Chapter 91 A Seemingly Old Friend Searches for His Wife Across a Thousand Miles
Yuan Yan smelled the familiar scent mixed in with the other ingredients, which further confirmed his judgment.
"You smell wonderful, what kind of cosmetics did you use?" She casually lifted a strand of Lü Qi's black hair.
Lü Qi stepped aside slightly, lowered her head and pretended to be shy, "It's just the usual things for men, nothing special."
Yuan Yan stroked his cheek again; it wasn't smooth to the touch, but rather had a distinctly powdery feel.
"Such a beautiful woman, why does she need to apply so much powder?"
"The young man's appearance is not as good as the older brothers in the neighborhood, so we can only put some effort into his makeup."
Luqi pursed her lips. She didn't know if Yuan Yan's actions meant he had discovered something. She wanted to get away from her hand but didn't dare to be too obvious, so she could only endure it and let Yuan Yan examine her face.
"But in my eyes, the beauty is far more outstanding than all your brothers."
Yuan Yan ignored him, and stroked down from Lü Qi's charming eyes and delicate, upturned nose to her long, fair neck.
Luqi felt extremely uncomfortable being touched. Wherever Yuan Yan touched, it was as if a flame ignited beneath her skin, a tingling, itchy sensation spreading from the depths of her heart upwards, causing all the blood to rush to her face, instantly staining it with a thin blush.
He didn't try to dodge anymore, but instead pretended to be shy, gently covering Yuan Yan's hand and drawing out his voice as if he were being coquettish.
"No, Your Highness, do you treat every man like this..."
Lü Qi couldn't control her body's reactions; every time Yuan Yan touched her, her whole body would involuntarily go limp.
However, deep down, she felt a mix of resentment and annoyance because of Yuan Yan's indiscriminate teasing of men, and she bit her lip and said...
"How am I?" Yuan Yan stroked his neck lazily, as if casually caressing a swan, looking at the pale blue veins that had appeared due to his emotional state.
"She's just this kind of...closeness to every man."
Lu Qi suppressed the urge to clench her teeth and tried to control her emotions, attempting to speak casually in a teasing tone.
"How could that be? I have always disdained those vulgar women, and I only treat beauties this way."
Yuan Yan smiled gently, and the hand that was caressing Lü Qi's neck suddenly tightened slightly, applying a little more force.
This action immediately made Lü Qi feel like she couldn't breathe.
He didn't expect Yuan Yan to suddenly grab his neck. His pupils dilated slightly, and pale blue veins appeared on his neck. He tilted his head back and breathed heavily under Yuan Yan's hand, feeling a slight obstruction in his throat.
Like a fawn pinned down by a wolfhound by the neck, it could only lie prostrate under the wolfhound's muzzle, emitting weak moans.
Fortunately, the process only lasted a few seconds, and Yuan Yan released his hand as if nothing had happened.
"Uh...ha..." Lü Qi breathed rapidly, her chest heaving, and the red at the corners of her eyes deepened.
It's been so long since I last saw Yuan Yan, how come he's become so unpredictable and seems even more enigmatic?
"Your Highness, why treat the enemy like this?"
"But did Lu say something wrong that displeased His Highness?"
Lü Qi was starting to feel overwhelmed. She instinctively sensed danger and thought that if she continued to be alone with Yuan Yan like this, something bad might happen.
She spoke pitifully, her voice slightly hoarse from her injured throat, while quietly retreating and secretly reaching her hand to her waist to take out a sleeping potion she had prepared beforehand.
[Wait, is it marked?]
Before Yuan Yan could answer, it suddenly realized what was happening.
[Host, this incense is from that Yu'er from last time, so is this man also one of them?]
What do you think?
The system was still speculating when it saw that Yuan Yan had already held his breath and was circulating his internal energy.
No, when did this happen?
The system was shocked and somewhat disoriented by Yuan Yan's actions, feeling that it had wasted its effort in reminding her earlier.
