Chapter 81: Would You Be Willing to Go With Him?

Nan Xueyin now had some brand-new insights into Shu Yu's intelligence; faced with this question that neared the truth, she gave no answer at all, merely casting an indifferent glance at him.

Shu Yu quickly reached his conclusion, "I really am prone to wild thoughts; how could you possibly not be called by this name."

Nan Xueyin hummed a laugh in her heart; she knew it.

"What form of address does the young lady prefer?" Lu Yan asked with a smile.

"I don't know."

Nan Xueyin truly did not know.

When she was small, her parents affectionately called her Nannan, and occasionally Little Xue.

In truth, Nan Xueyin liked the name Little Xue very much, but after her parents passed away, she was no longer willing to let anyone else call her that.

Later, when she arrived at the Duan Prince Mansion, at the very beginning, Xiao Mingyu liked to call her "Yinyin," and others, including Wu Zhui, all called her "Miss Nan."

Later still, when Xiao Mingyu was not as good to her, he directly called her by her name, "Nan Xueyin."

Nan Xueyin had no particular feelings about any of these forms of address.

"That's not right, Lu."

Shu Yu finally sensed a trace of a conspiracy and furrowed his brows, "Why are you pestering her with questions, asking so much? You wouldn't happen to have some unrealistic ideas about her, would you?"

Lu Yan spread his hands, "How else could it be said that the ones who know you best are your enemies."

Shu Yu was stunned.

Lu Yan simply confessed, his face full of sincerity as he said to Nan Xueyin: "Just now when I arrived, I saw you sparring with Jiang Jing and fell in love with you at first sight. A moment ago, I saw with my own eyes how you get along with the Crown Prince, and I feel that you don't seem to like the Crown Prince all that much. Therefore, I would like to ask, are you willing to leave the Crown Prince and come with me?"

Shu Yu blurted out a curse on the spot.

It was so foul that even Nan Xueyin couldn't help but glance at him.

Lu Yan reminded him: "You must not dirty the ears of Miss Hua Lianying."

Shu Yu viciously spat out a whole string of curses, then rolled up his sleeves after finishing, "You bastard Lu Yan, your skin must be itching since I haven't fought you in three days, daring to flirt with the woman the Crown Prince has his eye on right in front of me! See if I don't beat you to death today!"

Having said that, he threw a punch at him.

Lu Yan dodged in time, and while parrying Shu Yu's moves, he said to Nan Xueyin: "Everything I said just now was sincere! You should think it over carefully!"

"I, Lu Yan, courtesy name Qingjun. I am twenty-one years old this year, unmarried, with only one live-in maid and one concubine; I don't hide these things from you, but you can rest assured, I make them drink contraceptive decoctions every time, so I don't have any children yet. If you don't like those two, I will send them away the moment I go back today!"

"I am an only child, and my uncles have already separated from the main household and do not live together. My father, Lu Zheng—the one who made you spar with me just now—stays in the military camp and rarely comes home. My mother's health is not very good; if you marry me, you will be the mistress of the Lu household, and you will be in charge of everything at home. I, and the entire Lu family, will listen to you."

If it were an ordinary woman, she would already be itching with excitement and crying out that she wanted to marry him upon hearing this.

But Nan Xueyin had been fighting and killing for all these years, so she had no particular feeling about this kind of family background; hearing it was the same as not hearing it at all.

She watched the two of them grappling together, feeling that their strength was evenly matched, but because Lu Yan was distracted by talking to her, he had already taken several hits in a row.

Nan Xueyin watched for a while, then suddenly spoke: "Lu Yan, is it?"

Lu Yan thought she was about to agree and immediately turned his head to look over.

In that instant, Shu Yu seized the opportunity and landed a heavy punch on his chest, sending him flying back several steps, the pain making it feel as if his heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys had all split apart.

Lu Yan bared his teeth and glared over, "You brat, are you ever going to finish?"

Shu Yu did not speak, and swung another punch.

This movement was too fast, and Lu Yan's first reaction was that he had no time to dodge at all.

