Chapter 71 Liking you is really just playing with men?!
Not long after Yue Yining returned to her room, she was greeted by an uninvited guest.
Ye Miheng rushed into the courtyard. The guards at the gate tried to stop him when they saw his aggressive approach, but Ye Miheng panicked and shouted from a distance, "Yue Yining!"
Yue Yining could naturally recognize Ye Miheng's voice.
The woman in the blue robe, who had been sitting inside writing, looked surprised: "Ye Miheng? What brings him here?"
Fu Yao shook her head: "I don't know, Lord Ye didn't send any servants to inform me."
Yue Yining thought for a moment: "Perhaps it's something urgent. Go outside and talk to the guard, and ask him to come in."
Fu Yao responded and went out. A moment later, hurried footsteps came from outside the door, and then the person pushed the door open with a "bang." It was Ye Miheng.
He seemed to have run all the way here, still a little out of breath, but his voice was loud and forceful: "Yue Yining! Are you—"
Before he could finish speaking, Ye Miheng, having seen the scene inside, suddenly fell silent.
Yue Yining, wearing a green silk robe embroidered with bamboo patterns, sat cross-legged behind a table, writing something with a brush. She looked up in surprise at him, who had rushed into the inner room. Beside her knelt a thin, frail young man, his snow-white fingers holding an inkstone, grinding ink for her with gentle, respectful movements.
Ye Miheng stared at the handsome young man who shouldn't be there, his hand trembling as he pointed at him: "You...you..."
Fu Yao caught up, panting, "Why are you running so fast! I told you to slow down!"
Unexpectedly, Ye Miheng glared at him and shouted angrily, "Yue Yining! I really misjudged you!!"
Fu Yao: "?"
Yue Yining: "?"
Ye Miheng was furious, extremely furious, so furious he was like a mooing old ox: "When Jin Yuanxiu told me, I didn't believe him. I said you've always been virtuous and not the kind of person who gets lustful at first sight. But Jin Yuanxiu said you called that person over to serve you again today, and told me that if I didn't believe him, I should come and see for myself!"
"I trusted you so much and rushed over here, but instead of doing anything important, you came all the way to Suyang to play around with men?!"
Yue Yining was initially a little confused, but upon hearing this, she almost burst out laughing: "No, you believe him just because he said so?"
Ye Miheng continued to spew fire: "I don't believe it? How dare I not believe it?! Look at what you're doing! The sun has barely set and you've already called someone into your room, thinking about that kind of thing before it's even dark!"
Yue Nu was frightened by Ye Miheng's aggressive demeanor. She released the ink block in her hand and timidly hid behind Yue Yining.
Yue Yining frowned upon seeing this, looking at Ye Miheng with disapproval: "Just say what you want to say, why are you so loud? You're scaring the child."
Ye Miheng gritted his teeth and said, "Child? Have you ever seen a child that you're trying to take to bed? Are you out of your mind? You're blinded by lust!"
Yue Yining was about to say something when Yue Nu suddenly fell to the ground with a thud, kowtowed heavily, and whispered, "My lord, please calm down. You have really wronged her."
“You’re right. I was the one who seduced Yue Ren first, but I offered myself to her many times. She always advised me to take care of myself and never touched me. Yue Ren called me here today just to keep her company and talk to her.”
Ye Miheng, filled with rage, froze on the spot, like a piece of hot coal thrown into ice water.
The atmosphere inside the room suddenly turned awkwardly cold.
Seeing this, Yue Yining sighed, waved her hand, and signaled Yue Nu and Fu Yao to leave first.
After everyone left, she asked Ye Miheng to sit down: "You really are... You're such a grown man, how come you're still as reckless as before?"
Ye Miheng was already embarrassed, and when she brought up the past, a faint blush rose to his face. He was too ashamed to admit it, stubbornly saying, "Where was I reckless?"
Yue Yining chuckled: "Where are you not reckless? You lost your composure after hearing what Jin Yuanxiu said and rushed to cause me trouble. Have you ever considered that perhaps Jin Yuanxiu is testing you? If he is planning to use a diversionary tactic, then your actions are exactly what he has set up."
Ye Miheng whispered, "...That's all because of what happened to you, that's why I..."
Yue Yining didn't hear clearly: "What did you say?"
He didn't finish speaking before his head drooped again, and he muttered awkwardly, "...Never mind."
Yue Yining: "How can you just let it go? Tell me, what were you trying to say just now?"
Ye Miheng refused to speak further. He pursed his lips and said, "...I'm sorry."
"I don't distrust you, I just lost my temper and said those hurtful things."
Yue Yining laughed and said, "Why apologize? I didn't take it seriously."
"But I'm quite surprised by your strong reaction. You and I aren't on the same side; we're opponents right now. This case only has winners and losers; there's no draw. If I get distracted by playing around and neglect the investigation, you should be happy, right?"
Ye Miheng was somewhat annoyed. "Am I that kind of person? In your eyes, would I be hoping for something bad to happen to you because of these political maneuverings?"
"That's not what I meant. I meant that who I sleep with should be my private matter." Yue Yining picked up the tea tray, looking at him with a half-smile. "I'm curious, if I really slept with him, what would you do?"
