055 Shy
Xu Biyun was indeed there.
Inside the room, Yuan Chongjing lay pale on the bed. Xu Biyun sat on a chair by the window not far from the bed, gently peeling an orange. Jinghe stood in the doorway, her round eyes wide, staring at Xu Biyun with hostility.
Jinghe, with her sharp eyes, saw Li Yang enter and deliberately called out loudly, "Young Madam, you're back!"
Li Yang knew what she was thinking and smiled helplessly: "Xia He knows to pick me up at the gate of the mansion, are you just being lazy and don't want to go?"
Jinghe gestured towards the inside, and taking the opportunity of helping Li Yang into the room, she whispered, "I'm going to keep an eye on that bad woman here, so she won't have a chance to get close to the Second Young Master!"
Once the two had stepped over the threshold, Jinghe resumed her normal speaking volume: "Second Young Master, the Young Madam is back~"
Xu Biyun immediately put down the oranges and stood up somewhat awkwardly to greet her: "Yangyang, you're back."
Li Yang hummed in agreement and said to her, "Thank you so much. Not only do you take care of Song'er, but you also have to come and help me take care of Jing-ge."
Xu Biyun turned around and looked at Yuan Chongjing. Seeing that he didn't speak, she said, "It's alright. Young Master Yuan has been kind to me. I came to take care of you voluntarily. I just hope you won't mind, Yangyang."
“What do I have to mind?” Li Yang smiled and said sincerely, “You helped me, I should be thanking you. The Empress Dowager has given me quite a few things, so don’t leave yet, pick out some of your favorites to take back with you.”
Xu Biyun's eyes flickered slightly. Although she told him not to leave yet, what she really meant was that he should leave as soon as possible.
"Thank you for your kindness, Yangyang, but I really can't accept it. Otherwise, if word gets out, it will seem like I'm only here to take care of Young Master Yuan for these little things," Xu Biyun said with a smile. "Besides, Song'er and I have been staying at the manor recently, and Madam Yuan has been taking good care of us, so we don't lack anything."
Before she could finish speaking, she heard Yuan Chongjing, who was leaning against the bed, say, "Alright, Biyun, you can go out now."
Xu Biyun turned to look at him, and seeing his firm tone, she reluctantly said to Li Yang, "Yangyang, you haven't been back for a while. I imagine you and Young Master Yuan have a lot to talk about. I won't disturb you any longer. If there's anything Young Master Yuan doesn't know about, just have someone contact me anytime. I live in the courtyard next to yours, not far away."
After she finished speaking, she walked out of the room with a graceful gait, amidst the angry stares of Li Yang and Jing He.
Yuan Chongjing said to Jinghe, "You go out too."
Jinghe secretly gave Li Yang an encouraging look, then clenched her fists, puffed out her chest, and walked out indignantly.
Li Yang chuckled and sat down in front of Yuan Chongjing: "How are you? Where are you hurt?"
Yuan Chongjing put down his book, stretched out his arm and pressed it on the quilt, and said, "I was shot in the leg with an arrow, but it's nothing serious. Your Highness has a very skilled doctor by your side who has already cleaned the wound. It will be fine in a few days."
Li Yang reached out to lift the blanket, but couldn't budge it.
She belatedly noticed Yuan Chongjing's little gesture, exchanged a glance with him, and the two of them laughed at the same time.
Looking at Yuan Chongjing's pale face, Li Yang felt a lump in her throat: "You promised me you would take good care of yourself and not get hurt."
Yuan Chongjing laughed and said, "No way, I promised you I would come back alive, but I didn't say I wouldn't be injured at all."
Li Yang playfully slapped him: "You're just making excuses! You're still nitpicking with me over words!"
Yuan Chongjing laughed and dodged it: "Then I promise you now, I won't get hurt at all in the future, okay?"
"That's more like it." Li Yang sniffed, then noticed the oranges Xu Biyun had left on the table and questioned, "What's going on with Xu Biyun? Why did you let her and Luo Song stay at our house?"
Yuan Chongjing explained, "She has promised me that if necessary, she will step in to correct the Fifth Prince and Luo Minzhi. I was afraid that those people outside would harm her, so I found a reason to let her move in. In addition, His Highness also secretly sent people over, who are hiding around the courtyard wall."
Upon hearing this, Li Yang asked with some concern, "Is our current situation really that dangerous?"
Yuan Chongjing nodded. The Third Prince had already lost power, and it was almost impossible for him to make a comeback in the short term. However, the Emperor seemed to be supporting the Fifth Prince. If the Fifth Prince wasn't suppressed now, it would be difficult to bring him down once he became the second Third Prince.
His Highness Prince Yu has only recently arrived in the capital. Although he had some influence before, it was ultimately weak. His Highness the Fifth Prince, on the other hand, has just gained momentum. He had previously kept a low profile, and not many court officials in the capital truly supported him. The two are currently evenly matched, and tensions are high, with a potential clash at any moment.
Therefore, when Yuan Chongjing learned that Shou'an Palace had been keeping his injury a secret from Li Yang, he let it go, thinking that she and Xiao Taozi were safe in Shou'an Palace, and with the Sixth Princess protecting them.
But now, looking at the living, breathing Li Yang, whom he could see and touch, Yuan Chongjing thought to himself, "It's good that she's back. Now that she's right under my nose, I don't have to worry about her day and night."
