The Prince Is Actually a Beauty - Chapter 2

Chapter 2

In the tenth year of the Northern An era, in the Northern Chang Kingdom, Emperor Beikang was assassinated upon his ascension to the throne. Lin Ruhai, the only son of the Lin family of Annan, brought his newlywed wife and traveled far to the ice mountains of the Northern Plains to find a thousand-year-old snow lotus. He rushed it to the palace, which saved Emperor Beikang’s life.

When Emperor Beikang ascended the throne, in the Yuanfeng year, Lin Ruhai was conferred as Prince Yuan, and a thousand taels of gold were bestowed upon him for his princely residence in the northern city of the imperial capital. He also promised that if Prince Yuan had a daughter, she would be betrothed to the current crown prince, forming a marriage alliance.

In the same year, the Medicine King had a son, named Lin Yunnan, whom he cherished greatly.

The congratulatory gift from Emperor Beikang was actually a land grant, with the title of Medicine King.

In the fourteenth year of Yuanfeng, Yuefeng Street.

Full Moon Tower, the Zuiyue Pavilion on the second floor.

A small person was sitting with legs crossed on a soft chair, dressed in black silk brocade, with black eyes like diamonds and lips like flowers. Although he looked cute and charming, he exuded an aura of being difficult to provoke from his bones. This was none other than Lin Yunnan, the only son of Prince Yuan.

The courtesans of the Full Moon Tower initially found this young medicine master cute and even tried to tease and please him. After witnessing this young master’s shameless and rascally behavior, they were even trembling when going to the Drunken Moon Pavilion to play music and dance, fearing that this little bully would be unhappy.

“Where’s the girl I asked for? Why isn’t she here yet?” Lin Yunnan, with the help of a little maidservant, ate a grape and then licked his fingers, still wanting more.

It made the little maid’s face flush.

“Replying… replying to the Medicine Prince, Miss Hong Mei is unwell, not… not convenient to come and serve.” The little maid who was serving tea said.

Cai Mei stood to the side, watching her master’s one glance scare the little maid so much that her hand, which was pouring tea, trembled three times. She sighed helplessly and said, “I’ll do it, you all go down first.”

“Yes.” The little maids respectfully responded and retreated.

“Miss Hong Mei is probably entangled by other guests.” Cai Mei held a cup of warm tea in her hand and handed it to Lin Yunnan’s lips.

Drinking the warm tea from the beauty’s hand, Lin Yunnan lazily stood up and stretched, “Let’s go, rescue the beauty.”

“But at this time, without the red velvet brought by Miss Hong Mei, the medicine cannot be prepared. Once your medicine’s effect wears off, you will regain your female voice. It’s better to leave it to Cai Mei.”

Lin Yunnan rubbed her temples. In the beginning, the emperor bestowed a marriage, and her father and mother, in order to prevent her from marrying into the deep palace and becoming a puppet of imperial power, risked the risk of deceiving the emperor and being beheaded and exterminated to conceal her female identity.

For a long time, she acted cautiously, fearing that her identity would be exposed and implicate her parents.

Cai Mei was a little girl when her mother, Qian Xi, saved her from the south of the Yangtze River. She grew up with her since childhood, and they were as close as sisters, always calling each other master and servant in front of others. She was naturally loyal to her.

In order to conceal her female identity, she needed to take medicine regularly for many years. And the key ingredient in preparing the medicine was red velvet, which likes shade and needs to be nourished with the fingertip blood of a virgin.

And Miss Hong Mei of the Full Moon Tower was the one who raised the velvet. At the moment, Lin Yunnan was not convenient to take a concubine or establish a wife, so she could only let Hong Mei be a clean artist playing the piano and dancing in the Full Moon Tower.

“Go quickly and return quickly.”

“Yes, master.” Cai Mei responded, picked up the pear wood stick standing by the bed in the Full Moon Tower, and pushed the door open and went out.

This posture, really, who did she follow?

The room was stuffy from the brazier. Lin Yunnan pushed open the wooden window, and the cold wind blew in. She looked down from the window.

It was near the New Year, and Yuefeng Street was decorated with lanterns and filled with the sounds of people.

Amidst the bustling conversations and the clinking of cups, she caught a faint cry.

Without thinking, she supported the window frame with one hand and jumped out.

In the backyard of the Full Moon Tower, an old woman was wielding a long whip, hitting the person huddled in front of her. She was also cursing, “I’ll beat you to death, you little beggar! You don’t work hard and still steal food.”

The long whip struck the back, and the dirty clothes were stained with streaks of blood.

The beaten youth was wearing a gray, thin coat, huddled in a ball, not daring to resist or dodge.

Around them, the maids and servants of the Full Moon Tower were watching the show and laughing, forming a full circle. They watched others’ pain with open laughter.

Through the layers of people, the youth looked up as if sensing something. His tear-filled peach blossom eyes met Lin Yunnan’s, filled with despair.

The person immediately turned away, treating her as someone who had come to watch the show.

“Who is this person?” Lin Yunnan handed a piece of silver to a servant beside her who was watching the show.

The servant, with a smile on his face, accepted it. “This young master doesn’t know. This little beast was bought by the Full Moon Tower from a human trafficker for a few coins. He has some looks. A few days ago, he was brought out to entertain guests for the first time, and the eldest young master of the Wang family took a liking to him. The tower sent him in, but this little beast, thinking himself superior, almost bit off the eldest young master of the Wang family’s precious thing. Young Master Wang was frightened, and the madam said all sorts of good things and returned all the money to calm things down. Then, this little beast was whipped dozens of times, tied up, and locked in the woodshed to starve. Who knew this dirty thing was so lucky, not only did he not die, but he also sneaked out and stole food from the Full Moon Tower used to serve guests. That’s why he was caught this time.”

