I put my arm around the strong man's slender waist

Chapter 22

I couldn't help but look at Jinglian with admiration. I had thought she was attracted to the young master's good looks, and that she might be bewitched by Yan Shu's beauty, which surpassed even the young master's. I never expected her to have such good taste!

Yan Shu's face showed obvious veins twitching, and he squinted at Jing Lian. I was afraid that he would become abnormal and scare Jing Lian, so I quickly stepped forward and pulled him, saying, "Ah... why has the High Priest come to the palace?"

"I just wiped my nose, don't touch me." Yan Shu shook off my hand, snorted coldly, and glanced at me. "Didn't you ask Chang Huan to send me a message saying you had something important to discuss with me?"

"Me?" I was stunned and surprised by his words. "When did I ever ask Changhuan to pass on a message..."

"You don't have it?" Yan Shu suddenly frowned.

I scratched my head and thought for a moment, then nodded. I really hadn't asked anyone to pass on a message.

Yan Shu then fell silent, only frowning as if he were thinking about something.

Suddenly, a female official outside the palace announced that the Queen had come to see Princess Jinglian.

Before I could even react with surprise, Yan Shu let out a cold laugh, "So you were here for me after all..."

What did he mean? Before I could figure it out, Yan Shu lightly touched the ground with her toes and leaped onto the roof beam right in front of me, shushing me with her pale fingers to her lips.

Jinglian's eyes widened, and she came over and grabbed me, whispering, "He knows qinggong (lightness skill)?"

As soon as the words were spoken, a line of palace maids entered the hall with lanterns, and a female official helped the queen in, looking very imposing.

I quickly signaled Jinglian to be quiet, then pulled her over to greet her with a bow, saying, "Su Xie greets the Queen."

"Hmm." The Queen responded casually, helped the lady-in-waiting over me and Jinglian, glanced around the hall with her clean-cut eyes, and sat down on the side couch, saying in a calm voice, "Get up, all of you."

Jinglian and I stood up. The Queen looked over calmly and asked indifferently, "Were there only the two of you just now?"

Afraid that Jinglian would blurt it out, I secretly tugged at her sleeve. She lowered her eyes and peeked at me before saying, "Yes, it's just the two of us."

The Queen did not respond; she looked at Jinglian, then at me.

I felt that this was too unbearable to continue, so I wanted to take my leave first. But as soon as I opened my mouth, the Queen said, "Jinglian, go and take a look at the new wedding dress made for you. See if there is anything you are not satisfied with and have them alter it." She waved her hand.

A female official came over, bowed to Jinglian, and said, "Whom does the princess invite me to come?"

Jinglian glanced at me furtively. My mind was racing, but I dared not show it on my face.

"Princess?" the female official urged her again.

She whispered to me, "I'm going now."

Seeing her leave, I quickly said, "If Your Majesty has nothing else, Su Xie will also take her leave."

Just as she was about to retreat, the Queen said calmly, "Miss Su, please wait. I have some questions for you."

I froze on the spot, feeling inexplicably uneasy. I stole a glance at the Queen. She seemed to have arrived in a hurry. Her hair was neatly tied up but she was not wearing any hairpins. She was plain-faced and looked like a pure lotus from the Tianshan Mountains. She was aloof and distant.

She waved for the palace maids to leave.

I stood nervously below the throne, listening to the Queen's quiet, low voice: "You come from the Sala sect?"

"Yes," I replied.

She grunted in response, but remained silent for a long time, not understanding what she meant. Instead, she got up and looked around the main hall aimlessly. Suddenly, seemingly unintentionally, she said, "You entered the palace to save Young Master Ruan of the Salu Sect?"

My heart skipped a beat, and for a moment I didn't know how to answer. Since she asked that question, she must have already seen through me. Lying wouldn't work, and telling the truth wouldn't be appropriate either...

