<div> Chapter 238: Chapter 216: The First Round
 Chapter 238 -216: The First Round
 Amid everyone’s astonished gazes, Chu Yu walked up to Rong Zhi.
 Naturally, she didn’t slash with her sword as fiercely as Hua Cuo had done; she simply held the sword in her hand, neither lowering it nor raising it.
 Rong Zhi’s face bore a slight smile.
 In fact, he had not recovered much strength, and the recent battle with Hua Cuo had exhausted nearly all of his physical energy, but he masked it extremely well, and no one could tell.
 Chu Yu held the sword, looking around for a while, as if searching for something. After confirming she couldn’t find it, she finally looked squarely at Rong Zhi and lifted her eyebrows, saying, “Now, there shouldn’t be anyone else coming to steal the step I borrowed, right?” Let’s hope there isn’t another expert showing up unexpectedly.
 Rong Zhi, caught off guard by her concern, paused before responding, “Probably not.”
 Chu Yu nodded with satisfaction, “Then let’s continue what we were discussing. ‘Borrow, a, step,’ to talk.” Saying this, she took the lead and walked to one side.
 Rong Zhi, somewhat bewildered, followed her.
 If Chu Yu had simply stabbed him with her sword right then, he might not have been able to resist; but Rong Zhi thought to himself, if she truly wanted to vent her anger, then let her stab him.
 The pair “borrowed a step” and moved away, but the onlookers weren’t reassured. Moxiang grabbed Yu Wenxiong, urging him to follow, while Huan Yuan gently tapped Amman’s shoulder.
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 </div> Hearing footsteps from more than one person behind her, Chu Yu frowned, turned her head, and said, “You all don’t follow.” She was addressing Huan Yuan and the others.
 Simultaneously with her words spreading, another voice also echoed, “Don’t follow.”
 The same four words, slowly and calmly uttered from Rong Zhi’s lips, synced perfectly with her pitch and tempo—one clear and the other soft, yet seemingly blending together.
 Both were momentarily startled, and after a while, they regained their composure. Chu Yu scoffed lightly, giving Huan Yuan a reassuring look, while Rong Zhi pursed his lips and waved his hand at Moxiang. The two of them then continued walking forward.
 They kept walking until they were sure no third party could hear their conversation, and Chu Yu then stopped, turned around to face Rong Zhi, who had been following behind at a distance of about four or five feet. Seeing her stop, he also halted and stood firm.
 The pair faced each other in silence for a long time, before Rong Zhi finally slowly began to speak, “Princess, do you have something you wish to say to me?”
 Chu Yu looked at him quizzically, “Why are you asking me? Weren’t you the one who asked me to ‘borrow a step and talk’ just now? Now you can speak.” It was him who wanted to “borrow a step to talk,” and he who asked if she had something to say. It was indeed quite puzzling.
 Rong Zhi slightly furrowed his brows, a very subtle and minimal gesture that even Chu Yu, standing right in front of him, could not notice.
 He was waiting for Chu Yu to question him, even waiting for Chu Yu to stab him. Believing that by now, Chu Yu must have realized many things, but why could she still remain so calm, as calm as the still surface of a serene lake?
 Faced with a reaction beyond his expectation, he felt somewhat perplexed. The current Chu Yueven possessed elements he could not see through, as if something had stepped out of his control, making him uncertain.
 So unfamiliar was this situation that he could only remain silent initially, slowly untangling his thoughts like unraveling silk from a cocoon.
 After waiting a good while and still not hearing Rong Zhi speak, Chu Yu thought for a moment and said resignedly, “Alright, since you aren’t speaking, then I will…”
 “I only have three questions. First, didn’t you ever suspect that I was talking nonsense back then?” Recalling how Rong Zhi took in everything she said back then, Chu Yu couldn’t help feeling embarrassed; she had truly thought that Rong Zhi couldn’t hear her, so she had spoken freely, saying everything that should and shouldn’t have been said.
 Such as her biggest secret, and such as the fact she liked him.
 Now that her secret was out, it was out—after all, she was no longer a princess, and it seemed Rong Zhi had no intention of spreading it, but—
 Even standing in the cold snow outside the city, Chu Yu’s face couldn’t help but heat up slightly. If she had known then that Rong Zhi was awake, she would never have said those things… She had essentially made a long confession and introduced herself in front of Rong Zhi.
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 </div> Such words, muttered to oneself to vent, might be alright, but saying them to the person she liked was far too cheesy and embarrassing.
 Rong Zhi spoke in a gentle voice, “Why would I doubt? Although what the princess said at the time seemed incredible, thinking it over carefully, it also made sense. Why wouldn’t I believe it?”
 His gaze was gentle as water, his voice soft. When Chu Yu met his eyes, she sighed inwardly and looked away, “If it were anyone else, they would never think like you do.”
 Since arriving in this era, even she, as the person involved, took several days to accept the reality. If it had been someone else hearing her words, they would likely have called her mad immediately, but Rong Zhi would stand from her perspective and think carefully, believing every word she said.
 When she used to speak with Rong Zhi, sometimes, due to her own concerns, she would utter some disjointed words. However, he never took them lightly; instead, he would ponder them seriously and share his insights.
