After Spending a Passionate Night with the Eldest Princess - Chapter 5

Young Master Guo said dismissively, “A group of refugees with no homes or land, wandering everywhere—how can they still count as citizens of our dynasty? Enough nonsense. Hurry up and drive them out.”

Uncle Niu fell silent. The family head’s move this time was probably a mistake.

The young master was handsome. When he did not speak, he looked refined and elegant, quite pleasing to the eye. But the moment he opened his mouth, forget women—even Uncle Niu, a man, found him unbearable.

With that personality and that brain, he had long been spoiled rotten by the old madam.

After thinking it over, Uncle Niu suggested, “Young Master, please calm down. Allow this old servant to go negotiate with them first.”

Young Master Guo frowned, but in the end, he held back his temper. Uncle Niu was an old servant of the household and had always been valued by his father. Before they set out, his father had repeatedly instructed him to listen more to Uncle Niu when problems arose.

So he waved his hand, giving Uncle Niu some face.

Uncle Niu felt slightly relieved. He signaled for everyone to stay where they were, then walked alone toward the ruined temple.

On this side, Tang Er saw Young Master Guo’s movements and asked Miss Qin for instructions. “Master, should this subordinate go over and take a look?”

The night was as cool as water. Miss Qin’s gaze was faint as she said, “As long as they do not harm the common people, there is no need to act.”

“Yes.” Tang Er cupped his fists and stood aside again.

Only then did Xin Yuan realize that the maidservant named Qiuyue was not by Miss Qin’s side.

She could not help finding it strange. Just what kind of background did this Miss Qin have? She had so many guards following her, yet she had only brought one maidservant.

And for some unknown reason, that maidservant was no longer traveling with them. Replacing her at Miss Qin’s side was Tang Er, the leader of the guards.

However, one thing was certain. This woman was quite kind toward the common people. A person who could not bear to harm ordinary citizens should not be too bad, right?

Perhaps following this woman to the capital might not necessarily be a bad thing. After all, Xin Yuan had no better choice right now.

While Xin Yuan was thinking, she heard some commotion from the ruined temple and could not help looking over.

Outside the ruined temple, Uncle Niu first promised them some food. When that did not work, he offered them some silver.

This group of refugees vaguely followed a strong adult man as their leader. When the others heard there would be food and silver, they could not help feeling tempted.

But the strong man said in a deep voice, “Spring has only just begun, and the nights are cold. Without this temple to shelter us from the wind and cold, what are we supposed to do if someone freezes badly? There are more than a hundred of us. Who would a few boxes of pastries be enough for? What use is a little broken silver? If someone gets sick from the cold, it won’t even be enough to buy medicine.”

These words seemed to be spoken for the refugees to hear, but Uncle Niu understood that they were also meant for him.

For a moment, he hesitated. Although he could take out more silver, wealth should not be revealed openly. There were more than a hundred refugees, while they only had a dozen or so people. Even if their martial skills were decent, two fists could not defeat four hands.

He was afraid these refugees would become greedy at the sight of money. He was also afraid the Eldest Princess would develop a poor impression of them.

But if he could not negotiate properly, then with the young master’s temperament, he was afraid the young master would use force directly. At that point, it would be even harder to clean up the mess.

Uncle Niu recalled the rumors circulating among the people. The reason the Eldest Princess was deeply loved by the common people was precisely because she cared for them as well.

Thinking this, he finally took another step back.

“As long as you give up the ruined temple, I will give you one hundred taels of silver. That is enough for you to buy two small courtyards in town. What do you think, brother?”

He looked at the strong man, a trace of ruthlessness in his eyes, attempting to let the other party know that they were not easy to provoke.

The strong man’s face carried a resolute expression, as if he was ready to risk his life. “Two hundred taels. We not only need a place to live, we also need food. Otherwise, there is nothing to discuss.”

He did not care who this old man was. So what if he could not afford to offend him? Refugees like them had long since lost their homes. Each day they survived was another day earned. Were they still afraid of death?

He had even formed a bold idea. Even if this old man did not agree, he would bring his people and rob that young master. A mere dozen or so people were not enough to scare him.

If he had not been wary of the other party’s more than one hundred men and horses, who looked very intimidating, he would have already led his people to charge forward.

Over the past few days, it was not as if he had never done such a thing.

Before natural disaster, why was it that they lived in constant uncertainty, while these so-called nobles had servants in droves, food to eat, and drink to enjoy? Since the heavens were unfair, they would seize fairness for themselves.

Uncle Niu’s brows sank. This was a ruthless character. No wonder he could become the leader of this group of refugees.

At this point, he could only agree.

“Here is a two-hundred-tael banknote. Leave quickly.”

The strong man swiftly took the banknote and called for everyone to leave.

