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

Chapter 4 Dowry

Xiahou Ying smiled with a wicked charm, his dark eyes, as deep as the long night, gleaming with a clear light, as if he were savoring something.

Seeing the faint curve of his master's thin lips, Wei Jun pursed his lips, hesitated briefly, and was about to speak when he was interrupted by the tall, elegant man before him: "The Emperor has decreed this marriage; it is an imperial edict. To elope is to disobey the imperial decree..."

With slow, deliberate movements of his thin, blood-red lips, Xiahou Ying glanced casually at Wei Jun as he spoke, and continued, "The people in the General's Mansion are probably going crazy with worry right now."

"What does Master mean..." Wei Jun frowned slightly, but did not say the words "send it back".

Having served Xiahou Ying for ten years, he had a good grasp of the man's temperament, if not a complete understanding.

Hearing his master's somewhat ambiguous tone, Wei Jun felt melancholy.

It was already quite surprising that they rescued Yin Quan, the illegitimate daughter of a military family who defied the imperial decree and ran away from her arranged marriage. Now, she is constantly going against her master and never resting for a moment.

Just as he was pondering this, Xiahou Ying's slightly nonchalant, cool voice drifted over: "Keep an eye on the General's Mansion."

After speaking, he took a step, and the hem of his snow-white robe fluttered without wind, dazzling like a knife.

Following his master's retreating figure intently, Wei Jun twitched his lips. Though filled with endless confusion, he simply followed quickly without asking a question.

Are you keeping an eye on the General's Mansion...?

The master's behavior is indeed quite unusual...

Yin Quan, who had been knocked unconscious by Xiahou Ying's internal energy, did not wake up until noon the next day. Lying in the bedding filled with the scent of pine and bamboo, she clutched her chest tightly, filled with grief and indignation.

Xiahou Ying, you perverted, paranoid, and germaphobic maniac! If this were modern times, she would definitely sue him for illegal imprisonment, bankrupting him and ruining his reputation!

The thought of being struck in the chest by a strange force again made her feel terrible.

She sat up, still covered by the quilt, and carefully peered out through a narrow gap. This time, she didn't see that straight, snow-white figure.

Overjoyed, she was about to throw down the quilt and jump down when her legs gave way and she fell face down again.

Scrambling to his feet from the edge of the bed, Yin Quan, his forehead bruised, roared, "Xiahou Ying! I'll never forgive you!"

Inside the study, Xiahou Ying suddenly looked up at Wei Jun and asked abruptly, "Is Yin Quan a concubine's daughter?"

"Reporting to Master, Miss Yin was born to a concubine and was the ninth in her family. When she ran away from home to resist an arranged marriage, she was chased and drowned by the order of her stepmother, surnamed Liu."

Wei Jun answered in this way.

Upon hearing this, his gaze remained fixed on the silk scroll in his hand, his fingertips tracing the brocade edge of the scroll, and he did not turn the page for a long time.

"This is the gift list. The betrothal gifts will be sent at noon today."

Upon hearing this, Wei Jun was slightly taken aback, but instinctively reached out and took the thin sheet of paper.

"The General's Mansion has produced such a bold and reckless illegitimate daughter who defies imperial orders, yet General Yin remains calm..." Xiahou Ying spoke as if to himself, averting his gaze as he spoke, maintaining his usual cold and indifferent demeanor.

"Master, the people from the General's Mansion have been searching for Miss Yin's whereabouts in the city. Those people are acting in secret under the orders of the Second Madam of the General's Mansion."

Upon hearing this, Xiahou Ying raised an eyebrow, but seemed unconcerned, merely waving her long, slender hand. Seeing this, Wei Jun quickly understood and immediately took the gift list and left.

As soon as the white-clad guard left, Xiahou Ying slowly raised his eyes, as clear and bright as the cold moonlight, from the silk scroll.

He didn't hit her too hard yesterday, so Yin Quan should be awake by now.

Thinking this to himself, he stood up, but stopped in his tracks when he reached the door of the study. A faint, clear light rose in his deep black eyes, which were like moonlight, as if they were made of snow-covered green swords, exuding a chilling aura.

The concubine's daughter was born to a secondary wife and had no status in the household. It was unreasonable that such a woman, who had been bullied and oppressed since childhood, dared to disobey the imperial decree and even escape from the household.

The most illogical thing is that a general's mansion, a weak woman with no strength to even kill a chicken, managed to escape successfully...

This was quite unexpected for him, and it was precisely because of this unexpected turn of events that he saved her.

As his thoughts raced, Xiahou Ying entered the east wing where Yin Quan was, only to witness an extremely strange scene. Someone who had somehow woken up and fallen to the ground was angrily muttering to herself over the empty bedding. Although the words that kept popping out of her mouth were increasingly strange, there was one word that he was quite familiar with: the name "Xiahou Ying".

Xiahou Ying frowned slightly, then quickly smoothed it out. She pursed her lips, expressionless, and lifted her snow-white brocade boots. She stopped behind Yin Quan and said coldly, "Is this Helan stone floor comfortable to sit on?"

Feeling a jolt on her scalp, Yin Quan turned around abruptly, and her previously numb lower limbs regained power almost instantly!

"Xiahou Ying!"

"You like sitting on the ground, your taste is quite unique." With a blank expression, Xiahou Ying moved his thin lips slightly, as if he hadn't seen the two burning flames of anger in Yin Quan's eyes, and sat down on the round stool with a soft cushion.

Feeling a tightness in his chest, Yin Quan roared, "You're the one who likes sitting on the ground! Release my pressure points right now!"

With a slight raise of his eyebrows, Xiahou Ying did not respond immediately, nor did he even glance at her. He simply looked down at her with a dark and profound expression, like a reflection of the night in a cold spring pool, making him unfathomable for a moment.

Almost instinctively, Yin Quan swallowed hard and shrank back slightly.

Damn, what's with that sharp look?! She doesn't seem to have said anything she shouldn't have...

Catching a glimpse of her slightly pursed lips and those bright, clear black eyes that seemed to shine like the starry sky, Xiahou Ying raised an eyebrow and stood up.

"Don't go! Don't go! I was rude and said the wrong thing, and I hurt your pride, isn't that enough? If you're going to leave, at least release my pressure points first!"

She strained her neck and shouted at the tall, elegant figure, lunging forward, but in the end she couldn't even touch a corner of the white robe. She just watched helplessly as Xiahou Ying walked out.

Standing outside the east wing, listening to the cries that turned from wails to roars, Xiahou Ying frowned, and the lines of his lips, which had been slightly pursed, slowly relaxed.

If she truly was just a concubine's daughter who had lived a secluded life in her chambers, then she knew far too much...

Yet she wore all her emotions on her face, and he truly couldn't see through this woman.

With a slight thought, Xiahou Ying averted his gaze and turned to look behind him. A faint bluish frost appeared between his brows, conveying a sense of coolness and inquiry.