Yefeng had been wondering who had displeased the Prince so early in the morning.
Hearing this now, he stepped forward alertly, a guess already forming in his mind.
Last night, the Prince had personally chosen an unknown little maid from the residence to attend his bed. Now it seemed the girl had not served him well at all, and the Prince was furious.
“My lord, shall I dispose of her?”
Yefeng had followed Pei Changli for a long time, and he knew well that anyone who dared anger the Prince had only one fate—death!
Yefeng’s sword was already drawn, but what happened next left him bewildered.
Pei Changli, suppressing the fury in his eyes, merely raised his hand slightly.
This… this meant sparing Shen Wan?
Yefeng blinked twice, thinking he had seen wrong. After confirming again and again, he had no choice but to believe what was before his eyes.
“My lord… is most magnanimous.” Yefeng could only sheathe his sword.
But Pei Changli knew full well that the reason he stopped Yefeng was not out of any magnanimity or forgiveness toward Shen Wan—it was that he did not wish to waste his effort.
Even if he agreed to Yefeng’s proposal, Shen Wan would never simply surrender.
Nine times out of ten, everything would replay itself once more just as she was on the verge of death.
“The court session comes first.” Pei Changli parted his thin lips slightly.
Watching Pei Changli walk ahead of him, Yefeng scratched his head, filled with admiration.
The Prince was truly broad-minded.
At court, the Prime Minister had already been ranting for a full half hour.
“The Prince Regent treats human life as worthless! I beg Your Majesty to investigate!” Finally, feeling weak and exhausted, the Prime Minister had no choice but to sum up with one short, clear statement.
Along with it, his flying spittle delivered its final blow, spraying Pei Changli right in the face.
Just as Pei Changli was about to retort, the Prime Minister, who had stepped back, opened his glib tongue once more and unleashed another torrent of abuse.
“The Prince Regent treats human life as worthless! I beg Your Majesty to investigate!”
“Treats human life as worthless! I beg Your Majesty to investigate!”
“Investigate!”
That’s right—Shen Wan had activated save-load mode again. She couldn’t help it; she didn’t want to do the cleaning, and she simply hadn’t had enough sleep.
Pei Changli had already lost count of how many times he’d been cursed out.
He clenched his fist secretly, veins bulging on the back of his hand.
Another spray of saliva came flying at his face.
Pei Changli could bear it no longer!
Since events were repeating themselves anyway, why should he hold back?
Time to vent the disgust in his heart!
Pei Changli seized the Prime Minister by the collar and raised his fist high.
The Prime Minister’s eyes went wide. “P-Prince Regent… you wouldn’t dare resort to violence at court! A gentleman—”
Before he could finish, an iron fist smashed straight into his face. The Prime Minister, who had been ranting so eloquently and denouncing Pei Changli so furiously just moments before, was now black-eyed and swollen-faced.
“You… you…” The Prime Minister could never have imagined that Pei Changli would actually hit him!
Barbaric!
Utterly barbaric!
Pei Changli was not blessed with a good temper. After being insulted over and over again, throwing a single punch was already restraint itself.
Besides, everything would soon start over anyway. The Prime Minister would suffer no real loss, and he would get to vent his anger—why not?
Watching the Prime Minister hop about in fury, Pei Changli simply maintained his usual air of calm indifference, quietly waiting for everything to begin anew.
…
What was going on?
Shen Wan, who had been so happily restarting things over and over—why had she suddenly gone quiet?
Pei Changli looked at the Prime Minister beside him, who sported a swollen, pig-like head while sniveling and wiping away tears, and felt awkward for a moment.
Shen Wan—had she done this on purpose?!
To go against him!
Pei Changli was furious.
He had finally managed to break free from the Prime Minister and escape through the palace gates.
As soon as he entered the inner courtyard of the prince’s residence, Pei Changli looked around, but Shen Wan was nowhere to be seen.
His eyes darkened as he called out in a low voice, “Nanny Wang!”