It said, feeling wronged, "Host, you found out a long time ago, why didn't you tell me..."
“I just asked you that, but you didn’t understand.” Yuan Yan raised an eyebrow slightly.
Moreover, telling the system what the point is, and then coming to this conclusion after a lot of speculation, is really stupid.
"The beauty is perfect in every way, except that she looks a bit like one of my old friends, which reminds me of that disobedient old friend, and that makes me a little angry," Yuan Yan said slowly, his phoenix eyes slightly narrowed.
Lu Qi was taken aback by her words, and when she heard Yuan Yan utter the words "old friend," a bad premonition immediately rose in her heart.
What old friend? Where did this old friend come from?
He's disguised himself so well that he bears no resemblance to his original appearance. Yuan Yan didn't recognize him last time, so there's no reason he'd be exposed this time.
That's right... Yuan Yan is always cunning. He does this every time. He must be bluffing him again!
A hint of panic flashed in Lü Qi's beautiful eyes, but he quickly suppressed that flicker of guilt.
"What is Your Highness saying? I don't understand," Green Qi said, feigning ignorance.
However, his palms were covered in a thin layer of sweat, damp and somewhat hot.
The incense should be working by now, why isn't it working?
Luqi dragged out the time, but her heart was pounding. Under Yuan Yan's gaze, she felt like she was sitting on pins and needles, and could only maintain her expression with a stiff smile on her lips.
"Hehe." Yuan Yan found it amusing to see Lü Qi's stubborn denial and laughed out loud at his surprised expression.
He's gone mad! Yuan Yan must have gone crazy fighting on the battlefield and hurt his head.
Luqi nervously clutched the incense at his waist, praying that the drug would take effect quickly. He simply couldn't bear to ride in the carriage with Yuan Yan like this.
"Your Highness has arrived," a guard announced from outside the carriage.
Contrary to expectations, the incense failed to incapacitate Yuan Yan; instead, the Prince's mansion arrived first.
If we enter the Prince's residence now, it will probably be even more difficult to escape later.
After getting off the carriage, Lü Qi found it difficult to move her feet.
"Why isn't the beauty coming in yet?" Yuan Yan stopped and looked at him.
"The enemy is slow on its feet, so Your Highness has arrived."
Lü Qi quickly put away the sleeping potion. Hearing Yuan Yan's urging, she gritted her teeth and followed, feeling like a lamb willingly walking into a tiger's den, everything gradually slipping out of her control.
As expected, Yuan Yan led him to the courtyard and summoned a group of male servants without saying a word.
"In my opinion, a beauty is naturally beautiful, and these cosmetics on her face are superfluous."
Yuan Yan gazed at Lü Qi's astonished face and spoke slowly.
"Someone come here."
Yuan Yan's voice exploded in Lü Qi's heart, suddenly turning into a buzzing thunder, "Help the beauty fetch water to wash her face."
Lü Qi, unsure of where she had slipped up, instinctively took a step back upon hearing this, a look of panic flashing in her eyes.
He quickly shook his head.
"We are ugly and dare not offend Your Highness's eyes with our original appearance." Lü Qi dodged the hands that the male servants reached out from the left and right, and hurriedly took a few steps back, still struggling.
However, Yuan Yan ignored him and sat down in the center seat, his eyes fixed on Lü Qi.
"Hurry up, don't keep me waiting."
The male servants surrounded Lü Qi and quickly smeared the substance on his face.
“Young master, it’s just washing your face, what’s there to be shy about? Countless men would love to be near His Highness Prince Qin. If you could actually catch his eye, you would be incredibly lucky.”
"Young master, young master? Stop moving. Just cooperate with these captives."
...
Amidst a cacophony of chatter, part of the disguise on Lü Qi's face was forcibly washed away.
Yuan Yan looked at the smeared face and was about to tell the male servants to wash it a few more times when he heard Lü Qi finally succumb to the torment and cry out pitifully.
