Chapter Three

Stinky brat! You're acting like this again, did someone bully you" Nan Lingrui pushed open the door and walked in.Yun Qianyue kept her eyes closed and replied lazily: "No.""No I don’t believe that!" N...VOLUME 1: Smiling at the Bustle Chapter 3

Helpless, Li Yun could only follow the Fourth Prince out of the pavilion with a displeased expression.

In her heart, she silently recited the two names she just heard—Rongjing and Qingran. Apart from "His Highness Crown Prince," these were the most frequently mentioned names since she had arrived. It seemed that today's main characters would be these two people. As long as she was careful and didn't make any major mistakes, no one should notice that she wasn’t the same person anymore.

With this in mind, Li Yun’s originally anxious and chaotic heart calmed down a bit.

A few steps later, the Fourth Prince turned his head to glance at Li Yun. Seeing that she no longer objected to him holding her hand, he slightly curled his lips. A flash of something crossed his phoenix eyes, deepening the smile on his face.

Based on years of sensitivity, Li Yun swept a glance at the Fourth Prince's smirking mouth without showing any reaction. It’s only after testing them out that one can tell if they are good or bad people. Although it was dangerous to go to Guanyin Garden with no preparation and in complete bewilderment today, wasn’t this also an opportunity for her to quickly understand the current situation

"If a servant is disobedient, just punish them by beating them to death; there's no need to provoke your own annoyance," passing by that servant girl, the Fourth Prince turned his head in disgust upon seeing blood and dirt all over her forehead and face.

Hearing this, the servant girl was frightened into kneeling again with a "thump." Her pale little face quivered, but she did not beg for mercy.

Lǐ Yún also glanced at the girl and realized that this girl must be a personal maid of this body. Otherwise, why would she wake up with no one else around but this girl serving her As a personal maid, she would certainly know this body best; if there were any slight changes in behavior, it might be noticed, leading to unimaginable consequences...

If the girl died, the danger would lessen...

Lǐ Yún stared at the girl, whose frail figure was kneeling on the ground in fear and deathly silence. Where was the noisy liveliness she exhibited when she first woke up At only twelve or thirteen years old, she was at the most blooming age of her life. She averted her eyes and said indifferently, "She serves me well enough, so let's keep her."

The girl seemed to have not expected Lǐ Yún to spare her; she immediately raised her head in disbelief, breaking through her deathly silence with a glimmer of light.

"She’s just a lowly maid. There are plenty more like her who will be obedient and do exactly as you say—no need for this one. Servants should listen better to avoid trouble from loose lips." The Fourth Prince's voice was similarly indifferent.

Hearing this, Lǐ Yún thought that this person must have been here all along, hiding behind the rockery. Otherwise, how could he know about the maid’s words and warn against trouble from loose lips A mere servant criticizing the Crown Prince—what greater trouble could there be

The girl was instantly terrified, bowing her head repeatedly and not daring to look up again.

"Alright, stop. If you break your face, how will I take you out in public later Get up! Find a place to bandage yourself, then come to the Scenic Garden to find me." Lǐ Yún ignored the Fourth Prince’s words and waved her hand dismissively, sparing this girl's life with hope that she would be more sensible in the future. Even if she found out that Lǐ Yún was not the original Miss Li, she hoped the maid could still help or at least not expose her.

"Miss Xie, please spare the servant this time. The servant will never dare to do such a thing again."

The maidservant, although having stopped bowing, was still too afraid of the Fourth Prince to immediately get up.

“When did you become so soft-hearted, Moon Your maids keep getting replaced, yet this one is somehow different” The Fourth Prince paused and turned to look at Li Yun with a curious gaze.

"Why are you nagging so much Are you trying to annoy me It's just a servant. If I want to punish them or let them go, it’s none of your business! Do you still plan on going to the Garden of Scenic Views Or shall we turn back to the manor since this servant is bothering you" Seizing an opportunity, Li Yun bellowed at the Fourth Prince.

She was a smart woman; she had heard from the conversation between the maid and the Fourth Prince that the current body's owner seemed rather domineering. She rarely got bullied by anyone else, which explained why the maidservant felt indignant about being pushed aside. Regardless of his intentions, he kept saying no one dared to bully her, so she decided to take a gamble. She let out a loud yell at a prince and was curious how he would react.

“I thought you had changed your ways! Turns out it’s still all about任性！好吧，我不管就是不管了。不過是個奴才罷了，我有那個閒工夫嗎？還不是怕你為了一個婢女受牽連？”四皇子對李芸的大吼渾不在意，嘴角的笑容多了幾分，似乎習以為常，她安靜低沉纔不正常。

“I thought you had changed your ways! Turns out it’s still all about being stubborn. Fine, I won’t interfere then. It's just a servant; do you think I have the time for such trivial matters I was merely worried about you getting implicated because of her."

The Fourth Prince paid no heed to Li Yun's loud rebuke and instead had an amused smile on his lips, which seemed natural to him. He thought it was abnormal if she wasn't being this way.

Li Yun felt relieved but also secretly cursed at herself for finding joy in getting scolded. It truly showed how lowly her character had become! Upon glancing towards the maidservant, the latter quickly stood up and respectfully allowed them to pass by.

The Fourth Prince said no more and pulled Li Yun around a rockery slowly. Ahead of them were several intersecting stone pathways. He led Li Yun down the most right one.

Li Yun did not speak easily, so she kept silent, her face stern, looking rather unpleasant. Since he found it normal for her to be like this, she would play along with his expectations.

