Chapter 143: As Expected, It Is a Trap
Xie Qiang did not expose Hong Que. Stuffing the sealed bag into her pocket, she extended her arms, blinked, and said, “Then carry me back.”
Hong Que’s heart skipped a beat. Looking at her bright, smiling cat-like eyes in the night, he involuntarily extended his arms and scooped her up with one arm.
“Why are you…” he stammered, “Why are you suddenly so proactive?”
Did this even count as being proactive?
Xie Qiang looked at him in confusion. Stared at like this, Hong Que flushed slightly and couldn’t help turning his head away. Amidst his fluffy red hair, his half-exposed ear was so red it looked ready to bleed.
Amused, she reached out and gently pinched the young man’s earlobe.
The cool touch of her fingertip made him let out a soft groan. As her finger lightly and slowly traced the rim of his ear and then gently circled within his ear canal, a shudder ran through Hong Que’s entire body. The arm holding her tightened, and he quickened his pace.
Leaping through the second-floor window, Hong Que impatiently walked to the bedside. After placing the girl onto the bed, he cupped her cheeks and leaned in for a kiss.
The red-haired Sentinel’s kisses were always rough and passionate, like a summer thunderstorm that suddenly stopped in its rapid rhythm only to turn violent again after a brief moment of breathlessness.
Xie Qiang was kissed until her lips ached. She pushed at the young man and whispered, “Is that enough?”
Hong Que looked at her dazedly. “Can’t we continue?”
She was no longer the Imperial Princess, and there was no need for the Imperial Consort trials anymore. Did that mean he could mark her now?
Xie Qiang instantly blushed. “Con… continue?”
Xie Qiang felt things were moving a bit fast, but considering that she and Hong Que were already an engaged couple, it was bound to happen sooner or later anyway. So, she raised her hand to lightly cover her eyes and mumbled, “Don’t take too long. I have to go out tomorrow.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll be very fast.” The red-haired young man’s voice was instantly filled with joy.
V… very fast?
There was really no need to be that fast!
While Xie Qiang was groaning inwardly, she felt a chill on her legs, followed by the young man’s teeth sinking into the flesh of her inner thigh, imprinting a familiar mark upon her skin.
“All done!” Hong Que lifted his eyes in satisfaction, his brilliant golden eyes brimming with delight. “That was fast, right?”
Xie Qiang: …
With a crimson face, Xie Qiang grabbed a nearby pillow and threw it at him, snapping in embarrassment and rage, “Get out!”
Hit by the pillow, Hong Que was left a bit dazed. Clutching the pillow, he walked to the door, looking back three times with every step, gazing at her reluctantly. “Qiangqiang, do I really have to get out?”
We just marked each other. Shouldn’t we spend some sweet, intimate time together next?
“Close the door, thank you.”
Xie Qiang dove under the covers, turning her back to him, and closed her eyes tightly.
How utterly mortifying! She had actually thought that when he said “continue,” he meant that kind of continuing!
Hong Que had no choice but to shut the door. Clutching the pillow, he walked toward his own room, nearly bumping into someone just as he turned the corner.
“Holy crap!”
Hong Que caught a major fright, thinking it was Mo Yin acting all elusive and ghost-like again. But when he looked up, he saw Sen Ji with his arms crossed, leaning half his body against the wall, his deep green tiger eyes fixed unsettlingly on him.
“Are you some kind of freaking pervert, eavesdropping on walls?” Hong Que clutched his pounding heart and glared fiercely at Sen Ji.
“I don’t have that hobby.” Sen Ji straightened up from the wall, his gaze sweeping over him. “How is her mood right now?”
“It doesn’t seem great. She must be very sad after learning about her true identity.” Speaking of this, Hong Que’s expression turned unusually serious. “In the past, whenever I brought up marking her, she would always brush it off with excuses. But just now she agreed directly, almost as if she’s just given up on everything and thrown caution to the wind.”
