Seducing the Heart - Chapter 12

For the members of the Prince’s Manor, it was a day as ordinary as any other.

The fish in the pond swam with exceptional joy, leaping from the surface one moment and hiding at the bottom the next, occasionally blowing bubbles in a state of leisurely contentment.

Yun Jin accompanied Qin Zhanluo in the manor’s garden, scattering bait to feed the fish and watching them scramble for food.

A little maid followed behind the two, holding the bait box, her mind wandering aimlessly: If these fish were caught and cooked, would they taste much more special than the ones bought outside? After all, these are fish raised within the Prince’s Manor.

A woman in white, wearing a veil, stood before the gates of King Jin’s Manor. She gazed steadily at the plaque above for a moment before stepping forward with newfound resolve.

Jiaoyue knew in her heart that if she did not use this method, that person would likely never have the courage to see her again.

“Please stop, miss. Whom are you looking for at the Manor?” The guard at the gate, seeing a foreign face, dutifully intercepted the woman, only to hear her utter words that left him in shock.

“Prince! Prince!”

“What is it? Such shouting; has there been a theft in the manor?”

“Prince, there is a woman at the gate looking for you. She claims… she claims…” The maid spoke haltingly, stealing glances at the Princess Consort standing beside Yun Jin.

“A woman?” Qin Zhanluo raised an eyebrow at the news. She looked at Yun Jin and let out a light laugh. “Could it be that the Prince has a hidden beauty outside, and now she has come knocking on our door?”

The latter responded with an innocent expression: the act of “hiding a beauty in a golden house” was not something that could ever fall to her to do.

The two walked together toward the manor gates, curious to see who could cause the reporting maid to appear so agitated.

Upon seeing the visitor, a sense of understanding dawned in Yun Jin’s heart. Although it was within her expectations, she had not anticipated the other party would arrive quite this early.

When Jiaoyue saw Yun Jin, her eyes flickered with emotion. “Prince, that night… this humble girl is now carrying your flesh and blood.”

“What?” Ying Xi, who was following behind Qin Zhanluo, could not contain herself and let out an accidental cry of alarm.

At that moment, Xie Lianjing was engrossed in researching methods to counteract a hundred poisons when someone arrived in a panic to summon her.

“Miss Jing’er, there is an urgent matter. Please… please come over.”

“What happened to the Prince?” Xie Lianjing’s heart tightened, fearing something had befallen Yun Jin.

“The Prince is fine.” The guard was panting heavily from running so fast.

“Will it kill you to speak without gasping for breath?” Xie Lianjing rolled her eyes unceremoniously. “What is the matter then? And it’s urgent?”

“The Prince, the Prince is ‘with child’…”

“Ha?” Xie Lianjing sprang from her chair in shock. “What did you just say? Say that again?”

Yun Jin… with child? With whom? How is that possible?

“No, there is a lady at the manor gates saying she is with child, and that it is the Prince’s own flesh and blood.”

Xie Lianjing closed her eyes, reopened them, and flashed a subtle smile at the guard. The guard felt a chill run down his spine and instinctively took a few steps back.

Jiaoyue lowered her brow nervously, not daring to look up at the lady before her.

“This romantic debt the Prince has incurred…” Xie Lianjing withdrew her hand from Jiaoyue’s wrist, her tone teasing. “This lady indeed possesses a pregnancy pulse.”

“…” Yun Jin looked into Jiaoyue’s eyes and merely offered a gentle smile. “Men, assist Miss Jiaoyue into the manor. Settle her in well and serve her with care.”

Immediately, someone respectfully supported Jiaoyue as they led her inside.

As Jiaoyue passed by Qin Zhanluo, the Princess Consort cast a glance at her; the scent on this woman was the exact same fragrance that had clung to Yun Jin the night she failed to return. So, the one who stayed with Yun Jin that night was this lady before her.

“Prince,” Qin Zhanluo left behind a sentence with a half-smile, “you are quite impressive.”

Thank you for the compliment, but this truly isn’t my ‘impressiveness.’

“Jin’er, what is going on here?” Xie Lianjing leaned in with a face full of gossip. She knew Yun Jin’s identity meant she could never be the biological father of the child in that woman’s womb; she wondered whose scapegoat Jin’er was becoming.

“I do not know either,” Yun Jin replied nonchalantly. “But I will find out eventually.”

“…” A spark of interest rose in Xie Lianjing’s eyes, knowing that a good show was bound to take place in the coming days.

“Miss Jing’er, can you give me the antidote?” Seeing the crowd disperse, the guard rushed toward Xie Lianjing. He didn’t know what she had used on him, but his face was now swollen like a pig’s head.

“Antidote?” Xie Lianjing huffed coldly. “There is no antidote. Remember, next time you speak to me, do not gasp for breath.”

The guard watched as Xie Lianjing strode away. He didn’t dare chase her and could only pull a long face while trying to find a way to hide his appearance.

“Highness, that King Jin is truly going too far! How can he openly let a woman stay in the Prince’s Manor?” Ying Xi was sputtering with rage. “And even saying she has the Prince’s flesh and blood; how audacious!”

Who would have thought that the Prince, who usually appeared as gentle as jade, would commit such a shameful act of a heartless man!

“Mm,” Qin Zhanluo responded casually, carefully outlining the silhouette of ink bamboo on paper. The brush in her hand seemed to possess a soul; the curves were winding and the lines were straight without a single kink.

