Gifted Bride of the Sinned Prince

592 To get rid of this marriage [Bonus chapter]

Lin Jiao picked up the tiny jar of rice wine and looked outside the window of the restaurant. Ye Xin was seated next to her and saw a young nobleman passing by with some of his friends.

“Look at the man in the middle. He looks so handsome,” Ye Xin said and hit Lin Jiao’s arm with her shoulder.

“Ye Xin, I have no interest in checking out the men. I am doomed,” Lin Jiao muttered and caught her head.

“You are taking way too much stress, Lin Jiao,” Ye Xin said and told her that the Fourth Prince must be kidding with her.

“He was not,” Lin Jiao said and lowered her hands.

“Aish! That young man has gone from my sight,” Ye Xin said and finally turned to look at her friend. She picked up the porcelain wine jar and found out it was empty.

“You emptied it already?” Ye Xin exclaimed and plonked it on the table.

“Because I am stuck. I need to calm my mind to think of a way to get rid of this marriage,” Lin Jiao asserted.

“But you are not married yet,” Ye Xin said.

.....

“I may soon if I did not find a way,” Lin Jiao stated.

“Why don’t you lie to the Fourth Prince that you have a lover? When he learns about that from you, he surely will run away from you,” Ye Xin suggested to her.

“And from where I will bring that fake lover?” Lin Jiao inquired.

“Bai Jue,” Ye Xin opined.

“No.” Lin Jiao slammed her hand on the table. The customers present in the restaurant looked in her direction and bit her bottom lip. “Don’t you know how annoying he is? I will die rather than take his help. I need to do something else so that Prince Mingquan will step back from the marriage,” Lin Jiao stated and closed her eyes. She placed her fingers on the temples of her forehead and tried to think of a way.

“You can trouble the Fourth Prince. Do the things which anger the Fourth Prince,” Ye Xin gave her another suggestion and picked up the snack to eat.

“You are right,” Lin Jiao accepted the suggestion of her friend immediately. “I am good at troubling people,” she said with a smirk.

“But if I would have been at your place, I had married the Fourth Prince,” Ye Xin stated.

“Why?” Lin Jiao asked with a chuckle.

“Because he is the prince. Ask anyone in the kingdom. Women die to get such proposals from royalty. Moreover, the Fourth Prince is such a gentle person. I heard his eyes are like lotus petals and his smile can melt anyone’s heart.” Ye Xin brought her hands to her chest and joined them.

Lin Jiao flicked her fingers at the center of LYe Xin’s forehead, who let out a low scream.

“Handsome men are a weakness of any woman. You cannot deny this fact, Lin Jiao,” Ye Xin stated and picked up the dumpling from the plate.

“He is not handsome at all. Ye Xin, he is of a sharp mind. Behind that sweet smile, some evil intentions must be hiding,” Lin Jiao muttered and picked up the dumpling from the chopstick. She took a bite when she saw Mingquan stepping out of the carriage.

She immediately turned her head away and put it down on the table.

“What happened? Did Bai Jue appear again?” Ye Xin asked and looked outside.

Lin Jiao placed the half-eaten dumpling on the plate.

“It is the Fourth Prince,” Ye Xin said with excitement. “Your soon-to-be husband is here. Should I call the Prince here?” Ye Xin teased Lin Jiao, who scowled at her and then pulled her down.

“Shut your mouth. I will kill you if you try to call him here,” Lin Jiao stated.

“Okay, I understand,” Ye Xin said. Lin Jiao lifted her head a little and peeked out of the window. Ye Xin did the same and said, “It seems the Prince has come for some work in the market.”

“What it could be?” Lin Jiao murmured and saw Mingquan going ahead.

“Only the Fourth Prince knows,” Ye Xin said.

Lin Jiao quickly took out five teals from her pocket and placed them on the table. “Ye Xin, I will see you later. Pay at the counter for the food and wine,” Lin Jiao said and ran out of the restaurant.

Lin Jiao remained ten meters away from Xiaoming and the two other officials with him. “He is roaming so openly in the market without any fear,” she murmured.

Lin Jiao stopped when she saw he had halted outside a big bookstore in the capital. Mingquan walked inside the bookstore. Lin Jiao ran there and ascended the stairs. She peeked inside the door and saw many noblemen and even a few women purchasing books.

She walked in and looked around, trying to find where Mingquan was. She roamed the entire first floor but did not see him.

The bookstore was a four-storey structure and she decided to walk to the second floor. “Where did he go?” she murmured when the owner of the bookstore rushed past her.

“Come quickly. The Fourth Prince is on the fourth floor.” Lin Jiao heard the owner telling the servant, who was behind with a tray in his hand. She smiled and walked behind them.

When she reached the third floor, she got to see Mingquan. He was scolding some people and the voice was not quite audible to her. She walked after the two scholars dressed in white and then stayed behind a shelf. She took out a book and flipped some pages while hearing out Mingquan.

“Bojiu, you will be investigated by the justice department officials,” Mingquan said. Lin Jiao saw the owner was on his knees, asking to forgive him.

“Why is he abusing his power on the owner?” She mumbled when her eyes met Mingquan. She promptly got down to her knees.

“Did he see me?” She muttered and gulped.

Lin Jiao placed the book on the lower shelf and decided to leave from the other side before Mingquan would catch her. She slowly moved forward and then rose to her feet before running away from there.