Lin Yao watched the little maid tugging at her skirt, crying so pitifully that tears streaked down her face like rain on pear blossoms, and suddenly realized this wouldn’t do.
One lie required a hundred lies to cover it up. She couldn’t let this little girl become an obstacle. Her mind raced for a few seconds, and then, steeling herself, she crouched down and pulled the maid into her arms, crying even louder than the girl:
“Wah wah wah… you silly girl! I thought I’d never see you again! How have you been getting by all this time?”
The maid seemed caught off guard for a moment, then began to sob out her words: “When you disappeared, miss, this servant was terrified… Then the Crown Prince found me and brought me out of the villa… Wah wah wah, Mei’er was so scared…”
So this little maid’s name was Mei’er!
With that information, Lin Yao immediately moved to the next stage of her performance.
Out of the corner of her eye, she swept a glance at Chu Liyuan, whose face was turning green with fury, then brought her mouth close to Mei’er’s ear and spoke in a deliberately “lowered voice that just happened to be audible to everyone present” tone, wailing miserably: “Mei’er, don’t be afraid. Although… although I’ve fallen into a demon’s den now… at least I have you here to keep me company!”
As she spoke, she pretended to wipe away tears, but deliberately rubbed her eyes until they were even redder.
“Miss… your eyes? And your voice?” Mei’er suddenly realized something and stared at Lin Yao in shock. “You can speak now? You can see?”
Lin Yao took a deep breath. The main event was here!
A bitter smile of “surviving a calamity” crept across her face. She gripped Mei’er’s hand tightly and made her voice tremble: “For this, I have ‘His Highness’ Fourth Prince to thank…”
Chu Liyuan’s eyelid twitched. A sense of foreboding washed over him.
Then Lin Yao continued her tearful lament: “Thanks to him kidnapping me and forcing that Tiger-Wolf Medicine down my throat… The medicine was so potent that my whole body felt like it was on fire, and I walked through the gates of death itself. But who would have thought—by sheer accident—it actually cured me!”
As the Crown Prince listened to Lin Yao’s words, his expression grew darker and darker. His fingers clenched until the knuckles went white, his eyes a tangled web of heartache for her and hatred for the Fourth Prince.
Chu Liyuan, meanwhile, watched the whole scene like an outsider.
Lin Yao paid no attention to the men’s reactions. She continued to hold Mei’er’s hand and pointed at her own head with a look of profound grief: “It’s just that… although my eyes and ears are better now, it seems my brain got fried. I can’t remember much of what happened before…”
“Mei’er, now that you’re here, I can rest easy. Otherwise, with my addled mind, I truly wouldn’t know how to go on living…”
Perfect!
The logic loop was closed!
“A-Yao…” The Crown Prince let out a sigh, his gaze sweeping over the new maids. “Don’t worry. Besides Mei’er, I’ve also arranged for three clever maidservants for you—Chuntao, Xiahe, and Qiuju. I handpicked every one of them. They will surely keep you safe.”
Lin Yao looked up. Chuntao was the little maid who had served her in the palace before, and she was quite fond of her. The other two maids kept their eyes lowered demurely, but there was a shrewd glint in their gazes.
She made a mental note of this, but on her face she wore an expression of deep gratitude: “Thank you, Your Highness the Crown Prince, for reuniting mistress and servant…”
Chu Liyuan watched the touching scene of the mistress and maid weeping in each other’s arms, and then looked at the Crown Prince’s tender, loving gaze. He suddenly felt more disgusted than if he’d swallowed ten flies.
Chu Liyuan walked up to the Crown Prince and bowed respectfully: “I am deeply grateful for today’s wedding gift, Your Majesty. The gifts have been delivered, and you’ve seen the bride—I wouldn’t want to delay the auspicious hour for my wedding night—” He leaned close to the Crown Prince’s ear and said in a voice meant only for the two of them, “Since Your Majesty made her cry that day, this brother will make her scream to her heart’s content tonight!”
At those words, a flicker of murderous intent flashed through Chu Huaian’s eyes, quickly returning to normal. He simply tapped a finger against Chu Liyuan’s chest: “You mad dog don’t deserve her!” Then he said in a stern voice, “Wu Jing, Chen Yu, stay behind. On my behalf, help the Fourth Prince guard this Fourth Prince’s Manor well.”
