Reborn Into The Harem Of A Prince From An Enemy Country - Chapter 4

Chu Lianmo brought Qi Xiaoyun to the market near Prince Rui’s estate.

Qi Xiaoyun did not dare speak or act recklessly, and deep down he had no desire to engage in excessive conversation with Chu Lianmo either, making him appear quite reserved.

Yet this reserved demeanor happened to match the original owner’s persona quite well.

However, Chu Lianmo was inherently cold and taciturn by nature, and with Murong Ying, a similarly silent guard, walking behind them, the three of them moved along in utter quietness, making the atmosphere inevitably somewhat awkward.

In the end, Chu Lianmo was the first to break the silence. “Is there anything you want? This Prince will buy it for you.”

Qi Xiaoyun mocked inwardly: Do you take me for some country bumpkin who has never seen the world? As an imperial prince, what haven’t I seen? I don’t need you to buy anything for me.

On the surface, however, he simply replied, “Thank you for your kind intentions, Your Highness, but there is nothing in particular that I desire.”

Chu Lianmo’s lips curved, a trace of approval flashing across his face. “You truly are not someone greedy for wealth.”

“Young master, would you like to buy some flowers?” Suddenly, a pretty young girl of about fifteen or sixteen approached them with a bright smile, carrying a large basket of flowers and walking toward Chu Lianmo. “A beauty should be set off by fresh blossoms; would you not like to buy a delicate flower to give to your wife?”

“You have a sharp eye, young lady.” Chu Lianmo smiled faintly.

Qi Xiaoyun thought to himself: I can hardly afford to climb as high as the title of wife.

The flower girl’s basket contained peonies, herbaceous peonies, and various other flowers. She glanced with a smile at Qi Xiaoyun, who was dressed in pure white brocade. “This young master’s temperament is pure and elegant; matching him with peonies or the like would be far too gaudy. How about a pomegranate flower instead?”

“Very well, we will take the pomegranate.”

Upon hearing this, Chu Lianmo’s guard, Murong Ying, quickly stepped forward and handed a banknote to the flower girl. Meanwhile, Chu Lianmo picked up a pomegranate flower with his slender fingers and carefully tucked it into Qi Xiaoyun’s hair, taking care not to mess up his flowing, waterfall-like strands.

The pale yellow pomegranate flower was fresh and refined, genuinely complementing Qi Xiaoyun’s own temperament.

Yet, even though the people of Chu had the custom of men wearing flowers in their hair, Qi Xiaoyun still felt somewhat uncomfortable.

Meanwhile, the original owner’s lingering consciousness began to flutter with joy.

“Thank you for your patronage! You two young masters are truly a match made in heaven!” The young girl beamed brighter than the flowers.

Hearing this, Qi Xiaoyun, influenced by the original owner, felt a faint trace of sweetness involuntarily well up, a reaction he found quite helpless.

“Let’s go.” Chu Lianmo wrapped an arm around Qi Xiaoyun’s shoulder, preparing to leave the area.

The moment Chu Lianmo’s hand touched him, Qi Xiaoyun shivered all over as if struck by lightning, a faint blush creeping unbidden up the tips of his ears.

Because Qi Xiaoyun was simply not accustomed to physical contact with anyone.

Zhou Yun just happened to be very shy in this regard as well, so Chu Lianmo merely looked at him with an amused smile.

“Young master, would you like to buy flowers?” The flower girl had already moved on to pitch her goods to someone else.

“Hah!” Qi Xiaoyun suddenly heard a frivolous male voice ring out from behind. “The little lady is quite pretty! If you marry this young master as my third concubine, I’ll buy all your flowers right now. How about it?”

“Ah, what are you doing?!” The flower girl shrieked in alarm. “Don’t touch me!”

Qi Xiaoyun quickly turned his head and saw a man in luxurious purple robes reaching out to stroke the flower girl’s face. The girl dodged repeatedly, trying to swat his hand away, but she was no match for the purple-robed young master’s strength and was instead met with a sharp slap across the face with a loud crack.

“This young master taking a fancy to you is the greatest fortune you accumulated in your past life! What are you dodging for?”

“Audacious!”

Just as Qi Xiaoyun was about to step forward and stop him, he saw Chu Lianmo turn around and bark a stern command: “How dare you brazenly harass an innocent girl in broad daylight? Do you take the laws of Chu for a complete joke?”

“Hahaha, the law? This young master’s words are the law.” The purple-robed youth laughed maniacally. “Do you know whose son this young master is? Do you know who this young master’s friend is?”

“Oh?” Chu Lianmo feigned curiosity and arched an eyebrow. “Who? Let’s hear it.”

“Then prick up your dog ears and listen well! My father is none other than the Grand General of the First Rank, Marquis Zhengyuan Jiang Zhenxiong, personally enfeoffed by the Emperor! As for my friend, he is even more formidable, for he is the Crown Prince himself, the future Emperor! Where did a puny brat like you crawl out from to meddle in other people’s business?”

Hearing this, the flower girl turned deathly pale. It seemed the other party truly was a person of immense power; once targeted by him, she would be completely powerless to resist.

“Heh.” Chu Lianmo let out a cold, fearless laugh. “So you are part of the Crown Prince’s faction. However, Eldest Imperial Brother at least appears to uphold the law; would he really condone you forcefully seizing a commoner’s daughter?”

