The Side Character Wants to Lie Flat

Mr. Du, who was in the middle of rubbing his stomach, heard the nickname. The expression on his face instantly became priceless.

It wasn’t just him; everyone else around them also had strange looks on their faces.

To think that the dignified young prince of the Regent Prince Mansion would have a nickname like Gou Dan.

Li Xun paid no mind to the odd stares from those around him.

He stared at his mother without blinking, his heart racing with anxiety.

’Why is Mother here?’

’Was she kidnapped by these scoundrels, too?’

’Father actually failed to protect her!’

’Useless Father!’

Mr. Du shot Ban Ren a look.

Ban Ren understood immediately. He grabbed Li Xun and hauled him back.

It was no use, no matter how much Hua Manman screamed.

Soon, Li Xun was thrown back into the carriage at the rear.

The boy was simply too much trouble. Ever since his capture, he had been constantly stirring things up. He had even nearly escaped on one occasion.

To prevent any further complications, Ban Ren ripped the cloth gag from Li Xun’s mouth, forced it open, and poured in some medicinal powder. Then, he grabbed a waterskin and forced two gulps of water down his throat.

The water and powder mixture flowed down Li Xun’s esophagus.

He coughed desperately, trying to spit it out.

But it was no use.

The powder took effect quickly. He felt dizzy, his vision blurred, and his limbs grew weak. He no longer had the strength to struggle.

The convoy started moving again.

Mr. Du spoke to Hua Manman, still rubbing his aching abdomen.

"You saw the young prince just now. He’s safe and sound, so you can rest easy."

How could Hua Manman possibly rest easy?!

She said desperately, "Li Xun is just a child! He doesn’t know anything. If you want something, come after me. Let him go!"

Mr. Du said, "Apologies, but we still have a use for him. We can’t let him go just yet."

Hua Manman yelled, "You promised me! You said if I came with you, you would let Li Xun go!"

"No," Mr. Du corrected. "We promised we wouldn’t harm Li Xun. We never said we would release him."

Hua Manman was furious.

"You tricked me!"

The more agitated she became, the calmer Mr. Du appeared.

He even seemed to be in the mood for small talk.

"I don’t quite understand why you’re so concerned about Li Xun. Surely you haven’t started to think of yourself as his real mother, have you?"

Hua Manman didn’t answer the question.

She forced herself to calm down.

’In a dangerous situation like this, I can’t afford to panic.’

Hua Manman thought about the current situation at the Yu Royal Mansion and Mr. Du’s earlier attitude.

She started to probe him.

"You went to all this trouble to capture me because you want me to continue acting as the Heir of Prince Yu, correct?"

Unexpectedly, Mr. Du admitted it with surprising frankness.

"Correct."

’So what if this woman before me isn’t the real Lu Man?’

’As long as she can continue to live as Lu Man, no one will ever know the truth of Lu Man’s death.’

’The Yu Royal Mansion will have a successor, and all our problems will be solved.’

Hua Manman retorted, "The Regent King already knows my real identity. Aren’t you afraid he’ll charge you with the crime of deceiving the sovereign?"

Mr. Du replied calmly, "As long as we have you and the young prince, the Regent King won’t dare to move against us."

Hua Manman was left speechless.

They could attack or defend from their current position. It was a brilliant move.

Seeing her at a loss for words, a smile returned to Mr. Du’s face.

"I gave you a choice before, but you were the one who gave it up. We had no choice. When the soft approach fails, we must resort to a hard one. I hope the Young Master can forgive me."

Unwilling to give up, Hua Manman pressed on.

"You probably don’t know this, but Prince Yu is gravely ill. The Yu Royal Mansion must be in chaos by now. Even if you take me back, no one will acknowledge my status as the Princely Heir."

At her words, Mr. Du didn’t argue. He simply gave a meaningful smile.

He too had received news of Prince Yu’s grave illness. He knew the prince might not live much longer.

And that was precisely why he was even more determined to take Hua Manman back.

Outsiders didn’t know Hua Manman’s true identity; they only thought she was the Princely Heir of the Yu Royal Mansion.

As long as Mr. Du could get her back, she would be the legitimate heir to the title.

Even if some people objected, he could find ways to silence the opposition.

Once Hua Manman actually inherited the title, Mr. Du could control her, and by extension, the entire Yu Royal Mansion.

Then, he would become the true master of the Yu Royal Mansion.

His smile made Hua Manman’s skin crawl. Her intuition told her he was definitely up to no good.

「They traveled nonstop for three days.」

The people could barely endure, but the horses were utterly exhausted and could go no further.

As dusk fell, Mr. Du ordered everyone to stop and rest for the night.

Hua Manman was still confined to the carriage. Even her excuse of needing to relieve herself was denied.

Jiao Gui, her attendant, simply brought over a chamber pot and helped Hua Manman up so she could relieve herself inside the carriage.

Facing Hua Manman, Jiao Gui opened her mouth to speak several times, but in the end, she said nothing.

Hua Manman pretended not to notice her hesitation.

They were on opposing sides; naturally, there was nothing for them to talk about.

As the night grew deeper, most of the group was resting. Only a small contingent of the Yu Royal Mansion’s Royal Guard remained awake, standing watch against a surprise attack.

Suddenly, the Royal Guard on lookout duty came running back.

He shouted as he ran.

"We have pursuers!"

Hua Manman, who hadn’t been sleeping, immediately sat bolt upright and peered out the carriage window.

All of the Yu Royal Mansion’s men had sprung into action.

Mounted on his horse, Mr. Du ordered them to move out at once!

The group hastily set off at a run.

Hua Manman stuck her head out the window, straining to look back and see who was pursuing them.

But behind her were only the Royal Guards of the Yu Royal Mansion, galloping furiously.

The distance beyond them was shrouded in pitch-black darkness, and she couldn’t see a thing.

Hua Manman’s heart pounded in her chest.

’Could the Regent King have caught up to us?’

Although they were moving as fast as they could, they were slowed by carriages and baggage, making them far slower than the pursuing troops.

As the pursuers drew ever closer, Mr. Du made a ruthless decision: he would sacrifice his men to save the mission.

He ordered the main convoy to continue along the road while he and Ban Ren took Hua Manman and Li Xun and disappeared into the dense mountain forest.

Hua Manman struggled to look back.

The night was vast and dark, and she was already some distance away.

She couldn’t make out who the pursuers were.

All she could see was the glow of firelight.

There were so many torches, it had to be several thousand men at least.

The points of firelight were arranged in neat rows, looking like a long, fiery dragon soaring through the night from a distance.

The thunder of hooves grew louder.

It seemed that if she could just wait a moment longer, she would be able to make out the face of the leader.

But Mr. Du gave a sudden, hard yank, causing her to stumble.

She was forced to run after him, deeper into the forest.