Killer Queen + 18

-----

-----

After leaving the Fourth Prince's residence and getting into the carriage, Xiao Li stayed silent the whole way. She just sat next to Huangfu Haotian, lost in thought.

Interestingly, he seemed to be thinking the same thing. He didn't say a word either, simply sitting beside her, watching her quietly.

The carriage moved quickly and soon arrived at the gates of the General's estate.

As the wind lifted the curtain slightly, Xiao Li saw her home and felt a wave of relief. She quickly told the driver to stop.

"Fourth Prince, I'm home now. Let's part ways here," she said politely. Even though Huangfu Haotian had already sent someone to inform the General of her whereabouts, Xiao Li still didn't feel right bringing him into her house.

"A'Li…" Just as she was getting up to leave, Huangfu Haotian suddenly reached out and grabbed her hand.

Startled, Xiao Li turned back. "Your Highness, is there something else you wanted to say to me?"

But Huangfu Haotian just looked at her with a strange hesitation, as if he had something to say but couldn't get the words out.

"If there's nothing else, I'll be going," Xiao Li said, trying to gently pull her hand back. "It's getting late, and the Crown Prince is still waiting for you to return to the palace. So I won't ask you to come in."

Still, Huangfu Haotian wouldn't let go. Xiao Li frowned slightly and tugged harder.

But then—

"Ah! What are you—" Before she could finish, he suddenly pulled hard, and she stumbled straight into his arms.

"A'Li…" he whispered again, softly in her ear.

Xiao Li's eyes widened in panic. "Fourth Prince, what do you think you're doing—mmph!"

Ignoring her resistance, Huangfu Haotian wrapped her tightly in his arms and kissed her deeply.

No. No way.

This wasn't right, not here.

They were standing right outside the General's mansion. How could she kiss a man so casually in public—especially this man? The very same man who had twice robbed her of her innocence.

The only reason she approached him in the first place was to get revenge. But now? Was she really letting herself fall for him that easily?

No. Absolutely not. She couldn't let herself be that weak.

Fueled by a sudden burst of anger and clarity, she bit down hard on his lower lip.

"Ugh—" He grunted in pain, and she broke free from his arms.

"Enough!" she snapped. "I don't know what you think of me, Your Highness, but let me make one thing clear—I'm not some random woman from the pleasure districts. So please, show some respect."

Her outburst caught Huangfu Haotian off guard, and a faint, bitter smile crept across his face.

He had thought that since Qingfeng didn't spill the truth, maybe he could keep things hidden from her. But in the end, she was too smart to fool.

Without another word, Xiao Li reached up to her neck and pulled off a jade pendant. She held it out to him. "This jade pendant you left me that day at Liufang Pavilion—there's no point in me keeping it anymore. You should take it back."

She had only kept it as a potential token for revenge. But now that she knew he was the Fourth Prince—son of the Emperor—she wasn't stupid. She knew she couldn't just take a prince's life over something like "lost innocence."

And if all of this really was just a misunderstanding… she had even less reason to hold onto something that didn't belong to her.

So it was better to return it. Not because she'd given up on revenge, but because she'd missed her best chance.

Huangfu Haotian covered his bleeding lip with one hand, eyes locking onto the pendant she held out. When he saw the familiar moon-white jade, a wry smile flashed across his face.

Was this her way of drawing a clean line between them?

He should've seen this coming. The moment she got back into the carriage, she hadn't spoken a single word to him. Clearly, she'd already made up her mind.

No matter how much he cared about her, in her heart, the past was already set in stone.

A royal prince of Daling, drunk and shameless, had forced himself on a lowly maid from a pleasure house. That memory must've become a scar she couldn't erase.

But even if that's how it started, was he really supposed to just let her go without doing anything?

No. He couldn't.

Because no matter how they began, to Huangfu Haotian, this woman—Xiao Li—was already his. The only one. Entirely his.

He lowered his hand from his lip, ignoring the blood that trickled down, and gently took the pendant from her hand.

But when Xiao Li saw him accept it so decisively, a strange emptiness filled her chest.

Huangfu Haotian held the jade up to the light and turned it slightly under the moonlight. Then he looked at her with a faint, unreadable smile. "You really planning to give this back?"

She said nothing.

Without warning, he reached around her waist and yanked her back into his arms.

"A'Li," he whispered, covering her mouth with his hand before she could protest. "What if I told you… that my feelings for you now are real? What would you do then?"

Her eyes widened in shock, meeting his intense gaze.

He brushed aside the hair that had fallen over her shoulder, his voice as soft as moonlight. "You know, I used to regret giving you this pendant. But now I realize—you're the only one who's ever truly deserved to wear it."

Just before kissing her again, he leaned close and whispered, "Because this was the only thing my mother ever left me."

And when he kissed her that time, all she could taste was the bittersweet flavor of blood in her mouth.

By the time he let her go, her cheeks were burning red.

He stared at the jade now hanging against her chest, then looked into her eyes. "A'Li, I want you to remember—so long as that pendant stays close to your heart, my heart will never be far from you. Go home now, don't think about anything else. Just wait for the day I come to marry you."

After she got off the carriage, she stood there watching him disappear into the distance. Her hand stayed pressed to her chest the whole time. Even after the carriage had long gone, she was still dazed.

It didn't take long for the guards at the gate to spot her.

Once word got back to the house, the General immediately noticed the strange look on his daughter's face.

"A'Li, didn't you leave the city with the Crown Prince and Fourth Prince to look for a doctor? How come you're the only one who came back?" The usually composed General couldn't hide his worry when it came to his daughter.

Xiao Li quickly gathered herself and motioned for her father to dismiss everyone else. She wanted to talk to him privately in the study.

Matters involving the Crown Prince weren't things to be shared with too many people. Still, the General was her father. If she didn't tell him the truth, she wouldn't be able to justify herself.

Though, of course, she kept anything involving her and Huangfu Haotian to herself. After all, even she didn't know if there would ever be a real future between them.

"So you just happened to see the Crown Prince have a sudden attack, followed him out of curiosity, and then got mistaken for an assassin?" The General frowned. "If you weren't my daughter, would you even be alive right now?"

Xiao Li just laughed and said, "Of course I'd be fine! With my quick wit and charm, even if I didn't throw your name around, I'd still have made it back home safe and sound."

But the General was clearly worried about more than just that.

He took a sip of water from the table, then looked at her seriously. "A'Li, there's something I've never asked you. Ever since you rejected Prince Wu's marriage proposal, I've always wondered—what exactly are you thinking? And now, you're getting closer to the Crown Prince and Fourth Prince… Is there someone you're interested in?"

Interested?

She hadn't really thought about it that way.

All she knew was—she really didn't like Prince Wu. That was all.

"....."