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

Chapter 76 Difficulty in Making Choices

As Xiahou Ying gripped her wrist and pulled her forward at high speed, Yin Quan looked at his sharply defined, chiseled features from behind and bit her lip.

The two walked on the main road, where pedestrians were everywhere. However, they were all intimidated by Xiahou Ying's sharp and piercing aura, and they all consciously dispersed to the sides of the street, as if afraid of being frozen by the fierce cold air. They cooperated very well and did not dare to look at him for long.

After looking left and right for a while, Yin Quan looked away and stared at the slender, white fingers pressed against her wrist, becoming even more puzzled. He had controlled the force and speed perfectly, neither too much nor too little, it was almost as if he was doing it on purpose.

Was he trying not to hurt her...?

With a slight thought, Yin Quan pursed her lips, a gentle, crescent-shaped curve appearing at the corners of her mouth, and a surge of unprecedented warmth welled up in her chest.

Suddenly, at that moment, the figure in front of her stopped abruptly, and she, unable to stop in time, bumped right into Xiahou Ying's back.

Before she could utter a sound, Xiahou Ying, who had remained silent the entire way, suddenly turned around and looked down at her like a god. His gaze was piercing yet deep and cold, like a ghostly blue phosphorescent flame burning quietly in the night, captivating and soul-devouring.

He chuckled awkwardly twice, and Yin Quan subconsciously shrank back, about to look away, when he grabbed the tip of her chin.

Why did you hesitate just now?

"Hesitate? What hesitation? I didn't do anything just now." Startled by his question, Yin Quan blinked.

Upon hearing this, Xiahou Ying did not continue, but stared intently at those beautiful, radiant eyes that shone like clouds, their slender pupils silent as a deep pool, as dark as the night.

Eh?

Slightly opening her eyes, Yin Quan frowned and began to recall.

hesitate?

What is he saying?

Seeing the clear, untainted confusion in her eyes, Xiahou Ying pursed his lips, a flicker of emotion appearing in his clear, deep gaze, but it ultimately subsided.

Why didn't you choose me directly?

Hearing that increasingly cold and detached voice, Yin Quan suddenly shuddered, then chuckled, "I'm a Libra, you know, I have trouble making decisions..."

"Libra?" Xiahou Ying frowned, his expression changing.

“You wouldn’t understand even if I told you. Anyway, I have trouble making decisions, so…” As she spoke, Yin Quan’s speech slowed down, and her voice also became much lower.

She carefully flicked her wrist, a smirk playing on her lips, and continued, "So... that's why you were angry? You were jealous?"

His gaze fell on her clear, beautiful eyes, like glass beads. Xiahou Ying did not respond. After glancing at her briefly, he slowly released his long, slender, white fingers, then strode forward, ignoring her completely.

Seeing this, Yin Quan covered her mouth and chuckled, but then stuck to that tall, straight, snow-white figure like a leech, acting as if she couldn't be more obsequious.

"Little Yingying, don't be angry..." Yin Quan ran after her with a grin, following behind Xiahou Ying and tugging at her snow-white sleeve.

"I didn't mean to, really, so much happened in that instant, I was completely terrified..."

Suddenly, before she could finish speaking, Xiahou Ying, who had been determined to stride forward, stopped abruptly and turned to look at her.

"Can a heartless person be scared out of their wits?"

"Huh? Heartless? What's the connection between those two things?" Staring wide-eyed at those long, narrow black eyes that seemed to hold a clear, misty quality, Yin Quan was first taken aback, then snapped back to reality and roared, "Xiahou Ying! You petty, sharp-tongued man! I've already explained and apologized! What more do you want!"

"Whatever I want, you will do it?" As if he hadn't noticed her barbed tone at all, Xiahou Ying's dark eyes lingered with a clear light as he slowly approached her, forcing her into the narrow alley step by step.

Although Xiahou Ying was expressionless and had a cold voice, the aura emanating from his body was extremely imposing, pressing down on Yin Quan like a tidal wave, forcing her into a corner.

Yin Quan felt her back hit the cold, hard wall, and with nowhere to hide, she cried out inwardly.

Damn it... this... this deadpan expression, could it be that he's planning to do something like that...?

How could someone with such obsessive-compulsive disorder want to be in a place like this?!

Her heart skipped a beat, and Yin Quan desperately turned her head away, a thousand times, a million times, not wanting to make any eye contact with him, afraid that she might accidentally succumb to that stunningly beautiful face.

His gaze fell on her round, red, agate-like earlobes, and Xiahou Ying pursed his lips, his expression softening slightly.

She is usually so shameless and has no bottom line, yet she blushes so easily.

What a contradictory woman...

As he thought of it, Xiahou Ying barely moved his thin, cicada-wing-like crimson lips and whispered, "Look at me."

"No, no, no, this is fine..." Lowering her head even further, Yin Quan chuckled awkwardly and twisted her neck even more.

Her nostrils were filled with the fresh scent of pine and bamboo, like morning dew. She wanted to hide and retreat, but she was helplessly enveloped in Xiahou Ying's arms, tightly wrapped by his incomparably clear and cool aura. There was nowhere to hide and nowhere to retreat.

"I don't think this is right. Look at me..."

A chill seemed to slowly descend from above, causing Yin Quan's scalp to tighten. She instinctively tilted her head back, meeting his dark, cold eyes, which shone like the clear light of the moon. But the next second, he pressed his forehead against her thin shoulder.

The scent of pine and bamboo suddenly became stronger, and Yin Quan froze on the spot, completely stunned by Xiahou Ying's sudden action.

