Chapter 114 Xiao Yan returns to the Prince Cheng's residence...

Chapter 114 Xiao Yan returns to the Prince Cheng's residence...

Xiao Yan and the others from the Prince Cheng's mansion quietly left ahead of time. The Second Prince and the others were still in the crowd. Their emotional entanglements were also coming to an end, but the three of them did not notice that another pair of eyes were also staring intently at them, or more accurately, at Li Fang and Xie Miaoyi.

The Second Prince's concubine, Lady Guo, had been hiding behind a stone tablet on the side of the viewing platform. She witnessed a familiar-looking maid throw a small pebble from afar, which struck Xie Miaoyi squarely behind the knee.

She saw Xie Miaoyi hanging precariously from the broken railing, like a tattered rag, teetering on the verge of falling.

She witnessed the Second Prince, whom she adored, rushing towards the falling Xie Miaoyi with an almost fanatical, determined expression...

She forced a smile, her nails digging deep into her palms, calmly witnessing everything unfold, concealing all the jealousy, anger, and resentment in her eyes.

Even as chaos reigned below, she witnessed one of Xie Miaoyi's maids stealthily approach the railing and swiftly hide something away.

At this moment, she felt like a spectator high above, sitting on a cloud, witnessing all love, hate, infatuation, and anger, as well as the conspiracies and schemes beneath them.

Turning our gaze back down, Xie Miaoyi and Wang Chen were practically locked in a blinding stare. Consort Guo's eyes were cold, but her smile was exceptionally beautiful, like the most radiant flower in spring.

Sure enough, even the heavens were so kind to her; she knew that Xie Miaoyi was no longer a threat to her.

In this round, her second prince, despite his meticulous planning, suffered a complete defeat.

However, she was extremely happy because she won without even getting her hands dirty.

Although her hands were already stained with blood, she didn't care about the extra bit of evil power she might gain, because it's always nice to get something for nothing.

"Your Highness, shall we go back?" the little maid beside her asked softly.

"Now that the show is over, it's time to go back." Consort Guo flicked her bright red fingertips, took two steps, and then instructed, "Lovers should be united in the end. Let our people spread the word about how Young Master Wang saved Miss Xie's life today."

"Yes," the maid replied.

“Never mind,” Consort Guo said, taking another step, but then changed her mind: “We don’t need to do anything.”

Even if she didn't do it, there would be plenty of people willing to spread rumors. Since she didn't get involved before, she doesn't need to get involved in any scandals later.

"Your Highness, I vaguely saw a figure earlier, somewhat resembling Consort Yue from our previous residence." Consort Guo's slight pleasant mood didn't last long; a single sentence from her maidservant made her face darken once more.

"Did you see it clearly?"

"This..." The maid hesitated for a moment, then shook her head.

"However, it seems that His Highness has been sending people to search for Consort Yue these past few days."

Standing on this high place, Consort Guo watched as Consort Xie and Wang Chen were helped away side by side. She also watched as the Second Prince, with his gloomy eyes, pretended to be calm and composed as he dealt with the approaching Prince Ning and his wife. She felt both heartache and relief.

"Can't you just look at me? Your Highness, can't you just have me? You keep sending one away only to have another come back. When will you only have eyes for me?"

Her thoughts were churning, but Consort Guo only told her maid, "Look for the familiar figure you mentioned. Also, have someone keep an eye on the people His Highness sent to find Su Jinyue."

After saying that, she hurried towards Li Fang: "His Highness must be feeling terrible right now. I should stand by his side. I am the only one who is most suitable to stand by his side."

......

What was Su Jinyue doing at this moment? She was still secretly following Princess Cheng. Even though she had seen the Second Prince from afar before, she did not leave, but naturally she did not dare to get close. She only watched from a distance, where she could vaguely see his figure.

But this was still the closest she had been to the Second Prince since she escaped his side. Seeing that the Second Prince was still so devoted to Xie Miaoyi, and seeing that Xie Miaoyi remained unmoved, Su Jinyue found herself unmoved as well.

At that moment, she felt extremely sad, and waves of pain welled up in her heart, but the pain was not for the Second Prince, but for her own heartache.

After that period of pain, she felt that the world had changed. Countless times she had felt utterly heartbroken before, but none of that could compare to the certainty she felt at this moment—certainty that she had completely and utterly let go of this person.

Su Jinyue took a breath of the crisp mountain air and felt that even if she hadn't been able to get close to Princess Cheng, her trip would still have been worthwhile.

Today, Su Jinyue's luck seems to be even better than she imagined.

......

As Xiao Yan left in a hurry, she felt uneasy, as if a pair of eyes were watching her.

"My lady, are we going back to the manor like this? Aren't we going to say goodbye to Princess Ning?" Granny Wang asked cautiously, but in truth, she didn't quite agree with the princess leaving in such a hurry.

