Chapter 147 Their Original Plan

"Such a terrible thing has happened. I and Yan'er have been so badly frightened, and some people have almost lost their lives. Shouldn't this be investigated?"

Su Lilu crossed her arms over her chest, looking at Prince Xiao and the Second Princess with a playful gaze.

"You've been frightened, I'll compensate you with some silver and jewelry, just don't complain to the Emperor."

The second princess spoke first, albeit awkwardly.

She was very unwilling, but this was better than complaining to the emperor.

"Father is busy with state affairs every day. We can handle this kind of thing ourselves. We don't need to trouble Father."

Prince Xiao then made up an excuse.

"Oh, you'll handle it yourself? How does Prince Xiao intend to resolve this? Shouldn't you thoroughly investigate where the tiger came from? What if someone deliberately harmed someone?"

Su Liluo watched as Xiao Wang asked several questions in succession.

King Xiao's expression was displeased, and his hands clenched tightly beneath his wide sleeves.

How could Yan'er have such a troublesome Crown Princess friend?

He pursed his lips and remained silent for a moment before saying, "I will send people to investigate this matter. In any case, it is the people of my Xiao Prince's Mansion who are injured. As for the shock suffered by the Crown Princess, the Second Princess will compensate you."

The implication was that the Crown Princess should not meddle in other people's business.

Su Liluo naturally understood, but she didn't refute it anymore because she didn't actually intend to complain to Emperor Wenjian.

Prince Xiao and the Second Princess are both the Emperor's children. Even if it is found that they were the ones who did it, they will find a reason, and the Emperor will naturally favor them to save face.

The reason he said that was simply to stand up for Yan'er and at the same time to swindle the Second Princess.

“Then Prince Xiao must investigate this carefully. I remember that tigers are ferocious beasts, and they are usually only found in vast and tall mountain ranges like Xiaoshanling, the fiefdom of Prince Xiao. The small forest in the Second Princess’s manor really doesn’t seem like a place where tigers can be raised.”

Su Liluo mentioned it casually.

Upon hearing this, a look of vigilance flashed across Prince Xiao's eyes, and he exchanged a glance with Su Liluo.

His heart sank slightly, wondering if Su Liluo knew something.

But seeing Su Liluo's clear eyes and the fact that she looked at him without any malice, he lowered his guard.

Perhaps, she simply didn't like Chu Yun.

Over the years, they haven't been in the capital and have had no contact with the Crown Princess, so she couldn't possibly know about those things.

Subsequently, the Second Princess reluctantly sent several boxes of jewelry and jade, as well as a thousand taels of silver, to Su Liluo and Chu Yan as emotional compensation.

As the two boarded the carriage, Su Liluo said a few words of farewell to Chu Yan, and then looked at Prince Xiao with a smile in her eyes.

"We are so grateful for Prince Xiao's timely appearance today. I'm sure he cares about Yan'er all the time. I hope he can comfort her when we get back."

--Appeared just in time!

When Chu Yan heard Su Liluo's words, her heart skipped a beat, and she felt as if she had been hit on the head again.

Only then did she understand what Su Liluo meant. The Second Princess had invited only women today, so why did Prince Xiao suddenly appear in the woods?

Upon closer examination, it is chilling.

On the way back, Chu Yun was alone in a carriage with maids serving her, while Chu Yan rode in another carriage with Prince Xiao.

Inside the carriage, the two sat facing each other. Chu Yan was restless, thinking about the conversation between Su Liluo and Prince Xiao earlier that day.

Tigers are ferocious beasts that can only be found in Xiaoshan Ridge. When they were in their fiefdom, King Xiao often led people up the mountain to hunt ferocious beasts.

He even kept many wild animals in captivity.

Thinking back to the things Chu Yun said in his excitement today, she still felt uneasy.

King Xiao seemed to have seen through Chu Yan's thoughts, and he suddenly reached out and grasped Chu Yan's hand.

"Yan'er, are you overthinking again? What happened today was really an accident. Yun'er was just making wild guesses in her excitement. Think about how Yun'er once risked her own life for you. How could she possibly harm you?"

And me, Your Majesty! We've known each other for so many years, don't you trust me at all? I will send people to investigate the tiger matter. Rest assured, I will give you an explanation.

Looking at Xiao Wang's serious expression, Chu Yan felt a moment of daze. It seemed that Xiao Wang always looked at her with such calmness and a touch of deep affection, but that deep affection never reached his eyes.

Although she was slightly touched when she heard him mention how Chu Yun had almost lost his life to save her.

But thinking about how Xiao Wang lost his composure when Chu Yun had his accident today, and why he appeared so timely.

She still felt unwell.

So, Chu Yan turned her head away.

"Since Your Highness cares so much about Yun'er, you will surely investigate this tiger incident thoroughly. I, Yan'er, am naturally convinced."

"Yan'er, are you jealous? I care about Yun'er only because she's your sister, Yan'er."

King Xiao then pulled Chu Yan into his arms and smiled indulgently.

But Chu Yan struggled out of Xiao Wang's arms, saying, "I'm feeling a little unwell and want to take a nap."

A hint of displeasure flashed in King Xiao's eyes. Normally, Yan'er would never act like this.

Ultimately, it was Yan'er's concern for Chu Yun's loss of composure today that made her suspicious.

After Chu Yan finished speaking, she turned her head away, leaned against the carriage, and closed her eyes to rest, no longer paying attention to Prince Xiao.

King Xiao could only lower his eyes with a sinister look and say nothing more.

Night falls.

Chu Yun lay in the room, and although he had applied medicine to his body, he was still in so much pain that he couldn't fall asleep.

"Yin'er, please go and quietly call the Prince over for me. I'm in so much pain I can't bear it anymore."

Chu Yun gave instructions to his personal maid.

She had suffered so much today and couldn't sleep at all. She didn't want Prince Xiao to accompany Chu Yan tonight.

The maidservant obeyed and went to do so. After a while, when no one was paying attention, Prince Xiao quietly entered Chu Yun's room.

When Chu Yun saw Prince Xiao coming over, she immediately burst into tears and said, "Your Highness, you've finally come to see Yun'er. Yun'er has been in so much pain that she can't sleep."

King Xiao was also heartbroken and stepped forward to embrace her.

He comforted her, saying, "You've suffered today. I never expected the Crown Princess to appear and ruin our plans."

"What do we do now? My sister wasn't injured, does that mean I won't be able to be included in the Chu family genealogy?"

Chu Yun pouted.

Originally, their plan was to have Chu Yan injured by wild beasts during the hunt, causing paralysis of her lower limbs and making her unable to have children.

Then, she took care of Chu Yan day and night, which moved Chu Yan and made her feel guilty.

King Xiao has no children yet. If Chu Yan becomes paralyzed, he will inevitably marry another woman. This would cause the Chu family to worry that Chu Yan will be abandoned by King Xiao.

When the time comes, her devoted care for Chu Yan will move Chu Yan and the Chu family. For Chu Yan's sake, she will ask Prince Xiao to propose to marry her as a concubine and to include her in the Chu family genealogy so that she can marry into the family as a Chu family daughter.

The Chu family will definitely agree if they think of their daughter's best interests.

In this way, she would have a good identity, and after Chu Yan died, she would be the only daughter of the Chu family.