Ling Yuyan stared blankly at the sealed letter in her grasp and groaned full of unwillingness: "Why did it have to be me?! She could just order someone else more trustworthy to send it, right?!"
But no matter how much Ling Yuyan was unwilling to do it, she obviously could not back down anymore the moment when Wang Qingling called her into the room.
Her choice was for her to refuse to carry out the task and get severely punished by Wang Qingling, or accept the task but she had to complete the task by sending this sealed letter directly into Crown Prince's hands.
Either way, she would also get severely punished if she failed the task later...
"Sigh... I can only hope that the Crown Prince will be kind enough to spare a little of his time to meet me later." Ling Yuyan sighed in resignation.
Ling Yuyan felt her feet suddenly get much heavier as if it was made from lead, but she still slowly headed to the Crown Prince's courtyard in reluctance.
But just as Ling Yuyan had expected, one of the armored guards shouted at her before she could even approach the Crown Prince's courtyard: "Halt~! This is His Highness Crown Prince's courtyard! State your business clearly right now, or we will arrest you for trying to spy on His Highness Crown Prince!"
"No~! I.... I receive the task from my miss to send a letter directly to the Crown Price... Can you let me in and meet the Crown Prince just for a few seconds?" Ling Yuyan spoke timidly to those guards.
Those guards looked at each other, and then...
"BWAHAHAHAHAHA~! Little maid, how many women do you think have come here to see His Highness Crown Prince since this morning?" They laughed and mocked Ling Yuyan mercilessly.
"You are the seventh maid who came here for that same reason! Little Maid, your appearance is not bad, but if you want to climb onto His Highness Crown Prince's bed, then your look is still far from enough! HAHAHAHAHA~!" The other guards added while laughing.
Ling Yuyan instantly became speechless after hearing their words.
She suddenly regretted coming here, but since she was already here, she really did not want to just give up and retreat without making some effort.
Ling Yuyan took Wang Qingling's sealed letter from her sleeve and showed it to those guards: "Look, this is the sealed letter! I really did not lie! Under the order of the sixth young miss of the Wang Family, Miss Wang Qingling, I must deliver this letter directly to His Highness Crown Prince!"
Those guards stopped laughing mockingly at Ling Yuyan after they heard her explanation, but they still remained skeptical of her.
"You can just give that letter to us first. After we make sure that there is nothing dangerous in that letter, we will convey it to His Highness Crown Prince later." Those guards replied to Ling Yuyan a bit more seriously this time.
"This... is not good. My miss ordered me to give this letter directly to His Highness Crown Prince." Ling Yuyan kept insisting on giving the sealed letter directly to the Crown Prince.
Unfortunately, those guards clearly would not let her do it no matter how she tried to insist.
They even said what if there was poison smeared on the letter or something like that.
Just when Ling Yuyan prepared to give up and come back to receive her punishment from Wang Qingling...
"Can someone tell me what happened here?" A gentle yet masculine voice resounded from right behind Ling Yuyan.
"Third prince?!" Those guards exclaimed in surprise, but they did not show much respect in their tone.
Ling Yuyan's slender body instantly stiffened in fright.
'How could this most terrifying dragon-class villain come at a time like this?! Urgh... I really did not want to face him~! I would rather be severely punished by Wang Qingling than meet him!' Ling Yuyan groaned in her heart.
"This little maid greet His Highness Third Prince~!" Ling Yuyan timidly bowed her head to greet Jing Weiyuan.
Ling Yuyan planned to just slip away from here as soon as possible, so she would not attract any unwanted attention from Jing Weiyuan.
However, the more she did not want it to happen, the more likely it would happen instead!
Those guards told all of Ling Yuyan's matters to Jing Weiyuan without any hesitation.
Jing Weiyuan smiled gently as he stared kindly at Ling Yuyan, and said in a soft tone: "I see... Then you can just give that letter to me. I promise I will surely give it to my brother right now."
When Jing Weiyuan stepped closer to Ling Yuyan, Ling Yuyan reflexively took a few steps back to keep her distance from Jing Weiyuan.
Jing Weiyuan: "....."
Ling Yuyan: "....."
Jing Weiyuan tried to take one step closer to Ling Yuyan again, but Ling Yuyan hastily took another few steps back from him instead.
