The Hostage Girl - Chapter 71

Chapter 71

Looking at his concubine, her forehead drenched in sweat from the pain, her hairline damp, yet she still didn’t forget to invite him to eat together.

Feng Liwu was both annoyed and amused.

So, he pulled her into his arms and said, “Do you want me to have a stomachache with you?”

The charge of attempting to harm the royal heir was too grave for Jiang Xiurun to bear.

She got up, intending to kneel, but Feng Liwu grabbed her by the waist and said, “Even in such pain, you’re still not behaving!”

After saying this, he pressed her down and ordered the maid to bring stomach-warming medicine for her to drink.

After drinking the medicine, Jiang Xiurun felt the pain ease slightly.

She nestled in the arms of the Crown Prince, letting him stroke her back, and unexpectedly fell asleep…

Seeing that she was sleeping soundly, Feng Liwu slowly got up, covered her with a blanket, and went to sit on the mat in the outer room.

He glanced at a bronze cup on the table, which contained the jelly Jiang Xiurun had bought.

The translucent jelly was topped with honey and red beans, piled up like a small mountain.

When picked up, it trembled slightly, looking quite enticing.

Feng Liwu watched it for a while, then scooped a spoonful into his mouth.

This kind of melt-in-the-mouth, sweet treat was really meant to fool children, but after a few bites, he found it increasingly delicious.

In no time, the bronze cup was empty.

Feng Liwu wiped his mouth with a handkerchief, still not satisfied, and looked back at the woman behind the curtain, breathing softly.

Feng Liwu realized that since this young woman came into his life, it was as if he had pushed open a long-closed door of desire.

Not just the desire for culinary pleasures, but also the deep, burning, and scalding hidden desires from within.

For a man with unfulfilled ambitions, the inability to control his desires was truly troublesome.

However, Feng Liwu did not suppress or become wary because of this.

After all, he hadn’t yet tasted the pleasures, so it was inevitable to yearn for them.

But the delicate, trembling woman lying on the bed would eventually melt in his mouth.

The Crown Prince felt confident that once he had his fill, the uncontrollable desire would ease.

By then, he would still be himself.

This momentary indulgence could be considered the recklessness of youth.

Thinking so freely, yet the time spent with this young woman was truly delightful and pleasant.

If he were to stop yearning for her in the future, it actually made him feel a bit reluctant now.

This reluctance was also annoying…

Although he thought this way, his gaze softened.

He spread out the sheepskin parchment originally prepared for drawing river channels, ground ink, and began sketching the beautiful figure in his heart…

Although the Crown Prince was impatient with mundane affairs, he couldn’t completely avoid them while in Shunde.

The local officials and gentry, because of the Crown Prince’s visit, specially arranged a banquet in the last few days before his departure.

As the country heir visiting the region, he naturally had to put on a show of being close to the people, loving his subjects, and respecting the virtuous.

Therefore, he had to accept the requests from the local officials to join in the festivities with the people.

Jiang Xiurun originally intended to attend as the Crown Prince’s tutor.

But Feng Liwu glanced at her and said, “As my concubine, how can you not be present?”

So Jiang Xiurun obediently did her duty, asking Taohua to use her best skills to dress her up.

When she appeared at the Shunde banquet with the Crown Prince, who was dressed in a black robe with gold thread and a golden crown, everyone, regardless of gender, was amazed by this pair of stunning figures.

Where did this pair of immortals descend from? They were so dazzling that people didn’t know whom to look at first.

The Crown Prince of Great Qi was so majestic and handsome! Many local young ladies attending the banquet with their fathers couldn’t help but blush.

But upon closer inspection of the concubine beside the Crown Prince, any lingering fantasies instantly dissipated.

How could there be such a woman with such delicate and moving features?

Any woman standing beside her would pale in comparison.

Only such a bewitching beauty deserved to stand beside the Crown Prince.

After the guests and hosts were seated, Jiang Xiurun, holding an embroidered fan, sat with Feng Liwu in the upper seat.

When the banquet started, she broke into a fine sweat.

It turned out that the banquet host had heard that the Crown Prince enjoyed poetry and that his entourage was full of talented individuals.

So they arranged a game of passing a flower while reciting poetry during the banquet.

Jiang Xiurun hated this the most; it didn’t even allow people to drink freely.

When it was her turn, she put on a stoic face and said that this annoying game was for men, then deftly placed the flower in the Crown Prince’s hand and went back to eating.

She thought to herself: Thankfully, the Crown Prince stopped her from pretending to be Tutor Jiang. Otherwise, she would have been stuck on the noisy drum, her head buzzing with poetry. That would have been truly distressing!

During the banquet, someone lamented with slight regret, “I heard that under the Crown Prince, there is a prodigious talent, Young Master Jiang, whose poetic verses have stirred the capital, making us yearn to join your household and be immersed in scholarly pursuits daily.”

This flattery almost made Jiang Xiurun spit out the wine in her mouth.

