Chapter 17 The servant has caused trouble. Jiang Zhuoying frowned slightly. She had just…
Jiang Zhuoying frowned slightly; this was just an excuse...
Do you really think she did something wrong?
Or is he convinced that she is involved with the Zhuozhuo Pool water?
Jiang Zhuoying thought for a moment, then said in a weak voice, "Your Highness... I have always been timid and have never dared to do anything out of line."
"After much thought, I feel there might be a misunderstanding. Does Your Highness suspect that I am involved in the poisoning of the Zhuozhuo pool?"
Jiang Zhuoying took a breath and coughed a few times: "This servant just happened to come here and has nothing to do with this matter."
Whether it's relevant or not is not up to you to decide.
The man's voice was colder than before.
Jiang Zhuoying remained silent for a few moments before breaking into a sob: "Why...why are you targeting me like this?"
The dull footsteps sounded again, and the light before Jiang Zhuoying's eyes was slowly enveloped by a shadow, the voice carrying an undeniable pressure.
What do you think?
Jiang Zhuoying took a deep breath: "Cough cough cough..."
This time, she really choked on her own saliva.
Jiang Zhuoying pretended to sob a few more times, then lowered her head and did not respond.
"Knock knock~" There was a knock on the door. "Master, your servant has brought the medicine."
"Come in."
As Jiang Zhuoying wiped away her tears, she looked up and saw Chu Yixin coming from a distance, carrying a food table with a blue-and-white porcelain medicine bowl on it.
As soon as he approached, he saw the little girl wiping away tears, her face streaked with tears, and then glanced at his unmoved master.
Chu Yixin frowned secretly, a sense of inexplicable worry rising in her heart.
This young lady Jiang is born this way, yet her master is still so indifferent.
If an ordinary man saw this scene, he would probably be itching to make a move!
"Let's go."
Another cold urging came, and Chu Yixin nodded: "Sigh."
He put the things he was carrying on the table, then turned and followed his master away.
As soon as I stepped into the next room, I heard soft sobbing behind me, as if someone was trying their best to suppress their crying. It sounded intermittent and very weak.
Chu Yi glanced at her master subconsciously, her expression completely unmoved...
He suddenly felt a pang of heartache. If such a beautiful woman couldn't even stir his master's heart, then what about Eunuch Liu...?
As the two disappeared from her sight and the door closed again, Jiang Zhuoying immediately changed her expression.
She frowned and took small sips of the herbal medicine; it was indeed quite bitter.
*
Chu Yixin followed them out of the main room. He glanced at Qi Fan again, seemingly wanting to say something but then stopped himself.
"What?" the man asked indifferently.
"Sir, did you make that girl cry?"
Chu Yixin carefully considered her words while trying to recall them in her mind.
She had been by her master's side since birth, and this seemed to be the first time her master had made the girl cry.
The man walking in front of her suddenly stopped, paused for a moment, and said, "She cried herself."
"oh."
Chu Yixin didn't believe it. Why would such a grown girl cry for no reason?
It must be that the master is too cold-hearted and said something unpleasant that made the girl sad.
...
In the evening, Jiang Zhuoying was fixing her hair in front of a bronze mirror.
With nothing to do, she was brought back in the afternoon and fortunately rested on the tatami mat for half a day, so her hair was a bit messy now.
"Ta-da~"
"Who's outside?" Jiang Zhuoying turned her head and waited for a few moments, but no one answered.
She pursed her lips, got up and went to the door. As soon as she opened the door, Xie Ling was standing there.
Jiang Zhuoying was surprised: "It's you? Didn't His Highness send you and Guard Pei to investigate the shoe print matter?"
The setting sun cast an orange-red glow, and the blush on Xie Ling's bronze face was hard to tell whether it was from the sun or the heat.
He took out a paper package from his pocket and handed it to the girl: "Well, I've found some clues. I passed by a pastry shop on my way back and heard that girls love pastries. This is for you."
Jiang Zhuoying was even more surprised. Her brown pupils narrowed slightly as she stared at the oil paper package in her dark palm, suddenly unsure of what to say.
As a noblewoman of the Duke's mansion, she lived a secluded life in her chambers. How could any outsider have such an opportunity to approach her?
Later, she lived in a suburban village to observe mourning for her mother and would not see any men outside the family.
Therefore, this was the first time she had felt it so clearly...
Is this how men show affection?
"Miss Jiang? You don't like her?"
Jiang Zhuoying was reminded by him and immediately came to her senses, then frowned again.
