Chapter 246 - Losing Control (2/2)
Ever since Zhu Junyang had reached the age of twelve to thirteen, he always had the admiring gazes from young, well-bred maidens following him. About four to five years ago, he had found it harder and harder to endure those adoring yet calculating stares. His special ability made him be able to feel every little bit of attention that was on him.
All of the well-off young ladies pretended to be shy and timid on the outside. However, all of them were acting. Despite their virtuous and gentle exteriors, they all hid calculating and scheming hearts. Some of them liked him because of his looks; others liked him because of his status as the Third Young Master of Prince Jing’s Estate. And then, there were even some who wanted to get close to him because of his lord father’s power and prestige…
He had never encountered a person like this little girl in front of him, who purely appreciated him as his own person. It made him feel like he was the most flawless jade, the most moving landscape. Her appreciation didn’t have a hint of an ulterior motive. Within his dark and icy heart, a ray of blazing light seemed to have appeared, cutting through the dense murkiness and warming his entire body.
Yu Xiaocao noticed that the young royal prince had a jar full of pickled vegetables. She dismounted from her horse and walked towards him with a genial smile on her face. She greeted him, “Young Royal Prince, you’re out so early to help the princess consort to buy side dishes ah!”
The princess consort really enjoyed the appetizers from the pickled vegetable stand that Xiaocao had invested into, especially the sweet and sour crispy radishes. Every day, when she ate her congee, she needed to eat some to help her finish the meal. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to eat much. Xiaocao calculated the number of days that had passed since the last time she had brought some radishes, that she had personally pickled herself, over. It was around the right time to get more. She had been busy these past few days with helping her godmother and younger brother settle down, so she didn’t have the time to send some more to the princess consort.
Zhu Junyang silently looked at her without even nodding or shaking his head. It looked like he had no intention in replying to her. Yu Xiaocao knew from the princess consort’s stories that her youngest son had an eccentric personality and didn’t like to talk. So, she didn’t hold the expectation that he might talk to her.
Just as she was about to find some words to say farewell, the young royal prince unexpectedly opened his mouth, “Mhm! This stand’s products are even more delicious than the ones in the capital!”
Well that was obvious, just look at who they got their recipes from! Xiaocao silently joked inside and a somewhat arrogant expression showed up on her face. Little Jiang’s family’s pickled vegetable stand was no longer located in that desolate and remote food market anymore. They had not only moved into main food market but also rented a larger area to sell their goods.
A while back, Xiaocao had written a few more pickled vegetable recipes for them. Little Jiang was very talented at making pickled vegetables. The pickled vegetables he made after following her recipes were almost at her level. Thus, the Jiang Family’s pickled vegetable stand’s reputation had long spread throughout Tanggu town. In addition, their pickled vegetables were tasty and priced affordably. No matter how rich or how poor someone was, everyone was able to afford their products and enjoyed eating them. Every day the line of people waiting to buy pickled vegetables at the stand almost rivaled the line of people at Zhenxiu Restaurant waiting to buy osmanthus duck and roasted chicken. Xiaocao’s dividends naturally increased with every passing month. The little girl’s personal savings had multiplied again!
Zhu Junyang was somewhat puzzled when he noticed the slightly proud expression on Xiaocao’s face. Suddenly, he remembered that his lady mother had told him that the pickled vegetables they had been eating for the past couple of days had been personally made by this little girl. Perhaps…
“Does your family own the Jiang Family’s pickled vegetable stand?” That couldn't be right. If it was owned by her family, why wouldn’t it be called the Yu Family’s pickled vegetable stand instead? Zhu Junyang became even more confused.
When she saw the puzzled look on the young royal prince’s face, Yu Xiaocao became even more proud. The corners of her mouth lifted up and she raised her tiny nose towards the sky. She snorted and then stated, “Although the pickled vegetable stand isn’t owned by my family, it’s still related to me! Many of the pickled vegetables they sell were all thought up by me. The sweet and sour crispy radishes and wine-pickled soybeans in your hands are examples of my handiwork!”
The wine-pickled soybeans were savory, spicy, and had an aroma of wine. Zhu Junyang immediately liked these pickled soybeans from the first time he ate some. The sweet and sour crispy radishes were tasty and crisp, so they were his lady mother’s favorites. Both of these, however, had been crafted by the little girl in front of him who hadn't even reached the age of ten. It was hard to say whether people should praise her for being talented or admonish her for being too dazzling.
“I really want to open up that little skull of yours and find out how many weird and eccentric ideas you have in there…” Young Royal Prince, was it really okay for you to say such scary things with such an admiring tone?
Yu Xiaocao immediately covered her head with one of her hands and pretended to panic, “You’re not allowed to open it up! If you don’t open up my head, you still have the opportunity to find out what else I know. However, if you open it, then the only thing you’ll see is the whitish-gray color of my brains…”
Zhu Junyang wasn’t unfamiliar with bloodshed. In the time period before he was able to control himself, he had an explosive temper and had ended up hurting a lot of people. However, those people all deserved the pain! Regardless, he had seen the aftermath of his violence before. Whenever he thought of that happening to this odd yet lively little girl in front of him, Zhu Junyang felt his heart ache in rejection!
“With this prince around, who would dare to harm you?!” A wave of brutality surfaced within Zhu Junyang’s body and rushed out. His pair of icy eyes suddenly seemed to be overwhelmed by a sea of red. Next to him was his bodyguard of many years, Wu Deshun, and the other man’s heart fell to the ground as he thought in despair, ‘We’re screwed! Master has lost control of his temper again! There are so many people on the street, who knows how many will be injured? Master only took me along today when he went out, but I’m not able to hold him back ah!!’
“Eh? Weren’t you the one who said that you wanted to open up my skull ah? How come you suddenly forgot this?” Xiaocao’s voice was as clear as a raindrop, and it managed to pour into Zhu Junyang’s consciousness. In an instant, the rage building inside of him was washed away into smoke.
Her heavenly voice caressed him and pulled Zhu Junyang’s reason back into the forefront. Reason gradually returned into his eyes and the smell of brutality emanating from his body gradually dissipated into mist. Wu Deshun was astonished and his mouth fell open until it could hold two chicken eggs, ‘Oh my god! Master was somehow able to control himself! I have never seen something like this before, where he was able to pull himself back from the abyss! This...could this be related to the little girl in front of me?’