After a day of searching, Su Zhengyang was on the verge of exploding with rage, still unable to find Leng Yiqing. Just thinking about how the first thing he did after getting up yesterday morning was to rush there to check on her injuries, only to find the bed in disarray and the courtyard empty, fueled his anger.
He didn't know what he had done wrong to her, that she dared to have an affair with another man in the Crown Prince's residence, on his own territory, right under his nose, and even elope with him.
Recalling her unusual behavior that night, Su Zhengyang became even more suspicious. At the time, he thought she had suddenly changed her personality. But now it seemed that this was probably a premeditated elopement.
However, due to the issue of the Crown Prince's reputation, he could only do all this secretly. Otherwise, if others knew that he, the Crown Prince of the country, couldn't even keep a woman in check and that she ran off with someone else right under his nose, wouldn't he lose face terribly?
The men he sent out last night should be back soon. If there's still no news, he really won't care about saving face anymore. He'll turn the entire capital upside down and find her.
In a few days, her father, the valiant but short-tempered general, would be returning to see his beloved daughter. She was his only daughter, and he cherished her more than his own life. If she wasn't home, Su Zhengyang couldn't imagine what the general would do. Because this general had repeatedly distinguished himself on the battlefield, protecting the Celestial Empire from foreign invasion for over a decade, even the Emperor treated him with respect.
Just as they were getting anxious, someone outside suddenly announced their arrival.
"Your Highness, Prince Yun has arrived!" A guard hurriedly stepped forward to announce.
"Oh? What's he doing here?" Although his uncle treated him very well, always bringing him many strange and unusual things when he returned from out of town, he still harbored some apprehension towards him. However, he couldn't directly refuse him outright. "Please let him in!"
As the curtain of Prince Yun's sedan chair was lifted, the crowd erupted in uproar.
Leng Yiqing followed in Su Yunmo's footsteps, amidst the astonished stares of the crowd, and moved forward with trepidation.
Turning east along the covered walkway, passing a large hall, and heading towards the south hall, you'll find a large courtyard with a magnificent main house in the center and several small side rooms on either side. The courtyard, nestled among lush trees, exudes tranquility and a sense of being far removed from the hustle and bustle of the world.
But along the way, Leng Yiqing became increasingly nervous, with a bad premonition in her heart. It wasn't until she stepped into the courtyard that her heart suddenly calmed down. Before her was a familiar face, Su Zhengyang, who looked exactly the same as her.
"Zhengyang..." She regretted it as soon as the words left her mouth. This was ancient times, so should she call him Brother Zhengyang like in her dream?
"Brother Zhengyang!" she quickly changed her address, calling him coquettishly. Men always fall for this, don't they?
Seeing her return, Su Zhengyang finally breathed a sigh of relief. However, he couldn't say too much about the day and night she had been missing because his uncle was by his side.
"You're finally back!" He sighed, suppressing his anger, and greeted them with a smile.
For Leng Yiqing, who was always good at reading people, the nameless anger in his eyes was still faintly visible. Su Yunmo must have seen it too! This Su Zhengyang who is not good at hiding his feelings, Leng Yiqing couldn't help but sigh for him. If someone like him didn't have a powerful person protecting him, could he hold the position of Crown Prince?
While feeling a sense of relief, she also worried about her future situation. Could Su Yunmo protect her?
“Zhengyang, the night before last, I was drinking with some people until late at night when I saw a man dressed in black acting suspiciously, carrying a strange sack. Our chivalrous Duan Feng went up to investigate, and who knew that the sack contained Yiqing. By some twist of fate, we ended up saving her.” I wonder if this explanation can fool Su Zhengyang.
After a moment's thought, he continued, "Because it was too far from here, I didn't think much of it at the time and brought her back to my residence. I was planning to send her back early yesterday morning, but who knew that this girl was so playful and only decided to come back after playing at my place until now."
Although he sensed many inappropriate things in her words, how could he care so much? After all, it was Su Yunmo who helped him find his Crown Princess, so how could he have the nerve to nitpick in front of others?
"Thank you so much, Imperial Uncle. I owe you so much this time. Otherwise, where would I have found my Yiqing?" This Imperial Uncle was only five years older than him and ten years older than Leng Yiqing. Now that he was so close to her, he felt a little jealous. "Is Imperial Uncle still busy with a lot of business? I won't see you off. Yiqing is tired too. I'll go in with her to rest."
Su Zhengyang was, after all, the owner of this place, so Su Yunmo couldn't say much. Although she had 124 worries, she could only keep them to herself.
After Su Yunmo left, accompanied by the heavy slam of the door and the sound of porcelain shattering on the floor, the Crown Prince's residence fell into an unprecedented chill.
Aside
Um, Xinxin will be updating the story around 8 pm every night from now on. Please remember that if you're following the story!
