Yan Chaoxi quickly finished buying and returned to the spot where she had been waiting, occasionally fanning her face to cool it down.
She quietly comforted herself, thinking, "Since I'm going to have a baby, buying a few sets isn't a big deal, is it?"
But her cheeks still felt hot involuntarily, making her want to take off her veil to cool down.
Just as she had finally convinced herself, a voice suddenly came from beside her, "Oh! Isn't this Princess Dongqi? What are you doing here all alone?"
Yan Chaoxi looked up and saw an arrogant woman walking towards her. After a moment's thought, she remembered who she was—Wei Xinran, the daughter of the Grand Tutor and the Crown Princess's close friend. It seemed that she had married the legitimate son of a second-rank civil official.
Yan Chaoxi remembered it so clearly because it was Wei Xinran who suggested to the Crown Princess that the original owner of this body be sent to General Fan Yuanxin. She even deliberately lured that lecherous old man to the Crown Prince's residence. Sure enough, Fan Yuanxin took a liking to her at first sight, his eyes glued to her. The Crown Princess then hinted to the Crown Prince to give her to Fan Yuanxin.
Just then, the Crown Prince grew tired of her, so he used her as a favor, publicly announcing that the Princess of Dongqi had died suddenly, while secretly sending her to the Fan residence in a small sedan chair.
I almost forgot about the original owner's death; Wei Xinran also played a part in it.
Yan Chaoxi smiled mockingly through her veil. Since she wanted revenge, Wei Xinran couldn't be let off the hook either.
When Yan Chaoxi looked up, even though she was wearing a veil, Wei Xinran recognized her at a glance; she had seen her at the palace banquet before.
"It really is you!" Wei Xinran glanced at her disdainfully. "The Crown Princess wrote to me saying that she has been unwell recently, and you, instead of serving her at home, are out shopping for clothes. You have no manners at all."
“Miss Wei is the Crown Princess’s good friend, so why don’t you go to the Crown Prince’s residence to take care of her? Instead, you’re in the mood to go shopping. In my opinion, you don’t care about her much either,” Yan Chaoxi retorted without any politeness.
"Move aside, you're blocking the way."
Yan Chaoxi reached out and pushed her aside.
Wei Xinran truly hadn't expected that this Princess Dongqi would be so arrogant. She dared to act like this even when she was alone outside. She couldn't imagine how arrogant this woman was in the Crown Prince's residence. No wonder the Crown Princess hadn't been able to sleep for several days.
She had intended to teach Yan Chaoxi a lesson, to let her know that even a princess of Dongqi had to be mindful of the people of Daliang when she came to Daliang, and to stand up for the Crown Princess. But before she could even make her move, she saw the "Crown Prince" weaving through the crowd, striding over to Yan Chaoxi's side, his imposing eyes fixed on her.
Wei Xinran felt the pressure and dared not look up at the "Crown Prince's" expression. "This subject greets Your Highness."
Yan Wu responded and looked at Yan Chaoxi, "I've bought the pastries for you. Are you leaving?"
"Let's go, it's already noon, let's have lunch before we go back."
"I'll listen to you."
Wei Xinran felt indignant for the Crown Princess. How could the Crown Prince be so fond of Yan Chaoxi, even going so far as to accompany her shopping and condescend to buy her pastries? This was a treatment even the Crown Princess didn't receive!
She decided not to stroll around the streets anymore and headed straight for the Crown Prince's residence.
When the Crown Princess heard that Wei Xinran had arrived, she felt unwell all over. Despite being very tired, she couldn't fall asleep and really didn't want to see Wei Xinran. However, Wei Xinran said she had something important to tell her, so she had no choice but to see her.
When Wei Xinran arrived at Jinhua Garden, she was shocked to see the Crown Princess half-dead.
"I heard you couldn't sleep. I thought it was just occasional insomnia, but I didn't expect it to be this serious. Look how haggard you look!"
It's like all their energy has been drained!
The Crown Princess sighed, "Don't even mention it. The imperial physicians couldn't figure out the reason either, but I just can't sleep. I've taken medicine and burned incense, but nothing seems to work. Isn't that strange?"
The imperial physician said that if this continued, she might exhaust her vital energy and die prematurely!
The Crown Princess panicked; she wished she could just knock herself unconscious and get some sleep.
"You've been unable to sleep ever since Princess Dongqi entered the manor. In my opinion, she's bringing you bad luck. Some people have strong birth charts, and those around them with weaker birth charts will be affected by them. Some people bring bad luck to their husbands and children, even becoming widows themselves. You must be careful!"
Wei Xinran didn't mention that she had run into Yan Chaoxi and the Crown Prince shopping together today. If the Crown Princess knew, she might have even more trouble sleeping.
Wei Xinran's reminder made the Crown Princess think back and realize that she had indeed been unable to sleep since the second night after Yan Chaoxi entered the mansion. If she was really being haunted by Yan Chaoxi... it was terrifying to think about!
"Then what should I do? She's now captivating the Crown Prince's heart. Yesterday, the Crown Prince even punished Consort Xu, whom he had always favored, because of her."
Wei Xinran's eyes darted around. "Of course, someone with such a tough fate can't stay in the East Palace forever. If she stays too long, she might bring bad luck to you and the Crown Prince... I may not be able to say it nicely, but honest advice is hard to swallow. If you want to get better, you have to send her away as soon as possible."
The Crown Princess was speechless for a moment, "Whether or not to send them away is not something I can decide."
"That's easy. Find her a new home, have the Crown Prince arrange for her to be sent away, and announce to the public that she died of illness. Since she's from Dongqi, even if she died in Daliang, would they really travel all that way to find out the cause of death?"
The Crown Princess was somewhat tempted. "Then...who should I give it to?"
"I think General Wei Wu is quite good. I heard he likes beautiful women and has quite a few concubines in his household. Hasn't the Crown Prince always wanted to win him over?"
The Crown Princess said, "But... he looks to be fifty years old."
“So what if he’s fifty? Look at the Emperor, he’s over fifty and he still favors his concubines every day,” Wei Xinran said. “But don’t rush to bring it up. The Crown Prince is currently in a daze, so he definitely won’t agree if you bring it up now. Let’s talk about it later.”
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