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

Chapter 276 The Change at the Mountain Villa

Gu Lounan reached for Chu Fenghua's chest with both hands. A flash of golden light appeared, and Chu Fenghua let out an extremely shrill scream, "No... Senior brother, you can't do this to me! You can't..." Gu Lounan's palms clashed, stirring up the air around the two of them, and the veins on his forehead bulged faintly.

A golden vortex appeared on Chu Fenghua's chest. In the center of the vortex, a silver key shimmered with a soft light. Chu Fenghua clenched her fists in despair, still trying to struggle, but she had no chance to turn over under Gu Lounan. The two elders behind her almost fainted.

Chang Li pointed at Gu Lounan and said angrily, "Gu Lounan, you disregard the code of the martial world and dare to forcibly seize our Qifeng Manor's guardian artifact. We will not let you get away with this. From now on, Qifeng Manor will be at odds with your Chonglou Manor!" Cai Feng also spat, "I didn't expect you to be so ambitious and actually plot against our Qifeng Manor's artifact. You will be punished."

Gu Lounan gripped the key tightly in his hand. "Don't get so agitated. Who said I wanted your broken artifact? If it weren't for our current prince, why would I take this risk?" He turned and knelt on one knee before Xiahou Ying, handing over the key. Xiahou Ying's eyes flickered, revealing neither joy nor anger.

"Please rise, Grand Preceptor. I do not wish to be entangled in matters of the martial world. However, since Chu Fenghua injured my Queen Consort first, I cannot but pursue the matter. Guards, take these two elders to the dungeon and keep them under close guard. Also, bring this woman to the torture chamber for the Grand Preceptor to interrogate her personally. In this time of national crisis, I have no choice but to borrow the artifact from Qifeng Manor. I will return it after use."

Chang Li and Cai Feng were seriously injured and powerless to resist. Chu Fenghua was disheveled and looked like a vengeful ghost, no longer possessing her former charm. All that remained in her eyes was her longing and resentment towards Gu Lounan.

"Senior brother, you'll regret this! You'll definitely regret it! Senior brother..." Gu Lounan glanced at her, his tone full of pity, "You were such a beautiful woman, why do you have such a vicious heart?"

Seeing Gu Lounan's softened expression, Chu Fenghua pleaded, "Senior brother, I love you... No one in this world loves you more than me!" Gu Lounan cut off a strand of long hair from beside his ear and placed it in Chu Fenghua's arms, "My junior sister Fenghua was once as pure as water, as clear as a white stream, but now she is no more. Let this strand of hair be a tribute to her death."

Gu Lounan turned around, and Chu Fenghua stopped wailing; her eyes were now empty and lifeless.

Yin Quan witnessed all of this. She used to hate this woman intensely, especially when Qin Nian fell off the cliff. She wished she could tear her to pieces immediately. But for some reason, after seeing that scene just now, she suddenly stopped hating her. There is no greater sorrow than a broken heart. For her, death was probably the only relief.

Life for her was nothing but an endless sea of ​​suffering, which was the cruelest punishment for her. "Xiahou Ying... save Qin Nian..." Xiahou Ying nodded and said to the people behind him, "Quickly go to the bottom of the cliff and search for me. Find her alive or dead."

The people behind him nodded and dispersed. Xiahou Ying carried Yin Quan back into the house. Although she was seriously injured, fortunately the stab wound was in a remote location and was not fatal. After being simply bandaged, Yin Quan fell into a deep sleep, which lasted for the rest of the Three-Body Problem.

When he woke up three days later, Qifeng Manor had changed. Most of the maids had been dismissed. The best news was that Qin Nian's body had not been found at the bottom of the cliff. Since there was no body, it meant that he still had a chance to survive.

Since Yin Quan woke up, Xiahou Ying has disappeared without a trace. Instead, he has a bodyguard by his side, who turns out to be Jing Yu, whom he hasn't seen in a long time. It is said that the political situation in the court has changed dramatically, and most of Xiahou Ying's original supporters have either died or been injured.

Wei Jun and Jing Yu risked their lives to escape from that dangerous place. Wei Jun was seriously injured and was undergoing emergency treatment overnight. Fortunately, Jing Yu was fine and was assigned to protect Yin Quan closely.

"I said Wei Jun's martial arts are so high, who could hurt him?" Jing Yu's eyes darkened. "Brother Wei Jun was harmed by a villain. We traveled all this way to meet up with the Prince as soon as possible, but we didn't expect a traitor to appear halfway, which is why Brother Wei Jun was seriously injured. Otherwise, how could he be a match for him!"

Jing Yu raised his eyebrows, clearly still angry. "How is Qifeng Manor now? What about Elders Chang Li and Cai Feng?"

"The Prince hasn't had time to deal with them yet; it seems they're still under house arrest in their respective palaces." Yin Quan weighed the options. After all, Qifeng Manor was one of the four great manors, and it had its reasons for standing for thousands of years. It was really inappropriate for them to usurp the manor like this.

"Jing Yu, go and fetch Gu Lounan. I need to discuss something with him." Jing Yu raised an eyebrow. "His Highness said that your injuries haven't healed and you shouldn't receive guests, especially the Imperial Advisor." Yin Quan rolled her eyes at him. "This is a matter of great importance. If you dare to dawdle any longer, believe me, I'll have His Highness send you to the borderlands when we get back."

Jing Yu muttered something, but still reluctantly went to invite Gu Lounan over. When Gu Lounan saw Yin Quan, he immediately put on a tearful expression, "Little Quan Quan has been so worried about me these past few days! If you hadn't come to me, I would have stormed in."

