Chapter 72 The Lost Princess Bai Yueguang 3 Asks Him to Serve
In this world, Wen Qianning was reborn as the princess of Xuanping Kingdom. She had been pampered since childhood. She was the apple of her father's eye, enjoying the best clothes and food and receiving endless love.
However, behind this overwhelming favor lies a turbulent era. The world is now divided, with numerous states vying for power and war raging everywhere. Xuanping is the most powerful of the states, with hopes of unifying the country. While Dayan may not be as powerful as Xuanping, it is equally ambitious and keen on annexation.
In the original novel, it's precisely within this context that the young protagonist enters the Xuanping Palace as a hostage. Born into the imperial family of Dayan, he's experienced sibling rivalry and palace intrigues since childhood, becoming accustomed to the fickleness of human nature. Consequently, he maintains a reserved, unpredictable demeanor towards outsiders, rarely revealing his emotions.
Wen Qianning, transformed into Princess Zhaohua, is unparalleled in beauty, flamboyant, and radiant. She's also spoiled and willful, looking down on the hostages of other nations living under someone else's roof. She harbors no genuine feelings for the male protagonist, merely teasing and teasing him when she's bored, a way to pass the time.
She treats the male protagonist like a carefully nurtured pet, occasionally giving him a good look, but more often than not, she commands and teases him.
Unexpectedly, it was this casual gift that lit a single ray of light in the heart of the dull and lonely young man. He regarded her as the irreplaceable white moonlight in the world, and engraved her deeply in his heart.
However... Bai Yueguang got bored very quickly. When the hero really fell for her, she immediately turned cold and told him the truth cruelly. All this was just her way of humiliating him. She didn't expect that he actually fell in love with her.
As history rolled on, Ji Hanlin, after spending his days as a hostage, finally returned to Dayan. He quickly eliminated dissidents, inherited the throne, unified the country, and established a legacy that would endure for generations to come.
But things took a turn for the worse for Xuanping. The throne, once the most promising unifier of the empire, fell to the eldest prince after Emperor Xuanping was suddenly assassinated. Unfortunately, the eldest prince was incompetent and the once-powerful Xuanping quickly declined under his leadership. Princess Zhaohua became a victim in this power struggle, offered to an outsider by her weak brother to maintain his rule.
The once noble princess could not bear the humiliation and finally drank the poisoned wine with hatred and died...
Unlike the previous worlds he'd experienced, this world's hero didn't have a so-called official heroine. In the future, the hero, Ji Han, will rule the world, his harem overflowing with beauties, while Bai Yueguang, his initially captivated lover but ultimately humiliated by her, is destined to meet a bitter end, lost in the dust of this chaotic world.
…
"Princess, this is the homework that Master Ji copied."
The voice of her personal maid Zhuyue rang out, pulling Wen Qianning back from her thoughts on the system task.
She was leaning on the brocade couch, bored and dazed. Her eyes moved lazily over, took the neatly copied booklet, and opened it casually.
As expected of the male lead, his handwriting is quite beautiful. She thought to herself, her eyebrows slightly raised, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curl up.
"What about the others?" Wen Qianning raised her eyes and asked casually.
Zhu Yue lowered her head and replied cautiously, "Princess, Master Ji said to just hand over the homework to me. I'll hand it over to you and then go back."
Wen Qianning frowned, a look of displeasure rising to her face. She slammed the book shut and said in a lazy, yet somewhat cold voice, "Let him come back."
Zhuyue was stunned, a look of embarrassment on her face: "Princess, it's late at night now, you should go to bed early..."
Before she finished speaking, Wen Qianning's eyes swept over her coldly: "Are you questioning what this princess means?"
The atmosphere suddenly became heavy. Zhu Yue's heart trembled, and she knelt down hurriedly, her forehead almost hitting the ground: "I dare not, I dare not!"
"Then go quickly." Wen Qianning did not intend to make things difficult for Zhuyue. She just wanted to maintain her original personality, so she did not continue to make things difficult for her. She just slowly turned her eyes away and leaned back on the embroidered pillow.
