Five points had landed in her account out of nowhere. Jian Ruonan was puzzling over it when a rustling suddenly came from the grass outside the covered walkway.
Jian Ruonan looked closely and made out a black-and-white snake in the grass, less than a meter long and two fingers thick.
Holy shit, there really were snakes!
And more than one!!
There was a snake nest here!!
The prince consort had really spared no expense to satisfy his own desires.
With a few snakes released into the grass, even the Eldest Princess herself would not dare venture in.
Respect.
Jian Ruonan was not actually fearless around snakes. At the sight of its markings, every hair on her body stood on end. "A Banded Krait! It's venomous!"
The servant guarding the entrance had only made an offhand remark. He had never expected there to be actual snakes, and he started shouting too. "My lord, snakes!!"
The matrons and maids beside her immediately rushed over to protect her. "Don't be afraid, Miss."
One matron scooped Jian Ruonan up and ran.
She was the same matron who had carried Jian Ruonan away twice before. Her surname was Chen, and she was big and burly. Previously disliked in the household, she had only ever been assigned menial work.
After Jian Ruonan requested her as a personal attendant, Chen Pozi had gone straight from a menial servant to the Fifth Miss's trusted confidante. Her loyalty to the Fifth Miss was unwavering.
With Jian Ruonan in her arms, Chen Pozi shot out of the covered walkway like a streak of smoke.
Even the Imperial Guard pushing the Fourth Prince could not keep up with her.
Jian Ruonan had barely regained her footing when she saw the prince consort, the hostage prince, and Prince Kang's Second Son emerge from the artificial rockery in disheveled clothes and run out along the covered walkway.
*!!*
Who would have thought there'd be a bonus surprise?
At last, she'd gotten the whole juicy story.
The prince consort, Xue Yuanyu, was not yet thirty and handsome. Even holding up his waistband, he still cut a dashing figure.
The Northern Kingdom's hostage prince, Su Haoyan, looked the most terrified. He was the slenderest of the three, dragged along by the two men beside him, his clothes hanging wide open and exposing his chest.
His delicate face bore an unnatural flush. It was hard to tell whether it came from fright or excessive exertion.
The most ordinary-looking of the three was Prince Kang's Second Son, Dantai Wuyang. With his square face and regular features, he would have counted as handsome among ordinary people, but beside the prince consort and the hostage prince, he fell a little short.
Still, he was the tallest and powerfully built. He looked like a human pile driver.
Jian Ruonan stared unblinkingly at the three of them, instantly conjuring up a five-hundred-thousand-word novel of national enmity, family vendettas, unattainable love, seas of hatred, skies of passion, and a deeply tortured romance.
Dantai Mo's brows drew together slightly. How had these three gotten involved with one another?
The three had never expected to encounter anyone in such a secluded garden. Xue Yuanyu shot the servant guarding the entrance an almost imperceptible glance. "Is this how you do your job? If a venomous snake had injured His Highness Prince Rui, even ten heads wouldn't be enough to pay for it!"
The servant immediately knelt and begged forgiveness. "I deserve death! Spare me, Your Highness!"
Dantai Mo said, "It wasn't his fault. I saw how lovely the scenery was here and insisted on coming."
Su Haoyan looked at Jian Ruonan and Dantai Mo, a flicker of murderous intent crossing his eyes.
The hostage prince appeared frail, but beneath that exterior lay a ruthless, vicious heart.
If the Eldest Princess learned that the prince consort was fooling around with him, his precarious position would leave him with no escape from death.
For now, silencing the witnesses was the best course.
Jian Ruonan had absolutely no idea that stumbling upon someone's private affairs in ancient times carried the risk of assassination.
She was still happily enjoying the gossip.
After the Northern Kingdom's defeat, three-year-old Su Haoyan had been sent to Great Xia and raised in the hostage prince's residence, with Prince Kang responsible for his upbringing. Su Haoyan called Prince Kang his adoptive father. Who would have imagined that, behind closed doors, he and his adoptive brother...
Su Haoyan had rosy lips, white teeth, and a fair complexion, with something of a frail scholar's delicate air.
