ARTTEDSBGT Chapter 131
“Is it you?”
Xiao Wen’s expression gradually darkened, but Liu Man seemed not to notice, taking a step back and gesturing for him to enter, smiling as she said, “Please, Young Master, come in and speak.”
Xiao Wen didn’t move; he scrutinized her and said mockingly, “Even though you no longer have the title of County Princess, it seems nothing has changed.”
“Not at all,” Liu Man replied with an unchanged expression, still smiling. “I am now just a commoner. You, Young Master, are of noble birth; you could crush me with a single finger, as easily as you would squash an ant.”
Hearing this, Xiao Wen sneered, “You have quite a self-awareness.”
Liu Man humbly replied, “Having fallen to such a state, what do you still have to worry about, Young Master?”
As she spoke, she slightly stepped aside. Xiao Wen fixed his gaze on her and, after a long while, finally stepped into the inner room. Everyone else stayed outside to wait, with only Liu Man following him inside. However, the next moment, a hand gripped her throat tightly, slamming her against the wall. Xiao Wen leaned down, his voice heavy,
“Where is Li Suwan?”
Liu Man struggled for a moment but found she could not break free; she stopped wasting her efforts and simply looked at Xiao Wen, smiling as she said, “I didn’t expect you to care for her so deeply—”
“Stop talking nonsense!” Xiao Wen interrupted her roughly, his expression darkening. “That wretched woman was arranged by you, right? What did you put in the Shidong Chun?!”
As he spoke, his fingers tightened, and Liu Man gradually felt her breathing becoming difficult. She gasped and said,
“Just some nourishing…”
“Still trying to fool me?” Xiao Wen gritted his teeth, his eyes nearly bulging. “You really won’t cry until you see the coffin!”
Seeing this, Liu Man quickly replied, “Wushi San!”
Xiao Wen paused his actions, and Liu Man’s face turned red from suffocation. She quickly added, “It’s the Wushi San lost from the previous dynasty, Young Master, you must know its uses, right? Moreover, you’ve misunderstood; it was Li Suwan who privately asked me for some medicine to please you. At that time, I thought it was for her cousin. Had I known she would dare to use it on you, I would never have given her the medicine.”
After a long time, Xiao Wen finally released her. Fresh air rushed into her lungs, and Liu Man immediately began to cough violently. Xiao Wen’s expression remained sinister as he stared at her, saying, “Where is that wretched woman?”
Liu Man coughed for a while before replying, “I don’t know. My relationship with her is average; how would I know her whereabouts?”
Xiao Wen, filled with rage, swept his hand and knocked over the teacups and pots on the nearby table, causing porcelain to shatter and fly everywhere. Liu Man, however, only glanced at the mess calmly and said, “Actually, Young Master needn’t worry; Wushi San isn’t poison. I’ve heard it was used by ancient immortals, and it also has many benefits. Haven’t you already seen that?”
Xiao Wen looked at her and said, “Oh? If it’s so good, why don’t you use it yourself?”
Liu Man smiled and replied, “The Wushi San I have is quite limited. If I were to take it, how would you get any more, Young Master?”
…
When Xiao Yan finished his shift and took the carriage back to the Crown Prince’s residence, the sky had already darkened. He used the lamp in the carriage to look through the book Xu Tingfeng had passed to him, his brows furrowing as he asked, “Xiao Wen went to see her; what did they talk about?”
Xu Tingfeng’s voice came from outside the curtain, “The two of them were talking in the inner room, so we couldn’t know. However, when the Young Master went in, he looked very upset, seemingly because there was a problem with the wine from that New Feng tavern, insisting on seeing their shopkeeper.”
Xiao Yan closed the book and pondered, “If it was just a problem with the wine, why would he go himself? With such a big commotion, could it be that the Ning Wang Fu doesn’t even have a servant to run errands?”
“The subordinate also found it a bit strange. Later, Liu Man appeared, and the two of them went into the inner room. The subordinate did not find it convenient to approach and was worried about revealing anything.”
Xiao Yan asked again, “Nothing else?”
Xu Tingfeng paused for a moment, seemingly deep in thought, and said, “Not long after, about a quarter of an hour later, the heir came out. When he left, Liu Man even sent him a few jars of wine.”
“What kind of wine?”
“Shidongchun.”
Xiao Yan thought for a moment and said, “Send someone to the Ning Wang Mansion to investigate this matter tomorrow. Be careful not to alert them.”
“Understood.”
While they were speaking, the had already arrived at the Crown Prince’s Mansion, but Xiao Yan did not get out of the carriage. Instead, he instructed, “I’ll go to the Princess’s residence first.”
