Chapter 76: The Female Lead Has the Potential to Be a Heartbreaker

Ren Bang’s warning had an effect. Not only the exiled group, but even Lin Tingyu and the Grand Preceptor began to be more cautious.

Hua Xiao, with a pale face, nervously rode her horse beside Lin Tingyu’s carriage.

Inside the carriage, Lin Tingyu massaged his aching temples and pretended not to see Hua Xiao.

Clip-clop, clip-clop…

A sudden burst of galloping hooves approached, causing everyone’s guard to rise.

“Take this.”

Jiang Wan handed a dagger to Song Jiuyuan. For the past two days, she had been secretly giving him acupuncture treatment.

His health had improved significantly. She believed that if danger arose, at the very least, Song Jiuyuan would be able to protect himself.

“Thank you!”

Song Jiuyuan’s eyes gleamed with excitement. He gripped the dagger, his palm itching for action.

If it was the Black Wind Stronghold’s people again, this time he was determined to send them back in defeat.

Jiang Wan, on her part, tightened her grip on her bow and arrow, ready to attack at any moment.

However, they quickly realized something was off.

A group of riders appeared within their line of sight.

As they got closer, Jiang Wan noticed that the riders’ clothing did not resemble that of bandits, nor did their demeanor.

The leader wore a luxurious outfit embroidered with golden thread, and something about him seemed strangely familiar to Jiang Wan.

“Big Brother!”

Song Jiuli cried out in surprise, and only then did Jiang Wan notice the blood dripping from Song Jiuyuan’s palm, where he clutched the dagger tightly.

His gaze toward the approaching man was filled with bone-deep hatred. Jiang Wan thought, She knows who this person is.

He must be the male lead of this novel, Song Jiuyuan’s nemesis—the Sixth Prince.

Indeed, it aligned perfectly with the classic trope of the male and female leads meeting.

Jiang Wan instinctively glanced at Hua Xiao, and sure enough, caught sight of her gazing starry-eyed at the Sixth Prince.

As expected, someone worthy of being the male lead was exceptionally good-looking. The golden embroidery on his clothes seemed to cast a golden glow around him.

Thump-thump, thump-thump…

Hua Xiao’s heart felt like it was being stirred by something strange. Her cheeks flushed red like a small apple.

She gazed dazedly at the Sixth Prince as he galloped past her on horseback. Even if it was just a side profile, it was far superior to Lin Tingyu.

Jiang Wan stared in shock as Hua Xiao fell for someone else in a heartbeat and thought, This girl really has the potential to be a heartbreaker.

The Sixth Prince, along with more than a dozen attendants, stopped in front of Chu Xiaojun’s carriage.

“Master Chu.”

“Sir, it’s the Sixth Prince,” Pan Hongyan whispered as he lifted the carriage curtain to inform Master Chu inside.

Since the Sixth Prince was dressed in casual clothes, Pan Hongyan did not greet him with formal ceremony.

Chu Xiaojun lifted the curtain and was met with the smiling face of the Sixth Prince.

“Greetings—”

“There’s no need for formalities, Master Chu. While we’re out and about, just call me Xiao Liu,” said the Sixth Prince humbly.

This was the Emperor’s former teacher, and though he hadn’t been in the capital for years, his prestige remained strong. In fact, because Master Chu had seldom involved himself in political affairs lately, the current Emperor trusted him even more.

“You’ve grown up,” Master Chu said with a slight nod. He had met the Sixth Prince a few times when the prince was very young—back when the Emperor had just ascended the throne.

Now the Sixth Prince had grown so tall. It seemed another stormy power struggle for the throne was on its way.

“I heard you were passing through, Master Chu, so I came especially to invite you to rest at my private estate.”

The Sixth Prince spoke respectfully. His elegant and noble demeanor caused Hua Xiao, watching from a distance, to feel her heart race even faster.

In contrast, Song Jiuyuan’s face was particularly grim. Even Song Jiuchi frowned and said:

“So it’s him.”

