Chapter 588 - Jealousy and the Previous Engagement
Chapter 588 Jealousy and the Previous Engagement
Yun Luoluo were in tears, who looked plaintive and seemed to have forgotten to struggle, but no one present was sympathetic to her while seeing that.
Prince Yi was not in the courtyard but in the palace, where he was being with the emperor. Earlier, Yun Luoluo had said that Prince Yi had specially asked her to come here. What did that mean? Besides, her clothes were so in disarray, and there were red marks seemingly caused by intimate touches on her neck. What did this suggest? Moreover, just now, she had said righteously that all this was the idea of Commandery Princess Xianyun. What was the meaning of it then?
Yun Luoluo would surely not have illicit intercourse with a servant, nor would she have relations with Prince Yi.
The most possible reason was that Commandery Princess Xianyun and Yun Luoluo had intentionally made such a show, aiming to force Prince Yi to accept the claim that he had relations with Yun Luoluo, but Prince Yi was never a person for others to force. Not to mention Commandery Princess Xianyun and her sister Yun Luoluo, could the emperor force him?
Some thought that the emperor was perhaps the troublemaker in this matter, but what was the use of that? The fact was clear that Prince Yi had never had an affair with Yun Luoluo and her companion, but Yun Luoluo had accused him firmly. With him provoked, this result she got served her right.
Under such circumstances, no one dared to meddle in it.
“There’s still so much time before the banquet opens. You ladies can walk around for a few more moments. I’ll ask our maids to lead you. Now the prince and I still have something to do, so I won’t keep you company,” Ning Xueyan said politely with a smile while standing still at the door of the Moon-embracing Tower.
When such a bad thing had happened, it was normal for the couple to have a discussion, and no one would be so stupid to deny her proposal. They were all smiling as if nothing had happened. After saying goodbye to her, they left directly for the garden under Lanning’s guidance.
About Princess Ning, who had always been unreasonable and incompetent, these few smart ladies had already formed a view: Prince Ning had a decisive character without procrastination and was never like what the outside rumors described. Earlier, she had intentionally turned Yun Luoluo’s case to the paperwork, lest that Yun Luoluo should speak more disgraceful words and the people present should be more embarrassed.
At that time, a few unmarried young ladies had been on site. In that situation, neither leaving nor staying would have been suitable, so they had fallen into an extremely embarrassing situation. But Ning Xueyan had changed the subject to the paperwork, easily directing the matter of an illicit sexual relationship to a different topic. At least, she had saved those few ladies present from being embarrassed.
And her reprimand of Censor-in-chief Chen’s wife had been with more convincing evidence. If she hadn’t reprimanded her in that situation, more people would have gossiped, and the scene would have been too difficult to control then. However, she had made all the others afraid to talk casually by scolding Censor-in-chief Chen’s wife. Immediately, the audience had been suppressed.
No doubt, this princess of Prince Yi was more like Prince Yi’s princess than Commandery Princess Xianyun!
And her reply to Prince Yi had never shown that she had lost favor as the outside rumors claimed. The rumors were unreliable!
Seeing these people leaving, Ning Xueyan turned around and walked to the yard. The door of the yard was open. Ao Chenyi had entered the room, but a plainly dressing lady was standing in the yard. When she saw Ning Xueyan entering, she bowed to her gracefully and said, “Sister Princess Ning!”
“Third Young Lady Hua?” Ning Xueyan said with a smile.
“Sister Princess Ning, it turns out you also know me. Is it Brother Prince Yi who spoke of me?” Hua Qiuying said with a soft smile as her eyes brightened.
“Third Young Lady Hua, you are so courteous. You just call me Princess Ning! Second Young Lady Yun also called me Sister Princess just now. It is really an uncomfortable address,” Ning Xueyan said with a leisurely smile. Then she studied her from head to toe as if she didn’t see that Hua Qiuying’s face suddenly stiffened when hearing her words.
“It is certainly not our prince who spoke of you. It is that I did an investigation and found you. Why are you here at this time, Third Young Lady?”
Ning Xueyan spoke extremely impolitely, making the smiling Hua Qiuying feel a little difficult to reply. After a moment of silence, she then said with somewhat uneasiness, “I came here to see… Brother Prince Yi! When my elder sister was still alive, I often came to Brother Prince Yi’s place.”
“But the current princesses are Sister Yun and me.” Ning Xueyan looked at Hua Qiuying quietly, but her stunning watery eyes were giving off a bit of gloomy coldness.
“I… I did just come to see Brother Prince Yi.” Hua Qiuying’s eyes turned red. Being so aggrieved, she almost shed tears. “It is Eunuch Ling who asked me to wait here. Just now, when Second Young Lady Yun came in, in order not to cause trouble or damage Brother Prince Yi’s reputation, I went to hide deliberately.”
No matter what, Hua Qiuying looked extremely compliant and considerate.
“Third Young Lady Hua, our prince says you’d better go home. After such a thing happened, we are afraid another woman may go out and say that she has relations with our prince, which will make our princess fall into a difficult situation,” Eunuch Zhu scuttled out of the opened door and said to Hua Qiuying in a shrill, rhythmic, and measured tone.
“Brother Prince Yi doesn’t want to see me?” Hua Qiuying was sad and bit her lips as if she was trying to suppress the grief in her heart, but she nodded, bowed to Ning Xueyan again, took one more look at the opened door, and turned and left with unwillingness. When she reached the entrance of the yard, she looked back again in tears.
