Chapter Thirty-Three: Let the Crown Prince Ride the Clouds to Deceive Fools

"Ah, sure, sure. What difficult problem is it?" Su Jingluo, feeling a bit guilty for having deceived Xiao Jingxuan, tried her best not to provoke him further.

"The crown prince has run off. He's been out for almost a whole day now. Sneaking him back in as if nothing happened isn’t suitable, but keeping him in the prince’s residence isn’t proper either."

Xiao Chengze’s defection was something Xiao Jingxuan could never have anticipated. His aversion to everyone in the palace was so deep that he’d never imagined the young prince wouldn’t play by the rules. Now, caught off guard, he didn’t know how to handle the situation.

"Right, isn’t there still that young eunuch? He might be in trouble too, right?" Su Jingluo wasn’t worried about the crown prince; she was more concerned about the young eunuch. The prince would be fine in the end, but for the eunuch, life or death would be hard to escape, regardless of the prince’s fate.

"Don’t worry. He was out only a moment before I sent him back. There was someone to receive him and someone to erase any traces. Focus on the real issue." Su Jingluo actually worried about the eunuch—didn’t she care about him? Surely he, Prince Jing, was the one facing the greatest trouble now.

"If he’s already been sent back, that simplifies things. Just say the prince was kidnapped. Arrange for a group of bandits, that should do it." Su Jingluo suggested offhandedly.

"Bandits? Where would you find bandits who could sneak into the palace and abduct someone without a sound?" He felt as if the grasshopper tied to his rope wasn’t particularly clever.

"True. Then just say the prince was mischievous and slipped out to play on his own."

"How did the prince suddenly become so capable? Who would believe he escaped on his own without help? And how will he explain himself when he returns?" He wondered if, at this point, they could simply go their separate ways. It was clear Su Jingluo had no intention of forming an alliance.

Xiao Jingxuan’s dark eyes grew even deeper. He gazed at Su Jingluo, who on the surface seemed anxious—her brows tightly knit, her delicate lips bitten, as if truly worried. Her acting was nothing short of masterful.

"If nothing works, should we say Xiao Chengze rode a rainbow cloud out of the palace? Was he assisted by an immortal?" Su Jingluo retorted, a bit exasperated—not for lack of sincerity, but because she simply lacked the experience and cunning for such intrigue.

"That could work!" It wasn’t that Su Jingluo lacked intelligence; she was simply being cautious. In the days he’d interacted with her, Xiao Jingxuan had found her shrewd and calculating. She wasn’t foolish; she just didn’t want to help him.

"Wait, really?" Su Jingluo had been speaking nonsense without much thought. She couldn’t tell if Xiao Jingxuan was teasing her or if he’d gone mad.

"Wasn’t this your idea?" Xiao Jingxuan replied with utter seriousness.

Su Jingluo felt a bit overwhelmed. When she earnestly offered suggestions, he acted as though she was lacking in intelligence; now, when she was simply spouting nonsense, he regarded her as a strategic genius. How could they possibly be on the same page?

"Seriously? Do you think anyone in the palace will believe the story that the prince rode the clouds out? This is fooling idiots—sheer madness to trick the entire capital!" Su Jingluo began to panic; this was taking things a bit too far.

"Say it enough, and they’ll believe it. I’ll make the arrangements. For now, just keep up your act—play the fool as you have been." Xiao Jingxuan had already mapped out the plan. Su Jingluo’s idea was, in fact, brilliant. This woman certainly knew how to play the unsuspecting.

If Su Jingluo knew what Xiao Jingxuan was thinking at that moment, she would have earnestly explained, "Your Highness, you’re overestimating me."

Xiao Jingxuan turned to leave. Su Jingluo turned as well, grabbing a piece of gold. Before, when she had no money, she could only keep her head down and endure; now that she was wealthy, she could be as extravagant as she pleased.

Besides, she had always dreamed of opening her own clinic, to be self-reliant. Only with money could she feel secure. She also wanted to see how modern medicine might collide with ancient medical practices.

"Where are you going?" Xiao Jingxuan suddenly turned around. Su Jingluo, caught off guard, bumped right into his chest. She was so slight that she bounced right off, but Xiao Jingxuan immediately pulled her back into his arms.