Chapter 244 What did the princess say? I didn't hear her clearly.

Xiao Qingxi turned around abruptly: "Xiao Qingyuan!"

"Xiao Qingxi, you should call me brother. You have no manners."

"You still remember you're my brother?! What did you promise me last night?"

What did I promise you?

"Didn't we agree that when you see Mother, you'll say that Shen Wantang went out to meet her lover?!"

"That's what you said, I didn't say that."

Xiao Qingxi angrily pointed her finger at him: "You! You betrayed me! I'm severing all ties with you as siblings!"

Princess Ning, fearing she would get angry, quickly said, "Qingxi, your brother is just telling the truth, so don't argue with him. Do you really want him to join you in framing Tang'er? How have I always taught you to be honest and trustworthy? How can you just frame someone like that?"

Xiao Qingxi pouted and puffed out her cheeks: "But I don't want to apologize to Shen Wantang in front of the maids and servants, that would be too embarrassing for me."

"So you're framing her? You want to go back on your word? Then why did you make the bet with her in the first place?"

"I……"

Xiao Qingxi was speechless. She had no idea she would lose. She never imagined that it was Chu Yanluo, not Shen Wantang, who was running off to meet her lover late at night!

She hated Chu Yanluo to death and couldn't help but curse, "No concubine is any good! They've ruined me!"

Princess Ning took her daughter's hand and asked her about her health in detail. Just when Xiao Qingxi thought she had gotten away with it and didn't need to apologize, Princess Ning said, "Since you are in good health, then go!"

"Huh? Where does Mother want me to go?"

"Naturally, I'll go to Tang'er's courtyard to apologize to her."

Xiao Qingxi: "..."

Princess Ning released her daughter's hand: "Granny Quan, Granny Kang, you two go with the princess."

Xiao Qingyuan rarely saw his sister get the short end of the stick, and he felt a surge of excitement: "I'll go with Qingxi too."

Xiao Qingxi shouted, "Mother! I'm not going!"

“Qingxi, if it were anything else, it would be fine, but you falsely accused Tang’er of having an affair with a man. This is too serious. If you don’t apologize, the old women below might believe it. If word gets out, how will Tang’er face people? How will she manage the household in the future?”

Princess Ning's attitude was very firm: "If you don't want to apologize to Tang'er, then stop talking nonsense. It's only because Tang'er is magnanimous and doesn't hold it against you. If it were anyone else, they would have come to me to complain about you long ago, and they would have been made to cry several times by you."

"Go quickly, your two nannies and your brother are with you, what do you have to be afraid of?"

Xiao Qingxi gritted her teeth: "I'm not scared, I just feel ashamed!"

"We're all family, no one will laugh at you, especially your sister-in-law. Go on!"

Xiao Qingxi muttered angrily, "Who's family with her?" as she reluctantly walked out.

She dawdled for a full quarter of an hour before finally reaching Shen Wantang's courtyard, cursing Xiao Qingyuan and Chu Yanluo the whole way, complaining that they were both useless and had caused her to lose the bet.

She had assumed that Shen Wantang, having won the bet, would be arrogant and would summon a bunch of maids and servants to come and apologize to her, making the servants laugh at her.

However, after she entered the Wutong Garden, she found it quiet and deserted, with no sign of the maids or servants.

Once inside the house, Shen Wantang remained as calm and unassuming as ever. Apart from her personal maid and Granny Chai, there was no one else around.

For some reason, Xiao Qingxi felt a sense of relief.

Seeing that Shen Wantang was only drinking tea and ignoring her, she couldn't help but say, "Hey, are you blind? Can't you see that this princess is here?"

Shen Wantang looked up at her: "First of all, I don't call you 'Hey'."

"Secondly, I am not blind; it is the princess who is too rude."

Xiao Qingxi glared at her: "Shen Wantang!"

"Princess, shouldn't you call me sister-in-law?"

"Shen Wantang, stop putting on airs! I will never call you sister-in-law!"

Shen Wantang didn't really care what Xiao Qingxi called her; she just thought it was fun to tease Xiao Qingxi.

She looked at Xiao Qingxi with a leisurely air: "Then what brings the princess here?"

Xiao Qingxi bit her lip, holding back for a long time until her fair face turned red, before she said stiffly, "I've come to apologize to you! I'm sorry!"

Shen Wantang placed her hand behind her ear, her palm slightly cupped: "What did the princess say? I didn't hear you clearly?"

Xiao Qingxi's eyes reddened: "Shen Wantang, don't be so arrogant! You won the bet this time, but that's all you can win. I'll definitely win every time from now on!"

