ARTTEDSBGT Chapter 90
On the spot, catching someone red-handed, the face of His Royal Highness was thoroughly disgraced. To make matters worse, his silly little sister was still yelling, “Brother, so you were secretly eating candy!”
Xiao Yan, feeling both annoyed and embarrassed, scolded with a cold face, “What’s there to be so surprised about?”
“It’s pine nut candy,” Xiao Rulei recognized it carefully, proudly showing off, “Today Sister Zhizhi also bought me peanut brittle, it’s tastier than your candy!”
Li Zhizhi truly didn’t expect that the dignified Crown Prince, who seemed solemn and unattainable, would be secretly eating candy behind everyone’s back.
She teasingly said with a smile, “If I had known that Crown Prince likes this, I would have bought more.”
Xiao Yan: …
Just then, a servant came in and reported, “Miss, Miss Su is here for a visit.”
“Is it Tang Yu?” Li Zhizhi hurriedly said, “I’ll go and see.”
As she got up to greet the guest, Xiao Yan looked at his little sister and inquired, “Where did you go to meet friends?”
Xiao Rulei, playing with the little trinkets she bought today, didn’t bother to lift her head and replied, “It’s Su Gege.”
Xiao Yan frowned slightly, his expression not looking good, and asked, “Su Qing Shang?”
Xiao Rulei let out a sound of indifference and said, “I don’t know. Sister calls him the Second Young Master.”
Xiao Yan asked in more detail, “What has he been doing?”
Xiao Rulei replied, “Eating candy, listening to stories, and watching the groom.”
This was the second time Xiao Yan heard her mention watching the groom. At first, he didn’t think much of it, but now, after imagining it in his mind, with Li Zhizhi and Su Qingshang standing side by side in the teahouse, talking and laughing, he immediately felt uneasy. He frowned and said, “What’s so interesting about the groom?”
Xiao Rulei disagreed and argued, “Brother, you’re talking nonsense. The groom rides a big horse, wears a big red flower, and looks majestic! A Yang will be a groom in the future too!”
Xiao Yan was not pleased with this and sneered, “As a girl, why would A’yang be a groom?”
Not agreeing with him, Xiao Rluie retorted, “Brother is talking nonsense. Brother Su said that as long as someone marries A’yang, he can be a groom.”
“This is all nonsense,” Xiao Yan said angrily. Hearing that it was Su Qing Shang who said it made him even more furious. He coldly remarked, “You believe whatever he says without thinking. I’ve taught you many times, but you never remember. Someone casually says something, and you take it as the truth.”
Feeling unjustly scolded, Xiao Ruyue pouted, wiped away her tears, and ran off.
…
However, Li Zhizhi went to see Su Tangyu and, upon approaching, discovered that her eyes were swollen and red, as if she had cried. She exclaimed, “What happened to you?”
Su Tangyu opened her mouth but couldn’t speak, tears streaming down her face. Seeing this, Li Zhizhi immediately speculated that it was likely related to Song Lingyun.
She quickly stepped forward, holding Su Tangyu’s hand, and comforted her carefully. It was only after some comforting that Su Tangyu gradually calmed down and said with a choked voice, “He… he actually gave the Twin Heart Pendant to Ziyu. How could he do this?”
Li Zhizhi thought she had discovered the affair between Song Lingyun and Li Suwan, but to her surprise, Su Tangyu mentioned Jiang Ziyu. She couldn’t help but feel astonished, “Are you saying that Song Cousin and Jiang Ziyu…”
Su Tangyu then explained the whole situation. Today, the servants of the Su family found a piece of white jade Twin Heart Pendant in the mansion, initially thinking it belonged to Su Tangyu. They promptly returned it, and Su Tangyu, thinking it was hers, rewarded them. However, upon closer inspection, she realized that her own Twin Heart Pendant was not lost. At that moment, Jiang Ziyu arrived, asking for the pendant.
