Yuan Qianlei 3

Yuan Qianlei only spent two days in Ningfei Town, but all of those two days had seen her plastered to the side of Du Yan. If there was anyone who dared to hint that she was not devoted to the big man, that was clear evidence to the contrary. Not that anyone would be so stupid to say such a thing, with all of the Du household and the Palace Guards that the Yuan Patriarch had borrowed, to keep his grandniece safe from harm.

Even that idiotic Royal Prince would not dare to kick up a fuss with them about. Especially since he was only the Seventeenth Prince, and very, very distant from the rest of the Princes, and their fight to be named their father's successor.

Qin Feng was surprised to learn that it was him though. Of all the nobility that he had met, he had to say that that particular Royal Prince had been the most memorable. He was the only one that Qin Feng had the opportunity to shout at, after all. Although he had been in a different guise at the time. Or rather, wearing his puppet's body.

The Second Ducal Prince, on the other hand, who had protected the Seventeenth Prince, also called the Prince of the Stormy Sea, back in Changqing City, was most apologetic. "Had I known that he would cause such problems now, I should have let Qin Feng's liege-man slap him until he became an idiot, back in the day," he grunted.

Du Yan nodded, while still wearing a glare, but Yuan Qianlei only laughed when she heard that. And dug the whole story out of the Second Ducal Prince. After which, she had clapped her hands like every young maiden would, and praise Qin Feng's man.

"Oh! Too bad he is off doing something. He sounds like one of those powerful characters that I have been reading in those stories. Maybe if he was here, I would feel more like I am the main character in the tale, being fought over by powerful men. Of course, I only have eyes for this one here, at my side."

She added the last bit as she shamelessly hugged Du Yan's arm. Which seemed enough to calm him down somewhat. But it was Qin Feng who caught her reference to the stories. Wasn't that the sort of story that Xu Yanzhi was reading too?

"What sort of tales are these? To have captured your attention so? Are they written by some great author? A famous one?"

Yuan Qianlei giggled. "You can call him famous. Or infamous, if you prefer. He hasn't written any great poetry, or some earth-shaking histories. But his convoluted love stories and bizarre tales are immensely popular. At least among us senseless young girls, as they call us. His characters are all so romantic, you see."

"Oh? In that case, perhaps I should try one or two of his works, to improve my standing among our womenfolk. What is his name? Or should I say, his pen-name?"

Yuan Qianlei giggled again. "Oh, that is easy. He's the Jade-faced, Empty-sleeved Gentleman. He says he's called that because he is so poor, and needs to write those stories to make ends meet," she explained quickly, when she saw how Lin Liushui's face went dark.

But Du Yan only laughed, and pointed a finger at his Brother. "Ha ha ha. Now I know why you hate your nickname! Brother Liushui here has been called the Jade Faced Gentleman, when he was younger, and is famous by that name throughout the Yang Kingdom, to the East."

Yuan Qianlei's eyes went wide as she turned back to Lin Liushui, who quickly raised his hands to salute her. "No, no, no. You mustn't confuse me with that writer of yours. I am certainly not him! I have no skill at all at writing novels, and I certainly do not share his background. Besides, I have been whiling away my time, at the Duchy of the Westlands, so I can hardly have any leisure to write, can I?"

"That is true. And there has been three books released by the Jade-faced, Empty-sleeved Gentleman during this last year. So it cannot be you."

She said that with an almost despondent tone, that hinted at how much she adored the books that had been written by the same. Which prompted Qin Feng to ask if she had any with her. "I would dearly love to have a look at what sort of writing he does, to be able to enthrall so many young women," he told her, "Perhaps I can pick up some lessons from his works, so that I can enjoy such adoration as well."

Yuan Qianlei nodded gleefully, possibly at gaining another fan for her favorite author. But Du Yan looked at him a little strangely. "What is the matter with you, Brother Qin Feng? Are you coming down with something? I have never heard you speak so much, or so gently before. It is as though you're becoming another Lin Liushui."

Qin Feng snorted at that. But the damage was already done. Li Changhai's transformation from a gentleman to a coarse soldier was one thing. They knew that it was only to mask his presence in the group, and to make him seem like less of a threat to all the nobles in the nearby Shu Kingdom Capital. But no one could think of a reason why Qin Feng would do something similar. Albeit in the other direction.

"Oh, wait. It couldn't be, could it?"

Lin Liushui was suddenly animated again, as though he had recovered from hearing that awful nickname of his being bandied about. Perhaps he was glad that someone else had become the focus of the conversation? Or perhaps, he saw an opportunity to poke fun at Qin Feng?

As it turned out, it was both! "That young woman that you fought with, the one who accused you of taking advantage of her? She used a rather familiar tone when she was addressing you, and said a great many things that would have hurt her own reputation, while she was there in the Arena with you.

"Just as you were more eloquent when she was present. Your banter with her was almost like it was written in a book. In fact, it seemed inspired by that particular genre that you were talking about! As though you were inspired!

"Are you certain that you haven't any feelings for her? Is she why you've suddenly developed a taste for romantic novels?"

"What nonsense!"

But it was too late. Yuan Qianlei was already hooked on the idea, and the look on her face made it clear to Qin Feng that he had no escaping from it now!

"In that case, I will pass you my entire collection! So that you can have a wide range of tricks and ideas that you can use on her! I've only got three of them on me now, but when we get back to the Shu Capital, I can pass you everything in my possession. They are all at my house there!"

But Du Yan disagreed with the move. At least, with where they would be heading, when they left Ningfei Town. Indeed, it was a bit of a surprise, since this was the first time that any of the group had heard him being so firm with Yuan Qianlei.

"No. I don't think we should head there just yet. There is still something that I need to do. So let's head over to Chuanshui Town. I think its also time that I introduce my bride-to-be to my Patriarch."

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