ASTRP -Chapter 5 The White Lotus Gets Beaten by the Prince

Ning An’s expression tightened, and he immediately said, “This subordinate will go fetch a chess set for Your Highness.”

He went quickly—and returned just as fast.

Xiao Jinghan took the chessboard, while Ning An withdrew.

The outer room fell into deep silence. Only the occasional sound of chess pieces landing on the board could be heard. The shouting and cursing from the inner room gradually faded… until it disappeared entirely.

A faint smile curled at the corner of Xiao Jinghan’s lips.

Meanwhile, inside the inner room—

Feng Jinge lay sprawled across the couch, limbs splayed, her chest rising and falling. She had been cursing for so long, yet the other party hadn’t responded with even a single word.

Clearly, he had just locked the door and left.

So then…

Had she been cursing for nothing???

Damn it!!!

That damned, despicable man!

Feng Jinge angrily pounded the couch with her fists, making it thump loudly.

Suddenly, she seemed to think of something and turned her head toward the stack of books.

Well… since they were already in the same boat, it wouldn’t hurt to take a look.

Mm, anyway she had nothing to do!

She was just reading to pass the time. Yes, exactly—just reading for fun!

Definitely not giving in.

Feng Jinge got up from the couch, randomly picked up a book, and opened it.

…Good lord.

Page after page listed things the prince forbade—no laughing, no crying… no eating garlic?

Because it might make one fart?

Feng Jinge: “……”

Let’s switch books.

She really couldn’t continue with that one.

She picked another at random.

This one was fairly normal. It recorded Xiao Jinghan’s daily habits—what he ate, wore, how he lived, what foods he avoided, what colors he refused to wear.

It was only a few pages long.

After flipping through it, she roughly understood some of Xiao Jinghan’s habits—what he couldn’t eat, what might trigger allergies, and so on.

The rest were household rules and some useless daily records.

Feng Jinge curled her lips. Qing Shan must have thrown this in just to pad the stack, right?!

She was about to stop reading when she noticed a thin, small booklet at the very bottom.

She took it out and opened it.

It turned out to be a handwritten version of historical records.

From it, she learned that she had arrived in a fictional era. The land was divided into four nations: Great Jin, Western Ling, Chen, and Yang.

The Great Jin, where she currently was, happened to be the strongest among them.

Only a few pages again.

She clicked her tongue, about to close everything, when the last line caught her attention—

The late emperor has passed. By imperial edict, the Ninth Prince ascends the throne. Prince Xian, Xiao Jinghan, is appointed Regent to assist in governing the state… surrounded by enemies on all sides.

The phrase “surrounded by enemies on all sides” had been heavily circled.

A bad feeling rose in Feng Jinge’s heart. After thinking it through, her expression turned grave.

Snap! The book closed.

She muttered softly, “Maybe… I should just run away?”

—

Meanwhile, Xiao Jinghan had just stepped into Qinxin Residence when an unwelcome guest arrived—Liu Qingqing.

Liu Qingqing stormed in with her maidservants. The moment she saw “Feng Jinge” reclining on the couch, holding a book with a calm expression, anger flared within her.

The prince had clearly said this wretch Feng Jinge was to serve as a maid in the residence as punishment. Yet that old steward had the audacity to arrange for her to live in Qinxin Residence!

This was supposed to be the future princess consort’s quarters—the place she had long coveted!

And now it had been occupied first by this lowly offender.

How could Liu Qingqing not be furious?!

Grinding her teeth, twisting her sleeves tightly, she stepped forward.

“Miss Feng, have you mistaken your place?”

Hearing Liu Qingqing’s voice, Xiao Jinghan frowned slightly. He lowered his book and glanced at her.

“This… this young lady naturally hasn’t mistaken anything. Perhaps Miss Liu is the one who has.”

“You know me?”

Liu Qingqing was startled. How did Feng Jinge know her surname?

Then she quickly thought—ah, the prince must have mentioned her before this wretch.

If the prince spoke of her in front of this woman, didn’t that mean she held some position in his heart?

Thinking this, Liu Qingqing felt a surge of delight and arrogance. She sneered at Xiao Jinghan.

“I am the prince’s wife. This Regent’s Manor is my home! As for you, Feng Jinge—you dared to push the prince into the water!”

Her gaze turned vicious.

“You ignorant, brainless fool. Today, I’ll teach you a proper lesson!”

Her expression changed in an instant.

Xiao Jinghan’s brows knitted tightly as Liu Qingqing raised her hand, swinging a slap straight toward his face.

Just as the slap was about to land, a trace of triumph appeared on her twisted face—but froze in the next moment.

The seemingly weak “Feng Jinge” grabbed her wrist mid-air!

Liu Qingqing tried to pull her hand back, but it wouldn’t budge.

Furious, she swung her other hand—but it was caught as well.

She opened her mouth to scold, but the moment she looked up, she met Xiao Jinghan’s icy gaze. The coldness seemed to pierce straight into her heart.

Her body trembled violently, her momentum halved.

“Y-you… let go!”

Xiao Jinghan said nothing, only stared at her coldly. Undisguised disgust slowly spread across his face.

Women truly were two-faced creatures.

Under his gaze, Liu Qingqing felt a chill crawl up her spine. Forget punishing “Feng Jinge”—she just wanted to pull her hands free. She strained with all her strength.

Xiao Jinghan’s grip remained unmoving—and tightened.

Her face went pale. It felt as though her bones were about to be crushed.

How could this wretch have such strength?!

Cursing inwardly, Liu Qingqing cried out to her stunned maids, “You two idiots, what are you standing there for?! Come help me!”

The maids snapped back to their senses and hurried forward.

But just as they approached, Xiao Jinghan released his grip.

Liu Qingqing lost her balance and fell backward. With both maids having stepped forward, no one was behind to catch her—

She crashed hard onto the ground.

The maids froze for a moment before rushing back to help her up in a flurry.

The moment she stood, Liu Qingqing roared and charged again.

“You wretch, I’ll fight you to the death!”

“Courting death.”

Xiao Jinghan let out a cold laugh. Rising from the couch, he kicked her straight on.

“Ah—!”

With a scream, Liu Qingqing was sent flying into the screen behind her.

Bang! The screen collapsed, shattering into pieces.

Xiao Jinghan stepped forward, looking down at her from above.

He was just about to speak when Liu Qingqing shouted again—

“I am the prince’s wife, of noble status! And you’re just a foolish slave! You dare lay hands on me? I’ll go tell the prince—he’ll skin you alive!”

…Complaining to him, right in front of him?