Chapter 444: Why Don’t You Let Me Serve You...

In the darkness, footsteps slowly approached.

Hot breath ghosted across the side of the girl’s neck as he deeply inhaled her scent.

A few seconds later, a young male’s voice spoke, thick with disdain. "So you *are* sleeping with Xie Youchen. You’re covered in his scent. It reeks."

"Aren’t you still alive and well?"

Jiang Qingli turned her head aside, putting some distance between them. Her gaze landed on him. "Qin Xiangning, why did you kidnap me?"

"Am I, a Prince, someone you can address by name?"

Now that he’d been found out, Qin Xiangning dropped the pretense.

He had no reason to be afraid of such a delicate female.

He flipped on the light and walked over to stand opposite her.

It had been a while since they’d last met, and not only had his self-righteous tone not changed, it had gotten even worse.

He now looked down on her, his expression imperious. "Besides, this hardly counts as kidnapping. We’re just catching up."

As he spoke, he shrugged off his suit jacket, tossed it onto the sofa, and took two more steps toward Jiang Qingli.

The shirt he wore underneath looked like a proper silk blouse at the collar, but with his jacket off, large, lace-like cutouts were visible.

It was accented with a few thin straps.

It was a somewhat conservative piece of... bedroom attire.

Jiang Qingli: "..."

’Who wears something like that to "catch up"?’

’Besides, she and Qin Xiangning had no fond memories to reminisce over.’

said, [I think it’s because my dear host exposed his sister’s plot. He wants to get revenge on you.]

Jiang Qingli: [...You don’t need to dress like that for revenge.]

said, [That’s how all the TV dramas are in your world! The male and female leads have a bitter feud, so the male lead pulls out all the stops to make the female lead fall in love with him. Then, the very moment she falls for him—BAM! He kills himself! Just to make her feel the pain of losing the one she loves!]

Jiang Qingli: [...]

’Here she was, getting kidnapped, and this thing was trying to make her laugh.’

’Blocked.’

-

Qin Xiangning’s gaze swept over Jiang Qingli’s face, his feelings a complicated mix.

After Qin Yu and Lü Xin’s plot was exposed, the Emperor began to suspect that Qin Xiangning’s father’s family was also involved.

Last night, Qin Xiangning had received a call from his father.

He was told to leverage his greatest advantage as a male.

Just as he had many times before, he was to use his body to win over the powerful females whom the Emperor favored.

Right now, in all the Twelve Cities, only Jiang Qingli, his Imperial Sister-in-law, fit the bill.

Qin Xiangning’s aversion to Jiang Qingli stemmed primarily from her relationships with Xie Youchen and Qin Muye.

But then again, if he could use this to his advantage, his family’s position would be solidified.

Qin Muye and Xie Youchen were both unyielding men, but Jiang Qingli was their one exception.

If he could get into the Jiang Family’s good graces and make those two watch as Jiang Qingli fell in love with him, they would surely be miserable.

At that thought, Qin Xiangning suddenly decided Jiang Qingli wasn’t so bad after all.

That scented wipe she’d had on her face last time...

...it had smelled pretty nice.

Qin Xiangning knelt before her, an angle that perfectly showcased his... assets.

He looked up at her and arched a brow. "Imperial Sister-in-law, how could a rough, savage male like Qin Muye possibly know how to please someone?"

"Why don’t you let *me* please you..."

Jiang Qingli shifted away, evading his attempt to rest his head on her lap. Her voice was flat. "You may not know me very well. I don’t use second-hand goods."

’She dared to call him second-hand?!’

Qin Xiangning had little patience for seduction to begin with. Her words made him jump to his feet in anger. "Say that again! I dare you!"

"Oh, my apologies."

Jiang Qingli’s apology was incredibly fast.

It even stunned Qin Xiangning for a moment.

Only to hear her earnestly correct herself. "You’re right, you can’t be considered second-hand. Strictly speaking, you’re more like fifth- or sixth-hand."

Qin Xiangning took a second to process that, stunned.

