Caiyu and Sheng Jiangli were still whispering to each other, discussing how to take the silver safely while rejecting the Prince of Qi's amorous advances.
A gust of wind blew over. Sheng Jiangli's eyebrows knitted together. Alertly, she grabbed Caiyu's hand, intending to pull her behind herself.
However, Song Yinghuai was even faster. He stepped in front of Caiyu in a flash, blocking Sheng Jiangli's gesture. Then he grabbed Caiyu's wrist and dragged her three steps away from Sheng Jiangli.
"Your Highness, the Prince of Yan!" Sheng Jiangli lowered her voice. Her face was tense, and a nervous atmosphere filled the air. "What are you doing?"
Song Yinghuai sneered. "I should be the one asking you, General Sheng. You are a confidant of the eldest prince, yet you are always clinging to my maid. This makes me have to suspect that you are trying to gather information through this opportunity."
Sheng Jiangli raised her eyebrows. Her tense expression relaxed, turning into a half - smile, looking quite unruly.
"I only like to inquire about the preferences of beautiful ladies... like what they like to eat, drink, and what kind of men they like. Oh, just now, Sister Caiyu said that she doesn't like boring, rigid, overbearing, and unreasonable men!"
She didn't mention Song Yinghuai by name at all, but every word was aimed at him.
Song Yinghuai was taken aback. His heart felt stuffy. "… Boring."
He tightened his grip on Caiyu's wrist and led her out of the imperial garden.
Sheng Jiangli wanted to follow.
But Caiyu was worried that the growing tension between the two was becoming too intense, to the point that they would fight at the sight of each other. She turned her head and shook it at Sheng Jiangli.
Just as Song Yinghuai turned his head, he saw the silent communication between Caiyu and Sheng Jiangli through their eyes and gestures.
His heart sank suddenly, and he felt a dull pain. Even the air around him seemed to thin.
The man dragged her out of the imperial garden forcefully. With a "pop", he pushed her into a dark corner and pinned her under the shade of a tree.
The sudden darkness made Caiyu stunned. Her beautiful eyes widened.
Immediately afterwards, Song Yinghuai pressed Caiyu against the tree trunk and kissed her passionately.
Lan Jinshu, you are not allowed to look at that man anymore!
This left all the court officials in the garden bewildered.
Song Boming forced a laugh and tried to smooth things over. "Gentlemen, I'm sorry. My fourth imperial brother has some urgent matters to attend to... Please don't mind. Enjoy yourselves..."
Since the Prince of Yan had left, and the crown prince and Concubine Lü hadn't returned after changing their clothes for a long time, many people felt bored and left early.
Wen Zilong tightened the wine cup in his hand and sighed regretfully.
Just now, he had wanted to take the opportunity to get on good terms with Song Yinghuai, but unexpectedly, Song Yinghuai left suddenly before he could get close.
His eyes were obscure as he recalled what had just happened.
The woman that the Prince of Yan had pulled away was none other than his sister - in - law, Lan Jinshu!
Judging from the way the Prince of Yan looked, it seemed that he had really fallen in love.
Now, the situation had changed overnight. The Prince of Yan was powerful, while the crown prince was at a disadvantage.
The Xu family, the Duke of Founding State and the Marquis of Yongchang had all been meritorious officials in founding the country and had known each other for a long time.
Xu Buyue's elder sister and Lan Jinqin had been close friends when they were young.
Wen Zilong's mind was in turmoil.
It seemed that he had to treat Lan Jinqin better. He also had to remind his mother not to always force Lan Jinqin to take Peilan into the mansion at this time.
Thinking of this, Wen Zilong couldn't stay any longer.
He greeted Song Boming and then hurriedly left the palace in a carriage and returned to the Wen Mansion.
Under the dark shade of the tree, Song Yinghuai kissed for a long time before finally releasing his lips.
He rubbed Caiyu's red lips forcefully.
It was a bit hard to see clearly, but the feeling on his fingertips was very distinct.
The woman's lips felt as tender as mutton fat, with a bit of warmth.
Just kissed by him, her lips were moist, and her unstable breath escaped from her teeth and sprayed on his palm.
It seemed that he hadn't ravaged her so recklessly for a long time.