Feng Liwu glanced at the “talented” Jiang beside him, who was enjoying the shrimp, and smiled faintly, perhaps reminiscing about his tutor’s extraordinary literary talent.

However, when Jiang Xiurun finished the shrimp and looked up, her heart skipped a beat.

She saw Ji Wujiang, dressed in scholarly attire, sitting beside the Shunde Prefect.

He seemed to glance at her intentionally or unintentionally, and she wondered if he knew about her impersonation of Princess Yao and becoming the Crown Prince’s concubine.

At that moment, the flower was passed to Ji Wujiang, and his acrostic poem drew everyone’s admiration.

Even Feng Liwu glanced at this young man a few times.

Seeing the Crown Prince’s gaze, the Shunde Prefect quickly said, “Your Highness, this gentleman is the capable person I mentioned, who helped solve the waterlogging problem on the riverbank—Ji Wu.”

The disguised Ji Wujiang calmly bowed to the Crown Prince, appearing unfazed by honor or disgrace.

It seemed this Mr. Ji was indeed capable.

Just days ago, he was in a jewelry shop setting gems, and now he was an expert in managing riverbanks and dikes.

Of course, what this formidable Mr. Ji was up to made Jiang Xiurun even more anxious.

In her previous life, she was still in the laundry bureau at this time and didn’t know about Mr. Ji’s daily activities.

But she later heard from her brother that Mr. Ji had once served as a aide under the Crown Prince.

However, when Feng Liwu lost power in the struggle with Emperor Duanqing, Ji Wujiang felt he was of no help to the Bo state and subsequently left the Crown Prince’s residence…

Was Ji Wujiang planning to enter the Crown Prince’s residence now? If so, she had a feeling this man would bring trouble to her and her brother…

As Jiang Xiurun’s mind buzzed with these thoughts, her gaze towards Ji Wujiang became slightly prolonged.

Feng Liwu originally had some goodwill towards Ji Wujiang, but when he noticed the young man’s handsomeness, his obvious Bo state features, and how he caught the attention of the young woman beside him, he couldn’t help but frown slightly.

In fact, since the incident with Gongsun Wuyan, the Crown Prince’s aides had been more selective.

Feng Liwu felt that, compared to well-read scholars from humble backgrounds, they were more reliable.

These so-called strategists and aides were mostly self-serving, lacking loyalty to the nation.

They could be used for some underhanded schemes, but having too many around would be a mixed bag, potentially bringing disaster.

So even if Ji Wu hadn’t caught Jiang Xiurun’s attention, Feng Liwu had no intention of recruiting more aides.

After this inquiry, he said nothing more.

The Prefect, who had been eager to recommend talent to the Crown Prince, hoping that Mr. Ji’s rise would bring him glory and recognition, was disappointed.

He hadn’t expected the supposedly talent-loving Crown Prince to be so indifferent.

Was Mr. Ji’s talent not enough to impress His Highness?

However, compared to the Prefect’s disappointment, Ji Wu remained calm, silently returning to his seat and continuing to watch the flower-passing game with a smile.

Jiang Xiurun secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but her hand under the table was grasped by the Crown Prince, who was drinking heartily.

Taking advantage of the noisy crowd, he leaned down and asked, “Why were you staring so intently just now? An old acquaintance?”

Jiang Xiurun, feeling guilty, mustered all her self-control to keep her hand from trembling in the Crown Prince’s grip.

She rolled her eyes appropriately and said, “Your Highness, are you bringing up that childhood sweetheart joke again? Didn’t I already tell you it was just a joke?”

Seeing her chide him, Feng Liwu smiled, holding her hand and stroking its soft smoothness, saying, “Since there’s no childhood sweetheart, your heart is empty. No one but me is allowed to reside there.”

As Feng Liwu spoke, his breath carried the scent of wine, and his gaze at her was like a hungry wolf eyeing a rabbit.

In fact, these past few nights, he had been relentlessly pestering her.

Having experienced romantic relationships in her past life, being so closely entangled by a handsome and well-built young man sometimes left her feeling disoriented.

Moreover, Jiang Xiurun hoped the Crown Prince’s fervor would pass soon.

If he kept this up, even if she shed the identity of Concubine Yao, she wouldn’t be free.

But men are all the same; what they can’t have is the most delicious.

Once they’re tired of it, even the richest meat is tossed aside.

Jiang Xiurun, worn down by this powerful man’s persistence, began to waver—should she just satisfy him completely, letting him grow tired of her?

As it turned out, both of them had the same thought, believing that after a few nights of passion, their worries would be resolved.

Thus, after the banquet, back at the palace, fueled by alcohol, Jiang Xiurun finally half-heartedly gave in.

With their clothes half-off, they tumbled onto the soft couch, no longer holding the line so firmly.

Feng Liwu, after a few attempts, realized she wasn’t as resistant as before and was overjoyed.

He felt his sincere efforts had finally melted a thousand-year-old ice.

Once the ice turned to dripping water, he could feast to his heart’s content.