Chapter 2 Disdain
“Xiao Shenjing!” Yun Xi took a deep breath, brushed aside Dao Yi’s arm that was blocking her way, and stared at the Prince of Huailing with her almond-shaped eyes. “Let them go out first. I have something to say to you.”
She doesn't have much time left.
As soon as you enter the city gate, someone will notify the Jiangyuan Marquis's residence.
She will be taken back soon and will be unable to come out for a long time.
She had to let him know her plans.
“Miss Fan, this is not a place for you.” The Prince of Huailing tilted his head back, took a sip of wine, and the slight intoxication in his eyes turned into frost.
Seeing that he didn't answer, Yunxi, who was impatient, lost her patience. "If it were Princess Yong'an who came today, would you still redeem her?"
"How dare you!" As a prince, being questioned like this by a woman in public, the drunkenness in the eyes of the Prince of Huailing gradually faded. "As the legitimate daughter of a marquis, how dare you sneak into a brothel at night? Is this how the Marquis of Jiangyuan raised you?"
“If you can come, why can’t I?” Yunxi stood her ground, showing no fear whatsoever.
Prince Huailing turned his face to the side, his chin slightly twitched.
Seemingly unwilling to say another word to her, he ushered her away, saying, "Miss Fan, please leave."
Yunxi is a straightforward person. Even if hitting a wall will result in a bloody head injury, she still wants to see what that wall is like.
Now, all she wants is a definite answer, one that will determine her next choice.
If his answer is yes, then she will never bother him again in this lifetime.
She took a deep breath, softened her voice, and stubbornly asked, "You haven't answered my question yet."
She is like a sword drawn from its sheath, unyielding and unbreakable.
Unwilling to compromise for anyone.
A cold glint appeared in the eyes of the Prince of Huailing. “Princess Yong’an is a model of noblewoman, valuing herself and her own dignity. How could she possibly come to such a brothel?”
Yunxi's throat tightened, and the pain that had been forcibly suppressed instantly swept over her entire body.
She was all too familiar with these words, but she never expected to hear them from the Prince of Huailing today.
The inkstone she had specially obtained for him had become the hottest potato; her heart turned to ice. "Xiao Shenjing, you..."
"Yunxi!" Before she could finish speaking, a series of hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside the door.
Yunxi clenched her fist and turned around. When she saw the man walking in front of her, her expression froze.
His arrogance vanished instantly, and he turned around, instinctively wanting to run away.
Fan Zishi, Yunxi's older brother, said in a very serious tone, "Yunxi, come back with me right now."
Yunxi pretended not to hear and took a step, as if she wanted to run away.
"Yunxi, I'll be angry." Her tone was filled with barely suppressed anger.
Upon hearing this, Yunxi's tense shoulders instantly slumped.
He turned around, faced Fan Zishi, and respectfully called out, "Big Brother."
Fan Zishi's eyes narrowed slightly, his expression extremely complex at that moment.
In the end, she simply bowed to the Prince of Huailing and said, "Yunxi is ignorant and has disturbed Your Highness's enjoyment. I hope Your Highness will be lenient and not hold it against her."
"Brother, I still have something to say to the Prince of Huailing." Yunxi walked over and habitually tried to pull Fan Zishi's arm, attempting to buy some time by acting coquettishly.
She has two older brothers and a younger brother, all of whom take good care of her. In particular, when her eldest brother was first found, he liked to pat her head and assure her, "Of course your brother will take care of you, even if you weren't my sister."
But just as her hand was about to touch Fan Zishi's sleeve, he subtly stepped back.
Yunxi's hand brushed against his sleeve.
"Big brother!" She paused for a moment, then took another step forward, unwilling to back down, as if trying to cheat.
Fan Zishi, who used to dote on her, turned his back, glanced at her, and said, "Let's go, let's go back first."
Yunxi wondered if it was just her imagination, but after a month apart, her brother seemed to have changed.
"But," she gripped the fan handle tightly, she hadn't yet explained things to the Prince of Huailing.
"Yunxi!" Fan Zishi said in a very serious tone.
It was as if she had committed a heinous crime and violated divine law.
Yunxi pouted and dared not speak again. She glanced one last time at the Prince of Huailing not far away, then walked towards Fan Zishi.
"Your Highness, I will not disturb your enjoyment any longer," Fan Zishi said respectfully, then insisted on pulling Yun Xi to bow.
When she bent over, she still held the sandalwood fan tightly against her chest.
