What Bad Intentions can the Yandere Crown Prince have?

Chapter 468 - 455: Liangzhou Continued—Tang Ziqian Side Story (Part 4)

Although Lu Yuan did not eat the xinyi fruit, she was still quite angry, so angry that she didn’t appear in front of Tang Ziqian for a while.One time, Tang Ziqian was looking out from the Xinyi Forest and saw her watering the flowers in the field.

The skilled Miss Lu immediately noticed him, looked up at him, then grumpily lowered her head, showing him the top of her dark hair.

Tang Ziqian chuckled and left.

When winter arrived, the Governor Mansion welcomed two guests.

The Governor Mansion rarely had visitors.

It’s not that no one wanted to visit, but few could enter the Mansion’s gate, and even fewer were personally entertained by the owner.

Tang Ziqian was waiting in the main hall to welcome the guests when he suddenly heard a very faint clink of chains. His gaze subtly flickered.

A handful of snow settled at the corner of the eaves.

Like a squirrel gracefully passing by on a tree branch, unseen but leaving traces.

At this time, the servant respectfully welcomed the guests inside.

The guests were a man and a woman, but anyone would only notice the man.

In his white clothes and bamboo hairpin, he looked like a celestial being banished.

Tang Ziqian was about to greet them when suddenly—

"Pa!"

His gaze quickly glanced over, and the corner of the eaves that had just held half a handful of snow had a figure fall down—

...

"You’re really good at embarrassing me, aren’t you?" Tang Ziqian said with a mixed smile.

Lu Yuan buried herself in loosening the soil, not daring to refute.

"Why? Are you stunned?" Tang Ziqian asked again.

Lu Yuan buried her head lower.

Indeed... she was...

Tang Ziqian squatted in front of her, tilted his head to look at her: "Want to know who he is?"

Unable to resist the temptation, Lu Yuan raised one eye: "Who is he?"

Tang Ziqian squinted, his smile became somewhat mischievous: "Beg me! Beg me and I’ll tell you!"

Lu Yuan was furious!

Playing with her again!

"I’ll ask myself!" She protested and stood up, but didn’t expect him to step on the chain between her shackles, nearly making her fall forward.

Lu Yuan was enraged: "How can you be so mean!"

He asked with a grin: "Am I nicer looking or is he?"

Lu Yuan glared at him: "I’ve been looking at you for over half a year, but that gentleman’s charm is something I’ve never seen before!"

The smile on his face seemed to freeze for a moment, then he slowly stood up, brushed his sleeves, and smiled: "Then go ask that gentleman to undo your shackles?"

Lu Yuan’s anger turned to joy: "Does he have the key?"

...

"How would my lord have this key?" Yingying said in surprise.

Yingying was one of the two guests.

The other gentleman who looked like a celestial was named Wenren Jia.

The previous day, Lu Yuan was only focused on Wenren Jia, not paying much attention to the ordinary-looking Yingying.

Unexpectedly, Yingying appeared in the Xinyi Forest today, and the two of them met.

Although Yingying looked ordinary, her voice was extremely pleasant, like the chirp of a warbler, crisp and delicate. Her temperament was also gentle and sweet, making Lu Yuan instantly like her and warmly invite her to tour her flower field.

After exchanging only a few words, the conversation turned towards Lu Yuan’s shackles.

"No key? Tang Ziqian said I could ask your lord to unlock it?" Lu Yuan was puzzled.

Then she turned angry: "Hmph! He tricked me again!"

Yingying lowered her head to examine the shackles and said: "This lock..."

"What?" Lu Yuan asked nervously.

Tang Ziqian wouldn’t tamper with the lock, would he?

"I... know a little about mechanism locks..." Yingying said a bit shyly, "Maybe I can unlock it."

Ah... this...

The two girls exchanged glances.

"Is this... suitable?" Lu Yuan asked.

Yingying was also unsure: "We should ask the Governor?"

"Right right!" Lu Yuan nodded repeatedly.