She turned to look at me, her expression calm, and said, "You don't need to be nervous. Actually, I noticed you when you entered the palace. Plus, with what you said to the king in the main hall, who couldn't tell you were lying?"

Has the acting been done yet...?

I didn't dare to speak casually, but she smiled faintly and said, "With Miss Su's looks and status, how could she possibly take a fancy to Baoze, that good-for-nothing?"

I was somewhat surprised. Although it was the truth, Queen, is it really alright for you to talk about your own son like that? Is he not her biological son? But the way she doted on the little prince in the palace didn't seem like the behavior of a stepmother...

Seeing that I remained unresponsive, the Queen was neither impatient nor annoyed. Instead, she spoke softly to me, "Actually, I have no ill intentions towards the Salo sect. I invited Young Master Ruan here out of necessity."

I couldn't help but laugh. "Since the Queen is so frank, Su Xie shouldn't hide anything anymore." I bowed to her and said with a smile, "Your Majesty, there's nothing to discuss. Could you please release my young master first? You don't know, my Left Protector has quite a temper..."

If he knew that the young master had been captured by me, he would tear me to pieces...

The queen readily agreed, "I will definitely release the person, but..."

I dread hearing the word "but" the most; if it appears, something bad is definitely coming.

As expected, the queen set a condition: "I only want to see one person."

I was stunned. The Queen captured the young master just to see someone?

He couldn't help but ask in surprise, "Who is this person?"

The queen did not answer me, but looked at the vast palace and asked, "Are you here?"

This was clearly not meant for me, could it be...?

"You're here, aren't you?" The Queen walked into the hall, looking into the empty space where a gentle breeze blew through, and said, "I just want to see you. I know you're here!"

I went to the Queen's side and said, "Who is the Queen looking for? There is only you and me here, no one else."

"He's here." The Queen turned to look at me, her eyes chillingly cold. "Did you really think I came here in the middle of the night for Jinglian?"

If I'm not mistaken, the person the Queen wants to see is Yan Shu, and someone must have impersonated me to lure Yan Shu into the palace and then informed her.

But who is this person?

“Miss Su, I don’t want to go too far.” She looked at me quietly, her eyes filled with a coldness that was frightening. “To tell you the truth, someone told me as soon as he brought Young Master Ruan into Licheng. I captured Young Master Ruan and then let you into the palace. I did all this just to see him once.”

It turns out that someone deliberately leaked Yan Shu and the young master's whereabouts from the very beginning, but who would do such a thing? What would be the benefit of doing so?

Completely baffled, I finally asked, "Su Xie doesn't know who said those things to the Queen, and really doesn't know who the Queen was referring to."

The queen frowned slightly. "I advise you not to play dumb with me. I have no interest in playing riddles with you."

"Su Xie wouldn't dare." I had barely uttered the words when she suddenly grabbed my chin.

Her sharp nails dug painfully into my jaw. Her face was completely cold as she said, "Although I don't want to offend the Saluo Sect, killing a mere demoness like you is still a piece of cake. Think carefully, do you still want to pretend to be stupid with me?"

After a moment's thought, I tentatively asked, "May I ask who Your Majesty wishes to see? Please tell me."

She frowned again, clearly thinking I was still pretending to be stupid. Her fingers tightened, almost making me cry, and she shouted, "Guards, bring up everything I prepared to entertain Miss Su. Miss Su and I will talk slowly."

She shook me off, and the main hall door was pushed open with a bang. A cold wind rushed in and made me shiver. I saw palace maids carrying various instruments of torture in single file.

After a moment's thought, I decisively lifted my robe and knelt down with a thud, saying pragmatically, "After careful consideration and painful reflection, Su Xie feels that it is truly shameful for the Queen to conceal anything."

The Queen looked down at me and smiled faintly, "So?"

“So if the Queen is looking for High Priest Yan Shu, Su Xie just remembered that he has indeed met him before,” I said frankly.

"Where is he?!" The Queen was so agitated that she grabbed my shoulder.

