Upon hearing this, Chu Qianli's expression changed slightly, and her defensive aura instantly flared.
How could she have forgotten this?
If the Prince were to care too deeply for Ninth Uncle, insisting on seeing him, then she herself would become the Prince's best tool for manipulation!
Had Ninth Uncle not considered this either?
Chu Lingyang looked at her, a faint smile on his face.
Chu Qianli also looked at him, her expression serious. "I thought Prince Ling and him were true brothers-in-arms. It seems I was mistaken!"
"Heh!"
Chu Lingyang was not angered or moved. "Are you trying to provoke me? I've been on battlefields for so many years; if provocation could work on me, I would have died countless times over."
Chu Qianli remained silent, her fingers tapping on the table slowly tightening.
"Alright, I was just trying to scare you. Look how frightened you are."
Chu Lingyang laughed heartily, dismissing the topic as if it were already past.
Yet, for a fleeting moment, he had indeed wanted to use her.
After all, after not seeing each other for over a decade, he truly missed that fellow.
Believing he had died, he had spent so many years in dejection on the battlefield.
Then, someone suddenly told him he was alive.
That excitement, that relief, that feeling of regaining something lost yet still intangible and unseen – who could understand it?
He truly missed that rascal.
"For over a decade, you kept me from knowing if he was alive or dead, yet he was willing to break his own plans for you. What… what exactly are you to him? A lover? Hmm—you're too young."
Chu Lingyang poured himself another cup. "But I know you must be someone incredibly important, perhaps more important than his own life."
Chu Qianli remained silent, her gaze fixed coldly on him.
Chu Lingyang sighed and smiled. "There's no need to guard against me. You've been poisoned with the Soft Bone Powder, rendering you powerless. It's only thanks to that fellow's peculiar cultivation technique that you could even use Qinggong."
"You can't defeat me, let alone the fact that this courtyard is filled with my men. Guarding against me is useless."
Upon hearing this, Chu Qianli's expression finally softened.
The fingers gripping the edge of the table loosened.
What he said made sense.
What was the point of being defensive? It was futile anyway.
She picked up her chopsticks and began to eat.
This was her first time trying dishes from Nanming. The flavors differed slightly from those of Beiming, but surprisingly, they suited Chu Qianli's palate.
They were somewhat sweet, reminiscent of the South in the 21st century.
The South… such a distant era.
Back then, she often visited the South to see the sea.
She ate sea shrimp, crabs, and Boston lobsters.
Occasionally, she would even try Australian lobsters.
But her senior sister found Australian lobsters too expensive, only allowing them to eat those under three catties. If they occasionally tried slightly larger ones, four to five catties, they would cost over a thousand.
Anything larger, five catties or more, and Jiang Xinghe, the family's "finance minister," would absolutely forbid them from eating.
They all knew, of course, that their senior brother's family was very wealthy.
However, their senior brother disliked returning home and even more so disliked spending his family's money.
Their income came from the salary provided by the Wolf Domain, earned through life-risking missions.
Jiang Xinghe cherished this money dearly, having agreed that after everyone turned twenty-five, they would use this money to start small businesses.
In truth, none of them wished to remain in the Wolf Domain forever.
Because it was too tiring.
Too tiring, too dangerous, too arduous.
Who wouldn't want to live a simple, easy life?
Chu Qianli's gaze returned to Chu Lingyang's face. "Aren't you and Ninth Uncle enemies? Why do you care about him so much?"