"Your Highness, please let these people out. This lowly captive will confess to anything."
Seeing Yuan Yan's determination to get to the bottom of things, Lü Qi felt that if she didn't confess soon, he would probably lose face.
Yuan Yan calmly observed his desperate attempt to suppress his emotions for a few seconds before finally saying mercifully, "Alright, you may leave."
"Yes, Your Highness." The servants all withdrew from the room and considerately closed the door behind them.
Now, only Yuan Yan and he were left in the room.
Luqi looked at Yuanyan with resentment, wondering how things had turned out this way.
Yuan Yan instructed: "Wash your face first."
"Do I really have to wash it?" Lü Qi bit her lip again, making her rosy lips even darker.
"What do you think?" Yuan Yan showed no mercy.
Lü Qi knew that if he did not obey, he might immediately face Yuan Yan's harsh measures.
So Lüqi slowly took out a small porcelain bottle from her waist, poured the liquid inside onto her hands, and began to rub it on her face.
After he washed his face, he raised his head, and a familiar, beautiful face appeared before Yuan Yan's eyes.
【Huh...isn't that so-and-so?!】The system glanced at it and couldn't help but drop its jaw in surprise.
Yuan Yan, however, had anticipated this. He glanced at "Lu Qi" and gave a faint snort.
"Where are the guards? Seize this assassin for me!" she said.
When Yu'er, who had revealed her true face, saw that Yuan Yan did not show any unusual expression, she knew that she had indeed been exposed long ago.
Upon hearing that Yuan Yan had not asked any questions, he was about to call for his arrest.
Being captured as an assassin on Yuan Yan's territory, what good could possibly come of it?
Yu'er was truly panicked this time. She immediately threw herself at Yuan Yan's feet, grabbed her arm, and pleaded softly, "Your Highness, don't you recognize Yu'er?"
Her voice was full of grievance, but it was hard to tell how much of it was genuine.
The guards rushed in upon hearing His Highness's order, but hesitated upon seeing the scene inside, unsure whether to take action.
Yuan Yan had a jade pendant hanging from his body, and the two were in an awkward position.
Seeing Yu'er beg for mercy, she raised her eyes and gave the guard a look, silently ordering him to retreat.
"Oh? Are you talking about Yu'er, the one I know?" Yuan Yan looked down at Yu'er, his expression unwavering.
"I only know one Yu'er. She was my servant, but she was treacherous and disloyal. She disappeared quietly when I was assassinated in Chuzhou."
"Besides that, who else is Yu'er?" Yuan Yan said mercilessly.
Yu'er's pitiful expression froze instantly. Hearing this, even with his thick skin, he still felt extremely uncomfortable.
“Yu’er didn’t mean it. After Your Highness was assassinated that day, Yu’er was so anxious that she got separated from the guards. She inquired about the news for a long time before she learned that Your Highness had been rescued.”
"I wanted to go to the capital to search for him, but it was not easy for a weak man like me to travel such a long distance alone. I suffered a lot on the way and was delayed for several months before I finally made it here."
"It's one thing for Your Highness not to care about the captive, but now you're going to doubt the captive's sincerity..."
Yu'er blinked, and a few tears welled up in her eyes. She tightened her grip on Yuan Yan's arm, tilted her little face up, and looked pitiful.
[This lie is too clumsy!] The system was speechless. This lie was full of loopholes. If it couldn't even fool it, who else would it be able to fool? The host wasn't stupid and wouldn't be so easily fooled.
As it was thinking this, it saw that Yuan Yan did not immediately react, but instead took Yu'er's hand and played with it on his lap.
"Then why didn't you immediately acknowledge me when you saw me?"
"And what are those things on your face? Why have you even changed your appearance?" Yuan Yan asked slowly.
Yu'er was taken aback. "Well, that's because I'm currently staying at a music hall, and the owner is watching over me, so I didn't dare to recognize you rashly. I planned to meet with Your Highness privately later, but who knew Your Highness had already recognized me."
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