Chapter 12 Chapter 12 His Highness dislikes her.
In order to take care of the remnants of Prince Jin who were captured a few days ago, Xie Zhi mostly stayed in the Shen Ce Division these days to handle official business and worked very late.
It was already evening, and Xie Zhi was reading the confessions of his accomplices with his eyes lowered. The room was silent, with only the gentle sound of rice paper rubbing against each other.
Ling Zhu entered the room and silently replaced the candlelight. He hesitated for a moment, "Your Highness..."
Xie Zhi didn't even raise his head, but just asked, "What's the matter?"
"It's Miss Nie... She's here again. She's outside the Divine Strategy Department, bringing some things with her, and wants to see His Highness."
"What is she doing here again?" Xie Zhi couldn't help but frown when he heard this. After a pause, he said calmly, "No. Let her go back."
Ling Zhu wasn't surprised by his own prince's order. The Divine Strategy Division was a crucial location, with countless eyes on the court. The Crown Prince was even more wary, so how could he allow anyone to trespass without warning?
What's more, this person is a woman of questionable identity.
But this girl from the Nie family is really stubborn. Last time, she waited for His Highness outside the Shen Ce Division for several hours without even feeling tired.
I wonder if it will be the same this time.
Ling Zhu lowered his head to look at his own prince, then turned respectfully and walked out.
The setting sun outside the window poured in like broken gold. Xie Zhi was about to pick up his pen to make annotations, but as he looked at the scattered spots of light falling on the snow-white rice paper, his mind suddenly recalled the vivid figure he had glimpsed on the wall of the Shen Ce Division that evening.
The setting sun that day also shone on her goose yellow dress like this, like a bright brand, representing the vitality that this dead and dark Shen Ce Division had never possessed.
His eyes accidentally fell on the high courtyard wall again.
But there is nothing above it.
Xie Zhi got off work today an hour earlier than usual.
After being busy for days, Ling Zhu thought that perhaps His Highness was tired, so he left his post early today and hurriedly sent a carriage to wait at the gate of the Shen Ce Division.
The sky was pitch black, with only a few stars as his companions. Xie Zhi stood in front of the carriage, his eyes scanning the surroundings, as if searching for something.
But the streets and alleys were deserted.
"Your Highness?" Ling Zhu bowed and lifted the curtain for him.
Xie Zhi withdrew his gaze, his expression undetectable in the silent night. He said nothing more, simply preparing to get into the car.
"Your Highness!" A young girl's gentle call broke the silence. Xie Zhi looked in the direction of the voice and saw a light pink figure peek out from the corner of the street and then ran towards him briskly.
Ling Zhu was stunned when he saw her, and asked in surprise, "Why hasn't Miss Nie left yet?"
He had clearly advised her just now!
Nie Xiangyi hurried over to Xie Zhi and stood in front of her, breathing heavily. Before she could say anything, Xie Zhi asked her, "Why are you standing on the street corner?"
"I'm waiting for His Highness!" Nie Xiangyi curled her eyes at him. "Lord Lingzhu said I was waiting at the gate of the Divine Strategy Department. If anyone saw me, it would give His Highness something to blame. So I went to wait at the street corner, where no one could see me!"
She shrugged slightly as she said this, as if she didn't feel offended by Ling Zhu's words at all. The eyes she looked at Xie Zhi were as bright as the stars in the night sky, and her face was full of a smug expression that said "I'm very smart, right?"
Xie Zhi glanced at Ling Zhu, then looked at her, pursed his lips and said, "In that case, you should go back."
"But I haven't personally delivered the snacks I prepared to Your Highness yet." As she spoke, she took the mahogany food box from Hanxu's hands. "I heard that Your Highness has been very busy lately, often leaving work late at night. I specially made some jade cakes for Your Highness."
She seldom cooks, but because she likes this kind of snack, she is very good at making it.
Back in Shanzhou, although I was pampered by my grandfather, the borderland was not as good as the capital, and there were no such exquisite dim sum. Later, I had to learn to make it myself, and after a few years, I was able to make it quite well.
Xie Zhi glanced at the food box she opened. The delicate white pastries were pinched into various shapes, which were exquisite and thoughtful.
