Who says the prince is weak and can't take care of himself?

Chapter 116 Tang Ling is the most considerate person in the world

Tang Ling stared at Qi Xiao, unsure how to respond. Was this just a joke? Take him back to Shaoyang? Back to the Great Zhou? Qi Xiao was the prince of Chen. Did he want to be a hostage in the Great Zhou? That was ridiculous. Unless Chen or Zhou could completely annex the other, there was no way he could take him home.

Qi Xiao suddenly retracted his arms, pulled Tang Ling into his arms, and held her close to him. He lifted Tang Ling's chin with one hand, leaned in close and whispered, "I don't like your expression. You look desperate, sad, and helpless. Does deciding to be with me make you suffer?"

"No! Just..." Just uneasy.

Qi Xiao held Tang Ling's hand tightly and wanted to bend down and kiss him, but he was afraid that Tang Ling would feel embarrassed in the bustling street, so he held back. He took her into an empty alley nearby, hid in the darkness, and kissed her secretly.

"You're just uneasy, aren't you?" Qi Xiao leaned against Tang Ling's forehead and sighed softly, "I promised you a lifetime, remember? I'll plant a garden full of Epiphyllums for you and wait for them to bloom every year, remember? All you have to do is say yes. I don't know what will happen in the future, but I will never let go of your hand, no matter what."

"Qi Xiao..." Tang Ling suddenly felt the pain in his words. Did something happen in the past? Tang Ling knew Qi Xiao was sentimental, but was she willing to give up her status as a prince, and even her family and country, just for him? Was she capable of doing that?

Tang Ling raised her head and kissed Qi Xiao. It didn’t matter if she couldn’t do it, he was willing.

Even though Tang Ling felt countless anxieties and powerlessness when thinking about the future, he couldn't help but hug Qi Xiao, unwilling to give up the happiness in this moment. He had thought it was just love, but he didn't expect Qi Xiao to drive him crazy, make him abandon his rationality, and no matter what Qi Xiao said, he would agree.

"Let's go eat. I have something to tell you."

Qi Xiao took Tang Ling for a walk and arrived at the noodle shop. This inconspicuous little noodle shop was closed and the door was closed.

The noodle shop had no name, just a sign outside with the word "Noodles" written on it. Neighbors and regular customers called it Lao Liu's Noodle Shop. Qi Xiao and Tang Ling had happened to pass by the shop last time, and it happened to be open. This time, Qi Xiao had brought Tang Ling with him specifically to find it, but it seemed their luck wasn't as good as last time.

Tang Ling sighed softly: "It seems we are late. Let's come again next time."

Qi Xiao pulled Tang Ling forward and knocked on the door.

"Don't bother the boss and his wife during the Mid-Autumn Festival."

Qi Xiao turned around and smiled, and the door opened.

"Sir, you are here. Please come in."

"Thank you, Uncle Liu." Qi Xiao pulled Tang Ling into the house.

The boss then closed the shop again and said to Qi Xiao and Tang Ling, "Gentlemen, please sit down for a moment. I'll go and cook the noodles."

"Thank you very much."

Tang Ling looked at Qi Xiao in confusion: "What's going on?"

"A couple of days ago, someone came to discuss with Uncle Liu and decided to book this place tonight to entertain the two of us."

Qi Xiao took Tang Ling's hand and said, "I just want to find a quiet place to eat a bowl of noodles with you and talk."

Qi Xiao had said before at Baiyan Mountain that he would treat Tang Ling to noodles when he returned to Yuanjing City, and he really remembered it.

Tang Ling looked at Qi Xiao, her eyes full of love that was about to overflow.

"What do you want to say to me? Should I ask Ye Huai to stay away?"

Ye Huai was Tang Ling's secret guard, always by her side. Qi Xiao had stayed in Tang Ling's room for two consecutive nights, and Ye Huai was always there, eavesdropping on countless conversations from the corners. Tang Ling thought that if Ye Huai could hear something, Qi Xiao could have said it in his room. He waited until now to find a "quiet" place to talk, perhaps because he didn't want others to know.

