The scene inside the carriage was presented before everyone.
A young man in a deep purple brocade robe lowered his head, his dark hair falling lightly. A red-dressed girl lay in his arms, one hand pressed against his chest.
The man's clothes were slightly open and disheveled.
It was as if, before the curtain was lifted, the atmosphere had been rather heated, making onlookers blush and their hearts pound.
Some sharp-eyed commoners clearly saw this scene and gasped.
"No, that girl got into the carriage and got intimate with Prince Jin?"
"Who is this girl, anyway?"
With a "swish," the carriage curtain was pulled down again. Prince Jin's guard, Qingfeng, had already kicked Zhu Minghao away.
"Your Highness, please forgive me!" The guard was also shocked by what he saw. How could their prince allow anyone to get so close?
Zhu Minghao crawled up from the ground, full of pain, urgency, and hatred. He stomped his foot and shrieked, "Prince Jin, you've gone too far! You, you actually touched my concubine! You lowly servant girl, shameless, without a shred of decency!"
Inside the carriage, Prince Jin's expression was unreadable. He looked deeply at the girl who had moved away. "Concubine?"
At this moment, Lu Zhaoling had fully received the jumbled memories in her mind.
"Is he even worthy?"
"Half a year, and this King needs to sacrifice himself?" His gaze swept over her figure.
Lu Zhaoling's face darkened. "Hmph, you dream beautifully! Keep your purity for these six months. In your current state, getting involved in bedroom matters will only make you die faster!"
"..."
Such words coming from a young girl!
Prince Jin gently stroked a jade pendant at his waist, then looked at her hand.
Just now, when her hand pressed against his chest, that strange dark shadow actually recoiled, and the chilling cold that had tormented him for so long dissipated a little.
Lu Zhaoling calmly let him look, her gaze neither dodging nor retreating.
The two were silently locked in a struggle of wills, seemingly evenly matched.
Prince Jin suddenly chuckled.
"Just for your courage, for the next six months, you shall be under this King's protection."
Outside, Zhu Minghao's exasperated shouts were heard again.
He was blocked by the guards and couldn't advance, so he could only resort to abusive language.
"Wretch, why don't you hurry down and beg this Young Master for mercy? You're already soiled. Besides me, who else would want you? If you don't want to remain unmarried, immediately come down and lick this Young Master's shoes, and obediently return to be my concubine!"
"Hmph." Lu Zhaoling heard the whispers of the commoners outside.
If this matter blew up, her reputation could indeed be ruined, leading to a tragic end.
Zhu Minghao's plan was precisely this: to force her to return with him.
The problem was that she had just entered the city when Zhu Minghao targeted her, even preparing a sedan chair to accurately abduct her. If the Lu family hadn't had an inside mole, she truly wouldn't believe it.
Returning to the Lu family like this would definitely not lead to a good outcome.
Prince Jin looked at her. "Do you still have the strength? Do you want to go out and beat the dog yourself?"
"Can you protect Qingfu Marquisate?" Lu Zhaoling retorted.
Prince Jin smiled arrogantly.
"Just hit him. If he dies, this King can handle it."
Lu Zhaoling suddenly lifted the carriage curtain and stepped out, allowing everyone to see her appearance.
Her hair was disheveled, her forehead was red and swollen, and there was blood on the back of her head, making her look quite disheveled.
"Zhu Minghao, you abducted me first, and yet you dare to spout nonsense and ruin my reputation? Look at yourself: pale face, swollen skin, dark circles under your eyes, looking like you'll die young. Do you think I'd be interested in you?"
Zhu Minghao looked at Lu Zhaoling, momentarily infatuated.
Although she had an injury on her forehead and looked disheveled, it didn't diminish her beauty. That oval face, bright almond eyes, lips as if stained with vermilion, delicate chin, and fair, slender neck – she was truly outstanding!
The legitimate daughter of the Lu family, raised in the countryside for ten years, was actually this beautiful. How was she like a village girl at all?
