"You're soft on a dog, don't tell me you've actually developed feelings for some country bumpkin?"
"Yes, in my heart, you hypocritical royals are worse than dogs!"
The First Prince: "..."
"Then you still can't just find any man. How can a vulgar person be worthy of you? Regardless, Song Beiting is better than him. I'll have him come back to marry you."
Snow Niang laughed in extreme anger, looking at him like an idiot, her clear, refined features clouded with a pent-up frustration.
"What, you're not sending me to the Turks anymore? Now you want to send me to the Song family? Does the Song family have something even more desirable for you to covet?"
"First Prince! Let me tell you, don't even think about it! You will never control my life again. If you dare to force me, I will make the entire Jing Kingdom bury me with me!"
"Ling Yao, you—"
The First Prince was shocked and angry. Did she really think of him that way?
He just felt that man wasn't good enough for her.
She had changed, completely.
She was no longer the obedient little rabbit she used to be, but this transformation pained him.
He shouldn't have provoked her.
Now, he wished she hadn't changed.
What had she gone through to become like a hedgehog, guarding against him, her own imperial brother, like a stranger?
"What if I told you I've already sent people to kill that man?"
Snow Niang stared fixedly at the First Prince, her thick eyelashes casting a shadow. A hint of red began to spread from the corners of her eyes. She spoke each word deliberately, "You, sent, people, to, kill, him?"
The First Prince suddenly felt she was somewhat eerie and terrifying at this moment. He quickly said, "However, he's quite capable. My dead soldiers didn't return, so I suspect they've already fallen by his hand."
Looking closer, the scene from before seemed like an illusion. Her face bore a clear mockery.
How could a mere two dead soldiers harm him? He was truly overestimating himself.
The First Prince shifted uncomfortably, finding his imperial sister rather peculiar. He had grown up in the dark imperial palace, experiencing too much of the world's cruelty and ugliness. As a child, he used to fear and be afraid, but now, others feared him.
Yet, for a moment just now, how could he have been frightened by a young girl?
It was truly strange.
He looked at her with curiosity.
After venting her frustration, Snow Niang felt an emptiness in her stomach and a sudden appetite, wishing she could eat several large bowls of rice.
"Someone! Have the kitchen stew a chicken for me, stewed until it's incredibly tender."
The First Prince opened his mouth again. Didn't Ling Yao not eat meat before?
Yu Liu, who was waiting outside, responded and left. Another maid entered to clean the floor.
The First Prince still didn't leave. They sat in silence until the chicken was served.
Snow Niang ate the entire pot of chicken, piece by piece, and drank a lot of the soup.
The First Prince was truly a bit stunned.
"Elder Imperial Brother, you can talk to me more often from now on. After you're done talking, I'll have an appetite."
The First Prince: "..."
"That man, doesn't he have money to buy you meat?" His tone was somewhat heavy, devoid of the initial casual mockery.
"He doesn't buy much." Snow Niang wiped her mouth. It wasn't because he lacked money, but because what he hunted on the mountain was enough.
"Then you still..." wouldn't let him kill him?
Just because he saved her?
What was that? She was a noble, legitimate princess. Being saved was that villager's honor.
"He's devoted, unlike Elder Imperial Brother, who's like a bull, leaving his mark everywhere. He doesn't even know how many children he has scattered outside."
"Do you still have any semblance of a princess? Speaking so crudely, devoted my foot! He's just poor. If he had money and power, you'd see if he wasn't a fighting bull among bulls!"
He was so infuriated! Had Qu Linglong told her this? That woman was truly restless!
"I'm sleepy, you can leave!"
Snow Niang walked towards the sleeping quarters.
The First Prince's anger had yet to be unleashed. He stared at her retreating back, wishing he could bore a hole through it.
How did the obedient rabbit turn into a prickly hedgehog?
What kind of man was that wild man? Was Ling Yao forced to stay with him back then? No, he had to inform that fellow named Song.
Although he also disliked Song Beiting, he was still better than a crude, uncouth villager.
The First Prince sniffed. What kind of incense was burning in this room? It smelled quite pleasant, something he had never smelled in the rooms of other women before.
Of course, how could those vulgar women compare to Jing Kingdom's most beautiful and noble princess?
Snow Niang was awakened by a woman.
"Yu Liu? Yu Liu?"
After so many days, she had finally found some peace, and now she was woken up before she had slept enough. Snow Niang was very angry.
Yu Liu had also disappeared somewhere. The First Imperial Brother hadn't trained his people well; they had no manners at all.
The room was heated by a "fire dragon," so it wasn't cold at all. She didn't want to go out, but the conversation between that woman and the guards kept reaching her ears, clearly meant for her to hear.
"No matter how favored she is, she's still an outsider. Remember your place. Attacking a servant as soon as you arrive, who gave her the audacity?"
"Miss Feng Ling, say less."
"What, Wei Hu, have you already started siding with her? I'm telling you to know your position and recognize who the real master is!"
Definitely not you.
Wei Hu cursed inwardly, but outwardly, he still advised, "Master instructed us to guard the young lady well before he left. Acting like this might displease him."
"Ridiculous. I've followed Master through life and death for so many years. Am I going to be suppressed by some woman of unknown origin? Do I still have any standing outside? Get out of my way. You won't come out, will you? I'll call you out myself!"
The door creaked open.
Snow Niang looked coldly at the woman in guard attire standing before her.
The First Imperial Brother was truly indiscriminate, getting involved with anything dirty or smelly, without any disgust.
Feng Ling's expression froze, a deep jealousy flashing in her eyes.
No wonder she was allowed to stay in this villa; she truly had some beauty, far superior to the one from before.
No, all of Master's women couldn't compare to her in the slightest.
What she wore was soft silk woven from silkworm silk gifted by the Southern Kingdom. The entire imperial palace had only three bolts, and he hadn't seen it on any of his other women.
Her figure was delicate and graceful, her skin like snow. Not only men, but even women would be captivated.
Who is she?
Wei Hu and the other guards dared not look directly at her, lowering their heads.
"Do you have something to say to me?"
Snow Niang's beauty was peerless, and her demeanor was one of innate nobility. Her words carried a condescending tone.
Feng Ling felt insulted.
No one dared to be presumptuous in front of her among Master's women.
"I heard someone is arrogant due to favor, and beat the cook half to death as soon as she arrived. I've come to warn you and teach you some manners!"
Feng Ling was of average appearance, with her hair tied up in a high ponytail. Due to her martial arts training, she looked sturdier than ordinary girls, appearing very capable and neat. However, the arrogance and jealousy on her face were off-putting.
"Is your Master dead, that a servant is sent to teach me manners?"
"You—" Feng Ling seemed incredulous, "How dare you curse Master?"
Good, too good! She was practically offering her face to be slapped!