Queen O's Timid Fugitive A - Chapter 64

64

Jiang Ciqing, who had never considered returning to the Li Mansion, also never imagined she would find herself locked out of the Princess’s Mansion.

Gathering clouds obscured the bright moon, dimming the starlight, and the sky turned gloomy, resembling a vast, deep ocean without a ripple.

Dressed in simple robes, Jiang Ciqing stood outside the gate, bewildered and at a loss.

Inside the wooden gate stood a tall guard, opening it just a crack, his words dripping with cold indifference: “The Master has instructed that she doesn’t wish to see you for the next couple of days. Lord Xiao Jiang, please leave.”

She didn’t miss the change in address—from “Eleven” to “Lord Xiao Jiang.” Clearly, someone had taken her words to heart and ordered the change.

But why was she suddenly barred from entering?

Her Alpha mind was filled with question marks. She couldn’t fathom why she had been cast into the cold palace so abruptly. Her tone grew sharper as she scolded softly, “Let me in first.”

“The Master doesn’t want to see you,” came the rigid, mechanical reply.

“How could she possibly not want to see me?” Jiang Ciqing retorted, her brows furrowed. If it weren’t for the familiar face inside, she might have suspected something had happened to Xu Fusheng.

“The Master said so,” the guard repeated.

“She’s just angry. I need to go in and coax her.” Jiang Ciqing insisted. Even if she didn’t know the reason, she wasn’t foolish enough to turn and leave—that would be truly idiotic.

“The Master doesn’t want to see you,” the guard droned on, repeating the same line like a broken record.

Frustrated, Jiang Ciqing clenched her fists, then released them, helpless. “She’ll want to see me once she sees me,” she argued.

The guard’s response was the same monotonous refrain, as if he were a reincarnated parrot. Jiang Ciqing, fuming and speechless, glared at the wooden gate as if she could set it ablaze with her eyes.

The narrow gap in the gate closed with a creak, and the sliver of light vanished. Jiang Ciqing’s expression darkened further. She turned to eye the nearby wall…

The back courtyard wall of the Princess’s Mansion wasn’t too high, about two meters. Jiang Ciqing listened carefully for any sounds from within, then took a few steps back. Her dark eyes locked onto the top of the wall. With a quick sprint, she leaped, her right foot pushing off the ground, propelling her upward. Grabbing the wall’s edge with one hand, she vaulted over with a swift motion.

With a thud, Jiang Ciqing landed inside the Princess’s Mansion. The guard nearby widened his eyes, stunned by her audacity. In the next moment, he charged at her, gripping a sheathed longsword.

Before her feet fully steadied, Jiang Ciqing darted forward, heading straight for the moon gate ahead. The wind whipped her clothes, her black hair and white robes fluttering like a nimble cat.

But her opponent was no ordinary guard. Having served Xu Fusheng for years, he was a high-level Alpha with exceptional skills. Though he started a step behind, his strides were long and urgent, and he swung his sheathed sword horizontally at her.

As if she had eyes in the back of her head, Jiang Ciqing dodged to the side, her steps unrelenting as she pressed forward.

Determined to see Xu Fusheng, she had no intention of getting entangled with the guard. She didn’t even counterattack, focusing solely on running deeper into the mansion.

The guard shouted, and the once-quiet Princess’s Mansion came alive, as sharp as an unsheathed blade. Guards appeared from all directions, rushing toward Jiang Ciqing in unison.

Fortunately, Jiang Ciqing had visited a few times before and was familiar with the route from the back gate to Xu Fusheng’s chambers. She wouldn’t waste time circling aimlessly like a fool. Choosing the shortest path, she charged forward.

Another sheathed sword swung at her. The guards, recognizing Jiang Ciqing, hesitated to harm her despite not knowing the situation. Their strikes were cautious, their force reduced significantly.

As someone lunged at her from the front, Jiang Ciqing swiftly dodged to the side. But as she looked up, another guard approached with a triumphant grin, revealing the first attacker as a decoy.

Jiang Ciqing leaped, stepping onto the shoulder of the man in front of her and pushing off, sending him tumbling to the ground. Using the momentum, she vaulted toward another guard.

Her Alpha agility was remarkable, like stepping across lotus leaves on water. By the time the guards reacted, she was already halfway across the “river.”

“Stop her!” someone bellowed. Dozens of skilled guards couldn’t subdue a single person? The voice was laced with frustration and urgency. The guards, now serious, unleashed their high-level mental pressure, bearing down like towering mountains.

