Shangguan Lin finished speaking and straightened up, looking at Mo Ruyan on the side with a furrowed brow, seeming to find it hard to believe.
Mo Ruyan had actually refused the marriage. She was a renowned courtesan from a pleasure house. While she was beautiful and proud, he was a dignified prince, and yet he had been disliked.
If it were anyone else, he wouldn't have cared, but for someone from a pleasure house to refuse so resolutely made him feel inexplicably suspicious.
This woman had always had a good relationship with him. Although it hadn't developed into romantic love, he thought she wanted to join the Lin Prince's manor. He never expected that she didn't.
The moment Mo Ruyan finished speaking, she wished she could slap herself. What was her current status? To refuse the dignified Lin Prince's marriage proposal, wasn't that inviting suspicion?
Mo Ruyan, worthy of being one of the Four Guardians of the Divine Dragon Palace, Residual Red, had a very quick reaction. She immediately started crying, tears flowing like pear blossoms.
"Your Highness, how can someone like Ruyan be worthy of entering the Lin Prince's manor? It would only disgrace Your Highness's reputation."
"What if I said I wanted you to enter?"
Shangguan Lin's pupils turned icy. He cast aside his earlier resistance and stared at Mo Ruyan, scrutinizing her.
What happened tonight was truly bizarre. Even if he had truly violated her, she didn't need to act like a chaste maiden. And he hadn't actually done anything to her.
Yun Xiao, standing to the side, heard Shangguan Lin's words and, with a forced smile, said, "Congratulations, Your Highness, congratulations. You've gained a beautiful bride."
However, her words did not earn her any favor. The person shrouded in chilling aura immediately turned his head and said fiercely, "Shut up."
Tonight was already troublesome enough. He had intended to get Leng Yue drunk and try to pry information from him about his background, but Leng Yue had evaded him. Instead, Mo Ruyan had raised his suspicions.
Mo Ruyan was stunned. She hadn't expected Shangguan Lin to propose such a thing, and he seemed to suspect her. Her scalp tingled, and she became even more cautious. Tears still stained her face, but she managed a smile.
"Your Highness, do you really want to marry Ruyan? Then what happened tonight is irrelevant."
After saying that, she stood up in front of everyone, tidied her clothes, as if her previous crying and fussing were all because she wanted to enter the Lin Prince's manor, and it was all a tactic of playing hard to get.
Even her past aloofness and pride were all for the sake of marrying into the Lin Prince's manor. Now that the Lin Prince had agreed, she seemed to have no need to pretend anymore.
In reality, Yun Xiao knew it was nothing like that. The woman was very nervous, her clenched hands showing pale knuckles, and even a hint of unease flickered in her eyes.
She was taking a gamble, betting that this Prince Shangguan would not actually take a courtesan from a pleasure house into his manor.
As expected, Shangguan Lin's expression changed. He hadn't expected tonight to be a loss. Everything had deviated from his intended path. He had wanted to test Leng Yue but hadn't succeeded. Instead, he had ruined a friendship.
Although he was a prince, he had few friends he could truly talk to. Mo Ruyan was one of them. When he was in a bad mood or feeling down, he could come here to drink alone and vent his frustrations.
But now that their relationship was broken, how could he come here in the future? His heart ached. He suddenly turned around and walked out, his tall figure appearing bleak and powerless under the lamplight.
Yun Xiao felt a pang of sympathy and quickly chased after him. She saw Shangguan Lin stride down the stairs and head straight out of the Rouge Pavilion. By the time Yun Xiao reached the entrance,
She saw that he had already snatched a horse and galloped away. However, he had remembered to leave the carriage, driven by his subordinate, who was respectfully waiting for Yun Xiao.
Yun Xiao looked up, glanced at the hall of the Rouge Pavilion, then at the second floor, looking east and west, before quickly running out.
Returning to the medical clinic, it was already late. In the shop, the shopkeeper Yan Mei and Wan Wan, along with a shop assistant, were anxiously waiting for her. They didn't know what Prince Shangguan had summoned the young master for.
Seeing her return unharmed, they were finally relieved.
Yun Xiao asked Yan Mei and a shop assistant to close up and go rest, while she and Wan Wan headed to the back building.
What happened tonight was truly unexpected. First, that scoundrel Murong Chong had appeared in the Rouge Pavilion, and it was highly possible that the Rouge Pavilion was a hideout for the Divine Dragon Palace.
It seemed that Mo Ruyan's affection was for his master, and then there was Shangguan Lin.
Originally, she thought that Shangguan Lin's obsession with male lovers was troublesome. It would be better to help him and Mo Ruyan get together so he wouldn't be bothered.
Most importantly, it would be a small act of revenge. Although Mo Ruyan couldn't be the main consort of the Lin Prince's manor, she should be a concubine.
Who knew that neither of them had that intention? She had inadvertently caused trouble. If Shangguan Lin blamed her, she would likely suffer consequences.
In the small building, the lamplight swayed gently, and the shimmering shadows cast on the white walls looked like white doves about to spread their wings and fly.
She was enveloped in this dim light, motionless for a long time, lost in her own thoughts.
Wan Wan was a little uneasy, cautiously observing her. She saw that her mistress's expression was uncertain, her eyes unfocused, and they never met. It seemed something was deeply troubling her.
"Mistress, let's sleep. Don't overthink it."
"Mm," Yun Xiao came back to her senses. Thinking of Murong Chong, she couldn't help but raise her eyebrows and let out a muffled sound of displeasure.
"Do you know who I saw tonight?"
"Who?"
Wan Wan immediately became interested. To be honest, she had always wanted to ask her mistress what had happened but dared not disturb her deep contemplation. Now, seeing her ask, she immediately widened her eyes and eagerly inquired.
"Murong Chong. I saw him at the Rouge Pavilion tonight."
The moment Yun Xiao thought of the spanking incident, her cheeks burned. It was impossible for her to tell Wan Wan such a thing; it was too embarrassing. The more she thought about it, the hotter her face became, her hazy eyes like two black pearls embedded in white mist, shining brightly.
"He actually went to a pleasure house? That scoundrel!" Wan Wan exclaimed directly, wishing she could personally flay that man.
Then she thought again, he wasn't anything to her yet. The important thing was how her mistress had handled it: "Did Mistress beat him up and tell him to stay away forever?"
According to her mistress's temper, it should have been like this. xxs
Yun Xiao looked at Wan Wan in astonishment, her hands on her hips, looking as if she wanted to beat her. It was truly speechless.
Her mistress wasn't angry, but she was so worked up. Besides, who said going to a pleasure house necessarily meant doing bad things? That was his base of operations, and those people were probably his subordinates.
She couldn't be bothered with what he was doing. As long as he didn't keep getting tattoos and spanking her.
Yun Xiao habitually touched her bottom again. Wan Wan exclaimed as if she had discovered a new continent.
"Mistress, why are you constantly touching your bottom?"
With a "boom," Yun Xiao was stunned and then said, her face flushed with annoyance, "Sleep, sleep. It's late."