When the prince is reborn, he will only hit me if he doesn't hit the wall!

However, Qin Lingruo still did not see Qin Leng until she entered the Qingling Palace. The palace was brightly lit, filled with incense, and occasionally there were palace maids coming in and out, as if everything was normal - it was as if Qin Lingruo had never left the Qingling Palace.

Qin Lingruo lowered her voice and said, "A Leng, I'm back. Are you still there?"

Another graceful and indifferent female voice came from the inner room: "No need to be so cold, that slave is not here right now."

"Qin Lingruo, you are getting bolder and bolder. You even sneaked out of the palace! It seems that the punishment we gave you in the past was too light."

The one who spoke was her mother, Concubine Jing.

Today, Concubine Jing was wearing a fine, multi-layered, floor-length palace gown. Even though it was already evening, her hair was still smooth and neat, and her red and green hair was neatly split, not a single strand out of place. She did not look tired at all.

His eyes and eyebrows were sharp, and it was impossible to tell how long he had been waiting here.

Qin Lingruo had a bad feeling and shouted, "Mother, where is Ah Leng?"

Concubine Jing said disdainfully: "He is just the son of a criminal slave. I whipped him a few times and sent him back to where he belongs."

Concubine Jing disapproved and said, "You are the only princess of Beixuan, you are of noble status, why do you always associate with the son of a criminal slave? Aren't you afraid of tarnishing your status and making others laugh at you if it gets out?"

"He is not a slave. He is not the one who is wrong. It was not his wish to grow up in such a place."

Qin Lingruo was unmoved and directly challenged Concubine Jing.

"You are still young, ignorant, and kind-hearted. You are easily taken advantage of and deceived by others. Mother doesn't blame you. But that person with ulterior motives approached you just to use you. If I guess correctly, he just wants to use you to escape from the sea of ​​suffering! How can there be any true love?"

Qin Lingruo felt that Concubine Jing was stubborn and would not get along with her, so she said coldly, "I know. I'm tired today and want to rest. If you have nothing else to do, please go back to your bedroom!"

After saying this, without even looking at her, he walked straight past Concubine Jing, as if no one was around, and called the palace maid to change clothes and wash up.

A nameless fire surged up in her heart. Concubine Jing was angry and scolded, "Mother is doing this for your own good! You are so ungrateful. Sooner or later, you will come to me crying and begging me! From now on, you are not allowed to leave Qingling Palace. All the expenses you need must be approved by me!"

"I want to see what you can do to help that slave's son! I have already taught him a lesson today. If he knows what's good for him and really wants to be friends with you, he should make a clear distinction between you and no longer be involved! Just wait and see! You will know how that bastard reacts after a try!"

Concubine Jing's words were sharp and slanderous, and before leaving she even limited Qin Lingruo's expenses.

Qin Lingruo stood with her back to him, her pretty face hidden in the dim light of the candle. As the light flickered, she had already made a secret plan in her mind.

The moon was at its zenith, the houses were desolate, and few people knew that within the majestic and magnificent Beixuan Palace City, there were such desolate places overgrown with weeds and scattered and dilapidated places.

As Concubine Jing said, Qin Leng received a not-so-light whipping. In a remote place, there was a lack of medical care and medicine. The maid who attended him sighed a few times, bandaged his wound hastily, told him to have a good rest, and then went out to do her work.

The thin moonlight shone through the window lattice, spreading a chill on the ground. Qin Leng just lay silently on the bed, trying to absorb the pain in his shoulders and back.

He had long been numb to the pain.

His face looked even paler under the bright sunlight, his tightly closed eyelids trembled slightly, but his expression never changed from beginning to end.

The weeds that take root in barren lands are much more tenacious than the orchids that are pampered in greenhouses, and similar bullying has happened more than once or twice.

I had no expectations at all, I just wanted to wait until dawn.

Being in a bad environment for a long time made his ears, eyes, and five senses as alert and sharp as those of animals. Not long after the nanny left, Qin Leng heard a strange rustling sound somewhere nearby.

The footsteps were extremely light, and seemed to have no clear direction, as if they were exploring everywhere.

Qin Leng ignored the pain, suddenly stood up from the bed, and reached for the broken tile under the pillow, the tip of which had long been sharpened for self-defense.

