Chapter 118
Chapter 118: The Classics Read by a Dog
Yes! She wanted to blurt it out, yet when she opened her lips, it was as if she had lost the power of speech, not a single sound escaping.
The next instant, she was pulled into a firm embrace, the young man’s arms locked tightly around her waist.
“Why won’t you answer? Why do you despise me? Clearly I…” like you so much.
Before the words could finish, the girl in his arms began to struggle fiercely.
His sudden action startled Mo Zhao Zhao so much that she didn’t even hear what he had said. “What are you doing? Let me go, let me go at once…”
Her instinctive resistance pierced deep into his nerves. Yun Wan Ye’s gaze darkened, and instead of letting her go, he tightened his hold.
He lowered his eyes, looking at her with a dangerous glint, then let out a cold laugh: “No.”
“You despise me, don’t you? In that case, I’ll make you despise me even more.”
After all, no matter what he did, she would never show him a kind face.
From childhood until now, he had countless times stepped in to defend her, countless times taught a harsh lesson to the young lords and ladies who spoke ill of her, and had even saved her recently—yet none of it had ever changed her opinion of him.
“Unreasonable!”
Mo Zhao Zhao trembled with anger, forcing out the words through gritted teeth. She swung her hand to slap him hard, but her wrist was caught. Her palm stopped barely half an inch from his cheek.
“If you want to hit me, it has to be with my consent. Princess, my face is not for just anyone to strike.”
Holding her wrist, he looked at her without expression.
That face was undeniably exquisite, even breathtaking—but at this moment, in Mo Zhao Zhao’s eyes, it was only irritating.
She was so furious she could almost explode. If not for her ingrained royal upbringing, she might have spat in his face.
“You’ve already lost all sense of shame, so why be afraid of a slap?”
“Yun Wan Ye, with your kind of character, if you hadn’t been lucky enough to be born as the second son of Duke Ning’s household, you’d probably have been beaten to death long ago.”
Yun Wan Ye smiled faintly: “Right back at you. If you weren’t lucky enough to be a princess, would Lu Huai Jin be lavishing you with such attention?”
“You think if you weren’t a princess, Lu Huai Jin would look at you twice?”
Mo Zhao Zhao bit her lip, drawing a deep breath. Fine. Excellent. This bastard was as detestable as ever. Perhaps it would be better if he just died—then no one could ever infuriate her like this again.
“Come…”
In her anger, she prepared to call out for her guards to seize him, thrash him soundly, and throw him out of the estate.
But just as the word left her lips, they were crushed beneath his in a forceful kiss, the rest of her command swallowed down into her stomach.
Her nose was filled with the clean, cool scent of the youth. Mo Zhao Zhao’s eyes widened in shock as she struggled violently, but her arms were restrained and she could not break free.
In desperation, she bit him hard. The faint taste of blood spread between their lips. His gaze flickered, but he did not let her go.
His dark eyes locked onto hers, and in her panic-stricken gaze, he finally moved—gently tracing her lips with his tongue, a caress both tender and lingering to the extreme.
She froze for a moment under the unexpected softness, her mind quickly turning hazy. The thought of resisting slipped away, and she leaned into his arm. Yun Wan Ye’s restless heart finally eased a little.
Suddenly, she jolted awake. Jerking her head back, she tore her lips from his and gained a short, precarious distance.
She glared at him, wanting to slap him, but with both arms pinned she could only lash out with her tongue.
“Yun Wan Ye, has no one ever taught you that men and women should not touch so freely? You are the second son of Duke Ning’s household—how can you shamelessly act in such a wanton, frivolous manner? How is this any different from a lecher? Have you read all the sages’ books into a dog’s stomach?”
His earlier good mood vanished completely. He gave a short laugh.
“The princess says I’m shameless. For one without shame, isn’t it reasonable to do wanton, frivolous things? What are these sages’ books? What is this about men and women keeping their distance? What does any of it have to do with me?
“Oh, and I nearly forgot—when you’re in front of me, spare yourself the useless struggles. If I wish it, I have hundreds of ways to stop you from doing anything at all.”
She stared at him in shock. He was actually proud of admitting he was shameless!
How could there be such a brazen man in the world?
For the first time, Mo Zhao Zhao truly felt afraid. She was certain that even as a princess, she had no way to deal with him—he simply didn’t care about her status.
“Princess, I forbid you to marry Lu Huai Jin. You have seven days to break the engagement. I’m serious, so don’t pretend you didn’t hear me. I’ll be checking your progress. If you haven’t dealt with it by then, I won’t mind doing it for you.”
He leaned closer and brushed a light kiss against the corner of her lips, his clear, pleasant voice steeped in threat.
Her heart gave a sharp tremor. She looked up at him in disbelief.
“If you’re sick, get treatment. Don’t come to me raving like this. This marriage has already been announced to the world—how could it be withdrawn? Even my royal brother can’t dictate my marriage, so how dare you? What right do you have to forbid me to wed?
“Do you understand that I’m the princess, I’m the master, and you are the subject? You’re even giving me orders now? If an outsider heard you, they might think you were my master instead.”
He arched a brow and smiled lightly.
“So what if you’re the master? I just happen to want to see what it’s like to defy my superior. And I didn’t say I forbid you to marry at all—I forbid you to marry Lu Huai Jin. Please note the distinction.”
