After this incident, the defenses outside were strengthened.
Wei Yinqiu opened the secret room and went inside herself.
"Grand Tutor, the Empress Dowager's people are all outside. You'll probably have to stay here a while longer. I'll find the right opportunity to help you escape."
Jin Heng, however, did not seem too worried about this matter. He sat on a large wooden box, looking at her with a half-smile, and asked, "This secret room is full of jade, gold and silver jewelry, and silks and satins. Where did you get so many valuable things to hide here?"
“What do you mean by ‘hidden’? That sounds so awful.” Wei Yinqiu casually opened a wooden box on the shelf, took out a beautiful jade bracelet, and stroked it gently. She said, “These are all the dowry my mother saved for me before she passed away. Back then, my father was often away fighting, while my mother stayed in the capital. Every year, she would save some dowry for me. From the beginning, she planned that if my father died in battle, she would immediately follow him. So she wanted to make up for what she owed me.”
But her mother would never know that what she wanted was never status or wealth, much less these material possessions...
"I'm sorry for bringing up your painful memories." Jin Heng felt a pang of guilt and heartache.
"It's alright." Wei Yinqiu put the bracelet back and smiled. "Grand Tutor, think it over carefully. If you marry me, all these things will be yours. I dare not say that you will be richer than a country, but I can definitely ensure that you will have no worries about food and clothing for the rest of your life."
Jin Heng tilted his head and looked at her intently for a while, then suddenly smiled, his eyes slightly upturned, "What you said makes sense, I will definitely think about it carefully."
Wei Yinqiu was mesmerized once again.
She couldn't understand, she really couldn't understand, how could Jin Heng, with such an immaculate face, smile so captivatingly, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that he could bewitch all living beings!
She raised her hand to cover her face with her sleeve, afraid that he would see her drooling uncontrollably.
"Grand Tutor, it's getting late, I should rest... Oh dear! Ah!" She turned to walk out of the secret room, but tripped over the high threshold.
As she lay on the ground, wincing in pain, she thought that one day when she had some free time, she would saw off that damn threshold. What was the point of a threshold for a dark, secluded room? It was such a waste of wood!
Jin Heng came over and helped her up. "Does it hurt?"
"It hurts..." She pouted pitifully, showing him her slender, fair elbow that had been scraped and blistered.
Jin Heng's gaze fell on her bandaged fingers, and he sighed, "How can you be so clumsy?"
"I'm already in such a miserable state, and you still want to lecture me, waaaaah~" she faked her sobs, all bark and no bite.
Jin Heng's temper softened at her delicate appearance. He bent down, picked her up, and carried her to the bedside before putting her down.
She had been walking around barefoot, and although there was a carpet in the room, her feet were still dirty. Jin Heng took a damp cloth, squatted down in front of her, lifted her delicate feet onto his lap, and used the cloth to wipe away the stains little by little.
Wei Yinqiu sat on the edge of the bed, looking at his serious expression, her heart filled with warmth.
That's wonderful, I wish it could stay like this forever...
That's what she thought.
After Jin Heng wiped her feet clean, she sat cross-legged on the bed and watched him hang up the handkerchief with a smile.
Then the smile froze.
"Where...did you get the water?"
He pointed to the wooden basin she had casually placed aside and said, "Right there."
Wei Yinqiu was instantly horrified. "That's my foot bath water!! And that handkerchief is for wiping my face!!"
Jin Heng felt guilty for a moment, then chuckled awkwardly, "Well... the foot bath water is fine, it's just for wiping your feet anyway, we can just change the handkerchief."
What are you talking about? You don't use foot bath water twice!
Wei Yinqiu closed her eyes, trying her best to calm herself down.
Then, as if remembering something, he said, "I need to change into my nightgown now. Turn around and carry me."
"Why do you want to change? Your current outfit is perfectly fine."
Wei Yinqiu silently rolled her eyes in her mind: Am I supposed to tell you that I splashed the foot bath water on myself?
"I, the princess, will change it if I want to. Is it any of your business?" she said arrogantly.
Jin Heng pursed his lips and nodded. "Yes."
He obediently turned around and walked out of the inner room.
Wei Yinqiu quickly got out of bed, put on her shoes, and ran to the closet to find a set of light pink nightgown. She tried it on and was quite satisfied.
Even though Jin Heng wasn't in the inner room, she still hid behind the screen to change her clothes.
"I'm all changed," she said softly as she walked out.
However, there was no response for a long time.
Feeling something was amiss, she went to the outer room.
Only then did she see that the gate was wide open, the guards outside were lying on the ground, and there was a small note under the teacup on the table where she had just been sitting. It read: "Your subject has withdrawn. Your subject should go to bed early."
Wei Yinqiu stomped her feet in anger, "You, Jin Heng, sneaked into my boudoir at night, took advantage of me, and ran away without a word! Just wait and see how I deal with you later!!"
She grumbled as she closed the door and went back inside. She neatly folded the small note and put it in a secret compartment in the inner room before going to bed to rest.
The following day, the Empress Dowager suddenly lifted her confinement order.
She was just beginning to be surprised when something even more surprising happened—Jin Heng actually came to visit Yongning Residence.
She was placed under house arrest as soon as rumors about her and Jin Heng started circulating, and the rumors gradually subsided. But today, no sooner had her confinement lifted than Jin Heng arrived at Yongning Residence. Wasn't that just handing out melon seeds to the gossipers?
Although she was secretly pleased about the matter, she did not want to cause trouble for Jin Heng.
Therefore, she ordered the gates of her residence to be closed, refusing Jin Heng's visit.
Jin Heng stood outside Yongning Residence, looking at the tightly closed vermilion gate, his brows furrowed slightly. He turned to the guard beside him and asked, "What does the princess mean by this?"
The guards were also very puzzled. In the past, the princess would be like a bee to a flower or a fly to dung when she saw their master, and she would want to pounce on him. But today, the master had come to their door, and she was avoiding him. Had the sun risen in the west?
He pondered for a moment, then hesitated and said, "Could it be that the princess is... playing hard to get?"
Upon hearing this, Jin Heng's brows gradually relaxed, and he smiled, saying, "In that case, I'll go along with her wishes."
So, from that day on, Jin Heng would come to the entrance of Yongning Residence every day, sometimes just passing by, sometimes stopping for a moment.
Several days later...
Wei Yinqiu leaned over the wall and watched him stand outside the door, neither moving nor standing still, and really couldn't understand what he was trying to do.
"Tell me, does he like me or not?"
The little maid, who was struggling to support herself against the wall, blushed and said in a choked voice, "Princess, this servant thinks that the Grand Tutor likes you."
"If he liked me, why did he reject me in the first place?"
"This servant...this servant doesn't know, Your Highness, this servant can't hold on much longer."
As soon as she finished speaking, she swayed and fell to the ground.
Wei Yinqiu, who was originally standing on the maid's shoulders, lost her support and her feet dangled in the air, screaming repeatedly.
But she clung tightly to the wall and didn't fall, though her struggles were quite pathetic.
Then, the next second, a shadow fell over her head.
She stiffly raised her head.
"Grand Tutor... Hehe... It's been a few days, how have you been?"
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