He wanted to discuss this matter with Li Zhizhi. Xiao Yan hadn’t seen her for several days and was quite worried. In the past, when he wanted to go to the Princess’s residence, he had A’yang as a pretext, but now that A’yang was in the palace, if he visited too frequently, it would inevitably raise suspicions with the Grand Princess.
Thus, Xiao Yan had been holding back. He calculated that it had been exactly four days since he last saw Li Zhizhi. Would visiting once in four days raise any suspicion?
When the carriage arrived at the gate of the Princess’s residence, Xiao Yan was stopped outside for the first time by the gatekeeper. He frowned and said, “Does the Crown Prince have to be announced just to visit the Grand Princess?”
Seeing his displeased expression and that he seemed angry, the gatekeeper was so scared that his legs nearly trembled but still managed to force a smile and said, “Your Highness, this is the Grand Princess’s order. Please wait a moment.”
Xiao Yan’s heart skipped a beat, but he suppressed his emotions and said, “Go on.”
The gatekeeper seemed relieved and hurried inside to report. Shortly after, he came back out, bowing and saying, “Your Highness, please come in.”
The servants led Xiao Yan to the flower hall, where the Grand Princess was drinking tea. Upon seeing him enter, she only raised her eyelids slightly and said, “You’re here? Sit down.”
After Xiao Yan greeted her, he took a seat on a nearby chair, his gaze instinctively scanning the surroundings. Suddenly, he heard the Grand Princess say, “What are you looking at?”
She lifted the lid of her cup, seeming to smile faintly as she said, “In my residence, you’ve come here nearly a thousand times, or at least eight hundred. It’s always the same few maidservants. If you’ve taken a fancy to someone, just tell your aunt, and I can arrange it for you.”
“Aunt is joking,” Xiao Yan quickly explained, “I don’t mean that at all.”
The Grand Princess snorted lightly through her nose and said, “Speak up. What brings you here so late?”
Just then, a servant brought in tea. Xiao Yan received it and found it to be cold. Looking closely, he saw that the tea leaves were floating in the clear water, not yet steeped. He couldn’t help but ask, “Aunt, this tea…”
“I’m in a bad mood today, so I like cold tea,” the Grand Princess said slowly, putting down her teacup. “Otherwise, I’m afraid it would burn my mouth.”
Xiao Yan: …
The Crown Prince felt somewhat perplexed. The Grand Princess’s attitude clearly indicated she was angry with him, but he believed he hadn’t done anything today. Could it be that his aunt had figured something out?
While Xiao Yan was lost in thought, the Grand Princess had already dismissed everyone else, leaving just the two of them in the flower hall. She then said, “Xiao Wu, I’ll ask you again: who is the person you like?”
Xiao Yan’s movements froze, and he turned to look at her. The Grand Princess furrowed her brows and asked, “Can you tell your aunt?”
Xiao Yan fell silent for a moment, not answering. Seeing his reaction, the Grand Princess’s heart sank gradually. The thing she had been most worried about had happened; the vague suspicions she had held for so long had now become a reality. Disappointed, the Grand Princess said, “Did you not tell me before that you don’t like her?”
Xiao Yan gently set down his teacup and replied softly, “Aunt, I’m sorry.”
Upon hearing this, the Grand Princess couldn’t help but close her eyes for a moment and pressed her fingers to her aching brow. After a while, she sighed and said, “How could you be like this?”
Xiao Yan felt a bit uncomfortable as well. Due to his mother’s early death, he had been cared for by the Grand Princess since childhood, and their relationship was very close. He didn’t want to see her show such an expression unless it was absolutely necessary.
But with things having come to this point, Xiao Yan could only apologize, “Aunt, it’s my fault; I shouldn’t have lied to you.”
The Grand Princess waved her hand and said helplessly, “Forget it.”
Seeing her like this, Xiao Yan asked, “Is it because I am the Crown Prince that you disapprove?”
The Grand Princess glanced at him but said nothing; her meaning was already very clear. Xiao Yan murmured, “I can give up the title of Crown Prince.”
Upon hearing this, the Grand Princess raised her eyebrows in surprise, unable to suppress a smile as she said, “What nonsense are you talking?”
Xiao Yan, however, replied seriously, “Aunt, I’m serious. Zhizhi has always admired you the most. If you don’t agree, she definitely won’t accept it.”
The Grand Princess listened in silence for a while before asking, “Putting all that aside, I only want to ask you one thing: does Zhizhi… like you?”
Xiao Yan suddenly fell silent.
The Grand Princess looked at her nephew in astonishment and said, “After all this talking, it turns out you’re the only one with feelings?”Discord@dogfoodplease or @dogfoodplease#8837
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