She gave a cold laugh. “You and Lu Huai Jin have always been at odds—that’s between the two of you. Don’t think you can ruin my marriage over it. Marriage is not a game.”
As for his talk of defying his superior, she didn’t bother responding. He’d done it countless times before anyway.
This man never missed a chance to overstep, and her royal brother always favored him, so she could never best him. Even if he acted against her, what could she do?
“I’m not trying to ruin your marriage because I dislike Lu Huai Jin. It’s because of your marriage that I dislike him. Otherwise, he’s just a concubine-born son—not worth a glance, let alone my effort.”
“What do you mean by that?”
She frowned, his words tangling in her mind. He cleared his throat, a faint flush rising to his cheeks.
“I like the princess” spun through his thoughts countless times, yet whenever he tried to speak it aloud, the words stuck in his throat.
Just then, she seemed to realize something and stared at him in disbelief.
“So, you don’t dislike Lu Huai Jin—you just dislike him because of his marriage to me?”
His blush deepened, and he was about to nod when she glared furiously at him.
“So it’s because you despise me that you also despise him? And you’ve spent all these years opposing him because of that?”
…He’d thought she’d figured it out, but it was all for nothing. He really shouldn’t expect too much from this foolish princess’s intelligence.
“Let’s put this aside for now. Princess, you took advantage of me today, so you’ll have to take responsibility. If you want to marry, it can only be me.”
She was stunned.
“What did you say? I took advantage of you? Do you know where you are? This is the Princess Manor. For me to take advantage of an uninvited guest in my own residence—if that got out, the whole world would laugh. Yun Wan Ye, would it kill you to have a little shame?”
Why could he say such shameless things so confidently? And now he wanted her to take responsibility, when it was clearly the other way around!
She was about to explode again.
Yet he remained calm: “I came here willingly to be taken advantage of. Who would dare laugh? And as for my face—since it’s so handsome, wouldn’t it be a waste not to use it?”
“Get out. Get out of the Princess Manor right now.”
If he kept talking, he’d be the death of her.
No—he wasn’t a man at all, he was a dog. Sparring words with him only shortened her life.
In a quiet, remote alley, a carriage rolled slowly forward.
Suddenly, a peanut struck the driver’s head. His vision went black, and he toppled from the seat.
The horses, startled, let out a shrill neigh and bolted down the street.
The carriage rocked violently. Yun Wan Yao clung to the handrail inside, her head spinning and her stomach lurching. She crouched on the floor, fear clouding her tear-bright eyes.
What was happening? Why had the carriage gone out of control? Where was the driver?
Fighting her fear, she called out for him, but no answer came.
Something had happened to him.
Her heart gave a jolt. She lifted the curtain to shout for help. “Someone, help! Please, help me—”
The carriage swayed hard. She lost her grip and slammed to the floor, half her body going numb, pain shooting through her side and bringing tears to her eyes.
With another jolt, her head struck the wall. She was nearly flung out of the carriage.
Terrified, she ignored the pain, balancing herself with effort. As the carriage steadied slightly, she grabbed the rail again and leaned out.
“Help! Please, someone help me!”
In moments, the carriage had raced down an entire street. Fortunately, few people were about, and those who saw it bolted out of the way.
No one dared step in to stop the frightened horses.
Her vision blurred, and she was close to despair when a dark-blue figure appeared from nowhere, stepping from a rooftop to pursue the carriage.
In a graceful leap, he landed squarely on the horse’s back.
Feeling the weight, the horse neighed wildly and tried to throw him off, but the rider’s legs gripped tight, his hands yanking the reins back.
Soon, the animal calmed and slowed to a walk.
He soothed it with a pat before stepping lightly onto the driver’s seat, lifting the curtain to look inside.
Yun Wan Yao gazed up at the tall, familiar figure. Her lips parted, but before she could speak, her eyes rolled back and she collapsed.
His eyes darkened. Striding forward, he gathered her into his arms.
Night fell over Duke Ning’s residence, lanterns burning bright.
Yun Wan Ning lay in Madam Yun’s arms, letting out a small sigh.
[Ah, it’s already dark, yet Elder Sister hasn’t come to see me. So her promise earlier was just idle talk.]
[Forget it, I’m tired. I’ll sleep. Maybe when I wake up, I’ll see my beautiful elder sister.]
Her thoughts faded into the soft sound of her breathing. She was asleep, still clutching Madam Yun’s clothing.
Madam Yun patted her gently, then quietly sent a maid to summon Yun Wan Yao.
The little one had been thinking of her sister all day, yet the sister hadn’t so much as looked in on her.
The maid soon returned, panting. “Madam, I went to the Dreamweaver Pavilion to call on Young Miss, but Sister Hua Wu said she went to the Princess Manor and hasn’t returned.”
Still not back?
Madam Yun froze, glancing toward the window. The night was already deep.
A faint unease stirred. She recalled Yun Wan Ning’s earlier thoughts and felt her worry grow.
“Send the steward to fetch her from the Princess Manor at once.”
“Yes.”
As the maid left, Madam Yun’s unease only deepened.
Yao’er could be a little willful, but she knew the rules and rarely stayed out so late.
She could only hope nothing had happened—only that her fears were unfounded.
Her gaze softened as she looked at Yun Wan Ning’s sleeping face. She stroked the little girl’s cheek and sighed.
“Little Fourth, your mother hopes all your earlier worries are wrong… and that you and your sister can always live in peace and joy.”