“No, not exactly,” Yue Jiang said dejectedly. Jing Yi shook her head, her shyness deepening, and she seemed to have a lot of reason to say.
"Grandmother Cheng is old, so I shouldn't argue with whatever she says. Sister-in-law, you're not much older than me, and besides, why are we talking about this out of the blue?"
Yue Jiang was greatly impressed and couldn't help but exclaim, "I never expected that our Princess Jingyi would be so understanding and reasonable at such a young age."
He was rude and arrogant to everyone, yet he actually knew to be respectful to Empress Dowager Cheng.
Yue Jiang threw the flowers that Jing Yi had crumpled out of the flower basket and conceded: "Alright, alright, I'll just pretend I'm making conversation. If you don't like it, I won't say anything more."
Jingyi visibly breathed a sigh of relief. Yuejiang took a look at her and casually brought up Yu Chuxuan, mentioning not only Yu Chuxuan but also the sachet for blessings.
“Jingyi, I’ve noticed that the Ninth Prince has been wearing a sachet around his waist lately, as if it’s for praying for blessings.”
“He can wear it every day, as long as it protects him and prevents him from getting into trouble in the Eastern Palace,” Jingyi blurted out when she heard that Yu Chuxuan was already wearing the sachet.
Suddenly, she noticed that Yue Jiang's hand, which was picking flower petals, had stopped. Jing Yi slowly turned around and looked at Yue Jiang. She belatedly realized that the other party must have misunderstood.
He emphasized, "Sister-in-law, it's just a sachet for blessings. The Ninth Prince is so weak and lives in the East Palace. What if she dies young in the East Palace?"
"Grandmother Cheng usually worships Buddha, so I secretly took a blessed sachet from her. I just wanted to help my brother, nothing more."
"Did I say there was something else?" Yue Jiang asked calmly, her clear black and white eyes showing exceptional sincerity.
Jingyi is not good at lying. In the past, she was only close to Yongshou Palace, where she could say whatever she wanted. Now, she has another sister-in-law.
However, the Yongshou Palace did not particularly welcome her sister-in-law, which meant that Jingyi often had to keep secrets between the two sides.
Whenever asked a question, she tries to cover it up, and the cover-up gets bigger and bigger. Jingyi is exhausted: "Sister-in-law, the sachet is a good omen to protect you and keep you safe. You know I'm doing this for my brother's good."
"I know," Yue Jiang said, relieved that Jing Yi had no other intentions towards Yu Chuxuan.
She repeatedly emphasized that it was a sachet for blessings, indicating that Jingyi simply hoped that Yu Chuxuan would not have any trouble in the Eastern Palace.
But the idea of giving away sachets was definitely not hers, otherwise Jingyi's name would never have appeared on those sachets.
Empress Dowager Cheng so desperately wanted Jingyi and Yu Chuxuan to get together, and Jingyan's purpose was to make Jingyi see Empress Dowager Cheng's true colors.
We cannot wait for the various countries to cause trouble in Jing; we must make Empress Dowager Cheng impatiently seize a handle against Jing Yi and Yu Chuxuan first.
Then we should give Empress Dowager Cheng a glimmer of hope in advance, so that she can't contain herself any longer.
Jingyi's lying skills are average; Yuejiang can easily get some information out of her with just a few probes.
Empress Dowager Cheng had watched Jingyi grow up since she was a child. If she were to become wary, it would be easy for her to test whether Jingyi was telling the truth or lying.
As Jingyi was leaving, Yuejiang pulled her aside and told her more details about Yu Chuxuan's illness, while also adding some frightening remarks.
“Jingyi, I’m happy that you care about His Highness, but to secretly send gifts to a foreign prince because you care about His Highness…”
Jingyi's expression changed drastically.
Yue Jiang paused and continued, "You're not a child anymore. What if someone with ulterior motives tries to harm you and makes a fuss about it? Jingyi, do you know how dangerous it is to have a reputation for illicit affairs?"
Jingyi unconsciously clenched her hands, then shook her head violently when she realized what had happened: "I didn't, I didn't have any secret dealings with the Ninth Prince of Yu Kingdom."
She muttered to herself: "My grandmother didn't say there was any harm."
