tidy
Jiang Yan devised another plan after her first one failed, but before she could put her scheme into practice, she noticed that Chen Run had been in a bad mood for the past few days.
It's not good, and it's quite serious, but he just doesn't have the same vitality as before. He's always sullen and unhappy. Even when he's with her, even if he seems happy, there's always a hint of sadness in his eyes.
Jiang Yan originally intended to give him some advice, but when the words were about to come out, she changed her mind again. She wondered if her concern for him at this time would make him misunderstand and think that she still had feelings for him. If that happened, he would cling to her even more tightly. So she went against her conscience and pretended not to see it.
These past few days, Chen Run hasn't been watching her as closely as he had in the past few days. Instead, he suggested that if she wanted to go out of the manor to relax, he would have the manor arrange a carriage to take her out.
Jiang Yan was naturally eager to leave the manor, so as soon as he heard him bring it up, she immediately raised both hands in agreement.
Chen Run was not disappointed. He smiled gently as before and quickly ordered someone to prepare a carriage.
Jiang Yan and Huang Ying sat in the carriage, in high spirits, as if it were New Year's Day.
Huang Ying asked, "Master, why did Young Master Chen agree to let you leave the manor?"
"I don't know, who cares? Anyway, he suggested that I go out and relax, so we should just be happy."
"Master, are you still going to use this opportunity to escape?"
"Of course not! He's being so kind as to let me out of the manor, he's probably testing me. If I were to fall for it so easily, wouldn't I be wasting my brain? Let's wait until he completely lets his guard down before we start thinking about escaping."
Huang Ying pondered for a moment, then hesitated and said, "Master, aren't you planning to... go see the Prince?"
The smile that hadn't faded from Jiang Yan's face instantly froze on her face.
She frowned, pursed her lips and pondered for a moment, then sighed and said, "Well, of course I want to know how he is now. I'm not heartless, but as you know, I escaped from the Prince's mansion, and now I'm in this situation. There's nothing I can do!"
He added, "However, I think he should be fine. He didn't really instigate a rebellion; the Emperor controlled the situation entirely. The Emperor is his brother, so he should spare his life no matter what."
Huang Ying thought what she said made a lot of sense and nodded.
Jiang Yan sighed again: "I feel like an idiot, I can't do anything right. I try to run away but get caught again, and I can't even solve Liu Ruyi's problem. I don't know what God wants me to do here!"
"Master, please don't underestimate yourself! To handle a situation like this with such ease already puts you far ahead of others. You're very capable!"
Jiang Yan smiled guiltily, when suddenly the carriage they were riding in came to an abrupt stop.
Jiang Yan and Huang Ying were caught off guard and were both thrown to their knees inside the carriage.
"What's going on?" Jiang Yan quickly stood up, holding onto the car body, as soon as she realized what was happening.
She carefully helped Huang Ying up, then lifted the carriage curtain and asked the driver, "What...?" But before she could finish speaking, she heard a voice she remembered vividly, speaking in a sarcastic tone, "Who is this?"
Liu Ruyan?!
Jiang Yan was extremely surprised and looked at her.
She was standing on another carriage.
The carriage was pulled by three horses. The horses were clad in silver armor and wore silver masks, and even their tails were thoughtfully braided and tied with colorful ropes.
The carriage itself was even more luxurious, adorned with colorful brocade.
Liu Ruyan was dressed in the style of a royal woman, looking extremely bright and beautiful. Compared to her, Jiang Yan looked like a country bumpkin compared to a rich young lady.
Jiang Yan wasn't quite sure what she wanted to do, and kept looking at her thoughtfully.
Liu Ruyan raised an eyebrow, her eyes quickly flashing with disdain, and laughed, "Upon closer inspection, isn't this Prince Duan's concubine? Why is she sitting in the Chen residence's carriage?"
Jiang Yan knew perfectly well why Liu Ruyan knew she was sitting in Chen Run's carriage.
Jiang Yan didn't want to waste any more words with her, so she said to the servant driving the carriage, "Make way for her." Then she turned around and climbed into the carriage.
However, Liu Ruyan did not let her off easily just because she took the initiative to back down. She even mocked, "Consort Liu is embarrassed now? Then why don't you get off the carriage in the Liu residence? Can't you afford to lose face?"
Jiang Yan was furious.
Huang Ying said, "Master, please don't be angry. That's just how the Second Miss is. She likes to be sarcastic towards others."
