Chapter 71: How Dare You Interrupt My Flirting With My Fiancée?
“Royal Sister!” Upon seeing the newcomer, Zhao Qingmeng was the first to run over, lifting her skirt and pouting. “Royal Sister, you finally came. Lin Qi’an bullied me!”
“He dared to bully you?” Zhao Yunji’s frown deepened. Her sister was cherished by their father, the apple of his eye. Who in the entire Canglan Dao Domain would dare bully her?
“How did he bully you?”
“He… he molested me! Wu wu wu, Royal Sister, I’ll never be able to get married now.” At this moment, Zhao Qingmeng looked like a perfect white lotus, rubbing her eyes with fake tears, appearing utterly wronged.
Lin Qi’an wanted to laugh upon hearing this, ‘Oh, sure, I molested you. You put your little feet on my lap. Next time, I’ll record it and show your sister.’
He couldn’t be bothered to refute her. After all, Zhao Yunji was here to break off the engagement. What was the point of explaining?
“Lin Qi’an, is this true?” Zhao Yunji’s beautiful face frosted over. If her nominal fiancé molested her sister, it would become a huge joke if word got out. She cared a lot about her reputation.
“What, is Your Highness jealous?” As a villain, Lin Qi’an gave a shameless response. His face bore a mischievous smile, resembling a rogue teasing someone on the street.
“You!” Zhao Yunji finally got angry. In her anger, she activated the divine ability “Autumn Pupils.” In an instant, her pupils gleamed with a faint golden light, and her gaze, which seemed capable of piercing through people, swept over with strong pressure.
“Such strong pressure…”
“Autumn Pupils lives up to its reputation…”
The maids did not dare look into the princess’s eyes, retreating a few steps in awe of her formidable aura.
‘Playing this game with me? Alright.’ Lin Qi’an remained unfazed and activated the Divine Eyes of the Heavenly Fated Villain, directly facing Autumn Pupils.
Special effect: Anyone who meets your gaze will be suppressed by your aura.
“?!” Zhao Yunji abruptly stepped back half a step, her gaze shifting away, her heart throbbing in fear.
How could this be!
Her mind was in turmoil. She was at the peak of the Transcendent Realm, a whole realm above Lin Qi’an. Autumn Pupils was a top-tier divine ability. Once activated, it could even suppress Celestial Realm experts.
Yet, Lin Qi’an, with just his Heaven Dominion Realm cultivation, managed to suppress her? Taking a deep breath, Zhao Yunji realized that the Crown Prince of Beiyang was not just a name.
The maids felt relieved, looking at Lin Qi’an with a sense of security. He truly deserved to be their prince, even unafraid of the princess’s Autumn Pupiles.
‘Foolish woman.’ Zhao Qingmeng couldn’t help but think. ‘You think too highly of yourself.’
‘Encountering Lin Qi’an, who is even more exceptional will make you fall step by step. It was the same in the last life, and it’s still the same in this one. Can’t you be a little more creative?’
“Royal Sister, he not only bullied me but also gave you a warning!” Zhao Qingmeng said weakly, “This man is simply arrogant. You can’t marry him, or you’ll surely suffer.”
“I understand.” Zhao Yunji felt somewhat speechless.
Naturally, she had been determined to come and break off the engagement. But she hadn’t expected Lin Qi’an to possess the legendary Dragon Yang Dao Physique! She knew how favored such a physique was by the heavens.
As long as she dual cultivated with him, combined with her top-tier talent, becoming an empress would be a sure thing. Moreover, he was her nominal fiancé, so dual cultivation was logical and proper.
But now… She came with the intention of breaking off the engagement, and it might be too late to change her mind. If she missed this chance, would she regret it for the rest of her life?
The beautiful princess fell into a dilemma, feeling extremely conflicted.