She cannot accept this package of pastries.
But how can she make Xie Ling understand that she is not the right match for him?
Meanwhile, inside the east wing.
Qi Fan stood by the window, teasing Zhuozhuo. When he looked up, he seemed to see something, and his eyes narrowed slightly...
Jiang Zhuoying took a step back: "Sorry, I don't like it."
"ah?"
Xie Ling froze, not expecting that the gentle and kind Miss Jiang would reject him so directly.
Jiang Zhuoying prepared her words: "Thank you, Guard, I..."
She gritted her teeth and said, "I'm already engaged back home."
Xie Ling stared blankly, the faint blush on her face completely fading away.
His heart sank when he heard these words, and the feeling of elation vanished instantly.
"So... I can't accept your kindness." Jiang Zhuoying finished speaking, pursing her lips.
"Do you understand?"
Xie Ling tightened his grip on the paper package, but he still managed to hold on and didn't immediately pull his hand back.
“I… I understand what Miss Jiang means, but you may have misunderstood. I didn’t mean it that way. These pastries were originally bought for my younger sister, but I accidentally bought too many. I don’t like using these kinds of things. If you don’t mind, please accept them.”
"I only consider you my younger sister, just like my own sister."
His eyes flashed with stubbornness, and he hesitated to retract his outstretched arm.
After a moment's thought, Jiang Zhuoying decided to accept the gift. Since he had said so, she couldn't refuse him too much.
"good."
She nodded, took the pastries wrapped in oil paper with both hands, and lifted a corner to reveal several kinds of pastries that were popular in Luoyang.
"Hey, what are you all doing standing at the door?"
A high-pitched voice rang out, and Jiang Zhuoying raised her head: "Eunuch Chu."
Her gaze shifted slightly upwards, and she saw a tall, slender man following behind Chu Yixin, his dark eyes seemingly frozen in ice…
Jiang Zhuoying shivered unexpectedly. She curtsied and said, "Greetings to Your Highness."
Xie Ling, standing beside her, was the same.
After waiting a few moments, all I got was a cold "hmm".
Um?
Jiang Zhuoying frowned slightly. Would she be able to get up?
Chu Yixin glanced at her master's face: "Ahem, Miss Jiang, please get up. You're not fully recovered yet!"
Jiang Zhuoying bit her lip, trembling and not daring to get up. She glanced at Xie Ling's direction, but he stood as straight as a pine tree.
Suddenly, I realized that the current situation was like trying to separate a loving couple.
Although she and Xie Ling were not a couple.
This man's temperament is really strange. How come I didn't notice it when I was a carp?
"Don't you understand?"
A cold voice sounded above her head again. Jiang Zhuoying suppressed her anger and stood up with trembling hands: "It was this servant who failed to understand Your Highness's meaning. Please forgive me, Your Highness."
Yet, an unspeakable rage burned within her.
Just wait and see. If she gets the chance in the future, she will make him suffer the injustices she has suffered so far!
She stood up straight, but Xie Ling hadn't.
"Has the matter been investigated?"
The man glanced at the pastries in Jiang Zhuoying's hand, and his words were clearly directed at Xie Ling.
"Your Highness, Pei Yun and I have made some progress, but we haven't had a chance to report back to you yet."
Chu Yixin looked away with a "disappointed" expression. Before she could report to His Highness, she had time to send some snacks to Miss Jiang.
"Come with me."
Qi Fan turned and left, and Xie Ling had no choice but to get up and follow him. He didn't even have time to signal to Jiang Zhuoying along the way.
Chu Yixin nodded at Jiang Zhuoying with a forced smile, then turned and followed her.
*
East wing room.
"...Your Highness, Pei Yun has already investigated that person's identity and background."
Xie Ling stood tall and proud; Jiang had indeed been somewhat of a suspect before.
However, this investigation has confirmed that someone with ulterior motives ordered identical clothing and shoes from the cloth shop to those worn by the servants in the household.
According to the shopkeeper's recollection, the man looked remarkably like one of the Third Prince's trusted confidants.
Pei Yun had already gone to verify this matter; he had returned specifically to report it to His Highness in advance.
The matter had been reported, but Qi Fan, sitting behind his desk, remained silent for a long time.
Xie Ling waited a while longer, thinking that his lord was lost in thought, and was about to remind him when the man behind the desk spoke up.
"Your martial arts skills are excellent, and you have been a bodyguard for several years. If we send you to Fei Ying's side to help her gather intelligence, do you have any objections?"