After saying this, the Crown Prince’s gaze traveled over Chu Liyuan’s shoulder, and as if deliberately to reassure her, he smiled at Lin Yao: “A-Yao, I will come see you again. Rest well. Tell them whatever you need.”
Then Chu Huaian swept away with a flick of his sleeves.
The world fell silent.
In the courtyard, only the dozen or so large gift boxes that hadn’t been put away yet remained, along with two matrons, four maidservants, and… Wu Jing and Chen Yu, standing like two door gods in the muddy yard, hands resting on their sword hilts, eyes fixed unblinkingly on Chu Liyuan.
The rain began to drizzle down again, and the sky had gone completely dark.
Li Cai started directing the servants to carry the gifts into the side chambers first, and everyone found rooms to take shelter from the rain.
Mei’er helped Lin Yao back to the main hall. Lin Yao sat by the bedside, watching this man who had been humiliated to the extreme. Though it felt satisfying, she couldn’t help but feel a slight chill of unease.
The atmosphere in the room was about to drop to freezing point.
Chu Liyuan leaned against the door panel, his chest heaving violently.
“Had enough of looking?”
Chu Liyuan turned around, his eyes bloodshot, and walked step by step toward Lin Yao, his gaze filled with the disgust one might reserve for garbage.
Mei’er, terrified, shielded Lin Yao with her body: “What are you doing?! Don’t you dare lay a hand on my mistress!”
Chu Liyuan grabbed Mei’er by the collar like she was a piece of trash and hoisted her up. Seeing that Chu Liyuan was truly enraged, Lin Yao didn’t dare provoke him further and quickly grabbed hold of Mei’er: “Chu Liyuan! Put her down!”
Chu Liyuan took a deep breath, his bloodshot eyes looking as if they wanted to devour someone. He squeezed out a few words from the depths of his throat: “GET! OUT!!”
“Take that bastard Crown Prince’s people and things, and get out of my residence!! Now, immediately, this instant—disappear from my sight!!”
Chu Liyuan’s roar echoed through the empty, dilapidated room, shaking dust from the rafters as it fell in a flurry.
Mei’er trembled all over in fright, her sobs choking back in her throat.
She stared in terror at this man with red eyes, like a vengeful demon, and grabbed Lin Yao, trying to rush out: “M-Mistress, let’s go! This man has gone mad! Let’s get out… let’s go find the Crown Prince’s men…”
However, Lin Yao stood perfectly still. She let Chu Liyuan’s murderous gaze slice into her like a blade.
“Don’t pull me.” Lin Yao gently patted Mei’er’s hand, her voice frighteningly calm.
She raised her head and met Chu Liyuan’s bloodshot eyes.
“Get out?”
A mocking smile curled at the corner of Lin Yao’s lips. She leisurely straightened the sleeve that Mei’er had rumpled, then raised a hand and pointed toward the door: “Chu Liyuan, have you lost your wits from anger?”
“Outside is a pouring rain and a courtyard full of mud. Not to mention the Crown Prince’s spies Wu Jing and Chen Yu.” Lin Yao’s voice was soft, but every word struck like a dagger to the heart.
Chu Liyuan’s chest heaved violently as he stared at her, but he offered no rebuttal.
Lin Yao stepped forward, closing in on him: “Didn’t you just make a bold threat in the Crown Prince’s ear? That tonight you’d make me ‘scream’?”
“If I were to walk out that door with Mei’er right now…” Lin Yao tilted her head, smiling with an innocent look, “then all the eunuchs, maids, and guards in this courtyard would know that the Fourth Prince drove his bride out of the bridal chamber on their wedding night.”
Lin Yao’s gaze drifted downward, unflinchingly sweeping over a certain part of Chu Liyuan, and she lowered her voice, speaking in a tone that could infuriate a person to death: “By tomorrow, the whole capital will probably be buzzing with news that the Fourth Prince ‘can’t perform,’ and in his shame and fury on his wedding night, he took it out on a woman.”
Chu Liyuan laughed in fury instead of anger. He suddenly reached out and seized Lin Yao’s wrist, his grip so fierce it seemed he might crush her bones.
“You won’t leave, will you? Fine!”
He yanked hard, pulling Lin Yao violently toward him, the distance between them vanishing in an instant, their noses nearly touching.
“Since Lin Yao is so determined to stay, so eager to prove whether this prince ‘can or can’t’…”
Chu Liyuan gnashed his teeth, a reckless madness flickering in his eyes: “Then I’ll grant your wish!”