Shen Wantang smiled slightly: "What did I win? Please explain, Princess."

Xiao Qingxi turned her face away, unwilling to look at her: "Isn't it just that I misjudged? You didn't have a secret rendezvous with your lover. The one who had a secret rendezvous with your lover was that damned Chu Yanluo!"

"Has the princess finally admitted that you wronged me?"

Xiao Qingxi remained silent, her neck stiff, but she had already tacitly accepted Shen Wantang's statement.

Shen Wantang knew that it was already quite an achievement for Xiao Qingxi to have done this much, given her proud personality. She stopped pressuring Xiao Qingxi and quickly gave her a way out.

"The princess is willing to accept defeat and admit her mistakes, which shows she has a sense of responsibility. In fact, her mother raised her quite well."

When Xiao Qingxi heard her praise her, her tone softened, and she knew that this matter was over.

She finally recovered from her unease: "Hmph, you don't need to tell me!"

Xiao Qingyuan didn't expect Shen Wantang to let Xiao Qingxi off so easily. Just as his mother said, if it were anyone else, they would not have let it go without making a scene after being falsely accused of having an affair with their lover.

A perfect example is Chu Yanluo; she had a good cry yesterday.

As he was thinking, he saw Xiao Qingxi walk inside and pick up a cloak that was placed in a brocade box.

The cloak was made of the finest red fox fur, a dazzling, fiery red, with only a black trim around the cuffs and collar.

Xiao Qingyuan asked subconsciously, "Shen Wantang, when did you collect such fine fire fox fur? Did you make this especially for yourself?"

Shen Wantang nodded: "Your Highness is right, this is something I made for myself." As for how she collected the fire fox fur, she didn't say.

Xiao Qingxi turned around, clutching the cloak: "Shen Wantang, you didn't say that yesterday! You said this cloak was for me! Why did you change your mind today?"

"I did say I would give it to the princess, but she refused. Since she didn't want it, I had no choice but to wear it myself."

Xiao Qingxi stroked the soft, smooth cloak, looking at its fiery red color, and felt a surge of joy: "Who said I didn't want it? I'm going to keep this cloak!"

As she spoke, she draped the cloak over herself.

She turned around and asked Granny Kang, "Granny, how do I look? Am I pretty?"

Granny Kang knew perfectly well that this place was actually prepared by Shen Wantang specifically for the princess.

She smiled and said, "It looks beautiful. This color suits you so well, Princess. If you wore this out, you would be as dazzling as the sun! And this cloak is thick, so you won't be cold wearing it."

"I'm not afraid of the cold anyway."

Xiao Qingxi said something and walked out wearing her cloak.

Granny Kang quickly bowed to Shen Wantang: "Thank you, Princess Consort!"

Xiao Qingyuan, however, couldn't stand it and said, "This belongs to Shen Wantang. If you want it, I'll have someone make another one for you. You can keep it for her."

Xiao Qingxi glared at him fiercely: "You've married a wife and forgotten your sister, Xiao Qingyuan, your heart is completely biased now!"

After she finished speaking, she turned and left.

Xiao Qingyuan looked at Shen Wantang somewhat awkwardly: "Qingxi is used to being willful, don't take it to heart. I'll see if I can find you some more fox fur later so you can make a new one."

Shen Wantang shook her head: "No need, I already have a white snow fox one. This red fire fox one was originally for the princess."

The red one wasn't big enough because the fur was too sparse, and since Shen Wantang was on the taller side for a woman, it didn't fit her well.

Xiao Qingxi was a little shorter than her, so the clothes fit her perfectly.

However, Shen Wantang never actually wore the white dress, because if she did, Xiao Qingyuan would easily mistake her for Chu Yanluo.

She planned to send it to her cousin and ask him to find the best craftsman to dye the white color into another color, which might start a new trend!

Xiao Qingyuan felt he still owed Shen Wantang a little something. She clearly liked bright and eye-catching colors the most and didn't like white, but she still gave the red one to her sister. She was really generous.

After leaving Shen Wantang's courtyard, he couldn't help but start thinking about where to get some fine furs to give to Shen Wantang.

As he was thinking, a servant hurriedly ran past him.

He frowned: "Stop!"

The servant hurriedly turned back: "Young Master, what are your orders?"

Why are you running? What happened?

"Sir, it's Magistrate Ye Zhongli, whom you just rescued from prison, who has been arrested again by the Embroidered Uniform Guard!"

"What?! Why this time?!"

"Sir, I heard that the Embroidered Uniform Guard followed Magistrate Ye and dug up a million taels of silver that he had buried in the underground passage of his villa!"