Then the two of them exchanged glances again.

If Tang Ziqian agreed, how would it be Yingying’s turn to unlock it?

"Forget it!" Lu Yuan pulled the chain back from Yingying’s hand, "Tang Ziqian has power and influence, plus a sister who’s the Empress, we can’t afford to provoke him!" She said with extreme indignation.

Yingying seemed thoughtful, looked at her again, and asked, "Why does Governor Tang shackle you?"

Lu Yuan shook the chain, muttering: "He bullies me!"

Yingying hesitated again and again, finally asking in a low voice: "If you have grievances, I could present them to the Empress."

Lu Yuan was surprised: "Isn’t the Empress Tang Ziqian’s sister?"

"Her Majesty the Empress cares deeply for women; if Governor Tang really bullies you, the Empress will surely help you!" Yingying said with certainty.

Lu Yuan was stunned for a while, then her face flushed red, stammering: "It’s not really bullying..."

She looked down at the chain.

It’s not an unsolvable lock, nor can’t she walk.

She didn’t truly think he was bad.

Nor did she really... want to unlock the shackles imprisoning her...

...

"This young lady doesn’t seem to really want to unlock the shackles—" Wenren Jia smiled, looking at the two girls in the flower field.

Being able to climb onto the roof of the main hall of the Governor Mansion, even with shackles, didn’t seem like being punished.

Tang Ziqian huffed a laugh, turning the topic: "How come Yingying is with you?"

Yingying had originally been a guard by the side of Tang Ziqian’s maternal grandmother, the Eldest Princess of Ji Country.

Back when Tang Xiaobai headed to the Northwest, he borrowed Yingying from the Eldest Princess, later returning her.

Even to his own granddaughter, there was borrowing and returning, showing the Eldest Princess’s fondness for Yingying. How did she now hand Yingying to a non-relative like Wenren Jia?

"What did you trade?" Tang Ziqian asked.

Wenren Jia smiled lightly: "A contract of indenture."

"What?" Tang Ziqian didn’t understand.

Wenren Jia casually handed over a jade badge.

Dragon-shaped.

"As if the Emperor himself is here."

"Her Majesty the Empress said, if I were to resign from the capital for travels afar, I shouldn’t make the trip for nothing, and could take a guard on behalf of the Emperor."

"So you chose a female guard?" Tang Ziqian laughed.

"No—" Wenren Jia smiled slightly, "Yingying is my wife."

Tang Ziqian was taken aback.

Wenren Jia, born into the Pei Family, was handsome and elegant; Yingying, however, came from slave origins and looked ordinary.

The two seemed extremely mismatched.

But Wenren Jia steadily, without a hint of hesitation, walked towards Yingying.

He bowed, smiling, and reached out his hand.

Then held it.

As they walked back, they passed by Tang Ziqian.

"It’s not good for the Empress to find out about the private imprisonment of civilian women by the Governor," Wenren Jia said with a smile.

...

"Will they really tell the Empress? Will the Empress really hold you accountable? Aren’t you her brother?" After Wenren Jia and Yingying left, Lu Yuan came clinking and clanking up to ask.

Tang Ziqian glanced at her, turned and said: "Follow me!"

Lu Yuan followed, asking continuously: "Where are we going? Don’t bully me again, or else..." she murmured, indistinctly.

Tang Ziqian walked straight back to the main courtyard and went directly inside.

Lu Yuan bit her lip, her face a bit flushed.

Should she go inside too?

It doesn’t seem appropriate?

But she really wanted to go in...

She wondered what his bedroom looked like...

While hesitating in the courtyard, something was unexpectedly tossed from the room.

Lu Yuan instinctively caught it with her hand, looked—

It was a key.

Lu Yuan was stunned.

Looking up, Tang Ziqian was standing on the steps, looking at her coolly.

Lu Yuan opened her mouth and after a long while blurted out: "How can a Governor like you be scared by a mere threat?"