Chapter 121: I Want to Be a Side Consort

The corner courtyard.

Recently, Xiao Mingyu's mood had been consistently poor; whenever he had a moment of leisure, Nan Xueyin's face would surface in his mind, sometimes cold and expressionless, other times carrying a faint trace of contempt and mockery.

He had just fallen asleep and soon had a dream.

In the dream, Nan Xueyin and Xiao Youlan had somehow gotten married and even had a child.

Xiao Youlan had, for the first time ever, sent someone to invite Xiao Mingyu to be a guest at the Eastern Palace; Xiao Mingyu felt he shouldn't go, but in a moment of impulse, he agreed.

He went to the Eastern Palace and saw Xiao Youlan in fine silks and robes, wearing that same cold and noble face as always, yet he was holding a small baby in his arms, gently patting and coaxing it, virtuous to an infuriating degree.

Xiao Mingyu stared in a daze, and the gift in his hand fell to the ground with a "plop."

Then he woke up in a start, sitting on the bed, covered in cold sweat.

Most importantly, he had seen the child's face, and the brows and eyes looked exactly like Nan Xueyin's.

With a "creak," the door opened.

Xiao Mingyu raised his eyes and saw a familiar face; the light was dim, so he couldn't see clearly, but he subconsciously opened his mouth and called out, "Yinyin?"

"Prince, you still think of me..."

The woman's voice was choked with sobs as she walked inside.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Mingyu frowned.

It was not Nan Xueyin, but Hua Lianying.

"Why have you come? Did I not warn you to stay obediently in your own courtyard?" Xiao Mingyu's voice was somewhat cold.

Hua Lianying said through tears, "I know, the Prince despises me and fears I will displease Miss Yan, so you absolutely forbade me from appearing..."

She knelt down with a thud before the bed, her clear and pretty eyes brimming with tears, looking very pitiful, "However, I hope the Prince will consider that I once served you and grant me the position of Side Consort."

Xiao Mingyu's brow furrowed even tighter.

"I will not vie for favor with Miss Yan; I only want a place to settle down... Prince, after all, I once carried a child for you!"

Seeing that Xiao Mingyu's expression remained indifferent, Hua Lianying wept even more, "I know, the Prince is currently about to marry Miss Yan; if a matter regarding a Side Consort were to arise, it would certainly displease Miss Yan and the Yan Family. I can wait, wait until everything is settled. In this world, men always take concubines; it is perfectly normal for a Prince to have a Side Consort. Miss Yan and the Yan Family understand this and will not overly object..."

"You know this is impossible," Xiao Mingyu interrupted her coldly.

Hua Lianying was stunned.

"Rongrong does not like you, and the Yan Family is also very wary of you; you cannot become a Side Consort," Xiao Mingyu said truthfully, though facing Hua Lianying, he still felt a sliver of compassion, "However, I can give you a sum of compensation, enough to..."

"I only want to be a Side Consort!"

Hua Lianying suddenly interrupted him and wiped away her tears.

Compensation? It was nothing but some gold, silver, and trinkets.

As a woman in this world, without parents or brothers, carrying valuable items on her person would only make her a target for all sorts of people; those gold pieces wouldn't even be warm before they were snatched away by others!

Even if she married, who could guarantee that the other party wasn't just after her money?

Once they had squeezed out all her value, wouldn't they just send her to hell with a bowl of poisoned wine?

Hua Lianying's only path to survival was to remain in the Duan Prince Mansion.

She stared at Xiao Mingyu, shedding her usual delicate demeanor, and even revealed a hint of ruthlessness in her eyes, "I stood in for my cousin and accompanied the Prince for so long; the Prince should have given me generous compensation! Furthermore, the 'Yinyin' you murmured in your dream that day was not me. Miss Yan flew into a rage, and the one who bore the brunt of that fury was me. I even lost a child because of it—Prince, this is something you owe me."

Xiao Mingyu was suddenly stunned.

He had thought Hua Lianying would not know these inside details.

"Prince, I advise you to just agree to me," Hua Lianying began to smile, "Otherwise, I fear I will tell these secrets to Miss Yan one by one. If she knew that you don't like me, but rather like an Assassin by your side, having liked her for many years, liked her so much you dared not confess these feelings, liked her so much you sent her to the Eastern Palace yourself... Oh, Prince, tell me, if Miss Yan learned of all this, what would her reaction be?"

Xiao Mingyu was unable to speak for a long time.

For the first time, he felt that the Hua Lianying before him was a stranger.

Their first meeting was at dawn; Hua Lianying had knelt before his couch, head bowed, softly calling him Prince.

Their appearances as sisters were indeed similar to a certain extent; when the light was dim, ignoring most details, they looked very much like the same person.

In the thin morning light, for that one moment, Xiao Mingyu thought he had seen Nan Xueyin.

Because of this, he felt a rare touch of affection for her and asked, "What is your name?"

"This servant is Hua Lianying."

"Oh?" Xiao Mingyu asked, "Which characters?"

"The 'Hua' of flowers and grass, the 'Lian' of affection, and the 'Ying' of orioles."

Xiao Mingyu raised an eyebrow, "Is your nickname perhaps Yingying?"

Hua Lianying lowered her head even further, "My cousin is also Yinyin; when our elders called out in childhood, both of us sisters would turn our heads together."

Xiao Mingyu found the image amusing and couldn't help but laugh out loud, reaching out to pull Hua Lianying up.

Nan Xueyin was always cold; suddenly obtaining such a delicate and submissive Hua Lianying, who also bore a resemblance to Nan Xueyin, Xiao Mingyu truly found pleasure in it.

Every time he thought of Nan Xueyin, he would go find Hua Lianying.

Whether it was he who initiated it or Hua Lianying who intentionally seduced him, in any case, the two of them ended up in bed.

Every time they made love, Xiao Mingyu would always cover Hua Lianying's eyes; looking down at her, he couldn't help but wonder, if it were Nan Xueyin, would she also make such expressions?

When it was over, Xiao Mingyu would realize that this was, after all, not Nan Xueyin; he would lose all interest and instruct his subordinates to bring contraceptive medicine.

Actually, if things had just continued like that, it wouldn't have been bad.

What exactly happened to bring things to this point?

"Prince, have you considered it?"

Hua Lianying asked slowly.

She was still kneeling there, her posture exactly like when they first met, only there was no trace of humility or delicacy in her expression.

Xiao Mingyu suddenly realized that while he was using Hua Lianying to soothe his longing and desire for Nan Xueyin, Hua Lianying was simultaneously using him; she needed a place to stay, and she enjoyed the fine silks, food, and glory of the Prince Mansion.

As a dignified Prince, when had he ever suffered such contempt?

Xiao Mingyu could not help but be angry and was about to speak, but footsteps came from outside the door.

"Miss Yan, you... why have you come over?"

The servant keeping watch asked in a timely manner.

This was also a reminder.

Xiao Mingyu's heart skipped a beat; Hua Lianying was still kneeling before the bed, and if Yan Zhirong came in, she would certainly see her.

The betrothal was imminent, and absolutely no mistakes could be allowed to happen!

"You..."

"Prince, I want to be a Side Consort." Hua Lianying spoke first; she knew Xiao Mingyu was anxious, and this was one of the few opportunities she could exploit.

Seeing that Yan Zhirong had finished speaking with the servant outside and was about to enter, Xiao Mingyu had no other choice but to grit his teeth and say in a low voice, "Then be one!"

Having achieved her goal, Hua Lianying finally beamed with joy and stood up.

It was definitely too late to go out now, so Hua Lianying paced around the room.

At this very moment, with a creak, the room door opened.