Chapter 60: A Slap in the Face

Xia Tong was peeling grapes. She paused unconsciously when she heard the words, then acted as if nothing had happened. The fact was that in the eyes of other people, having three wives and four concubines was the most normal thing.

The man beside her remained expressionless, his thin lips slightly parted. “Thank you for your concern, Your Highness.”

Seeing that he really accepted it, Xia Tong pursed her lips, lowered her eyes and continued to feed the other person obediently.

Noticing the woman showed no signs of jealousy, it was clear she didn’t mind. Xiao Jing smirked slightly as he continued with the chess game.

For a moment, the atmosphere in the room fell into an eerie silence. Time ticked away, and as the sky grew darker, there was still no movement within the room.

Xia Tong wasn’t particularly interested in the chessboard. She completely failed to grasp the strategies of either player. She had lost track of how many pastries she had eaten when suddenly, there was a shift in the air.

“Thank you for your guidance.”

Finally, there was a result! Xia Tong quickly turned to see the outcome. At first glance, the board seemed chaotic, with it appearing that the hero was being relentlessly pressured by the villain. However, the hero was cleverly setting traps. If Gu Qin made a wrong move, he would face defeat. Yet, surprisingly, Gu Qin won this game without any apparent strategy—he simply attacked relentlessly.

The more she watched, the more Xia Tong felt a sense of wonder. The villain seemed difficult to read. If he was really just a straightforward attacker, how could he so skillfully avoid his opponent’s traps?

Glancing at the board, Xiao Jing’s eyes flickered. He felt no shame, instead, he smiled generously. “The Regent’s skills in chess are indeed well-deserved. I have learned much from this match.”

Outside, it had already grown dark. The two had been playing for the entire afternoon. Xia Tong was sore in her waist, and her neck felt stiff.

“It was just luck. Your Highness, you are too kind.” Gu Qin’s expression remained unchanged, and his voice was low.

Xia Tong had become accustomed to his indifferent demeanor, and Xiao Jing didn’t seem to mind either. It was getting late, and they had nothing more to discuss, so they prepared to return to their respective residences.

As they exited the teahouse, the outside world was shrouded in darkness, and large hailstones began to fall, hitting their necks with a painful chill. Xia Tong quickly tightened her fox fur hat and helped Fang Yu step into the carriage first.

As soon as Xia Tong stepped into the carriage, she could still feel a bone-chilling cold lingering in the air. However, she didn’t complain about the weather. Instead, she quietly leaned back and pretended to doze off.

When the man sat down beside her, the atmosphere in the carriage turned strange. Xia Tong remained silent, and the carriage gradually started moving. Suddenly, she found herself pulled into a warm embrace, and when she opened her eyes, she met a pair of bottomless eyes staring back at her.

“Are you trying to give this king a hard time?” His voice was low and slightly heavy.

His arms tightened around her waist, and she found herself almost entirely enveloped in his embrace. Xia Tong lowered her head, feeling a bit displeased, and replied softly, “Are you joking with me, Your Highness?”

She only wanted a moment of quiet contemplation. She wouldn’t dare to offend such a powerful figure.

Glaring at her face, which had taken on an odd expression, Gu Qin frowned slightly. He raised a hand and grasped the back of her neck, his gaze intense. “You’re all smiles for other men, but when it comes to me, you act all insincere. Do you resent me for blocking your path to become a Crown Princess?”

With wide eyes, Xia Tong could only press her lips together tightly, pouting as if she was very angry. She had kept a significant distance from the Crown Prince and hadn’t even spoken to him, how was that wrong?

“I don’t understand what you’re saying, Your Highness. If you find me displeasing, you can just say so instead of accusing me unjustly. Or do you think I, Xia Tong, am just a vain person?” Her voice was clear, her gaze unwavering as she met his eyes.

The carriage fell into another eerie silence. The man tightened his grip on her neck, his voice icy. “I actually wish you were vain.”

Xia Tong: “…”

She shut her mouth, choosing to remain silent as he continued speaking, a hint of resentment flashing in her clear eyes.

When they finally returned home, Xia Tong didn’t say a word to him. Fang Yu, behind her, was also confused. Everything had been fine before, so why were the master and the prince suddenly at odds?

The weather grew increasingly cold. After dinner, Xia Tong went to bed early, but she couldn’t shake off her irritation. Every time she encountered the Crown Prince, the villain would seem to lose control and make things difficult for her. What had she done wrong?

This time, she decided not to proactively try to please him anymore. She had slowly started to trust him, but Gu Qin had not reciprocated that trust. He clearly had been looking for trouble, and even after taking in those beauties, she hadn’t said anything.

Tossing and turning all night, the day of the meeting finally arrived. Early in the morning, Xia Tong took her people to the Ziyi Teahouse. She didn’t know if her mother had suffered any grievances. Despite the fact that the Grand Tutor seemed to have a grand air about him, she waited for half an hour before he finally arrived.

“Where’s my mother?”

As soon as she saw him leaning on a cane walk in, Xia Tong hurriedly asked. The elder didn’t seem rushed; after sitting down slowly, he finally glanced at her with a hint of curiosity.

Understanding his unspoken message, Xia Tong hesitated for a moment before pulling out a red square seal from her robe and placing it on the table.

Unlike her earlier arrogance, the elder’s expression grew serious upon seeing the item. He examined it closely for a moment, yet his face remained inscrutable.