When Su Tangyu inquired about the origin of the jade pendant, Jiang Ziyu only said it was a gift from someone else. When pressed further, she became annoyed, saying it was just a piece of jade, and why did they need to know so much? Su Tangyu showed her own Twin Heart Pendant, and Jiang Ziyu fell silent. When pressed again, she finally confessed that the pendant was a gift from Big Brother Song. Defiantly, she declared that if Big Brother Song liked her and wanted to give her something, why should they interfere? They were not even married yet, and Su Tangyu’s interference was why Big Brother Song called her arrogant.
Listening to these words, Su Tangyu was stunned, not knowing what to say. She was shocked by how her beloved viewed her in private, and at the same time, she was angry at the betrayal by her own cousin. How could he have a secret relationship with her cousin?
Jiang Ziyu snatched back the jade pendant, leaving with a triumphant air. Su Tangyu, feeling upset, cried for a while and then ran to find Li Zhizhi to pour out her grievances. Seeing her swollen eyes like a rabbit’s, Li Zhizhi also felt uneasy. At the same time, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that the true face of Song Lingyun was exposed. It seemed that the tragic events from their past lives could be avoided.
Li Zhizhi hugged her, comforting her gently. When Su Tangyu stopped crying, she asked, “Did you go to question Song… Song Lingyun?”
With teary eyes, Su Tangyu shook her head and said, “I don’t want to see him right now. I just want to talk to someone, so I came to you. Zhizhi, I hope I’m not bothering you.”
“What nonsense are you talking about?” Li Zhizhi smiled and said, “You came to me, and I’m happy about it.”
Saying that, she took her to the garden to relax. The two sat under a wisteria pergola, and servants brought tea and snacks. Li Zhizhi pushed a plate of osmanthus ice cream in front of Su Tangyu and said with a smile, “This ice cream is delicious, sweet but not greasy. Do you want to try it?”
Su Tangyu took a few bites, and her mood improved. Li Zhizhi then picked a lychee and peeled it slowly, asking tentatively, “So, what do you plan to do now?”
Using a silver spoon to poke at the osmanthus on the ice cream, Su Tangyu said in a gloomy tone, “I don’t know what to do. We’re already engaged, but such a mess happened. Men are really not trustworthy. You previously mentioned his unclear relationship with Li Suwan, and you advised me to watch and see. Now I realize, there’s no need to watch and see. Jiang Ziyu might not even be his first sister.”
She became angry again, fiercely mashing the osmanthus on the ice cream with the spoon, saying, “Men are all heartless, especially scholars! Those guys with wolf-like hearts and dog-like lungs.”
“What wolf-like hearts and dog-like lungs?”
A voice interrupted them, making both of them stunned. Turning their heads, they saw Xiao Yan. He looked at Li Zhizhi and said, “I’ve been waiting for you in the flower hall for half an hour, and you came here instead.”
Su Tangyu hurriedly stood up and saluted, “Your Royal Highness.”
Xiao Yan waved his hand, glanced at her, and asked, “Are you here to find Zhizhi for something?”
Su Tangyu felt a bit uneasy and said, “Yes.”
She felt that the Crown Prince seemed to have some hostility towards her. His gaze was not very friendly, and Su Tangyu didn’t know when she had offended him. She couldn’t help but feel anxious, and no matter how hard she thought, she couldn’t figure out what had happened with her elder brother.
Xiao Yan didn’t like Su Qingshang, and consequently, he didn’t particularly like his sister either. However, since she was a good friend of Li Zhizhi, he had to maintain a polite appearance. He asked, “What is the matter? Can I help?”
Li Zhizhi glanced at him, thinking that it was unusual for the Crown Prince, who usually avoided trouble, to voluntarily offer help.
Su Tangyu was also surprised by the offer and repeatedly said, “No, there’s no need to trouble Your Highness. It’s just some trivial matters.”
Xiao Yan said, “If it’s a small matter, why do you look so sad?”
From a distance, he had seen Li Zhizhi consoling her, and the two walked hand in hand from the front courtyard to the backyard. They even hugged intimately, as if trying to cheer her up.
Xiao Yan felt uncomfortable again. He thought that the siblings from the Su family seemed to be specifically making things difficult for him. The elder brother left, and now the younger sister came – truly annoying.
He specifically came to the Grand Princess’s mansion this time, with the sole purpose of talking to Li Zhizhi, not to see her comforting someone else.