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His tone was as gentle as the world's most tender whisper, and his gaze was full of deep affection. However, the Crown Princess still felt a shiver down her spine.
She stood frozen in place, as if unable to utter a single word.
Ning Wang lightly caressed her cheek and softly said, "Linlang, ever since the day you conspired with this prince to bring about Xiao Heng's death, you can never wash your name clean. Don't you understand this truth?"
The Crown Princess's eyes sharpened, "I didn't harm him! It was you! It has always been you alone! You followed me to the Imperial Academy... it was you who killed him!"
Ning Wang raised his hand and stroked the back of her head, "If you hadn't arranged to meet him alone, how would this prince have had the chance? Admit it, Linlang, you're also an accomplice in his death."
"I'm not! I never harmed Ah Heng!" The Crown Princess reached out to push him, "I don't want to see you, leave!"
Ning Wang's hand that was touching the back of her head suddenly tightened—
"Linlang! Linlang!"
"Huh? Chunying, why are you here? Where's the Crown Princess? Weren't you going to the imperial study with her?"
The voice of the Crown Prince came from not far away, full of confusion.
Then came Chunying's guilty response, "The Crown Princess... She..."
The Crown Princess looked coldly at Ning Wang.
Ning Wang spoke fiercely, his voice devoid of sound, "You know what you should do. Don't provoke me; you can't bear the consequences, Wen Linlang."
He let go of her.
The Crown Princess staggered, almost falling to the ground.
"What's going on?"
Because they were standing too close, the moment Ning Wang released the Crown Princess, the Crown Prince had already walked over. He saw the pale-faced Crown Princess standing next to Ning Wang, who had a calm and gentle expression.
His brows furrowed. He instinctively didn't like seeing his woman standing next to another man, even if that man was his own brother.
"Eldest brother?" He walked over, puzzled.
Ning Wang smiled and explained, "Imperial father ordered me to enter the palace and see him at the imperial study. Coincidentally, second sister-in-law was leaving the study and we bumped into each other."
So that was what happened. The Crown Prince thought to himself that he had been overly suspicious. Ning Wang was his older brother. Even though they weren’t born of the same mother, they still had the same father. Wen Linlang was his younger sister-in-law. There couldn't possibly be anything between them.
The Crown Prince approached the Crown Princess and held her hand, feeling the chill on her fingertips. He furrowed his brows even tighter, "Why are your hands so cold? I've heard that you're injured. If there's something, you can report to imperial father after a few days."
"Imperial father entrusted the women's academy to me, so I should take care of it diligently." The Crown Princess replied. Sensing a deathly gaze from Ning Wang, she subtly pulled her hand back from the Crown Prince's grip, "I'm fine, just a bit tired. Your Highness, let's go back."
After the Mid-Autumn Festival, the weather seemed to have suddenly cooled down. There was a hint of autumn chill in the morning and evening breeze. The Crown Prince removed his cloak and draped it over the Crown Princess, carefully fastening the ribbon for her.
Ning Wang's gaze was intense as he watched the two of them.
The Crown Princess grabbed the Crown Prince's hand, gently releasing it and taking the ribbon herself, "I can handle this on my own."
"Oh." The Crown Prince seemed somewhat disappointed. He wanted to do these small things for Linlang. However, with his eldest brother here, getting too affectionate with her did seem inappropriate.
He turned his head to look at Ning Wang, whose eyes had regained their warmth.
He said, "Eldest brother, we’ll head back first. Since you've been summoned, you should go quickly!"
Ning Wang paused, turned to look at the Crown Prince, who was holding the Crown Princess, and spoke, "How about Second Brother accompanies me to see imperial father? Something seems to have happened; even the imperial guards are mobilized." contemporary romance
"Is that so?" The Crown Prince hesitated.
Ning Wang smiled, "Never mind. If you want to stay with second sister-in-law, I'll go see imperial father by myself."
As he said this, his gaze unintentionally swept over the Crown Princess's face.
The Crown Princess sensed an endless threat. She clenched her delicate hand and said to the Crown Prince, "Your Highness, you should go and take a look."
The Crown Prince responded, "I'm worried about you."
The Crown Princess lowered her gaze, "With Chunying accompanying me, what is there for Your Highness to worry about?"
In the end, under the Crown Princess's persuasion, the Crown Prince reluctantly went.
Once he arrived, he learned that Xiao Liulang had been captured by assassins and was missing. His imperial father wanted Ning Wang to lead troops to search for him, and since he was there, his imperial father granted him a detachment of soldiers as well.
Not being able to return to the East Palace to accompany Linlang in the middle of the night and having to search aimlessly for Xiao Liulang on the streets left the Crown Prince feeling frustrated.
"Seriously, he just looks like Xiao Heng, he's not the real Xiao Heng. Why does imperial father value him so much? And why must I, the Crown Prince, lower myself to search for him!"
The Xiao Liulang that the Crown Prince was desperately searching for was currently lying quietly on Princess Xinyang's bed. Gu Jiao had just finished changing his last intravenous drip.
The night was deep.
Gu Jiao and Long Yi were silently keeping watch in the room. Gu Jiao sat by the bedside, while Long Yi perched on the beams.
After setting up the intravenous drip for Xiao Liulang, Gu Jiao leaned against the edge of the bed. Unable to resist the sleepiness, she eventually fell asleep. Meanwhile, Long Yi remained wide-eyed like a sleepless owl.
After an unknown amount of time passed, the entire Zhuque Street fell into silence. The room was filled only with the calm breathing of a few people.
Suddenly, the door was gently pushed open from the outside.
