Time Travel: Pampered by the Aloof Prince-Chapter 371 Is the Princess Afraid Now?

Li Mingjue changed into a set of night attire and, along with Shiqi, quietly infiltrated Li Ming’an’s palace.

Even at such times, Li Ming’an continued his extravagant lifestyle, seeking pleasure in the palace.

The night had grown deep, yet sounds of music and dancing still echoed from the bedchamber.

Li Mingjue avoided the Hidden Guards inside the palace and successfully entered Li Ming’an’s study.

Shiqi found a concealed spot outside to hide.

Always cautious, Li Ming’an’s study yielded no letters, nothing but a pile of waste paper.

Li Mingjue’s gaze landed on the vase on the bookshelf, and he gently rotated its position.

In a moment, the bookshelf parted to each side, revealing a secret chamber.

In the secret chamber, there were not only letters but several large boxes of gold bars.

Li Mingjue quickly skimmed through the letters, committing their contents to memory.

After that, he left the place.

The next day, when Qi Yu awoke, she found Li Mingjue sitting at the writing desk, his hand poised as if he were writing something.

She rubbed her eyes, wondering if she was seeing an illusion.

Usually, at this time, Li Mingjue was long gone.

She dressed herself, casually tied up her long hair, and went over to see the desk already covered with more than a dozen densely written sheets of paper.

"What is this?" she picked up one of the papers where the ink had already dried, glanced at it, and asked curiously.

After finishing the last paper, Li Mingjue put down his pen and said indifferently, "These are the contents of Li Ming’an’s correspondence with the second prince of Tulan."

It took a moment for Qi Yu’s still-groggy brain to process before she had an epiphany, "You infiltrating Li Ming’an’s study last night?"

Having said that, she looked at the densely written papers again, feeling surprised, "You only read them once and managed to remember all this content without missing a single word?"

Li Mingjue responded with a sound, "Mhm."

Qi Yu sighed silently and quickly scanned the contents, feeling dizzy with overload.

She pressed on her temple and said to Li Mingjue, "So, Li Ming’an and that second prince plan to cooperate from within and without, intending to split the realm evenly after seizing the throne?"

Even as she spoke, she found herself wanting to laugh.

Li Ming’an really had grand ambitions.

Li Mingjue raised his eyebrows noncommittally and scoffed lightly, "Dreamers spouting foolishness."

He picked up his pen once more and crafted a letter imitating Li Ming’an’s handwriting, then had someone deliver it to Tulan.

Three days later, an envoy from Tulan unexpectedly came with an invitation for the prince and princess to travel to Tulan to discuss a plague in Qingzhou.

Five days later, Qi Yu and Li Mingjue set out for Tulan.

Shiqi and Shen Nanxing, as Hidden Guards, accompanied them, leaving the others behind in Qingzhou.

Before departing, Mo Qingshan pulled out a small bottle from his bosom and threw it to Qi Yu, "Medicine always has its poison; use it when you’re near death."

Qi Yu accepted the medicine, slipped it into her space while no one was looking, and couldn’t resist taunting Mo Qingshan, "Can’t you hope for something good for us, old man?"

Mo Qingshan took a sip of his liquor, smacked his lips, and snorted, "Tulan is no good place."

Hearing this, Cailin couldn’t hold back and suggested, "Prince, why not bring more people? Those Tulan folks are very sly."

Li Mingjue shook his head, "There’s no need; the Tulanese are proficient with poisons, the more people we bring, the more troublesome it becomes."

Cailin had no choice but to let it go.

Aside, Zhou Hong almost spoke up but eventually didn’t say anything.

From the moment he heard the news, he felt something was amiss and had even strongly advised against it.

But the prince had made up his mind, and nothing more he said would make a difference.

Outside the city, Tulan’s carriages were already waiting.

Dozens of Tulan beauties, clad in midriff-baring attire and faces veiled with thin black scarves, stood by.

"We welcome Prince Qi and Princess Qi." As they approached, the group of beauties recited in unison.

Qi Yu glanced at them and noticed that each of them had a purple bellflower painted on their forehead.

Upon entering the carriage, Qi Yu lowered her voice and said to Li Mingjue, "Have you noticed that each of them has a bellflower on their forehead?"

Li Mingjue nodded slightly, and Qi Yu continued, "But the bellflower on their foreheads is slightly different from Princess Lingya’s, and Adi is also from Tulan, yet she does not have a bellflower on her forehead."

She furrowed her brows in thought, unable to make sense of it, and decided to put the matter aside for now.

The carriage journeyed for an hour before finally reaching the territory of Tulan.

Upon entering the city, Qi Yu lifted the curtain to peek outside and saw the streets were empty, eerily quiet, and she curiously asked, "Why is there not a soul in sight in the city during broad daylight?"

No sooner had she spoken than a soft female voice outside explained, "To answer the Princess, it is by His Majesty’s decree to prevent any thoughtless person from offending esteemed guests."

Qi Yu paused for a moment before responding, "I see now."

She let the curtain fall, her brows knitting even tighter.

Li Mingjue suddenly leaned close to her lips and whispered, "There are some things they do not want us to see."

Qi Yu swiftly turned her head to look at him, her eyes involuntarily widening with a startled expression.

This chilling statement greeted her upon just entering the city.

It seemed that their days in Tulan would be fraught with danger.

Seeing her reaction, Li Mingjue let out a soft laugh, raised his hand, and pinched her face, teasing, "Is the Princess scared already?"

Qi Yu slapped his hand away, glaring with wide eyes, "Who said I’m scared?"

Li Mingjue lifted his brows, saying nothing more, but the smile in his eyes never faded.

Another hour passed before the carriage finally came to a stop.

"Prince, Princess, we have arrived," the gentle voice said once more.

Li Mingjue took Qi Yu’s hand and they both stepped down from the carriage.

Qi Yu looked at the Tulan Imperial Palace right before her eyes, feeling it was unnaturally quiet.

Although the Imperial Palace of Dazhao was also very serene, it was a deliberate hushing of voices, which could feel oppressive, but not spine-chilling.

The silence of the Tulan Imperial Palace, on the other hand, gave her a feeling of deathly stillness, as if it were just an empty city devoid of any sign of life.

Her grip on Li Mingjue’s hand suddenly tightened, her face still appearing calm, but her palms were sweating with tension.

Li Mingjue sensed her unease, gave her palm a gentle squeeze, and offered a comforting look.

Those dozens of veiled beauties stood on either side of them and moved forward slowly.

Qi Yu held her breath and listened carefully, only to realize that not only were their steps silent, but there was also no sound of breathing to be heard.

The pathways of the Tulan Imperial Palace were not as refined as those of Dazhao and were much broader, enough to accommodate ten people walking side by side.

Qi Yu and Li Mingjue walked down the middle, with the people on both sides neither too close nor too far from them.

There was also an intangible sense of pressure looming towards them in the air.

Qi Yu’s heartbeat uncontrollably quickened, her entire body tensed up, and she scanned the people on both sides from the corner of her eye.

Just ten meters away from the first palace gate, she suddenly realized why there was a bellflower mark on their foreheads.

"Poisonous Insect Poison." Qi Yu wrote these two words on Li Mingjue’s palm with her finger.

Li Mingjue’s expression paused, and he glanced sideways at her.

Qi Yu’s gaze swept both sides before finally resting on the woman who had been leading the way in front of them.

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