Chapter 33 Suddenly, a hand reached out from the side...
Could it be that they have been at odds since childhood, and can't bear to see him now have a good marriage?
Or... is there some other hidden story?
The Empress Dowager looked up at her, her eyes filled with inquiry.
Yan Jiarou's eyes darted away. She knew her reaction was too strong. As soon as the Empress Dowager finished speaking, she almost instinctively retorted.
Why was she so resistant to Xiao Che getting married?
Perhaps it was because once he got married, if she had another relapse and the jade pendant was no longer enough to soothe her, she would have to go to Xiao Che again.
But by then, it was no longer appropriate for her to go see him.
After marriage, she would have to establish her own residence outside the palace, making it even more difficult for her to see him. Moreover, if he had a new wife, it would be even harder for her to get close to him.
Everyone knows that the two of them are not on good terms, and they are not proper siblings. If she wants to be appeased, she will have to act intimately with him. If he gets married, she will definitely not be able to do so.
Therefore, Xiao Che cannot get married!
Besides, he doesn't like Wang Ruoying either... A forced relationship won't be sweet, and she's doing this for their own good!
She felt she had found a plausible reason, and thus felt even more justified in breaking them up: "Empress Dowager, you mustn't! Xiao... Third Brother can't marry Wang Ruoying, because he doesn't like her at all! There's more to the story about the flower hairpin..."
"Oh? What secret is it?" The Empress Dowager narrowed her eyes at her, a slight smile playing on her lips. "Little Jiarou seems to know quite a bit..."
“I…” Yan Jiarou turned her face away, looking somewhat uneasy, and murmured softly, “Anyway, I just know… If it’s not that he gave the hairpin to someone, that person definitely wasn’t Wang Ruoying…”
These words piqued the Empress Dowager's interest. She raised her phoenix eyes and leaned closer: "Oh? Judging from Jia Rou's words, it seems she knows. Why don't you tell me?"
"I...I..."
I talked for a long time, but still couldn't come up with a clear answer.
It was just that a snow-white face was gradually turning pink.
What could she say? Could she possibly say that Xiao Che's real recipient of the flowers was actually her?
Not only would it cause unnecessary misunderstandings, but it might also make the Empress Dowager suspect that she had ulterior motives in opposing the marriage between Xiao Che and the emperor.
Does she even want to be a human being anymore?
Unable to think of any other suitable explanation, he could only stammer and remain speechless.
The Empress Dowager was a woman of the world. Having lived to this age and held this position, she had seen all kinds of people. When it came to observing people's expressions and understanding their hearts, she was by no means an amateur.
She deliberately probed, "If we don't choose Wang Ruoying, what about someone else? For example, Du Miao, the daughter of Imperial Censor Du. I think she's a lively and lovable child..."
"No...that won't do either!" Yan Jiarou said almost instinctively, "No one is allowed. Xiao Che simply cannot marry anyone else!"
As soon as she said it, even she felt it was inappropriate.
However, once words are spoken, they cannot be taken back. When one tries to make amends afterward, one cannot think of a suitable excuse.
"He can't marry anyone else..." The Empress Dowager pondered these words, then said meaningfully, "In Jia Rou's opinion, who can he marry?"
"I...I don't know..."
"Is that so?" The Empress Dowager looked at her, her loving eyes clearly scrutinizing her. She looked her up and down and quickly noticed something: "Judging from Jia Rou's expression, she not only knows the inside story, but is also caught up in it. Who knows?"
Upon hearing this, Yan Jiarou suddenly looked up at her, her beautiful, wide eyes clearly showing a hint of surprise and panic.
The Empress Dowager laughed, a hint of self-satisfaction in her eyes: "It seems I was right."
"My dear child, tell me, was it you who gave Che'er the flowers?"
Although it was phrased as a question, the look in his eyes clearly held a different kind of profound meaning, as if he had already made up his mind.
