Chapter 73
Chapter 73
Content Warning: attempted sexual assault
Disparaging and Trampling (1)
While Rong Yi was still dazed, the young gentleman who was just in front of her had disappeared in an instant.
No one had managed to clearly see how he disappeared; Rong Yi only felt a blast of bitter cold—it brought with it an icy harshness that she shuddered from the cold.
Nothing could have happened to Wan’niang, right? She thought inwardly.
The candelabra in the dressing room had already been knocked over by the crown prince.
Fortunately, Zheng Wan was quick to see it and put out the fire with her foot, otherwise, a fire might have broken out in the palace. But as a result, the only light in the small, quiet room was the glazed palace lamp right by the entrance that was still lit.
The pea-green lampshade obscured the faint flame, and only a corner in front of the door was illuminated.
“Crown, Crown Prince, calm down.”
Zheng Wan could not run anymore.
She had been playing catch around the table with the crown prince for a long time. Her thirteen-layered gauze was thin as cicada wings and looked fairy-like, but running around in it was killing her, especially with the pair of pearl shoes on her feet. They weren’t of any use at all; she was panting from fatigue, and her legs felt like they were stepping on cotton.
Misfortunes never come alone; her lower abdomen was still acting up, and she could feel blood flowing down there with every step she took.
“Wan’niang, I, I can’t control myself.”
The crown prince’s face was so red that it seemed to be burning up; at the same time, his sanity was also burning out.
In his hazy vision, Zheng Wan, who was wrapped in pink robes, looked like the peach blossom pastry he loved to eat when he was young; they had a sweet fragrance that assailed one’s nose, and were extremely enticing.
“C-crown prince——” Zheng Wan held the table, panting. “Think about your arms and legs, think about your Great Liang’s glorious history, and the ages to come…”
The crown prince was in no state to think; he tugged off his outer robe, then began tugging at his inner robe. With his chest bare, he swooped over like an eagle.
“Wan’niang, you smell good.”
Smell good my ass.
Zheng Wan could only keep running.
As she ran, she threw and smashed things, hoping that the ruckus would attract others to come. But the strange thing was, after having made such a din for so long, all the nearby palace guards and maidservants seemed to be dead.
She glanced back, but saw no one.
When she looked up again, the crown prince was already right before her——
He suddenly lunged at her.
Zheng Wan let out an “Ah” and turned to run, but it was too late.
As the hem of her skirt caught on the table leg, and her right foot tripped over her left, she happened to be knocked to the ground by the crown prince. The cold, hard stone floor and the weight of a grown man made her cry out in pain from the impact——
However, this cry made the crown prince lose his mind.
“Shiiiiick——”
With a ripping sound, half of Zheng Wan’s shoulder became exposed. This tattered pink gauze, dripping fragrant sweat, and panic-stricken eyes, combined to create a wonderful scenery that no man in this world could refuse.
“Crown Prince, please come to your senses——”
But the crown prince had long since lost his senses; with bloodshot eyes, he lowered his head.
Zheng Wan began to struggle, but her dainty fists and legs had no effect on him. No matter how refined the crown prince looked, he had also been taught by a martial arts master since he was a child.
In no time at all, both her hands were clipped above her head; the crown prince bent over her.
This was the scene Cui Wang was greeted with when he came in.
The woman, who was as weak as a flower, was pressed underneath the man; their arms were overlapping and their wrists were entwined. The pink gauzy robes and the gold-woven python robes1 were all entangled in a bunch; beauty and man entwined, inseparable and loving.
The door collapsed behind him with a loud crash.
The glazed palace lamp by the door also went out.
“Cui Wang, is that you?”
Zheng Wan suddenly howled, “Save me!”
She only felt her body lighten, and the crown prince, who had been pressed heavily upon her a moment ago, flew up like a kite and smashed into the wall of the quiet room, then fell heavily to the ground.
Zheng Wan scrambled up on her hands and knees.
“Cui Wang! What took you so long?”
By the light of the moon, she ran to Cui Wang in tears, pounding on him.
“Why did you come only now? I was scared to death.”
There was no light in the room, only the moonlight that passed through the screen windows.
Cui Wang stood in the boundary between light and dark, looking down at her. The woman’s hair was dishevelled and her face was full of tears; she seemed to be really terrified, and even the hand holding his sleeve was trembling nonstop.
Zheng Wan raised her head and noticed the expression in his eyes.
“Why are you looking at me like this?”
On the other side, the crown prince was already clutching his chest and staggering to his feet. He stumbled as he walked, calling out, “Wan’niang, Wan’niang…”
Zheng Wan understood now.
She looked incredulously at Cui Wang, her eyes full of hurt, “Cui Wang, you wouldn’t think that there’s… something between me and him?”
Cui Wang pursed his lips tightly and said firmly:
“You let him touch you.”
“But——”
“There is no but.” Cui Wang raised his sword. “He touched you, so I will kill him.”
“No!” Zheng Wan was so anxious that she grabbed his arm from behind and held on firmly. “I won’t let you kill him!”
“And why not?”
“Anyway, you can’t kill him!”
There was first shock in Cui Wang’s eyes, which finally turned into anger—this anger fell upon the crown prince, becoming a sharp sword that was ready to take his life.
He snapped his fingers; a long bloodstain appeared on the front of the crown prince’s neck, and crimson blood came gurgling down.
“One stroke.”
“Cui Wang, you bastard!”
Zheng Wan also became angry.
Being the time of the month, her body was already not feeling very comfortable in the first place. Then, having just encountered what she did, no matter how brave she was, it was inevitable for her to feel terrified. Cui Wang had come, and she had been rescued, but now he was just brandishing his sword with the intention to kill.
Footnotes:
1 python robes: 蟒袍mangpao; Highest rank official’s robes. The right to wear such robes was seen as a special honour that emperors bestowed on officials who had done great deeds for the empire. In ancient China, “mang” referred to a mythical creature that resembled a dragon yet had only four toes in one claw, so it wasn’t really a dragon. Real dragons have five toes in one claw, and only royal clothes can be embroidered with real dragons.