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Chapter Seven: The Battle Between Men and Women
This is a simple and elegant study. Directly in front of the entrance, there is a tall shelf with various books neatly stacked. Next to the bookshelf, at the same height as the desk, is a hanging plant with branches and leaves that have grown to more than two feet long, hanging down like fragrant vines. The green leaves are dotted with many small white flowers, adding a touch of vitality to the entire study.
However, the moment I stepped inside, the flowerpot was completely gone.
Enraged, Su Zhengyang grabbed a flowerpot from the shelf and slammed it down, landing squarely on Leng Yiqing's feet. The sharp pain jolted her out of her daze.
"Tell me, who exactly is that man? Why did it take your uncle to bring you back? Where did you go for the past day and night?" A barrage of questions caught her off guard, leaving her no time to think.
"What man?" Leng Yiqing asked, somewhat puzzled.
"Heh, do I have to drag you there before you'll tell me?" With that, he disregarded her feelings, grabbed her wrist, and ran towards Leng Yiqing's Qingxin Pavilion.
Her wrist was gripped tightly, and the poor blood flow made her hand numb. Broken pieces of porcelain were still stuck in the instep of her foot, and blood and mud burned the wounds. Being dragged forward without any mercy made Leng Yiqing feel waves of pain that made her feel suffocated.
Tears streamed down her face without warning; she was now speechless with bitterness. Without knowing the truth, anything she said would be wrong. She wasn't the Leng Yiqing she once knew; what explanation could she possibly give him?
I don’t know if she was too busy to pay attention to those around her, but on the way from the study to Qingxin Pavilion, I heard almost no whispers.
Before she could recover from the chaos, everything before her eyes made her suddenly realize the truth.
The scene was exactly the same as in her dream, except that everyone was gone, and even the evidence that the man in black could have left behind was presented to her intact. She understood that what happened in her dream was real.
But she didn't have time to tidy up the messy scene.
"Now you should tell the truth, right?" Angrily shaking off her hand, Su Zhengyang pointed directly at the messy bed, his patience had reached its limit.
"There are no other men!" This was all Leng Yiqing wanted to say at that moment; she didn't know how to explain the origin of the man's clothes.
"Slap!" A heavy slap landed on Leng Yiqing's face, the burning pain reminding her that Su Zhengyang at this moment was not the shrewd group president of the modern era, but at most a young master with a good background.
A trickle of blood slowly flowed down the corner of his mouth, but Su Zhengyang showed absolutely no pity.
Su Zhengyang glared at her fiercely: "Still trying to argue?"
Leng Yiqing, however, remained calm. She gently wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth with her wide sleeve and said with a faint smile, "If I really wanted to have an affair, would I need to make it so obvious? Would I leave such obvious evidence for you to discover?"
Seeing the blank look on his face, Leng Yiqing continued, "If I really wanted to have an affair, why would I be so foolish as to do such a thing on your turf?"
Su Zhengyang's expression grew increasingly grim, but Leng Yiqing wouldn't give up so easily: "If I were really going to have an affair and elope with another man, I would leave cleanly, without leaving a trace. I'm not that stupid..."
"Enough!" He stopped her from continuing, or she would go crazy. This was the first time a woman had pointed her finger at him and berated him like this, leaving him no chance to retaliate. Even if he could have, he would be speechless. Had he been too hasty? Had he really wronged her? But his pride wouldn't allow him to back down.
"Why won't you let me speak? You're in the wrong, aren't you?" He chuckled as he looked at Su Zhengyang. He was indeed different from that Su Zhengyang.
"I don't want to argue with you right now. I'll give you three days. You'd better think of a way to explain where these clothes came from! Otherwise, don't blame me for being impolite!" With that, he turned and stormed out the door without looking back.
Watching his disheveled figure, Leng Yiqing felt a strange sense of smugness. Should she be grateful to have such a brainless person as her?
A day has passed in the blink of an eye, and Leng Yiqing has been quietly staying in her own little world, not going anywhere and having nowhere to go.
Having just arrived in ancient times, she was somewhat flustered. However, she knew clearly that reality didn't allow her to panic or act rashly, or she would be doomed. Therefore, she tried her best to calm herself down; she needed to come up with a solution as soon as possible, otherwise she didn't know how she would face Su Zhengyang's questioning.
Most importantly, she had no way of explaining why it was her uncle who brought her back. Su Zhengyang simply didn't believe she had been kidnapped; in his view, she had eloped.
Furthermore, if that dream was real, then the real Crown Princess should still be in the pond, and it might be fine for the time being. But the body will eventually surface, and how will she explain that then?
Aside
Feeling a bit confused? Oh dear, I feel the same way. But don't worry, it'll be fine soon.
Chapter 8: Finding the Real Culprit
"Your Highness, they will all be coming to pay their respects soon, you should get ready!" The maid, Xiao Xiang, considerately reminded her dazed mistress. In her eyes, ever since that morning when Prince Yun brought her back, she seemed like a completely different person. Gone was her former willfulness; she had become much more profound.
