The Prince Is Actually a Beauty - Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Prince Yuan Mansion – Main hall.

The maid lifted the curtain, and Lin Yunnan and Luo Shiqing walked in one after the other.

The main hall was so quiet that only the “crackling” sound of burning charcoal could be heard.

Lin Yuan sat in the main seat, sizing them up with an uncertain expression.

“Commoner Shiqing greets Prince Yuan, and greets the Princess.” Instead, Luo Shiqing respectfully performed the ceremony.

Lin Yuan ignored him, just staring at Lin Yunnan, “You rebellious son, why don’t you hurry…”

Lin Yunnan knelt down with a “thump,” the sound was loud and clear, kneeling upright and standard, head bowed sincerely, eyes on the nose and nose on the heart.

“You still don’t know…”

“Your child knows their mistake.” She raised her head, full of sincerity.

“Then throw the person out.”

Lin Yunnan calmly raised her head and looked at Lin Yuan, “Father, Shiqing was rescued by A’nan from the backyard of Full Moom Tower, and personally promised to have him as a companion reader. Father taught me from a young age to keep my word, this is my own promise, Father can punish me. But this person, I must protect.”

“Born in a brothel is born in a brothel, it can’t be changed. My Prince Yuan’s Mansion cannot tolerate this kind of man, since you protect him so much, tonight this Prince will have his head fall to the ground, I want to see who dares to stop me.” Lin Yuan strode over, drew his curved knife, and pointed it directly at Luo Shiqing’s heart.

Those who practice martial arts move too fast, Zhaoxue wasn’t brought into the main hall, Lin Yunnan suddenly pounced, using her own body to protect him behind her like a mother hen protecting her chicks.

The curved knife stopped in front of her eyes, bringing up a gust of wind.

“Prince, Princess, Mr. Zhou has arrived.” Cai Mei came in to report.

“Quickly invite the teacher in.” Qian Xi stood up and silently pulled Lin Yuan back a bit.

Mr. Zhou was the teacher Lin Yuan had invited for Lin Yunnan. He was an old man with white hair and a beard, and he was the imperial tutor of the former crown prince of Beikang. He had a strange temper, but he cherished talent, and he had a past relationship with Lin Yuan, which allowed him to be invited.

But Lin Yunnan usually either played with birds or daydreamed during class, or covered a book and slept soundly while he was talking eloquently and engrossed in himself.

“Why is Old Zhou here at this time?” Lin Yuan immediately ignored Lin Yunnan’s mess and quickly instructed the maids to serve tea.

“There’s no need for tea. The old man is here today for this child.” Old Zhou raised his hand and pointed, and everyone followed his gaze and saw Lin Yunnan, who had never attended a proper class for a day.

She stuck out her tongue and moved to the side, revealing Shi Qing, whom she was protecting.

The young man had been polite since entering the room, and he didn’t argue or defend himself when he spoke to Lin Yuan. At this moment, seeing Old Zhou, he bowed and said, “Student greets Mr. Zhou.”

“This child, his future is immeasurable. His background cannot possibly be a brothel.” Old Zhou saw the curved knife hidden in Lin Yuan’s sleeve and became anxious, “If you don’t want him, send him to my residence.”

“Mr. Zhou, Shi Qing was able to attend classes and study with the young prince because of the young prince’s appreciation. Now, he is naturally a person under the young prince. Thank you for your kindness.” Luo Shiqing was neither humble nor arrogant, and his words and actions were impeccable.

But these words were certain that he would follow Lin Yunan.

Old Zhou didn’t know that Lin Yunnan was a girl, nor did he know what consequences there would be for having a man with an overly attractive appearance by Lin Yunnan’s side.

Lin Yuan had a bit of a headache and reached out to pinch his temples.

“This child is also loyal to A’nan, why not keep him.” Qian Xi spoke softly, she was wearing a pink silk dress, without any makeup. Her gentle eyes were clear, her thoughts were delicate, and there was no hint of romantic love in A’nan’s eyes, she just wanted to save this child.

“Old Zhou, stay for a meal, I have the peach blossom brew that was brewed in March.” Lin Yuan really listened to Qian Xi’s words and stopped pursuing the matter.

Old Zhou loved to drink, and when he heard this, he immediately couldn’t move.

The maids and servants became busy, starting to set the dishes and add wine.

“I’ve eaten at the teahouse, so I won’t be joining Father and Master,” Lin Yunnan said, calling out to Cai Mei as she turned to leave the hall.

The snowy stone steps were wet and slippery. Due to her previous reckless kneeling in front of Lin Yuan, her knee didn’t hold up, and she slipped, almost falling on her butt.

Cai Mei quickly dropped her sword to help, but another hand was faster. Iron-like fingers clamped onto Lin Yunnan’s waist and pulled her back.

The force was considerable, and she landed directly in Luo Shiqing’s arms. His hand still gripped her waist.

The position was quite intimate. She tried to step back, but the arm around her waist held tight. Given her height, she was pressed against Luo Shiqing’s chest.

She looked up to scold him to let go but was met with his concerned gaze. “Is the Prince alright?”

“I’m fine,” she replied, and the hand on her waist loosened. Luo Shiqing took a step back, creating distance between them. He stood upright, flawless and impeccable.

Cai Mei sheathed her sword and glanced at Luo Shiqing sideways. “You were the one who kept the Prince at arm’s length earlier, but now you’re so attentive. It seems you’ve found a leg to cling to.”

“I owe the Prince a debt of gratitude for saving my life,” Luo Shiqing said.

