the truth
Jiang Yan rested for another three days to make sure he had recovered enough before taking Huang Ying out of the mansion to inquire about news.
Unfortunately, she had only taken a few steps out of the Prince's mansion when she was stopped by a maid from the Liu family who was waiting on the way.
Huang Ying recognized the maid and said her name was Caixia.
"Who told you to wait for the master here? How do you know the master will definitely pass by here today?" Huang Ying was so dignified that she was unlike her usual self, making Jiang Yan feel like she was a stranger.
Caixia twisted her fingers incessantly, not daring to look at Huang Ying: "Sister Huang Ying, it was Master who told me to wait here for Princess Liu. I have been waiting for several days."
Huang Ying looked at Jiang Yan, exchanged a knowing glance with him, and then asked.
"If Master has something to do, he can send someone to the Prince's mansion to invite the Master. Why must he wait halfway there? Tell me, what is it about?"
Caixia: "Sister Huangying, Princess Liu, this servant dares not lie. It was indeed Master who sent this servant to wait here. As for why, this servant does not know."
Huang Ying looked at Jiang Yan with a worried expression.
Jiang Yan: "Speak, what did my father say, and what did he tell you to do?"
Caixia: "Princess Liu, the master asked me to wait for you here. He said he saw you and asked you to come back."
"What is it that requires me to return? If I hadn't come out today, were you going to wait here indefinitely? Can Father afford to wait?"
Caixia didn't say anything, she just lowered her head even further.
Jiang Yan looked at her and said, "If you don't explain yourself clearly, I won't go back." She paused for a moment, then prepared to leave.
Caixia panicked and hurriedly blocked her way. After stammering for a moment, she said...
"This servant does not know the specific reason, but I know that the manor has been troubled by the Second Miss's matter recently. This servant guesses that the master must have asked you to come back to discuss the Second Miss's matter."
Jiang Yan looked at Huang Ying, who happened to be looking at her as well. She couldn't help but sneer and said.
"It seems that since things aren't going well with the prince, they've turned their attention to me."
"What does Master intend to do?"
Jiang Yan looked at Caixia with a sneer: "She's been waiting here for so long. If she doesn't go back to report soon, she might lose her job. Well, I don't have anything important to do today anyway, so I'll go back."
"But Master, I'm afraid that when we return..." Huang Ying was very worried about the situation.
Jiang Yan gave her a reassuring look, then looked at Caixia and said, "Lead the way." She then added to herself, "You're lucky. I didn't take a carriage today, otherwise you might have had to wait for ages."
Caixia smiled gratefully at her repeatedly, saying, "Thank you, Princess Liu, thank you, Princess Liu."
Jiang Yan had no intention of making things difficult for her, nor did she want to bully her. While instructing her to lead the way quickly, she said, "Alright, it's nothing, no need to thank me."
The thought of summer streets is unbearably hot, let alone actually walking on them.
Jiang Yan couldn't walk more than a few steps because of the heat and difficulty breathing.
"Oh my god, if I had known it would be this hot, I would have taken a carriage!" He complained, wiping his sweat as he leaned against the shady corner of the wall.
Although Huang Ying and Cai Xia were also hot, they didn't react as excessively and outrageously as her.
The two women looked at each other for a while, and then Caixia cautiously suggested, "How about I go back to the manor now and have the master send a carriage to pick you up?"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yan quickly stopped her, saying, "No way! If word gets out, people will think I've been mistreated. If this tarnishes Prince Duan's reputation, none of the three of us will have a good time."
Caixia was naturally terrified and asked anxiously, "What should we do? It's such a long walk back!"
Huang Ying thought the same thing, looked at Jiang Yan, and whispered, "This servant will go back to the palace to find the carriage?"
"No, one trip is hot enough. If we go a second time, won't we die from the heat? Here's what we'll do: take my jewelry and hire a carriage. It has to be luxurious, so as not to embarrass the Prince Duan's mansion." As he spoke, he pulled the glittering hairpin from her hair and handed it to Huang Ying.
Huang Ying hesitated, looking troubled. "This is a gift from the Prince to you, Master. This... absolutely not!"
