Chapter 74 Testing

"You just said that Qi Huan did not meet with Miss Xiao?"

"Indeed, Xiao Zhangzi, who serves the Fourth Prince, said that someone seemed to have passed by and even threw small stones at him. The Fourth Prince was wary and left first."

Qi Jun nodded, turned and walked away in the direction he came from. Sun Miao was taken aback, then quickly followed and asked considerately:

"Your Highness, aren't you going over there?"

The Crown Prince, for the sake of this young lady from the Xiao family, had previously defended her at the poetry gathering, secretly investigated Xiahou Yin's background, and just now, not content with borrowing an umbrella and arresting the disloyal maid, he has now come personally to check on her safety.

If Miss Xiao knew all this, she would surely be grateful to the Crown Prince, and the Xiao family would be even more loyal to him in the future, wouldn't they?

Do I look like some kind of idle person?

Since the girl is unharmed, he doesn't need to intervene.

"It was this servant who spoke out of turn, Your Highness, please forgive me."

Sun Miao repeatedly apologized and stopped trying to persuade him.

He overstepped his bounds. The Crown Prince naturally has his reasons for doing things. As a servant, the proper thing to do is to be honest and dutiful.

Meanwhile, at the palace banquet, a lively scene of clinking glasses and exchanging toasts unfolded.

The emperor, unaware of what Princess Min-young had said, was greatly pleased, and a hearty laugh rang out. The subjects below also relaxed, moving around to toast each other and strengthen their bonds.

Qi Wenyue pushed aside a girl next to Xiao Yuyao and sat down next to her to talk to her.

"Yuyao, I haven't been able to go out for a while. Has anything interesting happened in the capital?"

Xiao Yuyao gently shook her head:

“Princess, you know I don’t care about these things. Besides, I can barely take care of myself right now, so how could I have the leisure to listen to other people’s interesting stories?”

She looked weak and sorrowful, and Qi Wenyue pursed her lips.

With her father's orders in place, she dared not disobey. She had only come here to inquire further about the origin of the honey fragrance.

"I was terrified when you fell into the water at the last poetry gathering. I was worried about you for days. You're such a heartless person; you didn't even write to me right away."

“Good princess, it was my oversight. I was thinking that I would definitely see you at the palace banquet, so I didn’t write a letter.”

Xiao Yuyao's face remained calm, but she was seething with anger inside.

She recalled how Xiao Yuxuan exposed her relationship with Xiao Jue to her face. Later, when she returned to Baozhen Courtyard, the first thing she did upon waking up was to punish Mu Jin and destroy all the letters she had exchanged with Xiao Jue.

But Xiao Jue wasn't so easily fooled. He'd noticed something amiss those past few days and knew Xiao Yuxuan had already discovered the affair. He'd assumed Xiao Yuxuan would avoid suspicion, but to his surprise, Xiao Jue said—

"Yuyao, I'm willing to wait for you. I won't marry that girl from the Dai family anymore. I only want you. Once you come of age, I will tell my father and mother—"

Xiao Yuyao quickly covered his mouth, and tears instantly fell, but not from gratitude, but from fear.

She was destined to become the fourth prince's wife, the future princess, so how could she marry Xiao Jue, a man who still had to work hard to get promoted?

Xiao Jue is indeed an outstanding person, but as a subject, he will inevitably face the challenges of being sent to other posts and engaging in factional struggles.

She didn't want to end up like Madam Xiao, spending her days mingling with the women of the mansion, just to gather information for her husband and curry favor with her superiors... Doing all that work was considered normal in the eyes of the world.

Being a prince's wife or a princess is different. As a member of the royal family, she is the one who is fawned over by others. Apart from the emperor, empress and imperial concubine, no one can give her a hard time!

Xiao Yuyao's face was streaked with tears, and she shook her head repeatedly:

“Brother, don’t say such foolish things. Sister Dai is such a good person, only she is worthy of you. I, I am just a commoner’s daughter, how could I possibly be worthy of her…”

Xiao Jue felt as if his heart was about to break.

He had considered cutting his losses and ceasing to develop feelings for Yu Yao that went beyond sibling affection, but his rationality crumbled in the face of his pity for her.

Whenever he sees Yu Yao say that she is not worthy or that she is not good enough, he thinks of the only proud and lovely little girl in the Xiao family, standing in the warm sunlight, twirling her skirt and asking herself if she is his most beloved sister.

Xiao Jue removed the small hand from her mouth, held it in her own hand, and said seriously:

"Yuyao, if you marry me, your father and mother will still be your father and mother. Isn't that the best of both worlds?"

“You’ve lived with us for so many years, we’re practically family now. They’ll definitely agree. At worst, we’ll just have to apologize to the Dai family. I’ll personally go and beg for forgiveness!”

Xiao Yuyao shook her head again, and said with difficulty:

"Brother, Fifth Sister will definitely not agree. She already dislikes me taking her place for so long, and if I become her sister-in-law, I'm afraid..."

Xiao Jue frowned: "Why do you care about her? As a younger sister, how dare she set her sights on my room?"

"Yuyao, don't worry. I'll talk to Father and Mother about the Dai family in a few days and get this engagement called off as soon as possible. I won't let you suffer any injustice..."

"Brother, let's try to see each other less in the future. What if Fifth Sister tells everyone about it? I'm so scared, boohoo."

Xiao Jue readily agreed. He secretly resolved that he must discuss the annulment of the engagement as soon as possible so that Yu Yao would have no more concerns.

He pulled the frail and helpless girl into his arms, making sincere promises, but he couldn't see that the girl's face was no longer troubled at all.

What a fool! Xiao Yuyao gripped Xiao Jue's sleeve tightly, her mind racing with calculations.

She could gradually break things off with Xiao Jue later. Anyway, he was now completely devoted to her and would always stand by her side. If anyone asked about it later, she could use Xiao Yuxuan as a shield.

As for breaking off the engagement with the Dai family?

This was Xiao Jue's own choice. He was a man who had already come of age and was serving as an official in the court. What did his decision have to do with her?

"By the way, I heard you lost a purse at the poetry gathering? What did it look like? We were in a hurry that day and didn't help you look for it. Did you send someone to find it later?"

Qi Wenyue sipped the fruit wine in her glass, but her eyes carefully observed the other person's expression.

But no matter how much he looked, he couldn't find anything wrong with Yuyao's expression.

Xiao Yuyao's expression remained unchanged, a gentle smile always playing on her lips, as she said:

"Is it a sachet embroidered with bamboo leaves?"

Qi Wenyue's wine glass hovered in the air as she stared intently at Xiao Yuyao, looking like she was waiting for her to continue.

Qi Wenyue had a carefree life since childhood and couldn't keep secrets. Seeing her like this, Xiao Yuyao understood everything.

Did Qi Wenyue discover what was inside?

Xiao Yuyao's smile grew even more gentle and harmless, and she blinked shyly.

"Actually... it was given to me by my fifth sister. But I had a quarrel with her that day, and I left in a hurry, so the sachet was left behind."

Qi Wenyue blurted out the question without thinking:

"But why is it in male form..."

She realized something was wrong as soon as she finished speaking and shut her mouth, but it was too late.

Oh no, we've been exposed.