Chapter 55 Interrogation

Chapter 55: Interrogation

For some reason, Cheng Ge's body felt stiff as a board right now.

He shot a sideways glance at Lin Nanshu, who looked totally chill, licked the pastry crumbs off the corner of his mouth, and turned to look at Cui Ji, who was approaching him.

No wonder he was a war god who'd killed a ton of people—the guy's presence was intense.

It felt like any second, he'd snap and rip his skull off to use as a piss pot.

Cheng Ge gulped, still clutching half a pastry, and instinctively scooted behind Lin Nanshu.

Cui Ji walked up and stared at Cheng Ge's round head for a solid twenty seconds.

Cheng Ge felt a weird pang of guilt, and for the first time ever, he got this crazy feeling like a husband caught cheating by his wife.

He looked left and right, then ducked his head, pretending not to see him, and shoved the rest of the mung bean cake in his mouth.

The three of them stood there in the sun, and time felt like it was crawling.

The furious wife, the silent husband, the unbothered side piece…

Finally, Lin Nanshu broke the silence, bowing with his hands clasped. "Greetings, Your Highness. Long may you live."

Cui Ji and Lin Nanshu—one at the border, one in the capital—naturally didn't cross paths much.

But Eldest Young Master Lin's rep was huge, and he was famous in the capital, so Cui Ji had definitely heard of him.

He shifted his gaze from Cheng Ge to Lin Nanshu and gave a nod. "Mm."

The second the word left his mouth, Cheng Ge looked up, tilted his head at Cui Ji, and flashed the biggest smile he could.

"Your Highness, what brings you here? You here to talk business with Yuli? Then I'll get out of your hair!" With that, he grabbed the food box, scurried over to the carriage in a few steps, and bent over to climb in.

But before he could make his escape, he got grabbed by the scruff of his neck and yanked down.

Cheng Ge's arms flailed in the air like a dog frantically paddling in water.

Cheng Ge: "???"

Cui Ji set him down. "No need to bother Eldest Young Master Lin's carriage. Muyu will take his own family's carriage back."

Hearing this, Cheng Ge figured Cui Ji had a point—sending the driver back and forth was a hassle, a total waste of manpower.

It seemed Cui Ji had thought it through more thoroughly…

"Alright then, I'll head back now. I'll come find you another time." He waved a hand at Lin Nanshu, his smile sweeter than the mung bean cake he'd just scarfed down.

Lin Nanshu, with his bright, clear features, nodded at Cheng Ge. "Take care on the road."

Cui Ji watched them banter like a pair of newlyweds forced to part, and a tightness clenched his chest.

Cheng Ge hadn't come home all night, and Cui Ji had been on edge the whole time, worried his sharp tongue might've pissed someone off and gotten him punished.

He'd sent out several groups of people overnight to get info, but the imperial palace was heavily guarded, so he couldn't be too obvious.

At noon, when he heard Cheng Ge had left the palace, he even sent someone to pick him up, but they came back empty-handed.

So it turned out he was the only one worrying, while the other guy was totally carefree and heartless, even bringing some random reward to go see Lin Nanshu.

At the thought, Cui Ji wished he could string Cheng Ge up and give him a good beating.

He turned around and saw Cheng Ge poking his head out of the carriage, looking his way.

Catching Cui Ji's eye, Cheng Ge quickly waved him over, signaling him to hurry up and get in.

Cui Ji, face dark as a storm cloud, walked to the carriage, yanked open the door, and climbed in.

Cheng Ge scooted his butt over to make room for Cui Ji, but Cui Ji didn't even look at him and sat down right across.

The carriage swayed along, and the silence inside was so thick you could hear every breath.

Cheng Ge was fiddling with the jade pendant at his waist, checking out the delicate orchid pattern on it. When he flipped it over, he saw Lin Nanshu's courtesy name carved on the back.

Cheng Ge thought to himself that when he got some cash, he'd get himself a big one too.

On the front, he'd carve a few big gold ingots, and on the back, he'd engrave his own name—then he'd blind those guards with their titanium-alloy dog eyes.

Just imagining the scene made Cheng Ge's lips twitch into a smile.

Cui Ji was already fuming, and seeing Cheng Ge grinning like an idiot while holding Lin Nanshu's jade pendant only made his blood boil.

With a sharp slap, he slammed the military book in his hand down on the small table.

Startled by the noise, Cheng Ge looked up and saw Cui Ji's face as dark as ink.

He stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly had a lightbulb moment. He put the jade pendant down, got up, and slowly sat down next to Cui Ji.

But since the space was a bit tight, Cheng Ge even nudged him over.

"Last night…" Cui Ji frowned, about to start grilling him.

But before he could finish, his right leg got lifted and plopped onto Cheng Ge's thigh.

Cui Ji: "???"

Before Cui Ji could recover, Cheng Ge's small hands began massaging and kneading his leg.

Cui Ji instinctively tried to pull his leg back, but Cheng Ge's hand held it down.

"Tsk, don't move." His tone had a hint of bossiness to it.

"What the hell are you doing?"

Without looking up, Cheng Ge replied, "Giving you a massage. Didn't your foot get hurt? My technique is pro-level—most people don't get to enjoy this."

Cui Ji was momentarily speechless. "My injury's on my left leg."

Unfazed, Cheng Ge kneaded his calf again. "That's right. If your left leg's hurt, your right leg works harder, so it's bound to ache.

I've had a foot injury before, so I know what I'm talking about, don't worry! I'll take good care of you.

And don't always keep that scowl on your face—it ruins your looks, man."

Cui Ji: "..." Is my leg the issue right now?

"Why didn't you come home last night?"

Cheng Ge's hands froze, and his heart skipped a beat. Had his little dragon bed adventure been found out?

He secretly glanced up at Cui Ji, only to find the man still wearing that stone-cold poker face.

He swallowed hard out of reflex, telling himself not to panic.

On second thought, Cui Ji couldn’t possibly know. After all, the palace wasn’t some street-side market.

And it was the emperor’s bedchamber, heavily guarded—how could anyone just walk in and out as they please? If that were possible, Zhou Mingqi would’ve been dead a thousand times by now.

Thinking it through, Cheng Ge quickly realized the guy was probably just worried about him.

But under these circumstances, he naturally couldn’t admit it, or he’d be screwed.

So he looked up, blinked, and played innocent. “I went to see Yuli last night…”

“The steward was waiting for you at the palace gate all evening…” Cui Ji cut him off coldly.

“Uh… oh… I see.” Cheng Ge scratched his cheek, getting a little hot under the collar.

“It’s just that last night… uh… the Crown Prince…”

“When I entered the Eastern Palace yesterday, the Crown Prince said you had been summoned by the Emperor…”

His lie got ruthlessly called out again.

At this point, Cheng Ge felt like a salted fish, getting flipped and fried back and forth in a hot pan.