Chapter 2 Trouble-Making "Drawing eyebrows and applying makeup for the princess, in my countless dreams..."
Li Yunru felt a surge of anger when she thought about the way the two of them acted when she entered the room. Although she had confirmed immediately that the two of them had not made any intimate moves, it was because she arrived early. What if she had arrived later?
Yan Ning saw that her cheeks were puffed up with anger, but he found it extremely cute. He did not take her harsh words to heart, but simply held her hand and said, "Things are not as you think. Wan'er has just arrived in Jiankang today. She has come from afar and is unfamiliar with the place. Mother, please arrange for me to pick her up."
"Heh." Li Yunru rolled her eyes and said sarcastically, "Wan'er, Wan'er, you call her so affectionately! You spent the whole day picking her up and even brought her to your own courtyard. You, as her cousin, are really going all out!"
Qingfeng Villa is Yan Ning's private residence. He usually stays there when he has nothing to do and doesn't want to be disturbed. Even Li Yunru, who has been in Jiankang for a year, has only been there a few times. Cui Wan, on the other hand, goes there as soon as she arrives, and the two of them...
Yan Ning wasn't annoyed by her sarcastic tone, and asked with a smile, "Is the princess jealous?"
"Pooh!"
Li Yunru spat at him and said sharply, "Who do you think you are that I'm bothered by you!"
"Then don't be angry anymore." He picked up her slender white hand, kissed her palm, and said, "It's not worth getting sick from getting angry."
She spoke softly and gently, but that was precisely what she cared about most, without offering any explanation.
She was already disgusted when she thought it was some other woman, but now that she heard it was her cousin Cui Wan, she was even more annoyed.
Everyone knows that the Yan and Cui families have been linked by marriage for generations, and before marrying her, Cui Wan and Yan Ning were already a couple in name only.
This is what she heard from the people of Jiankang after she came to live there after her marriage. They said that although the marriage was not yet finalized, it was only a matter of time.
Those sighs of regret made it seem as if she, the lawfully wedded wife, was the third party.
Li Yunru was furious at the time and returned in a fit of rage. Yan Ning said, "My cousin and I have only a childhood friendship, nothing more."
She didn't believe it, but before she left, her mother had told her that once she arrived in Jiankang, she should restrain her temper, live a good life with Yan Ning, and avoid too many conflicts. She didn't want to cause trouble in less than a month after leaving home and worry her parents, so she put the matter behind her.
Afterwards, Yan Ning never mentioned this cousin again, and the two continued to live like this, but unexpectedly, she appeared again today.
That's the most crucial thing.
Yan Ning even turned down her invitation to go boating on the lake because of her!
Thinking this way, she became even more depressed and turned her head away, ignoring him. Yan Ning saw her like this and felt somewhat helpless, but for a moment he didn't know what to say. After a while, he finally found an excuse to speak and said, "I'll call someone over to help you wash up."
He was about to leave when Li Yunru called out to him, "No need. You will serve me today."
Yan Ning stopped in her tracks and turned to look at her.
"What's wrong? Did you suffer some injustice?"
"No."
He still wore that calm and collected smile, revealing no emotion. He simply walked over, slipped the embroidered shoes from the footstool onto her feet, and said, "It's my pleasure."
Li Yunru utterly disliked his smile. It seemed gentle and harmless, but you could never truly understand what he was thinking behind that smile.
These aloof and proud scions of noble families keep their thoughts deeply hidden.
Um.
Except at night.
Li Yunru had a purpose in making things difficult for people. She spent a long time choosing a dress and couldn't decide on one. After finally deciding, it took her a lot of effort to wash and dress before she could get to the dressing table.
The bronze mirror reflected a stunningly beautiful face, though it looked somewhat haggard, with dark circles under its eyes.
It's all his fault!
Li Yunru cursed inwardly, but her face remained sullen as she said, "Make up properly. I'm going boating on the lake today. If you can't outshine everyone else, I, the princess, will hold you responsible!"
Yan Ning chuckled and replied, "Okay."
He walked over, first glancing at the things on the table, then scrutinizing her face for a while. He then took the makeup tools from the embroidered silver box and began to apply makeup to her. Half an hour later, a jade hairpin and flower-shaped makeup appeared before her eyes. The makeup was applied with a perfect balance of light and heavy strokes, neither too much nor too little, which diminished her beauty. Everything was just right. It also covered the dark circles under her eyes, making her round almond eyes shine like bright pearls.