Xiao Qingyuan's vision went black, and he exclaimed, "This is impossible!"

"Sir, it's true! The Imperial Guards' carriages were carrying chests full of gleaming silver into the city, and many people saw it! I also heard that the court plans to use this silver to reward the soldiers who won the battle, and they're offering a reward of at least a thousand taels of silver for anyone who can provide strong clues and evidence for the Xin family case!"

The servant said excitedly, "This news has spread far and wide, and everyone is now looking for any clues about the Xin family case!"

Xiao Qingyuan's mind was buzzing, and he could barely hear what the servant was saying.

He had only one thought in his mind: it's over. He had trusted the wrong person again. He had taken in the daughter of a corrupt official who had embezzled a million taels of silver and even helped bribe the jailer to get the corrupt official out!

He staggered.

Mo Ji quickly supported him: "Your Highness, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

Xiao Qingyuan turned his head, looked at his servant, and revealed a smile that was more like a grimace: "Moji, I've been tricked again! Hahahaha, how wonderful, one by one, they've all tricked me! They've all tricked me!"

Mo Ji sighed, "Your Highness, you were careless this time, which is why you trusted Miss Ye so easily. Just be more careful in the future. Miss Ye is still staying at our Prince's residence. If you're angry, why don't you go and scold her a bit?"

Xiao Qingyuan clenched his fist: "Yes, she's still in the Prince's mansion. I'm going to go and scold her! Let's go!"

Mo Ji hurriedly helped him walk towards Ye Lingyun's courtyard, but they had only gone halfway when they saw several guards forcing Ye Lingyun to leave.

Upon seeing Xiao Qingyuan, Ye Lingyun immediately burst into tears: "Your Highness, save me! My father has been wronged!"

Xiao Qingyuan walked up to her, his face turning slightly pale: "How long are you going to keep lying to me? The Imperial Guards have already dug up the silver your father embezzled, and you still dare to cry foul!"

"He was framed! Someone deliberately planted silver in my villa to frame my father!"

Xiao Qingyuan was furious: "Who would use a million taels of silver to frame your father, a mere county magistrate? I think you have no concept of money at all. Do you know how much a million taels of silver is? Who has the ability to produce a million taels so quickly?"

"The Prince Ning's mansion is already wealthy enough, but it still can't come up with that much cash!"

Ye Lingyun's face turned pale. She wanted to say something more, but was interrupted by the leading guard: "Your Highness, we are ordered by the Prince to escort Miss Ye to the Ministry of Justice for trial. There is no time to delay."

Xiao Qingyuan knew that the guards were afraid he would suddenly help Ye Lingyun again. In their eyes, he was probably a fool now, believing someone like Ye Lingyun.

He waved his hand coldly: "Take him away!"

Ye Lingyun was immediately terrified: "Your Highness, Your Highness, save me! You can't just stand by and watch me die! Aren't you the kindest person?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Qingyuan finally understood that Ye Lingyun was actually using him.

She initially wanted to take advantage of Gu Qianhan, but Gu Qianhan was too cold-hearted and simply told her to get lost.

She then begged him, and later discovered that he was kind-hearted, so she pleaded and begged until she moved into the Prince Ning's mansion.

Xiao Qingyuan felt his blood surging and his anger so intense that his entire chest ached.

He said coldly, "You and your father deserve to die, don't you? Take her away immediately, I never want to see her again!"

"yes!"

The guards immediately took Ye Lingyun away.

Xiao Qingyuan clenched his fists and stood stiffly in the cold wind for a while, until Mo Ji called him before he finally came to his senses: "What did you just say?"

"What I mean is, Your Highness, would you like to go for a walk in the streets and see what's going on with Magistrate Ye?"

Xiao Qingyuan smiled bitterly: "Do I even need to listen? I'm afraid half of them are cursing Magistrate Ye, and the other half are cursing me. Magistrate Ye deserves to be cursed, and I deserve to be cursed too."

Seeing his expression, Mo Ji felt a pang of pity: "My lord, it's not necessarily true. You kindly helped Miss Ye, but the prince also reported it to the palace on your behalf. So the palace already knew that Miss Ye was living in our manor, which means our manor is keeping an eye on Miss Ye."

Xiao Qingyuan was taken aback: "From what you're saying, could it be... that I've done something good?"

"You'll understand once you go out and listen."

Xiao Qingyuan immediately stepped outside.

Once he went out on the street, people quickly recognized him.

"Oh, Young Master Xiao! I heard that you helped arrest Magistrate Ye, that big corrupt official! You are truly remarkable, please accept my bow!"