Leng Yiqing remembered after being reminded by her that in ancient times, concubines had to pay their respects to the principal wife every morning.
With Xiao Xiang's help, Leng Yiqing dressed in a more formal outfit. A long, ivory-white gown trailing in the floor, a crystal necklace around her neck accentuating her delicate collarbones, and a floor-length palace veil embroidered with colorful cherry blossoms and inlaid with gold and silver threads. Her hair was simply styled in a bun, adorned with twelve crystal and diamond hairpins, the loose strands fluttering in the wind. Her elegant face was adorned with delicate plum blossom makeup, shedding her youthful naiveté and revealing a touch of allure, a hint of nobility, captivating and mesmerizing.
Her shoulders were like those of a sculpted figure, her waist slender and graceful, her eyebrows like kingfisher feathers, and her skin like snow. She exuded an air of nobility without being ostentatious.
Xiao Xiang's eyes lit up. When did her master learn to dress like this?
In truth, Leng Yiqing disliked this situation intensely. She usually wore light makeup and a simple work suit. However, she knew things were different now.
This time when she returns, the concubines will definitely treat her worse than before. After all, the Crown Prince was so angry, surely everyone in the Crown Prince's residence knows about it!
Since the Crown Prince treated her this way, it would naturally lower her standing in the eyes of the concubines. But as the principal wife, she still needed to establish her authority; otherwise, she would definitely have a hard time surviving in the inner court, much like the survival rules in an office.
The laughter of the girls grew louder as it approached, and Leng Yiqing felt a little nervous.
Two elegant women walked slowly into the main room. Even their attire was somewhat similar: simple, plain-colored bodices covered a floor-length outer garment, resembling Tang Dynasty court dress, only the colors differed. One wore a pale pink, the other emerald green, both simple yet alluring.
The two bowed slightly and said, "Greetings to my elder sister!"
"Ha, such a large Crown Prince's residence only has these few women? This Crown Prince is far too frail!" Leng Yiqing couldn't help but find it amusing. Dealing with these few women shouldn't be difficult, right? Leng Yiqing said calmly, "No need for all that! No need for such formality. Just come and see me every day!"
The woman in green said, "Sister, you mustn't be impolite. If someone with ulterior motives sees this, they'll say we don't know the difference between superiors and inferiors. Xue'er, don't you think so?" She gave the woman in pink a wink.
But Shen Jiaxue completely ignored her. She nodded gently, a harmless smile on her small face, and said sweetly, "Whatever you say, sister! Xue'er will listen to you!" Her every smile and frown was sweet and charming, like an angel who had mistakenly fallen to earth, captivating the heart.
"What's wrong, Sister Lin?" Because they were so close, Jiang Yuelin was extremely dissatisfied with Xue'er's answer, so she gently pinched her arm. Unexpectedly, this naive woman actually cried out. Three women in this household, three different thoughts; Leng Yiqing shook her head helplessly. What was the point of such a greeting?
However, Leng Yiqing did gain something. At least among these two people, it was too easy to distinguish who was the black-clad figure in her dream who wanted to seize the position of Crown Princess. It's just that this Lin girl's actions were far too obvious!
Leng Yiqing suddenly found the plan she had just come up with somewhat amusing, wondering if such a childish and clichéd story would even work. She got up, glanced furtively at the door twice, and hurriedly closed and locked it. Suppressing a laugh, she said to the two women with a serious expression, "Did you hear any strange noises last night?" The eerie look in her eyes sent chills down their spines.
Shen Jiaxue asked curiously, "What was that sound?"
Jiang Yuelin, however, remained unusually calm.
"Yesterday, in the dead of night, I couldn't sleep, so I went for a walk in the east courtyard. Do you know what I saw?" Leng Yiqing kept them in suspense, hoping to gauge their reactions. But she got nothing. Both of them listened intently to her.
“A woman, completely naked, crawled out of the lotus pond, her wet hair covering her face and obscuring her features. All that could be seen was her swollen body. She also said…” Leng Yiqing tried to feign a trembling expression, but stopped mid-sentence.
Compared to Jiang Yuelin's composure, Shen Jiaxue, the curious girl, was no longer calm. She was so frightened that she clung tightly to Leng Yiqing, saying, "Sister, don't scare me!" Tears were almost in her eyes.
She had to say it, otherwise the story would lose its meaning: "She said she wanted revenge!"
"Ah! Sister, stop talking! Sister is too scary!" Shen Jiaxue was so frightened that she lifted her skirt, quickly opened the door, and rushed out.
Jiang Yuelin then slowly said, "Sister, I don't know what your purpose is in saying this. But if you're just trying to scare someone, ha, if you frighten our Xue'er, the Crown Prince will fight you to the death." She originally wanted Leng Yiqing to remember that the Crown Prince no longer loved her; she had fallen out of favor.
But all she got in return was a cold glance from Leng Yiqing, who then turned and walked into the inner room. Jiang Yuelin could only leave angrily.
Aside