After Accidentally Marking the Cold and Elegant Eldest Princess - Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Unrestrained and Bold

Yan Yunti was standing very close, close enough to see the gland beneath Yuan Jingxue’s collar.

Having finished speaking, she mischievously blew a light breath toward the back of Yuan Jingxue’s neck.

The young woman’s hot breath drifted through the gap in the collar and brushed over the Kunze’s flushed gland. Yuan Jingxue’s neck trembled imperceptibly, and her voice was as cold as a mountain spring: “You are welcome to try.” As she spoke, her fingertips dug forcefully downward, sinking directly into the Qianyuan’s gland.

Yan Yunti let out a sharp hiss of pain.

Tsk, truly fierce.

But who could blame them when their bodies had fallen for each other?

“Your Highness is truly heartless,” Yan Yunti retreated while clutching her gland, complaining in a low, aggrieved voice. “Tossing me aside after I’ve served my purpose… aren’t you afraid of breaking me now?”

The Qianyuan withdrew her fangs and became obedient again, even carrying a hint of faint resentment.

Yuan Jingxue’s fingertips twitched slightly, her expression indifferent: “Is this Miss Yan’s answer?”

Yan Yunti rubbed her aching gland, looking up as her expression turned serious: “Rest assured, Your Highness, I was joking just now. I know my place. From this day forward, I will not say a word that shouldn’t be said, nor do a single thing that shouldn’t be done. Betraying Your Highness is absolutely impossible.”

The Qianyuan spoke with ironclad determination.

Yuan Jingxue’s expression remained unmoved. “I hope so.”

Between things that shouldn’t be said and things that shouldn’t be done, Yan Yunti had already said and done plenty, so this sudden display of loyalty was naturally difficult to believe.

The conversation ended on a sour note.

Yan Yunti stepped down from the carriage. Once the carriage had vanished from sight, she mounted her horse and rode back to the Marquis’s Manor.

Just as she entered the Zilan Courtyard, Qionglan handed her an invitation. “Miss, someone from the Third Prince’s manor delivered this today. He is inviting you to a polo banquet tomorrow. Are you still refusing to go?”

For the past three years, Yan Yunti had mostly spent her time traveling the country with Qiu Lingyue and was rarely in the capital. Naturally, she didn’t know much about the polo banquet hosted annually by County Princess Changyu.

“I went to inquire today; this polo banquet is also known as the Peach Blossom Banquet,” Songxia added excitedly. “Not literal peach blossoms, but because several pairs of gifted scholars and beautiful ladies find their matches there every year. County Princess Changyu is the Emperor’s sister, so the invitees are all prestigious nobility. Occasionally, princesses and princes appear as well. Countless people break their necks trying to get into this banquet every year. Who would have thought Miss would receive two invitations at once?”

Two invitations: one delivered by the County Princess’s manor five days ago, and another specifically sent by Yuan Yuxiu today.

Yan Yunti looked at the two invitations in her hand. Hearing Songxia mention that “princesses will also appear,” she recalled her refusal five days ago. But now…

As her thoughts shifted, she heard Qionglan ask again if she was going.

Yan Yunti tapped the invitation, her red lips curling upward: “Go? Of course I’m going. The Third Prince has invited me; how could I not give him face?”

Songxia and Qionglan exchanged a surprised glance. They knew this smile of their mistress well—it meant someone was about to suffer a stroke of terrible luck.

The next day, the spring sun was bright.

The venue for County Princess Changyu’s polo banquet was set within the royal Taxing Garden. High semicircular platforms had been erected around the open field. As a breeze fluttered the curtains, someone glanced over and felt their eyes light up—

A strikingly beautiful young woman dressed in a brocade-blue, belted outfit arrived. The attire perfectly accentuated her broad shoulders, narrow waist, and tall stature as she strolled leisurely into the field.

Someone wanted to step forward to introduce themselves, but after two steps, they saw someone else and abruptly stopped.

“Miss Yan.” Yuan Yuxiu strode forward, blocking Yan Yunti’s path.