Grandmother could not possibly be unaware of Yue Jiang's foresight; Yue Jiang must be overthinking things.
Jingyi was in a state of confusion, and she walked out of the East Palace with a lot on her mind.
...
Empress Dowager Cheng's act of sending someone to summon Shang Yu was merely a ruse. Knowing that Yu Chuxuan was already wearing the sachet close to his body and had even brought up Jing Yi, this was quite unusual.
In less than half an hour, she let Shang Yu leave.
Jingyi went to Yongshou Palace again in the afternoon, and Empress Dowager Cheng asked Jingyi about her daily life at the East Palace these days.
At first, Jingyi answered politely, but gradually Empress Dowager Cheng would skip over unimportant things and deliberately ask about Yu Chuxuan's condition.
If Jingyi hadn't left the East Palace that morning, she wouldn't have known how Yu Chuxuan was doing. She remembered not to praise or mention Yue Jiang in Yongshou Palace, and not to mention Yongshou Palace much in the East Palace.
She concealed everything Yue Jiang had told her, and repeatedly mentioned to Empress Dowager Cheng that Yu Chuxuan's health was fine, as if Yu Chuxuan himself had told her.
Empress Dowager Cheng was afraid that Jingyi might be hiding something from her, just like at the last tasting event, so she checked several times.
"The Ninth Prince told you all this. Why would he tell you so much? You two have only been playing together for a few days, haven't you?"
Whether Jingyi had something to hide or not, Empress Dowager Cheng's repeated questioning made Jingyi inexplicably flustered, and she avoided eye contact a few times.
She was, after all, a young girl, and even if she wasn't feeling romantic, she would still feel shy about being involved with another man for no reason.
Before long, Jingyi's face flushed red, a phenomenon that was noticed by the sharp-eyed Empress Dowager Cheng.
When Jingyi finally opened her mouth to speak, she frowned and acted as if she wanted to have nothing to do with Yu Chuxuan.
“I gave him a sachet for good luck, but he suspected I had ulterior motives. He knew I was afraid he was dead, and he spent a long time explaining to me.”
Jingyi used all her abilities to make her story sound plausible, trying her best not to involve Yuejiang or arouse suspicion from Grandmother Cheng.
What she didn't know was that the more the truth seemed to be hidden from her, the more Empress Dowager Cheng felt that Jingyi and Yu Chuxuan had an inextricable relationship and would keep it from her. She was already planning her next move.
"Alright, alright, Grandmother Cheng understands. You've explained things clearly. Next time, invite the Ninth Prince to Yongshou Palace to play and take him to eat your favorite pastries."
Jingyi still doesn't understand how things developed between him and Yu Chuxuan, and even the Empress Dowager Cheng told him to invite him over for some pastries.
Jingyi, with a hint of resentment and dissent, said, "Why did I take him out for pastries?"
Empress Dowager Cheng did not try to appease Jingyi after hearing this, assuming that Jingyi might be too embarrassed to admit it.
Regardless of the extent of their relationship, as long as there was even the slightest hint of affection, Empress Dowager Cheng would seize the opportunity to have the Ninth Prince of Yu Kingdom reply to Yu Kingdom and arrange his marriage with Jingyi.
...
To confirm whether Yu Chuxuan was wearing the sachet given to him by Jingyi, Empress Dowager Cheng would send a eunuch to check.
Jing Yanyue also wanted to test Empress Dowager Cheng to see if she was satisfied with the current relationship between Jing Yi and Yu Chuxuan, and was eager to take the next step.
Then their next preparations will be arranged.
Two days later, Jing Yan instructed Yu Chuxuan to send a personal eunuch to take a stroll around the Yongshou Palace. As expected, this stroll caught the eye of Empress Dowager Cheng.
Empress Dowager Cheng ordered someone to invite the eunuchs into the palace. After asking a few questions, she greeted them warmly.
"Your Highness is too late. Jingyi has already returned to Jiaofang Palace."
Yu Chuxuan's attendant looked disappointed. Empress Dowager Cheng saw this and tentatively asked, "By the way, I know where Jingyi often goes to play. Is the Ninth Prince interested?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
