018 Peeping

The next moment, Yuan Chongjing regretted it.

The state of the pastries in his hands was somewhat unexpected.

The handkerchief that wrapped it was soaked in oil, and its original square shape had become half-flat and half-loose, with some crumbs even spilling out and landing in his palm.

Li Yang didn't react: "Huh? What is this?" To be honest, she really couldn't figure out what this blob was!

Yuan Chongjing withdrew his hand slightly, then, feeling embarrassed, said with a stiff face, "The pastries Xiaotao ate this morning are squashed. Take it or leave it; if you don't want them, I'll throw them away!"

Li Yang immediately grabbed his wrist: "Why are you in such a hurry? I didn't say I wouldn't eat."

Li Yang took the handkerchief from his hand, unfolded it in front of him, and then picked up a fairly neat piece of pastry and put it in her mouth. Noticing out of the corner of her eye that he was staring at her, Li Yang smiled and said, "Brother Jing, did you bring this especially for me?"

Yuan Chongjing immediately looked away and glanced around the carriage haphazardly: "What nonsense are you talking about? I only took it because I was afraid I would get hungry."

"Okay, okay, you're not doing this for me, you're doing this for yourself, alright?" Li Yang went along with him.

Knowing full well that she was being sarcastic and trying to comfort him, Yuan Chongjing wanted to argue, but couldn't find a suitable reason. He suddenly realized that since he woke up, everything seemed to be subtly following Li Yang's decisions.

From concealing Donghai's death to having the divine physician treat her illness, everything was orchestrated by Li Yang. Even when she objected, she ultimately ended up complying with Li Yang's decisions.

Yuan Chongjing was somewhat shocked. When did Li Yang become so formidable? When force didn't work, she resorted to soft tactics, one after another, and he unwittingly fell victim to them all.

He watched Li Yang eat the pastries one bite at a time, and suddenly asked, "Li Yang, what exactly happened to you in the past five years?"

Li Yang glanced at him and replied mysteriously, "You should know this, right? Two earth-shattering things happened to me!"

"What is it?" he asked immediately.

Li Yang held up one finger and sighed, "The first thing is that I married you. The second thing is that we had Xiao Taozi. I went from being a virgin to Xiao Taozi's aging and faded mother."

Yuan Chongjing was somewhat disappointed.

Li Yang smiled smugly, her tone gradually becoming more serious: "I know what you want to ask. At first, I was just like before, never growing up. But after following you to Chenzhou, I endured four years of hardship before I matured a bit. You don't know, when we left the capital, we didn't bring a single maid or servant. Conditions in Chenzhou were harsh, and we had no fixed abode, moving to a new place almost every one or two months. New homes, new neighbors, new environments, and those kind or ill-intentioned officials' families—I dealt with them all, and the losses I suffered were enough to teach me about human relationships."

Yuan Chongjing looked at her without saying anything, just listening quietly to what she had to say.

"Later, we had Xiaotaozi. We were a young couple, still children ourselves. What experience could we have in taking care of a baby? So I would hold the baby every day and go into crowds, chatting with the aunties and grandmas who were mothers. Little by little, I learned how to be a mother. That's how we got through it. Last year, my grandmother passed away. You applied to the court for a transfer order, and we were finally able to return to the capital."

"But Kyoto isn't the same Kyoto anymore. Four years have passed, and all the familiar people and things around me have changed. Everything has to start all over again. But thankfully, Brother Jing, you've really lived up to expectations. You've worked your way up in the Censorate, and now you're the Vice Censor-in-Chief, a very prestigious little official."

Yuan Chongjing twitched the corner of his mouth, as if in response to her praise, which he wasn't sure was genuine.

Li Yang sighed: "Although the capital city seems peaceful and tranquil, there are undercurrents everywhere. Now that all the princes have grown up, their ambition to seize the throne is obvious. I'm afraid our Yuan family will not be able to remain unscathed when the time comes."

Thinking about his inexplicable injury, Yuan Chongjing asked, "Did I... take sides before?"

Now that things have come to this point, with Song Xi's acupuncture, it's only a matter of time before Yuan Chongjing regains his memory. Li Yang nodded: "You're working for the Crown Prince."

"The Crown Prince? Wasn't he demoted to Prince Yu and forbidden from leaving Yuzhou unless absolutely necessary? Could it be that he..."

Li Yang said, "Five years have passed since this incident, and we were young at the time, so there were some hidden details we didn't know."

Yuan Chongjing thought carefully for a moment, but still couldn't recall anything. He said, "Is the Third Prince the most powerful person in the court right now?"

Of all the Emperor's adult sons, the Third Prince has the best background, being the son of a Consort and from a powerful maternal family. Although he was raised with a fiery temper in his younger years, after five years of tempering, his temperament has become much more composed. A few days ago, I visited Yuan Chongjing at the Yuan residence, and my words were full of traps.

The Fifth Prince came from a poor background; his mother was merely an ordinary concubine with no connections. He had little presence in court, basically relying on currying favor with the Third Prince for survival. Among the court officials and noblemen of the capital, very few paid him any attention.

The Eighth Prince is tall and strong, but he only knows how to practice swordsmanship all day long. He is simple-minded, straightforward, and doesn't participate much in court affairs.

Seeing her deep in thought, as if she had something to say, Yuan Chongjing asked, "What do you think?"

"I think this Third Prince is probably just a target," Li Yang concluded.