"Since you trust him, I trust him too."

To Tang Ling's surprise, Qi Xiao didn't mind Ye Huai, but Tang Ling still raised her voice slightly and said, "Ye Huai, please stay away."

Qi Xiao supported his chin and tilted his head to look at Tang Ling. He was truly the most considerate person in the world, no doubt about it.

"Let me tell you what you know first. Bai Xiqiao is the son of Bai Liu."

When Qi Xiao asked Tang Ling to investigate Bai Liu and Cao Weishan, Tang Ling did a very thorough investigation, especially of Bai Liu. Naturally, she knew that he had a son who "just happened" to be named Xi Qiao. It seemed reasonable for Qi Xiao to investigate Bai Liu's case.

But Tang Ling thought more deeply. Bai Liu died of illness, there was no doubt about that. Although Bai Liu was impeached, he was not convicted. As an official in the court, especially one with such great achievements, it would be embarrassing if he did not receive a few impeachment memorials a year. Bai Xiqiao had no reason to resent anything, so what exactly were they investigating?

Bai Xiqiao was accompanying Qi Xiao as a bodyguard, and everyone could see that Qi Xiao was very close to him. If there was no foul play in Bai Liu's death, why would Qi Xiao risk investigating? Shouldn't he have stopped him for Bai Xiqiao's sake?

"When I first arrived in Fuzhou, I was having fun and accidentally met Bai Xiqiao. Thanks to him, I became a disciple of Tianyu Jiangu Shanmo and joined the Hanchen Sect. This is how my martial arts skills came about."

Tang Ling was not very familiar with the anecdotes of the martial arts world, but he had an amazing memory and could remember everything he saw. He knew Tianyu Sword Gu Shanmo, who was the best swordsman in the State of Chen. He had been famous for nearly forty years and had rarely met an opponent. Any famous swordsman in Zhou and Qi had sent a visiting card to Gu Shanmo to challenge him, but Gu Shanmo had not been heard from in the martial arts world for the past ten years.

"You must have heard of my master's name, right? It doesn't matter if you haven't. You must know the Hanchen Sect."

There was tea in the teapot on the table. Qi Xiao poured Tang Ling a cup and suddenly interjected something irrelevant: "Uncle Liu was originally worried that he couldn't entertain distinguished guests like us, so he refused. The tea here is not Qi Qing tea or the imperial tribute tea, but I think you don't mind."

Tang Ling took the teacup, smiled faintly, and shook her head gently: "I don't mind at all, on the contrary, I like it very much."

"Like tea? Or like me?"

Tang Ling took a sip of tea and murmured, "I like them all."

Qi Xiao also took a sip of tea and chuckled softly, "That's good."

"Two gentlemen, the noodles are here." Uncle Liu served two bowls of chicken noodle soup to Qi Xiao and Tang Ling, along with three side dishes and a pot of warm wine. Compared to the clear soup noodles last time, it was much more sumptuous.

"Thank you, Uncle Liu."

"No, sir, if you have any instructions, you can call me."

After Liu Bo left, Qi Xiao continued to talk about the past: "You should have heard about the Hanchen Sect's affairs, right?"

Tang Ling nodded. "I heard that Fenglin Mountain has been plagued by banditry in recent years. The imperial court's several crackdowns have yielded no results. This is all because the Hanchen Sect sheltered the bandits. It wasn't until over a year ago that Lu Fangjin was ordered to lead his troops into Fenglin Mountain and completely wiped out the bandits. Now that I hear you say it, I'm afraid that's not the case. Is it related to Qi's spies?"

Speaking of Fenglin Mountain, Tang Ling's mind immediately flashed through the assassins from the Zhanshichu who had tried to assassinate him. Could it be that those bandits were related to the Qi State's spies?