The Slender Waist

Chunyu Yan’s voice was calm, but if not for the flicker of cold ruthlessness in his gaze, someone might think he was making some sort of joke...

After all, being thrown down from such a steep slope could kill a person.

"Is this gentleman the Crown Prince of Yunchuan?" A few young nobles saw the man from Yunchuan approaching with a knife and paused for a moment before one of them spoke up.

It was the young man in purple, the Prince of Danyang from the Princess Residence.

They might not know what Chunyu Yan looked like, but they had seen the masked Crown Prince of Yunchuan at certain occasions in Central Capital.

Hearing Puyang Zong’s greeting, Yuan Kang also caught on.

With an expression of sudden realization, he laughed and said, "I was wondering why Andu County had such a bewitchingly stunning figure, so it turns out to be the Prince’s man, my apologies, my apologies. Please, Your Highness, have leniency..."

Chunyu Yan’s dark eyes swept over them, and he asked Feng Yun.

"Have you been wronged?"

Feng Yun asked in confusion, "Do I look wronged to you?"

Chunyu Yan: ...

If she would just say she felt wronged, wouldn’t it give him legitimate reason to kill or slash at will?

"I really owe you one." Chunyu Yan gritted his teeth and glared at her secretly, then turned his head, waved his hand dismissively and said indifferently:

"Why are you still standing there? Throw him down!"

Sang Jiao answered emotionlessly, Xiang Zhong grew anxious and stepped forward to say:

"Your Highness, this is the Prince of Danyang from the Princess’s family, this one is the Marquis Qinghe..."

He purposefully reminded him, fearing that Chunyu Yan hadn’t recognized who they were and thought they were just the sons of some ordinary officials, which could lead to a misunderstanding.

Yet, as soon as Chunyu Yan heard this, he laughed.

"Who cares if they are commandery princes or marquises? Anyone who displeases me gets thrown down."

"Your Highness..."

"Throw them!"

Xiang Zhong fell silent.

Sang Jiao and Yin You exchanged glances and called the guards to move forward.

In fact, Chunyu Yan had brought only about a dozen people, and with Feng Yun’s attendants, they were only just evenly matched in number.

But they hadn’t counted on his craziness, his insanity.

Once a person goes mad, no one can suppress them, and all that’s left for others is fear.

Puyang Zong watched this demonic and merciless man casually facing them, with total disregard, and grew somewhat annoyed.

"Does the Crown Prince of Yunchuan not give any quarter at all?"

Only then did Chunyu Yan turn his head to look at him.

His tall, slender figure towered above the others, appearing more upright than Yuan Kang and the rest...

"Of course I give quarter; how could I not?" said Chunyu Yan lightly.

Puyang Zong immediately relaxed his expression and, with a smile and a cupped fist, said, "We were reckless and should not have been impudent before Your Highness. Please be magnanimous and forgive us..."

Chunyu Yan swung his sleeve robe, lazy and smiling, his beautiful lips opening and closing.

"It’s precisely because I give quarter that I need to help the Princess clean house and educate you, this unfilial son! Sang Jiao, Yin You, do you need me to do it myself?"

The crowd was shocked.

Yuan Kang became frantic, "Chunyu Yan, you dare cause such trouble?"

Tsk, tsk, tsk! Chunyu Yan looked at him with rare sympathy, seeing such naivety and stupidity.

"Is there anything I, Chunyu Yan, would not dare to do?"

After speaking, he glanced at him with contempt, "Not to mention that the Imperial Court of Central Capital is in disarray, the imperial family and kin are like homeless dogs. Even before this, when has this Prince ever been afraid?"

Yuan Kang’s face darkened slightly when he heard "homeless dogs", wanting to say something but swallowing his words, and he stumbled over his speech:

"I have always heard of the Prince’s generosity, tolerance, and magnanimity. Even if we are at fault and have apologized, continuing to press the issue would be incorrect on your part..."

Chunyu Yan looked at his over-indulged face with sympathy.