At this moment, there were only the two of them inside the carriage, and Bei Hai was driving it. Li Yang had no scruples and spoke his mind.

Yuan Chongjing was somewhat surprised by her words: "How do you know?"

Li Yang said, “When they visited you at home last time, I felt something was off about the Fifth Prince. The Third Prince’s arrogance and ambition are superficial; it’s easy to see that he’s eyeing the Crown Prince’s position and is confident of victory. But I don’t know if you noticed, but that Fifth Prince, although he smiles when he looks at people and seems harmless, has a very sinister look in his eyes, like a wild beast lurking in the night. He’s lying in wait, waiting for an opportunity. As soon as the enemy relaxes their guard, he will jump out and strike decisively. I think that among all the princes, the Fifth Prince is the most dangerous.”

As Li Yang spoke, the midday sun shone through the fluttering carriage curtains, dancing and swirling around her.

Yuan Chongjing stared blankly at her. When she was thinking, her eyes were slightly vacant, yet held a strange light. Especially now, her expression was somewhat excited, even her eyebrows and eyes became lively. Her cheeks were rosy, her nose was slightly fleshy, and her lips looked like they were painted with an extremely alluring lip rouge, making people's eyes involuntarily fall on them. Her skin was smooth and flawless, tender, comparable to Xiao Taozi's still chubby cheeks.

He pinched Xiaotaozi's cheek; it felt very nice.

Seeing that she kept talking, Yuan Chongjing's hand, hidden under his sleeve, suddenly became restless.

That's strange, she wasn't like this this morning.

He wasn't like that at all.

Li Yang spoke rapidly, but received no response. When she looked over, she realized he was staring at her intently. She touched her face in a daze, thinking to herself that Song Xi's makeup kit was truly amazing; a simple application had Yuan Chongjing mesmerized!

She leaned over and stopped in front of him with a grin: "Brother Jing, don't I look beautiful today?"

Just then, a gust of wind blew into the carriage as she moved, tugging a stray strand of her hair and scratching his chin. Yuan Chongjing immediately snapped out of his daze, blushing and leaning back to avoid it: "Stop being so narcissistic."

Li Yang scooted forward, persisting, "Look at me, I'm totally mesmerized. This is the makeup Young Master Song did for me. He said he's the most beautiful woman in the world, so he'll make me the second most beautiful. And sure enough, the effect is remarkable. You're totally mesmerized, aren't you? Next time I go to Young Master Song's place, I'll have to discuss these things with him more."

Seeing her smiling as she talked about Song Xi, Yuan Chongjing said, "It's just some rouge and face powder, do you think I need yours? If all else fails, just go to the accounting office and get some silver for yourself."

“That’s different,” Li Yang retorted. “Young Master Song is a divine physician. Those rouges must have been made by him himself, with some exclusive secret recipes or something. They are incomparable to those common things outside.”

Yuan Chongjing snorted coldly, glancing uncomfortably out the window, and said disdainfully, "You think you know so much!"

The car wheel spun twice, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Li Yang pouting and raising her eyebrows in front of the small mirror. Yuan Chongjing lowered the curtain and ordered Li Yang, "It doesn't look good at all! Wipe it off right now!"

Li Yang was admiring herself. She'd been so worried about Yuan Chongjing at Song Xi's place that she hadn't looked in the mirror. Now that she had time, she looked even more beautiful in the mirror. Hearing this, she refused without hesitation: "I'm not wearing any! I need to go back and show Xiao Taozi that her mother is also 'the most beautiful flower in the capital'!"

"You're not going to wipe it, huh? Fine, I'll wipe it for you!"

Seeing him rubbing his hands together, seemingly about to pounce, Li Yang immediately retreated to a corner of the carriage, alert: "You dare! If you lay a hand on me, I'll turn on you!"

Yuan Chongjing was so angry he almost laughed: "You've turned your back on me? You've turned your back on me over a makeup look?"

Li Yang, holding the mirror, nodded firmly: "Flip it over!"

Yuan Chongjing took two heavy breaths, feeling his already clear head throbbing with anger at her. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before he felt a little better: "Whatever."

He gave up, and Li Yang, sitting opposite him, hugged a small mirror and nestled in a corner of the carriage, admiring her reflection with delight.

Yuan Chongjing reluctantly looked away, but after a moment, his gaze involuntarily returned to her. Losing his memories of the past five years made him exceptionally familiar with Li Yang. It seemed like only yesterday they were still hurling insults and fighting. He had truly attacked her then, not treating her as a weak woman at all.

She was anything but weak; her little mouth was always chattering, and when she was being sarcastic, she could say the most vile things. She also skipped school, brazenly fought with street thugs, and constantly wore her brother's clothes, swaggering in and out of their boys' academy with an air of nonchalance.

This should be the first time Yuan Chongjing has looked at her seriously.

Li Yang's appearance wasn't stunning; she could only be described as pretty. She possessed a subtle, resilient courage, like wild grass, which added to her charm. Song Xi's makeup elongated her eyebrows, softening her strength and adding a touch of fragility. Combined with her elegant, cloud-like hairstyle and light-colored, floor-length floral dress, when she was silent and still, she truly resembled a refined young lady from a wealthy family.

He was so engrossed in watching that he noticed Li Yang, who had been admiring herself in the mirror just a moment ago, suddenly look at him: "Brother Jing, you're peeking at me~"

Yuan Chongjing was startled by her action, and his face immediately turned red. He retorted weakly, "I...I didn't."