Chapter 11 The Stand-in Heroine's Counterattack 11

Qin Yu soon discovered that he could no longer get close to Luo Qingyan.

The personnel that had been rearranged were sent back by Prime Minister Luo.

When he came to visit, Prime Minister Luo sent someone to stop him.

Even delivering news to the palace became extremely difficult.

Qin Yu vaguely discovered that Prime Minister Luo didn't seem to want him to deal with Luo Qingyan anymore.

It was clear that before, Prime Minister Luo enjoyed the closeness between him and Luo Qingyan. But now his attitude has changed!

There must be something wrong when things go wrong. Although Qin Yu could not reach the Prime Minister's Mansion, he still found out that Prime Minister Luo seemed to intend to marry Luo Qingyan to the youngest son of the Minister of Rites.

Once Prime Minister Luo had made a decision, it would be difficult for him, a prince, to change it.

But giving up Luo Qingyan...

Qin Yu was also unwilling.

On this day, A Yan, Cheng Qingning and other noble ladies made an appointment to go out of the city for an outing.

Since she had spoken to the ladies last time, Ah Yan had been exchanging letters with them privately. She also made a lot of facial creams and pills for beauty and skin care and gave them to the sisters, and their relationship became closer.

Thanks to this, Cheng Qingning organized a group outing and naturally invited A Yan to come along.

A Yan arrived at Chengjiazhuangzi on the outskirts of the city early.

She was still wearing a half-worn skirt, the light yellow color made her face look delicate and bright. She had only a simple silver hairpin pinned on her bun, and small wild flowers picked from the entrance of the manor were dotted around her. At first glance, she looked fresh and gentle.

Cheng Qingning held her hand and muttered, "Ayan, you are dressed too simply. Could it be that the Prime Minister's Mansion is so poor that it doesn't even have the money to buy clothes and jewelry for the young lady in the mansion?"

Ah Yan pursed her lips, revealing two shallow dimples, "Sister Cheng, I am a concubine's daughter!"

The news of her shocking dance at the banquet somehow reached the ears of the prime minister's wife. Her monthly allowance, which was not generous to begin with, was further reduced, and she could only barely cover her daily food and drink.

Ah Yan didn't mind the Prime Minister's wife's targeting. On the contrary, the harsher the Prime Minister's Mansion was to her, the more favorable her external situation would be!

The original owner felt guilty towards Luo Qingcheng, and never told anyone about it no matter how much suffering she had endured in the mansion. Because of this, she was denounced by everyone later, saying that she was heartless and ungrateful, and was an ungrateful person!

Cheng Qingning's eyes showed sympathy, and she touched the little flower beside her ear with pity, "Poor thing, I used to think that the prime minister and his wife were decent in public, but who knew they were such people behind the scenes! Your aunt died early, and you are a girl, so you won't be a hindrance to them anyway, but they still treat you so harshly! You have suffered!"

Ah Yan tilted his head to Cheng Qingning's shoulder, "Sister Cheng, I don't feel wronged! Anyway, they won't starve me to death. If I go out dressed like this, I won't be embarrassed!"

Cheng Qingning tapped her nose affectionately and said with a smile, "That's the right way to think! If the Prime Minister's wife wants to hate you as a concubine, she should hate her husband first! If he didn't have three wives and four concubines, how could he have given birth to you! If he treats you harshly now, it will only cause an innocent person to suffer injustice!

Don't cover up for them, just let it be! In the end, who is right and who is wrong, anyone with eyes can see it!"

A Yan nodded in agreement.

After waiting for a while, other noble ladies arrived one after another.

Seeing Ayan's simple attire, they all showed concern for her.

Fortunately, A Yan promised that she would not be so embarrassed next time they met, which made all the sisters stop talking.

Chengjia Manor covers a vast area, and Cheng Qingning arranged for the ladies to go outing. If they wanted, they could go into the mountains to pick mushrooms, and have a meal at the Manor after noon, eating the mushrooms picked by the ladies.

The ladies were quite interested and asked their maids to carry baskets and went into the mountains playfully.

A Yan naturally went with Cheng Qingning.

However, Cheng Qingning came from a military family, so he soon left on horseback.

There was only a green wall left beside A Yan, who looked around anxiously.

Deeper in the woods, there are many mushrooms under the trees.

Ah Yan took the basket from Lu Qiang and said, "Go and call the other sisters over for me. There are more mushrooms here than anywhere else!"

Green Wall hesitated, "But, this place is too dangerous..."

Ah Yan smiled and said, "What's the danger? This is also within the Cheng family's farm, there won't be any wild animals! Go quickly, don't delay the business!"

Seeing that she insisted, Green Wall had no choice but to run away quickly, holding up her skirt.

A Yan squatted under the tree and slowly picked the small mushrooms into the basket.

The sunlight above her head penetrated the green and fell on her, making her look as ethereal as an elf in the woods.

She was humming a little tune, unaware that someone was approaching from behind.

It was not until a pair of black and gold boots stood in front of him that he was suddenly startled and looked up, "Who?!"

Qin Yu looked at her plain but delicate face with a complicated look, and felt a little unhappy in his heart.

Luo Qingcheng loves luxury the most. If she goes out, she must wear red hairpins and jewelry. She is truly a delicate lady who was raised in a pile of splendor.

There is not a trace of Luo Qingcheng in A Yan's outfit.

Qin Yu said in a deep voice: "Why don't you use the clothes and jewelry that this prince gave you?"

Ah Yan stood up, staring at him with deer-like eyes, and asked curiously: "Your Highness, didn't I return those things to you a long time ago?"

Qin Yu then remembered that there were many other things that were sent back along with the group of servants.

But he was in a bad mood at the time, so he didn't even look at it and asked someone to deal with it.

"These past few days, this prince has been trying every possible way to find you. Yan'er, I heard that you are going to get engaged."

A Yan showed a hint of shyness on her face, "Your Highness, marriage is a matter of parents' orders and matchmaker's words, it's not for A Yan to ask about it!"

Qin Yu narrowed his eyes. Luo Qingyan was actually going to get engaged?

Feeling somewhat unhappy, he stepped forward and tried to grab A Yan's wrist.

Ah Yan took two steps back as if frightened, her eyes widened in alertness, "Your Highness, what are you going to do? Men and women should not touch each other, Your Highness, don't..."

Qin Yu was tempted by her delicate posture. He moved his tall body closer and tightly enveloped A Yan under the tree.

"Yan'er, don't you know what this prince means?"

Ah Yan was confused and said, "Your Highness, Ah Yan really doesn't know...someone is coming soon, Your Highness should leave soon! If others see you, they will think that Your Highness is a pervert!"

Qin Yu had finally caught up with her, so naturally he didn't want to leave.

This is the person he likes, no one can get involved!

He originally planned to proceed step by step, fearing that Ah Yan would agree to marry the youngest son of the Minister of Rites. He cleared his throat and said softly, "Yan'er, would you like to be my prince's concubine?"

Ah Yan took a breath and said in shock: "Your Highness! No, this is impossible! I won't agree. You are my future brother-in-law. Even though my sister is missing now, your marriage is real! How can I marry my own brother-in-law... Your Highness, please think twice!"

Qin Yu stepped forward, stretched out his long arms, and held her soft hands——

"Sixth Prince!"