“Hurry, hurry! Bring me the clothes I selected yesterday. And Xiangxing, quickly help me redo the injuries on my arms.”
Xiangyue assisted her with washing up and changing clothes while muttering under her breath: “Isn’t the Second Prince just your nemesis? Why did he have to return to the separate residence at this exact time?”
“He made you lose sleep last night, and now you have to wake up early this morning…”
Jiang Zhuoying nodded in agreement: “You’re right about that, but there’s one thing you’ve got wrong. Even if that were the case, I should be his nemesis!”
Xiangyue blinked. Was there any difference?
In a frantic but orderly manner, Jiang Zhuoying got herself ready with the help of her two maids.
Before leaving, she specifically arranged her identity details properly – that man was so suspicious, he would definitely send someone to verify her identity when the time came!
Additionally, she instructed Wujiu that starting from tomorrow, he should wait outside the Second Prince’s separate residence every three days at the si hour.
If she came out, he should come see her. If she didn’t appear, he should just return to the manor.
Wujiu naturally agreed unconditionally. Looking at the small, slender figure before him, he paused silently: “Miss, please take care of yourself.”
Jiang Zhuoying had already passed him and was about to step forward when she halted, turning back to look at him.
Why did she always get a bad feeling whenever Wujiu spoke…
“Mm, of course.”
She nodded slightly and led Xiangyue out the main gate.
Same as last time, it was still Xiangyue seeing her off, but this time they were pressed for time so a carriage wasn’t feasible. She could only ride horseback with Xiangyue.
Jiang Zhuoying carried her carefully prepared cloth bundle on her back and followed Xiangyue onto horseback, rushing in the direction of Luo Jing.
If the Second Prince was returning to his separate residence, he would have to travel in this direction too.
She needed to reach the route the Second Prince would definitely take to his separate residence in advance, then wait for her prey to come to her…
Everything unfolded exactly as she had predicted.
Xiangyue brought her to a roadside tea stall in the suburbs and bid her farewell reluctantly: “Miss, may your journey go smoothly and may you achieve your wishes soon.”
Jiang Zhuoying nodded: “Don’t worry, just wait here while I continue forward.”
“If anything unexpected happens, I’ll come back to find you. But if the Second Prince passes through here and I don’t return, that means things went according to plan. You can rest assured and return home.”
Xiangyue nodded seriously: “This maid has remembered.”
“Good.”
Jiang Zhuoying proceeded along the main road. She was confident that if that man was returning to his separate residence, he would definitely pass through here.
Zhuozhuo had to remain in the water vat at all times, and the water vat needed to be transported by carriage, so their entire party would necessarily take the main road.
Jiang Zhuoying walked slowly forward with her small bundle. Most of what her bundle contained were handkerchiefs embroidered by Xiangyue and Xiangxing – this was also part of her scheme.
After walking about five li, the soles of Jiang Zhuoying’s feet were aching terribly, her legs were stiff and painful, her kneecaps seemed difficult to bend, and she desperately wanted to collapse on the ground right then.
When had she ever walked such a long distance?
Why hadn’t the Second Prince arrived yet?
The young girl furrowed her delicate brows and bent over to rub the muscles in her legs.
As she bent over, she happened to glimpse through the gap between her arms a procession gradually appearing in the distance behind her.
The person leading the group, riding atop a sturdy horse, had a figure somewhat resembling Pei Yun.
Why couldn’t she see Guard Xie?
Jiang Zhuoying felt a brief moment of puzzlement but didn’t dwell on it further. She needed to swiftly carry out her plan.
…
A slender, frail-looking girl walked along the edge of the dirt road.
From behind, her figure appeared unsteady, staggering as if her physical strength had reached its limit, and she might collapse at any moment.
Pei Yun only glanced briefly before continuing forward on his horse without looking sideways.
The guard riding beside him said, “Boss, that girl looks like she’s about to faint.”
“Hmm.”
“Boss, aren’t we going to help?”
Pei Yun shot him a look: “His Highness dislikes women.”
“But we can’t just stand by and do nothing!”
“How can we help? She hasn’t fainted yet, has she?” Pei Yun glanced again at the stumbling figure nearby.