A pair of pristine embroidered shoes crossed the threshold and landed soundlessly on the polished floor.
Elegant golden skirt flowed like drifting sheets of gold leaf on a tranquil lake, moving gracefully and unhurriedly.
Xiao Liulang was in a drowsy sleep, wanting to open his eyes but lacking the strength to do so.
In a half-asleep, half-awake state, he felt a gentle and soft hand touch his forehead.
He didn't know whose hand it was, nor was he sure if he was dreaming.
The hand lingered for a moment before withdrawing.
When Xiao Liulang finally fully opened his eyes, he saw Gu Jiao sleeping by his side.
His hand was held by Gu Jiao's, and Gu Jiao's other hand was placed under her own body.
This position left her unable to free her hand to touch his forehead.
So, was he only dreaming just now?
In a pitch-black darkness and a partially awake state, he failed to realize where he was for a moment. This environment, this atmosphere, neither made him feel repelled nor unfamiliar.
He pulled the blanket over Gu Jiao's shoulder and took the hand that she had placed under herself. Closing his eyes, he drifted back to sleep.
Gu Jiao refrained from announcing Xiao Liulang's safety for the time being. In her dream, she knew that someone had hired assassins to target Xiao Liulang, but she didn't know who that person was. Unaware of Xiao Liulang's safety, that person could be frantically searching for Xiao Liulang's whereabouts at this very moment.
As for Princess Xinyang, she seemed to have kept Xiao Liulang's situation under wraps.
As dawn broke, Gu Jiao made a trip back to Bishui Alley. She needed to let her family know she was safe and took the opportunity to gather a few sets of clean clothes for Xiao Liulang.
In truth, she wouldn't be too worried if they managed to expose the mastermind behind this scheme. But currently, they were in the light while the enemy remained in the shadows, making them difficult to defend against.
Gu Jiao had considered that Princess Xinyang's residence was relatively secure. As long as Princess Xinyang didn't open her mouth to kick them out, Gu Jiao would treat her disapproving gaze as if she hadn't seen it.
What Gu Jiao didn't know was that shortly after she left, the Crown Princess arrived.
She came to visit Princess Xinyang and had another matter to discuss with her.
Princess Xinyang had stayed up late the previous night, and it was almost dawn before she managed to get some rest. However, the servants in the courtyard recognized the Crown Princess and knew she was someone Princess Xinyang cared about, so they let her into the courtyard.
"Shall this servant fetch Lady Yu Jin?" A young servant girl asked.
The Crown Princess replied, "No need. You can go about your duties. This crown princess will find Lady Yu Jin myself."
Yu Jin was in the backyard, airing out clothes. She held a sixth-rank position within the Imperial Household Department, serving in the Princess Xinyang Residence.
Being a sixth-rank court lady wasn't considered particularly prestigious within the capital, but if she was one of Princess Xinyang's trusted confidants, it was a different story.
Yu Jin had been serving by Princess Xinyang's side for as long as the Crown Princess could remember. She was one of Princess Xinyang's closest companions.
"Lady Yu Jin." The Crown Princess walked over and politely greeted her.
Given Yu Jin's position, she didn't need to personally handle these types of chores. The Crown Princess couldn't help but look at her for a moment, then she froze.
It was a man's garment. freewebnovel. com
Princess Xinyang had dark guards around her, but the Crown Princess couldn't believe that Yu Jin would be washing clothes for one of those guards.
"Has the Marquis returned?"
The Crown Princess's initial thought was that Marquis Xuanping had returned to the capital and was reuniting with Princess Xinyang. Despite their strained relationship, they were still married, so it wouldn't be too unusual if Marquis Xuanping visited.
"Oh, it's not that." Yu Jin shook her head.
She didn't know how to explain the situation for a moment.
These were Xiao Liulang's clothes.
After a night of contemplation and observation, Yu Jin had a general idea of Xiao Liulang's identity. But... since the princess hadn't said anything yet, Yu Jin couldn't divulge this information prematurely.
Seeing Yu Jin struggling to respond, certain rumors she had heard crossed the Crown Princess's mind—— about the reason for the strained relationship between Princess Xinyang and Marquis Xuanping. Apart from Marquis Xuanping's promiscuity outside, it was said… even Princess Xinyang had her own extramarital affairs.
Of course, the Crown Princess never believed such rumors. But now, with the male garments before her...
"Please don't misunderstand. It's not the princess, it's... me." Yu Jin decided to shoulder this blame herself.
A strong sense of bewilderment flickered through the Crown Princess's eyes.
Yu Jin cleared her throat and said, "I kindly ask that the Crown Princess keep this a secret."
The Crown Princess snapped back to reality. Speaking of which, this Lady Yu Jin was indeed a remarkable woman. She had never married throughout her life. If she were outside, people might have speculated wildly about her. However, within the princess mansion and under Princess Xinyang's protection, no one dared to embarrass her openly.
This presented a great opportunity to win Yu Jin over.
The Crown Princess smiled and said, "Rest assured, Lady Yu Jin. I haven't seen anything today."
"With the Crown Princess saying that, I'm relieved." Yu Jin's laughter was a mixture of relief and self-deprecation.
Princess Xinyang was still asleep, and the Crown Princess couldn't disturb her. She didn't think she had that much face. She decided she would just come back another day.
She bid farewell to Yu Jin.
As she was passing Princess Xinyang's room, she heard some movement from inside.
She thought Princess Xinyang had awakened and was considering entering to greet her. However, Long Yi suddenly jumped down from the beams and firmly blocked the door.
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