But the next moment, her wrist ached, and the dagger clattered to the ground.
She lifted her head.
And met those icy, bone-chilling eyes.
This time, she didn't cower. Instead, she was unusually resolute, as if agreeing to be his concubine of secondary rank truly profaned his noble self.
"You…" Li Yingfeng ground his molars fiercely, then sneered, "Since you're so sensible, this prince shall grant your wish! But you are already this prince's woman, and you've pledged to serve this prince like a beast of burden. So from this day forth, whenever this prince has need of you, you will be on standby at all times—no defiance!"
Chu Xinrao took a deep breath.
Fine, then.
It's just a bedmate arrangement—she could endure that!
"Thank you, Your Highness!" She still knew her manners and kowtowed to him once.
"Rise!"
Chu Xinrao pressed her hands against the ground, but just as she was about to straighten up, the soreness radiating from her waist and both thighs made her collapse uncontrollably toward the floor—
"Ugh!" This fall—never mind how undignified it was—the pain made her grimace and bare her teeth in a most unladylike manner.
Li Yingfeng, "…"
Looking at her pallid cheeks, what a waste of such a stunning face. He turned his head as if in disgust and barked toward the door, "Yang Xing, arrange for someone to escort Miss Chu back to her room and have the medicinal decoction fed to her!"
Yang Xing entered with an elderly woman.
Seeing Chu Xinrao collapsed on the ground, the elderly woman promptly stepped forward to help her up.
Chu Xinrao didn't refuse and silently followed the elderly woman out.
Before long, the elderly woman led her into a courtyard and introduced, "Miss Chu, this Tinglan Court was specially chosen for you by His Highness. This old servant's surname is Jiang—they all call me 'Nanny Jiang.' From now on, this old servant will attend to you."
Chu Xinrao didn't respond.
Forget being pleased—the fact that she managed to hold back any trace of temper at all had drained every ounce of virtue she'd accumulated across two lifetimes!
After being helped into a room by Nanny Jiang, a maidservant immediately entered, carrying a bowl of medicinal decoction.
"Miss Chu, this is the decoction His Highness ordered brewed for you. Please drink it while it's warm."
"Give it to me." Nanny Jiang took the bowl and turned to hand it to Chu Xinrao.
Looking at the liquid as black as ink, Chu Xinrao's first thought was contraceptive decoction!
After all, no one does favors for no reason—especially not that man. He wished he could tear her apart; how could he possibly give her a tonic?
Besides, they'd only slept together last night.
She'd carelessly conceived six years ago. Unless that man had lost his mind, there was no way he'd let her get pregnant again.
She seriously suspected that summoning her here and granting her a rank was secondary—his real purpose was to make her drink the contraceptive!
Once she figured this out, she didn't hesitate. Taking the bowl, she tipped her head back and gulped it down.
After all, she didn't want a second child either!
Heaven knows how agonizingly painful it was giving birth to Linlin—one pregnancy nearly cost her her life. She'd have to be out of her mind to go through that ordeal again!
"Mother!" A childish voice rang out as a little one bounded through the doorway.
"Linlin!" Chu Xinrao set down the empty bowl and rushed to her son, crouching before him and stroking his little head as she asked, "Where were you last night? How did they treat you?"
"I slept right here last night—Mother needn't worry." Chu Qilin flashed a grin.
Chu Xinrao looked toward Nanny Jiang and the maidservant. "Nanny Jiang, my son and I have some words to exchange. Please grant us some privacy."
Nanny Jiang smiled and nodded, then led the maidservant out of the room, thoughtfully closing the door behind them.
With no outsiders present, Chu Xinrao lifted her son onto a stool, pulled another stool over to sit facing him, and said seriously, "Linlin, you must have seen that your father wants us to stay here, but there are still many matters waiting for me outside. I cannot possibly be trapped here like a caged bird."
Chu Qilin curled his small lips. "Mother, you just go do those things. I'll cover for you with the Prince!"
The Prince?
Chu Xinrao was somewhat surprised. "You haven't acknowledged him yet?"
Chu Qilin shot her a reproachful look with his small eyes. "Mother, are you looking down on what you gave birth to? I may not have had a father, but that doesn't mean I have to acknowledge one just because he exists. And I can tell he's not easy to get along with. I can manage a father like that well enough, but acknowledging him? I'm not so easily fooled. Besides, he's done nothing for me all these years—does he think he can just waltz in and have a capable son like me? Dream on! I only know that I was born to you, that I carry your surname, and that you raised me with your own hands. As for anyone else—either they treat you well, or they earn your approval. Otherwise, they're strangers to me."
Her son was exceptionally precocious—Chu Xinrao knew that better than anyone.
But hearing these words from his own mouth, she felt both moved and heartbroken.
"Linlin… I…"
"Mother, it's true that he's a Prince here, but we're not soft persimmons to be squeezed at will. If he treats us well, we can show him some respect. But if he dares to bully you—never mind that you wouldn't agree—even if you were willing to stay here, I wouldn't allow it. The world is vast; I refuse to believe there's no place for us."
Chu Xinrao's eyes reddened, a mix of sweet, sour, bitter, and spicy emotions churning in her heart.
Before she could even say anything, her son had already planned their escape route!
She sniffled and asked, "Don't you even want to ask why he's your father…"
Chu Qilin hopped off the stool, his small, fair hand covering the back of hers. "Mother, let's not bring up those unhappy matters. Focusing on making money is the real business of life. You don't even know—yesterday I went to the streets with him and made him spend twenty or thirty thousand taels of silver to buy you a pair of fine trinkets. In a bit, I'll have someone bring them all over. You'll be happy when you see them, hehe!"
Twenty or thirty thousand taels?
Chu Xinrao's mouth fell open as she drew in an exaggerated breath. "That much? He didn't object?"
Chu Qilin kept giggling. "Even if he had objections, he could only swallow them!"
Chu Xinrao didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
That was just like her—her son would never let himself be taken advantage of.
The mother and son talked in the room for quite a while, until Yang Xing's voice came from outside the door. "Little Prince, are you in there? The Prince sent me to tell you that the master he hired for you has arrived. You can begin martial arts training with him today."
At that, the corner of Chu Xinrao's mouth twitched hard.
Her son had already taken a master before he even turned three and had long since obtained his sect's martial arts manual. Would having him take another master now violate his sect's rules?
She looked at her son and saw his little face darken—clearly speechless at this cheap father's arrangement.
Still, he comforted Chu Xinrao. "Mother, I'll go take a look. Don't worry, I'll handle it."
Chu Xinrao took his small hand. "I'll go with you."
…
In the front garden.
From a distance, Chu Xinrao could see Li Yingfeng's tall, upright figure. Within a hundred paces, the air was thick with his imposing, cold aura.
Beside him stood a white-clad figure, robes fluttering gracefully.
Mother and son both looked closely, then stopped in their tracks simultaneously, exchanging glances that revealed a flicker of surprise.
As they drew nearer, the elegant white-robed man also wore a look of astonishment, blurting out, "Qilin, why are you both here?"
Li Yingfeng narrowed his cold eyes, never expecting that his own friend would know his son!
Yet, what surprised him even more was that Chu Qilin stopped before the white-robed man, clasped his small fists, and bowed respectfully, saying, "Qilin pays respects to Master!"