Since he found out that she was Lan Jinshu, he had always been afraid to be as overbearing and unreasonable as before and force her to do those things.
And this girl, for some unknown reason, seemed to have given up the idea of seducing him and was no longer so passionately clinging to him.
Song Yinghuai couldn't describe the complex emotions in his heart.
But he was extremely irritable, unable to suppress his restlessness.
Although the two slept in the same bed every night, the estrangement between them seemed deeper than when they were in Yanjing.
Caiyu's feet felt weak, but she was stubborn. She bit her lower lip tightly and didn't let out a single moan.
He was about to marry a new princess, so why was he still pestering her?
Song Yinghuai clamped her chin and forced her to turn her head.
He had good eyesight and quickly adapted to the darkness. When he turned Caiyu's face and saw the deep tooth marks on her petal - like lips, he was stunned for a moment.
"Lan Caiyu." Song Yinghuai gritted his teeth and called her. The early summer wind messed up his sideburns, and his bangs swept across Caiyu's forehead, disturbing her mood.
Song Yongzhen's words had been lingering in his mind just now.
She had agreed to get married. She had agreed to sell herself to General Sheng for 50,000 taels of silver!
He felt that the anger in his chest was about to explode.
His hand tightened on her jaw, forcing her to raise her head. He asked coldly, "Want to leave the mansion and get married? Hmm?"
Caiyu's breath caught for a moment. Her eyes shrank in the darkness.
Had Song Yongzhen asked Song Yinghuai for her deed of sale so quickly?
She hadn't even received the silver yet!
Was this a bit too hasty?
She hadn't even figured out how to deal with Song Yongzhen yet, and now she had been caught by Song Yinghuai.
Caiyu's scalp felt cold. She stammered, "Your Highness... knows?"
Song Yinghuai had hoped that she would say that it was all just a joke with Sheng Jiangli.
But unexpectedly, Caiyu directly admitted it.
Her stammering sounded like shyness to Song Yinghuai. Immediately, his eyes turned blood - red with anger, and the veins on his forehead popped out.
His hand moved to her neck and suddenly pressed her down. The rationality that had just returned to him shattered again.
He roughly tore at her clothes, grinding his back teeth. "Selling yourself for a little silver. You're really a former skinny horse, heartless. Did I not give you enough silver, or is it because I can't satisfy your increasingly lewd body?"
In the past, he only mentioned Caiyu's status as a maid, but today he even brought up her past as a skinny horse.
He really did mind her background!
Instantly, Caiyu's heart tightened. Her tears fell like broken strings in the darkness, but her throat seemed to lose its voice.
It was he who was going to marry a princess!
It was he who was bullying her!
Why was he so bad!
The fabric slid off, and Caiyu felt a chill in her heart.
Out in the open, the sky above was boundless, with stars twinkling. There were also fireflies in the flower bushes below, which magnified her shame a hundred times.
Caiyu panicked and covered her chest.
Although she had once rolled around with Song Yinghuai in the plum forest.
But at that time, she had been drugged and was not in her right mind. Moreover, she had been trying to seduce him, so she had thrown her sense of shame to the back of her mind.
But now it was different.
Now Caiyu liked Song Yinghuai, and she also hoped that this man would respect and love her like a normal husband would treat his wife.
Rather than continuing to treat her as a tool for venting his desires.
Caiyu covered her chest in a panic and cried like a frightened child. "Let go of me... This is the imperial city... Wuwuwu..."
Song Yinghuai's palm touched something soft. The snow - white skin that slipped out between his fingers made his dark eyes even darker, and his mouth went dry.
Maybe he had restrained himself for too long, or maybe the twin snakes were driving his rationality. He just couldn't hold back this time.
But Caiyu's words "imperial city" pulled his rationality back a little.
His big hand grabbed Caiyu's delicate wrists, and the other hand wrapped around her soft waist. Then he rushed through the darkness with her in his arms.
Caiyu was almost dragged by his hold. She didn't know which room they had entered. Dizzy, she was thrown onto a big bed!
Before she could even cry out in pain, her hands were pinned above her head.
Then a dark shadow loomed in front of her eyes. The man leaned over and bit her petal - red lips. His thin lips kissed her fiercely!