Before his words fully faded, the petite figure not far ahead let out a soft “thud” and slowly collapsed to the ground…
Jiang Zhuoying held her breath and chose a relatively clean spot.
However, this was still a dirt road after all, and her fall inevitably stirred up a cloud of dust.
Jiang Zhuoying fought back the urge to cough, enduring the wave of rising dust.
…
“Boss! That girl has fainted!”
The voice was so loud that even Jiang Zhuoying, lying on the ground, could hear it.
Pei Yun: “…”
He frowned: “Don’t act rashly yet. Let me report to His Highness first.”
“Yes!”
The man rode his horse toward the carriage behind them.
Not long after, he returned on horseback and gave a slight nod in response to his subordinate’s intense gaze.
The two dismounted and approached the small, collapsed figure by the roadside, one after the other.
The young guard was about to help the fallen girl up when Pei Yun abruptly blocked him.
Confused, he asked: “Boss?”
Pei Yun stared at the delicate face pressed against the dirt, his tone much more serious than before: “Don’t touch her.”
Young guard: “?”
Jiang Zhuoying: “??”
“Ahem, let me go report again.”
The young guard was bewildered: “Ah… oh, yes.”
Pei Yun turned around, took two steps, then suddenly looked back, his expression severe: “Don’t touch her.”
This time the young guard nodded repeatedly: “Yes, I understand.”
Not long after, the young guard personally witnessed His Highness lift the carriage curtain and step down.
He stood properly to the side, stealing a glance at the girl on the ground, clicking his tongue in secret while unable to conceal his curiosity and astonishment.
Meanwhile, Jiang Zhuoying kept her eyes closed, waiting quietly.
Lying fainted on the ground with her ears close to the earth, she could clearly hear a series of footsteps transmitted through the ground.
Simultaneously, the dusty scent she breathed in grew increasingly strong.
With the arrival of the crowd, the dust stirred up from the ground became noticeably thicker.
Jiang Zhuoying secretly regretted her decision – she had miscalculated. Had she known, she should have fainted against a tree trunk instead…
The footsteps stopped a few steps in front of her.
“Your Highness, is this Miss Jiang? Wasn’t she sent back? Why would she faint here?”
Qi Fan glanced at Pei Yun, who immediately cupped his hands: “Your Highness, I indeed escorted Miss Jiang back and personally saw her enter the gate.”
Jiang Zhuoying listened to their conversation with closed eyes, feeling it was about time to wake up.
She slightly opened her eyes to find dozens of black boots with white soles before her, with only the central pair embroidered with light silver cloud patterns.
Suddenly confronted with such an overwhelming crowd, even though she had been prepared, Jiang Zhuoying still shuddered in fright – the sense of oppression was simply too intense.
She immediately inhaled the dust in the air and was caught off guard, coughing uncontrollably: “Cough… cough, cough, cough…”
Clearly, the young woman on the ground had awakened, and the gazes of everyone present converged on her.
Jiang Zhuoying coughed violently, her peach blossom eyes welling up with tears.
“Who… who are you people?”
The young woman curled into a small ball, half-lying on the ground, her eyes brimming with tears, her voice trembling with extreme panic.
Upon closer look, her delicate frame was shaking incessantly, as if overwhelmed by fear.
“Miss Jiang? There’s no need to be afraid.”
These words came from Chu Yixin, spoken in a gentle tone.
The curled-up young woman jolted abruptly, then lifted her head.
Her tear-filled peach blossom eyes swiftly shifted from terror to a glimmer of hope, then to disappointment…
She knelt properly on the ground, biting her lip tightly as if mustering all her strength to hold back tears: “This humble maid… pays respects to His Highness the Second Prince, wu wu…”
Silence fell all around, utterly still—this was not what Jiang Zhuoying had expected.
Why wasn’t he questioning her?
She was crying so pitifully—wouldn’t he ask why she was weeping?
Jiang Zhuoying whimpered a few times, then pressed her legs together and lowered her head, sitting back on her heels, her heart filled with confusion.
