The Princess Cannot Escape: The Cunning Prince Is Not to Be Messed With

Chapter 24 Let's talk about the price first.

"I'll tell you." Yin Quan growled, pinching a piece of flesh on Gu Lounan's back with her left hand and twisting it hard.

"There's no one here." With his expression unchanged and his smile still intact, Gu Lounan waved his hand at Wei Jun.

Upon hearing this, Wei Jun stared at the bushes for a moment before walking away.

"Lai Liaobu is an actor, a Golden Horse Award winner."

"An actor? What's that?" Gu Lounan asked, stroking his chin in confusion.

"It's just acting."

"An actor?" He raised an eyebrow.

"More or less." She nodded.

"Can you let me go now?" Yin Quan said, trying to brush off the claw that was gripping her, but the owner of the claw suddenly grabbed her instead.

"Xiahou Ying's men are still searching for you here. If you leave now, they will catch you as soon as you step out of this bush. Answer my teacher one more question."

Gu Lounan's eyes shone with an unusual color under the moonlight. Unlike Xiahou Ying's pure, bottomless black pupils, his pupils were covered with a deep green, a color between dark brown and dark green, like glass with many changing hues.

"You still have questions? Are you a walking encyclopedia of questions?" Yin Quan frowned, her gaze filled with undisguised disdain.

Ignoring the dissatisfaction in her tone, Gu Lounan's eyes were filled with a deep smile: "If you're so unwilling to marry Xiahou Ying, then would you be willing to marry me?"

"Marry your sister! Is getting married such a casual thing? I'm telling you, in your eyes, women are nothing more than political tools, not even worth as much as objects, right? Let me tell you, I'm not willing!" With that, Yin Quan suddenly stood up and shouted at Wei Jun's back, who had not yet left, "I'm here!"

As he shouted, he slapped the mask onto Gu Lounan's face with a "smack," then kicked him in the calf before fleeing quickly.

Hearing the shouts, Wei Jun suddenly turned around and saw "Yin Quan" covering her face with her hands. When he rushed over, he found that the face was indeed Yin Quan's, but the person under the face was Gu Lounan, the current imperial advisor.

Overnight, Yin Quan, the illegitimate daughter of a military family, ran away from her arranged marriage. This not only made Prince Duan, who was feared by everyone in the capital, the biggest laughing stock, but also made the young and promising Grand Tutor, who held great power, the most ridiculous minister in the history of the Western Liang Kingdom.

The two most influential figures in the Western Liang Kingdom dominated the capital's hottest topics for a whole month because of an insignificant woman. Both Xiahou Ying and Gu Lounan had a very eventful month.

"On the day of Prince Duan's wedding, the place was decorated with lanterns and colorful streamers. The golden and jade-decorated carriage alone stretched for ten miles along the street. The weather was beautiful that day, birds chased each other, and the clouds on the horizon shone with golden light. The man was handsome and the woman was beautiful, a perfect match made in heaven!"

At this moment, in a tea stall by the roadside in Zhaoyang City, there was a handsome young storyteller with a lively and expressive face. Sitting around him were laborers waiting for work, as well as many passersby.

The male prostitute got more and more excited as he spoke, and he even stepped onto the table. Not only was he full of energy, but his movements were also extremely expressive.

"No sooner said than done, the girl shouted!"

"What are you shouting about?" everyone asked in unison.

"To find out what happens next, stay tuned for the next installment." Drawing out his words, the young male prostitute bowed, took off his soft cloth hat, and moved among the tables and chairs.

"What are you shouting for..."

"That's all for today. If you'd like to know more, come back tomorrow." With a dismissive wave of her hand, Yin Quan, disguised as a man, counted the copper coins as she declined.

The person behind her stopped speaking, but placed a hand on her shoulder, applying slight pressure with his palm.

What if I wanted to know now?

Suddenly jolted awake, Yin Quan raised her head, bent down abruptly, and then darted away like an arrow, disappearing from Xiahou Ying's sight in an instant.

"Master, aren't we going to pursue them?" Wei Jun's voice came from behind. Xiahou Ying pursed his lips and replied, "Never mind."

If he wanted to stop her, he would have already poured his inner strength into her earlier.

Besides, he didn't come here to win her back.

Watching Xiahou Ying's slightly pursed lips, Wei Jun felt particularly frustrated for his master.

Since Miss Yin ran away from her arranged marriage, the master has suddenly become a political fanatic for the past month. He doesn't sleep until after midnight and wakes up before dawn, spending day and night reviewing memorials, reading them over and over again, including all the intelligence documents from the five border countries submitted by Maoyan in the past year.

They openly contended with the Imperial Advisor in court, and secretly fought against him outside the court. When the struggle reached its climax, many elderly high-ranking officials were forced to enter the palace upright and leave horizontally, living in constant fear.

From then on, the master's already indifferent and aloof nature became even more eccentric and arrogant, to the point that the guards dared not approach the study at all. If they were not careful, they might be frozen by the low pressure that accumulated in the study.

Wei Jun was frustrated, but he also felt some sympathy for his master.

After all, he had followed Xiahou Ying the longest, and compared to others, he understood his master's personality best.

Today we were clearly going to Lan Yue Pavilion, but instead of taking the shortcut, our master went around in circles and ended up at this tea stall that we had learned about three days ago.

