What Bad Intentions can the Yandere Crown Prince have?-Chapter 69: Both the Princely Heir and the Crown Prince Have Their Eyes on Her
"It’s not an accident—"
The young boy spoke calmly, yet his ink-dark eyes flickered with a cold light.
"What do you mean?" Tang Xiaobai pressed further.
Yesterday, when Tang Jiaojiao impatiently said to her, "Why do children care so much?" she knew the matter was far from simple and thus called Ah Xiao over during today’s calligraphy practice session for schoolchildren.
Indeed!
Tang Xiaobai furrowed her brows with concern and waited for him to elaborate, but Ah Xiao’s first words made her face change drastically—
"Miss Tang was kidnapped."
"Who?!" Tang Xiaobai’s voice came out altered.
Li Mu shook his head: "According to Miss Tang’s maid, two masked men knocked her out and took her away right in front of them—"
"Then how did she return?" Tang Xiaobai asked, her voice trembling.
"Prince Jin sent her back." Li Mu said.
Prince Jin!
Tang Xiaobai nearly shouted.
Why Prince Jin?
Why was it Prince Jin?
"Could it be Prince Jin—" she halfway blurted out but held her tongue, though the anger in her eyes betrayed her thoughts.
Li Mu paused, then whispered, "We don’t know yet. Madam and the Gu family will send people to investigate."
He would too.
Recalling her bloodied head, Li Mu felt a surge of rage, wanting to kill.
"If Prince Jin did it, how would we ever find out?" Tang Xiaobai sneered.
"Why does Second Miss suspect it’s Prince Jin?"
"Whoever benefited, whoever benefited has the highest suspicion! He previously colluded with Zhao Jing to scare the horse with a snake, trying for a hero rescuing beauty to woo my elder sister! And this time again, a frightened horse! Another hero rescuing beauty!" Tang Xiaobai was filled with anger.
This poor hero rescuing beauty tactic, once unsuccessful, yet repeated!
Li Mu thought for a moment, then asked, "Second Miss means... Prince Jin wants Duke Yan Mansion to owe him a favor?"
Tang Xiaobai realized this junior was still a child, smart but not fully understanding these complex male-female relations.
She thought briefly then explained as simply as possible, "No, it’s that he saves my elder sister, and she would be grateful to him, perhaps even consider marrying him."
Li Mu pondered for a moment, suddenly blushing.
He wondered if he saved her yesterday? Plus, last time in the garden, didn’t she also think he saved her?
Would the young lady want to marry him?
Otherwise, why was she so nice to him?
"What are you thinking?" Tang Xiaobai saw him look down silently and pursued.
Li Mu was a bit embarrassed, hurriedly shook his head and said seriously: "I think she wouldn’t, Miss Tang’s reputation is damaged, for him too—"
"What reputation?"
Li Mu’s heart sunk.
Darn! Let it slip!
"What reputational damage?" Tang Xiaobai fixed her gaze on him.
Li Mu paused, then said, "The news of Miss Tang’s abduction has spread among the folks, some say she returned in an hour, others say not until dark—" Despite the hesitation, he withheld another detail.
Yesterday at Le You Garden, the scene was too chaotic, while Miss Tang was injured, he was preoccupied.
Only after Miss Tang awoke did he instruct Mo Ji to inform Su Shunqing to pay attention, and by then, Su Shunqing had already picked up on rumors suggesting Miss Tang’s integrity had suffered.
If Prince Jin wanted to marry Miss Tang, why ruin her reputation?
"Thud, thud, thud!" Suddenly, Miss Tang clasped her fists and pounded the bed edge.
Li Mu was about to step forward to stop her when she stuffed her small fist into her mouth, gnawing with clenched teeth until tears welled up in her eyes, her brow cold with hatred.
In a hurry, Li Mu applied pressure on her jaw, forcing her to open her mouth, then gingerly pulled her hand out, holding it in his grasp.
"Second Miss, why hurt yourself?" Li Mu frowned.
Tang Xiaobai shook with anger: "They bully my sister!"
Who could be so vile! No wonder her sister was in unusual spirits yesterday!
Li Mu bowed his head, gently caressing the teeth marks on her fingers, and whispered, "We will surely find who orchestrated this; no matter who it is, they won’t get away with it!"
...
"...The kidnappers have vanished without a trace, while the beggar pleads innocence at Capital Prefecture... The beggar has long roamed South City, recognized by many folk, nothing suspicious."
There was another detail Li Mu did not tell Miss Tang.
After Miss Tang was kidnapped, she was taken to a deserted wooded area and left with a beggar, luckily running into Prince Jin Li Shu who happened by and brought her back.
Duke Yan’s eldest daughter alone with a beggar, he feared the young lady couldn’t take it.
In truth, being kidnapped by strongmen could already ruin Miss Tang’s reputation, why did the mastermind involve a beggar?
Li Mu ruminated for a while, then said, "Keep an eye on the jail, perhaps they’ll kill to silence!"
...
There was no silencing.
Two days later, the beggar named Jia San walked out of Capital Prefecture’s prison unscathed.
"Couldn’t glean anything, so we had to release him—" Su Shunqing grinned, "Keep an eye on this beggar, the person behind might still need him."
"The people from Duke Yan Mansion seem to also be watching."
Su Shunqing wasn’t surprised; without the nod from Duke Yan Mansion and the Gu family, Capital Prefecture might not dare release him.
If no discoveries in interrogations, we can only lure the snake from its hole.
"Be cautious, don’t leave traces." Su Shunqing instructed.
They and Duke Yan Mansion were, after all, not on the same team.
"Yes!" Subordinates departed with the orders.
Su Shunqing bowed his head, reviewing the news of Miss Tang’s Chongyang festival attack spread before him, flipping through the pages casually.
Though this was not a minor incident, he would have investigated even without the Crown Prince’s edict, but his instructions prompted more meticulous efforts—
He suddenly chuckled and shook his head.
The Crown Prince was surprisingly involved in this matter?
Miss Tang was truly a rare beauty; what if both the Princely Heir and Crown Prince were interested, then what?
...
Tang Jiaojiao also learned of Jia San’s release.
"Gouge out his eyes!" She understood the reasoning of drawing the snake from the hole, yet whenever remembering those filthy eyes she met upon awakening, nausea rose.
Zhou Xun showed difficulty: "Not easy given the current high-profile situation, and hasty actions risk alerting the snake—" he courteously bowed, "Rest assured, Miss, the truth will be revealed, none will escape!"
Tang Jiaojiao pinched her palm, said, "With Mr. Zhou managing affairs, I am at ease."
Noticing her noticeably haggard face over the past days, Zhou Xun sighed inwardly, and gently advised, "Miss, please take care."
Tang Jiaojiao casually nodded and rose to pay her respects: "I will let you busy, I’ll go check on Xiao Bai."
Zhou Xun rose to see her off with a smile, "The Second Miss looks well, I heard she clamored to return to school today?"
Tang Jiaojiao snorted quietly: "She never gives rest, as soon as she feels better, she can’t settle!"
...
Arriving at Bright Moon Building, indeed found the Second Miss not resting properly for recovery.
In the outer room was set a book desk, with a scent of paper and ink.
The young lady sat with her head lowered, writing intermittently, frowning in deep thought, as if pondering an important question.