"I am saving you, Marquis Qinghe, don’t be ungrateful."

Puyang Zong was slightly alarmed inside, "What do you mean by that, Your Highness?"

Chunyu Yan replied, "Being thrown down the slope might at most cause disability, it’s not fatal,

I’m far more merciful than Pei Jue."

Pei Jue?

What does he have to do with Pei Jue?

Seeing their clueless expressions, Chunyu Yan did not reveal Feng Yun’s identity and almost burst out laughing lazily raising his hand.

With the order given, Sang Jiao rushed forward to grab Yuan Kang.

Guards on both sides saw this and shoved their way forward to meet them.

The two sides glared at each other, cursing with such vividness.

"What’s this? Don’t go too far."

"Spare me the nonsense. We each serve our own master; let’s see who’s more capable."

After a few shouts and yells, they drew their swords and faced off. Ye Chuang had been impatient from the start, eagerly looking towards Feng Yun.

Feng Yun slightly lifted her chin.

With the command given, the guards were overjoyed and rushed forward with a great shout.

The result of this mountainside skirmish was that Yuan Kang was carried and thrown down the slope by two people. As for the rest of the second-generation nobles from Central Capital, those who were injured were injured, and those who rolled down the slope rolled down. In the end, they scattered with their guards like birds and beasts.

Chunyu Yan hummed with satisfaction and lazily asked Feng Yun.

"Feng Twelve, did you enjoy that?"

Feng Yun asked, "What?"

Chunyu Yan said, "You could have revealed your identity directly to avoid this issue, why didn’t you speak up?"

Instead of answering, Feng Yun countered, "I also want to ask Your Highness, you were supposed to be going up the mountain, so why did you come down from the mountain?"

Chunyu Yan didn’t answer, just clapped his hands together.

Two servants appeared, carrying a sedan chair toward them.

Chunyu Yan lazily motioned to Feng Yun, "Sit up."

Feng Yun glanced at him in surprise but didn’t move, "I’m here to work, I don’t need this."

Chunyu Yan suddenly flared up with anger. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

"Look at your shoes, they’re soaked."

Feng Yun: "So what?"

Chunyu Yan turned his head and whispered in her ear, "Have you forgotten the kind of poison you were afflicted with? Aren’t you afraid the old ailment will relapse with your feet wet?"

Feng Yun looked up and met eyes that seemed ready to unveil her secrets, her heart chilling...

"Threatening me?"

"What if I told Pei Jue, what do you think he would think?"

Feng Yun: "You think I care?"

The words had barely left her, when the sound of Chunyu Yan’s cool, disdainful laughter reached her ears.

"Pei Jue is not by your side, if the poison acts up, wouldn’t you have to beg this Princely Heir for help? I certainly don’t want to make do."

Perhaps it was the intrusion of privacy, or perhaps it was the too-warm breath in her ear, but Feng Yun’s cheeks flushed red with embarrassment, her shy demeanor and lightly flushed snowy skin adding a touch of thin anger, making her all the more charming.

Chunyu Yan almost wanted to burst into laughter.

Watching the calculations and contemplations at the bottom of Feng Yun’s eyes, he lifted her by the waist and placed her down onto the palanquin.

Just like last time, he leaned over to tie her seatbelt and said indifferently:

"I’m not interested in you, why be so guarded? It’s just that I don’t want your movements to be slow and hinder the important matters."

After speaking, his gaze swept over her with a cold chill, and he stepped back two steps, lazily instructing the attendant.

"Make sure the footing is stable."

The attendant immediately responded, "Yes."

Feng Yun stopped arguing.

She couldn’t be bothered to reason with a madman.

After all, he was kind in his own way.

And that sentence had indeed threatened her.

Though it had been a long while since the last onset, one can never be too cautious. She definitely didn’t want to lose face in front of Chunyu Yan.

The roads buried under heavy snow were difficult to travel, and the mountain paths were even more challenging. Fortunately, Uncle Sun was truly a guide who knew the mountains well; without any detours, he led them straight to the cave where they had found graphite last time.

