Chapter 261 - Provocation (1/2)

Yu Hai was stuck trying to figure out how to persuade Royal Prince Yang to not go when his youngest daughter interjected, “There was heavy rain last night. The plants are thick up in the mountains. If you don’t want to get your legs wet, then I advise you to wait several days before you go hunt.”

No one knew what the weather would be like for the next several days. Summer had just started and it was slowly starting to rain more. Perhaps in the next couple of days it would rain again. Although the young royal prince looked like he was good at hunting, there were too many uncertain elements in the mountains. It was better to avoid dangerous situations!

However, the heavens appeared to have not heard Yu Xiaocao’s prayer. For the next few days, the weather was perfect. The tide had been receding in the morning recently. Yu Xiaocao’s friends also knew that she had more free time, so they invited her to gather seafood together.

Within the group of three, Zhou Shanhu, Qian Yafang and Liu Yingzi, they had somehow added a fourth person, Zheng Xiaocui. With the addition of Yu Xiaocao, they were all around the same age and all of their families had decent situations. Although none of them were able to wear new clothing frequently, none of them wore clothing full of patches like a few years back. The group of five girls were all considered relatively good-looking in the village, so when they were together, they looked youthful and pretty as well as very pleasant.

Whenever they came to find Yu Xiaocao, Zhou Shanhu and the three others were dressed in their ordinary working clothes. The only exception was Zheng Xiaocui. She always wore her new set of clothing, which was a set made from blue cloth embroidered with yellow flowers. At the seaside, she was afraid of getting her clothing wet and dirty, so she always had the lowest yield out of all of them.

Zhou Shanhu had once tried to persuade her, “Xiaocui, when you work it’s best not to wear skirts. It’s really too inconvenient!” Zheng Xiaocui wasn’t grateful at all and held her handkerchief as she shyly replied, “My father said that girls should act like girls...I can still do work while wearing a dress!” As she talked, her eyes wandered towards the direction of the Yu Family’s residence.

Zheng Xiaocui was a bit older than the other four girls and was already thirteen. Her body had gradually developed and her slender figure, when clothed in aqua blue, looked quite delicate and pretty. However, she was still a daughter of a fisherman. Everyday the sea breeze blew at her, so her skin looked a bit tan and rough. If she was paler, with her pretty features, she would be as pretty as those town girls who grew up in decent families!

Yu Xiaocao hastily rushed out of the courtyard. This wasn’t the first time she had sensed Zheng Xiaocui sneakily looking at her courtyard. What was she looking at? What’s so good about her family’s courtyard?

When Zheng Xiaocui didn’t see the figure she wanted to see, she couldn’t help but reveal a disappointed expression.

“Yu Xiaocao, this prince is going into the mountains to hunt today. Whatever game you want, I’ll make sure to catch some!” Zhu Junyang’s voice sounded from the west.

Zheng Xiaocui was pleasantly surprised and craned her neck to look around. Today, Zhu Junyang was clothed entirely in black clothing embroidered with dull patterns. His trouser legs were tucked into his tall boots made of deer hide and his hair was bound tightly at the top of his head. A few loose strands casually framed his face. He looked agile and strong.

After seeing Zheng Xiaocui’s star-struck eyes, Yu Xiaocao finally understood why this girl always came by every day to spend time with her. She glanced briefly at Zhu Junyang’s handsome figure and couldn’t help from inwardly sighing——a devilishly handsome man was a calamity ah!

However, when she remembered what the young royal prince had told her the other day, Yu Xiaocao couldn’t help but admire his intuition. At that time, Zheng Xiaocui was quite a distance away from him and they didn’t have any interactions together. How did he manage to detect that this little girl’s motives weren’t pure?

Yu Xiaocao also carefully observed the other three girls, who were her good friends. She inwardly rejoiced that the one smitten with the prince wasn’t any of them. Zheng Xiaocui was only the neighbor of Older Sister Yingzi and had showed up uninvited into their little group. She didn’t have as close a relationship with her as she did with the other girls, let alone having a good friendship. However, where did this little girl get the confidence to adore Royal Prince Yang, who was a relative of the emperor himself?

The nobles in the capital all cared about crafting marriages that were well-matched in terms of social status. Zheng Xiaocui was only little peasant girl from Dongshan Village. Even if she caught the eye of Royal Prince Yang, she could only become his concubine. Did she think it would be easy to spend the rest of her life within the confines of a rich family? Perhaps her final ending would lead to a pile of dead bones that no one cared about!

As Yu Xiaocao thought about this, she couldn’t help but shudder a bit. If it were her, she would rather find a poor family where they couldn’t eat their fill, then be concubine of a rich man. In the future, her husband could only have her as his sole wife. If he had other ideas, she would rather peacefully divorce then share her husband with other people. Even if he was extremely outstanding and she loved him to death, she would still stand by her principles!

“What are you thinking about? This prince is talking to you ah!” Zhu Junyang lightly tapped Yu Xiaocao’s forehead with the bow in his hand, interrupting her train of thought.

Yu Xiaocao covered her head with her hand and angrily retorted, “If you need to talk, then just talk! Why do you need to hit me too? If you hit my head again, I won’t be polite to you anymore!”

Zhu Junyang looked at her slightly-built body that was as flat as a board. He tsked in disdain, “Not be polite anymore? What can you do to this prince?”

“Be careful, I might add some laxatives to your food! Let you stay on the toilet for three days and three nights!!” Yu Xiaocao revealed a slightly sinister expression on her face.

Zhu Junyang didn’t believe that she would do such a thing, “Don’t forget, we currently eat from the same plates. Don’t tell me that you want to end up poisoning the rest of the family ah?”

Yu Xiaocao rolled her eyes and replied, “Don’t forget that I’m quite proficient in medicine. I could just give my family members the antidote prior to eating the food and everything would be alright!!”

Zhu Junyang inwardly thought, ‘This prince also brings antidote pills along too. I wouldn’t be afraid of a highly toxic poison, let alone something as mild as a laxative! The prince knows your personality, all bark and no bite. Even if someone threatened you, I don’t think you would necessarily try to poison me!”

“You’re quite a bold girl eh! You even dare to poison me so obviously, who gave you the courage? Hm?” Zhu Junyang lifted his eyes slightly which made his handsome face appear even more enchanting.