Chapter 49: I am jealous and want to kill him.
Cong Ying lowered his brows, because the alliance was still with Yiyun, and in order to prevent any changes, he did not dare to tell the truth for the time being.
Xie Xuanlan finished searching her and put her clothes back on. He turned around the screen and said to the Prince of Huai, "I didn't see your useless sachet. There's not even a single extra thread on her. If you don't believe me, would you like me to be searched too?"
The Prince of Huai forced a dry laugh and said, "I still trust my third cousin."
"Then goodbye." Xie Xuanlan took Cong Ying's hand and led her away in a protective manner.
When they passed each other, Cong Ying and Prince Huai's eyes passed each other. One was innocent and calm, the other was sharp and dissatisfied. They both knew that he was not really reassured, but he did not continue to make trouble because he was afraid of Xie Xuanlan.
Cong Ying brought a bunch of medicine back to the earthen building where King Jin was hiding.
King Jin was about to breathe a sigh of relief when he saw that she was safe and sound, but then he saw the man behind her coming in with a sword in his arms, a gloomy and cold face. He looked at them as if he was scanning a pair of illicit adulterers.
Xie Xuanlan only heard from the entourage that Jiang Congying had abandoned Prince Jin and ran away, but he did not say that she was going to find medicine for Prince Jin's injuries.
Just now, he saw her surrounded by tigers and wolves in the One-Eyed Dragon's residence, but she was holding the medicine bottle tightly in her arms. Xie Xuanlan was angry, jealous and distressed, and his heart and lungs were exploded. Now, there was only gunpowder and sour water in his stomach, and he didn't feel good at all.
Just as Cong Ying was about to explain, he spoke first, "Your Highness the Prince of Jin is still conscious, as if nothing had happened. Was that dying look he had just put on?"
He thought the Prince of Jin was feigning weakness to gain Jiang Congying's sympathy, so he took two steps forward to feel the Prince of Jin's pulse. Unexpectedly, before he could even get close to him, the Prince of Jin's expression suddenly changed drastically, as if he had been stabbed. His face turned pale, and he clutched his chest, violently spitting out a mouthful of blood.
"Your Highness!" Cong Ying was shocked and ran forward to help him.
The moment Xie Xuanlan approached, King Jin felt as if a long nail had pierced his soul. He trembled uncontrollably, his soul almost jumped out of his body, and he was in great pain.
He raised his dark, almost lifeless eyes to look at Xie Xuanlan, and squeezed out a few words from between his teeth: "Tell him to get out..."
Get out, stay away from him... Without the golden bell to solidify his soul, he can't get too close to his real body in his previous life.
Otherwise his entire soul would be torn apart.
Xie Xuanlan laughed in anger: "You are a dignified prince, and you still have shame? Are you addicted to acting?"
Although Cong Ying was confused, she prioritized emergency measures. She stood between the two and said to Xie Xuanlan, "Sanlang, since His Highness doesn't want to see you, you should stay away for now."
Xie Xuanlan sneered: "I won't leave. I want to see if I can defeat him."
Before he could finish his words, Prince Jin's whole body sank and he actually fainted. Fortunately, Cong Ying was quick to support his head and prevented him from falling off the kang.
Cong Ying's face turned pale with anxiety. She patted his face and called out, "Your Highness! Your Highness the Prince of Jin!"
Even Xie Xuanlan sensed something was amiss. He observed the Prince of Jin's complexion, which was a strange pale blue, like a corpse frozen in time. Even if an ordinary person could faint at will, they wouldn't be able to detect a trace of life in him. After watching for so long, Xie Xuanlan himself began to feel uneasy. An inexplicable, nauseating, cold feeling spread throughout his body.
Xie Xuanlan reached out to pull Cong Ying: "Stay away from this unlucky thing——"
Bang!
Cong Ying suddenly slapped him in the chest, which scraped across the side of his face and caught him off guard, causing him to stagger back two steps.
Xie Xuanlan was stunned.
After a long moment, he raised his hand and touched the side of his face, then laughed out loud: "Jiang Congying, do you still have any conscience? You beat me for such a half-human, half-ghost thing?"
Cong Ying was so anxious just now that her hands and voice were trembling: "Get out... You are not allowed to touch him..."
"Okay, I won't touch him."
Xie Xuanlan instead stepped forward, grabbed her arm, and locked her with his large, powerful hand like an iron yoke, dragging her out: "You are not allowed to touch him either."
