Born to Be Either Rich or Noble - Chapter 38

After three long blasts of the horn, a flag bearing the golden sycee insignia rose high above the deck of the Qian family’s cargo ship, fluttering proudly in the sea wind…

It was already too late.

The Qian family’s tea shipment had crossed the strait. Even the imperial patrol vessels had no right to pursue beyond that boundary. Song Yunzhi’s gaze withdrew from the distant ship and settled on the girl beneath him.

She was looking upward too, her face tilted toward the empty night sky, listening to the horns of victory. Her expression softened, and at the corner of her lips—there it was again, that faint, knowing smile.

The kind of pride that only came from a plan’s success.

Sensing the prince’s eyes on her, Qian Tong lowered her gaze and asked casually, “Your Grace, have you ever been across the strait?”

“I haven’t,” she continued, her tone airy, “but I’ve heard the fish and shrimp there are easy to catch. Not like at the Yangzhou port—ours have been fished out down to their grandsons.”

Song Yunzhi understood then. This woman had no trace of remorse.

From the moment he’d caught up to her to now—his hand pinning her to the deck—she had never once given up.

He’d never done business before. He didn’t understand how intoxicating profit could be to a merchant—how it could drive one to risk everything for it.

His eyes burned with anger, while the girl remained composed, unruffled. “You should go take a look, Your Grace,” Qian Tong said softly. “Don’t worry. Even if the Park family realizes you’re the Crown Prince, they won’t make things difficult for you. As for others around them, I can’t say, but the eldest son of the Park family is courteous and magnanimous. He—”

“Shut up.” His fury erupted, his voice a sharp whip cutting her words short.

She wanted to collaborate with the Park family? Follow the same path as the late Cui family?

She was audacious beyond measure—perhaps even more cunning than Cui had ever been.

Tonight, it was just tea. Tomorrow—what next? If she joined hands with the Park family to smuggle goods, she’d be far more dangerous than Cui ever was.

Yes, infiltrating the Park family might have helped him gauge their strength—but not like this. Not tonight.

He had to stop her from meeting them.

Even if it meant dying with her.

The thought struck, and before she could react, Song Yunzhi snatched the blade from her hand. Under her startled gaze, he swung down, severing the rope that connected their small boat to the main vessel.

“What are you doing?”

Qian Tong’s eyes widened in horror. She lunged to stop him, but pinned beneath him, she couldn’t move. Desperate, she wrapped her arms around his waist and yanked with all her strength. “Your Grace, calm down! The waves are huge—if that rope snaps, we’ll both drown!”

So what?

He had already chosen to burn his boats. Driven mad by her defiance, Song Yunzhi’s voice dropped into a dark snarl completely unlike his usual refinement. “Then so be it.”

“You’d better give up now. As long as I live, you’ll never collude with the Parks.”

Qian Tong had never thought he’d go this far—risking both their lives just to stop her.

The Qian ships were already approaching. Soon she could’ve been safe aboard, warm and dry. But instead, he had cut the rope.

Did he truly want them to die together?

She clenched her teeth, fury flaring—her fingers moved before her mind did. She dug her nails into his waist.

He grunted in pain. “Let go.”

“Why?” Her tone was cool. “You can squeeze me, but I can’t squeeze you back? That hardly seems fair. Either way, if we’re dying together, shouldn’t I at least get to fight back a little?”

Their soaked clothing clung to skin, their bodies pressed tightly together. Both could feel the other’s heat through the chill.

Even knowing he was the Crown Prince hadn’t made her flinch. The pressure of her arms around his waist burned into his ribs—pain mixed with a strange, unbearable warmth. Every twitch of her body seared through him.

He ground out, “I said, let go.”

She didn’t.

In the next instant, he retaliated—grabbing her at the same spot. His long fingers, broad palm, and crushing strength pinned her easily, his grip merciless.

Her mind went blank for a moment. Taking advantage, he pried her hands from his waist, one by one, and locked both wrists under his.

With the rope now cut, the small boat drifted freely. Their struggle rocked it harder and harder until it began to sway wildly in the churning sea.

Waves battered them relentlessly. A wall of water crashed down, dousing them both. Song Yunzhi reflexively loosened his hold—Qian Tong seized the moment, reaching into her sleeve and drawing out a small bamboo flute.

Still unwilling to give up!

His frustration twisted into anger. He lunged, gripping her arm before she could raise it. Waves slammed against his back, but he ignored them, glaring at her with raw fury. “You really must see the Park family, don’t you?”

See Park’s eldest son?

Before she could reply, he wrenched the flute from her hand and flung it into the sea.

The Qian cargo ships had already met with the Park fleet in the distance. This deadlock couldn’t continue. At this rate, they’d both drown before one relented.

