Quite a number of people had come to the boat gathering, and fortunately, the boat Zhang Gongzhu had chartered was large enough.
Mu Yao ignored the probing glances cast her way and quietly took her seat with Ningzhu, observing her surroundings.
Ningzhu seemed to notice something and leaned close to whisper, “Miss, Lu Da Gongzi keeps looking this way. Would you like to move somewhere else?”
Following her words, Mu Yao swept a brief glance across the room and indeed saw Lu Zhi sitting in his seat, drinking in silence. Anyone seeing him would think she had wronged him.
“Very well.”
Mu Yao rose slowly and made her way toward the rear cabin.
She had heard from Nanny Fang, who served Zhang Gongzhu, that the rear cabin had a viewing deck—surely the scenery there would be lovely.
Since she had come out for leisure, Mu Yao had no intention of letting certain people ruin her mood.
But she had barely taken two steps when a flustered little maid came rushing into her.
“Your servant has offended you, noble miss. Please forgive me.”
The maid, clutching a tea cup, immediately knelt down. Her fearful, uneasy demeanor made Mu Yao narrow her eyes slightly.
She glanced at her soiled clothing. “It’s fine. Go about your business.”
The little maid hesitated for a moment before speaking again. “Your servant has stained your clothes, miss. Would you follow me to a side room to change into a fresh set?”
At most aristocratic gatherings, a spare set of robes was always prepared for each young lady invited.
This was done precisely to handle such situations.
However, such a trick might fool others.
But using it on her, Mu Yao… it was far too obvious.
Ningzhu was about to reprimand the maid when she felt a gentle tug on her hand and immediately fell silent.
“In that case, I’ll go with you. Ningzhu, go back and inform Zhang Gongzhu first.”
As she spoke, she noticed the little maid’s obvious relief, and Mu Yao found it amusing.
Once Ningzhu had left, she casually followed the maid’s steps, all the while silently reaching up to remove a gold hairpin from her head and gripping it tightly in her hand.
“This is the place, miss. Please, go in.”
Mu Yao looked at the utterly ordinary side room before her and did not enter immediately. Instead, she regarded the trembling maid with interest.
“Is this really the right room?”
The little maid hesitated only a moment before biting her lip and nodding.
Mu Yao smiled and stepped into the room. The next second, she heard the sound of a lock clicking behind her.
She glanced back toward the door and saw the little maid’s hurriedly retreating figure reflected upon it.
“Who’s there?”
A rustling sound came from behind her. Mu Yao barked coldly, and the gold hairpin in her hand shot toward the shadowy figure lunging at her.
But in an instant, the other party seized her wrist, while another hand wrapped around her waist, pulling her inward.
“So it’s Miss Mu.”
Unlike his usual languid tone, the man’s voice was low and hoarse, as if he were suppressing something.
Mu Yao froze. When she looked up, the man’s scorching breath happened to brush against her neck, making her ears flush red. She instinctively tried to break free, only to find his grip on her waist tightening.
This pressed Mu Yao flush against him, and she could even feel the violent pounding of his heart within his chest.
For a moment, she was dazed.
Coming to her senses, she blushed and struggled to push him away. “Please show some restraint, Chu Wang!”
Pushed back, some clarity returned to Yan Xun’s eyes.
He suppressed the restlessness brought on by the drug’s effects, and when his hazy gaze once again fell upon the person before him, a beautiful curve lifted the corners of his lips.
“It seems this king and Miss Mu share a certain connection of minds—even our clothes are so alike.”
His reminder made Mu Yao notice that they were both dressed in light purple today.
If they were to appear together, it would undoubtedly invite a hint of ambiguity.
“Chu Wang, do not speak nonsense. The matching color of our robes is merely a coincidence.”
She frowned in explanation, not wanting the man before her to misunderstand.
But she felt the sunlight seem to be blocked, and when she looked up, she collided with the man’s deep, dark eyes. Something seemed to flash through them, too fast for Mu Yao to catch.
“Mu Yao.”
The man’s voice was slow and measured—just two ordinary words.
Yet they were like a pebble dropped into a deep pool, rippling the calm waters of Mu Yao’s heart.
“Your Highness, you must be drunk.”
Mu Yao’s lips moved, and she turned her face away, refusing to look at him, hiding her flushed cheeks.