A loud "buzz" came from Ye Miheng's head.
Seeing that he was so lost in thought that he couldn't say a word, Yue Yining felt that she had already tested the waters. She suppressed the smile on her lips, stared intently at Ye Miheng, and sighed silently.
Unwilling to expose the truth, Yue Yining spoke again, naturally changing the subject: "Actually, I called him here just to have him play along with me, so as to cover up my true whereabouts."
Ye Miheng's attention was diverted: "Where are they really?"
“Yes,” Yue Yining said. “I sneaked out of the mansion last night to investigate the case without being discovered by the Jin family. I plan to do the same tonight.”
Seeing Ye Miheng's mouth agape in shock, Yue Yining chuckled: "No, why are you so surprised? You don't really do what Jin Yuanxiu said, and stay in the city lord's mansion to sleep every night, do you?"
Ye Miheng thought she was mocking him and immediately got angry: "What can I do! This mansion is heavily guarded, and I can't do anything about it! Besides, I can investigate cases during the day, so why do I have to sneak out at night?"
Yue Yining: "All the witnesses said that the Green Ghost only appears at night. If you don't try to go out and investigate at night, do you expect it to change to commit crimes during the day for your sake? Do you think Jin Yuanxiu throws lavish banquets every night and tries every means to coax us to drink and have fun at the banquets?"
Ye Miheng was dumbfounded: "...Didn't he throw a banquet because he was afraid he wouldn't be able to entertain us well?"
Yue Yining couldn't bear to watch any longer. After her reminder, Ye Miheng finally realized: "So that's why he wanted to stop us from going out to investigate the case at night! So that's how it is!"
Yue Yining retorted, "You found out way too early."
Ye Miheng knew he was being mocked and was not convinced. "So you went out last night, but did you find any useful clues?"
Yue Yining smiled and said, "I can't tell you that."
The ochre hue on the horizon deepened, and the vermilion-lacquered corridor disappeared into the depths of the clouds. After seeing Ye Miheng off, Fu Yao returned to the house and happened to see Yue Yining staring out the window, looking thoughtful.
"What are you thinking about, Miss?"
Yue Yining snapped out of her reverie, her eyes still thoughtful: "Yaoyao, do you have someone you like?"
Fu Yao cheerfully replied, "Yes, I like Miss!"
Yue Yining couldn't help but laugh out loud: "That's not the kind of liking I'm talking about."
"It's from the storybooks you read, where a fairy-like young lady falls in love with a scholar of great talent."
"It seems not..." Fu Yao suddenly became alert. "Wait, Miss, why are you suddenly asking this? Could it be that you've fallen for some man?"
Fu Yao screamed inwardly: She wouldn't allow it! Who dared to steal her mistress?!
Yue Yining smiled and said, "It's not what you think. I'm just a little curious. I've never liked anyone before."
Fu Yao breathed a sigh of relief, immediately perked up, and patted her chest: "Although I have no experience, I've read a lot of these kinds of stories, so I know a little bit! Miss, please feel free to ask me anything you want to know!"
"Hmm... okay." Yue Yining smiled, pursing her lips. "If a man likes a woman, wouldn't he be jealous of other people who get close to her?"
Fu Yao: "Of course! The reason love is love is because of its exclusivity and the possessiveness of both parties. Although people often say that you should give each other space and freedom, and that those who are not jealous are sensible and know their limits, if neither of us who reads the stories gets jealous of the other, what's the point of reading them?"
Yue Yining listened and nodded, "I see."
She had discerned from Ye Miheng's intense reaction that he harbored romantic feelings for her. Although she didn't know when it started or to what extent, his jealousy was so obvious that it was difficult to explain otherwise.
Similarly, she couldn't help but think of Xie Qingyu. On the way back to the manor, Xie Qingyu had clearly mentioned this matter, but when she admitted to sleeping with Yue Nu for a night, he acted as if nothing had happened, remaining forgiving and gentle, without any surprise or anger.
So, maybe she's mistaken?
Earlier, Xie Qingyu had caught her when she was about to fall in the carriage, and afterwards he had been very considerate and caring towards her. She blushed under her deliberate teasing, which really went beyond the scope of politeness and gratitude. So Yue Yining assumed that Xie Qingyu also had those kinds of feelings for her.
However, after today's events, this judgment seems less reliable.
Yue Yining didn't think about it any further. She picked up her pen again and continued writing the letter that had been interrupted by Ye Miheng's intrusion.
After finishing the last beautiful stroke, she folded the paper in half, put it into a specially made seal, and handed it to Fu Yao: "This letter is for Her Highness the Princess. Find a guard and have him set off immediately with the letter, riding at top speed to Yanjing, and make sure it reaches the princess by tomorrow."
Fu Yao agreed, turned around, opened the door, and went out.
Swallows return to peck at the lingering sunset, while the blue night surges across the sky.
Not long after, the maid returned, but she had something extra in her hand. She said in a soft voice, "Miss, Lord Xie just sent someone over with a food box, saying it was for you."
Yue Yining paused for a moment, put down the calligraphy brush in her hand, took the food box, and opened it.
Inside lay five delicate and petite pineapple cakes, glistening like amber, with a fragrant honey aroma.
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