I seem to love that sandalwood fan very much.
The Prince of Huailing glanced at the jade pendant beneath the fan.
As the fan pendant spun, the character "王" (king) was revealed.
Yunxi turned around and caught up with Fan Zishi, saying ingratiatingly, "Big brother, don't be angry. Getting angry will hurt your health, and it will make me feel even worse. When I feel bad, I can't eat or sleep."
Fan Zishi kept a straight face, as if he had made up his mind to ignore her.
Yunxi knew that her family would be very angry if she left a note and ran away for a month, so she continued, "Brother, I would never be at peace if you hurt yourself like this."
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Fan Zishi couldn't help but scold her when he heard her cursing him.
Seeing that he had finally spoken to her, Yunxi beamed with joy, "Big brother, you're the best! You look good even when you're stern, but you look even better when you're not stern."
Fan Zishi turned his head to hide his relaxed expression, but immediately tensed up again, as if he was unmoved.
Sweet talk and flattery.
Recalling the sharp and unyielding manner with which she had spoken to him earlier, Prince Huailing pressed his lips together slightly and quickly looked away.
Dao Er looked at the gate and muttered to his brother, "Miss Fan will definitely be punished when she gets back this time."
Dao glanced at his master.
The Prince of Huailing, without revealing his expression, picked up his wine cup and said two words, "Pour the wine."
Song Qiluo, who hadn't dared to lift her head, quickly got up and poured wine.
The Prince of Huailing tilted his head back, and with a gulp of his throat, he drank the wine in his cup in one go.
So what if we get punished?
As a woman, instead of staying in her boudoir, she dared to sneak out of the house for over a month and get involved with a wild man. It's only right that she suffers some hardship.
Otherwise, how could someone with such immoral, unethical, and reckless nature be a wife and mother?
On the way back to the Jiangyuan Marquis's residence, Yunxi tried her best to please Fan Zishi.
She doesn't like seeing people who are good to her angry or upset; it's more painful than being beaten up.
As she got closer to the Marquis of Linjiang's residence, she became somewhat absent-minded and fell silent.
The thought of her family members looking at her with disappointed eyes, like countless soft knives stabbing into her throat, made her feel like she couldn't breathe.
She even paused when she saw the plaque of the Jiangyuan Marquis's residence.
Fan Zishi turned his head and glanced at Yun Xi.
Seeing that she was dressed in thin clothes and her nose was shivering from the cold, he finally put his cloak on her and couldn't help but recall the time when she had climbed over the wall to give the fine fox fur coat to the Prince of Huailing.
He couldn't help but sigh and slowly said, "Yunxi, don't talk back to them this time." Just as the word "parents" was about to slip out, Fan Zishi quickly corrected himself, "You obediently admit your mistake and accept the punishment, and absolutely don't talk back like before."
"Thank you, brother, I understand." Yunxi smiled at him.
Despite Yunxi's soft attitude and ingratiating words, she didn't utter a single "I was wrong" throughout the entire conversation.
She was only willing to coax him like this because he was her older brother.
Thinking of this, Fan Zishi sighed silently.
Everyone in the Jiangyuan Marquis's mansion knew that Yunxi was stubborn; if she believed something was right, she would never say "I'm wrong" even if she were beaten to death.
Like a stubborn donkey, he possesses the lone courage to crash into a wall.
He admired the Prince of Huailing, even though he became the laughingstock of the entire capital and disgraced the Jiangyuan Marquis's mansion. He obediently knelt in the ancestral hall for more than a month, but after he came out, he still did not back down in the slightest.
It seems that as long as she believes something is right, she is not afraid of any difficulties or dangers, and she is fearless even if it means going through fire and water.
Her stubbornness was a headache for everyone, and they didn't know what to do with her. Her mother often said that she didn't know who she took after in terms of personality, and she was not like a member of the Fan family at all.
Fan Zishi glanced at Yun Xi beside him again, his expression extremely complicated.
Contrary to Yunxi's expectations, this time, her parents didn't even see her.
The night was thick, and no stars could be seen.
The lanterns swayed in the steep spring breeze, casting shadowy figures all around.
Yunxi stood obediently outside the main hall, staring at the tightly closed door.
Soon, the door opened.
Yunxi saw her father and mother sitting in the chairs in the main hall.
The moment her older brother closed the door, she vaguely saw her grandmother and several cousins.
It's almost curfew, and Grandma still hasn't rested?
