Chapter 13

Completely controlling a person's power is the most potent medicine.

Princess Ning'an actually wanted to get involved herself.

Everyone's attention was immediately drawn to it, and Lin Tan, who had been sitting upright on the platform, unconsciously leaned forward.

Su Lu was being pointed directly at by Xie Yutang's sword, and sunlight shone down from behind her, outlining the woman's tall figure.

The two stared at each other silently for a moment. Su Lu put down the wine bowl in his hand and stepped onto the dueling platform amidst the increasingly enthusiastic gazes of the crowd.

The crowd's gazes darted back and forth between the two.

They had heard a bit about the relationship between the two of them. They thought it was exciting enough that Xie Yutang was watching her former "male concubine" compete in martial arts, but they didn't expect to see the two of them sparring together.

This was far more exciting than the final match just now.

“Young Master Su is highly skilled in martial arts. Even if he wins against me, he will inevitably be accused of winning unfairly.”

Xie Yutang twirled her sword: "I will now challenge you to a duel with this sword, shall we?"

Su Lu had no objection and gestured for him to proceed.

Xie Yutang immediately unleashed a fierce killing move.

The killing intent, accompanied by the cold glint of the sword blade, surged towards the youth.

This sword strike astonished everyone in the audience.

Xie Yutang had spoken out in defense of him several times before, leading many to believe that she had only driven the young master Su out of the mansion in a fit of anger, but was actually very reluctant to part with him, and that she was probably here today to bail him out.

But this sword strike was clearly aimed at taking a life, showing no mercy whatsoever.

If someone had reacted slower, they would probably have been pierced through the chest.

Su Lu retreated quickly, and just as half of his body was off the stage, his waist suddenly twisted backward at an incredible angle, grazing past the sharp blade, and dodged to the other side.

Xie Yutang immediately changed his tactics.

With a light touch of his toes, he somersaulted in mid-air and thrust the weapon toward the boy's back.

Her moves were nimble, and Su Lu only defended and did not attack. The two exchanged dozens of moves in an instant.

Xie Yutang was genuinely itching to get his hands dirty.

In her previous life, she was extremely curious about the legendary invincible Prince Muqing, but as the Empress at that time, it was inconvenient for her to spar with her ministers.

After her rebirth, she brought the boy back to her mansion and was busy arranging her revenge. She hasn't had a proper fight with him yet.

Now is the perfect opportunity to probe Su Lu's background.

The more Xie Yutang hit him, the brighter the light in his eyes became.

No matter how many times you watch it on stage, it's not as exhilarating as actually fighting a match yourself.

The subtle responses to every movement and every sword move can only be truly appreciated through personal combat.

"Young Master Su, why aren't you making a move yet?"

Xie Yutang gave a sharp rebuke and pressed closer step by step.

Urged on by her, the boy finally began to turn the tables and start attacking.

Finally, after deflecting one of her deadly sword moves, the boy formed his fingers into a palm and attacked her.

Xie Yutang had been waiting for this moment.

With a flick of his wrist, without dodging or avoiding, the scissors pierced straight towards the boy.

She was willing to take a blow from his palm in order to thrust the sword out.

Su Lu's brows furrowed, and he quickly withdrew his palm.

Xie Yutang's sword momentum did not diminish in the slightest, and in an instant, he had already closed in on him.

The boy missed his only chance to dodge because of his hand. Just as the blade was about to pierce his chest, Xuan Jian suddenly swung his sword and slammed it into his chest.

Sulu grunted.

He was forced back several steps by the internal force emanating from the sword.

Just as he was retreating to the edge of the platform, someone suddenly blocked his waist.

Xie Yutang actually hooked his arm around the waist in public, holding him in an extremely ambiguous and possessive posture.

The surrounding noise suddenly faded away.

Su Lu held her breath and curled her fingertips.

She had anticipated that he would stop; that move was only for—

She pinched his waist with the fingers that were wrapped around his waist.

The boy immediately looked up at Xie Yutang for a moment, his eyes glistening with tears; it was less a warning and more a plea for mercy.

Xie Yutang curled her lips slightly. Although her fingers stopped moving, she didn't loosen her grip on his waist. Instead, she suddenly tightened her hold on him, trapping him firmly in her arms.

The hairpin slid slowly down the boy's cheek.

The cold blade, which would have drawn blood with just a slight press, was caressed intimately by her brow bone and cheek, finally stopping at her collarbone. With a flick of her wrist, her collar was opened.

Su Lu shuddered, almost jumping out of her arms, and knelt down with his eyes downcast.

The torn collar couldn't hide what lay beneath, half of his collarbone was partially exposed, and the boy's voice was cold, almost devoid of warmth.

"Your Highness's strength is extraordinary; I concede defeat."

The group snapped out of their daze and exchanged subtle glances.

Although the two men's moves were fast, they were all able to see them clearly.

If Su Lu hadn't withdrawn that palm strike, it would have been uncertain who would have lost.

