Jiang Yu scoffed lightly.
He had never been interested in such matters.
"Your Majesty, have you ever seen Princess Yu Yin? She's an absolute stunner, as beautiful as a goddess."
Jiang Yu barely glanced up, unconcerned. "Never seen her."
One of the men laughed. "If she weren't so notoriously lazy, I would've gone to the Chen Prince Mansion to propose marriage long ago."
The group erupted in another round of laughter.
*
*
*
"Princess, is… is this really a good idea…?"
The little maid, Cui Sheng, said shyly, her fair little face flushing bright red.
"My, what a shy little thing you are." Shen Lang raised a long brow, pinching Cui Sheng's cheek.
Cui Sheng couldn't help but quietly clench her fists, her cheeks growing even redder.
It was impossible to say how much time passed before the torture finally ended.
"All right," Shen Lang said, stepping back and holding a mirror up to Cui Sheng. "Take a look."
The little maid in the mirror had been completely transformed into a man with darkened skin, thick eyebrows, and large eyes.
Shen Lang herself had also transformed into a large, brawny man, though her features were a bit more handsome.
"Princess, in this getup, where are we headed?"
"A brothel."
"A brothel!?"
"To have some fun."
"To have some fun!?"
Shen Lang rubbed her temples and started pulling her outside.
"What are you making such a fuss for? Show some decorum."
Cui Sheng's face was filled with terror. "Princess, if anyone finds out, it'll be a public scandal! It will ruin your reputation!"
"Your young master is about to be gone. What do I need a reputation for?"
"Young master?!"
Cui Sheng's eyes were as wide as saucers.
'The Princess is not herself today,' she thought. 'Not at all. It's as if she's been possessed by a demon.'
'Young master?! She's a pure, unmarried maiden! Where would she get a husband from?!'
"Prin-Princess… if the Prince finds out we went to a brothel, he'll break our legs…"
Shen Lang shot her a cool glance and posed a profound philosophical question.
"What's more important, love or your legs?"
After a long pause, the little maid squeezed out one word. "…Legs."
Shen Lang sneered and, without batting an eye, continued pulling the little maid over the wall. "Your future young master is fooling around in a brothel. We're going to catch him in the act."
The little maid's jaw dropped wide enough to fit an egg inside.
Before she could even process her very reasonable bewilderment, she was pulled over the wall.
Thankfully, Shen Lang was there to support her, so she didn't twist her ankle. She just broke her leg.
Shen Lang frowned slightly. "You're a bit too fragile."
Cui Sheng: …
"All right, you head back. I'll have my dad get a doctor to look at you. You don't need to follow me anymore."
Then, Cui Sheng could only watch as the "man" shot her a flirtatious smile before turning and walking away.
She was left behind, a mess of confusion in the wind.
Cui Sheng: …
'I'm pretty sure my Princess orchestrated this whole thing just to get rid of me,' she thought. 'But I have no proof.'
「Meanwhile, at the Drunken Dream Building.」
"This way, sir, please come inside…"
Shen Lang tossed a silver ingot to the woman clinging to her and slipped away toward a private room.
"Are you sure the male lead is in there?"
[Please do not question the System's abilities, Host.]
'I didn't actually want to come,' Shen Lang thought. 'I'd just fallen asleep when the System woke me with the urgency of a death sentence, acting as if the world would end if I didn't show up for a 'chance encounter' with the male lead tonight.'
To any onlookers, she just looked like a sleazy man lurking furtively outside a private room, clearly up to no good.
Shen Lang cleared her throat and suddenly bellowed toward the room, "Thief! Where do you think you're going—"