Zhu Minghao's anger was largely extinguished by her beauty. Looking at her, with her injuries adding a touch of fragile beauty, his blood boiled.
"It's enough that I'm interested in you!"
He remembered the pre-prepared excuse someone had given him: if caught during the abduction, he should say this, which would surely ruin the girl's reputation and bind her to him, with no escape—
"It was clearly a villain who abducted you, and I was the one who saved you! If it weren't for me, you would have already been defiled by the ruffians! You said then that you would repay my life-saving kindness by marrying me, crying and begging to marry this Young Master!"
Everyone's eyes widened even more.
"But this Young Master is of noble status and already has a fiancée, so how could I marry you? You yourself said you'd be a concubine, as long as you could be by my side. You even said you wanted to bear me three children! Don't even think about denying it!"
A low chuckle came from inside the carriage.
Lu Zhaoling looked back and saw the man's index finger slightly bent and pressed against his lips.
Enjoying the show?
Zhu Minghao yelled, "Prince Jin, Prince Jin, did you hear that? I'm magnanimous, so I won't fuss about what just happened, but you can't help her! Hurry and kick her out of the carriage!"
Given the girl's beauty, he decided not to care that Prince Jin had already embraced her.
"What, no strength to beat the dog anymore?" Prince Jin looked at Lu Zhaoling, his eyebrow slightly raised.
Lu Zhaoling caught a hint of playfulness in his expression.
Perhaps he wanted to see if she truly had the courage to strike the Young Master of Qingfu Marquisate.
He also wanted to see if she had the capability to defeat Zhu Minghao.
If she were thrown out of the carriage now, she would immediately faint.
Lu Zhaoling reached out, and the carriage driver's whip was already in her hand.
She stood on the carriage shaft and swung the whip fiercely at Zhu Minghao.
"Swish!"
The sound of the whip cutting through the air was chilling.
Zhu Minghao's pupils contracted. He shrieked in terror, "You dare hit this Young Master! Are you tired of living—Argh!!!"
The whip landed solidly on his shoulder with such force that his shoulder dislocated, and he fell to the ground.
"You won't be a proper human, insisting on being a scoundrel worse than a dog! This is for you!"
Lu Zhaoling swung the whip again, making a cracking sound in the air.
Each lash struck Zhu Minghao, making him wail in pain.
"You're dead—Argh!!! Are you all dead?!" Zhu Minghao clutched his head, shouting urgently at his servants.
"Qingfeng," Prince Jin's voice came. "If anyone dares to step forward, kill them."
The guard Qingfeng replied sternly, "Yes!"
The servants of the Marquisate immediately cowered, not daring to advance.
"Clap! Clap! Clap!"
Lu Zhaoling whipped Zhu Minghao until he truly cried.
He lay on the ground, too much in pain to get up, feeling as if he was being whipped to death.
"You just wait, Young Master! I won't let you off!"
Lu Zhaoling's eyes darkened when she heard his words. Was she to wait for the Marquisate to seek revenge? Prince Jin had promised to protect her.
"You saw it just now. Prince Jin and I have been in love for a long time and are engaged to be married. Prince Jin is my fiancé. You should weigh your options before trying to trouble me."
"Wow!"
The surrounding commoners' eyes nearly popped out, and someone couldn't help but exclaim.
Prince Jin's guards: "Huh? What?! Fiancé?"
"Pfft!" Zhu Minghao spat out a mouthful of blood and fainted.
Prince Jin's eyes were tinged with frost. Just as he was about to speak, Lu Zhaoling tossed the whip back to Qingfeng and turned, collapsing into his arms.
She had fainted.
Prince Jin: "..."
"Go." He ordered in a deep voice.
The carriage immediately sped away.
Only then did the Qingfu Marquisate's servants rush over with crying faces to carry Zhu Minghao.
"Young Master, wake up—" Oh no, was the Young Master beaten to death?
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