Her throat felt slightly dry. She opened her lips, about to speak, when a low, cold voice came from beside her ear: "Don't move." Immediately afterward, she heard a series of muffled thuds, followed by Juan Kuang's familiar tone.

"It was truly dangerous just now. If I had been even a fraction slower, I fear I would have been separated from the Prince and Princess forever."

With a smile in his voice, Gu Lounan shook his tattered, crimson cuffs as he spoke, his words filled with undisguised regret.

Without leaving a trace, he glanced at the lifeless corpse at his feet, then turned slightly, blocking Yin Quan behind him. His expressionless face fixed his gaze on Gu Lounan, who had a smile in his eyes. After a long silence, he slowly moved his thin lips: "The Wei faction in Eastern Zhou is in turmoil, and the Meng tribe in the Northern Frontier is being rebuilt. I'm afraid the Grand Preceptor is a little too idle."

"Protecting the imperial heir is merely my duty," Gu Lounan replied with a smile and a nod, his expression remaining unchanged throughout.

Passing by Xiahou Ying's side and looking ahead, Yin Quan couldn't help but swallow hard.

Although the two appeared no different from before, the stiff and cold atmosphere was chilling and made it impossible to look directly at each other.

She glanced at the black-clad corpse lying at Gu Lounan's feet and pursed her lips.

Compared to the corpses, these two living people in front of me are definitely more terrifying...

Thinking of this, she suddenly recalled the series of actions she had taken when Xiahou Ying forced her into the narrow alley, and suddenly realized what had happened.

He had already suspected something, which was why he feigned anger. Was cornering her in the narrow alley also a way to lure the assassin there for a easier attack...?

Such scheming is terrifying to contemplate.

Suddenly, just as Yin Quan was lost in thought, Xiahou Ying spoke up.

"Wei Jun, escort her back to her residence."

Before Xiahou Ying could finish speaking, Wei Jun, dressed in a snow-white outfit, had already appeared.

Staring blankly at the white-clad guard who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, Yin Quan opened her eyes, but quickly looked away and scanned the two figures, one in white and one in purple.

Should we escort her back to her residence?

Did she mishear something...?

Xiahou Ying actually ordered someone to send him back to the palace?

Well? !

If she leaves, won't he be alone with Gu Lounan?!

This...is strange...

Normally, Xiahou Ying would have a deep hatred for Gu Lounan, wishing he could beat him every time he saw him, and ideally take his life by accident. Even just now, he had intentionally "accidentally" injured him several times. Why is he now taking the initiative to be alone with him?

And we can't even let her be near us... this is really unusual...

Doubts, like an impenetrable fog, repeatedly and layered around Yin Quan's heart, seeping into every blood vessel and every cell in her body, leaving her feeling as if a bone was stuck in her throat, and for a moment she was quite confused.

Despite her many doubts, she did not hesitate. She only glanced at the black-clad corpse at Gu Lounan's feet as she walked past him.

Could Xiahou Ying's decision be... related to that corpse...?

With that thought in mind, Yin Quan quickly composed herself and followed Wei Jun out of the narrow alley.

Without making a sound, Gu Lounan turned and glanced towards the alley entrance. With his hands in his sleeves, he lowered his gaze to Xiahou Ying, a slight smile playing on his pale orange lips. He chuckled softly, "Your Highness has always disliked this humble subject, so why…?"

"I do not wish for your grudges with the three great manors to involve her."

Before Gu Lounan could finish speaking, Xiahou Ying, whose face was ashen, spoke up.

His voice was extremely soft, yet it was like a cold, icy stream, freezing the grass and trees and causing snow to fall wherever it passed.

Upon hearing this, Gu Lounan's lips still curved into a smile, but a thin layer of frost appeared in his bewitching phoenix eyes, gleaming with a faint, clear light.

"Your Highness, have you truly fallen for Yin Quan?" Without giving a direct answer, Gu Lounan raised his eyebrows, a hint of mockery and disdain in his gaze as he looked at Xiahou Ying.

"If this humble servant remembers correctly..."

"Whether he is moved or not, that is not something the Grand Preceptor should concern himself with." Without giving Gu Lounan a chance to finish speaking, Xiahou Ying waved his sleeve and walked straight past him, but stopped when he was about to reach the alley entrance and continued, "Tell the Crown Prince that I have accepted my elder brother's generous gift."

After speaking, Xiahou Ying walked out of the narrow alley. Her snow-white clothes fluttered without wind, shimmering like fireflies in the sunlight. Like a sharp arrow, she rushed towards Gu Lounan like a sudden rainstorm, instantly turning him into a sieve without leaving him any room to maneuver.

On the way back to the mansion, Yin Quan's mouth never stopped for a moment, she was a real chatterbox.

Wei Jun was so miserable...

In the past, it would have been fine if her master had been indifferent to her, but now that this woman was about to become the mistress of the Duan Prince's Mansion, she could not be neglected in the slightest.

Watching the white-clad guard's slightly twitching lips, Yin Quan pursed her lips, calmed down for a while, and then started asking all sorts of questions again.

“You know, right? How could that madam Li dare to easily make a move against the people of the Duan Prince’s mansion? Xiahou Ying proposed to me in front of the whole city a long time ago. Given her status in Zhaoyang, she would never let such an important matter slip by. This time, she deliberately caused trouble, she must have been instructed by someone. Wei Jun, I know the rules in the Prince’s mansion are strict, but we haven’t arrived yet… so…”

"Miss Yin, please don't make things difficult for your subordinate." Wei Jun finally couldn't bear it any longer and interrupted her. Although he was still trying his best to maintain his rationality, the twitching corners of his lips and the slightly protruding veins on his forehead had completely exposed his frustrated and frantic emotions, leaving no room for doubt.