Chapter 125 The Crown Prince's Beloved

"This matter is so dangerous, yet you didn't inform me at all," a flame flickered in his eyes. "Even if Consort Chen used Father Emperor to force you, didn't you know to find an excuse to refuse? You could have said you were feeling unwell or it was inconvenient for you. Did Father Emperor really issue an edict?"

"At the very least, when you're choosing a horse, just have someone pass on a message to me, and I'll send more people to protect you secretly. Why go alone? Do you want to die even faster?"

Xiao Xuanyou had never been so angry before.

She's always like this: she makes decisions alone, takes risks alone, and gets everything done by herself before letting you know at the very end.

Just like in that dream, he was unable to leave the palace for a banquet, while she took an abortion pill alone and bled to death on the cold bed.

It was as if he was dispensable to her, an option she could abandon at any time.

Jiang Zhi was in pain all over. She had finally made some progress, but Xiao Xuanyou not only didn't appreciate it, but also made sarcastic remarks.

Her temper flared, and her voice became indifferent and cold, "If Your Highness the Crown Prince doesn't like my things, I'll take them back."

She was about to put the jade pendant back into her clothes when Xiao Xuanyou grabbed her wrist. "Is that what I meant?"

His brows furrowed suddenly, and his eyes burned with barely suppressed rage.

She always managed to easily stir his nerves.

"So, if Your Highness doesn't want it, then I'll just throw it away and pretend this never happened?" Jiang Zhi looked directly at him.

Xiao Xuanyou stared intently at the rabbit-shaped jade pendant, his thin lips trembling.

If it weren't for her injury, he would have definitely taught her a lesson and shown her what was what.

But now...

He took a deep breath and accepted the jade pendant with a livid face.

Just as he was about to give her a few words of advice, a guard standing at a distance came to report, "Your Highness, the Crown Princess has arrived, and she is carrying a sedan chair."

Xiao Xuanyou got up to look and saw that Li Jinyan had indeed brought over a palanquin with two guards.

Because they were hunting on the outskirts, the palanquin was rather simple and offered no shelter.

Li Jinyan said shyly, "I'm sorry, this was the only thing I could find in this emergency. I hope Princess Qinghe won't find it offensive."

Li Jinyan encountered the Crown Prince on her way back. After pointing out the direction to the group, she hurried back to the hunting grounds.

Jiang Zhi naturally didn't mind, "Thank you for your help, Crown Princess."

“It’s alright,” Li Jinyan said, looking at the barely concealed anger and worry in Xiao Xuanyou’s eyes and Jiang Zhi’s disheveled appearance. “However, it might not be appropriate for Princess Qinghe to go back like this. I happened to bring a set of clothes with me, so you can go and wash up and tidy yourself up.”

His clothes were disheveled, he was covered in wounds, and he had been in the dense forest for so long.

Once they appear in the paddock, they attract countless rumors and gossip.

Jiang Zhi didn't care about these things.

Her reputation was already tarnished; she was accused of disrespecting elders, behaving outrageously, and lacking any semblance of the demeanor expected of a lady from a respectable family.

If she hadn't been personally bestowed the title of County Princess by the Emperor, rumors about her would probably be flying everywhere in the capital by now.

But Xiao Xuanyou nodded in agreement, "Go change your clothes, then we can leave."

Jiang Zhi shook her head. "I can't change my clothes right now. Let's go back and talk about it later. Let outsiders talk if they want. I don't care."

Xiao Xuanyou frowned.

Li Jinyan looked at Jiang Zhi, then at Xiao Xuanyou, and suddenly said, "Let me help Princess Qinghe."

She happened to have some questions she wanted to ask her.

So the guards used the tree trunks to build a canopy with three sides covered, and Li Jinyan stood guard at the gap to help Jiang Zhi change her clothes.

Xiao Xuanyou wanted to do it himself, but with Li Jinyan present, he could only politely keep his distance.

"Your Highness's beloved is Princess Qinghe, isn't she?" Li Jinyan asked suddenly as she helped Jiang Zhi take off her outer robe.

Jiang Zhi paused for a moment, then continued what she was doing without showing any emotion, her voice calm, "Why does Your Highness say that? I am not familiar with His Highness the Crown Prince. His Highness the Crown Prince also said that he only saved me as a matter of course in order to save Your Highness the Crown Princess."

To everyone's surprise, Li Jinyan burst out laughing, "These kinds of words can only fool those outsiders."

"I just saw His Highness the Crown Prince on the way. As we passed each other, he didn't even glance at me. He just asked me with a cold face if I knew where you were. Although His Highness the Crown Prince is gentle and polite to everyone, I have never seen him so anxious."

Jiang Zhi's movements were slightly stiff.

She didn't know what Xiao Xuanyou was thinking, but one thing was certain: his attention and concern for her were suffocating.

Looking at her expression, Li Jinyan knew that she was pretty much right, so she softened her tone and said, "But please rest assured, Princess Qinghe, I won't mind."

"What does the Crown Princess mean by that?" Jiang Zhi asked, puzzled.

“His Highness the Crown Prince and I are just business partners,” Li Jinyan said, taking her an outer robe and draping it over her shoulders. “We had already agreed that once the partnership ended, we would go our separate ways. His Highness the Crown Prince would divorce me and let me leave the Eastern Palace.”

"You won't become the Crown Princess?"

Li Jinyan nodded.

Jiang Zhi was shocked. After thinking for a moment, she asked, "Then why did the Crown Princess tell me all this today?"

Li Jinyan was pretty and charming. Upon hearing this, she winked at her and said, "That's naturally because I'm very curious about you. After all, you're the kind of person who can make His Highness the Crown Prince so concerned. I'm also afraid that you two might have a rift because of me, and then I would be in big trouble. So I thought I'd make things clear to you in advance."

Jiang Zhi immediately shook her head, "Your Highness, you must have misunderstood. I have absolutely no relationship with His Highness the Crown Prince. You don't need to tell me these things."

Li Jinyan held her hand. "I know. Princess Qinghe has many concerns and is unwilling to be honest right now. I understand. You don't need to explain to me."

She trusted her own judgment.

Once she has avenged her sister, she will leave Kyoto with that person and travel the world together, living as a divine couple.

A smile spread across her face, revealing a look of longing.

Xiao Xuanyou gazed at the curtained-off area from afar.

At first, you could hear voices coming from the conversation, though they were not very clear, but they were fragmented and continuous.

But the sound soon fell silent.

He thought the two would be done soon, so he waited patiently.

Another cup of tea's time passed, and the two still hadn't appeared.

He felt a vague unease and called out to Li Jinyan, but received no response.

He disregarded all segregation between men and women and stepped forward, lifting the curtain to find only a set of clothes on the ground; there was no trace of the two of them.