“You, you called him Eldest Imperial Brother.” Jiang Chengjin’s face instantly drained of color. “Could you be?”

“Audacious scoundrel!” Murong Ying shouted sharply. “How dare you utter such wild arrogance upon meeting His Highness Prince Rui!”

“This, this humble commoner pays respects to His Highness Prince Rui!” Jiang Chengjin hurriedly dropped to his knees to kowtow.

Everyone in Chu knew that Prince Rui, Chu Lianmo, had been proficient in both literary and martial arts since childhood, favored by both the Emperor and the Imperial Noble Consort. Although some turmoil had later occurred regarding his mother’s status, causing Emperor Chu Wen to neglect him for a long time, his recent success in leading troops to quell rebellions on the Chu borders had earned him massive military merits and restored him to the Emperor’s favor.

Nowadays, no one in the imperial court or the public dared to look down upon him.

Chu Lianmo gazed down at him coldly. “You bullied an innocent girl in the streets, severely violating the laws of Chu. Considering you have not yet caused irreversible harm, go report to the Ministry of Punishments yourself and take thirty heavy board strikes.”

Hearing this, Jiang Chengjin’s complexion turned even paler.

Yet, in the end, he had no choice but to grit his teeth, force a single word, understood, out from between his teeth, and stumble off in the direction of the Ministry of Punishments.

“Your Highness, you.” Qi Xiaoyun stared at Chu Lianmo, hesitating for a moment before finally unable to hold back his question. “Are you not afraid of offending His Highness the Crown Prince?”

Chu Lianmo smiled with absolute confidence. “Eldest Imperial Brother wishes to project an image of a benevolent ruler who loves his people dearly; he could never openly go against this Prince simply to protect some good-for-nothing wastrel.”

A thought stirred within Qi Xiaoyun.

Just now, Chu Lianmo had described the Crown Prince’s actions as appears to uphold the law, and now he spoke of projecting an image of a benevolent ruler who loves his people dearly. Between the lines, it was clear that he did not believe his eldest imperial brother possessed such noble virtue at all.

The person Qi Xiaoyun hated most in Chu was the Second Prince, Chu Weide. However, Chu Weide was actually just a brute with nothing but physical strength; if not for the protection of the Crown Prince Chu Ziqian, who shared the same mother, Chu Weide could never have acted so tyrannically.

What if Chu Ziqian were no longer the Crown Prince?

Might Chu Lianmo also harbor ambitions for the throne?

At this moment, the flower girl, still terrified out of her wits by the recent ordeal, stood frozen in place, somewhat at a loss.

Chu Lianmo looked at her and said in a gentle tone, “You should head home now. Having suffered such a shock today, it is likely unwise to continue your business. This Prince will buy the rest of your flowers.”

“There is no need! The fact that Prince Rui was willing to help this humble maiden is already more than enough gratitude! This maiden will return home right now.” Displaying quite a bit of backbone, the flower girl declined Chu Lianmo’s charity, picked up her flower basket, and hurriedly turned to leave.

Chu Lianmo shifted his gaze back to Qi Xiaoyun, resuming their previous conversation. “Even if Eldest Imperial Brother truly decides to cause trouble for this Prince, I could never stand idly by and watch his faction oppress the common people.”

Qi Xiaoyun suddenly felt a faint sense of comfort bloom in his chest.

Years ago, when he was serving as a political hostage in Chu, he had shared a brief acquaintance with Chu Lianmo. The two of them had once shared drinks and discussed everything under the sun. Back then, Chu Lianmo had stated that his ideal was to utilize the convenience of being an imperial prince to protect the peace of the local people to the utmost of his ability. Qi Xiaoyun had deeply agreed with that sentiment.

Only, back then, on one hand, he harbored guards against everyone in Chu, and on the other hand, he knew he would eventually return to Qi, so for the most part he cautiously kept his distance from Chu Lianmo.

Later on, Chu Lianmo underwent the drastic upheaval of his mother losing favor, causing his own personality to become much more withdrawn. He stopped approaching or clinging to Qi Xiaoyun, and once, when Qi Xiaoyun even took the initiative to go greet him, Chu Lianmo had closed his doors to visitors, leading to a drifting apart of their relationship.

Although thinking back on it now, Chu Lianmo was likely in a terrible state of mind and that temporary coldness was somewhat excusable, the proud and haughty Qi Xiaoyun of those days had grown accustomed to Chu Lianmo’s burning enthusiasm toward him. Feeling heavily rebuffed, he decided never to seek him out proactively again. Chu Lianmo, likely too proud to lower his head and coax him, never looked for him either.

When Qi Xiaoyun later returned to the State of Qi and heard rumors of how Chu Lianmo was continuously taking wives and concubines, he could not help feeling a sense of lament over how increasingly absurd this person had become.

Yet at this moment, Qi Xiaoyun suddenly felt that even if Chu Lianmo had grown somewhat absurd in matters of romance, some of his core principles remained identical to what they were back then.

If he were to become the future emperor of Chu, the people of Chu might enjoy greater peace. Moreover, if his ideals were still the same as before, he would not be so radically and repeatedly targeting the State of Qi.