“Highness, look at that woman who appeared out of nowhere. She looks soft and weak, but maybe she is actually quite scheming! You must be extremely careful…” Ying Xi continued her indignant muttering.

Qin Zhanluo did not show much reaction; she even found it inexplicably a little amusing.

“Could the Princess be driven mad by anger?” Ying Xi looked at Qin Zhanluo with worry, unable to understand why she could still sit there so calmly and continue painting.

If it were her, she would have rushed over to fight that woman for eight hundred rounds and kick her out of the manor! However, Her Highness was a Princess; such unseemly matters were things she herself could handle on the Princess’s behalf.

Qin Zhanluo spoke with a half-smile: “Is this not excellent? It saves the hardship of ten months of pregnancy. I need do nothing and yet I can pick up a baby to raise in the future.”

Qin Zhanluo dipped her brush in ink again, but the smile in her eyes could not be hidden. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to be jealous and angry as Ying Xi expected; it was simply that the idea of Yun Jin being able to father a child with another woman was far too entertaining.

Watching the smile in Qin Zhanluo’s eyes, Ying Xi’s eyes widened. She increasingly felt her mistress was either maddened by rage or perhaps also bewitched by that woman’s pitiful appearance.

“Highness, you cannot be like this! You must go and give that woman a warning! Otherwise, if the Prince breaks the agreement and takes three wives and four concubines in the future, what will we do?”

Ying Xi was being far too noisy, so Qin Zhanluo finally set down her brush, her tone somewhat helpless. “Fine, fine, fine. I shall go and take a look.”

Halfway to Jiaoyue’s residence, she looked up and saw Jiaoyue chatting with Yun Jin in a pavilion. The atmosphere was exceptionally harmonious.

“What a coincidence; the Prince is also here.” Qin Zhanluo walked over on her own, her face wearing its usual lack of expression.

“Greetings, Princess Consort…” Upon seeing Qin Zhanluo, Jiaoyue instinctively moved to perform a formal salutation.

“Miss Jiaoyue is pregnant; there is no need for such formalities.” Yun Jin was quick to stop Jiaoyue’s movement, supporting her to remain seated in her previous spot.

“Thank you, Prince,” Jiaoyue offered her thanks with sincere gratitude and picked up a piece of pastry from the stone table to hand to Yun Jin.

“The Prince and Miss Jiaoyue truly share a love as deep as the sea. I shall not disturb you then.” Qin Zhanluo gave a soft sigh, yet she sat down in the pavilion as well, with no intention of leaving.

Realizing her actions could easily lead to a misunderstanding, Jiaoyue quickly withdrew her hand and put the pastry into her own mouth instead.

“The Princess Consort has misunderstood.” Jiaoyue smiled with some embarrassment. “The bond between the Prince and me cannot compare to the deep affection between the Prince and the Princess Consort.”

Qin Zhanluo had not misunderstood; she simply wanted to tease this girl who had come to the manor with unknown motives.

Qin Zhanluo looked at Jiaoyue’s belly, not addressing Jiaoyue’s previous comment. “Has the Prince thought of a good name for the child in Miss Jiaoyue’s womb?”

“We don’t know yet if it will be a boy or a girl. Simple names sound better; Yun Shen, Yun Duo…”

Seeing Jiaoyue’s increasingly embarrassed face, Yun Jin could only call a stop. “Princess Consort, can we discuss this matter a bit later?”

“Very well. I shall wait for the Prince’s explanation.”

“What, is the Prince finally willing to come over?” Qin Zhanluo spoke in a flat voice while flipping through a volume in her hand.

“What kind of talk is that, Princess Consort? I naturally return to the bedroom to rest.”

“I simply assumed that with a beauty by your side, the Prince would be loath to part.” Qin Zhanluo turned a page. “See, with just a moment’s lapse in attention, the Prince has sent me quite a grand gift.”

“That child is not mine.” Yun Jin’s tone was somewhat helpless. “If I say that everything between Miss Jiaoyue and me is perfectly innocent and nothing ever happened, would the Princess Consort believe me?”

“Naturally,” Qin Zhanluo closed the book and stood up to return it to the shelf, “I believe you.”

“After all, Prince, it would be difficult for you to perform such a deed.” Qin Zhanluo’s eyes sparkled with mirth as she looked at Yun Jin with composed leisure.

Since she knows, she is still intentionally teasing me. Truly black-hearted.

Yun Jin grew even more helpless. “The night I failed to return to the manor was the first time I met Miss Jiaoyue.” Yun Jin explained the entire sequence of events to Qin Zhanluo.

“In that case, the biological father of the child in Jiaoyue’s womb will be the key…” Qin Zhanluo analyzed objectively. “By my guess, that person’s identity will certainly be far from ordinary.”

“The Princess Consort is clever; I think the same. Jiaoyue likely wants to use me as bait to force that person to come and see her. Now, we just wait for the trap to be sprung.”

The evening breeze blew steadily. The guard on shift at the gate was being secretive, refusing to show his face to the public.

“Hey, buddy, what are you doing?”

“Don’t mention it. I was punished by Miss Jing’er; my face is now swollen like a pig’s head, I can’t let anyone see it.”

“Hm? Let me take a look.”

“Go away, go away.”

“It’s not that bad. Isn’t this just your original look?”

The guard borrowed a small bronze mirror from a familiar maid to take a look. He was overjoyed. “My face is healed!”

God bless me, I will never go and report news to Miss Jing’er ever again.

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