 This tenderness that seemed unintentional could unwittingly move one’s heart. Yet, it might be a long time before one realized that this was merely his personal habit: habitually performing meticulous analysis on every matter, creating the illusion of tenderness.
 Her thoughts slowly wandered far off, and just as Chu Yu was about to recall her early days here, she was suddenly brought back by Rong Zhi’s voice, “Since the Princess has asked, may Rong Zhi also clear up some confusion?”
 Chu Yu was startled, thinking that she had just given him the chance to ask, and now that she had asked, he was questioning her in return. But since it had to be discussed sooner or later, she didn’t mind and responded readily, “Ask away.”
 Rong Zhi sincerely asked, “May I ask when the Princess knew that I had… ulterior motives?” Looking at Chu Yu now, it seemed she had long been aware of some of his thoughts, but he did not know where he had revealed any flaws. Could it be that Hua Cuo had accidentally leaked something after he lost consciousness?
 As soon as Rong Zhi finished speaking, Chu Yu’s expression suddenly darkened, taking a while to soften again, “Initially, Wang Yizhi left a letter for me, asking me to go to Jianchusi to find Jiran. When I went, Jiran was ambushed. Was it you who had Hua Cuo do it?”
 “Yes.” At this point, Rong Zhi did not shy away from admitting, “Could it be that not only did Jiran not die, but he also found you, the Princess, and told you something?”
 Chu Yu sighed, “Actually, I never saw Jiran again, but I wandered near Wang Yizhi’s residence for a few days and learned that Wang Yizhi had once gone to see someone, someone who used to be a guard at the Princess Mansion.”
 The Inner Garden staff of the Princess Mansion had a major turnover three or four years ago, so to know about events prior to that, one had to find the old-timers, whose whereabouts remained a mystery with no written records. Chu Yu’s trail had gone cold until, indirectly, through Wang Yizhi, she picked it up again.
 Rong Zhi was surprised, “Wasn’t that person drunk?” He had checked on that guard and indeed, he was drunk.
 No sooner had he asked the question than he suddenly thought of a possibility, a highly improbable coincidence, an unexpected situation.
 Chu Yu smiled, “It’s true that the person was drunk and passed out, but there’s no rule stating that a drunk, sleeping person can’t talk in their sleep, right?” By a rare coincidence, that guard talked in his sleep, and even more coincidentally, he dreamt of events from three to four years ago.
 Rong Zhi maintained his composure, yet his heart was greatly shaken: So early?
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 </div> Not after his fainting, but that early?
 Chu Yu whispered, “From the guard’s sleep talk, I learned that initially, you were not willing to stay in the Princess Mansion. Three to four years ago, you were captured by the Heavenly Master Tian Ruyue and taken away by Shan Yin’s Princess. However, the Princess Mansion could not confine you. You killed everyone in the Inner Garden single-handedly just as you were about to escape when Tian Ruyue arrived, recaptured you, and destroyed your martial skills.”
 Destroyed health, deprived freedom, trampled dignity.
 The guard was a survivor and witness of that massacre. At that time, he lay among the corpses, severely wounded and mistaken for dead, then carried away with them. After he awoke, he quietly left and found a place to live in a poor area of Jiankang City, making a living by weaving straw shoes.
 No matter how extensive Rong Zhi’s Divine Skills were, he could never have anticipated that the guard would have the habit of talking in his sleep, broadcasting his dreams. The error lay there, and there was nothing he could do about it.
 Chu Yu recalled that when Rong Zhi initially tested her identity, he had claimed he was not staying at the Princess Mansion of his own will. Thinking about it now, it turned out to be the truth.
Follow current novels on ƒreewebηoveℓ.com. She heard the guard’s sleep talk in that wooden hut, and naturally, she was shaken, but since it was just sleep talk, she couldn’t take it all for fact. Although she had doubts, she didn’t want to show it and thus, deceived everyone.
 Later, a series of changes occurred, and she kept delaying; of course, there was also a bit of her own factor, until now when she finally opened up to Rong Zhi.
 Shaking her head to avoid deep thought, Chu Yu focused on her second question, “Since the Princess treated you that way, why didn’t you kill her? Even if not killing, I see that surveillance around you isn’t strict. Why didn’t you escape? Don’t tell me you lack such means. Moreover, since you knew I was not the Princess, even if you did not kill me, why did you still stay at the Princess Mansion?”
 Even though Rong Zhi was powerless at that time, she believed that with his wisdom and strategies, pretending to submit to Shan Yin’s Princess and removing her suspicions before killing someone or escaping from a place was not a difficult task at all.
 Why hadn’t he done so?
 She would definitely not think now that Rong Zhi had developed feelings over time for Shan Yin’s Princess. That was completely impossible.</div>
 












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Chapter 238 - 216 The First Round

Chapter 238: Chapter 216: The First Round Chapter 238 -216: The First Round Amid everyone’s astonished gazes, Chu Yu walked up to Rong Zhi. Naturally, she didn’t slash with her sword as fiercely as Hua Cuo had done; she simply held the sword in her hand, neither lowering it nor raising it. Rong Zhi’s face bore a slight smile. In fact, he had not recovered much strength, and the recent battle with Hua Cuo had exhausted nearly all of his physical energy, but he masked it extremely well, and no...

Untouchable Lovers

Chapter 238 - 216 The First Round

Untouchable Lovers - Chapter 238 - 216 The First Round