Chapter Seventeen: Oh Princess, I Already Have an Appointment

Page 1 of 3

Good heavens! At a time like this, how can you still act as though nothing has happened?

That is Princess Tuntun, after all—the notorious little tyrant of the capital.

When she says she is going to storm in, she really does storm in.

By the time this is over, she will have torn the entire Marquis’s Residence apart.

“My lord, please stop joking around.” The steward spoke with a sob in his voice. “Please go out and take a look. The Marquis… the Marquis can barely hold her back!”

“If he can’t hold her back, what has that got to do with me?” Xie Ning set down his teacup and spoke indifferently. “Isn’t this residence run by Jia Yibo?”

“Now that someone has come to his door looking for trouble, it is only natural that the Marquis should take responsibility and stand at the front.”

“As for me, I’m merely a powerless, helpless puppet heir, incapable of even restraining a chicken.”

“I’m not equipped to deal with a spectacle of this magnitude.”

“Besides, what is he defending against? He would be delighted to hand me over.”

Had this happened earlier, Jia Yibo would probably have sent men in to tie him up long ago. The only reason he dared not do so now was that Qingfeng and Mingyue were present.

The steward was left utterly speechless by Xie Ning’s words.

A puppet heir?

When you smashed the eldest young master’s room to pieces just now and forced even the Marquis into helpless submission, you looked nothing like a puppet.

The steward was seething inwardly, but he did not dare say a word.

He understood now. The heir was determined to sit back and watch the Marquis make a fool of himself today.

The steward paced anxiously in circles, yet could think of nothing to do.

Just then, an even greater commotion arose from the front courtyard.

Along with it came the arrogant, domineering shouting of a woman.

“Out of my way, all of you!”

“Anyone who dares stop me will spill blood here today!”

“Xie Ning, you heartless bastard! Get out here this instant!”

Her voice drew nearer. Soon, a massive figure appeared at the entrance to the kitchen courtyard.

It was none other than Princess Tuntun, Li Rushi.

She was dressed in a fiery red riding outfit, which made her already imposing figure look even more formidable.

Behind her followed a vast throng of armed guards from the prince’s residence. Every one of them looked fierce and menacing, their momentum overwhelming.

The servants and guards of the Marquis’s Residence were in no position to stop them. They were doing well enough merely by not joining in the spectacle.

At that moment, Jia Yibo was walking beside Li Rushi, speaking to her incessantly.

Jia Yibo, Jia Yibo—you really are exactly as predictable as ever.

Page 2 of 3

“Your Highness, please calm down. Please, calm yourself! Whatever the matter is, we can discuss it properly. There is no need to lose your temper so completely.”

“Discuss it properly?”

Li Rushi shoved Jia Yibo aside with one hand.

The force nearly sent him sprawling.

“I came here today to take care of something, not to listen to you babble!”

Her small eyes swept across the courtyard and quickly fixed upon Xie Ning, who was sitting on a low stool.

When she saw his leisurely, carefree expression—as though the whole affair had nothing to do with him—her anger flared at once.

You good-for-nothing Xie Ning!

For your sake, I am practically on the verge of falling out with the Grand Princess, and yet you still have the leisure to sit here drinking tea and watching the show!

“Xie Ning!” Li Rushi roared, pointing at him. “Have you no shame? Hurry up and come back with me!”

Her shout was so forceful that the leaves on the trees trembled and rustled.

Yet Xie Ning remained as steady as an old hound.

He even had the composure to pick up a sweet osmanthus cake handed to him by Mingyue and eat it slowly.

That dismissive, arrogant attitude made Li Rushi see red.

“Get him! Tie him up and bring him back to the prince’s residence.”

With a broad sweep of her hand, Li Rushi ordered the guards behind her forward.

“Let us see who dares!”

With a cold shout, Qingfeng and Mingyue stepped forward together, placing themselves in front of Xie Ning.

Though there were only two of them, the icy killing intent radiating from their bodies made the more than one hundred guards from the prince’s residence halt in unison.

These guards had all seen blood before. They could naturally sense that the two young men before them were genuine experts—

the sort of experts who could take their lives with ease.

“Oh? So you have grown bold.”

Li Rushi looked at Qingfeng and Mingyue standing before Xie Ning. Instead of becoming angry, she laughed.

“You found two pretty boys to serve as bodyguards and now think you can challenge me?”

“Today, I am determined to deal with you.”

“What are you waiting for? Get them! If anything goes wrong, I will take responsibility.”

Urged on by her, the guards exchanged glances. They could only steel themselves, tighten their grips on their swords, and prepare to advance.

At that critical moment, when the tension was taut and a clash seemed imminent, a cool, clear voice suddenly came from the direction of the Marquis’s Residence gate.

“What an impressive display of authority, Princess.”

“Are you planning to lay hands on people from the Grand Princess’s residence as well?”

Everyone turned toward the voice.

Page 3 of 3

A contingent of guards in standard court armor came slowly into view, escorting a maid dressed in a pale pink palace gown.

It was Peach Blossom, the Grand Princess’s personal maid.

Her face was expressionless. Only her almond-shaped eyes held a cold, steady gaze as she looked at Li Rushi.

The moment Li Rushi saw Peach Blossom, the arrogance on her face diminished considerably.

She could afford to disregard Jia Yibo, but she dared not treat the Grand Princess’s people with the same contempt.

“What brings you here?”

Li Rushi’s tone had weakened noticeably.

Peach Blossom ignored her and walked straight to Xie Ning, giving him a slight curtsy.

“My lord, Her Highness the Grand Princess requests your presence.”

What?

The Grand Princess was summoning Xie Ning again?

The instant Li Rushi heard this, the anger that had just begun to subside flared up once more.

“No!”

She objected without a moment’s hesitation.

“Xie Ning is mine. He is not going anywhere.”

Only then did Peach Blossom turn her head and cast her a cold glance.

“Princess, this is Her Highness’s command. Are you intending to defy it?”

It was only a brief sentence, yet it carried an unquestionable authority.

Under her gaze, Li Rushi felt a chill run through her. For a moment, she was unable to utter a word.

Amid that awkward standoff, Xie Ning, who had been sitting back and enjoying the spectacle, finally rose to his feet.

He brushed the crumbs from his clothes. With a lazy smile on his face, he walked between the two groups.

First, he glanced at Li Rushi’s thoroughly unwilling expression. Then he looked at Peach Blossom’s impassive face.

Finally, he flashed Li Rushi a wide grin.

“Princess, you are in such a hurry to see me. Unfortunately, as you can see, I seem to have a rather more important appointment.”

Xie Ning said it lightly, but his words struck Li Rushi across the face like a resounding slap.

What did he mean by a more important appointment?

Was he saying that I, Li Rushi, am not as important as that sickly Grand Princess?

Li Rushi’s face instantly darkened to the color of liver.

She pointed at Xie Ning, trembling so violently that the flesh on her body shook.

“Xie Ning, you… you…”

Before Li Rushi could finish, Peach Blossom said coldly from the side, “Princess, my lord has made himself perfectly clear. Please do not continue pestering him and delay Her Highness’s important affairs.”

Her words were the final warning to Li Rushi.