Although it had been the current Emperor who had ordered their family’s downfall and exile, their whole family knew the real reason was that Song Jiuyuan had stood in the Sixth Prince’s way.

“What are you so worked up about?” Jiang Wan stowed away her bow and snatched the dagger from Song Jiuyuan’s hand, handing it to a tearful Lady Song.

“Yuanyuan, you mustn’t hurt yourself again.”

“I’m sorry for worrying everyone.”

Song Jiuyuan opened his hand, revealing flesh and blood mixed together. Jiang Wan angrily used the spiritual spring water in a bamboo tube to wash the wound roughly.

“Song Jiuyuan, if you keep acting like this, I won’t care about you anymore!”

As she spoke, she finished cleaning the wound and sprinkled powder on it without a shred of gentleness.

If it had been anyone else, they’d probably have screamed from the pain, but Song Jiuyuan didn’t even flinch. He simply apologized again.

“Sorry. I’ll control my emotions better in the future.”

This was his first time seeing the Sixth Prince since their family had been exiled. That was why he’d lost control.

“As long as you understand.”

Jiang Wan snorted softly and pulled out some white gauze from her backpack to wrap his hand.

They were leading the group, so they didn’t hear what the Sixth Prince and the Grand Preceptor’s group were discussing. After a while, Pan Hongyan came to inform Jiang Wan:

“Madam Song, my lord will be resting at the estate for now, so we’ll be taking a different route.

Once you’re settled, feel free to write to us. We’ll return to buy more of your pills.”

He handed Jiang Wan a paper with the address of the Grand Preceptor’s retirement residence.

“Alright.”

Jiang Wan didn’t mind. Her cheerful response even made Pan Hongyan glance at her again.

Looks like he really had been overthinking things earlier—Madam Song truly had no ulterior motives.

Just when they thought they’d part ways for good, it seemed the Sixth Prince had also noticed them.

He narrowed his eyes, his gaze falling on the Song family. Seeing that Song Jiuyuan was doing relatively well, a trace of dissatisfaction flickered in the Sixth Prince’s eyes.

“We need to be careful going forward,” Song Jiuyuan warned. He knew the Sixth Prince’s viciousness and feared he’d soon make a move against them.

“Let’s try to stay out of sight,” sighed Lady Song.

They kept to the far side of the road. Before long, the Sixth Prince and the Grand Preceptor’s group passed the exiled convoy and moved ahead.

After a few moments, they disappeared completely from view.

“Xiaoxiao, what’s wrong?”

Father Hua noticed his daughter was staring blankly and quickly patted her. If he had waited any longer, her horse might have wandered into the woods.

“I’m fine.”

Hua Xiao tugged on the reins and glanced once more at Lin Tingyu’s carriage. “Father, I’ll listen to you. Let’s not follow him anymore—let’s go!”

She squeezed the horse’s sides and galloped off, with her father following closely behind.

“Huh? She’s not following Young Master Lin anymore?”

Song Jiuli found it odd as he watched Hua Xiao rush past and disappear ahead.

Jiang Wan clicked her tongue. “She probably realized someone else suits her better.”

“Well, it’s good. Young Master Lin is finally free.”

Being pestered by Hua Xiao was really Lin Tingyu’s misfortune.

“Are you happy for Young Master Lin?” Song Jiuyuan looked at her with deep eyes. His tone was calm and without any special meaning, yet Jiang Wan oddly felt he seemed a little unhappy.

But her personality was always direct—she said whatever was on her mind.

“Maybe a little, but what makes me happiest is that I don’t have to look at her anymore.”

Given Hua Xiao’s tendency to seek trouble, Jiang Wan was sure that following her would only bring problems.

The wild boar incident before was a perfect example. Still, there was some joy in picking up scraps.

“She really is annoying,” Song Jiuyuan nodded slightly. For some reason, her words eased the bitterness in his heart, even bringing a faint, hidden joy.

Perhaps even he didn’t know why he was feeling happy.