Jiang Yan: "She's not some second young lady anymore. You didn't see her attire; she looks more like a concubine!" She then suddenly widened her eyes in shock, exclaiming, "Could it be... she's entered the palace as a concubine?"
Before she could finish speaking, Liu Ruyan's displeased voice rang out again: "You, a woman of sin, have come to see me, the imperial concubine, and yet you don't get out of the carriage and pay your respects?"
"Could she really be the Emperor's concubine?" Jiang Yan was terrified.
Huang Ying's expression also changed.
Liu Ruyan continued, "If you don't come out and pay your respects to me, I'll have the people in the street serve you properly right here!"
Jiang Yan was flustered and didn't know what to do. If she had known she would encounter something like this, she would have been happy even if Chen Run had locked her in the mansion.
While Jiang Yan hesitated and felt frustrated, half of the two groups of soldiers following Liu Ruyan's carriage rushed to her side and surrounded her carriage in the blink of an eye.
The carriage driver was terrified, his voice trembling uncontrollably: "Miss Liu, this..."
Jiang Yan heard the thunderous roar, like a thousand horses galloping across the land, and knew she had no other choice. She gently patted Huang Ying's hand, gave her a look that everything was alright, lifted the carriage curtain, and jumped off the carriage.
Liu Ruyan glanced at her with a disdainful look, smugly, as if she were a queen, waiting for her to kneel in worship.
Jiang Yan resisted fiercely, standing there expressionless, staring at her arrogant demeanor.
Liu Ruyan must have gotten tired of standing, so she stretched and said, "Liu Ruyi, so many people are watching, are you still going to struggle? I advise you to be pragmatic and not push your luck."
At this moment, someone in the crowd whispered, "This is Prince Su's newlywed principal wife. I heard she is the daughter of Liu Xiangyi, the richest man in the country, and is deeply loved by Prince Su."
"So, isn't Liu Ruyi also Liu Xiangyi's daughter? How come the two sisters' meeting turned into this?"
...
Jiang Yan overheard their whispers clearly and couldn't help but smile bitterly to himself.
Liu Ruyan lost her patience, her voice suddenly rising, cold and hard: "Liu Ruyi, don't think about waiting for anyone to save you! Your Young Master Chen has gone to the Prince Su's mansion, what more do you want?"
Jiang Yan never intended for Chen Run to save her. The reason she insisted on not kneeling before him was because inside her ancient body lived a person who had experienced fairness and respect in modern society. She had no choice, nor did she want to kneel before someone of her generation for some unfounded reason.
Liu Ruyan didn't say anything more. She gave a wink to the soldier standing behind Jiang Yan, who immediately kicked Jiang Yan in the back of the knee. Jiang Yan cried out in pain and knelt down.
"How about it? I have plenty of ways to make you, this sinner, submit!" Liu Ruyan glanced at Jiang Yan with disdain, then turned around arrogantly and entered the carriage.
The Chen family's carriage had to make way for Liu Ruyan's carriage, so Huang Ying hurriedly jumped down. Seeing that Jiang Yan was still kneeling on the ground in pain, she quickly helped her up with heartache.
"Master, your leg..."
"I don't know which jerk kicked me, but it's okay, it doesn't hurt anymore!" As Liu Ruyan and her group were about to pass by Jiang Yan and her group, Jiang Yan pulled Huang Ying to stand on the very edge.
As Liu Ruyan passed by them, she glanced triumphantly at Jiang Yan, as if to say, "Jiang Yan, you're only fit to kneel before me!"
Jiang Yan was furious.
In all her life, she had never knelt before her parents, only before her grandparents. Now, she was being forced to kneel before a wretched girl like her. How could she not be angry?
Although she had knelt before Shangguan Zeyu and Xiao Yiqing, what could she do? After all, Shangguan Zeyu and Xiao Yiqing were the masters of the Prince's Mansion, and she had to live at their beck and call!
“Master, you did nothing wrong. The one who is wrong is the Second Miss. Don’t upset yourself over this. It’s not worth it.”
Huang Ying's words were like a wake-up call, and Jiang Yan suddenly understood. He laughed and said, "That's right! Arguing with an idiot is making me an idiot too! Come on, let's take a stroll ahead and get some good food!"
Jiang Yan is just that good at taking things in stride; no matter how big the problem is, once it's over, it's over.
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