Jing Weiyuan could easily read feelings of fear, panic, and anxiety from Ling Yuyan's eyes and expression.
Jing Weiyuan's gentle and kind smile turned into a cold smile as he asked Ling Yuyan: "Why are you so afraid of me?"
Ling Yuyan quickly lowered her head while replying: "This little maid... is not afraid of His Highness... This maid is just... err, overwhelmed with gratitude for His Highness's kindness."
"Really?" Jing Weiyuan asked again as he suddenly appeared right in front of Ling Yuyan!
His handsome face was only a few inches away from Ling Yuyan's face!
Ling Yuyan was extremely shocked by Jing Weiyuan's sudden action. She wanted to retreat further away from Jing Weiyuan, but her feet slipped, and she fell backward instead!
Jing Weiyuan swiftly grabbed Ling Yuyan's slender waist before she could fall backward.
But it made them look as if they were hugging each other so closely.
Ling Yuyan became even more panicked and terrified.
She tried to get away from Jing Weiyuan, but Jing Weiyuan hugged her waist tighter instead.
Jing Weiyuan lowered his head until Ling Yuyan could feel his hot breath on her left ear.
Jing Weiyuan whispered softly to Ling Yuyan's left ear: "You are still so young, yet your makeup is so thick. You better not wear such thick makeup so often or you will really ruin your beautiful look."
Ling Yuyan tried to struggle free from Jing Weiyuan's embrace, but Jing Weiyuan easily let her go this time.
Then Jing Weiyuan waved the sealed letter in his grasp while saying casually with his usual gentle and kind smile on his handsome face: "You do not need to worry. I will definitely give this letter to my brother. You can go back and just tell your young miss that you have already given this letter directly to my brother."
"That... This little maid thanks His Highness Third Prince for his help." Ling Yuyan still felt reluctant, but she clearly did not dare to argue with this most terrifying dragon-class villain, so she could only lower her head politely and quickly get away from there as soon as possible.
Jing Weiyuan chuckled softly as he kept staring at Ling Yuyan's back: 'What an interesting little lass~! Her pure and innocent eyes were so beautiful as if they had not been tainted by worldly things.'
'I wonder if that pair of pure beautiful eyes can truly see into my soul and being. What did those beautiful eyes see in me that made her so scared of me?' Jing Weiyuan curiously thought in his mind.
But he quickly laughed at his own ridiculous thought.
Jing Weiyuan shook his head as he entered the Crown Prince's courtyard unhindered.
.....
Meanwhile, Ling Yuyan panted heavily after she ran away as quickly as she could from the Crown Prince's courtyard.
"Cough, cough, cough... That... That was really scary~! Wohooo~! I... I thought that dragon-class villain would really eat me alive!" Ling Yuyan almost cried in aggravation.
"Sister Yuyan, what does dragon-class villain mean?" An Yue asked telepathically to Ling Yuyan's mind.
"Never mind... An Yue, can you grab some food and drink for my lunch from the kitchen? I am really exhausted, so I want to take some rest in the room." Ling Yuyan said to An Yue as she took a rest in an unoccupied room.
Ling Yuyan could actually take a rest in any nearby pavilion, but if someone saw a little maid like her relaxedly taking some rest, they might scold her for being lazy, so she decided to take a rest inside the unoccupied room instead.
"No problem, Sister Yuyan. I will go now." An Yue replied as her invisible figure flashed toward the kitchen.
It only took a few moments for An Yue to come back while bringing some delicious food and warm tea for Ling Yuyan.
After eating until they were full, Ling Yuyan told An Yue to bring out the map of Spring River Town which she ordered An Yue to steal before.
'How many Shadow Guards do you have right now?" Ling Yuyan asked An Yue while she observed the map of Spring River Town carefully.
"Seven [2nd Tier Shadow Guards] in total." An Yue replied seriously.
"So, you already have seven... Well, not bad~! There is no need to merge them into [3rd Tier Shadow Guard] for now." Ling Yuyan nodded at An Yue, and then she began to explain all of the information she knew and what she planned to do to An Yue.
"There would be many assassins attacking Lin Family's manor at night in these few days."
"Their target is Lin Family's [Life Seal Condensing Method]."
"So, I also plan to take this chance to get this [Life Seal Condensing Method]."