With a smile playing on her lips, she said with a hint of reproach, "Well, you two little brats, you managed to keep it from me so well. So the discord was just a pretense, and your true feelings were affection. You were the one who gave Che'er the flowers, and you're also the one who has feelings for him. You two are in love with each other. You like him, so that's why you reacted so strongly when you heard that I was going to arrange a marriage for him, isn't that right?"
Yan Jiarou's eyes widened, and she was so surprised that her lips involuntarily parted slightly.
Is she the one Xiao Che loves? Are they mutually in love, and she likes him?
How could that be?
That would be utterly absurd.
For a moment, I didn't know how to refute it, how to explain it, or even how to explain it.
Because the Empress Dowager's words were a mixture of truth and falsehood, it was impossible for anyone to discern the truth for the time being.
It is true that Xiao Che gave her the flowers, but apart from that, everything else is just the Empress Dowager's wild guess, without any evidence.
But how could she explain why Xiao Che, who disliked her, would give her flowers?
This brief moment of hesitation, though not long, was certainly not short either, enough for the Empress Dowager to make a final judgment: "Since Jia Rou remains silent, I will take it as your tacit agreement."
"When I asked you before if you had someone you liked, you wouldn't say. I didn't expect that you would reveal it yourself before I even pressed you for it—it turns out that the one you like is my Che'er."
No sooner had the words been spoken than a slight commotion suddenly came from behind a six-panel screen with gold leaf and green landscape design.
Yan Jiarou was startled and quickly turned her head away.
A figure slowly emerged from behind the screen.
He wore a brocade robe and a jade belt, and was handsome and disdainful.
It was Xiao Che!
The candlelight flickered on the glass lamp beside him, obscuring his face in the dim light, his expression inscrutable. His face was so strikingly handsome that, in this ambiguous light, one could only wonder if he was the spirit described in a storybook.
He placed his hands behind his back and slowly stepped out of the shadows: "Royal sister, it's been a long time. How have you been?"
——
The moment Yan Jiarou saw Xiao Che clearly, she felt her hair stand on end!
Xiao Che! It really is Xiao Che!
How did he end up here?!
No, she thought in horror, when did he arrive? How much did he hear?
She turned to look at the Empress Dowager in disbelief, who was also clearly surprised that Xiao Che had suddenly emerged from behind the screen.
Xiao Che had come to visit her earlier, but because he was leaving the palace later, he couldn't wait for the palace banquet to end and came to Ren'an Palace to visit her early.
The Empress Dowager had always been very fond of him, and whenever they met, they would talk for a long time, which would often make him miss his appointed time. By the time she finally allowed him to go back, the palace banquet had already ended, so several princesses came together to visit her.
The Empress Dowager was naturally pleased that her grandchildren came to visit her one after the other. However, she feared that the siblings might feel too restrained together, especially since Yan Jiarou and Xiao Che had always been at odds, and she worried that they might quarrel again during the festival.
In addition, Xiao Che seemed unwilling to see her. Seeing that the princesses were about to enter the palace, the Empress Dowager simply let Xiao Che hide behind the screen and let him come out after the princesses had left.
That's how the scene that followed came about.
After hearing the Empress Dowager's explanation, Yan Jiarou almost fainted on the spot. She never knew that the Empress Dowager could be so unreliable and actually tricked her like this!
So Xiao Che was there all along. Did he hear every word of her conversation with the Empress Dowager?
Yan Jiarou closed her eyes in despair, feeling as if she wanted to die.
She felt Xiao Che's burning gaze on her, and she felt extremely uncomfortable. She clenched her hands tightly together, but dared not look at him.
The Empress Dowager looked at Xiao Che and thought to herself, "This child, he was hiding so well before, so well that she almost forgot he was hiding behind the screen. Why did he suddenly give himself away at the last minute and not come out until everyone had left?"
