Princess, Don't Run Away! The Prince Says He Wants To Mend His Ways - Chapter 5

Xiao Yingxun closed his eyes slightly, exhaled, and calmed himself for a moment before responding, “I am fine.” After a brief pause, he added, “I have just recalled an urgent matter that requires my immediate attention.”

Gu Lingwan expressed his concern. “Your Highness, you have been hit by an arrow and sustained an injury. Your life is more important than anything else; you really should go to a clinic and have it checked out.”

You had better not have been poisoned with an aphrodisiac. If you do not have Liu Rujin to detox you, you might just kick the bucket, and you still have not given me my divorce letter!

Xiao Yingxun gave Gu Lingwan a look of complex frustration. “Thank you for your concern.”

With that, he rose to leave. Gu Lingwan called out, “Wait! Your Highness, do not forget to pay the bill. Otherwise, I will not be able to pack the rest of the dishes for Mr. Liu.” You stingy miser, you know I am broke.

Xiao Yingxun took a gold leaf from his pouch, placed it on the table, and walked away.

Once he was gone, Gu Lingwan signaled the waiter. “The Prince had to leave for urgent business. I cannot finish all this food alone. Please pack up the dishes that have already been prepared, and do not bother cooking the rest.”

Given that Gu Lingwan held the title of a Prince’s consort, the restaurant dared not cheat him. The kitchen staff packed up the three dishes that were already ready. Xiao Yingxun’s gold leaf was far more than enough to cover the cost, so Gu Lingwan tucked the remaining change into his pocket. He needed to save money so he would not have to worry about his finances when he finally left the Northern Qi Kingdom with Dongming.

Half an hour later, the carriage stopped before the manor. Dongming hurried over to assist him. “Your Highness, why were you gone for so long? I was so worried.”

“Look at what I brought you!” Gu Lingwan showed him the delicious food.

In the book, Dongming had been the only one to mourn the original owner deeply, even burning money for him during the mourning period. This proved his loyalty and kind heart. Gu Lingwan planned to bring Dongming along when he left so they could live a better life. In one year, everyone in this manor would be ruthlessly slaughtered. As a transmigrator without any cheat codes, he could only do so much; protecting his own life was already a struggle.

Today, he had offended a mysterious assassin to save Xiao the Second. The assassin had not managed to finish the job and had even given him a throat-slitting gesture. He would have to be very careful in the future. Once he had that divorce letter, he was taking Dongming and getting as far away from this place as possible.

“You are too good to me, Your Highness!” Dongming’s eyes grew red as he looked at the giant lobster he had never tasted before. “I am just a servant.”

Gu Lingwan rubbed Dongming’s hair. “In my eyes, you are just a little brother.”

They walked toward the manor and stopped at a roadside pavilion. Gu Lingwan placed the food box on the stone table. As the wife of a Prince, he also received complimentary thousand-layer pancakes from the restaurant. The two sat in the pavilion, enjoying the meal.

After a while, a snide voice broke the peace. “What are you two sneaking off to eat here?”

Liu Rujin stepped into the pavilion.

Gu Lingwan looked up. “Has Mr. Liu developed early-onset dementia? You are the guest, and I am the master, the consort officially married by the Prince. I am in my own home, so I have every right to do as I please.”

Before Liu Rujin could retort, Gu Lingwan continued, “When you eventually marry in, you will only be a concubine. You will have to serve me tea every day, so I suggest you stop trying to make things difficult for yourself.”

Huh? Judging by his appearance, Xiao the Second did not seem to seek him out for a detox. Did he run out of time? Did he find someone else to cure that aphrodisiac?

Liu Rujin was fuming, but he could not find a way to argue back. He looked at the food on the table and finally found a way to needle Gu Lingwan. “I am a guest. You are a Prince’s consort, yet you are eating here with a servant instead of entertaining me. You are failing to act the part of a consort.”

Dongming grew worried that he would cause trouble for Gu Lingwan and tried to stand up, but Gu Lingwan pressed him back down, popped a piece of lobster into his mouth, and spoke slowly to Liu Rujin. “Since you know you are a guest, stop blabbering. If you have the guts, go tell the Prince that I am a poor host, will you?”

Gu Lingwan’s phoenix eyes sharpened. “That is, of course, provided you are not afraid of the Prince finding out about your little secrets.”

Liu Rujin was terrified of Xiao Yingxun learning of his sordid secrets. He gritted his teeth, sat down on a stone stool, and reached for the food, but with a sharp slap, Gu Lingwan batted his hand away. “If you want to eat, pay up.”