Jiang Yan forcefully shoved it into her hand: "What are you afraid of? The Prince has given us countless gifts, how could he possibly remember this one?"
Seeing that Huang Ying still looked resistant, he said helplessly, "Alright, tell the coachman to keep it safe, and we'll redeem it later, okay?"
Huang Ying then opened her palm and took the hairpin.
"Caixia, take good care of the master. I'll be right back."
"Don't worry, Sister Huang Ying, I will definitely take good care of Princess Liu. You don't need to worry."
The oriole hurriedly ran off to find the carriage.
Jiang Yan first looked around boredly, then turned his attention to Cai Xia.
"You and Huang Ying are about the same age, and you entered the Liu residence one after the other, right?"
Caixia chuckled dryly and looked at her: "Princess Liu, you may not remember, but I used to serve you and comb your hair."
Jiang Yan became wary, then pretended to be forgetful and said self-deprecatingly, "Sigh, there are too many things to do at the Prince's Mansion. I'm so busy that I can't remember anything."
Caixia said, "I entered the Liu family a year after Sister Huangying. I started by combing your hair and did so for a year before I was called to comb the Second Miss's hair."
Oh, she had heard Huang Ying mention it before; this Liu Ruyan wanted to take everything from Liu Ruyi... In that case, she must know something.
"Caixia, how does the Second Miss treat you? Very well, isn't she?"
Caixia wasn't unhappy at all and replied, "Yes, Second Miss treats me very well, just as well as you treat me."
Liu Ruyan treated her very well? She didn't bully her? That's strange!
"Caixia, Mother is very kind to the servants. You should be very grateful, right?"
"Yes, Madam, Master, and Second Miss are all very kind to the servants. They never scold or punish them without reason. On the contrary, they are very tolerant and understanding towards them."
Jiang Yan was frustrated. If they treated the servants so well, why were they so unkind to Liu Ruyi? Was a legitimate daughter really less worthy than a servant?
Jiang Yan glanced around casually, then, seeing Cai Xia's confusion, asked in a low voice.
"Caixia, you must answer my questions honestly now, without any deception, understand?"
Caixia's nerves tensed up immediately, and she nodded subconsciously.
Jiang Yan: "Do you know why Father, Mother, and Second Sister are unfriendly to me?"
Sure enough, when this question came up, Caixia panicked and started twisting her fingers incessantly, her head drooping to her chest.
It seems that this issue is a taboo subject in the Liu family.
"There's no one else here, so I won't do anything to you if you tell me. But if you don't tell me, and I find out from others, I'll definitely blame you."
Caixia's face turned pale and then red, showing her great distress and confusion, unsure of what to do.
Jiang Yan stopped pressuring her and instead calmly watched her to see what she would do.
About fifteen minutes later, just before Huang Ying returned, she finally couldn't bear Jiang Yan's gaze any longer and said...
"These are all things I heard, I don't know if they're true or not."
"I know it's just a rumor, nothing is true. It's just that I haven't heard it before and want to hear it. I promise you, I won't say that you told me."
Caixia still didn't dare to speak easily, and hesitated for a long time before finally saying something.
"The second young lady flew into a rage the moment she heard your name, saying that you stole everything from her! Saying you shouldn't have stayed in the Liu family!!"
Jiang Yan was not surprised, but found it very strange.
"Anything else?"
"Madam... This servant doesn't know why, but whenever Madam hears your name or hears anything about you, she gets angry and seems like a completely different person."
"Where is my father? Doesn't he side with me either?"
Caixia dared not tell the truth, hanging her head and hesitatingly saying, "Master isn't against you. He just doesn't know how to respond to Madam and Second Miss... Nonsense. You are the eldest young lady, how could Master not be on your side?"
Jiang Yan couldn't tell if she was sweating profusely from the heat or from being terrified. He stared at her for a moment before looking away and not pressing the matter further.
Huang Ying returned shortly after, having hired a carriage comparable to those used by princes. Jiang Yan boarded the carriage, and Cai Xia and Huang Ying also sat inside.
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