Although Chengming Hall is located in an imperial palace, its interior is still arranged according to the specifications of Chonghua Hall, and every corner exudes magnificence.
Every time Li Shiyue finished speaking, Xu Yunci's face visibly darkened.
To be precise, the King of Yan confessed his true feelings, and all his previous suspicions came true.
The Crown Prince and his wife didn't look too good either. Xu Lingyu looked worried and stopped Li Shiyue, saying, "Going back like this is definitely not a good idea. If we go back, Grandmother will ask about it."
My grandmother is old and can't handle any stress. Especially her beloved little cousin, who suffered such injustice in the palace—how could the old woman's health possibly withstand it?
"You two handle this. I'll take care of Yan Yan. Yan Yan must get an explanation for this. If Qin Ying refuses, I'll go find Father Emperor myself."
Although Li Shiyue was not seriously injured, she is still an unmarried young woman. What if she was frightened?
Emerging from the rear hall, Li Shiyue had changed her clothes and even restyled her hair. Only Xu Lingyu remained in the hall. Li Shiyue lowered her eyes; Xu Yunci's expression had been quite unpleasant when he left with the Crown Prince.
As Xu Yunci held her in his arms and looked at her, she felt a strange sense of fear.
She wasn't wrong; men and women are different. Come to think of it, this was the second time Xu Yunci had held her like that.
She raised her hand to touch her forearm; the area where she had been injured before was still throbbing. It hadn't been long since she'd removed the bandages. She guessed it was from exertion today; the muscles and tendons, which hadn't fully healed, had been strained again.
Xu Lingyu didn't linger. She took Qing Suo to deal with other matters. After all, it was broad daylight, and they needed to find out who had seen it so they could shut them up. They couldn't let it get out and ruin their reputation.
Li Shiyue lay on the small table in front of her, the red lacquered wood against her cheek. The warm skin touched the cool surface of the table, and she couldn't help but shrink back.
I don't know how to resolve this. There was no harm done, but I was really frightened.
The waiting process was undoubtedly long. In fact, Xu Yunci returned very quickly. When he passed by Xu Lingyu, he could faintly smell an unfamiliar scent on her body, as well as a bloody smell in the air.
Xu Yunci had just returned and wanted to head to the back pavilion, but was stopped by Xu Lingyu. Even though she knew that this was her most respected elder sister, she was still somewhat impatient.
The two are siblings born of the same mother. Others might not be able to see what he is thinking, but Xu Lingyu is a special person. It can be said that there is a tacit understanding between siblings.
"Erlang."
Xu Yunci, who was about to take a step forward, had to stop again: "Elder sister."
Xu Lingyu looked at his face, trying to figure something out, but had to give up and sighed, "You made a move."
Xu Yunci did not refute the statement, and lowered her eyes as if she had tacitly agreed.
His expression remained as aloof as ever. For some reason, Xu Lingyu thought of the times he had come to her and said that he had feelings for Li Shiyue.
Xu Lingyu had initially thought that her younger brother was indifferent to women, and that the sudden appearance of a young woman by his side led her to mistakenly believe that he liked her. But seeing it today, she realized that what her brother said that day might not have been entirely untrue.
She quite liked Li Shiyue, but she couldn't force Li Shiyue to reciprocate that affection just because they liked her. That would be unfair, especially since Li Shiyue's feelings might not be the same as Xu Yunci's.
Xu Yunci's lips moved, and finally his gaze fell on the half of the pavilion that was exposed behind the main hall.
The main hall stands majestically in the very center, while the pavilion behind it is even higher and shrouded in dark clouds, making one feel depressed just looking at it.
"Is she alright?"
If I remember correctly, the bandage on her arm hadn't been removed for long. When I rushed over just now, I saw Qin Ying holding her down and not letting go. I wondered if her injured area could withstand her struggles.
His nose twitched slightly, but he couldn't smell the blood on his body. In fact, the smell was very faint; if Xu Lingyu hadn't known him somewhat, she would have subconsciously ignored it.
That's understandable, considering he stabbed Qin Ying in the palm with a knife. He wasn't afraid of Qin Ying making a scene, provided Qin Ying wouldn't dare.
He dared to confess his thoughts, but he dared not openly discuss them for the Emperor to see. Given the Emperor's favoritism towards Chonghua Palace, Qin Ying would only suffer more.
"Whether it's good or not, go see for yourself."
Xu Lingyu didn't miss the look of surprise on Xu Yunci's face, but she turned her head away as if she didn't see it: "You have to see for yourself what's going on in your own affairs. It's all up to me to figure it out."
"After all this commotion, she must be hungry. This is a fresh osmanthus cake that Qing Suo made. Take it with you. Yan Yan must have been terrified today. She probably wants to call you 'cousin' to comfort her."
After saying that, Xu Lingyu didn't look at Xu Yunci again, and led her people away from the pavilion.
Qing Suo looked at the pastries in her hand, ignoring Xu Yunci's expression, stuffed them into his hand, and followed Xu Lingyu's steps, disappearing from Xu Yunci's sight.
Clearly fresh from the oven, the warmth of the pastry wafted through her palms even through the plate. Without hesitation, Xu Yunci took the osmanthus cake and headed up to the attic.
The attic was quiet, with only Shou Dong serving her personally. A person came out of the room; it was Shou Dong herself. She was carrying a basin of water and was slightly taken aback when she saw Xu Yunci.
Her gaze fell on the pastries in his hands. She quickly lowered her head as she curtsied, lowering her voice so as not to disturb the person inside: "The county princess is inside."
She didn't move, her face showing some difficulty. The county princess had just said that she didn't want to see anyone and wanted to sleep for a while, but now that there were people standing at the door, should she let them know or not?
Seeing her hesitation, Xu Yunci didn't move either: "Where's Yan Yan?"
Shou Dong knew she couldn't avoid it, and was about to say something when she saw Qing Suo beckoning from afar. Her eyes flickered as she said, "The county princess is inside."
Xu Yunci saw everything but showed no intention of exposing it. She walked past Shou Dong, holding a sweet osmanthus cake in her hand, and reached out to push aside the beaded curtain at the door and go inside.
What came into view was an empty chaise lounge. Xu Yunci's gaze softened as it fell on the person sleeping soundly on the table in front of the chaise lounge.
Li Shiyue's head rested on her arms, like a baby being held, her arms cradling her forehead. Her eyes were closed, and her breath fell evenly onto the strands of hair that fell across her cheeks.
She had changed her clothes and wore only a jade hairpin in her hair, the one she always wore.
Xu Yunci sighed softly, then chuckled and stepped forward, tucking a strand of hair from her cheek behind her ear. Her face was turned to the side, half of her face facing upwards.
Below those eyes was a delicate nose, and her lips were thin and pink. She exhaled warm breath evenly.
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