Having lived in the palace for so many years, and bound by its rules, she naturally had many concerns. She was also the one among Xiao Yan Hui's close associates who was most afraid that her princess consort would lose face and be secretly criticized in public.

"We should hurry back. Just now... this servant felt that the Second Prince was quite hostile towards the master." Sijiao, who usually obeyed orders and rarely expressed her own thoughts, surprisingly spoke up to refute Wang Mama this time.

Upon hearing this, Granny Wang immediately shut her mouth. Compared to the safety of the princess, everything else was secondary.

"Sigh, I came out to relax and have some fun, but before I could even enjoy myself, this happened." Xiao Yan sighed. Looking at the magnificent scenery now, she had completely lost her previous interest.

"When you get back, please send a gift to Prince Ning's residence to apologize. Just say that I suddenly felt unwell." It was rather impolite to leave without saying goodbye.

"If you ask me, there must be quite a few ladies and young women like us rushing home today. What a frightening scene that just happened! And that prince, he completely ruined the spring banquet that Princess Ning had meticulously prepared. His concubine was there too, yet instead of going to find her, he..."

"Cat!" Although Cat spoke softly, Xiao Yan called her name with a warning tone.

There are some things she shouldn't say, no matter how softly she speaks them.

"Who's there? Come out!" Suddenly, Sijiao stopped and scanned the area behind him with lightning speed.

“Miss Xiao, do you remember me? We met twice in Jiangzuo City,” Su Jinyue asked cautiously.

She had been following from a distance, but had never found a suitable opportunity to get close to Princess Cheng. However, she never expected that in the end, her whereabouts would be discovered by the eunuchs around Princess Cheng.

"Moon Lady?" The moment Xiao Yan saw the person, she immediately remembered who she was.

Sure enough, after I called out her name, she nodded excitedly.

Jiangzuo! Embroiderer! Moon Maiden! Disguising themselves as ugly!

She hadn't thought of it that way before, but now it was as if her mind had suddenly clicked and she immediately extracted the keywords. Xiao Yan Hui suspected almost immediately that this Yue Niang was Su Jin Yue.

Seeing that she was eager to say something, Xiao Yan interrupted her directly, saying that this was not the place to talk business.

"I am feeling unwell and need to return to the manor. If Yue Niang is alright, would you be willing to come back to the Cheng Prince's manor with me?" Although it was a question, Xiao Yan Hui had already decided that even if Yue Niang was unwilling, she would tie her up and bring her back.

Fortunately, Yue Niang seemed even more impatient than her and immediately nodded.

......

"Yan Hui'er, I heard you were feeling unwell and rushed back to the manor today. Where did you feel unwell? Did you call the manor doctor to come and see you? What did the doctor say?" Qin Ji hurriedly entered the room, asking one question after another. But unexpectedly, after going around the screen, he saw his Yan Hui'er taking off her shoes and lounging on the soft couch, leisurely chewing on some kind of meat jerky while flipping through a book he couldn't recognize.

"Phew, it's good that you're alright." Letting out a breath, Qin Ji slowed his pace and walked to Xiao Yan Hui's side: "Was the Fifth Prince's banquet uninteresting, and you left early?"

Seeing Xiao Yan Hui nestled on the soft couch, Qin Ji nudged her shoulder, signaling her to make some room.

"Go sit on a chair, why do you have to squeeze in with me!" Xiao Yan complained, but her body betrayed her by moving over and making room for her.

"No chair is as comfortable as a soft couch, and there's also the warmth and fragrance of jade in my arms." Qin Ji took off his shoes, climbed onto the couch, and then very easily pulled the person into his arms.

Feeling the soft, warm body in his arms, smelling her fragrance, and taking a deep breath unconsciously, he instantly felt most of the fatigue from a whole day of training in the Imperial Guard disappear.

"Hey, Qin Ji, you're acting like a pervert." Xiao Yan smiled and reached out to touch his smooth forehead, refusing to let him continue rubbing against her neck, which was tickling her neck from his sniffing.

"I thought you already knew this, but it turns out you just realized it?" Qin Ji said with a deliberately inscrutable look as he picked up the pillow and gave it a big kiss on the forehead.

"Alright, stop fooling around, I'm talking to you about serious matters." Feeling disgusted by Qin Ji's affected and greasy demeanor, Xiao Yan curled her toes, rubbed her arm to suppress the goosebumps, and then she could get down to business.

"Hmm?" A soft, nasal voice sounded in my ear.

"I have good news for you. After today, the marriage between the Second Prince and the Xie family is completely off the table. And..." She deliberately left the audience in suspense.

"And what?" Qin Ji asked in a low voice, holding her and playing with her hand.

Seeing Xiao Yan Hui's slightly boastful and smug expression, he was overjoyed.