Yan Yunti acted as if she hadn’t seen him, walking straight past him.

Yuan Yuxiu was stunned. His expression soured for a fleeting second before he recovered his composure. He turned to catch up with her, beaming: “I thought Miss Yan would reject my invitation as usual, but I didn’t expect you would actually come today. I wonder how your horsemanship is? Would you like to take the field with me later? I will surely win back whatever prize you desire.”

Yuan Yuxiu spoke with immense confidence.

Yan Yunti didn’t want to act and couldn’t be bothered to pretend. Yuan Yuxiu was clearly testing her attitude to see if she knew the truth about the imperial wine at the Millennium Banquet.

Yan Yunti tilted her phoenix eyes up, laughing with contempt: “The Third Prince had better not compete on the same field as me. Otherwise, I’m afraid Your Highness will lose so miserably that you’ll lose face and become a laughingstock.”

The smile on Yuan Yuxiu’s face froze. In the past, though Yan Yunti was distant, she was never this overbearing. He had assumed that since she dressed up for the occasion, she was unaware of the truth. Now, it seemed…

“By the way,” Yan Yunti added with a touch of sarcasm, “the one who invited me today was County Princess Changyu. Your Highness shouldn’t be so conceited.”

Having said that, Yan Yunti strode away without glancing back to see his reaction.

Although they hadn’t known each other long, Yan Yunti could tell that Yuan Yuxiu was an incredibly arrogant man who couldn’t lower himself to please others. Her few taunts were bound to set a fire in his heart—the brighter it burned, the better.

Yan Yunti walked toward the seat next to Tan Ning. As she sat down, she met Tan Ning’s inquisitive gaze.

“Hiss,” Tan Ning used her round fan to gesture at her outfit. “I can understand you dressing simply for the palace banquet, but why such grand attire today? Could it be that Kunze…”

Yan Yunti stuffed a pastry directly into Tan Ning’s mouth, warning her with a superficial smile: “If you talk too much again, you won’t be speaking for the rest of the day.”

Tan Ning was forced to swallow the pastry. After finishing her tea, she huffed, “You’re so boring. I won’t ask, I won’t ask.” A moment later, she lamented: “Ah, the girl in my house has grown up, yet I know not which lady she pines for, leaving her friend full of guesses.”

Yan Yunti reached out and deftly tapped Tan Ning’s mute point (acupuncture point).

Tan Ning stared at her with wide, disbelieving eyes. Ignoring the etiquette of a noble lady, she began hitting Yan Yunti with her fan, wordlessly mouthing: “Yan Yunti! Undo this right now!”

When Yuan Jingxue arrived, she witnessed this scene of a Qianyuan and a Kunze laughing and playing. Under the bright sunlight, the distant sight was inexplicably irritating to the eyes.

Yuan Jingxue looked away and took the seat of honor alongside County Princess Yuan Yinyu. She hadn’t wanted to come today, but her aunt had personally gone to the Princess’s Manor to fetch her, insisting she go out and see more people.

What is there to see? Nothing but blinding sunlight.

Yuan Yinyu could tell Yuan Jingxue wasn’t in high spirits. Planning to keep her company, she said to those nearby: “I won’t be the first to take the field this year. Go ask who wants to participate in the first match?”

“I’ll participate!” A young woman’s voice rang out, crisp and pleasant.

Yuan Jingxue was lightly rubbing her forehead, but her heart skipped a beat at the sound. She looked up to see a flash of brilliant blue enter her field of vision. The moment their eyes met, both could feel their glands at the back of their necks throb slightly.

The initial reactions of the Dependency Period—headaches and a slight fever in the glands—appeared one after another. Upon seeing the other, a familiar, restless thirst surged within their bodies.

Before anyone could notice, this brief eye contact was broken.

Yan Yunti bowed to the two royal women above. She had a strong constitution; although she had those physical reactions, they didn’t hinder her from mounting a horse to play.

Unsurprisingly, Yuan Yuxiu immediately stood up to join the competition as well.

