Pampered Consort of the Fragrant Orchard Chapter 091.3: The Annoying Prince Ren (3)

The first round of the competition was on musical skill. There were a total of 20 people who signed up for the competition. The competition was split into two rounds. The first round required the participants to perform an assigned tune, with a different one for each of the instruments: the zither, vertical end-blown flute, bamboo flute
, and so on. The participants would be given points according to the judge’s evaluations, sending the top 10 placings through to the finals. The theme for the finals was self-selection. The participants were required to perform tunes they were confident in, and they would be judged on how emotionally stirring their performances were.
The calligraphy and painting competitions were held on the same day, starting with calligraphy. Every participant was required to finish a piece on the spot, which would be judged at the end of the round.
This was the same for the painting competition. The participants would be given a specific topic and allowed to complete their artwork in accordance with their own interpretations. They would also be judged at the end of the round.
These three competitions would last a total of two days. The Go competition was also occurring simultaneously during this time. Furthermore, it was held on the same competition grounds with all that noise. One could immediately tell that this competition not only tested one’s skill at Go but also one’s ability to focus!
As for the other competitions, Du Xiaoli didn’t pay much attention to them, as Du Xiuheng had only participated in the Go competition. Although she was somewhat knowledgeable about the game, she wasn’t able to see anything from such a far distance. This bored her, resulting in her return to her residence to rest.
Although it had only been a short three or four days since that day when she left Phoenix City, she nevertheless felt that the time had gone by quite slowly. This might have been due to the many things she had experienced through this period of time. Now, with the competition going on and Du Yunhan keeping watch, Du Xiaoli ran back to her room and leisurely proceeded to sleep for a long time. She did so all the way till midday when Xia Yuan called her to wake up and have lunch.
The sunlight streaming down in a mid-autumn day was still warm and genial as Du Xiaoli steeped a pot of tea for herself. Sitting by the window, she gazed at the fallen leaves in the courtyard before taking up a book to read. Her entire being was filled with satisfaction.
If she could just keep passing the time in such a leisurely manner and get away from her chaotic life, her afternoon would definitely be a splendid one. Nevertheless, it was a pity that her wonderful mood vanished into thin air thanks to the appearance of an uninvited guest.
“Your Highness Prince Ren, voyeurism isn’t something a prince should engage in.”
Just as Du Xiaoli’s voice rang out, Han Minghong revealed himself from behind the big tree present in the courtyard. Looking at Du Xiaoli’s appearance through the window, a series of ripples surfaced in his heart. He said, “Your martial arts are indeed at a very high level. You’re actually able to discover This Prince from that far away.”
Hearing his words, Du Xiaoli’s expression instantly sank as she replied, “What do you mean, Your Highness Prince Ren?”
Han Minghong walked over and stopped to stand by the windowsill with what he thought to be a beguiling smile. He said, “Being that intelligent, don’t tell me that you don’t know what This Prince is talking about, Xiaoli?”
When Du Xiaoli heard the prince call her ‘Xiaoli’, a frown appeared on her. She replied annoyedly, “Your Highness Prince Ren, I remember that saying this before. I, Xiaoli, am still an unmarried girl, so please do address me as Miss Du or Du Xiaoli. Furthermore, I’m in fact very dull, so I do not understand what Prince Ren is talking about.”
“Xiaoli, do you really want This Prince to speak openly about it all? Then do you wish to hear about the matter of you leaving the city, or do you wish to hear about the matter of you using Sound Arts to kill people?” Han Minghong persisted in addressing her as Xiaoli, pretending as though he did not hear her protests at all.
“Were you the one who sent those people? Do you wish to kill me?” As a prince, it was within Han Minghong’s power to dispatch the Royal Family’s guards.
Seeing the cold and indifferent look coming from Du Xiaoli, Han Minghong wore a seemingly hurt expression on his face as he replied: “How could you imagine This Prince to be like that, Xiaoli? This Prince is still waiting impatiently to spend eternity with you! How could I ever want to hurt you?!”
Du Xiaoli immediately felt goosebumps crawl all over her entire body. This person’s words were too disgusting! In fact, she was really worried that she would throw up the food she ate for lunch after hearing them!
“If it wasn’t you, how would you know about my matters? You can’t possibly have simply walked past and just happened to see me kill people, right? Instead of helping me when you saw the grave situation I was in, you’re now attempting to threaten me?”
“How could This Prince not do anything upon seeing that you’re in danger? However…” Han Minghong attempted to explain, but he gave it a second thought. If he were to explain precisely what happened, wouldn’t he be revealing his plan to capture her?
Seeing Han Minghong’s shift in expression, Du Xiaoli immediately guessed what he was about to say and replied, “However...? However, you sent people to follow me?”
Seeing Du Xiaoli get furious, Han Minghong proceeded to explain: “This Prince only wishes for you to be a guest at This Prince’s place and to take a look at This Prince’s residence. In the future, you will be This Prince’s royal consort, so it will be good to familiarize yourself beforehand.”
Du Xiao Li picked up on Han Mingong's euphemisms about his plan to capture and spirit her away to his residence. He had sent people to follow her, and they had coincidentally witnessed her using Sound Arts to kill people.
“Your Highness Prince Ren, you are graceful and elegant, young and promising, widely read and knowledgeable, and the girls that love you can form a line all the way from the eastern to the western edges of Phoenix City. Perhaps it will be the young lady of a family in the east or the noble and wealthy daughter of a family in the west that will be Your Highness’ royal consort. Regardless, it will never ever be me, Du Xiaoli. So, Your Highness Prince Ren, please do not mention anything of me being Your Highness’ royal consort in the future. After all, in about a year’s time, I will be Princess Consort Ding in about a year—Your Highness Prince Ren’s younger sister-in-law.”
“This Prince doesn't want you to be This Prince’s younger sister-in-law. I want you to be my royal consort!” Han Minghong roared. In a moment of emotional intensity, he even changed the way he addressed himself.
“This is a decree from the emperor. Could it be that Your Highness Prince Ren’s intentions take precedence to the emperor’s?” Du Xiaoli asked in a ridiculing tone.
“What about the emperor? If This Prince wishes for it, I can become the emperor at any time. If you are willing, I can allow you to be this country’s empress,” Han Minghong replied arrogantly.
Du Xiaoli felt that the man standing before her had definitely been struck by mythomania and was living in his own world. It seemed he felt as though everyone in the world was like whatever he thought of them. If he wanted to become the emperor, then he would be able to do so. If he wanted to marry Du Xiaoli, then he would just be able to do so.
In actuality, he was the only foolish one!References 1. — Guqin (zither): Dongxiao (vertical end-blown flute): Dizi (bamboo flute) MoonWhisperer, frozenfirez's Thoughts

Hi everyone, due to changes in circumstances, we have unfortunately been asked to reduce the release rate to 1-2 per week.
As such, we will no longer be releasing bonus chapters for donations. We will still release bonus chapters for the donations given to us prior to today when we can, but that will be it.
Any support you can give us is still greatly appreciated though!
So if you want to support the team, please donate .
--
If there are any major inconsistencies between the old releases and our new ones, please point them out for us, thank you!
Join our for more announcement and release updates~ We won't bite~