The two of them walked for a while when they saw an elderly woman in ancient attire, dressed as a maid servant, hurrying towards them from the opposite direction. Upon seeing her, she was delighted but quickly noticed that Fourth Prince's expression stiffened when he saw him holding hands with her. However, his emotions were swiftly concealed and he hurriedly approached to pay respects, saying, "Old slave serves greetings to His Highness Fourth Prince and Miss Shallow Moon. Empress Dowager sent me specifically to look for you because she hasn't seen Miss Shallow Moon arrive at the Scenic Garden yet."

Li Yun didn’t know what to say, so she remained silent.

The Fourth Prince put on a warm smile and said, "It looks like I, as her son, haven't won my mother's heart compared to my niece. Mother is growing more and more fond of Moon Sister; otherwise, why would she send Grandmother Su to look for her Hasn’t Mother noticed that I haven’t gone either Why didn’t anyone come looking for me"

"Fourth Prince’s words aren’t quite accurate," Grandmother Su straightened up, "Empress Dowager dispatched people early this morning to find you, but the servants couldn't locate you. Learning that Miss Shallow Moon had already entered the palace yet hadn’t shown up at the Scenic Garden made her send me here out of concern something might have happened."

"So it is like this," the Fourth Prince said with a contrite expression, "It’s my son's fault for misunderstanding Mother. I just ran into Moon Sister now, so let’s head to the Scenic Garden right away. You go ahead and report to Mother first." He instructed Grandmother Su.

"Yes!" Grandmother Su gave Li Yun a glance before turning around and quickly retracing her steps back.

The Fourth Prince seemed in no hurry, continuing to leisurely stroll along with Li Yun's hand still held.

Li Yun processed the information she had just received. She realized that this body was actually Empress Dowager’s niece. Given Grandmother Su's expression earlier, she tried to pull her hand away from the Fourth Prince's grip forcefully. However, his hold tightened further, preventing her withdrawal. Li Yun glared at him but he pretended not to see it. Seeing there was no point in struggling, she gave up, knowing that what had been seen couldn’t be unseen.

After passing through two corridors, the number of palace maids and eunuchs increased. They carried trays of fruits and water, moving back and forth while staring in surprise and disbelief at Li Yun’s hand intertwined with the Fourth Prince's. Each one bowed awkwardly.

Li Yun didn’t care about their strange looks; she focused on what was ahead. She saw a large lake up ahead, which was more than twice as big as the one where she had awoken earlier. The previous one could only be considered a pond.

The distant sight of pavilions dotting the center of the lake was apparent from afar. Dozens of people stood or sat inside them, their clothes bright and colorful, with both men and women present but faces indistinguishable from this distance. This must be the Poetry Appreciation Gathering in the Scenic Garden mentioned today.

As she was observing it all, Fourth Prince suddenly reached out to wrap his arm around her waist. Li Yun hadn’t even realized what happened when her body had already risen into the air with him. He didn't step on any of the jade boards and instead glided across the ripples in the lake like a dragonfly skimming water towards the scenic pavilion.

Li Yun was startled, but before she could feel dizzy, she landed back on her feet. The dazzling scene suddenly came into view; Li Yun felt disoriented and involuntarily closed her eyes for a moment before opening them again. She didn’t even have to turn around to know this must be the legendary footstep-less water-walking kung fu. So such skills really existed in the world...

Li Yun regained her composure, turned back angrily at Fourth Prince, and glared at him.

"Didn’t you tell me Did you want to scare me to death"

The Fourth Prince laughed mischievously, clearly pleased with himself.

“How could I possibly scare my Moon Sister Your kung fu isn't any worse than mine! This is just a recently learned water-walking technique that I wanted you to experience.”

Hearing she knew how to perform such techniques too, Li Yun felt pleased but kept her face expressionless and let out a cold snort.

"Who knows what kind of mischief you’re up to again.

"This is a huge misunderstanding. How could I dare to play tricks on Moon Sister" The Fourth Prince immediately begged for mercy, but he didn’t let go of Li Yun’s waist. He did this naturally and effortlessly.

Li Yun subtly frowned; she had already sensed dozens of gazes falling on her and the Fourth Prince. She remained calm and不動再動，臉上惱怒的情緒也越來越明顯。按理說她這個身體雲英未嫁，在古代這樣和一個男子親密不合禮數，尤其是當著這麼多人的麵親密，四皇子自然是知道這一點的，但他依然不放開她，想來是有所圖。她到要看看他這樣的用意何在？

Indeed, as soon as the Fourth Prince finished speaking, a light cough sounded from above. Soon after, a gentle female voice scolded the Fourth Prince: "Yu’er, how have you become more mischievous Don’t hold Moon Sister any longer; look at how scared you’ve made her."

"Mother, don’t you know that Moon Sister’s courage is greater than the sky Who could scare her You’re biased and blame your son instead." The Fourth Prince chuckled and slowly released Li Yun’s hand and waist. Afterward, he looked meaningfully at a bright yellow figure sitting to the left of the Empress, saying with clear implication: "But Moon Sister was truly scared today! I’ve never seen her hide in a pavilion by the mandarin ducks pond and cry alone out of fear before coming here..."

Li Yun’s thoughts turned as she followed the Fourth Prince’s gaze.

She saw a young man in his twenties sitting to the left of the Empress. Apart from the Empress’s large red robe, that bright yellow stood out most prominently. She only glanced at him and then looked away, thinking he must be the owner of the words she had heard so many times today about "the Crown Prince."

—— Interlude ——

I’m incredibly touched to see so many readers leaving messages and adding my work to their favorites. Thank you for believing in me; I will definitely try my best to write! Group hug O(∩_∩)O~why don't you go pick something out later" The Southern Liang King asked in a consulting tone.“Old fox! You must’ve woken up not long ago and were already plotting against others. You should have slep...