Happy reading~

Chapter 101: Was It Really Alright to Speak to a Princess This Way?

Duan Xinghui steadied himself. He wasn't wrong. The one he loved was Er Ya. It was just, why couldn't Er Ya empathize with him a little?

Once a man lost his job, his source of pride, he would feel a lot more inferior. The current Duan Xinghui was in a drunken stupor everyday and felt as if the road ahead of him was completely dark.

When he got back to the Duan Residence with a bottle of wine, he ran into Madame Duan who was anxiously rus.h.i.+ng out.

"Mom, what's wrong?" asked Duan Xinghui.

When Madame Duan saw how decadent Duan Xinghui had become, her heart felt about to break. However, there was currently a more pressing matter, so she hastily told him, "Er Ya has gone to raise a fuss at the Princess Residence."

Duan Xinghui quivered and woke up from his stupor. He threw down the bottle of alcohol and immediately turned to head towards the Princess Residence with an anxious expression. Even he himself wasn't sure why he was so anxious. However, it couldn't be denied that he suddenly did feel the desire to see Princess Jiahui.

There was that little bit of secret motive and hope that Princess Jiahui would plead with the Emperor on his behalf

When Duan Xinghui reached the Princess Residence, he saw that Er Ya, who was dressed in gree,n was kneeling in front of the Princess Residence. The guards stationed at the residence's entrance were watching Er Ya vigilantly and there were a lot of onlookers.

At this instance, for some unknown reason, Duan Xinghui didn't even have the courage to walk to Er Ya. He felt so many conflicting emotions that his heart felt numb.

When Ning Shu heard from Xiao Hong that Er Ya was outside, she was irked. Even though she was behaving and staying at home, the people from the Duan Residence insisted on coming and causing her trouble. It was unbelievable.

Ning Shu stroked the whip at her waist. Xiao Hong knew that the princess was angry the moment she saw this movement. All the guards in the Princess Residence had been 'trained with' by the Princess. Basically, the princess had used them as targets for whipping practice.

Ning Shu walked towards the residence doors. She'd like to see what kind of ruckus these people wanted to cause. However, at that time they shouldn't blame her for not being polite.

The moment Ning Shu walked out, time seemed to slow for Duan Xinghui. Princess Jiahui was, as always, wearing equestrian garments with her hair pulled up into a high ponytail and a whip at her waist. Her appearance was both refres.h.i.+ng and elegant, causing people to involuntarily sigh with admiration.

Ning Shu stopped at the top of the steps to size up Er Ya who was kneeling on the ground. Er Ya had applied cosmetics, her brows were drawn into thin willow leaf brows, and she was wearing a thin silk garment. Ning Shu could only say that this outfit really didn't suit her.

Er Ya had thick eyebrows and large eyes from the start, so forcing her eyebrows into long thin lines just made her eyes look unnatural. The feeling that Er Ya gave Ning Shu now couldn't even compare to when she had first seen her at the city entrance.

Meanwhile, as Er Ya looked at Ning Shu, at the aloof and remote Princess Jiahui, she felt as if the princess seemed to be surrounded by a halo of light. Her face was flawless, and though she wasn't wearing a single piece of jewelry she seemed peerlessly elegant and n.o.ble, so beautiful it was hard to look straight at her.

Er Ya's inferiority complex became even stronger. She recalled what Yuan Dong had said: originally Princess Jiahui was supposed to be Duan's wife and Duan was supposed to be the Emperor's brother-in-law. Yuan Dong had said that it was all because she had caused Princess Jiahui to be angry, that was why Duan lost his position as a general.

Er Ya wanted to come here and beg Princess Jiahui not to blame Duan anymore.

"Princess, do you still remember me?" Er Ya asked Ning Shu.

Ning Shu: …

Was it really ok to use this sort of tone to say this sort of thing to a princess?

"Princess, a thousand wrongs, ten thousand wrongs, they're all my wrongs. I beg you, please don't blame Duan anymore," cried Er Ya. "Please don't be angry anymore. As long as you don't blame Duan, you can have me do anything."

Duan Xinghui who was standing in the crowd had a conflicted expression on his face. His heart was filled with all sorts of flavors - sour, sweet, bitter, spicy, and salty - and he felt both moved and a little humiliated.

