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

Chapter 58 Gentle Actions

Upon hearing this, Xiahou Ying remained silent for a long while before standing up and saying, "Whether things change or not, I will only marry one person." He then bowed slightly and continued, "I have disturbed Your Majesty for a long time; I shall take my leave now."

After speaking, he straightened up, but paused slightly, his gaze drifting towards the window and towards the Spirit Tower.

On the Spirit Tower, after Gu Lounan finished speaking, he squinted at Yin Quan, who had no expression on her face. He felt that her reaction was a little strange, and that her reaction seemed a little too indifferent.

Although he knew she was a woman who was somewhat different from others, she was ultimately just a woman...

Every woman has her own unavoidable weaknesses, such as... the woman who will never be forgotten in her current fiancé's heart.

Despite his thoughts, Gu Lounan did not get the result he wanted. Instead, Yin Quan surprised him once again.

"Is this the story you wanted to tell?" Raising an eyebrow, Yin Quan glanced at the person next to her with a dismissive look, making no attempt to hide her disdain.

Looking down at her, Gu Lounan couldn't find anything to say in response.

“He told me about Qin Chang’an a long time ago. No matter how deep or passionate their love was in the past, that’s all in the past. The only person he will marry is me.” Yin Quan’s eyes shone brightly as she looked intently at Gu Lou’nan, like a ray of light that shone directly into his eyes and dazzled his mind.

The momentary shock vanished quickly, and Gu Lounan soon regained his composure. He smiled, his phoenix eyes crinkling, and suddenly reached out his hand to her.

"What are you going to do?" Yin Quan glared at him warily, and almost reflexively shrank back.

"There's a leaf stuck in your hair." Gu Lounan's smile grew even brighter as his long, slender fingers quickly brushed against her cheek. When he withdrew his fingers, a green-yellow leaf was caught between them.

Seeing two figures on the Lingji Tower outside the window behind Xiahou Jue, Xiahou Ying, whose face was expressionless, pursed his lips, turned around, and strode out of the vermilion and gold gate of the East Palace.

Xiahou Jue glanced at the Lingji Pagoda outside the window, a smirk playing on his lips. He then looked away and turned to the inner hall, addressing the empty space, "You heard everything?"

"His gaze has changed..." A cold and indifferent tone came from the depths of the hall, tinged with a faint disappointment, a hint of subtle mockery hidden within the disappointment, sounding like a smile that was also a sigh.

Qin Chang'an did not answer Xiahou Jue's question, but instead murmured to himself.

Upon hearing this, Xiahou Jue remained standing with his hands behind his back. His sharp, hawk-like eyes withdrew from the unfathomable inner palace and turned to the wide, vermilion palace gate. The smile on his lips gradually froze, slowly settling and sinking in the pale golden sunlight.

"Seven years have passed. I never imagined that you, who resolutely married someone else back then, would still miss your fourth brother so much?" Turning around, Xiahou Jue walked slowly into the depths of the main hall. With each step forward, the corners of his lips curved upwards. He stopped in front of the screen made of mulberry silk and looked at the slightly blurry, slender outline of the sun through the screen's faint blue-gold hue.

"Thinking of you?" A voice came from behind the screen, asking in a smile with a hint of teasing.

“Your Highness, perhaps you have some misunderstandings about me…” Qin Chang’an continued, standing up and walking around the screen to stand in front of Xiahou Jue. Her fair and beautiful face appeared somewhat translucent in the dim sunlight streaming through the window, looking as delicate as if it could be broken at a touch.

Upon hearing this, Xiahou Jue raised his eyebrows slightly, pursed his lips and looked at her, then suddenly chuckled: "I would like to hear the details."

After leaving the East Palace, Xiahou Ying did not head in the direction of the palace exit, but instead turned around and strode towards the Lingji Tower.

Following closely behind him, Wei Jun had never seen his master in such a hurry before.

Especially, it's heading towards the Spirit Tower...

As he was pondering, Wei Jun looked up at the glazed pagoda standing in the distance, and his eyes widened in shock.

Miss Yin?

National Division?

Miss Yin and the Imperial Preceptor?

What's the situation?

Why is it that whenever Miss Yin is alone, her master always sees her with the Imperial Advisor...?

Could this be something His Highness the Crown Prince deliberately arranged?

As Wei Jun pondered this, he glanced at his master from behind. He saw that Xiahou Ying's eyes were cold and sharp, as if a thousand miles of frost were hidden within them. His thin, crimson lips were pressed into a straight line, and a glaring white was faintly visible at the edge of his lips, with a hint of bluish tinge.

"I want to go down! If you don't take me down, I'm going to jump!" On the Spirit Tower, Yin Quan, who had finally lost her patience, began to wail and threaten.

"No, Xiao Quan Quan, if you don't cherish your own life, it will hurt me here." Gu Lou Nan said with a grin, pounding his left chest with his right fist.

"Little Quan Quan, my ass! Don't just give me such a cheesy name!" Taking a step back, Yin Quan glared at him with disgust. At the same time, she looked around and immediately became a little angry.

This Lingji Tower doesn't even have a window, not even a crack! Who built this tower? It's completely useless! Negative score!

Gu Lounan stood beside her with his hands tucked into his sleeves, seemingly quite satisfied with the current situation, his eyebrows and eyes like crescent moons.

"You don't like Xiao Quan Quan? Then how about Quan'er? Or A Quan?"