There is only one purpose, of course.

Now the person has escaped again, and we're not allowed to chase them. If Maoyan, who's worked so hard for a whole month, finds out, they'll probably cry.

Following silently behind Xiahou Ying, Wei Jun felt increasingly sorry for his master.

All the guards and spies in the Prince Duan's mansion knew that their master had a special fondness for the eccentric and bold Miss Yin, but the most important thing was that their master himself didn't seem to realize it.

Not long after, the master and servant arrived in front of the Moon-Viewing Pavilion. At the same time, a tall and slender figure in crimson purple walked towards them.

"Your humble servant greets Prince Duan." With his hands tucked into his wide sleeves, Gu Lounan smiled, his phoenix eyes narrowing into two slits, as if he had some joyous occasion.

With his lips pressed straight, Xiahou Ying's indifferent gaze swept over him, then he nodded slightly and stepped across the redwood threshold of Lanyue Pavilion.

Standing motionless in place, Gu Lounan watched his snow-white, straight back, her smile widening. After a while, she followed him in.

Yin Quan only slowed down slightly after turning into the eighth narrow alley.

She let out a long breath, and finally her legs gave way, and she sat down.

The hair that was originally tied up tightly at the back of her head has now been loosened and is draped loosely behind her, looking like a very modern and mature woman with big, wavy hair.

Waving the soft cloth hat in her hand and fanning herself, it took Yin Quan a while to recover from her earlier shock.

He could still recognize her even dressed like that?! How could she possibly live like this?!

Suddenly, at that moment, she heard a soft sound coming from the other end of the narrow alley. When she came to her senses, a slightly rough hand had already covered her mouth.

"Don't move, don't make a sound, or I'll kill you."

The speaker's voice was somewhat hoarse, like that of a traveler emerging from the desert, revealing a hint of weariness.

Hearing the hoarse, threatening voice, Yin Quan rolled her eyes.

Hasn't she been threatened like this enough? Can't we try something new?

Looking down, the man's arms were strong and powerful, with each tendon clearly defined, like a male model on the cover of Esquire magazine, with a healthy and attractive bronze color.

With her back pressed against the man's chest, Yin Quan felt the firm yet elastic muscles behind her, and involuntarily leaned back, wanting to experience it more deeply.

With such a great physique, are you a soldier?

Noticing the strange behavior of the person in front of him, Lu Xun frowned. He wanted to let go, but felt it was inappropriate. Yet, not letting go made him feel strange about being pressed against by the person, whether intentionally or unintentionally. For a moment, he was in a dilemma, unable to figure out what the person in front of him was trying to do.

Suddenly, at that moment, a group of soldiers appeared at the entrance of the narrow alley. They wore black veiled hats and had black-sheathed swords at their waists, and had the character "兵" (soldier) written on their chests. The soldiers jogged over. Lu Xun pulled Yin Quan back quickly, pressing himself against the wall. Seeing that the soldiers didn't seem to intend to approach, he breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Hiding from the soldiers? Is this man a wanted criminal?

Thinking of this, Yin Quan raised her gaze upwards. Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, dappling the man's brow bone and nose bridge. Although the light and shadow were chaotic, they still perfectly depicted his hard features.

Looking into his deep-set eyes, Yin Quan blinked and suddenly stuck out her tongue and gently touched his palm.

As if struck by lightning, the man released his grip and glared at her, his eyes filled with shock, confusion, and anger.

"Don't look at me like that, I can help you avoid these people."

"..." The man didn't speak, but his deep eyes, illuminated by the pale golden sunlight, seemed to ask: How can I help?

Seeing the wavering in his eyes, Yin Quan lowered her voice and said slowly, "Don't be impatient, let's talk about the price first..."

"Don't get excited..." Yin Quan's gaze slowly swept over the man's clenched fists. She grinned, her two dark pupils sparkling like gemstones in the firelight outside.

"You just kidnapped me and threatened me, and I not only don't mind, but I'm also planning to help you. Shouldn't you be grateful, bow down, and weep with joy?"

Staring silently at Yin Quan, Lu Xun frowned, wanting to punch her unconscious.

What kind of curse must he have been under to encounter a woman like this...?

This woman talks a lot...

Just as they were pondering, the soldiers patrolling outside the narrow alley seemed to suddenly notice the movement between the two. A nearby soldier shouted, "Search this place!"

Upon hearing the sound, Lu Xun was about to reach out and pull Yin Quan deeper into the narrow alley when the latter grabbed his wrist first. Before he could react, she suddenly grabbed his hands, pulled open her outer robe, turned over, and pinned him against the wall, letting out a delicate shout that could shake the dust off the wall.

Almost simultaneously, a series of rustling sounds were heard. Groups of soldiers rushed into the narrow alley, overturning bamboo baskets and kicking roof tiles, but they were stunned when they saw the scene before them.

Did we run into a pair of lovebirds...?

That's really...how audacious!

The delicate shout turned into a gasp of surprise. Yin Quan, her shoulders half exposed, straddled a figure whose face was obscured, clutching her chest as she stared wide-eyed at the soldiers who rushed in.

"Ah! Don't look!"

The woman's deafening scream embarrassed the soldiers, who turned their faces away and some even covered their eyes, peering through their fingers at the glowing skin in the firelight, swallowing hard.