angry
Qi Junyuan didn't take these words to heart. Instead, he smiled and Wu Wenping couldn't lash out in front of him. He clasped his hands in a fist salute, glared coldly at Jiang Yi, and turned to leave.
"Miss Jiang."
Jiang Yi turned around and saw that it was Qi Junyuan who had called out to her.
"Hmm? Is something the matter?"
By this time, most of the people in the hall had left, leaving only He Lin and He Yu besides Qi Junyuan and Jiang Yi.
"Hmm? Is something the matter?"
"It's nothing." Qi Junyuan smiled. "After hearing what Miss Jiang said just now, I must apologize to you."
Jiang Yi waved her hand dismissively and said, "Oh, it's nothing. Just be more careful next time."
He Yu hissed and gasped several times, glancing at his younger brother and Jiang Yi. The meaning was crystal clear: he was asking He Lin where she got the audacity to speak to the Crown Prince like that. Truly, ignorance is bliss!
He Lin's gaze remained fixed on Jiang Yi, never leaving her for a moment. Looking at the carefree person opposite him, he slightly furrowed his brows, and a fleeting emotion seemed to pass through the depths of his eyes, but it vanished too quickly for anyone to catch.
Worried that Jiang Yi's bluntness might offend Qi Junyuan, He Yu changed the subject and asked, "Sister-in-law, I have another question. How did you know that the little eunuch was the one who released the snake?"
"Didn't I tell you? When he gave me directions yesterday, he smelled of realgar wine, and he even pointed in the opposite direction, deliberately making me pass by that side hall."
He Yu crossed his arms and stroked his chin with the other, asking in confusion, "But wouldn't that be a bit too obvious? You've seen his face before, so it's easy for you to recognize him."
Jiang Yi understood what he meant. The little eunuch's every move couldn't withstand close scrutiny; he was full of flaws. He was just a target to attract attention. If it was Xiao Ningzi who released the snake to bite people, then the one who set fire to the side hall was probably someone else.
There was a considerable distance between where he had given Jiang Yi directions and the side hall. It was impossible to arrive so quickly in such a short time, especially since Xiao Ningzi was a limp man with mobility issues. Unless he was faking it and possessed exceptional lightness skills, the Eastern Palace was heavily guarded, and anyone acting suspiciously would surely be discovered and apprehended by the guards.
Jiang Yi nodded: "You're right, so let's interrogate that Eunuch Ning first..."
"Thump thump thump..." A guard rushed in and knelt on one knee in front of Qi Junyuan: "Your Highness, someone from the Ministry of Justice reported that the little eunuch had poison hidden in his mouth and committed suicide by poisoning himself."
"What?!" Jiang Yi blurted out, "He committed suicide by poison! So quickly!"
The guard looked at Jiang Yi with a blank expression, and the other three also looked at her at the same time.
"Why are you all looking at me like that? I should have told that Lord Jiang to be on guard."
He Lin finally spoke: "You... knew he would commit suicide?"
"Yeah, I guessed." That's how it's always portrayed in TV dramas, and I was right.
Jiang Yi paced back and forth a few steps with her hands behind her back, then said in a pretentious tone, "Not only do I know he will commit suicide, but I can also deduce who is behind him. Believe it or not?"
Qi Junyuan and He Yu exchanged a glance, then waved away the guards and said, "Oh, Miss Jiang has such supernatural abilities. Tell me about them."
"Before entering the palace, I heard that there were two princes in this palace. One is Your Highness the Crown Prince, and the other is the son of the Imperial Concubine, the Second Prince. I want to know why the Second Prince did not attend yesterday's birthday banquet, which everyone knows was a grand affair at the Eastern Palace, nor did he send any congratulatory gifts."
He Lin's heart skipped a beat, sensing that Jiang Yi's next words were not simple.
Not only He Lin, but Qi Junyuan and He Yu also vaguely guessed the meaning behind Jiang Yi's words.
"I think Miss Jiang has misunderstood. Junxu had already sent his congratulatory gift ahead of time, but something came up at the military camp and that's why it was delayed."
Jiang Yi's expression was serious, and she didn't seem to be joking at all. She slowly wiggled her right index finger: "No, no, no, my intuition tells me that this is exactly what I think. Think about it, if... um..."
Jiang Yi suddenly couldn't make a sound while she was speaking. When she looked up, she saw He Lin standing next to her, covering her mouth with a long, slender, fair hand.
Their eyes met, and Jiang Yi clearly saw the warning in his eyes.
"Your Highness is too kind. She's not quite right in the head, and it's getting late. I think we should take our leave first."
Jiang Yi couldn't break free from He Lin's large hand, glared at him angrily, and blinked hard.
That was clearly an insult to him: You're the one who's not thinking straight, your whole family is not thinking straight!
...
At the palace gate, a carriage parked to the side was particularly eye-catching.
Jiang Yi lifted the curtain and asked angrily, "Where is He Lin? Is he leaving or not?!"
Gu Ziyu looked completely innocent: "Young Master said he has some things to take care of and will be back in a bit."
"Where did he go? Why did he take so long?"
"I don't know either, young madam, please be patient."
Jiang Yi flung the carriage curtain shut and abruptly sat back in her seat. The horse pulling the carriage was startled and nervously raised its neck and snorted.
Before long, the sound of horses' hooves approached from afar and finally stopped beside the carriage.
Why are you all alone here?
