King Yan’s residence was only a cup of tea away from the Crown Prince’s residence, so they arrived there quickly.

Compared to the solemn and majestic Crown Prince’s Mansion, King Yan’s Mansion seemed much more casual. The luxurious and imposing architectural style of the mansion was exactly the same as that of Changping Gōngzhǔ’s Mansion.

The difference was that handsome eunuchs could be seen everywhere in Changping Gōngzhǔ’s mansion, while King Yan’s mansion was full of beauties.

As soon as they stepped into the gate of King Yan’s Mansion, they were greeted by a woman with a slim figure and beautiful appearance. She had an extremely charming pair of eyes and was exquisitely dressed. It was obvious that she was not an ordinary palace maid.

“Ping’er pays her respects to His Highness.” The woman bowed gracefully, with affection in her eyes.

King Yan felt guilty for a rare moment, and he subconsciously glanced at Ling Jingshu, then said expressionlessly: “No need to be polite, just stand up! Why did you come here instead of staying in the yard?”

King Yan kept many such beauties in his mansion, who were not even given the title of concubine. However, King Yan had not yet married, and there was no Huangzifei to manage the household affairs, so these beauties lived a carefree life.

Ping’er was one of the more favored beauties.

Ping’er took two steps forward and got very close to King Yan. Her soft voice revealed a little grievance: “Your Highness has been very busy recently and hasn’t come to Ping’er’s yard for a long time. Ping’er has nothing to do and often waits at the door. I just hope that when Your Highness comes in and out, I can see you, and I will be satisfied.”

King Yan: “…”

King Yan wanted to order someone to sew her mouth shut!

This tactless idiot! Why did she show up at this time?

He enthusiastically invited the Ling siblings to come to his house for the first time, but when they entered the house, they saw the concubine who came to flatter him…

No matter how thick-skinned King Yan was, he felt a little hot on his face at this moment. He simply didn’t dare to look back at Ling Jingshu’s expression at this moment!

Ling Jingyan looked at this scene and felt extremely bitter in her heart. The love and longing she once had suddenly became ridiculous when Ping’er leaned on King Yan in public.

Ah Shu was right!

King Yan and she were not from the same world. She only liked the boy in her imagination! After dreaming for so long, it was time to wake up…

“Your Highness…” Ping’er wanted to get closer, but King Yan moved away with a dark face.

Ping’er was not paying attention and stumbled, almost falling.

Everyone was quite kind. They held back their laughter and turned their heads away.

King Yan quickly glanced at Ling Jingshu, and just in time to see the corners of her lips curled up, he became more and more angry, and shouted: “Haven’t you caused enough embarrassment already? If you disturb my guest, I will hold you accountable!”

King Yan’s anger was absolutely not feigned.

Ping’er had been in the palace for less than half a year. She was used to seeing King Yan’s unruly and romantic appearance, but she had never seen King Yan turn against her. She was immediately frightened and shuddered. She knelt down with a plop and said, “Ping’er was reckless and imprudent. I beg Your Highness to show mercy and forgive Ping’er this time. Ping’er will never dare to do it again…”

While begging for mercy, she started to cry.

King Yan’s expression became even uglier.

No one expected that Ling Jingshu would actually plead for Ping’er at this moment: “Please calm down, Your Highness. Miss Ping’er is also deeply in love and can’t help herself. Your Highness is so harsh on her, wouldn’t it embarrass Miss Ping’er and chill the hearts of the beauties around you.”

Although the tone was gentle and soft, King Yan could hear a hint of mockery in the last sentence.

But it just can’t happen!

King Yan’s face changed but soon returned to normal. He smiled calmly and said, “Forget it. Since Ninth Miss Ling is begging for you, I will spare you this time. Why don’t you thank Ninth Miss Ling quickly?”

Ping’er heaved a sigh of relief and hurriedly stood up and saluted: “Thank you Ninth Miss Ling for speaking for Ping’er. Ping’er is grateful to you.”

“Miss Ping’er, please stand up.” Ling Jingshu responded with a smile, her voice soft and pleasant.

Ping’er took a quick look at Ling Jingshu as she stood up. Her heart suddenly felt cold at the sight of her.

This Ninth Miss Ling was born so beautiful!

With King Yan’s dislike for the old and the new, he was obviously fascinated by Ninth Miss Ling, so he was particularly displeased with her appearance…

While Ping’er was observing Ling Jingshu, Ling Jingshu was also observing Ping’er.

She was not very old, about 16 or 17 years old, but she was quite charming. Such charm was obviously not something a proper lady would have. She looked more like a girl raised in a brothel.

Considering King Yan’s dissolute and unruly nature, it was not surprising that he would keep some concubines and beauties in his mansion.

When she married into the Lu family, Lu An was surrounded by beauties. This was probably a common problem among men in power. Who would be willing to keep themselves clean when there was a chance to taste all the beauties?

“Ping’er, you leave first.” King Yan gave Ping’er a warning look, and the meaning of that look was very clear.

If you continue to talk nonsense, don’t blame me for being rude!

Ping’er quickly understood the warning in King Yan’s eyes and did not dare to stay any longer, so she left immediately.

…

After this incident, King Yan felt a little embarrassed and lost his previous domineering attitude. He coughed and said, “The people in the palace are not well disciplined, which made everyone laugh.”

Ling Jingshu raised her eyes and smiled slightly: “Miss Ping’er is deeply in love with Your Highness, so she behaved inappropriately. We can understand, Your Highness, don’t mind it!”

…How could he not care after making such a fool of himself in front of his sweetheart!

What was even more infuriating was that Ling Jingshu didn’t take this matter to heart at all, nor did she take him to heart.

Humph! Sooner or later, she would willingly submit to him and become his woman!

King Yan looked at Ling Jingshu deeply, then smiled nonchalantly and said, “It’s getting late, everyone must be hungry. Rumo Hall is in front of us, follow me in!”

Having said that, he took a step forward.

Everyone had no choice but to follow.

Rumo Hall was where King Yan lived and worked daily. Its furnishings were luxurious and needed no elaboration.

The palace maids were very quick and had already set up the dining room. There were two round tables in the spacious dining room, separated by a screen. This allowed the guests to sit separately but also close to each other.

King Yan nodded in satisfaction. The guard who came back to deliver the message was quite clever and could be used!

Ling Xiao and Doctor Wei sat at one table with King Yan, while Ling Jingshu and the other two sat at another table separated by a screen.

The two tables were only separated by a screen and were very close to each other. Any slightly louder sound would reach the ears of the people sitting next to them. As a result, Ling Jingshu naturally lost interest in talking.

Ling Jingyan and Jiang Shi were similar and ate their lunch in silence.

The imperial chefs of King Yan’s residence were indeed exceptionally skilled. They used only the finest ingredients, and the dishes were a perfect combination of color, aroma, and flavor.

Unfortunately, Ling Jingshu was not in the mood to enjoy the food, and the food tasted like chewing wax.

(End of this chapter)