Qian Tong tilted her head, softening her voice. “I really have to go, Your Grace. Let me go just this once, and next time, I’ll listen to you. All right?”

There would be no next time.

Song Yunzhi’s patience was gone. Without a word, he tore a strip of silk from his robe.

Realizing his intent, Qian Tong quickly changed her tone, using his personal name as if to summon his long-buried tenderness. “Yunzhi…”

The young man’s gaze flickered.

He hadn’t even confronted her yet, and she was already fanning the flames.

Suppressing the urge to throttle her, Song Yunzhi stayed silent, tying one end of the silk around her arm and the other around his wrist.

Before she could react, he stood—and stomped hard.

The small boat shattered beneath them.

This time, it was the Crown Prince dragging her into the sea.

They plunged into the water together.

“Has he lost his mind?!”

Caught off guard, Qian Tong sank into the icy depths. She flailed until her hand found a floating plank.

Spray hit her face. She wiped her eyes and blinked through the darkness—there he was, clinging to the other end of the same plank, watching her in silence.

The ships receded. Their lantern light faded into the distance. She could no longer see his expression, but she knew—he meant to stay with her till the bitter end.

Her plans were shattered. Survival was all that mattered now.

The sea was merciless. Qian Tong clung to the plank, no longer struggling. Whether it was her or the Crown Prince, if either of them died here tonight, the other would gain nothing.

The shattered boat had become their only lifeline.

At last, the waves calmed.

Their future cut off, Qian Tong gave up pretending. She lay limply across the plank, drifting wherever the current carried them.

If he dared to sink the boat, he must have had a way to survive—so she’d thought. But she had overestimated him, and underestimated his madness.

He’d made no preparations at all.

They floated together for what felt like an hour, staring at each other through the dark, until finally they drifted ashore on a small island.

By then, Qian Tong was utterly spent.

From the moment he caught her that night, she hadn’t known a single moment’s rest. Now, after endless struggle and cold, her limbs were leaden. The moment her feet touched sand, she collapsed onto the soft gravel and blacked out completely.

——

She didn’t know how long she slept. Somewhere in the haze, she heard the faint crackle of burning wood. Slowly, she opened her eyes.

Warm firelight filled her vision.

Someone had made a fire. As she turned, a long robe draped over her chest slipped down. She glanced at herself—lying on a heap of dried grass, hands bound by something.

Struggling upright, she found vines coiled tightly around her forearms. The vine’s end was tied to a rope, which stretched taut as she moved—leading to the young man sitting calmly by the fire.

He wore only an undershirt. Feeling the pull, he turned his head.

When she saw that familiar, infuriatingly beautiful face, Qian Tong jolted fully awake. Memory rushed back. With a weary sigh, she looked around.

She had no idea where this godforsaken place was.

The horizon had turned pale-blue like crab shell—dawn was near. The Qian ships were surely already in Park hands. Even without her, the deal was done.

The question was: how was she supposed to return—and would the Crown Prince ever let her go?

As she pondered, the rope around her wrist tightened. His voice came, cold and composed: “Since you’re awake, Miss Qian, start talking.”

When they’d crawled from the sea, both had been soaked to the bone. Now, thanks to his fire, they were mostly dry.

How thoughtful of him.

Qian Tong sat up properly, surprisingly cooperative. “All right. Ask away, Your Grace, and I’ll answer.”

Half the night had passed; the furious prince had cooled somewhat. No longer raging, he began questioning her calmly, one matter at a time. “When did you recognize me?”

Then he added, “Look me in the eyes. Don’t lie.”

With him saying that, she couldn’t use last night’s excuse again. Obediently, she met his cold, piercing gaze and confessed honestly, “At the Governor’s estate.”

Song Yunzhi listened.

“You were behind the screen then. Your voice had changed, but after spending so much time together, how could I not recognize it? And those questions you asked—who else but someone close to me would even know to ask them?”

“No one, not even the Governor himself, knew I was the head of the Qian family. How could Wang Zhao—a mere outsider sent from another province, blind to the ways of Yangzhou—possibly find that out?”

Song Yunzhi fell silent.

“And when I mentioned that you’d spent the night with me, you panicked right away…” She tilted her head, genuinely curious. “Did you stub your toe on the table?”

If not for the twitch at the corner of his eye, she might have actually asked, Did it hurt?

Song Yunzhi had seen too many of her tricks. He steadied himself and studied her face instead. Her eyes were clear—pure as her expression.

And yet, that face had ruined so many.

How had the Cui family fallen? He thought back. It had begun that night she came to him, saying she’d take him somewhere…

And that “somewhere” had been the Cui family’s second son’s trading office.

She still wasn’t telling the whole truth. His gaze sharpened, calm composure giving way to a tremor of rage.

“When exactly did you recognize me?”