Even Jiang Ciqing faltered briefly under the weight. Though a low-level Alpha, she bore the mark of the Empire’s only S-class Omega. The scent of bamboo laced with strong liquor surged through her, and she quickly regained her composure.

Her eyes narrowed, muscles tensing. With a cold huff, she blocked an incoming sword sheath with her arm. No longer just evading, she charged forward, kicking one guard aside and slamming her fist into another’s shoulder.

Boom!

A carved wooden door was forcefully kicked open. Jiang Ciqing, ignoring the guards who suddenly halted at the courtyard’s edge, stepped into the room, oblivious to the faint, lingering fragrance within.

Pushing open the side door to the bathroom, she was met with a wave of humid heat.

“Xu! Fusheng…” Her voice rose, then trailed off weakly, the last syllable barely audible. Awkwardly, she added, “You’re… taking a bath…”

In the misty haze, a silver-haired woman lounged lazily in a full bathtub, her porcelain skin tinged with a faint blush. Her posture wasn’t prim, her long legs bent to the side, her graceful curves half-hidden, half-revealed in the rippling water, like waves lapping at mountain peaks.

Jiang Ciqing hurriedly looked up, only to meet a pair of peach-blossom eyes that seemed to smile yet didn’t, their deep, captivating allure almost hypnotic. Though clearly in a vulnerable position, the woman exuded an air of commanding superiority.

Jiang Ciqing’s throat bobbed subtly, her breathing, already uneven from running, growing shakier. Her grip on the door handle tightened.

Logically, she shouldn’t be so flustered. She was an Alpha who had already crossed that line, having explored every inch of that body, leaving marks and memories etched deep in her mind.

She should’ve been more composed, at least not blushing furiously and staring at the floor.

“You… why… why don’t you want to see me?” Jiang Ciqing stammered. Any other Alpha in her place would’ve either closed the door or pounced by now, but she was still fixated on the earlier issue.

Xu Fusheng didn’t know what to do with her. Seeing Jiang Ciqing’s aggrieved, puppy-like expression, she felt both exasperated and amused. Finally, with a voice softened by the steamy heat, she said, “Come here.”

Jiang Ciqing, ever obedient, shuffled forward with her head down, nearly pressing it to her chest. Her first words were, “Why don’t you want to see me?”

Her tone was both pitiful and clingy, like an abandoned puppy whimpering in accusation.

She was a completely different person from the agile, fierce Alpha who had just fought her way through the courtyard.

Xu Fusheng wasn’t surprised. Jiang Ciqing was like a mint-flavored hard candy with a soft center—cool and distant on the surface, seemingly unapproachable, but sweet and tender once you broke through. To those she trusted, she was gentle and caring, always keeping others in her heart.

And Xu Fusheng was the only one who had cracked that candy open, tasting the warm, gooey center. The seemingly mature and steady Jiang Ciqing shed her armor in her presence, revealing a childlike vulnerability. She craved love yet was haunted by past fears, always cautious, overthinking, and missing the best moments to explain herself.

But Jiang Ciqing was trying to change for her, like now, casting aside her usual restraint and fighting her way in.

Xu Fusheng knew the strength of her guards. Imagining Jiang Ciqing dodging them all to reach her, looking disheveled and determined…

Silly dog.

The term popped into her mind again, perfectly fitting Jiang Ciqing.

She lazily glanced at her, still waiting for an answer, sweat beading on her forehead, ears red as if bleeding, throat swallowing repeatedly. Xu Fusheng almost wanted to ask if she was that thirsty.

“Squat down.” Xu Fusheng said, half-closing her eyes, her sultry voice tinged with a dreamy haze, only enhancing its allure.

“Huh?” Jiang Ciqing, as expected, looked confused.

“Squat down.” Xu Fusheng repeated, then added with an ambiguous tone, “Do you like me looking up at you?”

At her words, Jiang Ciqing’s knees buckled, and she immediately crouched, practically wagging an imaginary tail to show her compliance.

“What did you do today?” Xu Fusheng asked, knowing full well the answer. The rippling water lapped at the hollow between her shoulders and collarbone, her silver hair like water weeds, drawing Jiang Ciqing’s gaze.

“Hm? Didn’t I tell you yesterday…” The Alpha stopped abruptly, finally realizing the issue.

Cautiously looking up, she muttered, “I told you, Zhile is an Alpha…”

How could she be jealous over something like this? Jiang Ciqing couldn’t wrap her head around it.

Xu Fusheng saw through her thoughts instantly, smirking. “So, being Alphas means you can hug and cuddle in public?”

