Hearing his words, Jiu Yue looked up in surprise.
"Mengwu Kingdom?"
Sima Qing beside her chimed in, "A small country southwest of Tianqi."
Jiu Yue gave Yue Ling a puzzled glance. "Who from Mengwu Kingdom is next door?"
Yue Ling made a disgusted face. "Who else? That stinky fatso!"
Jiu Yue: "..."
Just as Jiu Yue frowned, about to speak, the private room's door was suddenly kicked open.
A slightly plump girl stormed in furiously, grabbing Yue Ling by the ear and twisting hard.
"You bastard! Who are you calling a stinky fatso?!" The newcomer completely ignored everyone else in the room, dragging Yue Ling to the window and planting a foot on his backside with no courtesy whatsoever.
"I warned you last time—if I hear you insult me one more time, I'll break your legs!"
The situation unfolded abruptly. Aside from Yue Ling's attendants, who were now desperately pleading for mercy behind the girl, the others at the table hadn't even put down their chopsticks.
Sima Qing was still meticulously picking fish bones.
Mei Wuchang and Qiu Dongfang simply held their bowls, squatting on their chairs as they ate and watched.
Jiu Yue glanced outside the room—the girl's attendants hadn't barged in... and it seemed Yue Ling knew her well.
So she settled in comfortably to spectate.
"Who is she?" she whispered, leaning toward Sima Qing.
Without looking up, Sima Qing replied softly, "Probably the Second Princess of Mengwu Kingdom, Wu Ya."
No sooner had he spoken than Yue Ling's cursing erupted by the window.
"Break my legs? Try it! Hah!" Despite being pinned under Wu Ya's foot, Yue Ling refused to back down, sneering defiantly. "If you look like this, don’t blame others for saying it! What kind of logic is that?"
"This prince will say it anyway! Stinky fatso! Dead crow! Annoying ugly—" Yue Ling faltered for a second before correcting himself, "Annoying tomboy!"
"Ha! Fine! Let’s see how long that mouth of yours stays tough!"
Wu Ya had already started untying the whip at her waist.
Jiu Yue watched with quiet anticipation.
Mei Wuchang sneakily reached over to stuff a chicken leg into the pleading attendant's mouth.
The pleading attendant: "..."
Sima Qing placed the deboned fish into Jiu Yue's bowl. "Eat first. The food will get cold."
Jiu Yue hastily shoveled rice into her mouth.
The attendant beside them: "..."
Seriously?!
Who cares about cold food?! His Highness might be cold soon!
Qiu Dongfang pulled the attendant back and even added more food to his bowl.
"Don’t worry about your master’s affairs," he advised patiently. "Once they’re done fighting, they’ll stop."
The attendant grimaced. "You don’t understand—Princess Wu Ya and His Highness have a long-standing feud. If we don’t intervene, he’ll really be beaten to death..."
Mei Wuchang spat out a bone and couldn’t resist adding, "So what? Didn’t your prince insult her first?"
If he didn’t deserve a beating, who did?
Jiu Yue, still eating, murmured in agreement to Sima Qing, "Exactly. Some lessons only need to be taught once—pain is the best teacher."
The attendant was left speechless.
Meanwhile, Qiu Dongfang added, "Besides, your prince is highly skilled in martial arts, but did he even try to resist when the princess pinned him?"
The attendant froze, turning to look at Yue Ling, who was now being whipped against the window. A look of confusion crossed his face.
Right... why didn’t His Highness fight back...?
Qiu Dongfang patted him meaningfully. "Let’s not meddle in their business. Here, eat. The food’s getting cold—your prince paid for it, after all."
The attendant: "..."
The attendant was effortlessly led astray.
Yue Ling, who was simply too full to struggle and now gasping for air by the window: "..."
Are you kidding?! Did that damn Wu Ya even give him a chance to resist?!
These heartless people!!!
Jiu Yue had long realized this girl wasn’t unreasonable. From the moment she entered, she’d zeroed in on Yue Ling—even when his attendant tried to intervene, she paused mid-attack to politely ask him to step back to avoid accidental injury.
In this room, only Yue Ling suffered.
This was clearly a rational and formidable woman!
Jiu Yue felt a surge of admiration. Her gaze traveled from the whip up to Wu Ya’s face.
It was a strikingly beautiful face.
Every feature was vivid and bold, radiating confidence. Even if she was slightly plumper than most women, it didn’t detract from her charm.
No wonder Yue Ling had hesitated after starting to call her an "ugly freak"—she wasn’t ugly in the slightest!
Jiu Yue studied her for a while, finding her more and more... familiar?
She scratched her head, puzzled by the strange sense of recognition.
Sima Qing noticed her slowly setting down her chopsticks. "Finished?"
Jiu Yue snapped out of it, wiped her mouth, and nodded.
The three attendants were still making a last-ditch effort to mediate, so the two of them leaned back in their chairs, calmly watching Yue Ling’s self-inflicted torment—still yapping despite the whipping.
"Ow—damn crow! Go ahead, kill me today!"
"Dream on! This princess will tie you up and drag you through the streets to humiliate you!"
"Ah—you wouldn’t dare! That’ll just make me hate you even more!"
"Oh, how terrifying... Hah! You loudmouthed fool, take this!"
"Ouch! Fatso fatso fatso! You followed me here on purpose, didn’t you? Give it up! No matter how much you pester me, I’ll never marry you—OW OW OW! Wu Ya! Let go!!"
Jiu Yue had been silently cheering for the fierce princess, but Yue Ling’s last words stunned her.
Marry?
She froze, instinctively looking at Princess Wu Ya.
Wu Ya’s furious expression had cooled, but her eyes burned with something deeper.
She was truly enraged now.
She hated nothing more than Yue Ling bringing this up!
Now twisting his ear with enough force to lift him off the ground, Wu Ya met his gaze with icy disdain. Yue Ling’s heart skipped a beat.
"Yue Ling," she said coldly. "This is the last time."
"If you mention that again..." Wu Ya took a deep breath and turned away sharply. "I’ll have my elder brother kill you."
"You deserve it."