After Ying was pulled away by him, Prince Jin lost his support and slowly slid down along the edge of the earthen kang, about to hit the ground with his face.
She turned around and saw this scene. No matter how she scolded him, he would not listen. She struggled to break free but failed. She became so desperate that she suddenly lowered her head and bit Xie Xuanlan's wrist hard.
"hiss--"
Xie Xuanlan took a breath of cold air, and then suddenly felt a cold touch flowing down his wrist to his forearm.
One drop, two drops... She actually shed tears.
Xie Xuanlan let go of his hand as if he was scalded.
He felt it was ridiculous. She had clearly been engaged to him, yet here she was risking her life for another man and crying anxiously.
However, what is even more ridiculous is that he has been beaten and scolded. If he still has any self-respect, he should have walked away and severed all ties with her. But he stood here humiliating himself, watching her push him away to help Prince Jin, feeling his breath, and anxiously trying to wake him up.
Cong Ying helped Prince Jin up and settled him down, then turned her back to Xie Xuanlan and quietly wiped away her tears.
She didn't like this loss of composure, so she swallowed her sobs and said to Xie Xuanlan, "Get out... Third Young Master, do you want me to kneel down and beg you?"
This time Xie Xuanlan did not ridicule her. Cong Ying heard his footsteps fading away and the door creaked shut.
It was getting dark, and torches were raised outside the house, shining brightly through the window frames.
There were many things weighing on Cong Ying's mind, including Wei Yin'er, whose whereabouts had not yet been found, Senior Sister Yiyun, who was unknown whether she had escaped, the unconscious King Jin, and... Xie Xuanlan, who had suffered so much of her emotional breakdown.
Although he didn't die in the bandit's lair, what should he do next?
Knock, knock, someone knocks on the door hesitantly.
Cong Ying paused, stood up, and opened the door. It was Xie Xuanlan's attendant who knocked. He brought a bowl and kindly advised, "This is a medicinal soup made with old ginseng. It has the effect of replenishing blood and invigorating energy. Fourth Lady, please ask His Highness the Prince of Jin to take it."
Cong Ying took the medicine soup and looked at Xie Xuanlan who was standing behind his entourage. Xie Xuanlan turned his face away.
She murmured a thank you, not knowing to whom.
Cong Ying didn't close the door again. She calmly tested the medicine herself in front of the two men. After confirming that there was nothing wrong, she helped Prince Jin to his feet and carefully fed him the medicine with a spoon against his lips. Finally, Prince Jin's breathing became much more stable, his pulse gradually became clearer, and he showed signs of waking up.
Cong Ying then took the empty bowl out and walked in front of Xie Xuanlan: "I have something to say to the Third Young Master."
The attendant took the empty bowl tactfully and walked away.
Cong Ying said, "I look after His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin not out of personal affection. He led me to the Ghost Crying Peak to find my younger sister, and has aided me many times in times of crisis. He has done me a great favor, so of course I will sacrifice my life to repay him and will not let him come to any harm."
"What about me?"
Xie Xuanlan looked up at her, clearly furious with her, but his words were different: "If I were in his shoes, would you stand in front of me and personally serve me medicine?"
Cong Ying said, "I just hope you are safe and healthy, and that this day won't come."
Xie Xuanlan chuckled twice, seemingly not appreciating her kindness.
He took Cong Ying's hand, feeling it was a little cold, so he wrapped his own hand around hers to keep her warm. The two of them were very close, and this intimate posture made them look like a pair of inseparable lovers.
However, Xie Xuanlan's words to her were not gentle and polite:
"I once encountered a case where a dandy nobleman wanted to force a commoner girl into marriage. He was about to beat her fiancé to death in the street, but I happened to see him. I felt so sorry for the girl protecting her husband, and so disgusted by the dandy nobleman. So I broke his leg first and shamelessly lectured him, saying that marriage cannot be forced and that since she doesn't love you, you should get out of here."
He was indeed such a person. Cong Ying recalled that he had previously helped the Jiang family out of trouble and wanted to take the opportunity to cancel the marriage between the two families. It must have been because he had no choice at the time and did not like being forced.
"But today, as I watched you serve as the Prince of Jin's medicine assistant, trying to protect him and resisting me, fearing I might harm him, I suddenly realized that I, too, am a playboy who wants to break up a couple, no different from the man I once hated the most for forcibly snatching women from the countryside."
Cong Ying quickly defended herself, "Your Highness and I are not a pair of mandarin ducks."