Xie Ling was startled, then raised his head with shining eyes: "This subordinate has no objection! Thank you for your promotion, Your Highness!"
"Yes, you may leave."
"yes!"
“You are still young, and that girl in the courtyard is not one of you. You will find out in the future,” the man added with a stern face.
Upon hearing this, Chu Yixin turned to look at Qi Fan, whose fingers trembled slightly as he held the whisk.
Is the master... finally enlightened?
"Your Highness, I understand. Besides, Miss Jiang is already engaged, and I would never take what belongs to another!"
Chu Yixin was startled, then looked up at Xie Ling, who was kneeling on the ground.
What did Guard Xie just say?
Are they already married?
He couldn't help but glance at Qi Fan's face again...
The man's expression remained unchanged, unsmiling and revealing little emotion, but he could sense that his master was displeased.
Oh dear... how could this happen?
If Miss Jiang gets married, what should the master do?
*
Jiang Zhuoying was completely unaware that many things had happened in the Second Prince's courtyard because of her arrival.
All she knew was that she hadn't seen the man for three days.
Ever since that day at the main house entrance, when he met that man with Xie Ling, the Second Prince seemed to have vanished...
Even Zhuozhuo in the side room was fed by Pei Yun on time.
What should we do?
If she delays any longer, she will have no reason to stay here.
On the table was a 'trap' she had prepared long ago; the cursive script she had written was now carefully soaked in water, and the characters were smudged.
If she can't see the Second Prince, how can she get him to fall into this 'trap'?
She sighed softly, followed her gaze to the screen wall, and then her eyes lit up...
It's Eunuch Chu!
Since he is here, how could the Second Prince be far away?
After a moment's thought, she decided that there was no better time than today, so she would carry out the plan that day.
Jiang Zhuoying got up and strode towards the next room, rubbing her eyes hard as she did so...
She had barely sat down, and her tears were almost ready, when there was a knock on the door.
"Miss Jiang? Is she inside?"
Jiang Zhuoying choked up, her voice trembling with sobs: "Is that Eunuch Chu? Yes, I'm inside. Please come in."
With a creak, the door was pushed open, followed by increasingly loud footsteps.
Jiang Zhuoying hurriedly stood up, then lowered her head again: "Eunuch Chu."
"Oh, Miss Jiang, what's wrong? Why are you crying? Did someone in this courtyard bully you?"
Chu Yixin's heart skipped a beat. He had originally planned to take the girl home today, so why did something else happen?
Jiang Zhuoying shook her head: "No, no one bullied me, it was me... it was me who caused trouble."
Her eyes were both red-rimmed, and she shook her head frantically, looking like a rabbit that had been frightened by a gray wolf.
At a time like this, no one could bring themselves to tell her to leave immediately.
This naturally includes Chu Yixin.
"What...what trouble did she get into?" he asked cautiously, not daring to make any promises to help her.
Jiang Zhuoying wiped away her tears as she looked at the calligraphy on the table, seemingly already sobbing uncontrollably: "This was brought by my young lady. She said she heard that His Highness the Second Prince is extremely skilled in cursive script and would like to ask His Highness for some guidance..."
"But... this servant accidentally ruined it like this. This is the young lady's favorite piece of calligraphy."
"Waaaaah..."
Jiang Zhuoying felt somewhat guilty after saying these words, and to cover up her guilt, she cried even harder.
"Oh dear... this character."
Chu Yixin stepped forward and took a look at the whole thing. The entire calligraphy was soaked and stained, so it was definitely unusable.
Jiang Zhuoying sobbed uncontrollably in front of him. In any case, she still had to report this scene to her master.
"Don't worry, young lady. Let me go and inform my master first, and see if he can come up with a solution."
After saying that, he turned and left. Jiang Zhuoying sobbed until his figure shrank to the size of a grain of rice.
Jiang Zhuoying turned around and went to the bronze mirror. She looked in the mirror and made several expressions, carefully studying which angle and expression would make her look the most pitiful.
Not long after, the footsteps approached again, and this time it sounded like more than one person...
The next moment, her face fell, and the corners of her mouth drooped.
Her dark blue robes had already fluttered past the threshold, and Jiang Zhuoying knelt on the carpet in the direction the man had come from.
"This servant greets Your Highness."
Qi Fan strode into the room and walked a few steps to the octagonal table, where a piece of cursive calligraphy was indeed placed.
As Chu Yixin said, the brushstrokes are like flowing clouds and startled dragons; judging from the strength of this stroke, the person practicing calligraphy must have at least ten years of experience.
