Chapter 65 - Is It True?
C65: Is It True?
Back in the room, she was still distracted when Shuang Yu helped her change her shoes.
Her heart never stopped beating. She covered her face with her hands, only revealing a pair of big, black eyes. She didn’t really believe in her ears. “Shang Yu, did you hear what he said just now?”
She had asked the same question several times along the way, and Shang Yu replied patiently: “Yes, His Highness said he likes you and he adores you.”
Even her ears turned red. When she thought about the way Yan Yu had said those words just now, she felt her ears go soft.
She rubbed her eyes with her hands, and was so shy that she put her head into the big pillow. “I don’t want to go to the front yard. Go and check what the message is, and then come back and tell me what it is.”
She wanted to escape, afraid that if Yan Yu still stood outside, how awkward would they be when they met again?
How could she face him?
After thinking for a while, she decided not to go outside.
Shang Yu smiled. She knew what she was afraid of, but he was glad to see it. “What if the girl misses something important?”
Although they didn’t have the right to say anything as servant maids, they secretly hoped that she would be able to get along with the sixth prince.
They had not been on friendly terms with each other a while ago, but they had been quietly sweating. Now that things had finally turned around, the sixth prince had finally spoken up. If she continued to hide, then it would not make sense.
Xie Zhen thought for a while, but still could not face it. “How could I have missed it?”
“I’m not sure.” said Shuang Yu. “I has a bad memory. Perhaps I will forget something when I come back.”
Xie Zhen knew she said it on purpose, she looked up at her.
“Then help me take a check …”
“Is there anyone else outside?”
Shang Yu agreed straightforwardly, following her instructions and walking outside. After looking around, she said, “There’s no one here, so Miss can rest assured that you can come out.”
She slowly walked out. Other than a few servant maids who did not understand the situation, there was no one else in the courtyard.
As Xie Zhen walked slowly out of Zhanyue Court, there was indeed no one outside, neither did Ouyang Yi.
Relieved, she pulled her skirt back over her shoulders and walked quickly toward the courtyard.
Afraid of encountering something.
Mammy Chan had come for her fifteenth birthday which was coming in two months. Madam Leng had asked her to return to the mansion the day before her birthday for the ceremony at the Duke Dingguo’s Mansion.
After Xie Zhen heard what Mammy Chan said, Xie Zhen replied, “I know, I will go back then.”
After a pause, she asked, “How is Father and Mother doing?”
Mammy Chan nodded. “Princess, don’t worry. Everything is fine.”
She recalled something and could not help but ask again, “Is Father still at home …”
Mammy Chan gave her a gentle smile, reassuring her, “Recently, His Majesty summoned Second Master to the palace several times. Listening to his conversation with madam, His Majesty seemed to want to put him in an important position.”
"Lady, don’t worry, madam said everything will be all right. "
When she heard this, the rock in her heart finally fell to the ground. She smiled and nodded. “Okay!”
Mammy Chan watched her grow up with Xie Xun. Now that both of them were tall and graceful, one after the other, they were about to be married off. She felt rather sorrowful in her heart.
Xie Zhen asked a few more questions about her family, and Mammy Chan replied one by one, she let her go.
She reluctantly saw her off at the door but didn’t retract the smile on her face when she saw the man standing outside the door. Her face froze in fear, and silently retracted her leg.
Mammy Chan didn’t know what was going on and bowed towards the two. “Your Highness, princess, I will take my leave now.”
Xie Zhen forced a smile, “Mammy may leave, please. I’ll go home to visit my father and mother another day.”
Mammy Chan left with a smile.
As soon as Mammy Chan left, Xie Zhen carried her skirt out of the room, intending to escape under the watchful eyes of Yan Yu.
Unfortunately, she walked too slowly and were stopped by Yan Yu at the bottom of the corridor.
Yan Yu leaned forward and put his arm against the wall beside her, blocking her way.
He was staring at her without blinking.
Xie Zhen was not daring to meet his eyes, so she turned and ran the other way.
He moved faster, and his other hand was on the other side of her, wrapping her in his arms.
He looked down for her ear. “You heard what I said.”
His voice was hoarse and slow.
Xie Zhen wanted to cry. She wanted to run away, but he was everywhere and there was nowhere to run.
He bit her earlobe and said reproachfully, “Who let you eavesdrop?”
When Xie Zhen flinched away from him, he continued to cling to her like a dog finding a bone, biting and gnawing.
“I didn’t eavesdrop. I didn’t mean to hear it.”
She paused for a moment, then said in a magnanimous tone, “How about you pretend that I didn’t hear anything?”
He pulled a face and pretended to be angry. “You have heard it. How should I pretend?”
Xie Zhen thought it was impossible. So what should she do?
Was she going to do something?
After thinking for a while, her mind finally cleared, “Is what you just said true?”
Yan Yu’s arms fell off the wall and wrapped themselves around her waist instead. His hands folded tightly behind her back, and he placed them a little lower in her waist so that she was pressed against him.
“It’s not fake.”
Xie Zhen glanced sideways at him, saw only the curve of his beautiful chin, and rolled her eyes. “Didn’t you said that…”
“There is no one you like?”
He didn’t say anything.