“I think someone was chasing you with intent to kill, and you’re looking for a place to hide,” Cai Mei retorted, her tone sharp with disdain for the young man.

“Cai Mei, that’s enough,” Lin Yunnan reprimanded softly.

Luo Shiqing was like a wolf cub, and she had been showing him kindness so that he would be grateful and useful to her. Judging by his behavior, he seemed less hostile towards her than when they first met.

The events of the night in the wilderness had made her realize that she had underestimated the wolf cub’s background. If she wasn’t mistaken, he was a trained assassin from a powerful family. Sending dozens of assassins to kill a 16-year-old boy… the background of this Shi Qing was shrouded in mystery.

She needed to use him, but she also needed to uncover his background. The question was how to do it without drawing attention or causing a stir.

After returning to the Snow Garden, Wen Jiu helped Lin Yunnan change into her night clothes and then went to dinner with Cai Mei and Luo Shiqing.

The house was warmly heated by the underfloor heating system. Wen Jiu used a small wooden comb to gently comb through Lin Yunnan’s long hair.

The combing motion on her scalp was soothing and relaxing, causing Lin Yunnan to close her eyes and lean against the chair, gradually falling asleep.

The curtain at the door was lifted, and a cold breeze wafted in. Wen Jiu turned to block the cold air and was about to scold the person who entered.

However, she saw that it was Qian Xi. Qian Xi gestured for her not to bother with the bow, seeing Lin Yunnan sleeping in the chair.

“These are all things that A’nan loves to eat. Snacks from the teahouse can’t replace a proper meal,” Qian Xi said, handing over the food containers she brought.
She instructed Wen Jiu to warm them up over a fire pit, so that if the young prince woke up hungry, she could feed him hot food directly.

“Yes, Princess,” Wen Jiu replied softly, taking the containers.

Later that night, the snow fell even heavier, breaking some tree branches on the streets and blocking the roads.

It wasn’t until morning that the heavy snowfall finally stopped. The streets were bitterly cold, with snow piling up to knee-deep levels. This made it extremely difficult for the elderly officials and mandarins who had to attend the morning court. Without carriages to ride in, and not being skilled in horseback riding, they had to wear knee-high boots and trudge through the snow.

Lin Yunnan got up early, got dressed, and had breakfast. Then, she took Cai Mei and Luo Shiqing out to the Full Moon Tower, booking a private room on the second floor with a beautiful wooden balustrade and a small square table with a soft red carpet.

The table was already set with pastries, fruits, and warmed pear flower wine in a jade pot with a crackle pattern, accompanied by two white porcelain cups painted with pink peach blossoms, which looked adorable.

From this vantage point, the entire Yuefeng Long Street could be seen in its entirety. One could see the imperial guards and servants from various noble families coming and going, transporting withered branches and shoveling snow.

Lin Yunnan sat boldly on the soft red couch, with Cai Mei standing to her right rear and Luo Shiqing standing to her left rear.
This posture gave off the impression that she was a lord who had brought her beauty to cause a scene.

Hong Mei, with her slender hands, poured wine from a jade pot and handed it to Lin Yunnan in a white porcelain cup, saying softly, “Prince, come, drink a cup of wine to warm yourself up.”

“It’s still better to have it from our Hong Mei’s delicate hands,” Lin Yunnan said, taking the wine cup from Hong Mei’s hand and drinking from it. She also pulled out a very flashy fan and opened it with a “whoosh” sound.

Downstairs, people were busily working hard in the cold, and when they heard the sound, some of them looked up towards the second floor.

When they saw the scene, they couldn’t help but feel infuriated.

The people upstairs were enjoying the warmth and comfort of the beautiful women, drinking fine wine, and watching the people below them toil like dogs.

Lin Yunnan reached out to pick up a grape and tasted it, clicking her tongue in appreciation. “This grape is so sour,” she said, and as she spoke, she carelessly tossed the grape skin out of the window.

Coincidentally, it landed on the face of Wang Cheng, the eldest son of the Wang family, who was directing the servants to move trees.

One of the servants downstairs couldn’t help but burst out laughing, and soon, more and more people looked up and saw the purple grape skin on Wang Cheng’s face.

“Who’s the one who dares to cause trouble in front of me?” Wang Cheng said, wiping the grape skin off his face with a handkerchief and looking up to find the culprit.

“Oh dear, I’m so sorry, Young Master Wang. My hand slipped,” Lin Yunnan said, feigning surprise and widening her eyes. She crossed her legs and continued eating the pastry from Hong Mei’s hand, mumbling, “I’m terribly sorry.”

This was clearly not an apology but a blatant provocation.

Wang Cheng looked up and saw Luo Shiqing standing beside Lin Yunnan. He sneered and said, “It’s no big deal. Since the Medicine Prince likes to pick the rejects that I don’t want, I’ll send some beauties from my mansion to the Prince’s mansion. That way, the Prince won’t have to settle for leftovers.”

“That’s not necessary. But I seem to recall that it was Young Master Wang who played the role of the overlord and forced himself on someone, only to be rejected and injured. Isn’t that why he was sent back?” Lin Yunnan said, shaking her fan and pretending to be merely gossiping, but she was actually revealing the embarrassing truth about Wang Cheng.

Now it’s even more embarrassing, losing face in front of the whole family outside.

Those present were either imperial guards or young masters from influential families who wanted to set a good example.

“You, you mustn’t spread rumors!” Wang Cheng’s face turned green and then white, and he couldn’t believe that the young prince knew so much about his scandalous affairs in the brothels.