"Not bad." Li Yunru nodded in satisfaction, but then changed the subject and asked, "Young master, how many young ladies did you do your makeup to develop such skill?"
Yan Ning smiled and gazed into the man's watery eyes, saying, "In my dreams, a thousand times over."
Li Yunru blushed and spat again, "Pah, you smooth talker, always saying nice things!"
"Truthfully." He hooked the man's chin with two fingers, forcing him to look directly at him, and said, "I've dreamt of drawing eyebrows and applying makeup for the princess a thousand times over."
Whether it was genuine or not, the words were indeed quite pleasant to hear. Li Yunru was captivated by them, and most of her unpleasantness from yesterday dissipated. She said, "This will not happen again," and put the matter behind her.
Having broken their promise yesterday, Li Yunru dragged Yan Ning to Wangjianghu again today.
It was a beautiful summer day, and the lakeside was bustling with people. Many people were drinking and singing on the lake, enjoying themselves immensely.
Li Yunru was a lively person, and seeing this, she was even more eager to join in. She picked out a flower boat and bought two jars of osmanthus wine from the lake, intending to go aboard and indulge in some refined pursuits and have some fun. However, before she could board the boat, Yan Ning was called away by the Yan family.
"Hmph! Fine, I'll leave then. I refuse to believe I can't have fun without him!"
Watching the departing figure, Li Yunru felt a surge of anger and impulsively jumped onto the boat.
As the boat sailed further and further away, it reached the center of the lake. Looking around, she saw only desolation and sparse human habitation. Unable to contain her sorrow any longer, tears streamed down her face.
She came to Jiankang that year. She seemed to live in a beautiful mansion, with no worries about food or clothing, and was surrounded by servants when she went out. She was extremely noble, but few people could understand the bitterness in her heart.
She has no parents, relatives, or friends here. The only person she can rely on is Yan Ning. But he is a thoughtful young man. He seems to be very obedient to her, but in reality, he is cold-hearted. He can be very good to her when he wants to, but when he doesn't, he can abandon her for anyone else, just like he is now.
The powerful families looked down on her, a princess from a commoner background, and openly or secretly ridiculed her at various events, comparing her to Cui Wan, saying that if it weren't for her military power in Jiangzuo, the person at the banquet with them today should be Cui Wan, not her.
She couldn't stand it, so she overturned the table. They then said, "As expected of someone from a commoner family, petty and ignorant of manners."
Either way, they'll have something to say. As for the mother-in-law, she can't be relied on at all; she'll just say, "I know the princess is of noble status and deeply favored by His Majesty and the Empress. No one in the capital dares to criticize her, and she's used to having the final say. But this is Jiankang, and besides, the princess is already married to someone else. She should learn to behave more dignifiedly and not embarrass her husband..."
She always comes and goes with these rules and regulations, and right and wrong are never important to them!
"Princess." Seeing her like this, Shu Yun quickly patted her back to comfort her.
"I'm fine!"
Li Yunru sniffed twice, wiped away her tears, and regained her composure.
She won't cry!
It's not worth crying for these people!
Li Yunru asked Shu Yun to bring over the two jars of wine she had bought, and then tilted her head back and drank from the mouth of the jar.
When you have something on your mind, you're more likely to get drunk. After only a few sips of light wine, she heard a dazed, teasing voice.
"What kind of young master is so inconsiderate as to let such a beautiful young lady go out and get drunk all by herself?"
"Young lady, drinking alone is no fun. Why don't you come aboard my boat and we can enjoy a drink and a cruise together?"
"How dare you! Do you know who you are standing in front of..." Shu Yun scolded, but Li Yunru responded first.
"OK!"
"Princess……"
Shu Yun advised, "He is the second son of the Chen family. He has a bad reputation and is not a good person. We'd better not go and provoke him."
Li Yunru was drunk and fuming, so she wouldn't listen to any of this advice. She changed boats without listening to any of it, and Shu Yun had no choice but to follow.
The sound of the pipa on the boat reached my ears, as if weeping and lamenting.
Li Yunru listened intently and drank several more mouthfuls.
"Drinking like this is so boring, how about we play a game instead?"