So many people were watching this farce. The cold wind was blowing, and the youth was thinly dressed. His eyes dimmed, as if he had long lost hope in the world, and he huddled on the ground like a stray dog without dignity, allowing himself to be beaten and cursed.

The long sword was unsheathed, held against the whip handle, and the long whip was flicked away, falling to the ground.

“This kind of beauty, I want him.” Lin Yunnan walked out of the crowd unhurriedly, picked up her sword and put it back in its sheath. This sword was called Zhaoxue, and it was bestowed upon her by the Emperor of Beikang on her twelfth birthday.

Seeing this sword, everyone immediately understood the identity of the person in front of them.

She took out a handkerchief from her bosom, squatted down in front of the young man, and carefully wiped his face, “Such a beautiful face, how can it be dirtied… Hiss—”

Who knew that the young man would bite her finger.

Really ruthless, Lin Yunnan quickly withdrew her hand, and a deep red tooth mark had already been bitten out on her fair finger, and blood was seeping out.

“Despicable thing!” The old woman kicked the young man, “Why don’t you kneel down and thank the young prince for his appreciation.”

The young man lowered his head and didn’t say a word, his peach blossom eyes seemed to be filled with hatred, as if he would rather die here than go with her.

“Prince.” Cai Mei parted the crowd and walked over, followed by Hongmei in a red dress.

Hong Mei bowed to Lin Yunan, “Hong Mei pays respects to the Medicine Prince.”

“Master, it’s getting late, shouldn’t we go back to the mansion?” Cai Mei whispered in her ear.

Seeing that Cai Mei had rescued the person, Lin Yunnan knew that he was safe, and immediately took out a stack of banknotes and handed them to the old woman, “Is this enough?”

The old woman’s eyes were wide with shock. So many banknotes were enough to redeem the top courtesan of the Full Moon Tower.

“Medicine Prince, isn’t this too much…”

“Not much, buy him, a thousand gold is worth it.” She smiled and let Cai Mei kneel down and tie her white velvet cloak, “Hurry up and tie this person up and carry him to my carriage, remember, absolutely do not hurt my person.”

The old woman agreed and quickly called a few servants to tie the person up and carry him to the carriage.

Cai Mei followed behind her and whispered, “Master, what is this?”

“I saved him because his eyes are so beautiful. This is beauty, pure beauty.”

Cai Mei rolled her eyes helplessly, but it was not appropriate to say anything due to their master-servant relationship. It was truly lust that ruins people.

Wooden steps had already been prepared in front of the carriage, and Cai Mei lifted the curtain for Lin Yunnan.

A carpet was laid inside the carriage, and a small stove was placed there. The young man was tied up tightly and placed in a corner, his eyes glaring at her fiercely like a wolf cub.

She really admired this young master’s courage, daring to lay hands on such a difficult little thing.

Lin Yunnan ignored him and found a few soft pillows to lean against for a nap.

Cai Mei had boiled the medicine and sprinkled a handful of red mushroom threads into it. She poured it into a small bowl and handed it to Lin Yunnan’s lips, “Your Highness, it’s time to take your medicine.”

Hearing this, Lin Yunnan opened her eyes and caught sight of the black medicine in the bowl. Her small face immediately fell. Heaven knows how bitter this medicine is.

“Your Highness, there are candied fruits sent by Miss Hong Mei, all of which are new flavors.” Cai Mei then brought out a delicate small box, opened it, and inside were eight exquisite candied fruits carved into various flower shapes.

Lin Yunnan gritted her teeth, took the medicine bowl, and tilted her head, “gulp gulp” taking several big gulps, and all the medicine in the bowl went down. Immediately, a spicy and pungent bitterness spread in her throat.

That nauseating feeling stimulated her taste buds, and she had a strong urge to throw up everything in her stomach. She could only lean over and kneel, retching continuously into the copper basin, but nothing came out.

Cai Mei gently patted her back, and when she felt better, she wiped the medicine from her lips with a handkerchief and handed over the candied fruit box.

“Alright, alright, the old symptoms. This Prince is fine.” Because of the medicine, Lin Yunnan’s voice became hoarse.

After eating the candied fruit and drinking the new tea brewed by Cai Mei, her voice gradually recovered.

“Cai Mei, go untie his ropes; it’s uncomfortable to be bound. Later, when we get to the Prince’s mansion, arrange for someone to give him a hot bath, bestow some clothes, and send him some good food.”

“What about accommodations?”

“Send him to my courtyard.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

It was already the hour of You (5-7 PM) when they returned to Prince Yuan’s mansion and had dinner with Lin Ruhai and Qian Xi.

When they returned to the Snow Garden, Cai Mei was already holding a thick stack of cotton clothes personally sewn by Qian Xi, all made with newly harvested cotton, stuffed full.

Lin Yunnan entered the room, and the maid Wen Jiu quickly untied her cloak and prepared warm water to wash her face.

“Your Highness, the boy that Sister Cai Mei just sent over, I’ve settled him in the side room,” Wen Jiu said while wiping her face, “I just sent someone to call him, and he’ll be here soon.”

In a moment, the young man was brought in. He had changed into a white robe embroidered with gold thread, with his trouser legs tucked into black boots. His small face was washed exceptionally clean, and his long, narrow, and seductive peach blossom eyes were gleaming, with his thin lips tightly pursed.

He stood in front of her, looking down at her.

Comparing their heights, he was a full head taller than her.