Princess, Spare My Life - Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Edge of the Twilight Lake

Princess Minghui smiled and gestured with her hand. “The prince consort is really…is there really a need for you to be this overly courteous towards this princess? Between husband and wife, you do not need to treat me as an outsider!” 

“I wouldn’t dare to!” Yuan Shang tried her best to make her tone as soft and gentle as possible. 

“Prince consort, did you rush over here as soon as you could? Look, you’re sweating very profusely!” Princess Minghui chuckled. Stepping forward to her left side, her right hand took out a handkerchief and wiped Yuan Shang’s forehead. A cool and soft sensation with a light and sweet fragrance, like pear blossoms, enveloped Yuan Shang. It was simple and elegant yet familiar. 

Yuan Shang always had a good memory and killers generally remember details clearer than an average man. Among the five senses, the most profound was the sense of smell. She distinctly remembered the scent of silk fabric on this person. Both clear and refreshing, this aroma appeared when she woke up from a coma on that particular day. 

In the eyes of the servants, Princess Minghui’s movements were simply a show of love between a married couple.

As Yuan Shang bowed, she peeked up and noticed that Princess Minghui sent a vague signal towards Zhu Yu using her eyes. Zhu Yu then made a gesture toward the direction of an obscure area outside of the courtyard. Only a dark figure’s clothing could be seen in the corner of the courtyard. 

Yuan Shang was inwardly baffled, however, she remained still and composed on the outside. 

They traveled straight from the princess’s residence to the side of the Twilight Lake on horseback. Fortunately, during her past life, her boss made them learn how to drive all kinds of transportation—from airplanes to spaceships, bicycles, skateboards, and even horseback riding. Therefore, she was able to control her horse without any problems. 

Yuan Shang observed the surrounding environment using the instincts of a killer. She checked the passersby, surveyed objects in the environment, and listened to the sounds around her. Along the way, there were many on-going discussions, and often, people around them would gesture towards her direction. From time-to-time, they would mention the words, “prince consort”, “princess”, “match made in heaven,” and so on.

When Yuan Shang heard how everyone was talking about her and the woman who was like an immortal fairy, she did not feel disgusted. Perhaps, it might be because she sensed that the spring breeze was warm, felt intoxicated, or appreciated the princess’s beauty. Maybe, she believed that there was no need to react to the common folks’ gossips as she suppressed her killing intent. 

Yuan Shang naturally moved ahead to the left. Su Yin was wearing a black tight-fitting military uniform, sticking close to Yuan Shang’s left rear as a bodyguard. Princess Minghui rode side-by-side with Yuan Shang on her right. Under the public’s eyes, she smiled and conversed with Yuan Shang. 

“The prince consort has been practicing in the mountains since childhood, right? Has the prince consort never gone to the capital city before? On another day, I will take the prince consort to the capital for a stroll to see the sights there.” 

Yuan Shang secretly frowned. Princess Minghui’s voice always had an enchanting tone. Whenever she spoke, it made Yuan Shang feel extremely comfortable—that was dangerous. A calm and collected killer should never be affected by foreign influences.

Was this princess using some kind of hypnotism? Or perhaps, some kind of demonic magic to charm her?

For now, she did not have to do anything since she would not be involved with the princess in the future once she escaped. Therefore, she did not have to worry about this inexplicable sense of crisis. 

A decorated pleasure boat was docked at the lakeside. In the distance, she noticed several handsome and outstanding men arriving to welcome them. 

“Princess, Prince Consort!” 

“There were still others around?” On horseback, Yuan Shang whispered. If this was the case, then would it affect her plans of escaping?

To her right, the princess appeared apologetic as she stated, “Prince Consort, this is entirely Minghui’s fault! Yesterday, I don’t know which careless slaves told them about how you would go with this princess to visit the lake. Let those sons of nobility avoid attending their proper duties by finding loopholes to come here. We shall pay no heed to them and instead pay more attention to the educated scholars who came here to support me.” 

Yuan Shang naturally did not understand politics. She just assumed that this princess was a rather complicated person. How could she allow others to extort loopholes? Hence, based on her intuition, she deduced that the princess deliberately did it. 

But what did this have to do with her? She simply nodded and dismounted her horse.

She walked up to Princess Minghui and towed her horse along. Beside them, the guards, who should have been the ones pulling the princess’s horse, hurriedly rushed over and said, “Prince Consort, let these insignificant servants do their jobs!” 

Yuan Shang said, “I am the princess’s prince consort, so I should be the one leading the princess’s horse.” While they were greeting the princess, a piece of paper as thin and transparent as a cicada’s wing was placed on Princess Minghui’s waist. 

“’Prince consort’ used to be an official position, the original meaning refers to the position of assisting people with riding a horse. Therefore, it is the prince consort’s duty to lead the princess’s horse along! However, we scholars who have no physical strength naturally cannot do so!” From afar, a frivolous voice sounded. Yuan Shang looked towards the source of the sound and saw a person no older than thirty. With a big waist and round yet white and clean face, he appeared to be a wealthy person!

“Elder Brother Wenfeng, you’re wrong! The prince consort’s duty is to ride a horse with the princess, not to lead a horse for her! Besides, Elder Brother Su Qi comes from a family that specializes in martial arts. So as but we are not able to compare these weak people!” This person’s words were bogus as his tone contained blatant sarcasm. Being a tall and strong person who walked like the wind, how could he not think she was a “weak and feeble person?” The man was bluntly mocking Su Qi for having a weak body.

The young man who wore a blue robe with a long sword at his waist snorted and said, “Lu Wenfeng, Feng Che, are you ridiculing the Su family’s martial arts? How about we have a spar?”

Feng Che’s complexion was rigid as he smiled. “How come? We simply noticed that the prince consort was being so considerate that we just had to crack a few jokes! Who in the world doesn’t know that you? You’re General Murong who studied martial arts under the Duke of Zhao?”

Yuan Shang did not feel the need to argue with them. Her thoughts were focused on how to escape as soon as possible. Directly ignoring the tone they spoke with, she concentrated on extracting the necessary information from their words. In the meantime, she reached out and held the princess’s hand, helping her dismount the horse. Her palm was still as soft and creamy as before.

The princesses of the Dayan dynasty, even the noblest princesses, could swing a horsewhip and gallop a horse, not to mention the princess who was suspected of being an expert in martial arts.

However, when she dismounted, she held Yuan Shang’s hand like a girl who did not do martial arts. Yuan Shang remembered that during the two times she had seen her, the princess deliberately concealed the fact she could use martial arts.

Forget it, Yuan Shang thought. Anyway, she had to flee. The schemes and political warfare in the imperial court and why this princess would conceal her own martial prowess were no longer important.

“Prince Consort, are you planning on standing there forever? Let us depart!” Princess Minghui looked back at her, revealing a splendidly official smile as she halted her footsteps to wait for her.

Seeing Princess Minghui’s thoughtful behavior, she remembered the princess’s past behavior. Princess Minghui would inquire about her well-being, was constantly concerned about her, and dispatched people to deliver tonics daily. Even if it was a cold-blooded Yuan Shang, she couldn’t help but feel warm inside ever so slightly. Even if it was just an act with ulterior motives, it was indeed the first time that anyone had thought about Yuan Shang this much.