Xie Zhen put her hands on his chest in a way she couldn’t take at once. “You lied to me about that, too?”
He remained silent.
Xie Zhen looked at him, and she became less shy. She bit her lips and raised them up, “Then what else did you lie to me about?”
He said, “No.”
Xie Zhen couldn’t believe it. She thought back to what he had said and an idea flashed in her mind. “Are you really afraid of thunder?”
He was obviously stiff, and without answering, Xie Zhen knew she was right.
She gave a light snort. She didn’t expect that he would have ill intentions from then on. So, the fear of thunder was just a cover, and he just wanted to take advantage of her.
To think that she still pitied him and let him hold her for so long.
The more Xie Zhen thought about it, the rarer he felt. What on earth was he thinking about how such a prideful man could be so narrow-minded about her?
There seemed to be a jar of honey in Xie Zhen’s mind, which was suddenly knocked over and flowed into her limbs and bones, even her voice was sweet: “You said so many lies, was that what you just said true?”
Needless to say, the two knew what she refereed to.
Yan Yu’s mouth was like glued as he tightly pursed it, unwilling to answer.
Xie Zhen blinked. “If you don’t tell me, I’ll take it as a lie and forget it.”
Anxious, he pinned her against the wall, pressing his forehead against hers. “Don’t forget!”
She could forget everything. She had forgotten everything about him after they hadn’t seen each other in years. Who could be more heartless than her?
He swallowed, with his voice dry. “It’s true.”
If he was embarrassed, then let he be. If he was disgraced, then let he be. As long as she was happy, he would sacrifice himself.
The servant maids in the courtyard had found a place to hide. Currently, there were only the two of them in the porch, so they were free to say anything.
Xie Zhen blinked, and because they were close to each other, so she could see herself in his eyes. “Oh, Brother Xiao Yu likes me, so should I reluctantly like him?”
Without waiting for Yan Yu’s reply, she asked herself, “I’d better not. Brother Xiao Yu is always lying. I don’t like a liar.”
Yan Yu gritted his teeth, lowered his head and bit the corner of her upturned mouth. He pressed his lips against hers and called out, “Little bastard.”
After that, there was no room for Ouyang Yi to intervene between the two.
Perhaps it was due to the blow she received last time that Ouyang Yi had been absent for a few days after returning to the Pavilion Changqing.
Perhaps it was related to Madame Li’s illness. Recently, Madam Li’s health was getting worse and worse. She couldn’t even get out of bed. Every day, she needed someone to wait on her and feed her medicine. The entire room was filled with the smell of medicine.
One day when she was sitting in courtyard, while Liu Lan was frying Madam Li’s medicine, she feigned carelessness as she asked, “I heard that the Prince’s wife is the Fifth Miss of Duke Dingguo’s Mansion?”
Liu Lan didn’t care and focused on observing the medicinal pot. “That’s right.”
She composed herself and asked again, “What kind of place is the Duke Dingguo’s Mansion?”
Speaking of this, Liu Lan began to talk non-stop about how Duke Dingguo’s grandfather had gone to great lengths to accompany the Emperor Yuanzong. This was a widespread affair in the capital, and the citizens were all in high spirits about it, so it was not surprising that Liu Lan knew about it.
When Ouyang Yi finished listening, she finally understood the gap between her and Xie Zhen.
Her grandfather’s grandfather had followed the late emperor around while she herself had never even seen what the palace looked like.
Ouyang Yi picked up a branch from the ground and pressed it against the ground. With a bit of force, the branch broke into two halves.
With a patter, it was as if the unwillingness in her chest had been inflated to the limit. In the end, it exploded and swallowed her whole body.
In the middle of November, the General of Agile Cavalry Zhong Kai celebrated his birthday and had invited many civil and military officials. Many of them were people from the royal family who had good relations with him. Naturally, Yan Yu had been invited as well.
The General was over 40 years old, and had but one son Zhong Shang, while the other five children were all daughters. So Zhong Shang had been taken to heaven by his mother and his grandmother.
When he was young, he didn’t learn to be good and followed a bunch of popinjays around the streets. He didn’t do any good deeds.
When he was young, Zhong Kai didn’t subject him to discipline. But when he grew up, Zhong Kai learned that he couldn’t do nothing about it, so he threw him into the camp.
It was lucky that this brat also had some skills. When he didn’t learn well, those young masters all followed him.
Now that he was in the army camp, he still had a way to make everyone submit to him.
In just a year’s time, he had used his own skills to rise from a nameless pawn to a spellcaster and then to be on guard.
Zhong Kai was quite satisfied with his son.
If he could change his bad habits. It would be even better if he could get himself a wife.
Zhong Shang would be at his twenty the next year, and Zhong Kai planed to choose a good daughter-in-law for him in this year, after the marriage, in less than a year, they will be able to have a grandson.
Therefore, taking advantage of his birthday ceremony, the general ordered his wife to hold a banquet in the backyard as well. He invited some of the wives to see which family had a young lady of the right age to match his son so that he could quickly start his family business and perhaps even change his appearance.
Zhong Shang had no knowledge of the matter.
On the day of his father’s birthday banquet, he brought Gao Xun over as well.