Nanny Wang responded immediately, hurrying over with her somewhat plump frame dragging behind her. “What are your orders, Your Highness?”
“Where is Shen Wan?” An unreadable expression flickered in Pei Changli’s eyes, impossible to tell whether it was pleasure or anger.
After all, Shen Wan was the maidservant Pei Changli himself had chosen to attend his bedchamber. Her status was naturally different from before, though at the end of the day she was still a maidservant, so it wouldn’t be unreasonable to assign her some tasks.
Nanny Wang deliberated for a while before speaking. “In the side courtyard… sweeping.”
Pei Changli gave no clear response.
Nanny Wang couldn’t figure him out.
The prince seemed unusually attentive to Shen Wan, yet at the same time didn’t seem particularly protective of her… Should she continue letting Shen Wan do such menial work in the future?
“Pass down an order—from now on, Shen Wan is promoted to this prince’s concubine. Just keep her well cared for. As for menial chores like sweeping, she need not do them anymore,” Pei Changli ordered.
Nanny Wang had been secretly mulling this over, and now that she had a clear directive from her master, she accepted the order. “Yes, Your Highness.”
Yefeng blinked a few times, then stared fixedly at Pei Changli.
The prince… had he fallen in love?
In the past, the prince had never been one to keep company with women. Countless noble ladies in the capital had tried to get close to him, only to be kept at a distance.
And now he was actually showing tenderness toward a woman.
It seemed this Shen Wan was truly skilled—in just one night, she had changed the prince’s temperament.
Impressive. Truly impressive!
Just as Yefeng was thinking this, a dull pain suddenly struck the top of his head.
He let out a small yelp and looked up.
Pei Changli glared at him. “What are you thinking about?”
“N-nothing… nothing at all…” Yefeng secretly stuck out his tongue.
Pei Changli didn’t pursue the matter, only said flatly, “I’ll have lunch in my room. Have Shen Wan come serve.”
Maidservants filed in one after another, laying out an assortment of dishes, then lined up on either side.
Pei Changli sat composed at the table, his cold eyes fixed on the doorway, making no move to pick up his chopsticks.
Before long, Shen Wan strolled in carelessly through the door. Seeing the table full of delicacies, she couldn’t help rushing forward and sitting down.
Sweeping the courtyard was really no easy task, and by now she was famished.
Shen Wan picked up a chicken drumstick with her chopsticks and was just about to bring it to her mouth when Pei Changli, seated across from her, stared fixedly at the drumstick in her hand, like a little puppy guarding its food.
Shen Wan instinctively sensed something was wrong, and her hand stopped just in time.
She lifted her eyes to glance at him.
This man was strange indeed—why did he keep staring at the drumstick in her hand?
Could it be that when he called her over to serve at his meal, he only meant serve—as in, she wasn’t allowed to eat?
Whatever. She had thought this was an easy job, but it seemed the prince was probably up to something again, looking for an excuse to torment her!
Shen Wan looked at the drumstick, hesitated for a moment, then placed it in Pei Changli’s bowl.
“Your Highness, please eat. Go ahead and eat.”
Shen Wan put on an obedient expression, but in her heart she had already cursed Pei Changli eight hundred times over.
After all, it really wasn’t a pleasant feeling to watch someone else eat while she went hungry.
Pei Changli didn’t touch the chicken drumstick Shen Wan had picked out for him. Instead, he picked up his chopsticks and reached for the whole roast chicken in front of him.
The chopsticks fumbled at the chicken a couple of times—it was truly a struggle.
Pei Changli, usually so composed and reserved, suddenly seemed like a different person as he slammed his chopsticks down on the table.
“So annoying! So annoying! So annoying!”
Shen Wan: …?
Shen Wan: What?
Was she seeing things? The mighty Prince Regent didn’t know how to use chopsticks?
The next moment, she watched as Pei Changli rolled up his sleeves and picked up the entire roast chicken with his bare hands.