"Greetings, Your Majesty the Empress."
Empress Su, who had been waiting for Jiang Hua to kneel, looked at Jiang Hua with some displeasure as she merely bowed slightly.
"How can you say that the Empress is the Empress of the Great Sheng Kingdom? Jiang Hua, why don't you kneel before her? Are you trying to put on airs in front of her?"
An Xinya immediately noticed the displeasure on Empress Su's face.
"Ya Ya, never mind. Jiang Hua is from the Jiang family, so His Majesty has exempted the Jiang family from the kneeling ceremony. Someone, bring a seat." Empress Su then slowly spoke, and had a palace maid bring in a stool.
"Jiang Hua, is that it? I heard that you played a crucial role in the recent plague in Jiangnan City."
"Your Majesty, it was merely what I could do."
What a wonderful statement, "Doing what one can!"
"I summoned you to the palace today simply to see what the sister my son spoke of is like. Don't be nervous, just have a casual chat."
Empress Su changed the subject, mentioning Zhou Yingxuan, and then her eyes also fell on the expression on Jiang Hua's face.
"The Crown Prince has arrived!"
Just as Empress Su was about to say something, a eunuch announced that Zhou Yingxuan had arrived.
“Brother Yingxuan.”
When An Xinya saw Zhou Yingxuan walk in, her face lit up with joy. She was about to get up, but then she remembered that Empress Su was also there, so she suppressed her excitement.
After bowing, Zhou Yingxuan sat down opposite Jiang Hua, scrutinizing her with a complex expression.
"Ah Xuan, is this the younger sister you mentioned in Xu Family Village?" Empress Su asked casually, following his gaze.
“Mother, no,” Zhou Yingxuan replied.
The men he sent out had searched Xujia Village countless times, but they hadn't found Lin Shuyan. After much thought, he could only place his hopes on Jiang Hua.
He also wanted to know what to do next to secure his throne. He had heard from his mother that his father had intended to make him the crown prince, but then Jiang Jingyi suddenly appeared.
"Jiang Hua, where did you hide Yan Yan?"
Who is Yan Yan?
When An Xinya heard Zhou Yingxuan mention the name Yan Yan, she realized it was clearly a girl's name. Could it be that her Yingxuan brother had someone else he loved?
Even Empress Su couldn't help but look at Jiang Hua, waiting for her response.
"What do you mean by that, Your Highness? Her feet are attached to her body, how would I know where she went?" Jiang Hua asked casually.
“I asked the village chief of Xujia Village, and he said that Yan Yan only had a conflict with you. So, what exactly did you do to her?” Zhou Yingxuan stared directly into Jiang Hua’s eyes, as if trying to find some clues from her.
"Didn't I promise you? I would marry you when I came back! Why can't you tolerate Yan Yan?"
Marry?
An Xinya's face immediately turned pale, and the smile she had been barely maintaining was now on the verge of crumbling.
Lin Shuyan has no relatives or friends, where could she go?
There was only one possibility left, and Zhou Yingxuan began to prepare for the worst.
“Your Highness, everything requires evidence. You say I attacked her, but where is the evidence? You’ve unjustly accused me of such a serious crime, but what have I done to offend you?” Jiang Hua asked with a smile.
"Besides, you're already engaged to Miss An, so you'd better be careful what you say about marrying me, to avoid any misunderstandings."
"Besides, Ah Zhou and I are already married. Have you forgotten, Your Highness?"
"What?" Empress Su asked in disbelief.
Hearing Jiang Hua say that she was already married, An Xinya's heart calmed down a little, but she still did not let her guard down. Her Xuan-gege had a chance to become the crown prince in the future. After all, no woman would not be eyeing the position of crown princess.
No, she had to go back and urge her parents to put the marriage on the agenda as soon as possible, and not give her a single chance.
As for whether Jiang Hua and Jiang Xingzhou were married, she had already had someone investigate. The two had never shared a room; it was a marriage in name only.
An Xinya was lost in thought when Empress Su called her twice before she came to her senses.
"Ya Ya, don't worry, the Grand Princess Consort can only be yours." Empress Su patted An Xin Ya's hand and comforted her softly.
"Ah Xuan, is there some misunderstanding? It's possible that Miss Yan Yan encountered danger in the mountains," Empress Su said, trying to ease the tense atmosphere.
"Jiang Hua, Ah Xuan was just in a hurry, please don't mind." As she spoke, Empress Su instructed the palace maids beside her to bring up the prepared jewelry, saying that it was to be given to her and An Xinya as a reward.
"Then thank you very much, Your Majesty." Jiang Hua gestured for Granny Jiang to take the money.
"Jiang Hua, if I find out that you were the one who harmed Yan Yan, I will not let you off the hook."
Zhou Yingxuan suddenly stood up, walked to Jiang Hua's side, leaned down, and threatened her through gritted teeth in a voice that the two of them could hear.
Jiang Hua replied without changing her expression, "I'll say it again, Your Highness, everything requires evidence."
After saying this, Zhou Yingxuan snorted coldly and left.
After Zhou Yingxuan left, Empress Su had no intention of keeping them any longer, so she casually said that she was tired and sent them out of the palace.
"Jiang Hua, you stop right there!"
As soon as they reached the carriage's resting place, Jiang Hua saw An Xinya angrily walking towards her and raising her hand in her face.
"Don't you want your hands anymore?" Jiang Hua grabbed An Xinya's hand and tightened her grip slightly.
"Let go!" An Xinya winced in pain and struggled to shake off his hand.
"Jiang Hua, let go of Xin Ya right now!"
Zhou Yingxuan, who had left, reappeared at some point and, without saying a word, attacked Jiang Hua, pulling An Xinya into his arms.
“You’ve really changed. You weren’t like this before. Xin Ya is such a good woman, why did you bully her for no reason?” Zhou Yingxuan’s cold eyes stared directly at Jiang Hua.
Could it be that she still has feelings for him? Is she jealous because she saw that he and Xin Ya were engaged, and that's why she targeted Xin Ya?
Zhou Yingxuan secretly guessed in his heart that although it was understandable, Xin Ya was from the Duke of Anguo's mansion. Whether he could become the crown prince depended on the Duke of Anguo's mansion. What did Jiang Hua have? The Jiang family had no one left.
If she were willing, she could persuade Jiang Xingzhou to stand on her side, and when she becomes the Crown Prince, she could be given the title of Crown Prince's concubine.
As Zhou Yingxuan pondered this, he completely forgot about the threat he had posed to Jiang Hua at Fengqi Palace, and even planned to meet her tomorrow to give her a proper talking-to.
"Brother Yingxuan?"
Hearing Zhou Yingxuan's words, An Xinya was extremely unhappy. She knew that Yingxuan would not only have her in the future, but she would rather be a young lady from another noble family.
At least she knew Jiang Hua's background and could be easily manipulated, but she couldn't manipulate Jiang Hua. Although the Jiang family was no longer powerful, they still held a superior position over the Duke of Anguo's mansion.
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