Xie Xuanlan clearly didn't believe it.
After all, she had admitted with her own mouth that her feelings towards Prince Jin were not entirely innocent. Moreover, the two had been friends through life and death in the bandit camp, and their affection had long since surpassed her shallow affection for him.
"It's such a pity that you two are such a perfect match. I'm sorry I can't make you two happy."
Xie Xuanlan touched Cong Ying's face with his finger and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "After we descend the mountain tomorrow, you and Prince Jin will not meet again. Xie's betrothal gifts will soon be sent to the Jiang family, and the wedding date will be set just after the mourning period ends. You will become the third young master's wife of the Xie family."
From the firefly was surprised.
She thought Xie Xuanlan had been thinking about it for so long because he hated her for being fickle and not fit to be a wife of the Xie family, so he wanted to break up with her and have nothing to do with her from then on. However, she didn't expect that he would start with marriage.
It wasn't that he was unwilling, it was just too sudden, and Cong Ying couldn't help but ask him, "Why?"
Xie Xuanlan had already thought of the reasoning: "I saved you from the Prince of Huai County in the name of our marriage, but he still suspects you have something on him. He is a man of great jealousy and suspicion. If you had not married into the Xie family, and instead had become involved with the Prince of Jin, he would not only try to get rid of you, but the Xie family would also lose their trust in their benefactor."
The corners of his lips slowly lifted up: "Mrs. Jiang Si can't just repay the favor of King Jin and not repay my favor, right?"
＊
Yiyun was carrying the letter of covenant written by Prince Huai to One-Eyed Dragon. In order to avoid being recognized, she deliberately covered her face before leaving the earth building, but she was still noticed by the patrol sent by Prince Huai.
She realized that someone was following her, so she didn't dare to go look for Congying and went down the mountain in the opposite direction.
Between the encircling army at the foot of the mountain and the stronghold, there was a dense forest on the mountainside. Yiyun took advantage of the rugged terrain and hid behind the rocks, luring out the pursuers one by one and engaging them one by one. The Huaijun Prince's personal guards were not incompetent. After being ambushed twice by Yiyun, they seized the opportunity to trap him and attacked him in groups.
Yiyun realized that he was no match for his opponent, so he ran down the mountain quickly. However, it was dark and he couldn't see the road clearly, so he rolled down a cliff. Although he shook off his pursuers, he was dizzy and unconscious for a long time before he came to his senses.
As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw a torch held in front of her. After carefully examining her, he turned around and reported, "Your Highness, this is a girl who escaped from the mountains."
Your Highness? Yiyun cried out inwardly, "Oh no!"
A clear and dignified voice rang out: "Bring it up."
Yiyun was held up by two men and forced to kneel in front of Princess Chun'an's horse. Just as she was about to look up, she was scolded and pushed back down: "How dare you! Kneel down!"
Princess Chun'an looked her over slowly and said, "This girl is wearing a sword and has just killed someone. Who did you kill?"
Yiyun replied, "It's not that I want to kill them, it's that they want to kill me. I'm being chased like this."
"Them?" Princess Chun'an ordered her subordinates, "Go find them."
About half an hour later, the men found two bodies from the cliff and dragged them to Princess Chun'an. The princess took a look at the corpses' clothes and actually smiled: "They are the personal soldiers of the Prince of Huai. This girl is quite capable."
Yiyun smiled awkwardly and said, "Your Highness, I'm too kind. It was all just luck..."
Princess Chun'an said, "Prince Huai is in a state of panic. His personal guards wouldn't steal a woman for fun at a time like this. I'm afraid they're chasing you for other reasons. Could it be that you're carrying something important?"
Yiyun was a simple person who had never dealt with these cunning politicians. After hearing Princess Chun'an's question, she subconsciously raised her hand to cover her chest. When she came to her senses, it was too late. She heard Princess Chun'an smugly smile and said, "Do you want to hand it over yourself, or do you want me to send someone to search you?"
Yiyun was taken back to the private tent where Princess Chun'an was temporarily stationed. She was held down by four or five female officials and the covenant was snatched away.
During the fight, the court lady Gan Jiu was kicked by Yiyun and angrily complained to the princess: "That little rascal has a Taoist scripture tattooed on his back. It turns out he's a mountain bandit, not a girl from a good family!"
After reading the contents of the covenant, Princess Chun'an was overjoyed: "I think she is very lucky to have obtained this treasure."
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