He Yu sat imposingly on a large chestnut horse and asked Gu Ziyu, who was standing guard beside him, "Where are Young Master Lin and his wife?"
Gu Ziyu answered honestly, "Young Master, you have some business to attend to and will be back in a little while. The Young Madam is in the carriage."
He Yu tugged at the reins and turned the car around. "Sister-in-law, are you inside?"
A gentle breeze stirred the tassels hanging from the carriage curtain, but no one answered after a long while.
He Yu looked at Gu Ziyu suspiciously. Gu Ziyu coughed lightly as if nothing had happened, looked up at the sky, and subtly looked away, raising his hand to touch his nose.
"Well, don't blame your second brother. That's just how he is. I'll definitely give him a good talking to when he gets back," He Yu said to himself. "But your second brother is doing this for your own good. In that situation, if you had actually said the rest, that would have been terrible. After all, you can eat anything, but there are some things you absolutely cannot say..."
He talked until his lips were almost worn out, but Jiang Yi didn't react at all. He didn't care and kept babbling on and on.
As they were talking, He Lin came out of the palace.
"Big brother."
"Hmm, where did you go? Why did you take so long?"
"It's nothing, let's go."
Seeing that he was unwilling to say more, He Yu did not ask any further questions. He simply gestured with his chin toward the carriage, indicating that He Lin should hurry up and coax the person.
He Lin smiled slightly and got into the carriage.
The moment he lifted the curtain, he saw Jiang Yi leaning against one of the corners with her eyes closed. After hearing him come up, she moved further into the corner, leaving him with only the back of her head. She was completely different from the excited and curious person she had been when she arrived.
The carriage traveled steadily toward the General's Mansion. On the way, it passed through a market. The wheels rolled over a small puddle in the middle of the road, and the carriage lurched unexpectedly. Jiang Yi lost her balance and almost hit her head. She quickly reached out a hand to steady herself.
Who would have thought that her outstretched hand would accidentally touch He Lin's thigh, startling her so much that she quickly withdrew her hand.
"What are you looking at? I didn't do it on purpose!"
He Lin: "..." He finally spoke. He had been silent the whole way. Anyone who didn't know better would have thought he had been poisoned and rendered mute after entering the palace.
The shouts and calls of vendors could be heard from the long street.
Do you want some candied hawthorn?
Jiang Yi wondered if she had misheard, and stared at He Lin with wide eyes and a look of horror.
Is he possessed by a ghost? Why is He Lin speaking to her so gently?
The two stared at each other for a while before He Lin broke the silence. This time, however, his response was concise and to the point, very much in his style: "Want to eat?"
"I won't eat it!"
After saying that, Jiang Yi crossed her arms, turned her face away from him, and He Lin pursed his lips.
They arrived at the general's mansion quickly. Before the carriage had even come to a complete stop, Jiang Yi flung open the curtain, jumped down in a few steps, and walked into the mansion without looking back.
He Lin stared at her retreating figure without saying a word. He Yu dismounted, handed the reins to the servant, and then patted He Lin's shoulder with his other hand.
"Today has truly been an eye-opener. I have never seen anyone as audacious as her, daring to expose the conflict between the brothers in front of the Crown Prince."
He Yu exclaimed sincerely, "My sister-in-law is no ordinary person! But her frank and straightforward nature, saying whatever comes to mind, is quite rare."
He Lin replied, "Big brother, just say she doesn't think before she speaks, there's no need to beat around the bush."
He Yu stroked his chin: "Hmm, I think you two are surprisingly well-matched!"
"..."
“One of them has a mouth like it’s been smeared with poison, and the other says whatever comes to mind without any restraint. I think they’re a perfect match! It’s not that your sister-in-law has a bad personality, it’s just that she’s a bit prone to offending people. Luckily, Qi Junxu isn’t here, or it would definitely be a disaster. You should talk to your sister-in-law nicely later, and it’ll be good if she understands…”
"Miss is back!"
Xia Zhi was watering flowers in Luoying Courtyard when she saw Jiang Yi enter. She quickly put down the wooden spoon in her hand and ran over with a big smile.
"Miss, are you hungry? Are you tired? There are some pastries in the small kitchen. I'll go get them for you to have something to eat first."
Jiang Yi gulped down a large cup of cold tea, wiped her mouth after finishing, and slammed the cup down on the table: "No need!"
Xia Zhi stopped in her tracks and noticed that Jiang Yi's expression wasn't very good. She picked up the teapot and poured Jiang Yi a cup of water.
"Miss, what's wrong? Didn't the young master come back with you?"
Jiang Yi gets angry whenever she hears He Lin's name, and she retorts irritably, "Don't mention him to me!"
Xia Zhi paused for a moment, then softly called out to her, "Miss..."
Jiang Yi immediately realized that her tone was not good and that she shouldn't have lost her temper with Xia Zhi, so she softened her voice and said softly, "Xia Zhi, um, my tone wasn't very good, it wasn't directed at you, don't take it to heart, it's all He Lin's fault, he really makes me so angry!"
"Miss, what exactly happened these past two days?"
Jiang Yi rolled up her sleeves, put one foot on the stool, and began a verbal attack on He Lin's actions, recounting in detail what had happened at the banquet...
"..."
"Tell me, isn't he going too far? Not only did he not help me clarify things, but he also manually muted my microphone so I couldn't speak. Why should he? I've never met such an unreliable person!"
Xia Zhi: "..."
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