Seeing Su Xin"s astonished reaction, Qu Feiqing"s fury dissipated in an instant and she wore a stoic expression on her face once again.

She let go of her iron grip on Su Xin"s wrist and quickly took a step back.

"It"s just a joke. How could this dignified emperor like you?" Qu Feiqing straightened up and stood with a regal pose looking down at Su Xin with a cordial smile.

Unfortunately, it looks like Q Feiqing was the only one emotionally invested in this non-existent relations.h.i.+p between the two of them. While the other was like a dumb fool, who couldn"t understand what was happening and doesn"t care at all.

Laughably absurd.

Clearly, Qu Feiqing wanted Su Xin and was dead-set to hold her in the palm of her hand so that she wouldn"t leave. But in the face of such a straightforward inquiry, Qu Feiqing couldn"t help but stiffen, her stubborn persona resurfacing.

To be the one who confesses first and becomes the loser? Her proud nature couldn"t bear to lose her pride.

“Oh, that"s a relief.." Su Xin finally exhaled the breath she had been holding.

Qu Feiqing didn"t like her. This was better.

Su Xin who had zero experience in relations.h.i.+ps found this setting more preferable. To add, she and Qu Feiqing were from a different world, with unique customs and clas.h.i.+ng beliefs, as evident from their confrontations.

There wasn"t the concept of one-night stands, f*ck buddies and girlfriends in this world which Su Xin was familiar with. Ancient China was an era where women were pledged to one person for the rest of their life; they take relations.h.i.+ps seriously with betrothals at an early age, even if both parties were strangers. In most occurrences, they don"t have a choice in their partners.

No courting, no stages in the relations.h.i.+p. You cannot fall in love twice after a fallout unless you wanted to be called a shameful person of society.

It was quite an ordeal Su Xin didn"t want to deal with. She had feelings for Qu Feiqing, but she didn"t want to be tied down by the constricting customs of this world.

‘That"s a relief.."

These three words painfully pounded like a hammer repeatedly in Qu Feiqing"s heart.

“Am I free to venture out of the palace then?” Su Xin then asked when Qu Feiqing remind silent.

Where was the mute b.u.t.ton?! Fourteen wanted to cover his face and ears, he couldn"t stomach seeing  Qu Feiqing"s face.

He felt that the host hadn"t simply sprinkled salt on the wounds, but had stepped on it with her feet—stabbing it with the pointy tip of a stiletto after the salt has just been sprinkled.

Tsk tsk! Vicious! Too vicious! But Su Xin was truly an ignorant person and was easily confused regarding matters of the heart.

It makes third-wheelers watching, a bystander like him, pull out their hair in frustration while at the same time feeling mournful.

"You can"t." Qu Feiqing replied with a cool expression. It seems like she still was standing despite Su Xin"s knockout move.

"Why not?"

“You are going to die.”

“If you leave me, you will die." Veiled like an ambiguous threat, Qu Feiqing looked at Su Xin, the gears in her mind slowly turning.

"Ha?" A stupified Su Xin was looking back at Qu Feiqing, eyebrows raised.

"You are already bound to this emperor. You have been here long enough for the people in the imperial palace to recognize you as my person. This emperor is unknowledgeable of the number of ambitious individuals who covet the dragon"s throne or enemies who simply want to see this emperor dead for sitting on it.

If you went out by yourself, perhaps just bringing  a measly servant with you, without any bodyguard, away from the scope of my territory—my protection, this emperor won"t be able to guarantee your safety from the people who will target you because of me."

Qu Feiqing said these words urgently, her heart restless and her stance on Su Xin leaving still unchanged.

Qu Feiqing was a vicious person and this time it looked like she was threatening Su Xin to stay, but she was just stating facts.

This was going to be Su Xin"s future, where stone-cold repercussions awaited her from a.s.sociating with a dangerous person like Qu Feiqing.