At this moment, her guard Ye Yun stepped forward. “Lin Qi’an! Not only did you bully Princess Qingmeng, but you also flirted with both princesses. Do you not regard the Tai’an Royal Family?”
His imposing presence and strong aura of the Transcendent Realm made him seem like a young genius. No wonder he was a Child of Destiny. His aura was indeed formidable! Coming out to speak for the princesses at this time, gaining fame and favor from beauties—was that his script?
Unfortunately, he encountered Lin Qi’an.
“Men!” Lin Qi’an said simply.
A group of sword guards flew over.
“Drag this person out and give him fifty lashes!” Lin Qi’an ordered.
“At once!” The white-clad sword guards immediately moved towards Ye Yun.
Ye Yun’s expression changed dramatically. He had expected the Crown Prince of Beiyang to be domineering, but not this unruly! He was going to drag the princess’s guard captain out for punishment?
“I’m merely speaking up for the princesses. How can you do this!” Ye Yun roared in anger.
“How? Because this is my territory.” Lin Qi’an sneered. “I was flirting with my fiancée. Who do you think you are to interfere?”
Ye Yun was both shocked and furious. He had intended to show Lin Qi’an a lesson, but the other party showed no respect at all. Though Ye Yun had exceptional talent and held a powerful technique, he couldn’t act rashly in Beiyang.
Resisting meant courting death.
“Your Highness…” Ye Yun looked to Zhao Yunji for help, hoping she would speak on his behalf. After all, she had always appreciated him, which was why she promoted him to captain.
However, Ye Yun was eager for quick success and had not learned to restrain himself.
Zhao Yunji felt embarrassed. It would be even more humiliating if her guard were punished. “Lin Qi’an, he is a talented guard under me. Could you be lenient on him?”
She hadn’t expected to plead with him so soon after arriving in Beiyang.
The sword guards halted, awaiting Lin Qi’an’s response.
“Didn’t you hear me? Give him a hundred lashes!” Lin Qi’an increased the punishment.
Everyone: …
Fifty lashes turned into a hundred. Lin Qi’an, the Crown Prince of Beiyang, truly showed no respect to the princess!
“Damn it!” Ye Yun gritted his teeth.
Zhao Yunji shook her head. “I warned you to learn restraint in Beiyang. Let this be a lesson.”
Ye Yun’s face turned pale, anger boiling inside, but he could only be dragged away by the sword guards.
【Ding! Ye Yun publicly humiliated, Luck -100, Villain Points +1000】
‘Hahaha, this is so interesting!’ Zhao Qingmeng felt a rush of satisfaction. She had felt quite wronged when Lin Qi’an had humiliated her, but seeing her sister also gain no advantage made her feel much better.
“Those who act arrogantly in front of the Crown Prince never have a good ending,” Su Xueni remarked thoughtfully.
Ling Tian and Xiao Chen were examples—both had no self-awareness. This guard, if he were wise, would restrain himself; otherwise, he might not survive.
“By the way, Zhao Yunji, is there anything else? If not, you could join us in playing Cuju. Your sister Qingmeng was having a great time just now,” Lin Qi’an said cheerfully.
‘I wasn’t having a great time. Do you think an empress like me would enjoy such a trivial game?’ Zhao Qingmeng thought, gritting her teeth.
Zhao Yunji felt her blood boiling, especially when she was called by her full name while her sister was referred to as “Qingmeng.”
“No need!” she replied coldly.
“Royal Sister, aren’t you here to break off the engagement? Hurry up and tell him, there’s no time to waste!” Zhao Qingmeng urged.
“I’m not in a hurry, why are you in a hurry?” Zhao Yunji glanced at her sister and took a deep breath.
She needed to think carefully about this matter. Breaking off the engagement would mean losing the chance to compete for the Dao Physique. Her Supreme Yin Divine Physique had opened sixty out of seventy-two spiritual apertures, an extremely rare talent.