Meanwhile, Ning Shu felt like her b.a.l.l.s were about to break. What the fudge did this mean? It almost gave her the misperception that she was a petty scoundrel that liked breaking apart mandarin ducks. She had never even considered getting involved in this person's love life, yet these people insisted on seeking her out.

The way this girl put it was as if she was using public office to avenge private wrongs. If they were angry, they should go find Li Wen ah. The person who gave the imperial edict was Li Wen, so what were they coming to her for? They all freaking treated her as a pushover!

#comment: "It almost gave her the misperception that she was a petty scoundrel that liked breaking apart mandarin ducks." You are, you are. It's your true nature lol~

Happy reading~

Chapter 102: It Was No Good, No Good

Ning Shu took down the whip from her waist. She had already whipped the male lead, so what would it feel like to whip the female lead? Oh no, how did she become so violent? It was no good, no good.

When Duan Xinghui saw the princess reach for her whip, he immediately recalled the feel of the whip; it hurt as if his veins were breaking. Even now, just the sight of this whip made Duan Xinghui's arm hurt.

He hastily ran over, picked up Er Ya who was kneeling on the ground, and dodged to the side to avoid Ning Shu's whip.

Ning Shu calmly retrieved her whip. She had noticed from the start that Duan Xinghui was in the crowd. Tsk tsk. To allow his woman to kneel and plea for a favor while he hid to the side, Duan Xinghui's moral quality was really something ah.

Ning Shu really didn't know what part of this Duan Xinghui was worth the original host's attachment. It was probably that the original host had felt unwilling to accept this situation so anger caused her to insist on s.n.a.t.c.hing this man over. Things were only precious if there existed people that desired them and the same applied to humans.

If a person really looked, he would find that Duan Xinghui wasn't a good person at all.

Er Ya stared at Duan Xinghui in astonishment for a moment, then tears started spilling out. Under everyone's watch, she clung onto Duan Xinghui due to uncontrollable relief.

"This common citizen greets Princes Jiahui." Duan Xinghui s.h.i.+elded Er Ya and saluted towards Ning Shu.

Ning Shu gave an 'en' without saying anything. She simply stayed where she was above the steps and looking down at Duan Xinghui.

This position made Duan Xinghui feel very uncomfortable. Although he knew that Princess Jiahui really didn't have feelings for him anymore, the way she was acting was seriously making him feel really vexed. In the past, Princess Jiahui would never show any disdain towards him like this.

"Princess, this matter has nothing to do with Er Ya, so what need is there to be so cruel? Er Ya is a woman, how could she withstand Princess's whip?" As Duan Xinghui spoke, his tone gradually became filled with blame.

Ning Shu pressed her lips together for a moment before abruptly giving a laugh. "Audacious! By this are you blaming this princess? Duan Xinghui, you had better look after your woman well, else you guys can all pack up and get out of this capital. This princess will definitely make it so that you won't be able to continue staying in the capital. If there's another next time…" Ning Shu pointed at them with her whip. "I'll whip your faces until they're unrecognizable!"

"You really think this old lady… ahem, this princess's residence is a food market? To come here everyday to cause a ruckus?" As Ning Shu spoke, she swung her whip and hit Duan Xinghui on his shoulder.

Duan Xinghui gave a m.u.f.fled groan and his face immediately turned deathly pale. Er Ya was stunned to the point she blanked out. She saw Duan Xinghui stumble, then fall to a kneel and screamed before shouting, "Dear, Dear…"

Er Ya's eyes now contained fear as she looked at Ning Shu. Her dark face instantly turned pale and looked much prettier.

Duan Xinghui covered the injury with his hand. His earlier injury had just healed, yet now he had gotten whipped again. He looked up. When he saw that Ning Shu's expression was cold and annoyed, his heart trembled a little. Only now was he truly coming to realize that Princess Jiahui wasn't the gentle and considerate person he had known anymore; she was filled from head to toe with the dignity and pride of an imperial family member.

The gaze with which she looked at him now was unconcerned and cold. His heart suddenly hurt a little. Something that wasn't treasured before, once lost, would make a person feel uncomfortable and angry. Why would the princess become like this?