The man put his arm around her waist and breathed softly into her ear. The strong, foul breath made Li Yunru frown.
Shu Yun noticed her master's discomfort and stepped forward to protect him, shouting angrily, "You audacious scoundrel, release the princess!"
"So noisy!"
The shout had no deterrent effect whatsoever; the man ignored it and became even more emboldened.
“Princess, this is perfect. I’ve never played with a princess before.”
He laughed lewdly, and the others on the boat joined in the laughter, adding fuel to the fire: "I heard that Yan Sanlang married a princess, who is incredibly beautiful and has captivated all the handsome and refined men. The second young master is truly blessed. I think this beauty is no less stunning than the princess."
"Pooh!"
"That Yan Sanlang is a real hypocrite; I despise people like him the most."
Two years ago, he saw a beautiful woman at a Buddhist temple and was about to have some fun when Yan Changjun came out to cause trouble, and from then on, the two became enemies.
Last year, he heard that someone had married a princess, and he wanted to get a piece of the action, to let others taste the pleasure of stealing someone else's beauty. However, the princess's residence was surrounded like an iron barrel, and when the princess went out, a group of people followed her from front to back, so he couldn't get a chance.
He had caught a glimpse of her from afar at some gatherings of the Chen and Yan families, and her graceful figure remained etched in his mind.
Now that they've met in person, they're even more excited, their arms around her waist becoming even more brazen, their eyes lingering inappropriately.
“Princess, since you like it this way, then we will…”
He exhaled a breath of hot air and began to behave in a licentious manner.
"Stop!" Shu Yun shouted, but the people inside were all his men, and doing so would only alert them, and he was taken hostage.
“Your maid is quite ignorant. It’s alright, I’ll have someone teach her manners.”
"Is that so?" Li Yunru's eyes darkened, her voice low and muffled, tinged with the smell of alcohol. "Then how about I teach you some manners?"
With lightning speed, she pulled out the gold hairpin from her hair and stabbed it straight down to his groin. Before he could react or dodge, he was stabbed squarely and immediately let out a scream like a pig being slaughtered.
"You shameless woman, don't you even know who you are? How dare you lay a hand on me, a princess!"
Still not satisfied with her words, she struck him twice more, and blood spurted out, staining her Xiangfei-colored silk skirt red, like a magnificent red peony.
"It's over, it's over!"
The people on the boat screamed in panic, all wanting to run, but they were in the middle of the lake, with nowhere to retreat...
The kind-hearted pipa player warned, "You've gotten yourself into big trouble."
A note from the author:
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Recommended reading by a close friend:
"Why Hasn't My Senior Sister Replenished My Essence Yet?" by Ze Youding, featuring a male protagonist who is a dark and cunning ghost, a female protagonist who is a dog-training master and a seemingly innocent but actually cunning dog, and a second male lead who is an aloof and seemingly innocent but actually cunning man.
Introduction:
Yunqi will always remember that when he first became the personal disciple of the Yuezhi Sect leader, his aptitude and talent were not as good as his senior brothers, and his learning was not as good as that of many disciples. His only special feature was his special physique.
—If one engages in dual cultivation with someone whose destiny is purely Yin, their cultivation level can be greatly increased.
The young sect leader, Chen Zaiye, happens to have a purely Yin destiny.
Therefore, people secretly mocked him as the Chen family's "childhood sweetheart" and "furnace."
He was furious at the time, and this also made him hate his senior sister whom he had only met a few times. He even fantasized maliciously about how wonderful it would be if she disappeared forever.
But he will always remember that senior sister who was completely unaware that she was disliked, who accompanied him to practice martial arts and taught him to write for the sake of a bet that was so small. On countless dark nights, she would lean against the window of his study, holding a book, and patiently explain things to him.
He didn't know when it started, but he began to think that being a furnace cauldron wasn't so bad.
Unfortunately, Chen Zaiye later betrayed the righteous path and disappeared without a trace. When he ascended to the position of sect leader, both the child groom and the furnace cauldron had no choice but to give up.
Until that day, by sheer coincidence, he finally met her.
He cautiously tried to persuade her to stay, but was met with a mocking expression and a cold, sharp question.
"If I become the sect leader and disappear forever, wouldn't my junior brother have gotten what he wanted?"
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