Sen Ji gave him a meaningful look. “Is that so? Then it seems she really is very heartbroken.”
“It’s fine, I just need to spend more time accompanying her,” Hong Que said confidently. “I won’t waste my breath on you anymore. I’m going to sleep.”
Tucking the pillow under his arm, he walked off toward his room.
Sen Ji watched him leave. Once the corridor’s motion-sensor lights went dark, he paced toward Xie Qiang’s room. Just as he raised his hand to knock on the door, he paused and withdrew it.
Forget it. It’s better to let her get a good rest.
The man turned and departed.
The next day, Xie Qiang received a guest.
“This is the Emperor’s hair, and this is mine.” Xie Qiang handed two sealed bags to Yun Xinghu. “Help me run a test to see if I truly share the royal bloodline.”
“Your Highness suspects yesterday’s paternity test was faked?” Yun Xinghu accepted the sealed bags and adjusted his glasses frame. “And your reason?”
“Do I need a reason?” Xie Qiang propped her cheek up, speaking as if it were a matter of course. “Only a fool would blindly trust evidence held in someone else’s hands. Naturally, I have to verify it myself.”
“Then by handing this matter over to me, isn’t Your Highness afraid that I might deceive you as well?” Yun Xinghu raised an eyebrow, speaking playfully.
Xie Qiang stared into his brilliant blue eyes and said with a smile, “That depends entirely on what the test results turn out to be.”
If she was the true Imperial Princess, Yun Xinghu had no reason to deceive her. After all, mutual interest was always the strongest rope that could bind two people tightly together. If Yun Xinghu wanted to inherit the pharmaceutical conglomerate, he could not do without her backing.
“In that case, Your Highness may look forward to my good news.” Yun Xinghu stood up and bowed to Xie Qiang.
Xie Qiang watched him leave. Roughly half an hour later, she received the paternity test results sent by Yun Xinghu.
Her gaze fell upon the test conclusion, and she curved her lips into a smile. “As expected, it is a trap.”
The test results clearly stated: “Paternity relation confirmed as true.”
Her optical computer flashed, and a message arrived from Yun Xinghu.
Yun Xinghu: [Show Your Highness something good]
Yun Xinghu: [Surveillance Video]
In the video, the Chairman was sitting inside the testing room, waiting for the lab technician to analyze the lineage of two vials of blood. However, while the Chairman wasn’t paying attention, the technician swiftly swapped the positions of the two vials.
Yun Xinghu: [Take a guess, who is the real fake lineage?]
Xie Qiang burst out laughing.
“Ah~ No wonder he would come up with this whole real versus fake princess drama.”
So it turned out that she was the fake one all along.
Did Emperor Xie know about this?
Xie Qiang had a strong feeling that he knew. Otherwise, why would he agree to her marriage with Wanyan Jin?
After all, Wanyan Jin was an Imperial Consort specially prepared for the “true princess.”
As for why Emperor Xie would cooperate with Xie Kong to stage such a play, Xie Qiang already had a rough answer in her mind.
If she successfully secured the succession rights, she would inevitably become a thorn in the side of the aristocratic reactionary factions. If she wanted to continue clearing wormholes and accumulating achievements, she would surely face countless obstacles.
If at this moment it was exposed that she was a fake princess, it would divert the attention of the reactionaries, which would be highly advantageous for her to act in the shadows and build her own strength.
Xie Qiang stood up and swiftly headed up to the second floor.
“Sen Ji, Hong Que, Mo Yin!” she called out loudly. “Pack your things. We are leaving the Imperial Capital immediately. It’s no longer safe here!”
If she could deduce this point, clever nobles would obviously figure it out as well.
Once they obtained tissue samples from her and the Emperor and discovered she was actually the real princess, they would easily deduce Emperor Xie’s true motives. To prevent that from happening, the best course of action was to leave the Imperial Capital immediately.
“Check the house thoroughly and burn every single strand of hair! Don’t leave any clues behind!”
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