Yunxi lowered her head, presumably because of her.
Yunxi started escorting goods with her adoptive father when she was eight or nine years old, traveling all over the country. She was not a noble lady who never left her home; she had seen all kinds of storms.
So for her, being away from home for more than a month was truly a trivial matter.
But for biological parents, the thought of their daughter secretly leaving home for a month without their knowledge is a devastating blow.
But if she doesn't do this, how can she resolve the predicament?
She always annoyed her parents, and the Prince of Huailing had not yet agreed to be with her.
She didn't want to cause her parents any more pain or distress, nor was she willing to give up on the Prince of Huailing.
They must solemnly express their intentions before leaving, and only then can they feel at ease joining the army.
But explaining now, and revealing her plans, would only add fuel to the fire.
Fan Zishi walked over and said to the steward behind him, "Take Yunxi to the woodshed in the backyard and guard her closely. She must not be let out without permission."
"Brother, are Father and Mother too angry to see me?" Yunxi didn't care about the matter of closing the woodshed, but was worried about her parents' attitude. "Brother, please persuade Father and Mother for me. I promise it won't happen again."
It's better that they scolded or beat her than that they don't even want to see her now; they're clearly too disappointed in her.
Fan Zishi stood under the flickering lamplight, without saying a word.
Knowing her parents must be extremely saddened, Yunxi called out loudly, "Father, Mother!"
"Please don't get angry and hurt yourselves, okay? Hit me, hit me however you want, it doesn't matter, I'm not afraid of pain. I'll go find a whip."
She was about to go find the whip when she turned around, but was stopped.
Fan Zishi's expression was complicated. He sighed and said, "Yunxi, if you really want to admit your mistake, go to the woodshed in the backyard and reflect on it."
He paused, then continued, "Don't," he said, "run away again and upset your parents."
“Okay.” Yunxi immediately nodded obediently, and even urged impatiently, “Big brother, let’s go quickly.”
It was as if they were afraid that if they were locked in the woodshed any later, their parents would be angry for a moment longer.
Innocent and sincere.
In the dim light, a hint of reluctance flashed in Fan Zishi's eyes.
Not long after Yunxi left Jiugefang, the door to Qingfengyuan's room was opened.
Both Dao Yi and Dao Er, who were guarding outside the door, were taken aback.
Dao Yi asked uncertainly, "Your Highness, shall we return to the manor now?"
"Return."
The Prince of Huailing smoothed the wrinkles in his sleeves and strode towards the stairs.
The Nine Songs Brothel was a notorious den of iniquity in the capital.
It was a lively time, with wine flowing freely, flowers in full bloom, and people in fragrant clothes everywhere, a scene of desire brewing amidst the red and green of women.
Stewing up a feast of vibrant life, imbuing it with soul-stirring beauty.
The tall, slender figure descending the corner staircase stood out from the crowd.
The Prince of Huailing wore a plain silk robe with a bamboo-colored glaze, and his expression was aloof and indifferent.
Descending the steps one by one is like the morning mist, or a solitary peak standing alone among the mountains. But for us mere spectators of this turbid world, ordinary mortals should not even dream of getting a taste of it.
As I walked down to the first floor and headed towards the entrance, I suddenly heard people talking amidst the noise.
"Just now, a beautiful woman insisted on spending a night with me in order to get my embossed sandalwood fan."
The Prince of Huailing paused in his steps.
He slowly turned his head to look at the person who had spoken.
The drunken man, oblivious to everything, put his arm around the woman next to him and loudly boasted, "Someone got this red mark on my chest, and the way they looked at me was way more slutty than yours, hehe."
Suddenly, the man shuddered as he felt a stream of cold water being poured over his head.
"Ah!" The women around also turned pale and looked this way.
"Who the hell are you?" The man, half-sobered by the splash of water, wiped his face and cursed.
In the next instant, Dao Yi's sword was already pressed against the man's throat.
The man trembled with fear, crying out, "No, please don't kill me!"
The Prince of Huailing took out a frosty white handkerchief, lowered his phoenix eyes, and slowly wiped his fingers, asking, "What's your surname?"
The man hurriedly replied, "My surname is Wang."
"very good."
Before the man could even grasp what was so great about it, the Prince of Huailing threw down the order, "Slap him twenty times."
His queen could never be a woman like Yunxi.
Although he wouldn't marry her, having known her for a while, he wouldn't stand idly by and let such a vile person defile him.
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