He remained motionless, like a falcon with fierce eyes in the dark night, a ferocious beast cub lurking somewhere, waiting for the right moment to strike the enemy head-on and deal a fatal blow.

However, when the soft and weak voice penetrated his ears, Qin Leng's body was caught off guard and hesitated for a moment.

"Ah Leng - are you there?"

It’s Qin Lingruo.

He had never brought her here, and it was hard to find the place even during the day. Now at night, she didn't know how long she had been groping around before she finally found this place.

The voice outside the house was still asking: "A Leng? A Leng——"

The atmosphere suddenly relaxed, and the blocked and stagnant feeling in the air disappeared.

He said, "I'm here."

The people outside the house heard the response and obviously had a clear direction, and the crisp sounds under their feet were getting closer and closer.

In just a moment, the door was pushed open tentatively, and what came into view was the little face that was as pretty and bright as ever.

Qin Lingruo saw him struggling to half stand up, half lying on the couch, looking over here, and took a few steps forward, soft-heartedly trying to dissuade him: "You are injured all over your body, mother said that you were punished, I don't know where the injury is or how serious it is, so I brought some ointments and powders of various kinds."

She muttered to herself while working non-stop. She opened the small bag she carried with her, shook out the large and small medicine jars inside, and examined them one by one under the moonlight.

"Don't you even have a candle here? I remember I gave you a fire starter last time. Do you still have it?"

"Actually, the moonlight is not bad today, so it's not completely hard to see. Move closer and I'll apply the medicine on you."

"Princess, that's not right."

When he was reprimanded and beaten today, the words that Concubine Jing said were still fresh in her mind. He was of low status and not worthy of being called her brother.

"What princess? Didn't I tell you that I am your sister? There is no need for us to be so estranged. Whether your mother said something to you, you don't have to take it to heart."

After explaining, she urged: "Come here quickly, I can't stay here for too long. You are covering for me today. I am really worried about you, so I must come to see you."

Without waiting for him to refuse again, Qin Lingruo firmly grasped his wrist and said, "Hurry up, get down!"

Qin Leng had no choice but to comply.

Qin Lingruo gently rolled up his clothes from the hem, revealing the hastily treated wounds underneath. She felt sad and frowned, "It's all my fault. I got you into this situation. Fortunately, I came today. Otherwise, you would not be able to get off the bed for several days."

Qin Leng wanted to say that it was okay, this kind of injury was very common, he had suffered more serious injuries before, but the moonlight was dim, and she was afraid that she could not see the scars from the past clearly.

Qin Leng buried his face in his arms, and when the skin on his shoulders and back touched Qin Lingruo's fingertips, it felt like an electric shock, extremely numb.

The skin on her fingertips was as delicate as fine warm jade. She pressed gently, and the coolness of the ointment moved around beneath her fingertips.

The soft, warm and fragrant scent from Qin Lingruo kept lingering around Qin Leng's nose, like a handful of crystal snow on a red plum blossom in winter, sweet and pure, making the whole yard bright and glorious.

Qin Lingruo noticed that Qin Leng's body was shaking slightly: "Does it hurt? Or are you cold? It will be healed soon. The injury is a bit serious, so it may take some time."

Qin Leng wanted to say, "It doesn't hurt." But when the words reached his throat, he changed his tone and said, "It hurts a little."

Qin Lingruo was unaware of his thoughts and thought to herself, "As expected."

"Just bear with it, it will be fine soon. I'll try to be quick and won't let you feel the pain for too long."

In order to ease his pain, she couldn't help but rub her breath gently on his injured area. Her gentle breath brushed against Qin Leng's back, and Qin Leng trembled even more.

He could always feel pure thoughtfulness and care from her.

He couldn't help but close his eyes and murmured in his heart: It's so clean.

He admitted that being rescued by her was not accidental, but also part of his plan. If he wanted to escape from this situation, this little princess was the most suitable candidate after he had observed her for a long time.

But now, he suddenly felt a trace of guilt in his heart - getting close to her was the thing he regretted the most.

It turns out that what is more difficult to accept than insidiousness and meanness is gentleness and enthusiasm.