With looks like that, he would have been an absolute pretty boy in the modern world.
Jian Ruonan gave Su Haoyan a couple more looks. Dantai Wuyang took offense and stepped forward to shield Su Haoyan behind him. "Whose daughter are you? Where are your manners?"
A young lady from a respectable family would have blushed and fled at the sight of men in disheveled clothing. He had never seen one stare at them with eyes wide open.
Probably another woman infatuated with Haoyan!
Jian Ruonan hurriedly said, "You misunderstand, Your Highness. I noticed red marks on this gentleman's chest and feared he had been bitten by a snake. As a physician, I took a closer look."
The Fourth Prince always had someone skilled in medicine by his side. Seeing Jian Ruonan pushing him, the three men accepted that she was a physician.
Having said that, Jian Ruonan openly inspected all three of them.
[Holy shit, back in the rockery, several snakes fell out of the cracks. Dantai Wuyang thought they were props supplied by the prince consort and played with them for ages. He only realized something was wrong when he heard the screams outside.]
[Absolute legends-]
[Venomous snakes: Honored to be part of your kink play.]
Dantai Mo: "..."
Dantai Wuyang's expression shifted slightly, and he immediately pulled Su Haoyan over to examine him closely.
Su Haoyan's snow-white chest was covered in red marks, but not one was a snakebite. Every one had been sucked into his skin.
Once he had finished checking, Dantai Wuyang's face was a little red. He straightened Su Haoyan's clothes. "I misjudged you, Miss. Thank you for your concern. Haoyan has no bite marks."
[What do you mean, no bite marks? The hostage prince's xx (beep-) has been bitten swollen. Not by snakes, either. That was all you. Tsk, tsk, tsk.]
The Black Tortoise System: [The Fifth Miss certainly knows a lot.]
Dantai Mo: "..."
My ears have been defiled.
At the intimate gestures between Su Haoyan and Dantai Wuyang, Xue Yuanyu's expression suddenly turned ugly.
Jian Ruonan said, "It's good there are no bite marks. That snake just now was probably a Banded Krait. It's highly venomous. One bite, and even heaven can't save you."
[Su Haoyan's looks... tsk, tsk, tsk. He really does have what it takes to make two men fight over him.]
[No wonder he's the man who eventually returns to the Northern Kingdom and even inherits its throne!]
[Let me see just how many other lovers he has.]
Dantai Mo: "..."
The men exchanged awkward looks. Dantai Mo asked perfunctorily, "What were you doing here?"
[Is the Fourth Prince missing a few screws? He can't even tell what these three were doing?]
[Does he not understand sharing a peach and cutting a sleeve?]
[The Fourth Prince is so innocent.]
The innocent Fourth Prince with a few screws missing, Dantai Mo, had nothing to say: "..."
Only then did Xue Yuanyu realize that all three of them had disheveled clothes and flushed cheeks. He hurried to explain, "The commandery prince, Haoyan, and I were sparring. Suddenly, several snakes and insects fell from a tree into our clothes. We pulled our clothes loose while fleeing."
[Oh, that almost sounds convincing. The Banded Krait doesn't want to carry the blame for this.]
[Banded Krait: I'm a venomous snake, not a lustful snake!]
[This prince consort is even better at spouting bullshit than I am.]
Dantai Mo: "..."
The Black Tortoise System: [The Fifth Miss is so interesting. I want to be friends with her!]
Dantai Mo said, "...In that case, you should have an Imperial Physician examine you thoroughly, before any venom takes hold and becomes difficult to treat."
With the pleasantries over, Dantai Mo had his guard push him back toward the hall. They had barely gone two steps when he heard Jian Ruonan's thoughts:
[What the fuck, Su Haoyan even hooked up with the Third Prince?!]
[Su Haoyan only managed to return to his homeland because the Third Prince secretly helped him!]
[And Su Haoyan played a crucial role in the Third Prince's eventual palace coup, murdering his father and seizing the throne!]
[You really can't judge a person by their appearance!]
Dantai Mo: ??
Who was Wang Defa?!
The Black Tortoise System: [Your Highness, are you not surprised at all about the Third Prince's palace coup?]
Before you continue