It was impossible, that little brat was so cautious. How could such an important item be stolen so easily? Yet this seal was undeniably real.

“I hope the Grand Tutor keeps his word,” Xia Tong said firmly, her gaze locked onto him.

After studying her for a long time, the elder finally tucked the item away, looking at the young woman across from him with a meaningful smile. “Naturally. But I’m curious how you managed to get this?”

Xia Tong frowned at his question, feeling displeased. “If the Grand Tutor wishes to know, I won’t say. If it weren’t for my mother, do you think I would betray the prince in this manner?”

Although she didn’t know Gu Qin’s true intentions in giving her the item, she believed he had some other plot brewing, given his tendency never to miss an opportunity.

Their eyes met, and a glint of shrewdness flickered in the elder’s gaze. Suddenly, he clapped three times, and several figures walked in from outside. Upon seeing her mother, Xia Tong hurriedly rushed forward.

Seeing her daughter, Madam Liu’s eyes turned red, and she hurried over, “You… how did you end up here?”

The people holding Madam Liu retreated a few steps at the elder’s signal. After examining her mother and confirming she hadn’t been harmed, Xia Tong finally let out a sigh of relief.

“I have always been hospitable. If one day the princess wishes to visit my residence, I would be more than happy to welcome her,” the elder said, smiling as he glanced at Xia Tong, ignoring her indifferent expression while leisurely leading his people away.

At that moment, Xia Tong immediately grabbed her mother and asked, “How did you end up at the Grand Tutor’s residence? Did they do anything to you?”

Her father didn’t know about the Xia family’s alliance with the Grand Tutor, and Xia Tong felt it necessary to inform her father to avoid being sold out without knowing.

As she spoke, Madam Liu seemed to recall something, her expression troubled. “I had planned to go to your maternal grandmother’s house that day, but unexpectedly encountered assassins on the way. I was knocked unconscious and found myself in another place. I don’t even know where it was. They didn’t do anything to me, but…”

She hesitated for a moment, “But they forced me to take a pill.”

“Fang Yu!” Xia Tong immediately called for the person outside.

Once Fang Yu entered, Xia Tong had her check her mother, a sense of foreboding rising in her heart.

Fang Yu pressed three fingers against Madam Liu’s wrist. After a while, her expression grew more serious. Eventually, she released her grip and glanced at Xia Tong, hesitating to speak. “It’s just some calming medicine. Perhaps they were afraid that Madam would make a scene and attract attention.”

Exchanging glances, Xia Tong felt a weight in her heart. She pursed her lips and comforted her mother with a few words.

Madam Liu looked at the two of them. Her still-elegant face carried a trace of concern as she shifted the topic to other matters.

Xia Tong shared everything with her mother and urged her father to make preparations early. The people in the Xia family were all crazy, and from now on, she wouldn’t care whether they lived or died.

After having Qing’er escort her mother back home, Xia Tong began to ask Fang Yu about other matters during the journey.

“If I’m not mistaken, Madam has been poisoned by a poisonous substance. It won’t take effect for a while, but over time it will damage all the organs in the body and lead to death.”

In the carriage, Fang Yu’s expression was exceptionally serious. Seeing that her master looked particularly gloomy, she gathered her courage and continued, “Moreover, this poison was likely self-manufactured by the Grand Tutor’s family. I can only suppress it for now, but it won’t last more than a month. If there’s no antidote after a month…”

The implication was clear. Xia Tong closed her eyes and rubbed her aching forehead, realizing that the old man had let her mother go so easily for a reason. She hadn’t expected him to be so despicable—not only had he broken his promise, but he clearly intended to play her again.

“Should… should we tell the prince about this?” Fang Yu asked tentatively.

Xia Tong didn’t respond. Her mind was in turmoil, the Xia family was self-destructing and even teaming up with outsiders to pit her against herself. It was clear she needed to draw a line between her father and those people.

When she returned home, her headache worsened. If she compromised with that old fox again, there would definitely be a third and fourth time. She couldn’t allow herself to be controlled by him, but she couldn’t just stand by while her mother had only a month left. However, when she thought of Gu Qin, she was still unwilling to lower her head first—after all, this wasn’t her fault.

That night, heavy snow fell outside, blanketing everything in a layer of silver frost. Inside, it was warm as spring, yet pitch black. A figure was curled up beneath the embroidered quilt of the grand bed, the person inside seemed to be fast asleep, breathing softly and weakly.

Xia Tong had a dream in which she became an empress, surrounded by luxury and extravagance. However, when she saw one of her male companions who looked remarkably like Gu Qin, she woke up with a start.

In the pitch darkness, she couldn’t see anything. She was about to lift her hand to wipe the sweat from her forehead, sighing at the absurdity of the dream—dreams and reality were often opposite.

Just as she was about to turn over and go back to sleep, she sensed that there was someone else in the bed with her. Fear shot through her, making her scalp tingle, and her heart raced as if it were about to jump out of her chest.

“Nightmare?”

A low, magnetic voice suddenly echoed in her ear, so familiar that Xia Tong breathed a sigh of relief. But when she felt a pair of large hands suddenly wrap around her waist, she snapped back to reality and blushed, pushing him away. “You… how can you climb into my bed in the middle of the night?”

This was not how a gentleman should behave!

He flipped her over, pinning her beneath him. In the dark, his eyes glowed with intensity, locking onto her. His voice was low and husky, “Everything in this house belongs to me, including you.”