The Fifth Prince watched as she began to eat at a nearby stall, not caring about her image at all, showing no signs of being a noble lady. She even chatted and laughed with her two maids while eating, and the three of them sat around the table, enjoying their meal.

The Fifth Prince narrowed his eyes, finding the woman increasingly alluring.

He had to have her; she was different from all the other women!

Seeing that his gaze was still fixed on that direction, his subordinate whispered a reminder: "Sir, don't lose your composure."

Because of what they just did, they have already attracted a lot of disapproving looks. If they are targeted because of this, it will be difficult to make a move tonight.

A small act of impatience can ruin a great plan.

The Fifth Prince understood this principle, but it was the first time he had ever seen such a beautiful woman. His mind went blank, and he couldn't think of anything else. Now, hearing what his subordinates said, he could only force himself to look away.

Just wait, I'm going to get her tonight!

After finishing her meal, Jiang Jiuniang took a walk back home.

She stayed at an inn in Huizhou City. The local prefect invited her to stay at his residence, but she felt that she was used to being carefree and that there would be too many rules at other people's homes, so she stayed at the inn instead.

Anyway, she wouldn't be staying long. Once the training here was over, she would go to Tongcheng. Lu Baichuan's main force had gone to Liancheng, and a small number of people were in Tongcheng, including Gou'er and Peng Yuan. She was still a little worried.

Especially with those annoying Dongting people coming tonight, they must be up to no good, so she needs to be extra careful.

Those Dongting people secretly investigated and discovered that she was staying at an inn with only two maids who knew no martial arts. They felt that heaven was looking out for them and immediately informed the Fifth Prince.

The Fifth Prince was delighted to hear this and immediately led his men to the inn where Jiang Jiuniang was staying to check in.

With the economy developing during this period, the streets have become much more bustling, and the previous desolate state is no longer visible. It's not a big deal for a few people to stay at the inn, so no one pays any attention.

After returning home, Jiang Jiuniang instructed her two maids, "You two should sleep in your own rooms tonight. No matter what noises you hear, don't come out. I have things to do, so don't worry about me. Just try your best to keep your lives."

These two young maids were found for her by Lu Baichuan. They were both locals from Huizhou and were only fourteen or fifteen years old. Jiang Jiuniang didn't want anything to happen to them, so she even gave them some medicinal powder for self-defense.

The two maids were frightened, but also worried about their mistress's safety, and said, "Then, Madam..."

"I can handle it. Just focus on your own survival, understand?"

Tears welled in the eyes of the two maids, who felt only guilt. They were the maids, yet they were now being protected by their mistress. What had they done to deserve this?

However, after following Jiang Jiuniang for a while, they knew that Jiang Jiuniang was skilled in martial arts, and quite skilled at it, so after thinking about it, they nodded heavily.

The greatest help they can give to the lady is simply not going out and causing trouble.

Jiang Jiuniang patted their shoulders, smiled with satisfaction, and then went back to her room to rest.

After a busy day, Jiang Jiuniang was sweating a bit. She wanted to take a bath, but the thought of that lecherous man possibly coming to visit filled her with dread, so she had to endure it.

She lay on the bed fully clothed, eyes closed, hoping that the lecherous man would come quickly so she could resolve the matter sooner, as she still needed to take a bath and go to sleep.

Prior to this, someone sent Lu Baichuan the information they had gathered, saying that they had seen several people from Dongting heading towards Huizhou City.

Nowadays, apart from those officials, only his wife is in Huizhou City, and most people are heading towards his wife.

How many people are on the other side?

"Four people, they should be arriving soon."

In other words, even if they ride at full speed, they can't get back now.

Lu Baichuan was a little anxious, but he also knew that four people were nothing to his wife. He thought for a moment and said, "Send more people to Tongcheng to protect Madam Qin and the young master. Make sure nothing goes wrong."

"Yes, what about Madam?"

"She'll be alright."

He closed his eyes. This was a test of their marital relationship, but this was the only arrangement they could make for now.

If you think about it, you'll know what those people were doing in Huizhou. They wanted to kidnap his wife to threaten him. Even if his wife was accidentally kidnapped, she wouldn't be in immediate danger. If she was taken back to the enemy camp, he would lead his troops to storm in and rescue her.

Now, he can't go to Huizhou. Liancheng has just been captured and is still unstable. He needs to be there to oversee things, otherwise all the efforts he's made during this period will be in vain.

Jiang Jiuniang had been waiting for who knows how long, and was almost asleep. Feeling a little irritable, she was about to get up and get a drink of water when she suddenly heard someone prying open the door.

She quickly lay back down, closed her eyes, and pretended to be asleep.

The Fifth Prince pried open the door and entered. It was pitch black inside; if he hadn't had good eyesight, he probably would have tripped and fallen.

He walked impatiently to the window and saw the beautiful woman sleeping peacefully on the bed. He couldn't help but swallow hard.

He had never been a womanizer, but he couldn't resist when he saw Jiang Jiuniang. He had to have her, he absolutely had to!

Thinking this, he reached out to Jiang Jiuniang, thinking he could easily knock her unconscious. However, as soon as he reached out, Jiang Jiuniang opened her eyes and turned her head to avoid his attack.

Jiang Jiuniang kicked his hand away and sneered, "You're clearly a lecherous rogue, yet you pretend to be a refined gentleman. What bad luck!"

Did you know I would come?

The Fifth Prince was masked, but he recognized her immediately. He stopped pretending. Anyway, her two maids were useless, and she didn't have a single useful person by her side. She must be his!

Is it that hard to guess?

Jiang Jiuniang sat up and slowly tidied her hair, making sure her hairstyle wasn't messed up.

"Let me guess what you want to do? Are you captivated by my beauty and want to possess me, or do you want to capture me and take me back to your Eastern Court to blackmail my man into withdrawing his troops?"

Jiang Jiuniang's tone was very certain, while the Fifth Prince's expression changed drastically, and he said incredulously, "How could you..."

"Curious how I recognized you as people from Dongting? Why didn't your Third Prince tell you that your Dongting human skin masks don't work on me?"

I can't believe such a thing actually happened!

The Fifth Prince was shocked. How come he had never heard of this before?

What exactly are this woman's abilities?

"Since you recognized us so early on, why didn't you expose us?"

Jiang Jiuniang retorted, "Then how do you think I would dare to parade around outside with only two maids who don't know martial arts?"

The Fifth Prince was speechless. He knew he might have fallen into a trap, but he didn't want to admit it, so he attacked Jiang Jiuniang directly.

Compared to his eagerness and effort, Jiang Jiuniang seemed to be teasing him, and was very relaxed throughout, just like... just like a bored owner teasing their cat or dog!

Realizing this, the Fifth Prince couldn't take it anymore and became even more ruthless, while Jiang Jiuniang also lost her patience and finally became serious.

In just two rounds, the Fifth Prince was defeated and stomped to the ground by Jiang Jiuniang.

He bent down and ripped off his human skin mask.