I winced in pain and pointed to the roof beam.

The Queen instantly released her grip and took a step back, staring anxiously at the roof beam, saying, "Jiu'er, you're here, aren't you? Jiu'er! Come out and see me!"

Jiu'er... I felt a shiver run through my body, like my whole body was burning... I almost burst out laughing.

Is he calling me "Priest"? Are you sure he's calling that flamboyant and arrogant priest? I never knew he had such an...endearing nickname...

"Jiu'er..." the Queen called out the name with great eagerness, and even sent someone to bring a ladder to look for him.

The palace maid climbed up, looking distressed, and said, "Your Majesty, there's nothing here."

How could this be?! I was stunned and before I could react, the Queen slapped me across the face.

"How dare you lie to me!"

My face instantly stung with pain. I abruptly stood up, dragged the palace maid down, and climbed the ladder myself. Sure enough, the roof beams were completely empty, without a single hair in sight.

You scoundrel! Yan Shu, that disloyal scoundrel!

I was furious, but the Queen was even angrier than me. Her fair face was almost red and purple with rage. She pointed at me and ordered, "Arrest Su Xie and torture him!"

Yan Shu, you despicable woman!

I cursed Yan Shu a million times and still wasn't satisfied. I tried to escape, but the Imperial Guards who rushed in grabbed my arm and yanked me down hard. I saw stars and almost choked on my breath.

The palace maids pinned me down and were about to come over with instruments of torture when I hurriedly shouted, "Wait! Wait! Your Majesty, I can help you find Yan Shu!"

The queen sneered, "You think I'd believe you a second time? Use torture!"

Yan Shu, you motherfucker!

Those gleaming blades and scissors approached me, and just when I thought I was about to die, I suddenly heard Jinglian's heavenly voice coming from outside the hall.

"Your Majesty, someone is looking for you!"

As I struggled, I looked up and a pale white robe swayed before my eyes. In the utterly silent hall, I heard that extremely familiar voice.

He said, “Your Majesty, I have something urgent to report.”

Ruan Bicheng...

Under the dim light, I couldn't see his features clearly. I just saw Jinglian come over and push aside the palace maids who were pressing me down. She whispered to me, "Don't be afraid, he's here to save you."

Twenty-six

Thanks to the leader, who arrived just in time, I was spared torture and temporarily imprisoned in the dungeon.

Thanks to Jinglian and the Little Prince, the jailer arranged for me to be transferred to a cell, and specially placed me next to Ruan Lianhua.

Ruan Lianhua was very excited when she saw me come in, her dimples swaying as she excitedly asked, "Su Su, were you arrested too?"

I'm in a terrible mood right now, really terrible. My knees and bones all over my body hurt. To avoid making it worse, I leaned against the wall and ignored him.

He leaned closer and asked pitifully in a low voice through the iron fence, "Susu, what's wrong? Are you unhappy?"

Ha! I laughed heartily, then my laughter turned cold as I said, "Is coming here something to be happy about?"

"It's alright here..." Ruan Lianhua said softly.

I have to admire the young master's spirit of finding joy even in hardship; he can find great interest and happiness in circling ants every day.

Seeing my lifeless appearance, he pursed his lips and comforted me, "Don't worry, the Queen will let us out."

I was a little surprised. "How did you know?"

He smiled, revealing his dimples. "The Queen told me. She had no intention of offending the Salo Cult. She just wanted me to help lure the priest out for a meeting. Once we met the priest, he would naturally release us."

I was even more frustrated. "My dear young master, you're so naive! Do you really think that bitch Yan Shu would come to save you?!"

"No way," he answered without hesitation, showing no concern whatsoever.

A breath caught in my throat, and looking at his nonchalant, smiling face, I desperately wanted to slap him awake! He's supposed to be the young master of a demonic sect! Couldn't he be a little more cunning and ruthless?

I took a deep breath and tried to remain calm as I asked, "So? How do you plan to get out?"