"I understand. Please thank Your Highness for me." Shen Youying curtsied gracefully and thanked him, showing no sign of anything amiss.
The guard had to go back to report, so he took his leave.
As soon as the person left, Shen Youying's feigned calmness and composure crumbled instantly, her legs went weak, and she leaned against Bai Luo's chest.
Bai Luo quickly hugged the person and asked anxiously, "Are you alright, young lady?"
Danzhu felt even more guilty: "It's all my fault for not protecting the young lady."
Shen Youying leaned against them, her long, thick eyelashes fluttering, and she held back the tears that were about to fall. She didn't know whether she was comforting them or herself: "Don't cry, it's not a big deal. Prince Chen came prepared today. Even if we escape this time, there will be a next time. Choosing Prince Qin... is better than falling into Prince Chen's hands."
Even if things turn out badly after she marries the King of Qin, at least she will still have the title of Princess Consort of Qin, and she will still be able to find out some news about her father. Sending her father some things in prison will no longer be a pipe dream.
But if Prince Chen succeeds today, not only will her reputation be ruined and her innocence lost, but she will likely be carried into Prince Chen's mansion in a sedan chair and confined to the inner quarters, never to see her father again.
“Misfortune may be a blessing in disguise,” Shen Youying said, pulling away from Bai Luo’s embrace and wiping her wet eyes with a handkerchief. She forced a smile and said, “I don’t think the King of Qin is as tyrannical and terrible as the rumors say. After I marry him, while we’re still newlyweds, I might be able to ask him to take me to see my father. Thinking about it this way, this marriage isn’t all bad.”
Seeing that Bailuo and Danzhu still had red eyes, looking like they wanted to cry but dared not, she said, "Wipe your eyes, let's go back to the manor first, so no one notices anything amiss."
Hearing her say that, Bailuo and Danzhu quickly wiped their faces clean and checked her makeup and clothes again and again. After confirming that there was nothing wrong, they followed her to the front yard, one on each side.
The three of them, master and servants, had expected to encounter Prince Chen or Zhou Zhenrong who would make things difficult for them, and they were on high alert. However, they did not see a single person until they left the Zhou family's villa.
Occasionally a few servants would pass by, but they were all in a hurry and didn't even dare to lift their heads.
"What happened at the villa?" Shen Youying asked softly.
Bai Luo shook her head and said she didn't know. She went to the carriage to get her clothes and came back. Then, the Zhou family's maid led her to a secluded room and locked her up. She cried out to heaven and earth but received no response. She had no idea what was happening outside.
Shen Youying seemed to be deep in thought, feeling that something big must have happened at the Zhou family villa during her absence.
Today she fell into Prince Chen's trap, which was clearly Zhou Zhenrong's doing. Knowing Zhou Zhenrong's personality, even if things don't go well, she will definitely make a few sarcastic remarks before she is satisfied.
And there's something else that's also strange. She spent at least half an hour with the Prince of Qin in that side courtyard. Logically, the Prince of Chen should have noticed that she was missing long ago. Yet, he didn't send anyone to look for her during that long period of time.
As Shen Youying pondered the strange occurrences in her mind and was about to board the carriage, she suddenly heard someone beside her call out in a low voice, "Zhao Zhao!"
She turned around and saw a carriage parked at the corner. Xie Qinglan leaned out of the carriage window and waved to her: "You've finally come out."
Shen Youying boarded the Xie family's carriage, where Xie Qinglan first pulled her aside and scrutinized her for a while: "Are you alright? Why did it take you so long to change?"
"I was drunk and dizzy, so I changed my clothes and took a short nap. I didn't expect you all to leave so quickly." Shen Youying's heart skipped a beat, and not wanting to talk more, she quickly changed the subject: "Did something happen at the villa?"
Xie Qinglan was waiting for her here to tell her this.
Hearing this, she covered her mouth and gloated, "Something big has happened." She winked slyly and whispered in Shen Youying's ear, "Prince Chen got drunk and rolled around with his own cousin, and they were caught!"
Chen Wang's cousin...
Shen Youying's eyes widened slightly: "Zhou Zhenrong? How could this be?"
Her heart pounded, and she was momentarily at a loss for words. She never imagined that after she escaped, Zhou Zhenrong would run into her.
As far as she knew, although the Empress Dowager doted on this niece, she had no intention of making Zhou Zhenrong the Princess Consort of Chen.
After all, even if Zhou Zhenrong did not marry Prince Chen, the Zhou family would still be Prince Chen's maternal family and an ally of him.
The Empress had previously hinted to her father that she wanted to marry the Princess of Chen, but he politely declined. Instead, he arranged for her to marry the eldest daughter of Yang Jingzhi, the Minister of Revenue. To give the Yang family daughter due respect, the Empress even went so far as to ask the Emperor for a special favor to grant the Prince of Chen and the Yang family a marriage.
The wedding is scheduled for August this year.
Xie Qinglan had long disliked Zhou Zhenrong, and was naturally happy to see her suffer: "Who knows what happened? Anyway, it's a done deal, and all the young men and women in the courtyard have seen it. After tonight, I'm afraid all the high-ranking families in Tokyo will know about their scandalous affair."
"That's what they call 'the wicked will be punished by the wicked'!" Xie Qinglan snorted. "I wonder if Her Majesty the Empress dotes on this niece or loves her son's future even more."
The Prince of Chen had already chosen his consort, but Zhou Zhenrong just had to interfere.
This is going to be quite a spectacle.
As the two were talking, they heard the sound of carriage wheels coming from the gate of the Zhou family's villa again. Shen Youying lifted the carriage curtain to look, and just then, the curtain of the carriage was blown up by the wind, revealing Zhou Zhenrong's face.
Zhou Zhenrong had obviously seen her too. She lifted the curtain and looked over with a gloomy expression, as if she wished she could grind Shen Youying to dust.
She had only intended to lead a search party for her cousin after hearing from the maid that Shen Youying was missing. Little did she know that the person lying on her cousin's bed would turn out to be her the moment she opened her eyes.
Although she always relied on her aunt, the Empress, to act arrogantly and domineeringly, she never thought of marrying Prince Chen.
Prince Chen was fond of women. On the surface, he was a chivalrous and romantic playboy, but in reality, he was a cold-hearted and fickle person. However, she was not willing to suffer such grievances.
Fortunately, her aunt, the Empress, did not have such thoughts. She said she would wait until she was older and then personally choose a perfect husband for her.
But now, everything has been ruined by that bitch Shen Youying!
As the carriage passed by, Zhou Zhenrong glared fiercely at Shen Youying, her face contorted with rage and her teeth clenched.
Shen Youying met her gaze, slowly curving her lips into a smile.
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