In the end, she covered her mouth, making a low sob, and rushed away.
In the room, Ao Chenyi was reclining on the couch indifferently. Seeing Ning Xueyan coming in, he waved to her, signaling to her to come over.
But Ning Xueyan sat still in the chair beside him and said seriously, “Prince, this delicate lady misses you wholeheartedly, but you really don’t have any interest in her? It is said that she doesn’t take after her elder sister that much, but they are biological sisters at least, so they resemble each other a bit, anyway.”
“Oh, Yan’er, you mean…” Ao Chenyi raised his eyebrows, having a small smile in his eyes.
“Is what I mean useful? If you have an interest, that’s enough, prince. Since she has taken a frequenter’s route and come here, she loves you deeply. Prince, don’t make her disappointed. She is so delicate, but she became so aggrieved after only saying a few words to me. Prince, why not go and comfort her with your sincere heart?”
“You are jealous?” Ao Chenyi was startled first and then found the key point. A smile that couldn’t be hidden appeared on his thin lips. Seeing that his “little cat” was not as gentle and quiet as she was in public, he had quite a good mood. Rising from the couch, he went over to pull her.
Ning Xueyan was inexplicably angry and made him take his hand away by hitting it with hers. “I’m not jealous. I’m afraid that you can’t forget her elder sister so that you begin to love her, prince.”
She said these words with so much fury that she couldn’t even control it herself, but her sense told her that Ao Chenyi was not a person like that. However, when she had seen her staying safe and sound in the yard just now, she couldn’t have suppressed the anger in her chest.
Ao Chenyi laughed in quite a good mood, with his lips upturned to the extent that was never seen in normal times. Eunuch Zhu retired cleverly because he knew that his prince never wanted to see him here at this moment.
“Go and tell Housekeeper Ling, don’t let Hua Qiuying enter the mansion anymore in the future.” When he had just reached the door, his prince’s indifferent voice came to his ears. Eunuch Zhu nodded yes hurriedly and then took steps back to the doorway.
He thought about it at the door and heaved a sigh. “Eunuch Ling is naturally loyal to the prince, but he is so old that he hasn’t found who the prince loves!” Many years ago, when Eunuch Zhu had still been the real Little Zhu, he had found that his prince had no interest in Second Young Lady Hua.
“As for the rumor flying around later, it is the prince who let it out. How could Eunuch Ling really think that the prince can’t forget his former fiancée! It seems that I have to tell it to him lest that the prince should be unhappy.”
In the room, Ao Chenyi pulled Ning Xueyan up and comforted this “little wild cat” with her hair standing on end gently, “Hua Qiuying came because Eunuch Ling let her in. Of course, Eunuch Ling was unlikely to let her enter my courtyard casually. She must have used plausible words. All members of the Hua Family are best at acting.”
Ning Xueyan rolled her eyes at him secretly, but she softened her body, leaned against his chest by following his gesture, and questioned, “Acting?”
“Yan’er, be a bit cautious. That’s enough. None of the Hua Family’s members is good,” Ao Chenyi said with a cold snort. Then, somewhat bloodthirsty fierceness appeared and vanished in his eyes. If he didn’t need them to be self-righteous for the time being, surely, Hua Qiuying wouldn’t have been able to walk through the entrance of his courtyard in whatever condition.
“Is there a problem with the Hua Family?” Ning Xueyan reacted quite fast and pointed out the key problem as her watery eyes brightened.
“I can’t deal with the Hua Family for now, but I’ll do it soon!” Ao Chenyi narrowed his cold but handsome eyes evilly and said, “Don’t worry. Hua Qiuying won’t come to bother you anymore. If she doesn’t know how to behave herself, I might as well kill her first! Then, the Hua Family won’t have to dream about something impractical again.”
“Chenyi!” Ning Xueyan paused, raised her watery eyes with a slight frown, and said, “You’d better not deal with her for the time being. She can’t provoke me.”
She felt that the engagement between the daughter of Chief Hua of the Imperial Academy and Ao Chenyi in those years might not be as simple as it had been on the surface. When this matter was spoken of every time, Ao Chenyi just detested it. Since Ao Chenyi didn’t wish to handle them temporarily, she didn’t have to do it herself and make the Hua Family vigilant, for she believed that this was more beneficial to Ao Chenyi.
Earlier, she had suddenly become jealous because she had seen Hua Qiuying standing safe and sound in the yard, not being driven out. Then, she had become angry inexplicably.
“You don’t want to see her, do you?” Ao Chenyi touched her lazily and suddenly chuckled.
“Right, but I have a stronger wish to help you!” Ning Xueyan turned her watery eyes, poked her hard chest, and said, “As long as I know you won’t remember her elder sister because of her!”
“You are worried about me?” Ao Chenyi’s smile became even more beautiful and enchanting.
“I’m not. I just don’t want to see a woman be superior to me,” Ning Xueyan grumbled coyly, her face slightly red.
“Do you think I am too bloodthirsty, Yan’er?” Ao Chenyi suddenly raised her nice pointed chin, glanced at her, and asked.
“Whether you are bloodthirsty, arrogant, or fierce and merciless, as long as you are yourself, that’s fine.” Seeing the pair of deep handsome eyes, Ning Xueyan whispered and caressed his face subconsciously, with a firm will in her clear eyes.
She had experienced lots of things and seen what he had done for her clearly. Unconsciously, she had taken him to her heart, so no matter what he did, she would keep on going with him together.