The man was surprised to find that Jiang Zheng's daughter had such a beautiful cursive script.
"...Your Highness?"
Jiang Zhuoying choked back tears and called his name again. Had he forgotten her?
"Ahem, so this is the trouble you've caused?"
The man regained his original indifferent expression.
Jiang Zhuoying sobbed, "Yes, exactly."
"Why was this disaster only discovered today?"
“I was sick for two days after falling into the water, and my mind wasn’t very clear. I only realized this a couple of days ago, but Your Highness wasn’t in this courtyard…”
"Alas, this is the young lady's favorite piece of calligraphy. It was written under the guidance of my master before he left Luoyang."
"But this calligraphy is ruined. If I go back, I will definitely suffer the consequences."
Her face was as pale as paper, and she was trembling all over. She spoke haltingly, and her body was shaking.
This look wasn't just ordinary fear; it was more like terror, an excessive fear.
Qi Fan frowned almost imperceptibly: "Are you that afraid of that Miss Jiang?"
Her frail body trembled violently again, and then she lowered her slender frame even further: "This servant...this servant is not afraid."
"This servant has committed a terrible crime. Whatever punishment you wish to give me, young lady, is justified."
The man stared at the tiny, trembling figure in his eyes for what seemed like an eternity, so long that Jiang Zhuoying felt she had cried all her tears out.
The man not far away finally spoke slowly: "Hmm."
Jiang Zhuoying: "???"
She gasped in disbelief, then slowly raised her head, the angle almost perfectly chosen.
Her peach blossom eyes glistened with tears, making her look pitiful.
She choked back tears, feigning anger: "Your Highness is unwilling to help me think of a solution, fine, but why are you toying with me?"
The man's dark eyes were like lacquer. As if he had thought of something, his gaze suddenly shifted, no longer looking directly at her.
"stand up."
Jiang Zhuoying pursed her lips, unsure of his intentions, but could only stand up for the time being.
“Tell me when you get back that I accidentally damaged this calligraphy.”
“…Huh?” Jiang Zhuoying stood there, stunned.
She hadn't expected the Second Prince to come up with such an idea.
According to her plan, she would act pitiful to make the second prince feel sorry for her, and then she could make another one in imitation of the calligraphy.
That would allow her to stay here during this period, which could be considered as delaying the inevitable for a few days.
If she still hasn't found out anything about the Duke of Rui's mansion by the end of these few days, then she'll think of other ways.
But... this is me taking the blame for her?
"Your health is much better now, and the difficulty with this calligraphy has been resolved. Go and pack your belongings, and I'll have someone take you home in a little while."
Jiang Zhuoying: "..."
What kind of monster is she?
What is wrong with her?
So obedient, gentle, pitiful, and beautiful, why are you in such a hurry to send her away?
It seemed as if they couldn't wait even a moment longer...
Jiang Zhuoying suddenly felt disheartened and even forgot to pretend to faint.
She only slowly came to her senses after the two had left the room.
She glanced around. Could it be that the Second Prince felt she was occupying his main room?
She clearly doesn't have to stay here...it wouldn't be a problem to let her stay in a side room...
Jiang Zhuoying's first plan failed, so she had to think for a long time before coming up with another one.
She casually gathered her clothes, which were actually bought for her by Eunuch Chu a few days ago.
After she had finished packing, she lifted her skirt and headed to the east wing.
She was determined to use the excuse of saying goodbye to Zhuozhuo to faint in front of the Second Prince again!
Jiang Zhuoying tiptoed past the window of the room, and before she could even show herself, she heard voices coming from inside.
"Everyone's been arranged?"
"Indeed, this servant has already instructed Guard Pei to escort Miss Jiang back..."
Chu Yixin hesitated, wanting to speak but holding back. He had thought that finally a girl had appeared who could move his master's heart, but unexpectedly...
Oh, what a pity, what a real pity!
Qi Fan glanced at him: "You can tell that this maid has ulterior motives. Even if the crab meat in the pond has nothing to do with Miss Jiang, she's still so beautiful and skilled at raising carp..."
He paused for a moment, then recalled that tender, yet hooking gaze.
She was already engaged.
A note from the author:
----------------------
Yingbao: "Am I a monster?"
Qi Gou (shaking his head frantically): "Let me explain..."
When Yingbao heard Qi Gou's suspicions, she knew that pretending to faint wouldn't solve the problem, so she had to pull out all the stops!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
