Rebirth of a Lost Nation: Princess, Please Respect Yourself

His body fell straight down uncontrollably, but Ning Yunxiao was already many steps away from the tree.

Jiang Lige cursed inwardly as "bastard" and silently covered his eyes. This idea of scamming someone was simply too stupid.

Now, I just hope that falling from this height won’t kill me…

While she was praying, the expected pain did not come. Instead, a pair of large hands wrapped around her waist, and the next moment, Jiang Lige fell into a cold embrace.

That’s right, it’s Ning Yunxiao.

The fear of falling still lingered in his heart, and Jiang Lige subconsciously reached out and hugged Ning Yunxiao's neck, trying to gain some sense of security.

A faint scent of sandalwood wafted in the air. Ning Yunxiao's embrace was as cold and deserted as he himself.

Only the uncontrolled heartbeat declared that his heart was not at peace.

The arm around his waist brought a warm shiver, like a sudden explosion of fireworks, making Jiang Lige's mind go blank in an instant. Apart from maintaining the status quo, he didn't know what else to do for a moment.

Under the century-old locust tree, the young man in white was holding the girl in pink. The breeze blew, making the girl's fair cheeks red.

The sunlight shines through the gaps, casting a golden speckle, falling on the boy's trembling eyelashes, illuminating the entire spring scene.

"Sister Ari!"

Sister Jing came running over with her short legs, raised her head and shouted, breaking this beautiful scene.

The two of them came back to their senses as if they had just woken up from a dream. Jiang Lige jumped out of Ning Yunxiao's arms with the strength of his hand, and Ning Yunxiao quickly retracted his action.

Finally, the two of them hurriedly looked away and stood under the tree, staring at each other in silence.

After squeezing his hands, Jiang Lige suppressed the throbbing in his heart and bowed slightly to thank Ning Yunxiao.

"Thank you for saving me, Prince."

"You're welcome, Princess."

"Jingjie, you must be hungry after playing for so long. Songyue prepared some cakes for you in the yard next door. Would you like to try some?"

"Great!"

Jiang Lige had a lot to say, but Sister Jing was standing there with a confused look on her face, so he had to suppress it for the time being. After sending Sister Jing away, he pursed his lips and explained in a low voice.

"That night was not as the prince saw it."

"The princess wants to help Princess Rong Hui, so Yun Xiao will naturally save her life."

"Then the prince is no longer angry?"

The hope that suddenly lit up in the little girl's eyes was like the surface of a clear spring bathed in sunlight, so bright that Ning Yunxiao couldn't resist it for a moment. He looked away and answered calmly.

"Princess, I'm not angry that you're worrying too much. It's just that etiquette and laws cannot be abolished. You and I shouldn't have met in private."

Ning Yunxiao's tone was extremely calm, so calm that one could not hear a single ups and downs in it. Before Jiang Lige could figure out the truth from his emotions, he saw Ning Yunxiao raising his foot to leave.

In a hurry, Jiang Lige didn't care about what was right or wrong. He took a step faster than Ning Yunxiao and blocked him in front of the tree with his arms outstretched. He pursed his lips and looked a bit like a little girl.

"You're just angry!"

"I do not have."

"If you're not angry, why are you ignoring me?"

"Princess, don't you know?"

The calm question prompted Jiang Lige to look up, only to see Ning Yunxiao's undisguised gaze fixed on her, so sharp that it seemed as if he wanted to see into her bones, and as if he was looking at a disobedient child.

Being looked at like this by him, Jiang Lige couldn't help but let go of the hand that was trying to stop him. After all, this was the man who would be able to sweep across the Three Kingdoms on his own in the future. This feeling of oppression was really scary.

"I... I don't know..."

Ning Yunxiao just chuckled and took the initiative to step forward, forcing Jiang Lige to retreat with his head down.

"The princess is very clever, so clever that she can make everything run according to your will, as if everything is under your control. This kind of cleverness makes me feel that every frown and smile of the princess is driven by purpose, and it is no different for me."

"What is the prince afraid of?"

Having said that, Jiang Lige knew that he could not retreat any further. He stood still and looked at Ning Yunxiao with a firm gaze.

"Are you afraid that all your sincerity will be in vain?"

Ning Yunxiao didn't expect Jiang Lige to change the subject and answer it himself. His eyes flashed slightly.

"Princess, you worry too much."

"As the prince said, I do have many plans for you. Does the prince know..."

Jiang Lige said, striking while the iron was hot and hurriedly taking a few steps closer, "What exactly do I want from you?"

The intense gaze caused Ning Yunxiao to turn his head away unnaturally. "What?"

"you."

Jiang Lige tiptoed closer, his warm breath whispering in Ning Yunxiao's ear, "I'm after the prince's affection; I'm after the prince's people. If I say even a word of falsehood, I'll be struck by lightning."

The wind was very light. At that moment, Jiang Lige clearly heard the sound of someone's accelerated heartbeat, but pretended not to know. Just as he was about to say "pursue the victory", he saw Xiao Xingrong in black clothes and a team of guards entering the moon cave gate.

When Xiao Xingrong saw Jiang Lige and Ning Yunxiao, he was stunned at first, and then his face fell.

"Princess Zhaohua, the banquet is about to start, why are you still here?"

"Sister Jing was making a fuss, so I brought her here to fly a kite."

Jiang Lige answered truthfully, and when he thought of his elaborate arrangements, he didn't have time to go to the front to watch the fun, and said with a smile:

"It would be a grave sin to delay the banquet. I will rush over right away."

"Ah."

Xiao Xingrong responded indifferently and glanced at Ning Yunxiao.

"Princess Zhaohua has come to the Xiao Mansion, and I should fulfill my duty as a host and escort the princess to the banquet."

Since he had just arrived and men and women sat at different tables, he had no way to stick to Ning Yunxiao. So Jiang Lige was naturally willing to have Xiao Xingrong see him off. He said goodbye to Ning Yunxiao with a smile, and went with Xiao Xingrong to pick up Sister Jing and go to the banquet hall.

As soon as he left Ning Yunxiao's sight, Xiao Xingrong glanced at Jiang Lige.

"Men and women shouldn't touch each other. After all, you haven't gotten married yet. Don't you know how to avoid suspicion?"

Jiang Lige curled his lips and did not refute, but asked Xiao Xingrong.

"Today is your father's birthday. Why are you patrolling in such a secluded place instead of entertaining guests at the banquet?"

Xiao Xingrong was stunned when he heard this and gave Jiang Lige an ambiguous look.

"It's because we can't be careless on my father's birthday that I asked to patrol personally. I want to avoid a repeat of the trouble we had at the Spring Festival Banquet last time, where someone who had offended half of the capital was embarrassed everywhere."

"Someone who has offended half of the people in the capital" took a while to react and kicked him without any hesitation.

Xiao Xingrong dodged quickly and was not hurt at all. Jiang Lige was so angry that he blew his beard and glared, but he couldn't get angry in front of Sister Jing, so he had to put on a sullen face and change the subject.

"The Queen has arrived?"

Xiao Xingrong didn't take it seriously. "Not yet, but someone has sent over a plaque with the emperor's handwriting."

Jiang Lige was amazed. "A plaque bestowed by the emperor? That's a huge honor."

"That's not."

Xiao Xingrong raised his head proudly and jokingly said, "Although our Marquis' Mansion cannot compare to the prestige of the Prince's Mansion, I still feel that it is far superior to that of the Prince of Zhao."