C15

Phoenix Yaoling suddenly stood up and went to open the door, "I'm guessing that other than Seventeen, no one else would dare to come here. I wonder how much this guy has earned."

The door opened. Seventeen, who was wearing a standard smile, was standing at the door. A quarter of the mask covered half of his forehead, while the corner of his mouth had an elegant smile.

Seeing that it was Phoenix Yaoling who opened the door, Seventeen smiled and looked at her, "This is Miss's profit list for today. If you take out the intermediate fee that should be deducted from Qingfeng Stronghold, Miss earned a total of four hundred thousand silver taels."

Four hundred thousand taels of silver was already a very large sum. It was about the total net income of the Shui family for five years.

Phoenix Yaoling looked at Seventeen with a smile, "The biggest winner today should be Seventeen, right? With a 1: 10 payout, she earned 400,000. What about you, a few million?"

Seventeen was still smiling as he said humbly: "You must be joking, Seventeen's status is low, he has no right to win or lose, and no private property can be lent to Miss."

Phoenix Yaoling raised her eyebrows and curled her lips: "Seventeen is getting more and more dishonest."

Seventeen smiled without saying a word.

Seeing that Seventeen didn't say anything, Phoenix Yaoling thoughtfully continued, "You dare to lend money to Shui Qingyan in front of Chu Chen, aren't you afraid that Chu Chen will discredit you?"

"If Prince Chu doesn't agree to lend the money to Fourth Miss, how could Seventeen possibly lend the money?" Seventeen always maintained a respectful and amiable attitude, "Besides, how can Seventeen have so many private properties to lend to Fourth Miss? This is all arranged by Prince Chu."

Phoenix Yaoling shook her head and said playfully, "Have you fallen for Fourth Miss?"

"Seventeen is a lowly slave, he doesn't have the right to see anyone." Seventeen was still smiling elegantly. His gentleness made Phoenix Yaoling unable to find any fault with it.

Seventeen spoke without a hint of shame in his tone, as if he was already used to it or accepted it.

Phoenix Yaoling looked at Seventeen's formal smile, curled her lips and looked at the thing on the tray in Seventeen's hand. Then, she stretched out her hand: "Give it to me."

Seventeen missed Phoenix Yaoling's hand and smiled politely: "Qingfeng Stronghold has its own rules. For this, Seventeen will personally hand it to Miss."

Phoenix Yaoling's eyes widened instantly. "You little rascal, you must have strong wings!"

Seventeen ignored Phoenix Yaoling's anger and just looked at her with an innocent smile.

Just when Phoenix Yaoling was about to attack him forcefully, she suddenly heard a blood-curdling screech from inside the door.

Phoenix Yaoling was shocked. It was Zi's call. She turned around and walked into the room. The first thing Phoenix Yaoling saw when she entered the room was Shui Qingyan, who was sitting up on the couch.

"Shui Qingyan!" Phoenix Yaoling was stupefied. She was certain that she had pointed at Shui Qingyan's sleeping points, as well as the various bloodlines on her body. How did Shui Qingyan sit up and do that?!

Phoenix Yaoling blinked. When she saw that the bulging veins on Shui Qingyan's face had been replaced by a bloodless face, Phoenix Yaoling immediately understood.

Zi must have drunk too much blood and wanted to suck Shui Qingyan dry. That was why when Shui Qingyan felt the threat of death, she subconsciously tried to protect herself and woke up.

Thinking of this, Phoenix Yaoling lowered her head to look for Zi's figure. Sure enough, what she saw was a red stomach the size of a fist, squeaking on the ground.

At this moment, Shui Qingyan had already awakened from the darkness.

"Seventeen?" Shui Qingyan slowly opened her mouth. Her head was still in a daze. She could vaguely hear Seventeen's voice.

Seventeen followed behind Phoenix Yaoling. Seventeen looked at Shui Qingyan, who had empty eyes, a pale face and a face that seemed to be filled with the wrinkles of an old man. His smile was still gentle, as if Shui Qingyan could see the gentleness at the corner of his mouth: "Miss, Seventeen is here."

Shui Qingyan raised her hand in a daze, wanting to touch her right cheek. She felt pain on her right cheek, but her hand had no strength, so she lowered it halfway.

Seventeen wanted to help, but he didn't move his feet when he saw Wu Tie sitting there arrogantly.

Phoenix Yaoling walked over and picked up the Purple Spider from the ground and placed it into her sleeve. Then she looked at Shui Qingyan with interest and said, "I didn't expect your willpower to be this strong. After resting for a while, you'll be able to break through the few major acupoints that I gave you."

Seventeen was slightly shocked when he heard that. It was amazing that Shui Qingyan was able to wake up from Phoenix Yaoling's grasp.

When Chu Chen heard Phoenix Yaoling's voice, he frowned slightly and retracted his gaze. If Shui Qingyan didn't know Phoenix Yaoling's background, he definitely wouldn't believe it. For a stranger, this kind of reaction shouldn't be possible. At the very least, Shui Qingyan knew something.

Shui Qingyan didn't say anything. She was trying very hard to see something and needed some time to think it over.

