The Dandy's Duchess

Chapter 156: The Fated One (4)

"It seems they have sealed off information from the outside," Yun Qianyue remarked.

"Yes, it was blocked," Ye Qingran nodded, his expression worried as he gazed at her. "You look extremely unwell; it seems you've lost a lot of weight. Are you seriously injured?"

"I haven't eaten for three days; how could I not lose weight? But I wasn't seriously injured, just lost my martial arts," Yun Qianyue sighed. When she first arrived in this world and discovered her martial skills, she was thrilled, but after just a few days, she had become an ordinary person. It was quite frustrating.

"What? You lost your martial arts?" Ye Qingran exclaimed in shock.

"Yes! I've lost my martial arts," Yun Qianyue affirmed with a nod.

"But when we were grilling fish on the back mountain, even though your inner strength hadn't fully fused, it was evident that it had potential. Your inner strength is vast, and ordinary people can't easily deal with you. How could you lose your martial arts in such a short time? Did someone discover the instability of your inner strength? Is someone trying to harm you? Did you lose your inner strength in the process of resisting them?" Ye Qingran asked.

"Someone did want to harm me, and that is true. But it wasn't because my inner strength was discovered; there were other reasons," Yun Qianyue replied. Seeing Ye Qingran's intense gaze, she recounted the events of that day, omitting her actions of helping Rongjing to detoxify him. She explained that Rongjing had used his inner strength to help her expel the aphrodisiac, resulting in her losing her own inner strength during the struggle.

Ye Qingran's face turned icy when he heard that Yun Qianyue had been affected by an aphrodisiac but he didn't interrupt, listening until she finished.

After sharing her story, Yun Qianyue felt thirsty. "Pour me a cup of water!"

Ye Qingran, still with a cold expression, poured her a glass of water and deftly sent it to her using his internal energy.

As Yun Qianyue reached out to take the cup, she couldn't help but envy his ability to manipulate objects from a distance. She regretted not having borrowed some of his energy to preserve her own when Rongjing told her he could handle the rest on his own. How foolish she felt!

"This must definitely have something to do with Ye Tianqing!" Ye Qingran declared coldly.

"Yes, I think so too," Yun Qianyue nodded, but she couldn't find any evidence against him. She and Rongjing had been trapped for three days and nights, and for those three days, everything in Lingtai Temple was under Ye Tianqing's control. Any traces of wrongdoing would have long been erased, like the half-box of pastries that had gone missing.

"The fox will eventually reveal its tail. Now that you're safe, there's no need to rush into an investigation," Ye Qingran said after a moment of silence, lowering his voice. "After all, he is the crown prince. Without solid evidence, it's better to be cautious in your words."

"I know," Yun Qianyue yawned. Hearing the shouts outside had finally stopped, she asked, "Have you taken care of things in the military camp? Coming here in a rush—aren't you worried about leaving your post? Is there going to be any more trouble?"

"No problem! I've dealt with those guys in the past few days, putting them in their place. Now, who would dare to make trouble for me again? I punished a few, and now most of them are behaving," Ye Qingran huffed. "If it weren't for someone causing chaos in the military camp, there wouldn't have been any issues. But having been away for seven years, my return to the military camp is unstable, and I was worried about how to deal with those troublemakers. Someone conveniently provided me the opportunity, so I should thank him."

Yun Qianyue nodded. Initially, she thought Rongjing had stirred up trouble in the military camp to send Ye Qingran away, but later realized that Rongjing would never act unnecessarily. Since he had his grandfather send a letter to warn Ye Qingran, he wouldn't have gone through the effort to create additional chaos. She now understood who it must be! However, that person likely didn't expect that Ye Qingran was actually waiting for someone to create trouble for him to clean up!

"It seems my visit to the military camp isn't too far off!" Yun Qianyue chuckled.

"Yes, not too far!" Ye Qingran's cold expression finally softened a bit. After a moment, he recalled something and frowned, "I thought that weak beauty would take good care of you. It turns out he's not much good himself, being trapped for three days and nights. Isn't he supposed to be so capable? How could he not even break through a few mechanisms? His reputation as the world's greatest talent should go to the dogs!"

"Yes, I think so too. He's truly just living on borrowed glory!" Yun Qianyue agreed wholeheartedly.

Ye Qingran laughed, feeling quite pleased. "Well, I've got this round in the bag. It turns out that guy isn't omnipotent! If he annoys me again, I'll use this matter to tease him. He'll be staring at the sky all day!"

"Absolutely, I fully support your teasing!" Yun Qianyue chimed in again.

"Haha, Yue Mei, you and I are truly like-minded!" Ye Qingran slapped the table, exclaiming, "Only you understand me!"

Yun Qianyue couldn't help but grimace; it sounded more like a match made in mischief!

"Alright, you're fine now! I'll go check on that weak beauty to see if he's lost a layer of his fox skin. You continue to rest! I'm not leaving tonight; I'll come back to see you in the morning," Ye Qingran stood up, shaking off the weight of his armor and frowning at Yun Qianyue.

"Okay, go ahead!" Yun Qianyue yawned and waved him off.

Ye Qingran stepped out of the room.

Outside the door, Cailian, Ting Xue, and Ting Yu were already dressed and waiting anxiously. They all breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Ye Qingran emerge. They were glad that the young prince was considerate enough not to linger too long; otherwise, they might have had to stand in the chilly night air all night.

Ye Qingran glanced at the three of them and snorted, "Wait until the day I ask your lady to sell you three off!"

With that, he headed toward the western courtyard.

The three exchanged glances, thinking, "It's over; we've offended this little demon!" They all returned to their rooms with somber faces.

Yun Qianyue lay down, covered herself with the blanket, extinguished the lamp, and continued to sleep.

Just as Ye Qingran had taken a few steps, hurried footsteps approached from the courtyard entrance. Recognizing the familiar sound, he halted and looked toward the door, only to see Ye Tianqing and the Yun Wang arriving at the entrance. His eyes flickered as he took the initiative to greet them, "Crown Prince, Uncle Yun, long time no see!"