Wasn’t it said that he favored delicate and timid women? Was she not delicate and timid enough? Had she not cried hard enough?
“Why are you here?”
The man finally spoke, his voice as cold as ever.
Jiang Zhuoying felt a wave of relief inwardly and quickly sniffled, her voice pitiful: “Reporting to Your Highness, this humble maid… is on the way to Luo Jing City.”
Another stretch of silence ensued.
Jiang Zhuoying kept her head bowed, staring at the wrinkles in her skirt, which were already coated with dust.
Did this man have to ponder so long every time he spoke?
It was both irritating and anxiety-inducing.
Chu Yixin turned to glance at his master, who remained tight-lipped and indifferent as usual.
After a moment’s thought, he decided to ask on his master’s behalf: “Did your young lady not arrange a carriage for you? Walking on foot like this—how long will it take you to get there?”
As soon as he finished speaking, the kneeling young woman trembled all over again.
Chu Yixin frowned in recollection—had he frightened the girl just now?
Jiang Zhuoying bent forward, making herself appear even more frail and vulnerable. With tears in her eyes and a choked voice, she said:
“This humble maid made a mistake. The young lady… in short, in short, I will no longer be by the young lady’s side from now on.”
After saying this, she seemed to have reached the peak of sorrow, unable to suppress her sobs any longer, and began wiping her tears.
Chu Yixin frowned—the meaning behind her words was already quite clear.
Although the girl hadn’t stated it outright, it was evident that she had been driven out of the Jiang residence by the young lady.
He glanced sideways at his master again, who remained as cold-hearted as ever…
Chu Yixin cleared his throat lightly.
“Ahem, then Miss Jiang, what are you going to Luo Jing City for? Why not hire a carriage yourself?”
Since his master hadn’t spoken, he naturally had to keep making small talk.
But after he asked this question, the young woman on the ground remained silent for a long time.
“Miss Jiang, you…”
Suddenly, a whirlwind rose from nowhere, blowing open the bundle beside Jiang Zhuoying and sending a handkerchief inside fluttering out.
Startled, the young woman quickly stood up to chase after it and pick it up.
But how could a delicate woman like her possibly outrun this whirlwind?
The handkerchiefs scattered with the wind, eventually falling all over the ground…
The young woman frantically chased after them for a few steps before finally kneeling on the ground, weeping as she gathered the handkerchiefs.
The man’s face, which resembled an iron mask, finally showed a crack. He furrowed his brows: “What are you—”
But before he could finish his sentence, the young woman suddenly turned her head and interrupted him.
Jiang Zhuoying seized the moment, abruptly looking back with tears welling up in her eyes and spilling over one after another.
As if pushed to the brink of humiliation and distress, she could no longer hold back, sobbing in a delicate, pitiful voice.
“I was going to the city to sell these handkerchiefs. Without the estate, I have nowhere to go, and I’m terribly short on money.”
“If I don’t sell these handkerchiefs, I won’t even have the silver to hire a carriage, let alone pay for lodging!”
After saying this, she seemed to finally lose all strength, yet mustered the courage to lift her tear-reddened eyes, meeting his indifferent gaze with a soft, pleading voice.
“Your Highness, please step aside.”
The man’s brow twitched abruptly. He took a step back, and the young woman, kneeling on the ground, picked up the handkerchief he had accidentally stepped on, crying even more bitterly than before.
She murmured to herself, “These handkerchiefs are ruined too…”
Qi Fan’s gaze shifted to the bundle that had been blown open nearby, revealing a few scattered pieces of silver inside.
His Adam’s apple bobbed slightly. He had originally intended to say, hasn’t she already been betrothed?
In such a situation, could it be that her fiancé was indifferent?
But the young woman was crying so heart-wrenchingly, as if she might faint at any moment.
With too many people gathered around, the young woman buried her face, refusing to look up again, seemingly regretful and ashamed of the earlier incident.
Qi Fan signaled for the surrounding crowd to disperse.
Soon, only he and Jiang Zhuoying on the ground remained in the area.
The man glanced down at the young woman on the ground, his voice no longer as cold as before: “Get up.”
Author’s note:
Qi Dog: She’s engaged.