It was a narrow cave that sloped steeply downward.

Feng Yun followed the old craftsman to observe the strata outside, examining the soil color.

When it was time to explore inside the cave, Chunyu Yan stopped her.

"Stay on top."

Feng Yun was somewhat tired and didn’t argue with him this time.

Chunyu Yan followed the old craftsman down by himself, and for the first time, Feng Yun realized that when it came to work, Chunyu Yan wasn’t just someone who indulged in pleasure; he was quite pragmatic.

About half an hour later, the group slowly emerged.

Feng Yun asked, "How is it? What’s the volume?"

Chunyu Yan’s face darkened, "You don’t even ask how I am?"

Feng Yun eyed him from head to toe.

His brocade robes were slightly soiled, his hair a bit disheveled, and the only part of him meticulous was his mask.

Feng Yun’s lips curled slightly, "The Princely Heir shouldn’t have worn such clothes up the mountain. If you had changed into proper attire, you wouldn’t be in such a sorry state. Dressed like this to explore a mine, was it worth it?"

Chunyu Yan’s response was like he had a fishbone stuck in his throat, unable to speak.

The attendants hurriedly averted their gaze, pretending not to hear the humiliating remark.

Before heading up the mountain, Xiang Zhong had advised the Princely Heir to change clothes.

But the Princely Heir, valuing appearance, opted for good looks over practicality, hence the sacrifice of the costly garment.

The old craftsman was straightforward; he didn’t notice his master’s mood and simply smiled, cupping his hands in response to Feng Yun.

"Congratulations to the Princess, congratulations Princely Heir, in my opinion, the ore in this mountain is plentiful, enough to be mined for decades without issue."

Feng Yun was overjoyed, "I’ll take your auspicious words."

After speaking, she walked around with the old craftsman, discussing where to dig wells, where to install windlasses, the depth and width of the shafts, and transportation. The two of them were very knowledgeable, completely engrossed, and utterly forgot Chunyu Yan.

On the way back, Crown Prince Chunyu was sulking like a creditor who had been swindled.

Feng Yun, realizing she had neglected him, dismounted outside Changmen Village and gave him a deep bow.

"Your efforts today are appreciated, Princely Heir."

Chunyu Yan raised his eyebrows and said indifferently:

"Don’t rush to thank me, there’s trouble waiting for you."

Feng Yun asked, "What do you mean by that?"

Chunyu Yan hesitated, "The Princess Residence is protective and petty. Having offended the Prince of Danyang today, she might cause trouble for you."

Feng Yun’s brows furrowed, but then she heard him say, "If anyone asks, you just say I did it, it has nothing to do with you."

Feng Yun gave a slight bow, "Your righteousness is appreciated, Princely Heir. However, since the incident was caused by me, I dare not trouble you to take the blame."

She paused for a moment, then smiled again, "Besides, such petty figures—I might not even care to notice them."

While she had truly not wanted to bother Chunyu Yan and thus spoke so firmly, her words sounded to him as if she were saying he was being nosy and she had no need for his help.

"Oh," Chunyu Yan said with a curved lip, a hint of mockery in his voice, "I seem to have forgotten, you’re not just any lady. You are the Princess of Yonghuai, after all. How could you be afraid of such petty figures?"

With that, he brushed by and left.

Feng Yun was extremely frustrated.

Unexpectedly, Chunyu Yan suddenly stopped and turned back to look at her.

"Distant waters can’t quench immediate thirst. The Prince of Yonghuai is far in the borderland, it’s best if the Princess does not take things lightly. The Princess of the Residence is not a common small fry; she’s someone neither the Western Capital Dynasty nor the Yecheng Imperial Court can afford to offend lightly at the moment."

Feng Yun understood the weight of his words and bowed her head in thanks.

"Thank you for the advice, Princely Heir."

Chunyu Yan originally had more to say, but looking at her face of polite detachment, he finally turned his head and strode away.