He didn't respond, but narrowed his eyes slightly, his expression sharp, "How did you know when I was off duty?"
"I've been watching!" Nie Xiangyi shook his head slightly, not finding anything wrong with what he said. "Your Highness's carriage returns to the palace every day at the end of the night."
She felt it was really hard.
Ling Zhu, standing by, was horrified. How could this girl speak so openly about monitoring His Highness? It seemed her purpose in being there was to gather information.
Xie Zhi's expression was shrouded in the gloom of the night, and her deliberate approach was truly clumsy.
Before he could even utter a subconscious refusal, Nie Xiangyi had already stuffed the food box into his hands and blinked, "Your Highness, why don't you try it! This jade cake is my specialty."
Her eyes were always like this, carrying a power that made it impossible to refuse. Xie Zhi looked at the jade cake in his hand, thinking that even if he didn't accept it, she would still act like a spoiled child and cling to him as before.
He silently handed the food box to Ling Zhu, then turned and got on the carriage.
He never expected Nie Xiangyi to follow him, standing beside the carriage, looking at him eagerly, her voice as soft as the cake, "Your Highness, can I go back with you?"
She is always like this, Xie Zhi thought.
Yet he did not refuse.
Nie Xiangyi boarded the carriage briskly. Seeing Ling Zhu placing the jade cake on the small table inside, she looked at Xie Zhi expectantly, "Your Highness must be very tired from your official duties. Why not use some of this jade cake to ease your stress?"
The sweet and soft aroma of cakes mixed with the fresh fragrance of gardenias, filling the confined space of the carriage. It was difficult to tell which aroma belonged to her alone, and one could only feel that the smell was sweet and delicious.
Xie Zhi frowned, feeling annoyed by the uncontrollable aroma. His voice became even colder. "No need. I'm not hungry."
"Okay..." Nie Xiangyi pursed his lips in disappointment when he heard that.
She wanted to say that the jade cake she made was really delicious, and most people who had eaten it praised it highly. But she couldn't force it into Xie Zhi's mouth to let him taste it.
After that, they rode in silence all the way in the carriage. Xie Zhi's expression was as cold as ever, and the atmosphere was quite stagnant.
When they arrived at the gate of the mansion, Nie Xiangyi bowed to Xie Zhishi and said cheerfully, "Thank you, Your Highness, for taking me back home. If the jade cake suits your taste, I will bring it to you again tomorrow!"
Without waiting for Xie Zhi to refuse, she turned around and went back home.
In the night, Xie Zhi looked at Nie Xiangyi's graceful back as she left, frowned unconsciously, and turned back to the house.
Just as they reached the study, Ling Zhu bowed and reported, "Your Highness, I have learned some information about the Yongyi Marquis' Mansion."
Xie Zhi nodded, signaling him to continue.
"Miss Nie's return to the capital was originally a joint initiative of General Anxi and Marquis Yongyi. The purpose seems to be... to discuss marriage."
As he spoke, he didn't know why, but he raised his eyes and glanced at the expression of his own prince.
There was no change on Xie Zhi's face, except that his jaw seemed to be a little tense.
No wonder she praised Wang Wulang for his handsomeness as soon as she saw him, and went to the bookstore with him. It was because of this.
Her father and Lord Wang were both officials in the Taichang Temple. They were actually colleagues and were quite compatible.
Ling Zhu seemed to hear his own prince snort softly, but it seemed like an auditory hallucination.
He didn't dare to think too much, so he just bowed and said, "A few days ago, the Nie Mansion found an old Taoist priest. He said that Miss Nie had bad luck in spring, so he asked her to move out. Oddly enough, it's still early for the Dragon Boat Festival, and the Nie Mansion had a snake problem a few days ago. That's why they invited the old Taoist priest."
He paused for a moment, then hesitated, "I wonder if they did it on purpose..."
Using this as an excuse, Nie Xiangyi was specially invited to relocate here. Seeing how attentive and warm Miss Nie was to His Highness, I'm afraid she had some ulterior motive. I just wonder if General Anxi was behind this.
Xie Zhi's eyes were solemn. Using the words of ghosts and gods was indeed a familiar and clumsy method.
He asked, "What about the house across the street? Wasn't it said that the owner of that house had been dead for many years and no one had lived there for a long time?"