She then turned to Yan Jiarou with an apologetic smile: "It was my oversight that startled our little Jiarou..." As she spoke, a teasing smile suddenly appeared on her lips as she seemed to remember something, and she teased her: "Speaking of which, given the relationship between the two of you, Che'er's sudden appearance can be considered a pleasant surprise for you."
Yan Jiarou: "…………"
What could possibly be her relationship with Xiao Che! What on earth is the Empress Dowager thinking!
She wanted to argue, but when she looked up and met Xiao Che's gaze, she saw him looking at her with a half-smile, as if his eyes had never left her.
Whether it was her imagination or not, there was something in his eyes that she had never seen before—a scrutinizing look with interest, tinged with a deep, dark desire, as if he were looking at prey that he was determined to have.
Those light-colored pupils, for the first time in his life, were unfathomably deep.
That gaze seemed to want to devour her whole.
She felt exposed just by his gaze, and feeling guilty, she couldn't bear to stay any longer.
He could only leave behind the words, "Empress Dowager, it's getting late, please rest. I... I'll take my leave now..." and then fled in a panic.
——
As Yan Jiarou walked back to Chenghuan Palace, the cool night breeze slightly dispelled the heat from her face.
My mind finally cleared up a bit.
The scenes that just happened are still flashing through my mind.
Good heavens, what on earth did she do, and what did she say so recklessly? I thought it was just something she said in front of the Empress Dowager. Although it was suspected of ruining someone's marriage and was not very decent, the Empress Dowager was a person of high status and had a bad memory, so she might not remember it.
Who would have thought that Xiao Che would overhear it!
She already felt ashamed to face Xiao Che again, having lost face in front of this mortal enemy, and wished she could die. Now, she felt even more hopeless, truly having no will to live.
Fortunately, Xiao Che didn't seem to care about her shameful deeds as much as she imagined. Only she, as the person involved, felt so ashamed and indignant. In fact, he didn't care at all and never took it to heart.
Yes, that must be it!
Wasn't it the same last time? She was worried every day that when she saw him again, he would deliberately bring up that incident in front of her to make fun of her, making her feel ashamed and unable to hold her head up in front of him. But he didn't mention it at all, as if he had completely forgotten about it. He was even indifferent and didn't even seem willing to look at her.
Although his reaction surprised her, it was actually a good thing for her.
It turned out that she had been overthinking everything; the things she was worried about would never happen.
That's good...
Thinking of this, she couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Since it was like this last time, it will definitely be fine this time as well.
After she figured this out, she suddenly felt much lighter. She patted her chest gently and continued walking, her steps becoming lighter as she went.
She had left in a hurry and forgotten to take the lantern. Yingxue was also feeling unwell and had returned to Chenghuan Palace early. She had stayed with the Empress Dowager for a long time, and it was already late. The night was dark all around, and she was walking alone on the road. The palace was eerie and the shadows of the trees were heavy, which made her feel a little scared. So she quickened her pace.
After passing through a covered walkway, you will reach Chenghuan Hall.
Yan Jiarou quickened her pace, but as she passed a rockery, she inexplicably stopped.
That's... the artificial hill that Xiao Che dragged her into last time.
For some reason, the events that happened behind the artificial hill that day suddenly flashed into my mind...
Burning body temperature, intertwined breaths, and Xiao Che's ambiguous and captivating gaze...
Her face flushed, and just as she was about to quicken her pace to leave, a hand suddenly reached out from the side and pulled her into the artificial hill.
In the darkness, fear was amplified infinitely. In the thick of the night, a hand suddenly reached out, and she thought it was some kind of ghost clinging to her.
Just as she was about to cry for help, a familiar scent instantly enveloped her. Almost simultaneously, the blood in her body suddenly accelerated, as if she were incredibly excited that the longed-for scent had finally arrived. So, the cry for help that was about to come out of her mouth was swallowed back down. Yan Jiarou swallowed a mouthful of saliva and tentatively asked, "Xiao... Xiao Che?"
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