"Shift left two steps," Nan Xueyin said.

Lu Yan did so subconsciously, and that punch grazed past his ear without hitting him.

Shu Yu frowned and swung his arm around to attack again.

Nan Xueyin continued to remind him: "Crouch down."

"Attack his lower path."

Lu Yan followed her instructions one by one, and with a sweeping leg kick, forced Shu Yu to retreat several steps.

In this way, the battle was brought to a balance.

Nan Xueyin was satisfied and signaled: "Continue fighting."

Shu Yu gritted his teeth and reminded her: "The two of us are on the same side! Who exactly are you helping!"

Lu Yan, meanwhile, was still preoccupied: "Young lady, everything I said to you just now was sincere; what do you think?"

Shu Yu cursed angrily: "You bastard, you're still thinking about that!"

He didn't have the energy to be angry with Nan Xueyin and attacked fiercely again.

"Stop."

A cold, clear voice suddenly rang out, halting Shu Yu's offensive.

He had no choice but to stop, turned around along with Lu Yan, and called out in unison: "Crown Prince."

Lu Zheng asked with amusement: "Why have you two started fighting again?"

Shu Yu had no face to say it was because your son was coveting the Crown Prince's woman.

Lu Yan also didn't say it was because I had fallen for the Crown Prince's woman.

It wasn't that he was afraid of a beating from his own father, but because he hadn't received the consent of the person herself, he didn't want to bring trouble upon her.

Xiao Youlan stood still beside Nan Xueyin.

Nan Xueyin glanced sideways, "So fast?"

She remembered that every time Xiao Mingyu held a meeting, it took at least half an hour.

She did not know that today was because Xiao Youlan had specifically emphasized not to speak nonsense.

A general had tried to use his old tricks, opening his mouth to loudly praise the wise leadership of the current Emperor and the Crown Prince, but he was interrupted by Xiao Youlan before he had said more than a few words.

He stated bluntly to talk about the real business.

Therefore, the meeting ended exceptionally early.

However, in the past, Xiao Youlan would not have refused their sycophancy; the art of managing subordinates included this aspect.

But today is different.

Today, Xiao Youlan feels that Lu Yan is acting strange.

There is no direct evidence for this kind of thing, and he must give Lu Zheng face, so he will not say it directly; facing Nan Xueyin's question, his voice is soft and slow as he says, "The Eastern Palace still has matters to attend to, so we must be as quick as possible."

No one under heaven is unaware that the Eastern Palace is busy, so no one doubts it.

Nan Xueyin does not doubt it either.

She only feels it is a pity that she did not have time to catch bugs, especially the big cockroaches.

"Let's return."

Xiao Youlan says gently.

Nan Xueyin nods.

After all, since Xiao Youlan just said the Eastern Palace has matters to attend to, Lu Zheng and the other generals cannot easily say anything to ask him to stay; everyone is respectful and calls out in unison, "Respectfully sending off His Highness the Crown Prince."

Lu Yan is also among them, reluctant to part, and he glances at "Hua Lianying" several times—she still hasn't nodded yet.

"Qingjun."

Xiao Youlan suddenly calls his courtesy name.

Lu Yan looks over, "Your Highness the Crown Prince?"

He is not sure if the Crown Prince has discovered any clues.

No joy or anger can be seen on Xiao Youlan's face; he only says in a calm voice, "It was Shu Yu who offended you today; let the military physician take a look at the injuries on your body. If there are any expenses for medicinal ingredients, just report them to the Eastern Palace; everything will be covered by the Eastern Palace."

Lu Yan responds in the affirmative.

Xiao Youlan says nothing more and withdraws his gaze.

In the carriage on the way back, Nan Xueyin senses that Xiao Youlan's mood does not seem very good.

If she were still Doukou, she would definitely ask him what is wrong.

But she is "Hua Lianying" now, and such things are of no importance.

"Lu Yan," Xiao Youlan's voice is heavy, "did he ask you if you are willing to go with him?"