The crowd became briefly noisy, then left the ruined temple.

Seeing this, Young Master Guo’s expression brightened. He hurriedly looked toward Miss Qin and said warmly, “Ladies, the ruined temple has been emptied. I do not have many people with me. The space will be left empty anyway, so why not let your people rest inside the temple as well?”

Miss Qin’s face was completely indifferent. As if she had not heard him at all, she turned and entered the tent that had just been set up.

Young Master Guo was about to say something else when Uncle Niu, who had returned, interrupted him.

“Young Master, haste makes waste.”

Young Master Guo looked unwillingly at that tent. “Uncle Niu, am I not handsome?”

That single question made Uncle Niu fall silent.

“Young Master is the most beautiful man in the northern lands. Naturally, you are peerlessly handsome.”

But only having a good-looking face was not enough. Having no brain would not do either.

Hearing this, Young Master Guo did not become happy. “Then why is Her Highness the Eldest Princess so cold toward me?”

Who in this world did not love beauty? His grandmother had said that as long as the Eldest Princess was not blind, once she saw such a handsome man as him, she definitely would not be able to look away.

But after an entire day, not only had the Eldest Princess looked away, she had not even looked at him more than a few times.

Uncle Niu fell silent again for a moment. He could only find the reason on the Eldest Princess’s side, lest he anger this little ancestor.

“Perhaps Her Highness the Eldest Princess is different from ordinary women.”

In truth, he felt that not all women in the northern lands cared only about a man’s appearance either. The reason so many women flocked to the young master one after another was mostly because of his birth.

But being the heir of a mere regional prince might be attractive in the northern lands, yet before the Eldest Princess, it was not enough.

In terms of status, who could compare with the imperial family?

Young Master Guo lowered his head gloomily. “I wonder when the Eldest Princess will see what is good about me.”

Uncle Niu: “…”

To be honest, he had not seen it either.

Xin Yuan had watched a free show and entered the tent in a very good mood. Inside the tent, not only were there soft mats laid out, but there was also a small wooden table. Tea and snacks were all prepared on it. Under the glow of candlelight, it looked especially warm and cozy.

At that moment, Tang Er’s voice came again from outside the tent. “Master, the refugees did not go far. They seem to have developed malicious intentions toward that group surnamed Guo.”

Miss Qin’s gaze froze slightly, and she said with a hint of melancholy, “Take some people and warn them. Tell them not to commit evil over the next few days, and to quietly wait for good news from the government.”

In a few more days, the imperial court’s disaster-relief grain would be sent to aid the various regions. Once the news spread, these common people would return to their hometowns.

If they could live peacefully and still have enough food and clothing, most people would not be willing to become villains.

The only thing to blame was the mercilessness of natural disasters. In order to survive, even good people could be forced into becoming wicked…

“This subordinate understands.” Tang Er’s tone was also somewhat heavy.

Inside the tent, after Xin Yuan listened to their conversation, she asked as though out of curiosity, “Miss Qin knows that good news will come from the government?”

Miss Qin nodded and picked up her teacup, taking a sip before saying casually, “My maternal uncle serves in the Ministry of Revenue. The imperial court has already gathered enough disaster-relief grain. It will be transported to the various regions soon.”

Moreover, she was the one who had led tens of thousands of soldiers and taken the risk of obtaining that grain from a neighboring country. Although the process had been dangerous, fortunately, the result was good.

With this batch of grain, the common people could rest and recover, rebuild their homes, and look forward to living and working in peace once again.

Xin Yuan thought to herself that this woman really was not an ordinary young lady from a wealthy family. So there was a high-ranking official in her family. No wonder she traveled with such an impressive entourage.

“If that is the case, then the refugees will be saved.” It was indeed good news.

Miss Qin set down her teacup, stared at Xin Yuan for a moment, and said faintly, “I dreamed of Miss Xin again last night.”

The topic shifted too quickly, leaving Xin Yuan stunned.

She suddenly felt that perhaps the dreams this woman spoke of were not nonsense. After all, Xin Yuan herself had dreamed of her too—and even kissed her.

That was her first kiss!

Although it had been in a dream, the feeling had been incredibly real, soft, warm, and tempting…

Ah, bah. Xin Yuan abruptly shuddered and shook her head repeatedly.

“What is wrong, Miss Xin?” Miss Qin looked at the person who had suddenly started shaking her head nonstop, inquiry in her eyes.

Xin Yuan coughed lightly. “Nothing. May I ask what Miss Qin dreamed I was doing?”

What was she doing? Miss Qin’s eyes flickered lightly. She did not take up that thread of conversation, instead asking, “Does Miss Xin think I will dream of you again tonight?”

That dream had continued every night without interruption ever since she met the State Preceptor.

She had a strong intuition that tonight would be no exception.