on, then! I'm an official—I don't care who you are, Prince Jiang or Miss Qin Han, you're all my prey, under my thumb. And that Luo Yiqi—someone, beat him to death! Ungrateful bastard!"

The man in black had a ratty face, beady eyes, and a weasel look. Even from a distance, Qin Jiao could smell the strong reek of booze on him.

"Fuck your mother! I'll kill you!" The man's words enraged Jiang Qingrong completely. He threw a punch, sending teeth and blood flying while the man screamed nonstop. "Miss, be careful," Wen Lan, Qin Han's maid, said as she shielded her and backed away. Luo Yiqi also blocked Qin Han with his body.

Qin Jiao noticed a crowd of onlookers, but Lin Wen and Xie Xuanran were already gone.

Not far from Qin Han and the others, the previously exquisite Hundred-Flower Palace Lantern lay shattered on the ground, with gems and jade porcelain fragments scattered everywhere, a real shame.

"Ouch, you brat! Someone, someone..." The man kept yelling in pain after being knocked to the ground.

His subordinates timidly came over to help him up and tried to wake him: "Commissioner Zhuge, please wake up! That's the son of the Marquis of Pingning over there!"

Unfortunately, that Commissioner Zhuge was too drunk to heed his subordinates and kept rambling nonsense. Jiang Qingrong rolled up his sleeves and said to Qin Han, "Step back, so you don't get blood on you."

Qin Han stepped back a few paces, her face pale. Just then, Wenlan spotted Qin Jiao and shouted excitedly, "Miss, the eldest young master is here!"

"Elder brother!" Qin Han's eyes lit up, and she trotted over to Qin Jiao.

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