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8: The Prince

The cold voice broke Zi Yinye's train of thought. Because she did not know the man's identity, she did not say a word. She only kneeled in greeting.

After the man entered, he closed the door, a sneer appearing on his face. The sneer was also extremely hostile. He said slowly, "The princess made you cover your face and come to the Spring Pavilion.* It seems she's thought of something new. Speak, how are you going to entertain me today?"

*literal: warm spring pavilion. Spring has explicit meanings in Chinese.

She did not understand what he meant fully, but from his gaze and tone, Zi Yinye could discern that he was the master of the residence, prince Dongfang Xi. But why was he here? And what was he closing the door for? A sense of unease arose.

"Why aren't you speaking? Are you using this to arouse me*?"

*The me he uses here is third person "equal king" and is like "me, the prince"

It was the prince! Although she did not fully understand the situation, after making a few connections, Zi Yinye understood that she did indeed fall in a trap and the prince had a crucial role to play.

Zi Yinye's silence made the prince to displeased. He sneered coldly, then pointed at the bed in the room, cold as he said, "Climb on and strip!"

She had become a substitute! It seems the prince and princess had some kind of agreement between them in which the princess would send a woman to "warm his bed" and she had become a substitute for that woman! Did she want to manipulate her husband into ruining her? Humph! There were few people in the world who could violate her purity!

The princess's malevolent plan made Zi Yinye's heart surge with anger. When she raised her face again, her eyes were ice cold.

"Your highness is wrong. Yinye is the princess's invited guest!"

The prince stopped for a moment, but then his clear, cold eyes slitted. Zi Yinye understood that she had revealed her emotions too much and took a deep intake of breath, stifling her anger. "Yinye's clothes were accidentally spilled on, so Yinye was brought here to wait for a change of clothes."

Dongfang Xi's gaze swept across Zi Yinye. With this glance, he discovered that there was indeed a patch of tea on her clothes. His eyes flickered and he said coldly, "Raise you head and look at me*."

Turning back to her timid state, Zi Yinye raised her head to give a quick glance, then immediately looked back down.

"You say you're the princess's guest?"

"Yes, Yinye came to attend the princess's banquet."

"Oh? Then why are you at the Spring Pavilion? You should understand what I use the Spring Pavilion for, unless you wanted..."

Dongfang Xi's disdainful tone and hidden implications made Zi Yinye pale and immediately raise her head. "No! Yinye truly did not know what the Spring Pavilion was for, Yinye was brought here by someone else."

"Humph! Are you saying that one of my* servants wants to harm you!"

Closing her eyes, Zi Yinye hid all of her displeasure and anger deeply away from her eyes. When she opened them again, her eyes were tranquil, without any emotions as her eyes locked with Dongfang Xi's clear, cold eyes. Slowly, she said "Yinye does not know. To her knowledge, Yinye has to not offended anyone. Yinye has faith your highness will see the light."

"See the light?" Dongfang Xi sneered. "Are you really so sure I* will believe you? Understand that all women who have appeared in the Spring Pavilion have been used by me. Even if by force, they can only be resigned to their fate!"