Chapter 17
Having learned the whole story, Princess Huayang’s brows shot up, her face stormy: “Servants! Drag him out and give him thirty strokes. Beat him in front of the Wuan Marquis Mansion and tell the Marquis of Wuan, if he cannot teach his child, this princess will do it for him!”
Zhang Jincan opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but in the end remained silent.
“Good child, you’ve been frightened.” Princess Huayang took out a handkerchief and wiped my sweat: “I’ll have Yuer escort you to the medical clinic at once.”
“Aunt, you and Cousin still have important matters today. Let me go alone,” Yin Jiuqing said. “This is the Second Miss of the Zhang Family. As her cousin, I must make the trip myself.”
“Very well. Yier, you stay with Aunt and continue admiring the flowers.”
“Yes.” The Beauty in moon-white robes smiled at me, nodded slightly, and left with Princess Huayang.
Zhang Jincan let out a sigh of relief, quickly handed my hand to Yin Jiuqing, her gaze following ahead, distracted: “Cousin, I haven’t had enough fun yet. You take her to the clinic, I won’t go.”
With that, she swiftly stripped off the cloak draped over me, hurriedly took off Yin Jiuqing’s robe and put it on me, grabbed the purple outer garment and rushed forward.
“Who is Yier?” I asked.
“My elder brother, Prince An, Yin Jiuyi.”
Yin Jiuqing glanced at me: “Imperial Elder Brother already has a Principal Consort and a Concubine, with many concubines. Don’t set your sights on him.”
So the Beauty was Prince An. No wonder Ruyi Pavilion was his property; it made sense that he could own such a large establishment in the Capital where land was so precious.
“Then what if I set my sights on you? Would you marry me?”
Yin Jiuqing suddenly scooped me up by the waist, carrying me horizontally.
The wound on my lower back was pressed by his hand, making me tear up from the pain.
I paused my teasing and focused on complaining: “Crown Prince Brother, you touched my wound. It hurts, it hurts!”
His hand quietly shifted upward, his face expressionless, words few: “You deserve it.”
“Do you really dislike me so much? Why do you always have to lecture me? I’m really in pain.”
I raised my wrist, marked by whip scars, to his face, tears brimming, feigning pitifulness: “Look, it really hurts.”
“You know perfectly well if you were provoking him on purpose. Would you really offer yourself up to be beaten? Are you someone without any schemes? And those peonies, you did that deliberately, didn’t you?”
Suddenly, I didn’t want to speak anymore. It seemed there was no need to.
The excitement and agitation gradually faded. I tucked my arm back into my sleeve.
In an instant, tears streamed down my face. My supposedly flawless act was full of holes; I was more laughable than a clown.
“I did it on purpose.”
“Is it worth it? Why hurt yourself for him?”
“Don’t you understand? But you should, you saw it with your own eyes.”
Yin Jiuqing wanted to say more, but I no longer wished to listen. I closed my eyes and said, “Crown Prince Brother, I really hurt. Please take me to the clinic quickly, don’t let me be left with scars.”