Indulging in Carnal Desire
chapter-258

“Wanwan, let’s go. If that corp-… Sixth Brother finds out we were here, I’ll be scolded by Consort Mother!”

Fifth Princess Jing Ya pulled on her good friend’s hand, simply unwilling to linger in this place any longer.

She had always disdained Jing Chen and had been frightened by his unsightly face, falling ill when she was young. Later on, she ordered the eunuchs and palace maids to play tricks on him, after all, the cursed prince wouldn’t dare retaliate against her, and made him eat leftovers and drink filthy pond water, or even crawl back and forth on the ground like a dog. Despite making him do all these degrading things, she had only seen the brat remain silent and unresistant, so after long, she had grown tired of it.

Who could’ve expected that the cursed prince actually charmed Mother Consort? She started treating him like a real son, even going so far as to bar her from playing pranks on him. Jing Ya simply couldn’t believe this, so later on, she started to deliberately play her old tricks again, trying to test him. However, she only ended up suffering a defeat after trying to steal the chicken, suffering the consequences of her own actions.

Over time, Jing Ya felt that Jing Chen had become terribly evil, so even though she wasn’t happy with him, she also didn’t want to have any more contact with him.

However, her good friend kept harping in her ear, saying that she wanted to see the Imperial Preceptor’s graceful bearing. Jing Ya couldn’t bear her constant requests any longer, so she quickly brought her over to the study. Yet, it was class time now, so without anyone in sight and with nothing fun to play within their vicinity, Jing Ya soon grew impatient after a short while.

“Let’s wait a little while longer.” Yun Wan’s small face brimmed with earnesty, “Please, Jing Ya. I heard that Imperial Preceptor Jiang had been collecting local cultural material everywhere he went and had compiled a book called ‘Travels in the Five Continents.’ I wanted to ask him if I could take a look.”

Jing Ya impatiently pursed her lips, “You really must’ve lost a screw after studying so much. I can’t believe you would be interested in such a bland book!” She already felt vexed after being roped into studying all day every day, yet this girl actually went so far as to beg for a look out of her own accord.

“I’ve admired Imperial Preceptor Jiang’s famed reputation for a long time,” The girl’s eyes twinkled, brimming with absolute respect, “If I hadn’t been born a girl, I would have asked to be taken in as a disciple!”

Though she said these sincere words, under Yun Wan’s restrained gaze, a scheming look glinted in her eyes.

She had heard her parents say that this Imperial Preceptor was heavily valued by the emperor, yet he only worked as a lone official and was very stubborn, refusing to be lured into any faction. At the moment, Marquis Weiyuan and his family seemed like they were thriving, but they were actually in hot oil. Her brother was a good-for-nothing and incompetent master, so she could only rely on herself to scheme for a bright future.

At present, her family supported the Fourth Prince, who was birthed by her paternal aunt, Consort Hui. However, she was sent to be a study companion for the Fifth Princess, making sure that she was not putting all her eggs in one basket.

She originally wanted to express her goodwill to the Sixth Prince, but he didn’t seem to have a good impression of anyone aside from that little eunuch that was constantly by his side. He would always wear a stone-cold face in front of others, and every time she bumped into him, she would always be frightened by his aloof gaze and could only give up on her intentions.

The Fourth Prince had a good relationship with the Third Prince, and she could feel that the two princes had a good impression of her, but this was not enough.

Yun Wan secretly held the twisted handkerchief inside her sleeves. Her goal was not just to become a prince’s consort.

She heard that Imperial Precepter Jiang once had a daughter, who was innately erudite and had a strong thirst for knowledge. It was known that he had resigned from his post for 20 years to look for her, so she came to the conclusion that he wouldn’t dislike girls who were fond of studying.

What she planned to do was to get on Imperial Preceptor Jiang’s good side and use this opportunity to get taken in as his disciple, causing her reputation to once again rise in the capital!

Thinking this, Yun Wan tightly held the manuscript filled with her detailed notes from her previous research and expectantly gazed towards the closed study room doors until she heard the sound of them opening.

As the morning lecture finally came to an end, the princes all walked out, preparing to head to the side chamber for lunch. Each accompanying eunuch also immediately followed right behind them.

Chu Jiao obediently took her master’s bag and unscrewed the water pouch, handing it over. The inside contained her home-cooked, quenching pickled plum soup, which was both sweet and tasty. Jing Chen abhorred the summer heat and loved drinking it the most during a hot day like this.

The ancient way of schooling could not be compared to modern times. Moreover, the royal family’s rules were strict. When the teacher was in the middle of lecture, they could not drink nor eat, so one could only imagine how much suffering they had undergone by sitting for an entire morning.

When the two hands made contact amidst the passing of the water pouch, Chu Jiao accidentally bumped into someone’s back unguarded, the pouch she was holding knocked out of her hands.

As the liquid loosely scattered out in the air, Chu Jiao also lost balance and fell on the doorstep. However, Jing Chen had keen eyes and sharp hands, instinctively reaching out an arm to hook around the little eunuch’s waist.

Why…

Was it so slender?

With many people all around them, Jing Chen merely rubbed his fingers on her slender waist for a moment before reluctantly withdrawing his hand. He deliberately scolded Chu Jiao, “You clumsy fool!” However, his mind continued to linger on the surprising sensation he had felt with his hand.

Chu Jiao lowered her head to admit her wrongdoing when she suddenly heard a surprised and aggrieved cry at the side.

“Ah! My manuscript!”

As it turned out, when Chu Jiao had collided with someone, the sour plum soup in her water pouch splashed all over the manuscript in Yun Wan’s hand.

Chu Jiao’s heart dropped with a clunk as she quickly kneeled to beg for mercy.

“This slave was blind to collide with the lady. Begging the lady for forgiveness!”

In the palace, where statuses heavily mattered, this was always the case. If you were the master, whatever you did was right. If you hit someone, you’d be easily let off. However, if you were a slave, even if the master carelessly stepped on you, you could only admit your wrongs by saying that you had placed your foot on the wrong area.

Chu Jiao had lived here for several years now and was even following an unloved prince. She carried herself extremely carefully because she had already learned this logic deep in her bones.

At this moment, she could not denounce the Fifth Princess for carelessly bumping into her, causing the liquid to splash out. Right now, she could only admit her wrongs.

“Wuu…” Yun Wan stared at the manuscript that had become a blotchy mess due to the ink spreading out from being stained by the liquid, her eyes growing wet with tears, “This took me several months of careful research to make. Wuuuu. I-I originally wanted to ask the Imperial Preceptor for guidance…” She timidly shot a glance at the old man inside the room with eyes of distress as though she was a little lady who wanted to ask for pointers.

“You blind slave!”

Upon seeing his beautiful younger female cousin’s teary face, the Fourth Prince immediately sent an angry kick to Chu Jiao but was quickly barred by Jing Chen.

“What’s wrong? Sixth Brother, are you going to plead for leniency for this little eunuch?”

Worried about not having an opportunity to control Jing Chen, the Fourth Prince narrowed his eyes.

“If brother acts without any knowledge of right or wrong, it wouldn’t be too good right?” Jing Chen stood in front of Chu Jiao with a completely straight back and face as calm as water.

[Completed]