The Female Psychology PhD Who Time Traveled to the Royal Harem

Fifth Prince's indifferent attitude was quite hurtful to outsiders.

Yan Qingqing tugged at the third prince's sleeve: "Third Prince brother, don't be sad. It's not that Fifth Brother doesn't welcome you. It's... it's just that he doesn't like me."

The third princess was the "precious" younger sister to all the princes, of course, she had no intention of being jealous. She also cherished Minglan deeply.

She wanted to tell the third prince that it was because she had nearly hurt Minglan before that Fifth Prince didn't treat her well.

As soon as she finished speaking, Fifth Prince frowned and glared fiercely at the girl: "Shut up."

Yan Qingqing straightened up in fear, quickly saying: "Third Prince brother, I suddenly remember I have something to do. I'll get going first."

Before she even finished her last words, her figure had already disappeared behind the bushes in a blink.

The third prince laughed, sitting down beside Fifth Prince: "Do you fancy her?"

"Ho!"

The dark figure seemed to be stung by something, sitting up abruptly from the grassy ground. A suspicious blush appeared on his pale skin, he spat out the dandelion in his mouth, and his eyes darted around: "What... what are you talking nonsense about? Mind your own business!"

Due to being too flustered and excited, his words came out unclear.

"Alas..."

The third prince wasn't annoyed. Before him was a scene of spring flourishing, with the gurgling stream in the background. Lying here to bask in the sun was indeed a wonderful experience.

Occasionally, startled birds flew out in large numbers from the forest, likely due to the princes and their guards hunting.

Yan Qingqing pouted, feeling utterly disgruntled. She hadn't succeeded in flirting with the third prince, didn't get to eat roasted rabbit meat, and was inexplicably rebuked by Fifth Brother.

Why was she so unlucky?

She picked up a twig and swung it randomly in the air, as if treating the air as the fierce and terrifying Fifth Prince.

"Clop clop! Clop clop! Clop clop..."

The sound of hooves grew louder. Yan Qingqing turned her head and saw a young man with black clothes and hair riding towards her.

His slanted sword-like eyebrows, narrow and piercing eyes, and angular facial features all exuded an aura of not being easy to get along with.

The galloping steed whizzed past Yan Qingqing, raising dust that forced the girl to close her eyes.

"Swish—"

The sound of an arrow cutting through the air.

Fifth Prince's left ear twitched, and he kicked off the horse's back. Just as the arrow was about to pierce Yan Qingqing's back, the young man whirled like a whirlwind, sweeping her into his embrace and rolling on the ground several times before stopping.

Where Yan Qingqing had been standing, a plain black-feathered arrow was now embedded in the ground.

The sound of a horse team approaching rumbled closer. Everyone was hunting, and Yan Qingqing didn't even know where the arrow had come from.

But ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‍she knew that it was Fifth Prince who had saved her.

"Miss!"

Hong Guo cried out, rushing over belatedly to help her mistress: "Miss, are you alright?"

Fifth Prince stood up, revealing the terrified girl beneath him. His gaze towards the forest was dark and terrifying.

Yan Qingqing thought she was about to be scolded again. Assisted by Hong Guo, she dared not look Fifth Prince in the eye, murmuring: "Thank... thank you, Fifth Brother."

The feeling of fear washed over her, and her hands trembled at her sides.

She was really afraid of dying.

But to her surprise, Fifth Prince didn't reprimand her this time. Instead, he removed his cape, swirled it through the air in an elegant arc, and draped it over her slightly soiled dress: "Ride my horse and go back first."

In his eyes, Yan Qingqing saw danger.

Without any argument, she nodded, mounted his horse, and left with her maid.

As soon as she left, the Crown Prince's guard squad galloped out of the forest, led by Jing Fengjie, the second son of the third branch of the Jing family.

He was young, but of a higher generation. If you traced it carefully, the emperor's mother was Jing Fengjie's aunt, the emperor was his cousin, and even the crown prince had to address him as "Uncle."

The Jing family had regained the glory they had twenty years ago.

After all, they were the emperor's real maternal family, and in many matters, the emperor treated them with extra favor.

Jing Fengjie glanced at Fifth Prince but had no intention of dismounting. Instead, he sat on his horse, looking down on him: "Fifth Prince, just now, we saw a stray rabbit heading this way. Just as we were about to shoot it, it had seemingly escaped. Did Fifth Prince happen to see it?"

He was being deliberate!

Fifth Prince wasn't about to humor him, scoffing directly: "Can't even hunt a rabbit, and you have the audacity to ask me? How laughable."

"You..."

A guard behind Jing Fengjie couldn't stand it, angrily saying: "How dare you talk to our boss like that? Do you really think you're such a big deal? If it weren't for our Empress's benevolence, do you think a disgraced prince exiled by the emperor would get the chance to leave the imperial tomb?"

The Jing family was the emperor's real maternal family. Their boss's grandfather was the Crown Prince's tutor, and their boss himself was personally appointed by the emperor as a close guard of the crown prince.

What was the big deal about the Fifth Prince?

"Thwack!"

"Ugh..."

A stone bullet directly hit the guard's face, with Fifth Prince still wearing his uninterested face: "It's not your turn to bark here, you gatekeeper dog."

The guard was knocked off his horse, his teeth shattered, bleeding profusely.

The person who had shot the arrow was Jing Fengjie. The emperor's indulgence towards the Jing family was clear to Fifth Prince. Even if he pursued the matter, the emperor would turn a big issue into a small one.

He turned around, not wanting to get entangled with Jing Fengjie, such a cunning villain.

"Swish!"

The black feathered arrow shot straight towards Fifth Prince's hair bun. However, the young dark-clothed man leaned to the side, placing a hand on the ground and kicking the arrow with one foot. The arrow changed its direction, directly piercing the golden crown on Jing Fengjie's head.

"Pfft!"

Someone couldn't help but laugh out loud but then remembered they were on Jing Fengjie's side, forcing the laughter back down their throat.

As Jing Fengjie's expression broke apart, Fifth Prince shook his messy hair resulting from the movement, taking light steps to prepare for leaving.

"Shen Mingsheng, your abilities are not a match for your ambition. Stay away from Yan Qingqing, she can only be the Crown Princess."@@novelbin@@

If she wasn't to be the Crown Princess, marrying any other prince would result in the Jing family sending her to hell.

Fifth Prince's steps halted slightly, turning his head to glare at Jing Fengjie, but in the end, he bit back the not-so-civilized retort, leaving in silence.

"Boss..."

Jing Fengjie pulled out the arrow from his head, his face dark as he said, "The Crown Prince is too benevolent, which is why it feeds these people's ambitions. But it's fine, I am the Crown Prince's uncle. Anything he doesn't care about, I'll monitor for him, making sure none will threaten his position as the heir."

Fifth Prince was an adopted son of the former queen, though being "adopted," he still had many followers of the now-defunct Zhu family in the court. The sister of former queen's brother Zhu Qianyi, was in a political marriage with past courtesan, Consort Jiang Shu's relatives.

In recent years, their ties with Fifth Prince grew increasingly intense, making it necessary for the Jing family to be wary.

After all, the former Zhu family had notable cases of rebellion.