[To Become a River of Stars] Dong Xiange - Chapter 63
“Your Highness, have you uncovered some clues?” He Chong pressed.
He was older than Shiliu and had always traveled outside. Unlike Shiliu, who quickly became unruly in front of Li Xuanci after a brief period of pretense, He Chong remained respectful and observant of etiquette, deliberately maintaining distance. But now, he disregarded hierarchy and directly pressed for answers, showing how truly worried he was about Shiliu.
Li Xuanci glanced at him, his eyebrow lifting slightly like a willow branch stirred by the wind, then settling without a trace.
He said, “Regarding the Pang family matter, one side represents good, the other evil. I initially thought the one committing evil was that woman, but it turns out the opposite is true. She rewards goodness, at least on the surface.”
“So, either she herself turned the bestowed blessing into a curse, or someone is specifically targeting her, secretly transforming the good she sows into disaster.”
“And now, thinking back, that day on the bridge, it wasn’t just that woman who collided with her; a child also bumped into them.”
He Chong frowned in thought. “In that case, whether that woman is the cause or the effect, as long as we focus on her, we can lure out the person behind this.”
Then he changed the subject and asked, “But how is Your Highness certain that the woman is the cause and not the effect?”
Li Xuanci’s expression was indifferent as he replied, “That woman’s actions mean either she only saw the Pang family’s surface and thus rewarded goodness, or she saw through Pang’s depravity and thus punished evil. Either way, it follows the karma of good and evil receiving their due.”
He then looked down and saw Shiliu trying to feed him a half-eaten pastry, her hand and the corner of her mouth sticky with soybean powder. Without hesitation, he mercilessly slapped her hand away.
“Based on this fool here, who, besides being gluttonous and silly, could possibly commit such sins to warrant a retribution like soul theft? Therefore, that woman must have originally intended to reward goodness, not punish evil. Someone simply twisted the outcome.”
After saying this, Li Xuanci finally firmly grasped Shiliu’s wrist as she stubbornly tried to feed him again, pressing her firmly into her seat.
He Chong was taken aback. He hadn’t expected Prince Ding’s judgment to be based on trust in Shiliu’s character. This was… an unexpected yet reasonable reason.
He Chong silently watched the intimate behavior between the two, an indescribable sense of foreboding rising in his heart. He had personally experienced Prince Ding’s ruthlessness and cruelty. Yet now, Shiliu was like a little sparrow hopping and pecking food fearlessly in his palm.
Their closeness—was it ultimately a blessing or a curse for Shiliu?
Though He Chong grew wary internally, he showed nothing on his face. He merely bowed respectfully, simultaneously pulling Shiliu over to stop her from causing trouble, and apologized to Prince Ding.
“Thank you, Your Highness, for taking care of Shiliu during this time. If she has offended in any way previously, I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive her. Shiliu is like a child now; please don’t hold it against her.”
Li Xuanci naturally detected the underlying meaning in such polite words. His long, clean fingers played with the porcelain cup, letting the silence hang in the air for a while before saying, “What, are you protecting her?”
He Chong kept his head lowered. Even before the silence, he felt the weight of Li Xuanci’s gaze pressing down on him, wishing he could bundle up this troublesome burden and send it away while making his own escape.
But then he remembered that after all, he had been called “Senior Brother” by Little Shiliu for so many years. Their master had also privately reminded the disciples repeatedly to protect Shiliu. Plus, the secret of Shiliu’s disguise as a boy was particularly vulnerable to exposure under these circumstances. Therefore, he could only brace himself and shoulder the responsibility of being a senior brother.
“Your Highness, what are you saying? You have been most generous to Shiliu; why would I need to protect her? It’s just that she ultimately lacks manners and might annoy you.”
Li Xuanci nodded at this point.
“She is quite annoying.”
He Chong, sensing an opportunity, was about to say, “Then I’ll take her away,” when Li Xuanci interrupted him again.
“However, when it comes to what’s mine, even a single glance warrants having one’s eyes gouged out, let alone touching it.”
Li Xuanci’s clear yet sharp eyes swept over, their pointedness leaving He Chong speechless.
He then raised an eyebrow, turned to the still-dazed Shiliu beside He Chong, and asked directly, “You choose. Stay or leave? If you choose well, I’ll give you candy. If not…”
Before he could finish, Shiliu happily bounded over. Having only heard the first part, she exclaimed, “Candy! Where did Brother hide the candy? Shiliu wants some!”
A smile flashed in Li Xuanci’s eyes—sharp and swift—as he seized Shiliu’s hand, pulled her over, and gave her a flick on the forehead.
Only then did he turn back to the utterly stunned He Chong, his tone no longer as heavy, and instructed, “Go find Jin Zhan to arrange a place for you.”
He Chong was still reeling from the shock. Was this… was this the meaning he thought it was?
He hesitated between standing up for his junior sister and preserving his own life by obediently withdrawing. Ultimately, his attachment to his own head won out over his feelings for his junior sister.
Shiliu, Senior Brother can see you’re blessed. Hang in there a little longer. Once Senior Brother… once Senior Brother figures out a way, I’ll come save you.
With such self-expectation and promise, He Chong ultimately watched as Shiliu cozied up to Li Xuanci without a second thought and silently retreated from the room.