Chapter 356 Daya vs. Prince

"Mom, let's take it one step at a time. We haven't even finished looking after our shop yet!" Daya said with a smile.

"That's right. Okay, I'll listen to you."

That's how life is.

The prince's affairs are like a lingering haze, but life must go on and we must do what we should do.

At the shop now, Lu Qiniang basically doesn't have to be busy with anything.

Xiao Yan didn't want her to do the work by herself, but Lu Qiniang couldn't sit still, so she would go and help wherever there was work.

In the past few days, Erya started giving away hair dye for free, provided that you buy something worth more than 500 coins in the store.

Not to mention, many people are interested in this thing, and the business in the shop is booming. Although Erya has hired two young girls to help, the three of them are still very busy. Lu Qinniang went to help her, and also to prevent someone from taking advantage of the situation and taking things without paying.

A few days later, Daya took incense and candles, hired a carriage, and went to Puzhao Temple.

The prince and his entourage were naturally on high alert and could not get close.

Daya was not in a hurry and went to burn incense first.

Daya knelt on the faded cushion, her forehead touching the cold blue bricks.

The incense stick was about to burn out, but a wisp of residual smoke rose from the eternal lamp, carrying the unique scent of sandalwood, wrapping around the prayer flags hanging in front of the Buddha. The compassionate eyebrows of the gilded Buddha statue were blurred in the smoke.

Outside the hall, the ancient ginkgo trees rustled and dropped golden fragments, but they could not suppress the sound of footsteps approaching from afar.

He is here.

"What a coincidence." The laughing voice startled the birds under the eaves, and the black deerskin boots rolled over the ginkgo leaves on the ground, and the double dragon jade buckles on the belt made a clear sound.

Daya turned around with a look of panic in her eyes, then knelt on the ground, "This humble lady greets His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

There was no one following the prince, probably because he had dismissed them.

The prince leaned forward, the tassel of his jade crown brushing against the silver hairpin in Daya's hair. He chuckled softly in her ear, "Have you come here specifically to look for me?"

Daya's fingertips dug into the soft flesh of her palm and uttered the lie she had practiced a thousand times in a trembling voice, "I came here to try my luck, but I didn't expect to actually run into His Highness."

The shadow of the shrine passed over her trembling back.

She lied.

She knew that she would definitely be able to see the prince today, and she didn't even have to go out of her way to see him.

Because Jiang Xuan told her that the prince had arranged someone to follow her.

Daya didn't say anything.

So today, she used the prince's spies to let the prince know that she was here too.

So she deliberately chose the most remote hall just to wait for the prince.

The prince's thumb brushed against her earlobe, the coolness of the jade ring slithering across her ear like a snake. "Didn't you disdain me? Why are you coming to see me now?"

"Your Highness, I have broken off the engagement. A few days ago, I heard that you went to Henan. I was very worried about your safety. Later, I heard that you returned to Beijing and was relieved. However, I just don't know how to find you."

"I'm breaking off the engagement. Are you willing?"

"Whether I'm willing or not is not important. What's important is that Your Highness is my only master." Daya lowered her head. "The Emperor came to my house again a few days ago. He even wanted to grant me a marriage with Jiang Xuan. So I was worried all day long. Finally, I found an opportunity to come here to try my luck..."

"Your father has granted you a marriage. Isn't that what you wished for?" The prince's voice was sinister.

"But Divine Doctor Hu also said that the Emperor's health might be—"

"What did he say?" The prince's eyes showed a serious look.

"Divine Doctor Hu says the Emperor has only one or two years left to live. Your Highness, please think of a solution. I am willing to serve you. Please don't grant the marriage."

"Really?"

Daya nodded heavily.

"Afraid of implicating Jiang Xuan?"

"No, I'm afraid of bringing trouble to my family. The emperor wants to re-employ my father, and I don't want to cause any trouble. Besides, Jiang Xuan is already a useless person, so——"

"Useless people? You two?" The prince pinched Daya's chin and suddenly exerted force with his fingertips.

Daya's eyes welled up with tears, "Your Highness, I am innocent. What I meant was that as a military commander, he would no longer be able to lead troops, and his future would be ruined. Moreover, the brutality he displayed after being injured left me with lingering fears."

"Let me tell you what you were thinking." The prince smiled sinisterly. "First you broke off the engagement to coax me in. Then you showed weakness, wanting me to give up on you, and then you used the arranged marriage to show that you had no choice..."

Daya's palms were sweaty.

This madman is indeed smart and difficult to deal with.

Fortunately, she was prepared.

"If Your Highness doesn't believe me, then I, this humble girl, can only—"

"Do you want to bang your head against the wall or the pillar?" The prince stood up straight and looked down at her condescendingly. "I'll wait."

Daya looked up at him with tears in her eyes, and suddenly she tore open her clothes, and her plain skirt fell down like withered magnolias.

The prince watched her actions expressionlessly.

Daya knelt on the ground and took off her clothes one by one.

The prince didn't shout to stop, and she didn't stop either.

She finally took off the last piece of clothing, tears streaming down her face, and said in a trembling voice, "I am willing to dedicate myself to Your Highness."

The dark fire surging in the prince's eyes suddenly froze, and his gaze swept across the gray-white embers that were about to die in the incense burner.

"That's right," the prince smiled. "I will trust your sincerity for now. But today, I'm not in the mood. Put on your clothes."

Daya put her clothes back on while crying.

"Unfair?" The prince sneered.

"I'm not aggrieved, I'm just, I'm shy."

"Shut up. I don't like crying women."

Daya tried hard to hold back her tears.

"Since the emperor wants you to marry Jiang Xuan, then you can marry him. But you must come whenever I summon you in the future."

"Yes, Your Highness."

The prince looked bored and left without staying any longer.

He really hated crying, weak and helpless faces.

I originally thought she was different, but unexpectedly, she was just as vulgar.

Daya let out a long sigh, with traces of tears still on her face, but her eyes, washed by water, were wise, clear, calm and self-controlled.

That's all.

She looked at the lingering fragrance in the copper incense burner, and the corners of her mouth slowly curled up.

Life is just like this: when the enemy comes, we will fight him; when the water comes, we will block it with earth. We can only survive for a while.

At least she passed this level.

Doctor Hu’s incense is really effective.

Doctor Hu said that he is the man among men.

Because if he tells men to do something, they will do it; if he tells men not to do something, they will not do it.

The Nine-Turn Sandalwood specially made by Doctor Hu is indeed excellent.

Daya tidied herself up and knelt down on the mat again devoutly.

She is guilty of defiling the pure land of Buddhism today.