Volume 1, Chapter 53: The Princess Had a Spring Dream Last Night!

"Oh, well, everything has a first time. Just think of it as... well, broadening your horizons."

Looking at the deep flush spreading across Zhu Yourong's face, Jiang Lin felt a bit embarrassed and awkwardly scraped together an excuse.

Zhu Yourong cast a coquettish, reproachful glance at him before lowering her head to continue eating her breakfast.

In truth, she wasn't all that angry about what had happened. In fact, she rather agreed with Jiang Lin's earlier words; her feelings were mostly just a tangle of awkwardness and shyness.

She had tossed and turned all night, unable to fall asleep.

Every time she closed her eyes, her mind was flooded with scenes from that "educational material."

In the end, sheer exhaustion must have finally overtaken her, letting her drift off without realizing it.

What drove Zhu Yourong to the brink of a breakdown, however, was that she had actually had a dream last night.

The setting of the dream was straight out of the educational material she had watched.

Except that the male and female protagonists had inexplicably been replaced by herself and Jiang Lin.

Recalling those scandalous images made Zhu Yourong feel as though her face was burning up.

Deep down, a faint sense of guilt was gnawing at her!

There was no helping it; this stemmed from the conservative, traditional upbringing she had received since childhood, which left her with a subconscious conviction that such behavior was wrong.

Gazing at the culprit sitting before her, who was eating with obvious relish, a flicker of irritation stirred in her chest.

Hmph!

This hateful fellow!

You truly can know a man's face without knowing his heart!

Last night in her dream... he had actually toyed with her like that!

Oh dear!

How mortifying, how utterly mortifying!

The mere thought of last night's dream filled Zhu Yourong's face with a vivid crimson glow.

Beneath the dining table, she instinctively raised her leg and kicked Jiang Lin.

Jiang Lin: ???

Having been kicked for no apparent reason, Jiang Lin raised his head and looked at Zhu Yourong with a puzzled expression, asking, "Why did you kick me?"

"Um..." Zhu Yourong was momentarily at a loss for words. Just then, her ears caught a faint, bustling commotion from outside.

She quickly blurted out, "I-I just wanted to remind you, there seems to be some movement outside! Someone must be coming!"

Tap, tap, tap!

Jiang Lin turned his head toward the door and indeed heard a knock echoing from outside.

"It seems your father, along with your eldest and fourth brothers, are here again."

With that, he stood up and walked toward the doorway, where he was greeted by a large group of people.

Aside from a few familiar faces, standing beside Zhu Yuanzhang were two robust, elderly men, while beside Zhu Di stood two strikingly similar young women.

Upon catching sight of the two girls, Zhu Yourong hurried over immediately, calling out with excitement and delight:

"Hey! Sister Miaoyun, Miaoqing, you're here?"

"Wow~ Yourong, this outfit you're wearing is so pretty." Xu Miaoqing's eyes lit up the moment she saw the lovely little dress Zhu Yourong had on.

Zhu Yourong was thoroughly pleased by the compliment. "Jiang Lin gave this to me. He said it's the kind of dress women wear in future generations."

As she spoke, she gave a little twirl, proudly showcasing the dress she wore.

A hint of envy flashed in Xu Miaoqing's eyes; it was hard for any young girl to resist such beautiful things.

By comparison, the attire worn by the two sisters seemed somewhat lackluster.

Xu Mia云 looked Zhu Yourong over for a moment, then smiled and said, "Yourong's skin seems to have improved a lot, too. You look completely different."

"Could this have something to do with Jiang Lin nourishing you?"

"Sister Miaoyun~"

Zhu Yourong naturally understood what Xu Miaoyun was implying and instantly blushed crimson.

Xu Miaoqing exclaimed in surprise, "Don't tell me—it really is different! I thought I was just imagining it, but you've genuinely grown even prettier!"

"Exactly, exactly! That was the very first thought I had when I looked at Yourong just now!" Xu Mia云 nodded repeatedly.

Zhu Yourong's delicate face was flushed pink as she whispered, "Really?"

Unconvinced even as she spoke, she pulled out a small mirror to check her reflection.

When speaking of changes, the most direct manifestation was undoubtedly how much better her skin had become.

Her complexion had already been exceptional to begin with, but now it was so flawless it defied description, radiating a natural, ethereal glow.

"Hehe! I owe it all to Jiang Lin!" Zhu Yourong said, delighted.

Then, seeming to realize something, she quickly added, "I meant the skincare products."

"What are skincare products?" Xu Miaoyun and Xu Miaoqing asked in unison.

Zhu Yourong explained, "According to Jiang Lin, they're what women in future generations use to protect their skin."

"How should I describe it? The color is pearly white, and it feels all sticky when you touch it!"

Though Xu Miaoyun was already a married woman, hearing Zhu Yourong's description brought a sudden, embarrassed blush to her cheeks.

This skincare product...

She seemed to have seen it among Zhu Di's belongings before...

"Sister, why is your face red?" Xu Miaoqing asked, puzzled.

Xu Miaoyun kept her blushing face averted as she replied, "You'll understand when you're older and married!"

She then turned her gaze back to Zhu Yourong and bantered,

"I didn't expect the two of you to progress quite this fast. Prince Yan and I didn't start trying until three months after our wedding..."

"As expected of someone from future generations!"

Realizing that Xu Miaoyun had misunderstood, Zhu Yourong bolted back into the room, determined to fetch the skincare products and prove her innocence.

At that moment, Zhu Yuanzhang reached out, pointed ahead toward Jiang Lin, and introduced him to the two elderly men standing by his side.

"Old Tang, Old Xu, let me introduce you. This is the man from future generations you were talking about yesterday, hailing from a world over six hundred years in the future."

"Well? Isn't he handsome?" old Zhu whispered into Xu Da's ear.

Before Xu Da could even nod, old Zhu wore a proud expression and added, "Too late for you now, though—I've already staked my claim on this son-in-law."