Li Ji watched her limp, his thin lips curling into a faint smile.
To Hua Manman, that smile was filled with mockery.
’Damn it!’
’That bastard actually dared to laugh at me!’
Li Ji said, "You looked quite skilled on that horse. I thought you were an expert. How did you end up like this after riding for just a short while? You’re being awfully delicate."
Hua Manman forced a smile and said sarcastically.
"What can I say? When you have a princedom waiting to be inherited, you’re bound to be pampered."
She endured the pain and quickened her pace, trying to shake off the annoying man.
But Li Ji, like an unwanted ghost, stayed right behind her.
Li Ji said, "Men should be tempered through hardship. You rarely leave home, so you should seize this chance to toughen yourself up."
Hua Manman replied dismissively, "Mhm, mhm, I will."
Li Ji continued, "No time like the present. Let’s start tomorrow. From now on, no more carriages for you. You’ll ride a horse for the entire journey."
The terrible news sent a jolt through Hua Manman. As she stepped over the threshold, she tripped.
She pitched forward with momentum.
Just as her face was about to become intimately acquainted with the ground.
The man behind her shot out a hand and yanked her back by her topknot!
Hua Manman felt her scalp tighten.
It was followed by a sharp pain, as if her entire scalp was about to be ripped clean off.
...
Hua Manman’s topknot had come undone.
She was now squatting on the ground, hair disheveled, reaching a trembling hand to touch it.
And as she did, a small clump of hair came away in her hand.
Her eyes widened at the sight of the black hair in her palm. A wave of grief and indignation washed over her, and tears instantly streamed down her face.
’Waaaaah! My precious hair!’
’It’s Mommy’s fault, my darlings! Mommy failed to protect you!’
Li Ji stood nearby, watching her, speechless.
"It’s just a bit of hair. Do you really need to be this upset?"
Hua Manman looked up, indignant, and shouted agitatedly, "It’s *my* hair that got pulled out! Of course I’m sad!"
’Does he have any idea how important hair is to someone who’s constantly pulling all-nighters?’
’No! He doesn’t!’
’In this era without phones or computers, no one could possibly understand my sorrow.’
Quite a few people around them were staring.
Even the post station officials were hiding nearby, peeking out at the scene.
Everyone had been startled by the angry roar from the Heir of Prince Yu.
No one had ever dared to throw a tantrum at the Regent King.
The Heir of Prince Yu was so bold!
Given the Regent King’s nasty temper and his reputation for killing without batting an eye, he was sure to draw his sword and cut down the Heir of Prince Yu any second now.
Terrified, everyone was silently lighting a candle in their hearts for the Heir of Prince Yu.
Mr. Du recalled the instructions Prince Yu had given before their departure—
Prince Yu had told them to keep an eye on the Young Master and do their utmost to ensure his safety.
Mr. Du sighed. He truly hadn’t expected the Young Master to be such a troublemaker. The Young Master hadn’t known a moment of peace throughout the entire journey.
He had even specifically warned the Young Master never to provoke the Regent King.
And now, the Young Master was throwing a tantrum at the Regent King in front of everyone.
’He really has a death wish. No one can stop him!’
Just as Mr. Du was about to risk offending the Regent King to plead on the Young Master’s behalf, he saw the Regent King explaining to the Young Master in all seriousness.
"I only grabbed you to save you. If I hadn’t acted in time, you would’ve been lying there with your head split open."
Hua Manman was a mess of tears and snot.
"I didn’t ask you to save me!"
’I’d rather have cracked my head open than lose so much hair!’
’I’m still so young! I don’t want to go bald!’
Li Ji looked at her eyes, red from crying, and felt utterly exasperated.
’I was just trying to help. How did I end up being the bad guy?’
He frowned. "Can you please stop crying?"
Hua Manman threw a tantrum like a child, wailing unreasonably.
"I’m going to cry! I’m just going to cry, waaaah!"
Li Ji said, his face expressionless.
"If you stop crying, you can go back to riding in the carriage for the rest of the trip."
Hua Manman’s crying came to an abrupt stop.
She asked through her blurry, tear-filled eyes.
"Really?"
Li Ji: "Mm."
Hua Manman immediately shot to her feet, her tears giving way to a smile. "Then it’s a deal!"
Li Ji: "..."
’This woman’s mood changes far too quickly.’
’He even began to wonder if he’d been played.’
Amidst the stunned gazes of the crowd, Hua Manman wiped her tears and limped off toward the back courtyard.
Not until she and the Regent King were long gone did the crowd snap out of it.
They couldn’t believe it. The Regent King hadn’t drawn his sword to kill someone? The Young Master had actually escaped a disaster completely unscathed?
The whole farce had ended so... peacefully.
This wasn’t at all how they’d expected things to play out!
The crowd exchanged bewildered glances, completely baffled.
Since when had the Regent King become so merciful?
「In the bedchamber.」
Hua Manman solemnly burned the small clump of hair to ash, then buried it in a potted plant.
She pressed her palms together, bowed to the plant, and muttered an incantation.
"My precious darlings, may your spirits in the great beyond bless my remaining hair and make it grow back quickly."
Jiao Gui: "..."
She’d noticed that ever since the Young Master lost his memory, his personality had become increasingly erratic. He was always doing things that left one at a loss for whether to laugh or cry, just like an overgrown, naughty child.
Given the limited conditions, a full bath was out of the question.
Hua Manman could only give herself a simple wipe-down with hot water.
With no one else in the room, she decided to be lazy and skip the chest binding, slipping directly into her sleep robes.
The chest binding was just too uncomfortable; after wearing it for so long, she felt like her chest was being squeezed out of shape.
Jiao Gui, however, was worried.
"The Regent King is staying in the room right across from us. We have to be careful. You should still put on the binding."
Hua Manman retorted, "What, is he going to barge into my room in the middle of the night?"
With that, she flopped onto the bed, absolutely refusing to put the binding on.
Jiao Gui continued to persuade her earnestly.
"As the saying goes, ’It’s better to be safe than sorry.’
If your secret gets out, it’ll be considered deceiving the emperor.
It won’t just be you; the entire Yu Royal Mansion will be condemned.
If it’s really that uncomfortable, I can loosen it a bit for you. How about that?"
Jiao Gui’s nagging was making it impossible for Hua Manman to sleep, so she reluctantly gave in.
"Fine. Make it a little looser."
Jiao Gui quickly agreed, "Right away!"
She unfolded the linen strips and wrapped them around the Princely Heir’s chest, layer by layer.
She went easy on her this time, not wrapping the binding as tightly as usual.
Hua Manman was still uncomfortable, but at least it wasn’t so tight that she had trouble breathing, like it usually was.
The sleep robes were dark and cut loosely, so when she put them on, they mostly concealed the curves of her female figure.
As long as no one got too close for a careful look, her disguise was unlikely to be seen through.