"I have thoroughly investigated. The owner of the mansion across the street is the original wife of Marquis Yongyi, Miss Nie's mother, Zhong."
Ling Zhu's expression gradually grew solemn. "More importantly, the Zhong family and the late queen had a very good relationship, almost as close as a handkerchief. When the late queen was still alive, the Zhong family invited each other to be neighbors, and so they bought two mansions in the same place."
Xie Zhi suddenly understood, "You mean, this house was originally the former residence of the queen?"
Ling Zhu nodded, "Perhaps the Imperial Concubine is still unaware of this, which is why she chose this mansion for you to live in."
Xie Zhi's eyes were dark and his face was as cold as jade.
If it was a coincidence that his mother chose this place as his residence, then was it also a coincidence that Nie Xiangyi moved here?
Her mother, Mrs. Zhong, was close friends with the late Empress, and the current Crown Prince was her legitimate son. Could it be that Nie Xiangyi was truly the Crown Prince's mistress?
Seeing that he lived here, he asked Nie Xiangyi to move to the opposite side and deliberately get closer to him.
Thinking of this, his expression became even gloomier.
Ling Zhu was about to leave when Xie Zhi called him, "Wait."
His eyes were fixed on the plate of sweet and soft jade cake, and his voice was as cold as ice, "Take this out and deal with it."
"yes."
Nie Xiangyi had just returned home and was about to rest when he suddenly remembered that there was something important that he had not yet told His Highness.
The jade cake should be sprinkled with honey to make it sweeter and softer!
She had just been sitting quietly in the carriage all the way. His Highness's cold expression always made her feel nervous. She didn't even know where to put her eyes, and she actually forgot about this!
She didn't want her specialty pastries to only receive His Highness's "nothing special" evaluation. After hesitating for a moment, she hurried to the mansion across the street.
After climbing over the mansion's walls with familiarity, Nie Xiangyi saw Ling Zhu emerge from his study just before he arrived. In the moonlight and the lamplight, she could vaguely see him holding a very familiar food box.
It's the one she used to hold the jade cakes.
Nie Xiangyi frowned, feeling suspicious. Why was the food box in Lord Ling Zhu's hands?
Seeing that Ling Zhu had already walked away, Nie Xiangyi jumped up as if possessed by a ghost and quietly followed him from a distance.
Ling Zhu walked to a tree in the corridor of the mansion and opened the food box. The "creaking" sound was particularly conspicuous in the silent night. Nie Xiangyi saw him take out the familiar stack of jade cakes from the food box.
Then he fell on the tree roots with an expressionless face.
Nie Xiangyi's heart trembled suddenly, and his eyes widened almost instantly.
The white, fragrant and soft jade cake was thrown into the mud without any regrets. Ling Zhu even used his feet to push away the surrounding mud to cover up the white traces.
The crushed jade cake looked like broken white jade scattered all over the ground.
Nie Xiangyi felt as if her heart had been plunged into a basin of ice-cold water, a chill that chilled her to the bone. Her heart had been repeatedly thrown into the mud, a sense of immense loss nearly suffocating her.
That was the jade cake she had been making for a long time.
She personally shapes each piece of cake.
She was afraid that Xie Zhi wouldn't like it, so she made several different flavors.
Why did he throw it away like this? Why did he treat her kindness like this?
Nie Xiangyi didn't understand.
She walked back in a daze, with her lips pursed and almost about to cry.
She felt extremely aggrieved.
Tears as big as beans welled up in her eyes. She sniffed and tried hard to hold back the tears. "Maybe His Highness just doesn't like sweets."
She comforted herself in this way.
But comforting her was in vain, she still felt sad for the plate of jade cake.
When she reached the corner gate of the corridor, she suddenly saw Xie Zhi's carriage parked there. Servants were busy going up and down, apparently replacing the carriage's contents.
She heard the servants' murmurs of complaint.
"We used to only replace the items in the carriage once every ten days, but now, every time Miss Nie rides in the carriage, we have to replace them!"
"I hope she won't be so shameless as to ride with His Highness again. It's exhausting for us!"
"That's right! His Highness dislikes her, but she can't even see it!"
Nie Xiangyi was struck by lightning and almost froze in place.
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