If she could dual cultivate with a Dao Physique, all her apertures might open! During her observation with Autumn Pupils, she had clearly seen that the spiritual energy of heaven and earth naturally flowed towards Lin Qi’an without him even needing to cultivate… how enviable.
Besides, Lin Qi’an was indeed exceptionally handsome, far above ordinary men.
“I will stay here for a while. I’ve heard the grand hunt in Beiyang is very lively, and I want to witness it…”
The grand hunt was a major event in Beiyang that was about to begin.
“If you don’t want to play, that’s fine. Men, escort the princess to her quarters for rest!”
“Yes, prince.”
As she left, Zhao Yunji saw the white-clad Tianchi Saintess standing beside Lin Qi’an, smiling as she watched her go. An unnamable anger rose within her! She had never regarded this second-ranking saintess with much importance. But now… she felt a strange sense of defeat.
‘Useless woman,’ Zhao Qingmeng thought. ‘Look at your arrogance. It’s only natural you end up losing twice.’
Zhao Qingmeng, too, was disappointed her plan didn’t succeed. “Royal Sister, wait for me~”
‘If you don’t break off the engagement, I’ll keep an eye on you, ensuring you never get any private time with Lin Qi’an, hmph!’
Lin Qi’an: …
‘Zhao Qingmeng, if you knew I could hear your thoughts, would you die of embarrassment?’
—
Ye Yun was dragged to the punishment platform and received the full hundred lashes. It was a humiliation beyond measure.
He had risen to prominence through his exceptional talent, gaining the princess’s favor and becoming the captain of her guards. Never had he endured such an insult. Lin Qi’an, someday, I will settle all scores with you…
Feeling despondent, he went to a tavern in Tianjian City to drink away his sorrows. The tavern was packed, and only one corner table had a vacant seat.
Ye Yun sat down, slapping the table. “Waiter, bring me your best wine!”
“Yes, sir, just a moment!”
Looking up, he noticed the man sitting opposite him was also drinking alone, looking just as despondent. The man had spilled much of his wine and was now slumped over the table, thoroughly drunk. At the adjacent table, a few patrons were chatting.
“Hey, did you hear? The princess came to see the Crown Prince but didn’t mention breaking off the engagement!”
“Yeah, it’s strange. Everyone was saying she would.”
“Who knows, maybe she changed her mind!”
“I also heard that the princess’s guard spoke against the Crown Prince and got a hundred lashes.”
“Wow, the Crown Prince is truly domineering!”
At that moment, Ye Yun and the drunkard across the table both slammed their hands down and shouted, “Damn that Crown Prince!”
Their voices were almost in unison and both looked at each other in surprise.
The patrons were baffled. “What’s it to you if we praise the Crown Prince?”
Curses and complaints followed from the surrounding tables.
After a while, Ye Yun spoke in a low voice, “Brother, do you also despise that Crown Prince?”
“Hmph! Despise? I wish I could kill him!” the drunkard replied. “He’s the reason I lost everything.” He poured himself another drink, spilling half of it.
“I feel the same.” Ye Yun admired Zhao Yunji, yearning to win over this supreme goddess.
Thus, he had trained diligently, climbing the ranks to become her guard and gain the opportunity to be near her. But now, a great obstacle lay in his path. To win Yunji, he had to break her engagement with Lin Qi’an, but this task seemed far from simple.
Pouring himself a drink, Ye Yun said, “Brother, we are kindred spirits. Let’s drink!”
“Cheers!”
“I’m Ye Yun. What is your name, brother?”
“My surname is Xiao, given name Chen.”
“Alright, Brother Xiao, we won’t leave until we’re drunk tonight!”
The two drank heavily, stumbling into the nearby forest, where they sparred, discovering that both were extraordinary talents. Sharing similar fates and statuses, they felt a deep camaraderie.
“Brother Xiao, from now on, we are brothers!”
“Brother Ye, if we join forces, we can surely bring Lin Qi’an down!”