However, Princess Ning'an, a young lady confined to her chambers, possessed a level of understanding of martial arts that placed her among the top masters in the martial arts world.

Everyone was shocked.

His gaze had shifted from simply watching the spectacle to one filled with complex shock.

"Young Master Su is being modest."

Xie Yutang replied casually, but made no move to tell anyone to get up.

He looked down at the man for a long time before condescendingly leaning down, grabbing the man's chin, and lifting it up.

Her gaze swept over his brow bone and the bridge of his nose, finally settling on his slightly pursed thin lips.

"If you wish to soar high, I will set you free. But never appear before me again."

The boy's face turned sharply to the left as she withdrew her hand, as if he had been slapped.

The scissors were thrown in front of him with a thud, and Xie Yutang left without looking back.

The group exchanged glances again.

The prize that was supposed to be the grand prize, Xuan Jian, was thrown in front of him like this, and anyone could see that Xie Yutang was deliberately humiliating him.

It's like throwing a bone to a dog.

It turns out that it wasn't Xie Yutang who disliked Su Lu, but rather that this young prince Su couldn't let go of his pride and dignity, thus spoiling the princess's mood.

That makes perfect sense.

He was, after all, a prince. To be so brazenly confined to the princess's residence, spending his days doing chores like making beds, fanning, and serving her in the mornings—what man could stand that?

Wei Xianxi also breathed a sigh of relief.

If Xie Yutang goes back on her word and takes the person back, he wouldn't dare to compete with the princess for her.

Now that Xie Yutang has let go and the person is in his own camp, what will happen to him in the future is entirely up to him.

Seeing the scimitar thrown in front of Su Lu like a bone, Wei Xianxi felt a pang of pity and was about to go up on stage to pick it up and give it to him when he saw the young man's slender fingers touch the scabbard and he picked up the sword with both hands.

What was supposed to be an extremely humiliating act was made to appear by his nonchalant demeanor, making it seem as if the others were overreacting.

Su Lu held the sword in both hands, as if the humiliation from before had never existed, and his eyes obediently lowered to the ground: "Thank you, Third Prince, thank you, Princess, for bestowing the sword."

He's quite tolerant, though.

Someone muttered, "Doesn't this Young Master Su have any temper at all?"

The other person lowered his voice and said, "Take another look."

Although the young man on the stage held the sword with both hands and knelt with his head bowed, a closer look revealed that his fingertips were trembling, his knuckles were white from the force, his jaw was taut, and his thick eyelashes completely concealed all the emotions in his eyes.

Lin Tan, hiding behind the fan, curled his lips in a mocking smile. He felt that this person was not worth testing at all, but he couldn't help feeling a sense of satisfaction.

It's just a dog.

No matter how good-looking someone is, they're still a lowly creature.

*

“Miss, Young Master Su has put on such a great performance for you, wouldn’t it be a bit unfair of us to act like this?”

Xie Yutang turned a page of the book: "What?"

"You invited Lin Tan to the lantern festival!"

Looking at the hairstyle Xie Yutang had just instructed her to create, Wo Yu could no longer contain herself. "You even did his hair and makeup!"

Ever since Xie Yutang said he would invite Lin Tan to the Lantern Festival, the person he was most worried about was Woyu, fearing that his young lady would be bewitched by him again.

Xie Yutang said that her makeup and hair were too elaborate for the martial arts competition during the day and were not suitable for the lantern festival at night, so she specially asked her to let her hair down. "A woman dresses up for the one she loves. Miss, you can't still have feelings for that man surnamed Lin, can you?"

Xie Yutang didn't know how Lin Tan had treated Miss before, but the servants had all seen it. Lin Tan was not someone worth entrusting her with at all; he was more calculating than sincere and didn't treat Miss with genuine affection.

Woyu, with the air of someone who's been there, spoke to her intimately: "Men are just a pastime. Since they're a pastime, of course you have to find someone you like, someone good-looking, obedient, and good at pleasing people."

As for who is the pleasing, good-looking, obedient, and charming one, it goes without saying.

Xie Yutang understood everything perfectly well.

Woyu was simply afraid that Su Lu would fall in love again and get entangled with Lin Tan, so he tried to find a "thing to pass the time" to distract her. Unfortunately, Su Lu was chosen to be this "thing".

She listened casually, toying with a thin golden chain in her hand—a chain that had once belonged to Wu Zhui, and later to Su Lu.

Ever since that day at Happy Valley, he had never taken off the dog leash, and anyone who saw it would know that Su Lu, the young master of the Muqing Prince's Mansion, belonged to Xie Yutang.

The chain was only temporarily removed when Su Lu was ordered to investigate Wei Xianxi.

My thoughts drifted back to the training ground, to the obedient, kneeling boy.

With just a glance, he could understand my thoughts.

Then they cooperated without hesitation.

He was a god of war general who emerged from mountains of corpses and seas of bones, and the pure and untainted Prince Muqing, yet he was willing to shed his pride, to be covered in mud, and to bow his head and kneel to offer his exquisite heart, lowering himself to the dust for her.