"And then there's Mother," Yuan Chongjing said to Li Yang after a moment's thought, "I've told Mother everything and asked her to cooperate with me. You and Mother can work together to find a way to make our house a bit more 'lively' these days."
Li Yang asked, "How lively is it?"
Yuan Chongjing smiled and said meaningfully, "What you did just now was quite good."
Just now, that referred to her 'tit-for-tat' with Xu Biyun. Li Yang understood: "You let Xu Biyun move in, I'm afraid you still have this in mind."
Taking advantage of the previous rumor that "Luo Song is the illegitimate son of Yuan Chongjing and Xu Biyun", they brought the mother and son into their home. This was a good reason for Madam Yuan, who hoped that Yuan Chongjing would have a son soon, to suppress Li Yang.
Li Yang said, "I understand. Don't worry, when it comes to being sarcastic and unsettling, if I say I'm second, then our mother is definitely number one."
Looking at her proud little expression, Yuan Chongjing said helplessly, "You're quite pleased with yourself."
"That's right, now I have a chance to use my skills."
Yuan Chongjing said, "I only told my mother about this. Otherwise, with so many people talking, it might get leaked."
Li Yang nodded, reached out and patted Yuan Chongjing's hand resting on the blanket, as if praising Xiao Taozi, and said, "Yes, you did the right thing."
After the photo was taken, she tried to pull her hand away, but Yuan Chongjing quickly grabbed it.
Li Yang was somewhat surprised: "Brother Jing?"
Yuan Chongjing lowered his head, stroking her fingers, and suddenly said, "Have you guessed?"
"Guess what?"
Hearing that she genuinely didn't know what she was going to say, Yuan Chongjing looked up and accused her, "When I visited you in the palace, didn't I tell you before we parted that you should guess what I'd tell you when I got back? You said you'd guess it day and night. Have you forgotten?"
Li Yang laughed and said, "I said I would keep guessing, but I didn't say I would guess day and night."
Yuan Chongjing immediately realized that she was doing it on purpose. By doing so, she was refuting his statement that she had only promised to come back alive, not that she would not be injured.
He laughed in exasperation, gently pinched the skin on the back of her hand, and retorted with her words: "Nonsense, are you trying to nitpick with me too?"
"It's just an eye for an eye, that's what you taught me," Li Yang said smugly.
Yuan Chongjing said, "I've taught you so many things, but I've never seen you call me 'Master' even once."
Li Yang, as if thinking of something, flashed a mischievous smile: "If a master and disciple become husband and wife, it might not be appropriate to address each other, right, little master?"
Yuan Chongjing immediately guessed what she was thinking and scolded her with a smile: "Nonsense."
“Then you are my master. If I’m talking nonsense, it must be because you didn’t teach me well. After all, everyone knows I’m a good disciple. Master, Master, please call me your good disciple.”
Seeing that she was becoming increasingly demanding, Yuan Chongjing released her hand and tossed it aside: "Shut up."
Li Yang's hand was flung away by him and landed on his blanket.
However, that position was somewhat awkward.
"Brother Jing, you...you didn't do it on purpose, did you?" Li Yang looked at his lower abdomen, then looked up and asked him sincerely.
Yuan Chongjing's face flushed crimson with embarrassment. Before he could even speak, he heard Madam Yuan's voice from the doorway: "Jing'er, I heard Yang'er is back. How are you all doing?"
Madam Yuan was stunned for a moment, then immediately turned around and pushed the people behind her to leave, saying, "Get out, get out. Don't come in yet."
Behind her, Yuan Yue, the third young lady of the Yuan family, said with dissatisfaction, "What's wrong, Mother? I haven't seen my second sister-in-law in so long."
"What's the point of seeing each other? Meeting at the party won't make you gain any weight!"
Madam Yuan waited outside for a while, and when she thought Li Yang and the others should be ready, she led Yuan Yue and the eldest young mistress in. Seeing that Li Yang and Yuan Chongjing both had a slight blush on their faces, Madam Yuan secretly glared at Yuan Chongjing: "You still have an injury on your leg, so you should restrain yourself a little."
Yuan Chongjing: "..."
This was difficult to explain, so he could only bite the bullet and agree, "I understand."
“Restraint what? Restraint what?” Yuan Yue jumped out from behind Madam Yuan and exclaimed to Li Yang with delight, “Second Sister-in-law!”
Li Yang was somewhat surprised: "Yue'er? Why are you back? When did you arrive?"
Yuan Yue held Li Yang's hand and spun around twice with a smile: "I arrived a couple of days ago. Our academy has finished classes, and I missed my second sister-in-law, so I discussed it with my cousins and we came back early."
The eldest young mistress beside her said sourly, "Oh, I wonder who it was that said they missed me and came back early. How come now that they're here with my sister-in-law, it's become that they miss her?"
Yuan Yue chuckled, holding Li Yang's hand with one hand and the eldest young mistress's hand with the other: "Both of you sisters-in-law, Yue'er thought of this too."
Seeing their harmonious interaction, Yuan Chongjing couldn't help but smile. Just as he raised the corners of his mouth, he noticed Madam Yuan sitting beside him, staring at him with a reproachful and disapproving gaze. He awkwardly uttered a sound and silently lowered his head.
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