Chapter 1408 - 764: I Promise You (Double-Length)

With three candies falling onto the table.

Chen Yi's eyes slowly widened.

The words that were about to come out of his mouth suddenly got stuck and were swallowed back down his throat...

He seemed to feel... something was off, but couldn't quite put his finger on what was wrong.

The room, bathed in warm light, suddenly fell into a deathly silence.

The previous undercurrents seemed no longer hidden. As Chen Yi's greed grew, Qin Qingluo's domineering nature, and Zhu E's repeated retreats reached their limits, suddenly everything broke like a bottle, spilling its contents...

The next moment, it was as if steel cavalry broke out, echoing with the clamor of weapons.

Qin Qingluo's gaze slowly shifted from Zhu E's face to the three candies on the table.

Silent for a moment, only the flickering shadows of candlelight, making her complexion fluctuate between light and dark.

She didn't speak immediately, just turned her head and slowly looked towards Chen Yi,

"Did you give these?"

Chen Yi felt his heart skip a beat.

He hadn't expected that gifting candies to both would still let Qin Qingluo discover the truth, nor had he expected the always gentle Zhu E to be this angry... Now, without doubt, the Princess demands an explanation. Whether true or false, one reading would reveal everything, leaving no room for concealment.

Fortunately, he had prepared in advance, and had not favored one over the other, gifting three candies equally to both sides, just right.

With plenty of experience in dealing with such chaotic scenes, Chen Yi naturally was adept at tackling issues and knew well how to break them down one by one.

He nodded slightly and said, "That's right."

After so many days spent together, he had come to understand well how to deal with the Princess. Making a show of meekness was the simplest tactic. Given Qin Qingluo's fierce disposition, primarily it was about first suppressing through exaggeration, just like when he initially entered the Southern Border. If he started by showing weakness and begging for peace, it would have been futile, with the door kept shut; he'd merely have humiliated himself. Instead, by using strong tactics to force her into submission, the subsequent meekness hit the mark.

He had always given Qin Qingluo a feeling of a... violent Jiao Dragon, once subjugated to the deep pool of the Prince Mansion, dangerous yet inevitably intoxicating. Perhaps Qin Qingluo wasn't very clear on this, but Chen Yi, who liked to adapt as per the situation, understood it clearly.

All along, in dealing with Qin Qingluo, it was always the three-pronged approach: Firstly, make her feel that he wasn't so fond of her, secondly, make her feel that he was easy to manipulate, and thirdly, make her eventually realize he actually liked her a lot... This combined, was akin to staying close, never letting her shake him off.

Having anticipated things wouldn't go smoothly, Chen Yi had prepared accordingly, and said slowly: "I visited Aunt Zhu's this morning because it's the festive season. I specially prepared some candies for her, and of course, for you too."

The candlelight seemed to flicker even more vigorously now, as Qin Qingluo's fingertips brushed against the wine glass, producing a raspy friction with the rim.

Sensing that the moment was ripe, Chen Yi, predicting Qin Qingluo's mood, appropriately shifted the conversation: "It's all my fault really, for you and your aunt to have such a quarrel, so I didn't favor one over the other..."

The words were not yet finished,

"Even at this point, you're still trying to deceive me!"

She suddenly interrupted, leaving Chen Yi momentarily stunned.

He had originally intended to use these words to defuse some of the tension between the two women. In a woman's chaotic scene, the focus often wasn't on the man but rather on the other woman, Chen Yi was very experienced in this.

So these words were also to divert Qin Qingluo's attention, while he readied himself for both women to take amusement in anger.

But hearing this tone...

Looking again, Zhu E didn't seem angry, but looked towards him with eyes filled with undeniable affection.

Chen Yi was both baffled and in doubt, he hadn't yet leaned towards Qin Qingluo, but somehow ended up naturally favoring Zhu E instead.

Qin Yue seemed to sense the terrifying atmosphere between the adults, with a small half of a glutinous rice ball in her mouth, she lifted her head in a daze, her large black-and-white eyes nervously shifting, looking at her father, then her mother, then Chen Yi, and finally landing on the candies on the table.

The Princess picked up the remaining candy wrapper on the table and said, "Such clumsy lies and you still dare to utter them?"

Chen Yi still hadn't figured out the reason, and said, "What have I lied about."

"You know very well yourself."

Qin Qingluo paused, then curled her lips into a sardonic smile:

"Given such a web of lies, just like your words about Western Jin earlier, they are but outrageous falsehoods. Tell me, do you think I would keep you?"

Seeing Qin Qingluo being so aggressive towards him, Zhu E could hardly remain seated, rarely adopting the stance of an elder, she said: "Qingluo, Aunt wasn't trying to compete with you earlier, I just have deep feelings for him, it was just words spoken in haste, it's New Year's Eve, let's drop it."

Qin Qingluo gave no response, her gaze fixed like a gun on Chen Yi.

Seeing this, Zhu E furrowed her brow and couldn't help but intensify her tone: "Qingluo, despite days of you monopolizing him, Aunt hasn't had any complaints. One piece of candy with him tonight, it's no issue. Aunt isn't greedy, even if there were three pieces, Aunt just wants more time shared with him. Remember... Aunt has cared for him longer and deeper than you have, Aunt is willing to let you have more but you must give Aunt some too."

Qin Qingluo's body slightly paused, she slowly turned her head, looking incredulously at Zhu E, her gaze eventually lowering, as if feeling it unworthy, unworthy for Zhu E...

Even unworthy for herself.

After a moment, she suddenly laughed: "Alright, Mingzun Saintess, indeed a wonderful kin."

Zhu E paused slightly, not expecting Qingluo to dispute like she did last time.

Perhaps, Qingluo cared for him far more than she herself realized.

"Aunt Zhu, are you reminding me that over these years you've sacrificed too much, endured too much, is that it?" she sneered, a short and sharp laugh, "For a whore like that, is it worth it? I don't want him; you can have him."