Though he was a male, he was also a Prince, and most females he met had to be polite and respectful to him.

But Jiang Qingli was a tough nut to crack.

Every time they met, she was irritable and dared to talk back to him.

Beyond his anger, Qin Xiangning felt a strong desire to conquer her.

He laughed instead of getting angry. "Fine. Call me a slut, is that it? We’ll see if you’re not crying and begging this ’slut’ to stop later!"

He wouldn’t have brought Jiang Qingli here if he hadn’t come prepared.

Qin Xiangning retrieved two wine glasses. With his back to Jiang Qingli, he poured red wine into them, then took a small vial from his pocket and emptied its contents into one of the glasses.

This was a drug Qin Yu had previously tasked Lü Xin with creating. It incorporated properties from a Spiritual Mutant Beast.

After consuming this drug, a person would fall into a trance and develop a psychological dependence on the first person they saw.

Administered in small doses over time, it would create an instinctual dependency.

Qin Xiangning had tested this drug on several of his other lovers, and the results had been, in his opinion, excellent.

His father had instructed him before he left: once the deed was done, he was to pry as much information from Jiang Qingli as possible.

His family had turned to the Baili family for help, who had also been involved in the experiments. Baili Qing had laid out their conditions: they wanted military secrets, and more importantly, they wanted Baili Jing, the "mobile blood bank."

Military secrets weren’t easy to obtain, and Baili Jing wasn’t easy to capture.

But if they controlled Jiang Qingli, both problems could be easily solved.

At this thought, Qin Xiangning added another full vial of the drug.

’Side effects be damned,’ he thought. ’The most important thing is to make Jiang Qingli submit.’

...

Qin Xiangning placed the wine on the small table across from Jiang Qingli and smiled at her. "How about we link arms for a drink?"

Jiang Qingli asked, "What did you put in it?"

"Don’t worry, it’s just a little something to liven things up." Qin Xiangning arched a brow. "You and your husband have never used anything like this?"

Meeting the girl’s cold gaze, he just grinned even more happily.

He had just set down the glass, intending to take a few ’before’ pictures as a trophy, when he heard a faint buzzing sound.

The sound was coming from Jiang Qingli’s pocket.

Qin Xiangning fished Jiang Qingli’s terminal out of her pocket. When he saw the contact name, his expression instantly darkened.

He flipped the terminal around, used Jiang Qingli’s face to unlock it, then tapped on the message. His laugh was filled with even more scorn. "’Brother’... What, you two are already sleeping together and you still call him that? If you like it so much, you can call me that later, too."

He tapped the terminal, eyeing her with leisurely contempt. "Imperial Sister-in-law, Xie Youchen is looking for you. He’s asking what’s taking so long... How do you think I should respond?"

"Should I just tell him you’re about to link arms for a drink with your brother-in-law? You think he’ll be angry enough to cough up blood?"

"Go ahead," Jiang Qingli said, leaning back in her chair. Her voice was cold. "If you’re not afraid of him finding you here."

In the light, the girl lifted her eyes to look at him. Though she was bound, she possessed a natural composure, as if she had never been the one at a disadvantage.

Her attitude enraged Qin Xiangning while simultaneously awakening his own beastly, base instincts.

It wasn’t until another message from Xie Youchen buzzed on the terminal that Qin Xiangning snapped back to reality. Imitating a female’s tone, he typed back that she was in the washroom.

Jiang Qingli had guessed right. He didn’t dare provoke Xie Youchen.

As he typed the reply, his eyes remained locked on Jiang Qingli.

Even though her hands were tied and she seemed weak and listless, as if drunk, Qin Xiangning still felt a sense of unease when facing this female, terrified she might ruin his plans.

He was about to put the terminal down when a message from another person suddenly popped up on the screen.

[I just ran into some people from the military district in the hallway. It looks like they’re having a gathering here. Are you here tonight, too?]

[They said Marshal Xie is heading back to the East District tomorrow. I was thinking of going over to offer a toast to see him off. Would that be okay?]

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