Chapter 439 Selling Myself

Chapter 439: I Sell Myself

"You're the first person to say my pipa playing sounds good. They all say my music is terrible..."

Luo Jingshen said, "That's because you've never met a true connoisseur of your art like me. Those people simply don't know how to appreciate you, while I love the kind of music you play."

Miss Xuehua's cheeks flushed slightly from excitement. She subtly withdrew her hand from Luo Jingshen's and nonchalantly wiped it on her robes.

"Since Your Highness enjoys it, I'll play the pipa for you every day from now on."

Luo Jingshen: "..."

He wanted to say there was no need for such dedication.

However, seeing her stunningly beautiful face, all his words caught in his throat and he swallowed them back.

"Alright, as long as you want to play, I'll always be here to listen."

After saying this, he let out a light sigh and said rather helplessly, "But as you know, as the Crown Prince, I have a lot of state affairs to attend to. It's not like I can come to the Flower Mansion every day to hear you play."

"So, Miss Xuehua, would you be willing to come back to the Eastern Palace with me?"

Luo Jingshen had his own reasons for saying this.

It was because the moment Xuehua had approached him earlier, he had felt a surge of restless desire.

In that instant, he clearly felt that his manhood, which had been dormant for a long time, had awakened once again and reacted.

But the moment she moved away, the reaction vanished.

Luo Jingshen was astonished and deeply shaken. He had originally drunk the aphrodisiac wine that Ji Qingqing had brought, and then his manhood had gone limp because of the blast. These past two days, even the imperial physicians had been unable to cure him after examining his pulse.

They only told him to take care of his health, to refrain from carnal desires, and that it might recover on its own later.

But Luo Jingshen couldn't wait that long. This problem concerned his dignity as a man, as well as whether he could ascend to the throne and produce heirs in the future.

If it couldn't be cured, he would always have a lingering worry in his heart.

He had also tried being with his concubines, but there was no reaction.

Luo Jingshen couldn't help but begin to wonder—could it be that his concubines weren't beautiful enough, or that he had already grown bored with them?

So, was it because he had seen the stunningly beautiful Miss Xuehua that he had such a strong reaction?

Luo Jingshen looked at the woman before him, a determined glint flashing in his eyes.

He thought that if Xuehua refused to return to the Eastern Palace with him, he would take her by force.

In short, he was determined to have this woman!

Little did he know, all the subtle changes on his face had been seen clearly by Xuehua.

She curled her lips slightly. Being a man herself, she understood men very well. She could tell at a glance what Luo Jingshen was thinking.

So one Ji Qingqing was gone, and now he had his eyes on her?

Xuehua wanted to laugh, but she held back her laughter, because she was actually Hua Feixue in disguise.

Previously, when she was at the Marquis Yongning's residence, she rarely went out, and people outside the residence hadn't seen her.

Therefore, Hua Feixue wasn't worried about her identity being discovered.

And her appearance here wasn't a coincidence either—she had learned that Luo Jingshen was a regular patron here.

She knew well that he was impotent, so she had asked Ji Yuntang for a medicine that would cause him to have a brief physical reaction when she got close.

She did this for one simple reason: she wanted to get into the Eastern Palace.

And just as she had expected, Luo Jingshen had only been near her for a short while before he wanted to bring her back with him.

Hua Feixue sneered inwardly, but her face wore a look of great surprise.

She exclaimed, "Your Highness, what did you just say?"

Luo Jingshen's gaze was warm and tender. He knew that for an innocent girl like this, he needed to show great patience and care to win her over.

With that in mind, he said very seriously, "I said, I want to take you back and have you be my woman. Would Miss Xuehua be willing?"

"This..." A hint of hesitation was visible on Xuehua's face.

Luo Jingshen continued, "Don't worry, as long as you're willing to come with me, I will protect you for life. You don't want to stay in this pleasure house all day, do you?"

Xuehua's expression grew even more conflicted. "But I belong to the Flower Mansion. My contract is still with the madam. I can't decide on my own whether I can leave."

Luo Jingshen immediately said, "That's simple. The madam of the Flower Mansion is very familiar with me. As long as you're willing to come with me, I'll help buy out your contract for you."

Joy was visibly written on Xuehua's face. She pursed her lips and smiled lightly. "Then I thank Your Highness in advance!"

It wasn't until he learned the price of buying out her contract that Luo Jingshen was shocked.

"What? Miss Xuehua's contract costs fifty thousand taels of silver?"

The madam said, "Your Highness may not know this, but with Miss Xuehua's beauty and figure, many nobles in the capital are vying for her. Fifty thousand taels is already a bargain!"

Under normal circumstances, it really wasn't expensive.

But for Luo Jingshen at this moment, it was outrageously expensive.

Because of the lost betrothal gifts and the losses from his business, he felt for the first time that he had become so poor.

If he needed money urgently now, he might have to sell off some of his assets!

But unless absolutely necessary, he didn't want to take that step.

Seeing Luo Jingshen's hesitant expression, Xuehua looked at him with a look of disappointment on her face.

"Could it be that Your Highness's promise to buy out my contract was all a lie?"

Luo Jingshen's lips moved. "No, I didn't..."

Xuehua lowered her eyes, her expression sorrowful. "Forget it. Let's just pretend I never met Your Highness today!"

She turned to leave but was grabbed by the hand by Luo Jingshen.

"Miss Xuehua, give me three days. I will definitely gather the silver to buy out your contract."

On one hand, he couldn't bear the embarrassment of going back on his word.

On the other hand, he also wanted to cure his problem, and currently, only this woman before him could help him.

And most importantly, Snow was truly beautiful, and he liked her a lot.

What Luo Jingshen set his eyes on, he never failed to obtain.

A triumphant glint flashed in Hua Feixue's eyes, vanishing in an instant.

She looked up, her gaze sultry and inviting, and said to Luo Jingshen, "Alright, I'll be waiting for you."

After Luo Jingshen left, Hua Feixue turned to the Madam, her full red lips curling up as she gave her a playful wink.

"Ma, we had a deal—when the Prince comes to buy me out in three days, we split it down the middle."

"If you dare go back on your word, I'll burn this place to the ground."

The Madam: "..."

Her mouth twitched—she'd seen plenty of girls sold by their folks, but never one selling herself.

When Hua Feixue had first come to her door, she'd thought she'd struck gold!

But after a day together, she found out the girl couldn't do a damn thing—she just kept eating.

The Madam felt that if she let her keep eating like this, she'd soon be unable to afford to keep her, so she decided to put her to work entertaining guests.

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