"I think 'Go die' would be the best name!" Yin Quan rolled her eyes at him, then glanced around the tower. Just then, she saw a white figure moving quickly, seemingly heading in her direction.

Xiahou Ying?

Overjoyed, she shouted and frantically waved at the white figure: "Xiahou Ying! Xiahou Ying!"

Suddenly, her foot slipped, her body felt light, and she plummeted downwards.

Cursing under her breath, Yin Quan was about to burst into tears.

She was just saying she was going to jump, she wasn't really going to! Why did fate have to be in such a rush to help her achieve her wish?!

"Yin Quan!" Startled, Gu Lounan shouted and jumped down after her rapidly falling figure. At the same time, a snow-white figure, as fast as lightning, rushed over and caught Yin Quan, who was about to fall to the ground.

"Xiahou Ying!" Yin Quan's heart pounded wildly after teetering on the brink of death. Fear and excitement churned within her. She cupped Xiahou Ying's face in her hands, disregarding whether there were other people around, and planted a heavy kiss on his expressionless yet subtly tense and handsome face.

As Gu Lounan gracefully landed on the ground, his clear gaze subtly swept over the spot on Xiahou Ying's face where Yin Quan had kissed him. The anxious look between his brows had already quietly subsided.

His heartbeat, which had suddenly slowed down, returned to normal almost instantly. He looked at her, a somewhat unfathomable look in his narrow phoenix eyes.

He had watched her slip and fall from the tower without a second thought, and jumped after her. Seeing that Xiahou Ying had caught her unharmed, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

This feeling is really strange...

He enjoyed teasing and bullying her, and he didn't care if she ignored him or became resentful. But when she was in danger, he was truly terrified.

Thinking this, Gu Lounan's eyes darkened slightly, and his pale orange lips, which had been pressed into a straight line, loosened slightly.

Despite being kissed on the cheek so passionately by Yin Quan, Xiahou Ying only frowned slightly before putting her down.

"Oh dear, there's a mark on my face..." Yin Quan exclaimed softly as she landed on her feet. She reached out to rub the red mark on Xiahou Ying's face where she had bitten him, but he grabbed her wrist instead.

She felt that the force on her wrist was not as gentle and refreshing as usual; on the contrary, it contained a cold, icy aura that made her skin sting.

She looked at him with some confusion, only to see the red lipstick mark on his face suddenly disappear as if melting away like snow.

"Your humble servant greets Your Highness Prince Duan." Gu Lounan, with his sleeves gathered and a slight bow, spoke, interrupting the two.

"Your humble servant heard from Eunuch Qi that he wanted to show Miss Yin around the palace to familiarize her with the layout, so I took the liberty of bringing Miss Yin up to the Lingji Tower so that she could have a good look at the palace..."

Upon hearing this, Yin Quan immediately rolled her eyes.

Screw you! You're the one who dragged me up here by force, okay?!

Xiahou Ying glanced at her subtly, pursed his lips, raised his gaze, and said, "Grand Preceptor, you are so busy with state affairs, yet you still have the time and energy to take care of my betrothed. I should thank you properly."

"Your Highness is too kind. I am merely fulfilling my duty as a subject." Gu Lounan said, straightening up, his eyes crinkling into crescent moons with a particularly wicked look.

After hearing this, Xiahou Ying said no more, but expressionlessly pulled Yin Quan around and quickly walked out of Gu Lounan's sight.

Looking at his receding figure, Gu Lounan shrugged, then looked up at the Spirit Tower, a faint, almost imperceptible bitterness suddenly appearing on his smile.

From the imperial palace to the Prince Duan's residence, Xiahou Ying remained expressionless the entire way, just as aloof and indifferent as when Yin Quan first met him.

Watching his slightly pursed, rosy lips, she moved her lips slightly, about to open her mouth, when Xiahou Ying, dressed in a snow-white robe and standing as straight as a pine tree, suddenly stopped, almost causing her to bump into him.

Her heart skipped a beat. She looked at his waist-length black hair cascading down his back and almost instinctively shrank back.

From the moment he caught her at the foot of the Spirit Tower, she had a vague feeling that something was wrong with him. Although she was too panicked to think about his emotional issues at the time, it didn't mean that she was oblivious to it.

Yin Quan’s throat suddenly felt dry, and she frantically searched her mind for the reason that would make Xiahou Ying angry.

Could it be that the conversation with the Crown Prince was unpleasant?

She rolled her eyes and thought for a moment, but couldn't think of any more possibilities.

After all, she had been driven away by the Crown Prince at that time, and she had no way of knowing who she had met or what had happened to her after that.

Just as she was pondering this, the force that had been wrapped around her wrist suddenly loosened, and Xiahou Ying turned around and looked down at her, making her a little nervous.

"From now on, don't do such dangerous things again." His lips moved slightly, his eyes seemed to be filled with a faint mist. Although he was still expressionless, there was a hint of anger between his brows.

"What?" Yin Quan opened her eyes, somewhat stunned. Dangerous? She didn't seem to have done anything dangerous...

She lowered her head and bit her nails, and suddenly, it dawned on her.

He... he doesn't think she jumped off that wretched Spirit Tower herself, does he?!

"Xiahou Ying, I slipped and fell down..." Yin Quan grinned helplessly, and tears welled up in her eyes again.

Upon hearing this, Xiahou Ying's originally cold and indifferent expression suddenly softened slightly. He looked down at her, gazing at her pitiful yet helpless expression, and felt as if he had been struck by lightning, a tingling and dull pain in his heart that was hard to describe.