My Promotion Story Through Time Travel

Chapter 239 The proud are easily broken, the pure are easily stained.

Lin Ziping drew his dagger and brandished it at Prince Rui's neck, contemplating the possibility of killing him with a single blow, then disposing of the body in pieces to avoid detection.

After much deliberation, I decided to abandon the idea. I don't know if there are any weapons or fingerprint identification methods in this era, but what if they were?

Li Qiongying is right. It's too glaring for a living person to disappear without a trace, especially since this person is a relative of the emperor.

The criminal investigation videos he had watched before flashed through his mind, but Lin Ziping rejected them one by one.

Sigh, I really am not good at punishment.

It would be great if Prince Rui suddenly lost his memory.

Lin Ziping's eyes lit up immediately. He pulled out the mushroom powder from his pocket, and even in the dark he couldn't tell what kind of mushroom it was, he stuffed it all into Prince Rui's mouth.

"What are you doing?" Li Qiongying's voice came from behind.

Lin Ziping was startled, and the mushroom powder in his hand spilled on the ground. Before he could clean it up, he stammered, "N-nothing...nothing."

“It’s late, you should go back,” Li Qiongying said.

Lin Ziping walked over and sat down next to her: "I'll take you home."

Li Qiongying shook her head: "The Li family knows that I was summoned by Prince Rui..."

"What?!" Lin Ziping exclaimed, "The Li family knows that Prince Rui met with you late at night?!"

Li Qiongying nodded calmly: "There's no need to make a fuss. This is nothing new for the Li family."

Lin Ziping suddenly stood up: "What do you mean by 'everyday meal'? Do you even know what... what are we doing?!"

“I know.” Li Qiongying raised her eyes and looked at Lin Ziping with a clear and sharp gaze. “It’s a win-win situation, or you could say it’s an exchange of benefits.”

"A trade of interests?" Seeing Li Qiongying's nonchalant attitude, Lin Ziping felt a surge of anger.

He took two deep breaths, suppressing the anger in his chest, and said, "You think so little of yourself!"

"Look down on me?!" Li Qiongying covered her mouth and giggled as if she had heard a joke.

The moonlight bathed her, adding to her allure, making her seem like a mountain spirit.

Li Qiongying looked up at the moon: "The moon was a little brighter that night than it is tonight. The Li family traded control of half of the capital's troops, and I traded the most beautiful dress among the women of the capital. Everything the Li family has now was obtained through trade, and everything I have was also obtained through trade. Do you think this is belittling me?"

Lin Ziping stared at Li Qiongying in shock, opening his mouth but unable to utter a word.

“You have always compared me to moonlight, but do you know that the lofty are easily broken, and the pure are easily stained? Now…” Li Qiongying said, lowering her eyes.

“That’s not your fault,” Lin Ziping said. “The lofty are easily broken, and the pure are easily stained. The fault should never lie with the lofty and the pure, but with those who break and taint them.”

Lin Ziping sat down next to Li Qiongying: "You are still the moonlight, still my sister."

"Really?" Li Qiongying leaned her head on Lin Ziping's shoulder and asked softly.

"Yes!" Lin Ziping nodded firmly.

Li Qiongying didn't speak, and Lin Ziping gradually felt a dampness coming from his shoulder.

After a while, Li Qiongying left Lin Ziping's shoulder: "It's late, you should go back now. Now that you are serving by His Majesty's side, things are not the same as before."

Lin Ziping shrugged and said, "His Majesty sent me out to find Prince Rui, saying that he had lent him a golden book and asked him to return it to His Majesty."

"A golden book?" Li Qiongying frowned and murmured, "I have never seen Prince Rui with any golden book. Why did you make this trip so late at night just to have Prince Rui return the book?"

Lin Ziping nodded and pointed to the food box next to Prince Rui, saying, "It also contains pastries."

Li Qiongying looked over and got up to take the food box: "I'll handle the rest. Remember, you didn't see anything tonight, and Prince Rui's matter has nothing to do with you."

"Sister." Lin Ziping looked at Li Qiongying with some concern.

Li Qiongying patted Lin Ziping's head: "I used to wonder how you could have anything to do with me. I was all alone, which was great. But now it seems that having someone to care about isn't so bad. Take good care of yourself. I'll take care of everything."

Lin Ziping met Li Qiongying's eyes, and a thousand words welled up in his mouth as he said, "Okay."

Li Qiongying smiled and nodded, pinching Lin Ziping's cheek: "So good."

This……

It gives me a feeling of teasing a puppy.

Lin Ziping awkwardly turned his head away from Li Qiongying's hand: "Then I'm leaving. Take care of yourself."

Li Qiongying took off Lin Ziping's clothes: "Okay."

Lin Ziping glanced at Li Qiongying's exposed wounds, his eyes flickered slightly, but he didn't say anything more before leaving with the food box.

The next day, Lin Ziping went to work on time. He had been on tenterhooks all day, thinking that the emperor would ask about the situation of Prince Rui the night before. However, it was as if nothing had happened, and no one mentioned it at all.

Lin Ziping was worried that Li Qiongying wouldn't be able to resolve the matter with Prince Rui last night, so during his break, he took a detour to Prince Rui's residence to check on him.

Although he didn't observe closely, Lin Ziping was quite certain that Prince Rui was in excellent health. He looked like he was eating well and sleeping soundly, and there was no sign of injury at all.

The guard at the door was the same one from last night, but when he saw Lin Ziping looking him up and down, he ignored him as if he didn't recognize him.

Seeing this, Lin Ziping's doubts deepened, and he even suspected that everything that happened last night was just a dream.

After thinking for a moment, Lin Ziping followed the direction in his memory and walked towards the place where he had buried the pastries last night.

After some searching, they finally found the plate that might end up in a museum someday.

Holding the plate, Lin Ziping breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Continuing our search in the direction we went last night, we soon heard the sound of water. After turning around a few times, we found a pool formed by the confluence of several streams.

This must be the place where I met Li Qiongying last night.

The stream flowed gently, and the grass and trees on the bank were somewhat withered and yellow, showing no signs of anyone having been there.

If it weren't for the fact that they dug up the plate that was buried last night and found the scattered mushroom powder, Lin Ziping would have doubted his memory of last night.

Recalling the strangeness of his encounter with Prince Rui, Lin Ziping couldn't help but wonder how Li Qiongying would handle the aftermath. Did she possess such extraordinary abilities?

Thinking of what happened last night, I felt sorry for Li Qiongying again. If she could do all this, what has she sacrificed all these years?

Suddenly, a rustling sound came from the nearby woods.

"Who?" Lin Ziping picked up a stone from the ground and threw it towards the source of the sound.

"Ouch!" a male voice rang out.

Lin Ziping thought the voice sounded familiar, so he picked up a few more stones and threw them over.

"Hey..." A man rubbed his shoulder as he walked out of the woods. "You're so unreasonable. I was here first, and you, who came later, didn't even say hello, but instead threw stones at me."

Lin Ziping looked at the man, and coincidentally, it was someone they knew—Qi Yuchang.

"Qi Yuchang, what are you doing here?" Lin Ziping asked.

"It's you," Qi Yuchang said, then muttered, "Every time I see you, nothing good ever comes of it."

"What did you say?" Lin Ziping threw a small stone at him. "You still haven't told me what you did here?"