The Princess and Her Rough-Rider Khan
Chapter 355 - 354 She is the Crown Prince’s woman (first update)

Chapter 355: 354 She is the Crown Prince’s woman (first update)

Just as Li Mu and Consort Rou were about to fall into frenzied madness, the urgent voice of a maid came from outside the inner chamber.

"Your Majesty, the Ninth Princess is threatening to end her own life, please go and take a look, and save the poor princess."

The speaker was Li Yumin’s personal maid, Aluo.

Li Mu, preoccupied with his exertions atop Qin Rou, hadn’t heard until Aluo raised her voice and repeated herself.

Li Mu suddenly stopped, a drop of hot sweat rolled down from his cheek and fell onto the woman’s tender white skin.

"Rou’er, I must go take a look."

The woman beneath him, flushed like water-washed petals, looked at him with tearful eyes and spoke tenderly, "Alright."

As she spoke, she still wrapped her legs around him, clinging to his neck, and thrust forward twice.

Li Mu grunted and inserted his hand into her mouth, his voice hoarse as he said, "You bitch, let’s see if I don’t kill you."

The two then embraced and entwined their necks together.

Qin Rou looked up at the bed canopy shaking vigorously and imagined another man in place of Li Mu.

She imagined it was that man she only dared to secretly admire who was pressing down on her.

That man had a pair of phoenix eyes and starry brows, a broad back, and was exceptionally handsome to the point that even women would feel inferior upon seeing him.

It was he who had saved her from a pile of men, and he who had delivered her to the dragon bed, into this filthy and sordid Harem.

But she didn’t hate him; she was willing to do anything for him, even die, so how could serving an old man be an issue?

Qin Rou sadly knew that man only saw her as a pawn; he would never spare her a glance in this lifetime.

His heart and eyes were already occupied by another woman, leaving room for no one else.

Yet how foolish and pitiful he was, liking her but always fumbling, using the wrong methods.

Qin Rou had learned of Li Xianyun’s existence during a banquet in the palace.

By that time, she had secured her footing in the palace. Li Mu, drunk, had insisted on pulling her up to sit with him, forcing her to drink without the slightest consideration for her struggles.

She didn’t want to lose face in front of that man, though he never cared either way.

Her struggles were useless; she was just an object of play, why would Li Mu care for her feelings?

He only knew that she would become softer and more compliant after drinking, abandoning all boundaries.

The wine flowed down her neck, drenching her clothes.

Houtang’s attire mainly consisted of sheer fabrics with large necklines that bulged at the front, and when wet, they clung to the body.

Li Mu’s eyes were riveted on her, and many other ministers saw as well, hastily bowing their heads or raising their wine cups or engaging in conversation.

She was not afraid of being looked at.

A woman who emerged from a crowd of men knew best how to flaunt her charms.

But today was different; that man was there.

Qin Rou leaned forward, rubbing her chest tightly against Li Mu’s hand, her lips close to his ear she whispered, "Your Majesty, I will be waiting for you in Shuangluan Hall."

"Are you aching for it?"

"Yes."

"Bitch, just wait openly for me," Li Mu said as he placed his hand on the base of her spine, giving it a hard squeeze.

Qin Rou finally escaped, running away without a care for grace or appearance.

This act pleased Li Mu, who thought she was too eager to wait.

Little did he know that just seeing him made Qin Rou nauseous, his heavy breath and sagging skin were unbearable for anyone.

On her way to Shuangluan Hall, Qin Rou looked at the snow swirling in the sky, her heart’s desolation like the endless torrent of a river, boundless.

She didn’t go to Shuangluan Hall but instead found a secluded courtyard far from others to seek some quiet.

Li Mu would undoubtedly rage upon not finding her in Shuangluan Hall, but she was not afraid; as long as he still desired her, she could always concoct an excuse to muddle through and then use her skills to calm him down.

Qin Rou walked into the courtyard and had the maid close the door from inside. She took a soft cloth to wipe the wine stain at the neckline, the wet clothes sticking to her skin felt uncomfortably cold.

But wiping was of no use.

She had no choice but to wrap herself in her snow-white fur coat to keep warm.

Just then, a man’s pained groan came from outside,

"Master, spare me, Master, spare me! I know I was wrong, please forgive me."

Qin Rou walked to the window and, through the floral-patterned lattice, saw the silhouettes of three people beneath the swirling snow.

Her eyes immediately found the man she had been longing for day and night—Murong Ce.

He stood tall, his stunning charisma impossible to conceal.

Behind him stood his personal guard, Xu Sheng.

Kneeling before him was a well-known libertine from Chang’an, a man of insatiable lust, who had bedded countless women.

Murong Ce lifted his hand and clenched the man’s chin in his knuckle, tilting his face upward as he looked down at him and said calmly, "Who do you think you are to covet her?"

The libertine was stunned, "Master, wasn’t it your order for us to go all out in dealing with her?"

How quickly things had changed.

"She is a woman of this Crown Prince, and I will not allow anyone to covet her, let alone touch a single hair on her head."

Murong Ce’s voice was even colder than the icy wintry landscape.

Murong Ce forcefully pushed the libertine to the ground and said indifferently, "Sever his tendons in his hands and feet, then cripple him."

"Yes."

Xu Sheng drew a short dagger from his waist and gave it a flick in his hand. He knelt on one knee, pinning down the begging libertine and swiftly cut his tendons, finally delivering a stab to his vital spot.

The man let out a long, agonized howl before passing out from the pain.

Murong Ce glanced casually towards the house.

He seemed to know everything, having long noticed there was someone inside the house.

Murong Ce left with Xu Sheng, stepping on the snow and creating a crunching sound.

The snow continued to fall steadily, and apart from the sound of snow, all was silent. Yet Qin Rou could distinctly hear her own heartbeat, pounding like a drum.

Qin Rou knew the "she" that Murong Ce referred to.

Earlier, at the palace banquet, the libertine had been making eyes at Commandery Princess Xianyun, boldly and brazenly.

Qin Rou couldn’t understand why Murong Ce, who had seemed to despise Li Xianyun for the past two years, always teasing and bullying her, had suddenly become his woman?

Once the seed of doubt was planted, it quickly grew into a towering tree.

She gradually began to notice some clues.

She couldn’t pinpoint when it started, but Murong Ce had begun to secretly protect Li Xianyun, not allowing anyone to hurt her.

And the number of times he hurt Li Xianyun himself had also decreased significantly.

Every time Murong Ce got angry and took it out on her, it was because Li Xianyun had spoken to another young man.

He was jealous.

Qin Rou knew that Murong Ce was seriously ill.

Although she didn’t know anything about his past, she could tell that he must have been hurt before, which made him extremely insecure and particularly controlling.

His actions were extreme and ruthless.

To attract Li Xianyun’s attention, he would often do things to hurt her.

Because he liked her, he wanted to keep her caged like a canary, not allowing her to talk to any man.

If this wasn’t serious illness, what was?

He didn’t know how to love someone, yet consistently chose the wrong methods.

The curtains around the bed slowly calmed down.

Li Mu embraced Qin Rou and asked in a hoarse voice, "Are you quenched?"

"...Yes."

Li Mu sat up, resting beside her, looked at her reddened eyes, and chuckled, "You cried?"