Chapter 540.1: Asking For Her Hand III

Zhou Meng was equally startled, but his heart surged not so much with fear, but a fierce possessiveness. He’d come to a deep-seated realization the moment he’d laid eyes on this woman that he’d completely squandered the past decades of his life!

Though he possessed many women, they were all trite trollops who didn't hold a candle to this unyielding camellia of blazing beauty and talent.

Ten thousand of those other run-of-the-mill women paled in comparison to this one before him. Like a prized possession or a good book, she enticed one to continuously caress and savor her. The more one meticulously understood her, the harder it was to hide the infatuation in their heart. Every encounter left him with a maddening tingle inside.

This woman—he was determined to obtain her!

Zhou Meng stood with his hands clasped behind his back, displaying a dominance that he had never shown Qin Yining before. "The banquet will begin shortly. Miss Pang should walk with this prince now."

The surrounding soldiers raised their weapons as soon as he finished speaking, their cold glint directed at the grim Minuo tribesmen.

Qin Yining didn’t stand down in the slightest, fixing the eyes of a hungry tiger on Zhou Meng. She couldn't help chuckle sarcastically, "To see someone invite guests in such a manner is a first for me."

This prince didn’t seem like he was holding a dinner party in celebration of new life; rather, it appeared as if he were declaring war.

"The prince was speaking pleasantly just this afternoon," Lu Heng chimed in. "Why the sudden change in demeanor? I’d thought the prince to be an enthusiastic and considerate individual whom I sincerely wished to befriend, so I find myself rather disappointed at the present."

Zhou Meng felt quite unsettled by this.

At first, he’d treated Qin Yining with gentle regard because he wished to win the beauty over, and since he’d arranged for her to be cared for in the palace, there was no escaping from him.

But look at how things were going now: the beauty had been bullied by a few of those foolish harlots and took the opportunity to leave the palace. He’d regretted her leave the moment he granted it—what if these people fled in the dead of the night?

If something like that truly happened, didn’t that mean he would lose the provisions and the pretty lady? If that were the case, he might as well have struck first to gain the upper hand. The rest could wait after he had her for himself!

"Of course not," replied Lu Heng. "If we didn’t trust the prince, we would have long since taken our leave. Why would we have befriended the prince with such sincerity instead?"

Zhou Meng gave a cold laugh—take their leave? He quite wanted to see if anyone could leave this no-man's land alive! If the Xiyue couldn't escape the vast desert after a century of trying, it was impossible for these people to do that!

Qin Yining studied the prince's expression. Combined with how he had the Minuo tribe surrounded by his soldiers today, she had a good sense of what he was thinking. The situation was developing in a direction she wished least to see, and it was her mistake for eliciting this pervert's predatory side.

Seeing Qin Yining's brows slightly scrunched together with a worried look in her eyes, Lu Heng was beside himself with anxiety and wished even less for her to attend this red wedding of ulterior motives.

Before he could respond, however, Qin Yining beat him to it. "Didn’t you say there is to be a banquet? Let us go."

She then called for Uncle Alham, Surnaa, and Ulan. "I am allowed to bring servants and maids with me to the banquet, correct?"

Since he was forcing a young lady at swordpoint to attend a banquet in public view, Zhou Meng felt it would further reflect badly upon him if he didn't even permit her to bring a guard and two maids.

"Naturally, yes," he replied in a magnanimous manner. "There is no request Miss Pang can make that would be inappropriate." The favor in his voice made it seem like Qin Yining was a one-of-a-kind treasure.

Regardless of how the others perceived them, Lu Heng, Alham and everyone else who understood what Zhou Meng said shuddered in contempt.

Lu Heng helped Qin Yining put on her hat.

"You must be careful," he murmured. Though he dearly wished to accompany her, that would leave the Minuo leaderless like a pile of loose sand without anyone to come up with a plan, should anything happen.

Qin Yining dimpled. "Worry not, things will be fine. I will make ensuring my safety a priority."

"So you say, but who doesn't know how obstinate you are?" Lu Heng sighed.

So obstinate that she was willing to throw her life away! She was so unyielding, yet his heart ached for her all the same.

Qin Yining smiled in a comforting manner, then called Alham, Surnaa and Ulan to walk with her to Zhou Meng.

The Xiyue soldiers surrounding the Minuo promptly stepped aside, parting for Qin Yining just as the sea once did for Moses.

Zhou Meng's dark eyes looked deeply at Qin Yining, barely able to conceal the anticipation blazing in his eyes. After clearing his throat, he announced in a hoarse voice, "Let us go."

Qin Yining nodded and followed behind him.

After they left, the Xiyue troops reassembled around the tribe instead of stepping down.