The two teams had ten people in total. Yan Yunti and Yuan Yuxiu each sat on their horses at the very front of their respective lines.

Yuan Yuxiu’s expression was mocking: “Miss Yan has been away from the capital for so long, she likely doesn’t know the polo rules here. If you embarrass yourself later, don’t blame us Qianyuan for not giving you face.”

As soon as he finished, his friends behind him laughed in unison.

Yan Yunti let out a soft chuckle, gripping her polo mallet with ease. “Then if Your Highness embarrasses yourself, you surely won’t hold it against us, right?”

“Naturally,” Yuan Yuxiu’s face turned cold. “I have always been a magnanimous person.”

“Splendid.” Yan Yunti wasted no more words.

With the toll of a bronze bell, the first match officially began.

This was a mixed-gender match. In the field, a small ball the size of a fist, carved with beautiful patterns, flew rapidly as it was struck by mallets. In a mere moment, Yan Yunti saw her opening, swung her mallet, and sent the ball flying directly into the goal.

It happened so fast the crowd didn’t have time to react. Usually, when playing against a prince, most people chose not to win; even if they did, they would make the victory look difficult to avoid making the opponent look bad.

But Yan Yunti was giving the Third Prince no face whatsoever.

Her horsemanship and ball skills were better than anyone had expected. One ball after another went in; the teammates behind her were practically just decorations. After ten rounds, Yuan Yuxiu’s team had barely managed two goals, and his expression was beyond sour.

They continued to try and surround Yan Yunti, holding the mindset that even if they had to lose, they couldn’t lose too humiliatingly.

Yan Yunti calmly passed the ball to the players behind her. As she rode past Yuan Yuxiu, she suddenly looked up at the gold-inlaid jade crown on his head and said: “Your Highness’s gold-and-jade crown looks quite nice.”

Yuan Yuxiu found the comment bizarre, focusing entirely on trying to block her path.

However, his horsemanship was no match for hers. Yan Yunti easily bypassed their encirclement. She locked onto the position of the ball in the air, glanced at Yuan Yuxiu’s position, and then seized the moment to swing her mallet, striking the ball straight toward Yuan Yuxiu’s face.

The ball arrived with unstoppable speed. Yuan Yuxiu, wide-eyed with disbelief, instinctively dodged.

This dodge caused the ball to strike the gold-and-jade crown on his head. The impact knocked the crown and the hairpin loose. His long hair instantly cascaded down, covering his face. Blown by the wind, the mess of hair flew everywhere, making him look like a vengeful ghost.

Yuan Yuxiu reached out to push the hair away, but he only made it messier. He couldn’t clear his vision, leaving him in a state of extreme embarrassment. The silence around him, broken only by the sound of the wind, made him feel as if his dignity had been trampled into the dirt. He was so angry he was about to go mad. He wanted to look up and berate Yan Yunti, but with his hair blocking his view, he felt that speaking now would only make him seem more pathetic and exasperated.

To scold was wrong! To not scold was also wrong!

The people in the field looked at each other, suppressing their laughter. Tan Ning even turned her back to hide her snickering, her shoulders shaking. She knew Yan Yunti’s enthusiasm had been a bad omen!

Yan Yunti thought nothing of knocking off a hair crown; making him lose face was getting off easy.

As the atmosphere remained tense, Yan Yunti’s gaze drifted toward the seats of honor. Despite the distance, her heart was pounding fiercely.

I dressed so beautifully today and acted so boldly… I wonder what the Princess thinks?

As if hearing her heart’s cry, Yuan Jingxue’s brow twitched. In the silence of the crowd, a trace of a light smile floated into her cold eyes. She raised her hands and clapped twice.

“Miss Yan played well. Double the reward.”

The Qianyuan today was so unrestrained and bold that she was impossible to ignore. This appearance was entirely different from the “obedient” persona she had faked before.

Yuan Jingxue looked at that bright blue figure and felt the gland at the back of her neck beginning to heat up.