Chapter 204: The portrait
“Eh…?! Senior brother, please save me! I don’t want to marry Slug!!! Senior brother, you must have a secret passageway somewhere here, right? Allow me to borrow it, ok?!” Nangong Jun Xi pleaded.
“Not ok.” Leng Jun Yu flatly refused.
Seeing this, Nangong Jun Xi was mad, “Senior brother, how could you be so cruel? If I get captured, I’ll have to live a life of torment. You have the heart to do this to me?”
“Then let me ask you. You may hide for now, but do you plan to hide forever? If you really dislike that girl, be upfront and tell them. As long as you’re determined, your mother will not force you. She’s not going to put a knife to your neck and make you get married!”
Leng Jun Yu couldn’t take Nangong Jun Xi’s whining anymore as he put down his writing brush.
Hearing this, Nangong Jun Xi heavily sighed and said, “I guess so….”
After all, eventually he’ll have to face it.
Le Yao Yao covered her mouth and began to giggle. Who would’ve thought this guy would be forced into a marriage! Hehe. What a loser!
Le Yao Yao looked like a naughty kitten. Seeing this, Leng Jun Yu kindly scolded, “Oh you……!”
“Hehe!! Yu, can we go watch too?”
Le Yao Yao was incredibly curious. She wanted to know what type of woman could make Nangong Jun Xi so disgusted that he had to run to escape marriage. Could she have three heads and six arms?
“Alright.”
Since “he” wants to go, Leng Jun Yu will do what he wants.
—–
Ye Hong was a subordinate that the Emperor of the ancient kingdom of Khotan trusted very much. He was over forty years of age but an excellent martial artist. Due to his loyalty and devotion to his country, the Emperor gave him a very important position.
So, when Nangong Jun Xi saw Ye Hong, he knew it was pointless to run.
“Ye Hong, haha. Long time no see. You’re ordered by my parents to take me back, right? Aaii… I’m surprised you guys received the news so quickly. I thought I avoided all the spies, yet you found my location.”
“Actually, 7th Prince, the Emperor and Empress already knew you were here a while ago.”
“What? They already knew? Then why didn’t they send anyone until now?”
After all, based on Nangong Jun Xi’s understanding of his mother, she would send people after him the moment she knew of his whereabouts. So why haven’t they done anything for the last two months?
Strange!
“This time, subordinate is not here to seize and force the 7th Prince to go home. This subordinate is here because Princess Lulu is missing!”
“What?! Slug is missing?!”
Nangong Jun Xi exclaimed. To him, it was a great thing. That means, he wouldn’t have to fear returning home! He wouldn’t have to marry Slug!!
If Ye Hong wasn’t in front of him, Nangong Jun Xi would be laughing at the sky by now.
“Oh yeah, why is she missing? You still haven’t found any traces of her?”
Nangong Jun Xi didn’t care about the answer to the first question. It was the second one that mattered.
Please God. Don’t let Ye Hong find that annoying Slug. He doesn’t want to marry her.
He knew it was kind of evil for him to think like this, but if he had to marry her, he’d rather her be missing for life!
“Sources say that Princess Lulu left a month before you returned, 7th Prince. She left a note saying she was looking for you. The moment we found out, we began to search for her. Through some mountain thieves, we found some of Princess Lulu’s belongings. After some severe torturing, the mountain thieves admitted they robbed Princess Lulu. Initially, they had planned to kidnap and force Princess Lulu to marry their chief, but fortunately, Princess Lulu managed to get away. So for the past three months, we’ve been searching for her. We know she’s probably at the Heaven Yuan dynasty. However, we haven’t heard any recent news. The Empress has been sobbing daily ever since. Each day, she washes her face with her tears. Now, the Empress wants the 7th Prince to help with the search as well.”
Ye Hong took out a rolled up scroll and handed it to Nangong Jun Xi. He continued, “This is a portrait of Princess Lulu. Please take a look, 7th Prince.”
Knowing that it was a picture of Slug, Nangong Jun Xi felt a strong urge to throw it away. However, since Ye Hong was around, he couldn’t do that.
Nangong Jun Xi felt troubled. On one hand, he was glad Slug was missing. But on the other hand, he didn’t want his mother to be sad. His mother treated Slug as if she was her own daughter.
Hello?! He was the biological child!
The moment Nangong Jun Xi recalled his memories of Slug, he felt shivers down his back. After so many years, Slug must still be ugly. He didn’t have to look at her portrait to find out.
So, Nangong Jun Xi didn’t have the slightest incentive to look at the portrait.
“Alright. I’ll deal with it. Don’t worry about it, Ye Hong.”
“Then this subordinate will dismiss himself and continue searching. For the next little while, this subordinate will be staying at the Ruyi tavern. If the 7th Prince has any news of Princess Lulu, please contact this subordinate immediately.”
“Alright. Thanks for all your hard work, Ye Hong.”
After Ye Hong left, Nangong Jun Xi felt a breath of relief and collapsed on the chair like a boneless snake.
He threw the portrait onto another seat and had no intentions of looking at it.
At this moment, Le Yao Yao arrived into the hall and was sad to see that Nangong Jun Xi was the only person inside. She noticed the tea cups on the table and realized the guests had already left.
She missed the show and Nangong Jun Xi was still here!
So, disappointment could be seen all over Le Yao Yao’s face. She pouted her red lips and gazed around the room.
Suddenly, her eyes landed on the rolled portrait.
“Huh? What’s that?”
Le Yao Yao reached for the scroll.
“Ye Hong just gave it to me. It’s a portrait of Slug.”
“Ohhhhh! It’s your fiancée! Hehe. Let me take a look! I want to see who the 7th Prince is hiding from! The 7th Prince is acting like a mouse! Hehe!”
“Damn you! Who are you calling a mouse? How dare you refer this Prince as a mouse? You are courting death! Give me back the portrait!”
Nangong Jun Xi was angered by Le Yao Yao. He could tell Le Yao Yao was very curious. Although he didn’t want to look at Slug, he didn’t want to let Le Yao Yao see it either. So, Nangong Jun Xi got up from his seat and began to go after Le Yao Yao for the portrait.
So now, the two of them were chasing each other around the room. Nangong Jun Xi was taller and stronger but Le Yao Yao was quicker and smoother.
Just as they were chasing other around the table, Nangong Jun Xi suddenly stopped running and tricked Le Yao Yao.
Le Yao Yao could tell she was about to lose control and crash into Nangong Jun Xi. Nangong Jun Xi reached his hand above Le Yao Yao and was about to snatch the portrait.
At this moment, Le Yao Yao could see Leng Jun Yu standing by the door. She beamed and threw the portrait to Leng Jun Yu.
“Prince Rui! Take a look! Hurry! This is the fiancée of the 7th Prince! Take a look and see whether she’s really ugly!! Why else would the 7th Prince hide like a mouse?”
Le Yao Yao had to insult Nangong Jun Xi on a daily basis. Or else, she wouldn’t feel at ease.
Leng Jun Yu reached his hand out and accurately caught the scrolled portrait.
“Oh you…”
Leng Jun Yu gave Le Yao Yao a tender smile and unrolled the portrait.
Originally, he had absolutely no interest in knowing what Nangong Jun Xi’s fiancée looked like. But he obediently listened to Le Yao Yao since it was what he wanted.
However, the moment Leng Jun Yu saw the woman in the portrait, he felt as if he was shocked by lightning. He froze on the spot –
The woman in the painting was so beautiful that her appearance could overturn a state. Men and women would go insane for her!
But what shocked Leng Jun Yu the most wasn’t the girl’s beauty. Instead, she was…