The young man has a slender back, and looks particularly cold and aloof from behind.
Ji Hanlin had already walked out of Wen Qianning's palace when he heard hurried footsteps behind him. Then a palace servant hurriedly caught up with him, "Master Ji, please stay! The princess has ordered you to return."
Hearing this, Ji Hanlin paused slightly and pursed his thin lips.
After a moment, he turned around, nodded calmly, and went back with Zhuyue.
The house was filled with warm fragrance and bright lights, which was completely different from where he lived. Although it was winter, he didn't feel cold at all.
The pretty girl was lazily leaning on the couch, her black hair half loose, which made her skin look snow-white. She looked at the boy who slowly walked in, and a hint of an ambiguous smile appeared in her eyes.
"Mr. Ji, you're so slow to arrive, you handed in your homework and then just left." Wen Qianning raised an eyebrow, her tone arrogant, "You're so arrogant, you dare to make this princess wait for you."
Ji Hanlin's expression was cold. He neither argued nor flattered her. He simply bowed quietly and said, "Excuse me, Princess, why did you call me?"
"Hmm..." Wen Qianning chuckled softly, a malicious smile curling up the corner of her mouth, "It's just that I saw that Master Ji copied the homework for me very well, so I wanted to reward you."
Immediately, she raised her slender finger and gently hooked it. The palace attendant immediately understood and brought a gold-inlaid jade tray. In the jade tray, warm water was swirling, dotted with a few red plum petals, and the fragrance was lingering.
Wen Qianning turned back and looked at Ji Hanlin. Her tone was lazy and every word was commanding: "Come, wash my feet."
The young man had cold features, his body stood straight and motionless. If you looked closely, you could see that the depths of his eyes were as cold as a layer of frost.
After a long silence, Ji Hanlin slowly walked forward without saying a word. He silently reached out to take the precious jade plate and squatted down.
In the candlelight, his back looked thin and cold.
Wen Qianning looked at it, feeling a strange pleasure in her heart. She lifted the hem of her skirt, revealing a section of her snow-white calves, her ankles as slender as a knife, and her skin as smooth as jade.
The girl's toes were small and painted with light pink nail polish, which made them look round and cute under the light.
The customs of the Xuanping people were already open, and Princess Zhaohua always acted as she pleased, so she dared to act so recklessly.
Wen Qianning gently dipped her feet into the water, the warm water enveloping her ankles. She exhaled with satisfaction, leaned back comfortably on the soft couch, and sighed, "So comfortable."
Ji Hanlin lowered his head and placed his hands on her ankles. His palms were cold, in stark contrast to the warmth of the water.
Wen Qianning found it increasingly amusing. She lifted her foot slightly, and water droplets slid down her ankle, deliberately wetting the boy's sleeve. She looked down at him with a spoiled tone, "Watch out, don't hurt this princess."
"Yes," he replied, his voice calm.
The palace maids held their breath and dared not make a sound.
Seeing Ji Hanlin's patience, Princess Zhaohua smiled with satisfaction. He was clearly destined to be a rebellious, favored son of heaven, the hero of a novel, but now, no matter what, he could only bow his head and allow her to play with him.
She reached out and played with her drooping hair. "From now on, all of my homework will be yours. I'm too lazy to do it myself. Humph, it's an honor for you to copy my homework."
The young man raised his eyes, his gaze as deep as ink, then lowered his head again, his face still calm: "Thank you, Princess."
"Why do you always look so dead?" Wen Qianning was dissatisfied with Ji Hanlin's lack of reaction, resistance, and even lack of emotional fluctuation.
"..." Ji Hanlin felt helpless. Princess Zhaohua just wanted to humiliate him. He didn't resist, but she was still not satisfied?
"Ha." She scoffed, leaning back and resting her elbows on the armrests. "This princess wants you to laugh now. If you can't laugh, you're dead!"
The young man paused, and forced a very shallow arc at the corner of his mouth, which was not a smile at all.
"What kind of smile is that...?" Wen Qianning saw it and felt even more annoyed. "Perfunctory."
