On the lake pavilion
Leng Ruoshuang waited with Xiao Cui for a long time but did not see the Prince of Qing.
"Miss, we've been waiting for two hours. Prince Qing probably won't come, will he?" Xiao Cui asked anxiously.
"He won't. Brother Prince Qing wouldn't lie to me. Let's wait a little longer," Leng Ruoshuang said, a little annoyed.
Xiao Cui immediately closed her mouth, not daring to speak again.
After about another quarter of an hour, a guard wearing black fitted attire and unfamiliar to them approached Leng Ruoshuang and her servant.
"Are you Miss Leng Ruoshuang? My master invites you onto the boat."
The guard said expressionlessly, pointing to a luxurious boat moored by the lake not far away.
Leng Ruoshuang happily thought that this guard was sent by Prince Qing, and she eagerly led Xiao Cui towards the luxurious boat.
However, after Leng Ruoshuang and her servant boarded, they still did not see Prince Qing.
It wasn't until the boat set off that a young maid with exquisite features walked towards them.
"Second Miss Leng, my master invites you to the private room on the second floor of the boat."
Upon hearing this, Leng Ruoshuang led Xiao Cui towards the private room on the second floor.
Unexpectedly, as Leng Ruoshuang took a few steps, her maid Xiao Cui was stopped.
"Your miss can go up alone. Servants are not allowed to follow," the maid said coldly.
At this, Xiao Cui anxiously called out to Leng Ruoshuang.
"Miss, she won't let me go up with you."
"Then wait for me here."
Then, Leng Ruoshuang followed the maid up to the private room on the second floor.
In the private room on the second floor, a man with a large head and ears, broad shoulders and a thick waist, was lounging on the bed in disheveled clothing. Beside him sat a charming, scantily clad woman, feeding him a pastry bite by bite.
"Young Master, Second Miss Leng has been brought up," the maid reported.
"Hmm, let her in."
When Leng Ruoshuang walked into the room, she was stunned by the shocking scene.
Didn't Brother Prince Qing invite her out for a boat ride?
How could it be Lin Hongtao?
Leng Ruoshuang frowned, sensing something was wrong, and turned to leave.
"Yo, Second Miss Leng, why are you leaving so soon after arriving?"
Lin Hongtao looked up at Leng Ruoshuang's retreating back and said with a sly smile.
Upon hearing this, Leng Ruoshuang stopped in her tracks. She wanted to see what this Lin Hongtao wanted.
"Lord Lin, you used Prince Qing's name to invite me out. Is there something you need?"
"It seems Second Miss Leng doesn't know that my cousin, Prince Qing, has been confined to his estate for three months by the Eldest Miss Leng. He was also beaten a hundred times and is now seriously injured and bedridden."
"What? Prince Qing is injured? And forbidden to leave the estate? When did this happen? How come I don't know?"
"Second Miss Leng, you don't need to doubt it. This happened just two days ago, and it was your sister who did it."
After speaking, Leng Ruoshuang's expression turned extremely displeased. This Leng Ruoli was truly relentless, still causing trouble even after breaking off her engagement with Prince Qing.
"Then, Lord Lin, why are you telling me this? What do you want me to do?"
Leng Ruoshuang cast a indifferent glance at Lin Hongtao, thinking to herself: this fat pig went to such lengths to invite her out, it must be for no good reason.
"Heh heh, Second Miss Leng is indeed a smart person. It's always easy to deal with you."
Lin Hongtao suddenly hugged the woman beside him, gave her a disgusting kiss, then waved his hand at her, signaling her to leave.
He then slowly moved his fat body off the bed, walked to Leng Ruoshuang, and looked at her with a lecherous gaze.
Today, Leng Ruoshuang was wearing a pale pink, strapless, fitted long dress embroidered with large golden peonies, dressed extremely alluringly with the intention of a rendezvous with Prince Qing. Unfortunately, she was very disappointed not to see Prince Qing.
But it made Lin Hongtao's heart flutter. If it weren't for Leng Ruoshuang's ambiguous relationship with Prince Qing, he would have surely taken Leng Ruoshuang and toyed with her for a while.
Lin Hongtao's gaze made Leng Ruoshuang very uncomfortable.
Leng Ruoshuang immediately distanced herself from Lin Hongtao.
Lin Hongtao, seeing her actions, was unconcerned. He smiled and said, "You don't need to do much. Just secretly add some medicine to Leng Ruoli's food. With Second Miss Leng's intelligence, this should be easy."
After hearing this, Leng Ruoshuang pondered for a moment and finally agreed to Lin Hongtao.
Lin Hongtao immediately had a servant bring a small packet of medicine and hand it to Leng Ruoshuang.
"Second Miss Leng, put this medicine in as you see fit. As long as Leng Ruoli ingests even a little of this medicine, her internal organs will rot, and her muscles will atrophy, leading to death within an hour."
Lin Hongtao said with a vicious expression. "Leng Ruoli, don't blame me for being cruel. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have been sent to Dali Temple by King Leng, and I would have almost lost my life."
Upon hearing this, the hand holding the medicine packet trembled. This small packet of medicine was potent poison. Although she had tried to harm Leng Ruoli a few times before, she had never given Leng Ruoli such a deadly poison.
If Leng Ruoli died from this potent poison, and her biased father found out, he would surely kill her.
Lin Hongtao saw Leng Ruoshuang's flustered expression and comforted her, "Second Miss Leng, don't worry. This poison is colorless and odorless. Even those who understand poison might not be able to detect it."
After hearing this, Leng Ruoshuang breathed a sigh of relief. She took the medicine and turned to walk into the private room on the second floor of the boat.
——
The night was as dark as ink, without stars or moon.
It was already night by the time Leng Ruoli finished helping Liu Nianhua with her affairs.
As she walked out of the medical clinic, she noticed that Jun Mohan's carriage had followed.
She walked over quickly and said to the person inside the carriage, "Your Highness Prince Leng, it's so late, why aren't you returning to your estate?"
"Get in!"
Jun Mohan's only response was two brief words.
Leng Ruoli was slightly stunned.
Then, Jun Mohan added, "As I said today, I will escort you back to General Leng's estate. The mission is not yet complete, so I cannot give up halfway."
Uh...
"Alright."
Since he was so persistent, how could she, Leng Ruoli, refuse him?
Then, Leng Ruoli nimbly got into Jun Mohan's carriage.
"Ye Ying, go to General Leng's estate," Jun Mohan said lightly.
Ye Ying slowly started the carriage and smoothly arrived at the entrance of General Leng's estate.
As soon as the carriage stopped, Leng Ruoli quickly got out and walked towards the gate of the general's estate.
After a few steps, Jun Mohan's voice came from behind her.
"Eldest Miss Leng, aren't you going to invite this prince into your estate for a cup of tea?"
Leng Ruoli: "..."
"Um, Your Highness Prince Leng, my father is busy in the military camp and returns home very late. It's still early, and he probably hasn't returned yet. If you want to find him, you might have to come another day."
Just as Leng Ruoli finished speaking, a hearty male voice came from the gate of General Leng's estate.
"Is that Li'er returning?"
"..."
Inside the carriage, a subtle curve formed on Jun Mohan's lips.