??? Phoenix Yaoling also knew that Shui Qingyan had just woken up from her extreme weakness and needed some time to get used to it. She said, "Without your eyes, your reliance will be gone. If you don't, you will lose no matter who you meet." The person Phoenix Yaoling mentioned was naturally Shui Qingyan's Eye Controlling Technique.

Hearing this, the corner of Shui Qingyan's mouth curled up as she smiled slowly. That smile was her usual smile. There was no meaning to it, just the feeling of blooming flowers in spring. Shui Qingyan said slowly, "Seventeen."

Seventeen looked at Shui Qingyan with a smile.

Hearing Shui Qingyan call him, Seventeen also wore his usual smile. He looked at Shui Qingyan and asked, "Miss, do you have any instructions?" Seventeen didn't move his feet when he said that. He didn't intend to walk over to help Shui Qingyan up.

At this moment, Shui Qingyan already knew that she was in Chu Chen's presidential luxurious private room. Even though there was a dense mint fragrance in the room, Shui Qingyan still smelled Chu Chen's unique scent. She had noticed that smell when she held the golden hairpin against Chu Chen's neck for the first time.

It was a smell she had never smelled before.

Whether it was Luoluo's memories of her as a girl or Shui Qingyan's memories, only Chu Chen had that kind of feeling.

"Where's the head?" Shui Qingyan tried her best to speak.

Seventeen immediately understood what Shui Qingyan meant, so he smiled and said, "I've already packed it for you."

Hearing this, the smile on Shui Qingyan's face slowly widened, carrying a trace of coldness within.

After the matter she was worried about was resolved, Shui Qingyan turned her empty eyes towards Phoenix Yaoling's direction. With a cold smile, she mocked, "I've never had anyone to rely on."

Phoenix Yaoling narrowed her eyes in a dangerous manner. Did this little girl have enmity towards everyone? Or did she only have enmity towards her? She only said that one sentence. Did she even need to use that kind of tone?

Seventeen was still smiling. He looked at Shui Qingyan with the usual gentleness and amiability.

Chu Chen smiled as he looked at Shui Qingyan's attitude towards Phoenix Yaoling.

At this moment, the room fell into silence.

Shui Qingyan felt that the atmosphere in the room had become awkward because of her words. Her brows twitched as she tried to move her body.

However, it was difficult for her to use up all her strength. She only moved her leg a little, and then fell to the side with an unstable center of gravity.

Seventeen's feet moved slightly. Chu Chen looked over in a split-second with a probing look in his eyes. Thus, Seventeen's actions stopped instantly under Chu Chen's gaze.

With a playful smile on her face, Phoenix Yaoling raised her brows and looked at Shui Qingyan who was about to fall off the bed. However, she had no intention of making a move.

She had just seen Seventeen's footsteps, and now she looked at Chu Chen, who was sitting there.

Phoenix Yaoling thought to herself, "I don't believe that Chu Chen will let Shui Qingyan fall to the ground when Shui Qingyan's body is covered in blood and minced meat."

Phoenix Yaoling looked at Shui Qingyan with narrowed eyes as she thought to herself, "Furthermore, with Shui Qingyan's fall, those small wounds on her body will probably worsen. I can see the expression in Chu Chen's eyes when he saw those small wounds."

"Moreover, the Feng Family's secret technique predicted that those who appeared in the bamboo forest that day, regardless of whether they were men or women, would be Chu Chen's lifelong shackles. If they were not enemies, then they were friends. Just as Phoenix Yaoling was getting off on the wrong foot, Chu Chen made his move.

The moment Chu Chen approached, Shui Qingyan could smell a faint fragrance coming from her nose.

He could not tell what it tasted like. It was warmer than the cold plum, lighter than a peony, thicker than a clear lotus, and colder than an orchid.

Next, she caught Shui Qingyan's waist with her hand. Shui Qingyan could feel the strong, long, well-defined hand at her waist.

Shui Qingyan instinctively grabbed Chu Chen's clothes the moment Chu Chen caught her. It was as if Chu Chen was worried Chu Chen would put her down, so his hand was especially powerful and relied on Shui Qingyan for all the strength she could muster.

Chu Chen looked at Shui Qingyan's hands that were tightly grabbing onto his clothes and thought of what Phoenix Yaoling had unintentionally said.

"This girl really doesn't have a sense of security. The future Second Princess actually doesn't have a sense of security. How strange, could it be that someone has caused her an unforgettable injury in the past?"

"Why don't you trust me? Since I'm able to catch you, I won't throw you down." Chu Chen looked down at Shui Qingyan, who leaned her head on his chest.

Shui Qingyan took a deep breath and gathered her strength. Then, she pushed Chu Chen away and sat on the couch.

Chu Chen only let go of the hand on Shui Qingyan's waist and stood there, looking at Shui Qingyan silently.

Shui Qingyan turned her head to Chu Chen and smiled, "I'm just used to it. It's not that I don't trust Prince Chu, but Prince Chu doesn't have to worry about it."

?? Chu Chen frowned. "She actually said it was a habit, a habit that must have been formed over a long period of time. Her insecure consciousness of self-protection was actually a habit. What kind of environment could make a trusted daughter minister and daughter-in-law like her to protect themselves?

Sensing that Chu Chen was looking at her, Shui Qingyan touched her face and said, "This face is really hard to look at." As he spoke, he touched his veil.

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