Xie Yutang could clearly feel his heart pounding violently in his chest.

She was tempted.

It's not the attraction of romantic love between a man and a woman, but the desire to completely possess this person and not allow anyone else to touch them even slightly.

Having lived two lives, Xie Yutang would never entrust her fate to others, but if someone were to offer their life to her with utmost sincerity, it would be too tempting for her.

Completely controlling a person's power is the most potent aphrodisiac.

Having already tasted the sweetness of it, she couldn't possibly give it up.

Xie Yutang lowered his eyes to hide the darkness in them as his fingertips traced the cool gold chain, while Wo Yu continued to spout nonsense.

“Miss, you invited Lin Tan to the lantern festival before, but he refused. I think we should stand him up this time. Young Master Su must really want to see you, so how about tonight—”

Woyu whispered in Xie Yutang's ear, "Just lock Prince Su on the bed, Miss, you can do whatever you want with him."

Xie Yutang: "..."

What's with this tone of voice, like they're trying to entice a child to eat candy?

Thinking Xie Yutang wouldn't believe him, Woyu declared confidently, "Miss, tonight you go to the patrol camp, knock on Su Shizi's door, tie him up without a word, and put him on the bed. If he resists even a finger, I, Woyu—will twist my head off and use it as a ball—"

"Miss."

Huai Jin lifted the curtain and came in, glancing at Wo Yu. The latter reluctantly swallowed the word "kick." Huai Jin curtsied to Xie Yutang, "Miss, the Third Prince has arrived, and the carriage is ready."

The lantern festival was on Gulou Street, quite a distance from the patrol camp. Xie Yutang kept a low profile on this trip and specifically instructed Huaijin to avoid the Princess's usual private carriage and prepare a separate horse-drawn carriage.

"There are fruits, pastries, and novels in the carriage for you to pass the time on your journey."

Xie Yutang was very satisfied with Huaijin's composure and thoughtfulness. Before getting into the carriage, he said to Woyu, "Learn from him."

Although Xie Yutang was the one who first invited her to travel together, she didn't really want to talk to Lin Tan. Once she got on the carriage, she chose the seat diagonally opposite Lin Tan and picked up a storybook to read.

Lin Tan's initial act of refusing Xie Yutang was partly to make her chase after him to the martial arts competition venue in public. On the other hand, he had already arranged for people to kill that little bastard Su Lu and then invite Xie Yutang to the lantern festival under the guise of "accompanying the princess to relax." Who knew that those good-for-nothings couldn't even handle a little bastard and let him make a big splash.

With this turn of events, Lin Tan's planned "relaxation" changed from "the princess's disliked dog died, and I, the king, will accompany the princess to relax" to "the grand martial arts examination was ruined by a villain's poisoning, and as the chief examiner, I should apologize to the princess."

Feeling aggrieved at being suddenly made to look inferior.

I thought I would suffer a lot during this visit, but I didn't expect Xie Yutang to be so easy to talk to, even preparing a carriage. It seems that he still cares about me.

Thinking of this, Lin Tan smiled slightly, but her raised lips froze when she saw the title of the book in Xie Yutang's hand.

The Arrogant Princess and Her Beautiful Bodyguard

Xie Yutang didn't expect Huaijin to play with her like this. She didn't know where this storybook came from. Not only was the language bold and outspoken, but the illustrations inside were also quite erotic. The page she randomly flipped to showed a princess pinning a guard down. The princess was impeccably dressed, while the guard was quite...undignified.

Not only was there not a single piece of intact cloth covering her body, but her wrists were also tied above her head, and the princess was holding a long, thin object in her hand.

Before Xie Yutang could figure out what it was, the book in his hand was snatched away.

Lin Tan's chest heaved with anger. She threw the book in her hand far away, as if even glancing at it would defile her eyes. She closed her eyes and calmed herself for a while: "Tangtang, you are the princess of Dayan. You should be virtuous, gentle and graceful. How can you look at such filthy things?"

"Absolutely—" Lin Tan stammered for a long time before finally flung his sleeves and angrily rebuked, "What kind of behavior is this?"

The guard in the painting even looked somewhat like Su Lu.

Xie Yutang also fell silent.

...This Huaijin, she even told Woyu to learn more from her.

Each one was more audacious than the last.

Su Lu was still in the patrol camp, and Xie Yutang didn't want to cause him any trouble, so she took another booklet from the shelf and casually brushed it off, saying, "I haven't had time to throw away the old stuff yet."

That was, after all, an explanation.

Lin Tan snorted and said nothing more.

But Xie Yutang's fingers, which were twisting the pages, paused.

Lin Tan glanced over instinctively, only to find her previously slightly relieved expression had turned as black as the bottom of a pot—

[Author's Note]

Hey everyone, could you use your lucky fingers to add this post to your favorites? [Let me see!] The young couple is about to have some really exciting scenes together! [Go for it!]