Jiang Ciqing frowned, her mouth moving faster than her brain. “What hugging…”

Then the memory hit her, and she gave a wry smile. “That wasn’t a hug! Zhile and I have always roughhoused since we were kids. I even slapped her a few times.”

“Wait, how did you know…” Jiang Ciqing blinked, realizing another issue.

“Hasn’t Lord Xiao Jiang heard the saying, ‘If you don’t want others to know, don’t do it’? The whole city’s talking about how close you and your dear friend are, embracing at the city gate after being apart for so long.” Xu Fusheng said with a smile, though it made Jiang Ciqing’s legs go weak. With a thud, she knelt on the floor.

“I… we were just… friends, don’t overthink it.” Jiang Ciqing stammered, her explanation tinged with nervous guilt.

Finally, giving up, she blurted, “How could I possibly like her? She’s an Alpha!”

“So, it’s fine if it’s not an Alpha?” Xu Fusheng’s question was sharp.

Jiang Ciqing gasped, the thought of her and Li Zhile together sending a shiver of horror down her spine. She shook her head frantically. “Impossible, absolutely impossible.”

“She’s getting married! There’s no way we could…” she added.

“So, if she weren’t getting married, it’d be fine?” Xu Fusheng pressed.

Warning bells rang in Jiang Ciqing’s mind as she mentally drafted a thousand-word defense of her platonic friendship with Li Zhile.

But Xu Fusheng cut her off, raising a hand to cover her mouth, tilting her head with a hint of impatience in her beautiful eyes. “Keep talking nonsense, and I’ll kick you out.”

Her thousand-word draft was instantly discarded. Jiang Ciqing grabbed Xu Fusheng’s hand, shaking it pleadingly, her wet, puppy-like eyes fixed on her. “Sister,” she whispered.

“I was wrong. I won’t do it again,” she said earnestly, as if wagging an imaginary tail to prove her loyalty.

This blockhead had finally caught on.

Xu Fusheng’s lips curled into a smile, letting her hold her hand and act coy.

“Sister, don’t be mad.” Jiang Ciqing said, rubbing her face against Xu Fusheng’s hand, somehow having learned this trick.

“They wouldn’t let me in and chased me. It hurt,” she whined, her dark, glossy eyes full of grievance. The usually upright and proper Jiang family head had instinctively mastered the art of playing the victim.

“My shoulder’s all red,” she claimed without even glancing at it, milking her misery for sympathy.

“Not mad anymore.” Xu Fusheng said, amused by this unusually whiny Alpha. Her lips brushed against Xu Fusheng’s palm, then moved to her fingertips, nibbling as if begging for forgiveness.

Xu Fusheng felt a mischievous urge, curling her fingers to tease. Jiang Ciqing, knowing she was in the wrong, bore it obediently, even when it was uncomfortable. Her fingers grazed soft flesh, met not with resistance but with gentle envelopment.

The rich scent of agave mingled with sweet bamboo, accompanied by the sound of water and muffled whimpers, like a puppy admitting fault.

Finally satisfied, Xu Fusheng withdrew her hand and lazily issued the next order: “You stink.”

The suddenly criticized Alpha blinked, confused.

“You smell of someone else’s pheromones.” Xu Fusheng said, cutting straight to the point.

Jiang Ciqing wasn’t sure if she meant the hug from earlier or the scuffle with the Alpha guards, but she knew it didn’t matter. In a hoarse voice, she asked, “Then, Sister, will you help me wash it off?”

Xu Fusheng didn’t reply, just looked at the brazen Alpha with a teasing smile.

Jiang Ciqing stood up…

Outside, the moon hung high, the breeze rustling the leaves. The guards, frustrated at failing to catch her, stood at the courtyard gate, itching to drag Jiang Ciqing out for a rematch.

The small bathroom was enveloped in steamy mist, the overflowing bathtub spilling water onto the floor with a splash. Amid the sounds, someone softly called “Sister,” only to be silenced with a hand over their mouth. The night deepened, and the water in the tub, far from cooling, grew hotter…

“Sister, wash me clean,” the newly repentant Alpha said boldly, her muffled voice making demands despite the hand over her mouth.

In a distant mansion, Li Zhile sneezed, wondering who was thinking of her. Pushing open a door, she saw someone kneeling at a low table, a slender yet sturdy golden chain visible beneath their skirt, tethered to the table’s corner.

“You’re back,” the person said softly, showing no awareness of being a prisoner, only gentle warmth.

Li Zhile didn’t respond, merely closing the door. With a thud, the light went out, leaving only darkness.