“You…” Liu Rujin knew he could not win a direct confrontation, but he was hungry, and the lobster on the table was his favorite. He felt that he was the one who should be the consort, so he subconsciously wanted to compete with Gu Lingwan. Whatever Gu Lingwan ate, he had to have.

With a thud, Liu Rujin slammed a gold ingot onto the stone table.

Gu Lingwan’s eyes lit up. Damn, that weighs much more than the Prince’s gold leaf! If a mere junior official was this wealthy, it just went to show how stingy Xiao the Second truly was.

Gu Lingwan mentally gave Xiao Yingxun a hard kick. He pocketed the gold, picked out the largest lobster, carefully shelled it, and placed it before Liu Rujin. “Please enjoy, Mr. Liu.”

This harmonious scene happened to be witnessed by Xiao Yingxun as he approached. He furrowed his brows. The heir seems much more enthusiastic toward Rujin than he ever is toward me.

“Your Highness?” Liu Rujin saw him first and hurried to greet him.

Gu Lingwan offered a token bow and sat back down. Dongming, knowing his place as a servant, stood to the side. Gu Lingwan sighed internally, deciding he would take Dongming out for a proper meal next time.

Xiao Yingxun sat on the stool beside him. Gu Lingwan curled his lip and said, “Your Highness, you should be sitting next to Mr. Liu.”

Xiao Yingxun stared at him steadily. “Why should I sit next to Rujin?”

I am just trying to be nice; he has been acting up ever since he got here. Gu Lingwan smiled ingratiatingly. “That way, Mr. Liu can peel shrimp for you. It would deepen your bond and you two could sleep together sooner, ideally, right before I catch you in bed.”

Liu Rujin was already prepared to peel shrimp for the Prince.

Why would I engage in such immoral conduct with Rujin? Xiao Yingxun was increasingly suspicious of Gu Lingwan’s foresight. He replied coldly, “The heir is my consort; this duty should be performed by you.”

Liu Rujin hid the jealousy in his eyes. So this little bitch is playing hard to get with the Prince.

Gu Lingwan followed the lead. “Fine, I will peel it.” He turned to Liu Rujin with a cryptic expression. “Shrimp shells are hard to peel. It is easy to hurt your hands; the Prince is just concerned for you.”

His words made Xiao Yingxun so angry he felt his shoulder wound might rip open.

“Oh my!” Gu Lingwan looked at the empty plate. “The lobster is gone.”

There were only three lobsters to begin with; Dongming had eaten one, and he had given one to Liu Rujin. “Your Highness, would you like to eat mine?”

Gu Lingwan offered the half-eaten lobster to Xiao Yingxun. Liu Rujin watched intently to see what the Prince would do. Xiao Yingxun looked repulsed. “You should enjoy it yourself, Consort.”

Heh, I knew you would not eat it. I was just being polite, not that you would have the sincerity to appreciate it! Gu Lingwan pulled his hand back. He seemed to remember something. “By the way, I saw you were not looking well at the restaurant earlier. Did you go to the clinic?” You did not go and do something immoral, like forcing someone else to help you with that aphrodisiac, did you?

Xiao Yingxun felt like he was going to cough up blood. The heir’s thoughts were so vile, and he himself was not as pathetic as the heir imagined. “I went to the clinic. It was just a fever caused by the wound.”

Xiao Yingxun rose and left in a foul mood. Once the Emperor’s birthday banquet was over, he would expose the fact that this person was an impostor and send them to the Ministry of Justice.

After the man left, Gu Lingwan shrugged helplessly at Liu Rujin, who had been acting like a piece of the furniture. “See? The Prince loathes me so much that you really have no reason to be threatened. You should try harder to marry him!”

He stood up and left, leaving a bewildered Liu Rujin behind.

Time passed in a blink. Two days later, under a bright sun, Gu Lingwan and Xiao Yingxun arrived at the palace for the banquet. When the carriage stopped before the vermilion gates, Xiao Yingxun got out and extended a hand to Gu Lingwan.

Gu Lingwan knew he was just playing the part of the refined gentleman in front of others.

What a hypocritical phony! Gu Lingwan took the hand of the suddenly sullen Xiao Yingxun.

Xiao Yingxun helped him down, walked him into the palace, and then departed, leaving Gu Lingwan on his own.

The original owner had grown up in the palace and knew every inch of it, but this was Gu Lingwan’s first time. The palace was magnificent, with sweeping eaves and intricate carvings, a testament to imperial power, but to Gu Lingwan, it was a giant maze.

As he walked, he realized he had lost his way. Just as he stood before a towering hall, wondering how to find a servant to ask for directions to the banquet hall, the carved rosewood door creaked open.

Seeing the person who walked out, Gu Lingwan said, “Your Highness, so this is where you are!”

Hearing this, the man paused in surprise.