She stared at him speechlessly for a long moment, then quickly raised her chin proudly again: "Remember this for me. I want to see how long you can endure this."
"Go away."
*
Winter mornings always come late, but as soon as the sky is slightly bright, Wen Qianning is awakened by the maids, washed and changed clothes, and went to attend the lessons of the palace school teachers as usual.
Wen Qianning was extremely impatient. She was naturally afraid of being constrained, but the palace had so many rules that it was suffocating. Although she was a high-ranking princess, she was also subject to many constraints. Daily morning lessons, poetry and books, dance and music, women's work, etiquette... all weighed on her shoulders one after another, leaving her no time to even breathe.
She tilted her head and let the palace maid draw her eyebrows. Her eyes were wandering and her mind had already flown elsewhere.
"Princess, His Majesty has given special instructions for etiquette class today. Please pay attention and don't be distracted." The nanny gave instructions while inserting a gold hairpin into her bun.
Wen Qianning hummed weakly and raised his hand to support his cheek.
After finally getting through the boring etiquette class, Wen Qianning couldn't wait to rush to Emperor Xuanping.
Wen Chengyan was writing and reviewing when the eunuch hurriedly announced, "Princess Zhaohua requests an audience."
A young girl with a sweet smile, wearing a light gold palace skirt that she had just changed out of for etiquette practice, trotted in on the brocade carpet and called out sweetly from afar, "Father!" She walked around the hallway and stood lightly beside the imperial desk, looking up with a smile on her face.
"Skipped etiquette class again?" Wen Chengyan raised his eyes and smiled helplessly.
"No way." Wen Qianning dragged out the words, blinking, "My daughter has been very serious today, so I thought of coming to ask for a reward from the emperor."
"Oh?" He raised an eyebrow. "Go ahead."
"My daughter wants someone..." She leaned closer and smiled softly, "Let the hostage from Dayan stay with me."
The attendants on both sides heard it and became alarmed.
Although Xuanping's sexual barriers weren't serious, the princess's rash request was bizarre no matter how you looked at it! Could it be that their princess had taken a fancy to that hostage from Dayan?
Perhaps he also suspected this, Emperor Xuanping's eyes darkened, his face no longer smiling, and his tone was full of inquiry: "How could my Zhaohua be so interested in a proton? Could it be..."
"Father, what are you thinking about? I'm not interested at all." Wen Qianning was not intimidated at all. She curled her lips and looked nonchalant. She lifted the hem of her satin skirt a little and fiddled with it casually. "My daughter was just bored and wanted to bully him. Isn't this how hostages from other countries are used?"
After she finished speaking, she tilted her head and added, feigning impatience: "Doesn't the emperor love Zhaohua the most? All Zhaohua wants is a small hostage. It's not like the emperor wouldn't even satisfy me with that, is it?"
In the end, unable to resist Wen Qianning's request, Emperor Xuanping chuckled, "Haha, my daughter is indeed straightforward." He tapped the jade ruyi lightly on the table, "Since you find it interesting, then let him do as you please. He will obey your orders."
If Zhao Hua likes, then there's nothing wrong with letting Ji Hanlin stay by her side. What kind of trouble can a mere proton cause?
Wen Qianning's eyes lit up, and her smile was as brilliant as a blooming flower: "Father is the best!" She stood on tiptoe, took Emperor Xuanping's sleeve and shook it familiarly.
"However, he is a member of the Dayan royal family after all, and he is a gossipmonger in the palace. You should be more restrained in your behavior. If you spread inappropriate gossip, I will be unhappy." Emperor Xuanping stopped laughing, but still did not forget to give him a warning.
"I know." Wen Qianning responded readily.
After achieving her goal, Wen Qianning smiled and took a step back, bowing gracefully: "Then my daughter will take her leave first."
As soon as she left the imperial study, she ordered her attendants, "Go call the hostage Dayan and tell him that from today on, he must serve this princess well every day."
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Author's words: Red envelopes will be dropped in the comment section of this chapter [scatter flowers]
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