Chapter 40: It’s Not Nearly as Big as Daddy’s

Seeing another young beauty before him, Huanlan Haoyang suddenly felt his throat go dry and a heat surge in his lower abdomen. Rubbing his palms together, he leered, "Beauty, don’t be in such a hurry! I can take you both for a ride together! Haha, it seems I’m truly blessed with good fortune today!"

As he finished speaking, Huanlan Haoyang muttered to himself. Fortunately, he had been kicked out of the palace by his old father, the Emperor; otherwise, how could he have stumbled upon such a windfall?

Intoxicated, Huanlan Haoyang failed to recognize that the delectable beauty standing before him was the very Mo Liuli he had been searching for. Lust clouding his mind, he reached out toward the soft curves of Mo Liuli’s chest, his brain already flooded with all sorts of illicit fantasies.

*Slap!*

Before Huanlan Haoyang could succeed, Mo Liuli’s hand moved faster. She snatched the paper fan from his waist and struck him across the face, cursing, "Shameless!"

Qiu Xue and Xiao Junwang, who were resting in their respective rooms, heard Mo Liuli’s voice and quickly emerged to stand by her side.

The young noblemen accompanying Huanlan Haoyang screamed with excitement, whistling and clapping as they watched the Crown Prince block two beauties, eager for their own turn.

"Mo... Mo Liuli!"

A younger, drunken nobleman in the center rubbed his eyes, and the next second, he pointed at Mo Liuli and shrieked. He had been puzzled when he first saw Mo Liuli appearing barefoot—what kind of girl would go without shoes in such cold weather? Upon closer inspection of her features, he realized she was identical to the portrait he had seen in the brothel earlier that day.

Barefoot and matching the description perfectly—who else in this land could it be but the notorious Mo Liuli?

At his shout, the others sobered up a bit. When they saw the two menacing figures now standing beside Mo Liuli, they fell silent, not daring to cause any more trouble.

"Nonsense! Mo Liuli? Where? Where is she? If she were here, that would be even better! This Prince could take her for a ride too! Hmph, she’s not here! I’m off to spend a wonderful night with these beauties. You lot, you’d better wait for me! I’m going to go at it until dawn, haha!"

Huanlan Haoyang was far too drunk. He looked around but couldn't find Mo Liuli. Finally, he grabbed Luye with one hand and Mo Liuli with the other, dragging them toward the room at the end of the hall.

"A moment of pleasure is worth a thousand pieces of gold! Walk, beauties, I’ll take you for a ride!"

Seeing that the Crown Prince had failed to grab Mo Liuli and instead dragged along a strange, cloaked man, his companions were stunned. They couldn't help but call out, "Your Highness, Your Highness... that’s wrong..."

"Hmph!" Xiao Junwang’s aura grew sharp. He raised an eyebrow and let out a cold hum. The companions who wanted to warn the Prince immediately clamped their mouths shut, hanging their heads low, not daring to even glance up.

"You aren't worried he’s been dragged away?" Xiao Junwang asked Mo Liuli once the others had quieted down.

"Why should I be worried? If Qiu Xue can’t even handle a piece of trash like the Crown Prince of Huanlan, he has no business being an alliance leader."

Mo Liuli replied with an indifferent smile, though her eyes remained fixed on the closed door.

Seeing Mo Liuli’s confident attitude, Xiao Junwang released his aura, causing the air around them to turn frigid. He glanced at the noblemen pretending to be invisible, flicked his sleeve, and swept them all out into the street.

Mo Liuli grew tired of waiting. Seeing no movement from Qiu Xue’s room and finding that Xiao Junwang had also disappeared, she felt bored and went back to her room to sleep.

The next day, hanging upside down outside the Chunnuan Pavilion—the most popular brothel in the prime southern district of the Huanlan capital—were eight naked, bloodied men. Most striking among them was the man in the center, his body covered in whip marks.

A crowd had already gathered outside the Chunnuan Pavilion. They pointed and whispered, all of them men; the women and young ladies had fled, covering their faces, not daring to take a single look at such a scene.

The madam of the Chunnuan Pavilion had seen her fair share of trouble, but seeing the young masters of the capital's wealthiest families displayed in such a shocking manner in front of her establishment terrified her. Recognizing the man in the middle as the Crown Prince, she nearly fainted and rushed to report it to the authorities.

"Clear the way! Clear the way!"

The soldiers who arrived on the scene couldn't push through the crowd at first and resorted to force to clear a path. When they finally reached the front, they were so terrified by the sight that they fell to their knees.

"Captain, isn't that the little ancestor from Minister Wei’s household?"

"Captain, that’s the young master of General Li’s family..."

"Captain, there’s also... the one from the Duke’s house..."

As they were cut down, one agonizing scream after another filled the air.

The captain of the guards, after covering the Crown Prince with a cloak, twitched with rage and waved his hand. "Take them away!"

The eight naked men were hauled off by the soldiers as quickly as possible.

Those who had already recognized the Crown Prince lingered ten miles away after the soldiers left, whispering and rejoicing. They felt this scandal was a long-awaited justice, secretly gloating over the miserable fate of the Prince and his gang.

"Mother, if you keep looking, Father is going to get jealous! Those men don't have anything as big as Father’s anyway! Everyone’s gone, and you’re still looking..."

Long'er, nestled in Xiao Junwang’s arms, spoke with astonishing frankness, pouting in protest.

Father was angry; even he could feel it. Why couldn't Mother feel it? She was still staring at that group of people.

"Long'er, you little rascal, what are you saying?"

Mo Liuli turned back and pinched Long'er’s small nose, then took him from Xiao Junwang’s arms. "You’re too naughty, Long'er, I’ll carry you."

...

Xiao Junwang kept his lips tightly pressed, his gaze locked on Mo Liuli’s back.

They had been standing there since before the soldiers arrived. Few women would dare to stare directly at such a scandalous sight, but she, she neither hid nor looked away, remaining there to watch the outcome.

The anger in his heart had nowhere to vent. He wanted to go up and cover her eyes, to drag her away, but... the moment he thought of his own identity, he hesitated.

"Xiao, Xiao, there’s a bun shop up ahead. Let’s go buy some buns for Long'er to eat!"

Mo Liuli pointed to a *Goubuli* bun shop ahead, her face full of smiles, as if the indecent scene she had just witnessed had no effect on her at all.

Long'er said Xiao would be jealous, but she didn't think so. In her eyes, Xiao was like someone who had transcended the mortal world; it was impossible for him to be jealous over such a trivial matter.

"I don't want buns, I want Snow Lotus Juice!" Hearing his mother wanted to buy him buns, Long'er immediately wrinkled his cute little face and whined in protest. His mother had only let him have a small sip of Snow Lotus Juice before they left this morning, and he was craving it.

Xiao Junwang also frowned, dazed, and asked with some hesitation, "B... buns?"

"Long'er can only have Snow Lotus Juice for now, didn't I tell you that last night?"

"..." Mo Liuli fell silent. The mere mention of Snow Lotus Juice made her heart and liver ache.

"Mother, Long'er wants Snow Lotus Juice." Seeing Mo Liuli’s smile fade, Long'er acted cute and pleaded in his milky voice, intentionally rubbing his small cheek against hers.