Jing Yu rolled her eyes and said sarcastically, "You wish, but even if I gave you the guts, you wouldn't dare to barge in. Otherwise, the prince would skin you alive." Gu Lounan stood up and looked Jing Yu up and down for a moment. He then lifted Jing Yu's chin with his folding fan. Jing Yu stiffened, and a blush crept onto her face.

"You...what do you want to do?"

"What do I want to do? What can I do? I can't beat you, and I'm not a woman, so what are you afraid of? It's just that it's been a long time since we last met, and it reminds me of one of the courtesans in my household who used to work at the Yan Hong Lou. She said..."

Before he could finish speaking, Jing Yu scrambled out as if he'd seen a ghost. Yin Quan looked at Gu Lounan in confusion, "Why was he so terrified when he heard about Yan Hong Lou?"

Gu Lounan smiled mysteriously, "Because that place almost caused our little Jingyu to lose her chastity." Yin Quan instantly understood that it must be Gu Lounan, who had ill intentions, who had plotted against Jingyu before. "I called you here to talk about serious matters. What do you plan to do with those elders?"

Gu Lounan picked up the tea on the table and took a sip. "His Highness has his own decision; there's no need for us to worry." Yin Quan pursed her lips, her expression somewhat grave. "We only wanted to borrow the Ancient Spirit Pearl this time; is it really necessary to escalate things to this extent?"

"Little Quan Quan, you're really naive. The keys to the divine artifacts of all time are locked inside the manor lord's internal organs. To get the keys, you must break the seal on the manor lord's body. This will cause serious damage to the manor lord's body. At best, he will be bedridden for several months; at worst, his life will be in danger. Do you think anyone would risk such a danger to lend you the divine artifact?"

Yin Quan frowned. Gu Lounan's words suddenly made her realize that she had been unable to understand the whole thing. Gu Lounan and Xiahou Ying clearly knew that it was Qinghuang and Chu Fenghua's trap, but they never exposed it. It turned out that all of this was intentional on their part. In other words, their initial target was not Qinghuang but Chu Fenghua.

Thinking of this, she felt a chill run down her spine, and looked at Gu Lounan with some dissatisfaction. "Even if you don't love her, you don't have to treat her like this, do you? She's gone this far all because of you." Gu Lounan stared at Yin Quan, his playful expression disappearing.

"She didn't do it for me; she did it for her own desires. Elder Ling did indeed poison the manor lord, but she knew this and didn't stop him. Why? Because she wanted to be the manor lord herself. She wanted to be the mantis that unaware of the oriole behind. Back then, in order to obtain the status of heir, she plotted to have Jiang Huan capture you, almost causing your death. Was all of this for me?"

Gu Lounan's question left Yin Quan speechless for a moment. "I... I'm not saying you did something wrong, but at least spare her life."

Gu Lounan chuckled and reached out to ruffle Yin Quan's hair. "My little Quan Quan will always be so cute." Yin Quan helplessly slapped his hand away. "But Chang Li and Elder Cai Feng are innocent."

"Your Highness and I didn't intend to harm them, but they won't believe us no matter how we explain now. We can only keep them under house arrest for now, and then we'll explain properly after we get the Ancient Spirit Pearl, finish our business, and return it to them intact."

After hearing this, Yin Quan finally felt relieved. "What about that Ghost-Faced God?" Gu Lounan squinted and said, "That kid escaped in the chaos that day. I don't know where he went." Yin Quan gritted her teeth and said, "Next time I see him, I'll make him pay. He even dared to impersonate his great-aunt!" Thinking of this, Yin Quan hurriedly touched her face. This movement immediately aggravated her wound, making her wince in pain.

As if reading her mind, Gu Lounan handed her a mirror. Seeing herself back to normal in the mirror, Yin Quan breathed a sigh of relief. It was so uncomfortable to have a deadpan expression every day.

Gu Lounan said with heartache, "Look at you, I told you to rest properly but you wouldn't listen. Now you're the one suffering. If you keep moving around, you might break the stitches that were just sewn up."

Yin Quan hurriedly dared not move. Xiahou Ying's cold voice came from outside the door, "I will take care of my queen, so there is no need for the Grand Preceptor to worry. If there is nothing else, the Grand Preceptor can go and arrange the matters of entering Tuoran Mountain." Gu Lounan reluctantly threw a flirtatious wink at Yin Quan.

"Little Quan Quan, I'll come see you again. You must take good care of your injuries." As soon as he finished speaking, the stool under Gu Lou Nan's bottom shattered with a bang. Gu Lou Nan clicked his tongue and said, "It seems that Your Highness's injury is not serious." Before Xiahou Ying could make another move, he had already floated away.

Xiahou Ying turned to look at Yin Quan and forcefully buried her back under the covers. "Why are you talking nonsense with him instead of resting properly?" His tone was slightly reproachful, but his eyes were full of doting affection.

"Xiahou Ying, did you already know about me, Xiao Xun?" Xiahou Ying nodded slightly. "Then did you also know about Chu Fenghua's conspiracy?" Xiahou Ying pursed his lips. "Xiahou Ying, didn't I tell you that if you dared to hide it from me and use me as bait, I would never speak to you again?"

Xiahou Ying's expression tensed up. "Let me explain. I didn't know at first either... it was..." Yin Quan turned over, vowing that she would not let him off easily this time, otherwise he would never be able to change his bad habit. "Xiahou Ying, I'm tired. You can leave now."

"Ah Quan, let me explain. I was also deceived by that Ghost-Faced God at first. I didn't know that Chu Fenghua was going to switch you with someone else. When I found out, I didn't want to alert her, so I wanted to wait until the ceremony was over before making my move. But I didn't expect her to do it one step ahead of time..."