When did they leave?
Suddenly, she thought of the two women who had just departed.
It was absolutely impossible that Prince Jin's appearance outside the palace today was a mere coincidence!
Prince Jin might know those two women!
At this thought, Princess Ningde felt like a clown. The man she was about to marry was flirting with other women right before her eyes!
And she had no idea who that woman was.
Without a word, Princess Ningde quickly headed out of the teahouse.
When she chased after them, she stood at the entrance of the Yue Ran Teahouse and looked around. There were many pedestrians coming and going, but neither the two women nor Prince Jin were in sight!
Her delicate and beautiful face was devoid of color.
Her hands, hanging at her sides, were clenched tightly into fists.
After taking a few deep breaths, she returned to the teahouse expressionlessly.
By then, the atmosphere inside the teahouse had changed.
Lin Qingluo was kneeling on the ground, pitifully and humbly tugging at Zhen Lin's hem, pleading, "Please, Young Master, believe me. What happened today was a coincidence. It's understandable that the Princess doesn't believe me, but you must believe me!"
What should she do?
She felt that Zhen Lin had already decided she was a liar.
He hadn't said a word since earlier, his expression cold. When he looked at her, his eyes were filled with disappointment.
Lin Qingluo was truly scared.
"Qingluo, I never doubted you. You had countless opportunities to explain yourself, but you kept deceiving me with lies. The person who saved me that day was not you," Zhen Lin stated with certainty.
Princess Ningde, who had been somewhat worried that Zhen Lin would be fooled by Lin Qingluo again, felt relieved upon seeing this scene.
Her brother was simply kind-hearted and treated people sincerely, never being harsh. But this gave others the opportunity to overstep their bounds.
And Lin Qingluo's actions were despicable, and her ambitions were too great.
"Brother, you handle this. I have something urgent to attend to, so I'll be leaving." Princess Ningde said and prepared to leave.
She believed that Prince Jin and those two women couldn't just leave like that. They must be meeting somewhere else.
She had to find out the identity of that woman.
"Alright, go ahead," Zhen Lin replied calmly.
Princess Ningde nodded and left.
The shopkeeper and the waiter, being quick-witted, had already gone upstairs to attend to other matters.
Therefore, only Zhen Lin and Lin Qingluo remained on the first floor of the teahouse.
Seeing Princess Ningde leave, Lin Qingluo breathed a sigh of relief. As long as Princess Ningde was gone and no one stood in her way, she would surely make Zhen Lin believe her again!
She tugged at Zhen Lin's sleeve and said softly, "Young Master, I have never lied to you. I can swear to the heavens!"
"Lin Qingluo, this is your last chance. If you deceive me again, I will make it so you can never set foot in the capital again. I don't want your life, but there will be absolutely no place for you in the capital." Zhen Lin's gaze was ice-cold, and his tone was even colder.
Even if Lin Qingluo was dull-witted, she would have felt Zhen Lin's resolve at this moment.
Lin Qingluo's body trembled violently, and she looked at Zhen Lin in utter shock, "Young Master..."
She had never seen such a heartless side of him!
The words she wanted to use to defend herself got stuck in her throat.
She suddenly became afraid.
Seeing Lin Qingluo hesitate and dare not speak further, Zhen Lin's expression grew even darker. He said sternly, "You have disappointed me far too much."
"Young Master, Young Master, I... I... I admit now that I did lie to you, but... but that's because I had met you before. Although I only saw you once or twice, my heart was already full of you! Please let me follow you. I don't want to be a secondary consort; I just want to be your servant by your side. Seeing you every day is enough for me!" Lin Qingluo knew she could no longer continue lying, so she tearfully begged.
She had known all along that Young Master Zhen was kind and treated people exceptionally well, so she absolutely had to seize this one chance. As long as she could stay by his side, she could obtain any status in the future!
Zhen Lin looked at Lin Qingluo's pitiable and charming face without any trace of emotion. He hated being deceived the most. "You have wasted my time searching for my savior. Lin Qingluo, I will not give you any chance to enter the Pingyang Manor again."
Lin Qingluo stared blankly at Zhen Lin, "Young Master... was the affection between us all this time a lie?"
"If you were my savior, then everything would be real," Zhen Lin stated coldly, leaving these words behind before resolutely leaving the teahouse.
Lin Qingluo remained kneeling on the ground, completely stunned and motionless.
The shopkeeper and the waiter, hearing that there was no more noise downstairs, came down.
Seeing that only Lin Qingluo was still kneeling on the ground, they understood.
The waiter stepped forward to drive her away, "Miss, Yue Ran Teahouse is not a place for you to linger. Hurry up and leave."
Lin Qingluo remained in a daze.
The waiter, lacking patience, stepped forward and pushed her, "Go quickly! If you don't leave, I'll report you to the authorities!"
Lin Qingluo was furious and raised her eyes to glare fiercely at the waiter.
Just moments ago, the waiter had been serving her with great care.
"Why are you glaring at me? If you were the secondary consort of the Young Master, I would certainly serve you well. But now you are a liar who has offended the Pingyang Manor. Who would dare to show you any respect? Get lost, get out!" the waiter pushed her.
Lin Qingluo could only reluctantly get up.
Then, staggering and in utter disarray, she was driven out by the waiter.
The moment she was kicked out, Lin Qingluo felt all her strength drain away.
It was over...
Everything was over...
...
In an alley.
Yun Shu blocked Zhan Tianye's path.
"Your Highness Prince Jin, I would like to speak with you alone."
After leaving the Yue Ran Teahouse, she had hidden in the vicinity. To her surprise, Zhan Tianye emerged not long after she did.
However, Zhan Tianye was accompanied by two guards, and she absolutely could not let them overhear what she had to say.
The two guards frowned upon hearing this.
"Retire," Zhan Tianye commanded sternly.
The two guards hesitated, "Your Highness Prince Jin, her identity is unknown. Perhaps she is..."
"Retire."
The two guards were startled and then took another careful look at Yun Shu.
After confirming that Yun Shu was likely not someone of great importance, they withdrew.
They remained on guard not far away.
Seeing the two guards leave, Yun Shu took two steps closer to Zhan Tianye.
Zhan Tianye's dark eyes gazed deeply at Yun Shu. He disliked women approaching him, but unexpectedly, the closer this woman came, the more he wanted to take a step closer himself.
To shorten the distance between them.
"Do you know who I am?" Yun Shu asked softly.
Zhan Tianye instinctively reached out to caress her cheek.
Yun Shu did not dodge.
Instead, she quickly grabbed his wrist.
Her cool fingertips landed on his pulse.
"Who are you?"
The man's voice was as deep and chilling as ever, with a bone-chilling coldness.
Yun Shu's eyelashes trembled upon hearing "Who are you?"