Since it has already come to this, Li Mei was cool and calm. At the very least, she should be happy that she wouldn't have to face that soldier's inquiring glances. But on the other hand, she would also have to ensure she was hiding her identity well….
Ugh, how difficult it was! She just wished the man wouldn't really jump on her the first thing and realize her identity. In any case, she could run away from other people, but not from the royalty. She wasn't sure if she could go against these soldiers head-on.
Thus, she walked behind the princes while surrounded by the soldiers as if she were royalty being escorted to her palace. From a distance, she did seem like an ethereal handsome man who seemed to have just descended from the heavens to bless the earth. Coupled with his cold expression, the 'man' seemed like he was meant to be worshiped by people all around the world.
"Gosh, he is so handsome!" A girl giggled after seeing 'him' being escorted by the Third Prince's people into his carriage. But when she saw the third prince smirking as he walked closer to the 'man' surrounded by several guards, the girl sighed. "Too bad, he's now going to be a part of His Highness, The Third Prince's harem. He's so pitiful. Sigh."
"Ah, I have even heard that His Highness, The Third Prince often locks people in his harem and whoever enters that place can never see the light!"
"Really?!" The girl gasped after hearing that from her friend. Her eyes were filled with traces of sympathy as she said, "Damn, that young man is really too pitiful…. How can His Highness, The Third Prince be so unruly like this?! We should tell His Majesty about this!"
"His Majesty can't do anything…."
The two girls sighed. They weren't the only ones discussing this kind of thing. Almost everyone assembled there was discussing this as their eyes glanced along the path where the young man was walking with utter indifference leaking behind him. Soon enough, The Third Prince held out his hand as he raised his brows and looked at the young man in amusement.
Seeing this, everyone's sigh got even deeper as they had already sealed the fate of that young man in their hearts.
On the other side, Li Mei felt the corner of her mouth twitching as she looked at the prince holding out his hand. Seeing this, even the fourth prince stiffened behind them, but he acted like he didn't see anything and continued to walk onward like nothing happened.
He didn't even raise his head anymore.
If you see nothing, nothing really happened, right? That's what the fourth prince was playing at.
Li Mei gritted her teeth and put her hand in the man's hand as she deliberately gave a harsh squeeze, enough to make the man frown. Even though she was a girl, she wasn't without muscle power. All these running away into the dark alleys and all of the household chores she had done since her childhood days only made her stronger physically.
But in the end, the person she was dealing with was a prince, the third prince who was feared even by the imperial soldiers stationed in the corridors of the imperial palace. He only frowned because he hadn't expected such a beautiful youth could have so much power in his hands.
But for some reason, his lips ticked up to form an amusing smile that came out as a deep chuckle. Then he continued to hold onto the 'man's' hand as he said, "You know what? I'm traveling with you."
Li Mei's nose wrinkled in disgust as she glared at the man.
She had already been cornered and humiliated enough. Was it necessary for him to continue to bother her like this?!
But what else could she do?! She didn't have any other choice at the moment. Thus, she gritted her teeth and flashed him a forced smile that looked more chilling than warm, saying, "My pleasure, Your Highness."
She even proceeded to give the man a bow as she turned around and walked inside, not bothering to turn around.
Behind them, the fourth prince facepalmed himself as he looked at the strange scene in the middle of the road. He finally realized that his big brother had turned crazy for a handsome young man they met on the street so much so that they were feeding dog food to everyone else without any hesitation at all!
But he let the man do whatever he wanted. After all, the Fourth Prince was still a younger brother and weaker than the man. Even if he wanted to, he couldn't do anything, letting the man become more and more unruly as time passed.
He sighed and walked to his horse. He ordered one of the soldiers stiffly, "Well, how about taking care of Big Brother's horse?"
The soldiers also didn't have an opinion. The more opinions he would have, the more the chances for him to die. Thus, he became deaf and mute the moment he saw His Highness, The Third Prince acting unruly.
So he hopped onto the horse as he urged it forward.
Inside the carriage.
Li Mei sat in the corner by the window thinking that the man would probably sit on the other side and give her some space. But who knew that this third prince was so shameless and unruly that he would directly sit beside her, and not just that, he was so close that Li Mei soon felt her heart thumping in her chest once again.
She swallowed and cleared her throat. "Get away."
"For a man so handsome," Cao Haoran moved his hand against the 'man's' soft cheeks and pinched it, "your voice is soft like a female. Strange, isn't it?"
Li Mei's heart jumped as she pursed her lips, trying to cover up her nervousness really hard. Thankfully, she had now become proficient in transforming into a man. Thus, she said, "My voice hasn't matured yet."
"Really?" Cao Haoran's hand moved the 'man's' ears as he pinched the other's earlobes, earning a gasp. "Look at you, your body is as sensitive as that of a girl's."
Li Mei gritted her teeth and said, "Your Highness, isn't this very shameless of you to tease a man in the middle of the road in front of everyone?!" Especially the one who had just stolen your robe and you recognized it at a single glance?!
Is this how you treat a thief?!