But Yan Xun noticed her reddening earlobes. A soft laugh echoed between them, remarkably pleasant to the ear.
“I’ll stop teasing you.”
As the words fell, the man’s looming figure retreated and sat back down, and only then did Mu Yao feel the temperature around her gradually return to normal.
But she still kept her face turned away, not daring to look at Yan Xun sitting there.
Afraid that the heartbeat she had barely calmed would stir into waves once more.
“Why would Chu Wang be here?”
She thought of the maid deliberately luring her here—likely intending for someone in the room to defile her.
But… why was it Yan Xun of all people?
Just then, a coquettish female voice suddenly came from the adjacent room.
“Chu Wang!”
Immediately after came the sounds of intimate matters that made one’s ears burn with embarrassment.
Now Mu Yao understood why Yan Xun was here.
She slowly lowered the hand she had been holding up and looked at the man seated on the couch. “This young lady has misjudged Chu Wang.”
Yan Xun raised an eyebrow and suddenly rose to approach her, something in his eyes barely suppressed. “Could it be that in Miss Mu’s heart, this prince is such a lecherous rogue?”
Mu Yao felt a twinge of guilt under his gaze and instinctively avoided his eyes.
“I would never presume such a thing.”
“But sometimes, this prince truly wishes to play the rogue for once.”
The man’s teasing voice came from above her head, and Mu Yao replied with slight exasperation, “Rather than wishing to be a rogue, perhaps His Highness Chu Wang should think about how we’re going to get out of here?”
“Otherwise, if someone comes to catch us and finds neither this young lady nor Your Highness here, things won’t be easy to explain.”
Yan Xun looked down at her, watching her desperate attempts to change the subject, the darkness in his eyes deepening.
He forcibly suppressed his body’s reaction and stepped back.
“There’s a way.”
Mu Yao followed the direction of his finger, and upon seeing that he was pointing at the window of the chamber, she understood his meaning and began walking toward it.
Before she could get close, she saw the man extend his hand toward her.
Mu Yao was momentarily uncertain of his intent, but after thinking it over, she placed the golden hairpin in his broad palm. As their fingertips touched, both their bodies trembled slightly.
She felt his breathing seem to grow heavier.
“Given the circumstances, this prince will take Miss Mu out directly.”
Mu Yao hesitated, but the sound of rustling footsteps reached her ears, and she realized the maidservant had brought people.
Just as she was about to say something, her entire body was pulled into his embrace, the familiar scent of Youlanxiang wafting into her nose.
“Lower your head.”
Before Mu Yao could react to such an intimate gesture, upon hearing Yan Xun’s voice, she instinctively clutched his lapels tightly and buried her head against his chest.
Then her body felt light, and she was carried in his arms as they rolled twice!
Changqing, who had been waiting there with Ningzhu all along, quickly nudged the still-dazed little maidservant. “Hurry and help your young lady up!”
Ningzhu turned and hurried over.
Mu Yao was dizzy from the spinning. When she stood up, she instinctively looked back at the window they had come out of, only to realize it was a distance of two stories high.
If not for Yan Xun protecting her, breaking her leg from the fall would have been the least of her worries!
“Thank you for your assistance today, Your Highness. Mu Yao will surely repay this kindness in the future.”
Mu Yao straightened her clothes and looked at the man with deep gratitude in her eyes.
“Then this prince shall look forward to Miss Mu’s repayment.”
This candid reply left Mu Yao’s polite pleasantries stuck in her throat.
Just as she was searching for words, she saw Ningzhu anxiously tugging at her sleeve.
“Miss, I just saw Lu Da Gongzi charging furiously upstairs to the chamber with that maidservant. We should hurry and change clothes before going over?”
Mu Yao’s gaze turned cold, and she quickly took her leave of Yan Xun.
She brought Ningzhu to another chamber to change clothes, so as to put on a proper show!
As for Yan Xun, who remained where he was, he watched her hurriedly departing figure and swallowed the Jiedu Wan that Changqing had brought.
Only then did the burning sensation in his body subside.
But thinking of how someone had dared to drug him, Yan Xun’s voice was cold enough to pierce bone. “Who did it.”
“To answer Your Highness, it was the Second Miss of the Zhao family, Zhao Fangruo.”