——

Meanwhile, at the Crown Prince’s Residence, Yan Yunning was still lounging in bed.

Xiao Wan and Xiaoyue had spent a long while coaxing and persuading her, yet Yan Yunning hadn’t so much as opened her eyes once.

As the hour Xuan Yanyu had instructed Yan Yunning to eat breakfast by at the latest drew near, Xiao Wan said anxiously, “Crown Princess, please wake up — His Highness has returned.”

“That can’t be right, it’s still early…” Yan Yunning muttered drowsily.

She remembered that Xuan Yanyu had only just left a short while ago; there was no way he could be back so soon.

“Crown Princess, won’t you have breakfast first and then go back to sleep?” Xiaoyue crouched at the side of the bed, clutching Yan Yunning’s clothes, and chattered softly into her ear.

The noise from Xiaoyue roused Yan Yunning’s senses. She got up, freshened herself, and the dishes had just been served when Yan Shiyao came stumbling and tripping into Qishan Hall.

“Ningning, something’s wrong — just now, Qiuci and I were on our way to see you, but midway there, Qiuci had an accident. Someone knocked her unconscious and took her away.” Yan Shiyao said it all in one breath.

Yan Yunning calmly picked up a pastry, took a bite, and said leisurely, “Then why are you unharmed? They only knocked out Qiuci?”

Yan Shiyao choked on her words, clearly not having considered that angle herself.

Yes — why was it only Qiuci who was knocked unconscious?

Was she left behind to deliver the news?

That didn’t quite make sense…

“Ningning, don’t you trust your older sister?” Yan Shiyao feigned heartache.

“I trust you.” Yan Yunning calmly instructed Xiao Wan, “Find some people to look for Qiuci. When they find her, bring her to the Crown Prince’s Residence to see me.”

If she went herself, she would only add to the chaos — every guard in the residence was better at finding people than she was.

“Understood, Crown Princess.” Xiao Wan curtsied and then withdrew from Qishan Hall.

Yan Shiyao stood where she was, feeling as though her entire body had plunged into icy water — that sort of chilling sensation. Yan Yunning said nothing more, eating her breakfast in quiet composure.

With Yan Yunning silent, the maids naturally would not set out a bowl and chopsticks for Yan Shiyao either. Watching Yan Yunning eat such fine food, Yan Shiyao felt her irritation deepen.

“Crown Princess, please have some fruit.” Seeing that Yan Yunning had wiped the corner of her mouth, Xiaoyue waved for the maids to clear away the dishes and brought a fresh platter of fruit to the table.

Yan Yunning skewered half a peach with a bamboo pick and chewed it slowly.

“Crown Princess, are you at all concerned about whether our mother can eat in the imperial prison?” Yan Shiyao could not help but ask. She bit her lip, her fists clenched tight, the rims of her eyes red.

“Hmm?” Yan Yunning replied, cheeks slightly puffed, and said indistinctly, “Not concerned at all.”

Tears shimmered in Yan Shiyao’s eyes.

Yan Yunning tossed the bamboo pick into the bamboo bin, walked over to Yan Shiyao, and said slowly, “A’Jie, do you know what the Chancellor’s wife originally sent Afu to my chambers to do?”

Yan Shiyao’s pupils contracted slightly. Afu was a manservant of the household — he was not permitted in the inner courtyard. For him to have gone to Ningning’s chambers, that meant…

Yan Shiyao suddenly recalled something Yan Yunning had once said to her: “What if she sends a manservant to violate me?”

“Ningning.” Yan Shiyao gripped her hand, her tearful eyes lifting with a pitiable expression, “You’ve misunderstood Mother — Mother…”

“My Lady, allow me to see you out of the residence. From now on, if nothing’s the matter, please do not come to the Crown Prince’s Residence.” Yan Yunning’s voice cooled by several degrees.

Seeing Yan Shiyao off was incidental — her main reason for going was to check whether Xuan Yanyu had returned yet.

Yan Shiyao moved her lips, seemed to think of something, and gave a small nod.

Since she only wanted to step outside the gates for a moment to see whether Xuan Yanyu was back, and there were already guards posted at the entrance, Yan Yunning did not have anyone accompany her.

As she stepped over the threshold of the Crown Prince’s Residence, there came a clamor from around the corner. Yan Yunning’s brow furrowed slightly — who would dare make such noise in the vicinity of the Crown Prince’s Residence?

Yan Shiyao suddenly seized Yan Yunning’s arm tightly. “Ningning, let’s go — let’s go have a look.”

Yan Yunning raised an eyebrow, then without a second thought, stuck out her foot and tripped Yan Shiyao. Yan Shiyao lost her balance and swayed. Yan Yunning used the moment to pull her arm free and stepped well away from her.

“My Lady, I will not help Chu Wantang.” Yan Yunning gave a soft laugh through her nose. “There is no need for you to think of ways to persuade me.”

Yan Shiyao tugged at the corners of her mouth.

The crowd that had been making noise around the corner, seeing that the main player had not come over, slowly shuffled out.

Before them appeared a woman dressed in fine, costly clothing, clutching her abdomen, as the people around her pointed and gossiped.

Looking more closely, though this woman wore sumptuous garments, her skin was darkly tanned from the sun, and the clothes she had on looked awkward and bulky on her — with none of the air of refinement that should accompany such attire.

She also moved with great caution, and it was very apparent that this was her first time wearing clothing of such expensive quality.

It seemed this entire group had come together.

The guards were about to drive them away, but Yan Yunning raised her hand, and the guards immediately stopped in their tracks and fell in behind her.

“Madam, now that you’ve elevated your station, does that mean you can simply disregard our mother?” said a man with his sleeves rolled up around his arms, gesturing accusingly at the richly dressed woman with evident displeasure.

“I haven’t — it’s that Mother was unkind to me to begin with,” the woman retorted.

“Unkind to you — she is still your mother!” another man shouted. “Now that you yourself are with child, you ought to forgive your mother, for the sake of earning blessings for the child in your womb.”

“I…” The woman took two flustered steps backward.

“Please forgive Mother.” A woman with tears streaming down her face threw her arms around the richly dressed woman.

Yan Yunning had no desire to keep watching. She suddenly found Yan Shiyao utterly tiresome.

The scene continued to play out in the middle — in the end, the woman wept and tearfully forgave the older woman, and the surrounding crowd broke into applause.

“Ningning.” Yan Shiyao abruptly knelt on the ground, smiling bitterly, “Please forgive Mother too, and save her.”

There were no ordinary citizens around the Crown Prince’s Residence — only the troupe of actors Yan Shiyao had hired to put on this performance.

Yan Yunning’s brow twitched. Yan Shiyao had asked her to stroll down the main street — she had intended to ruin her reputation in front of the citizens of Xuanzhao!

From the very beginning, she had known there was a good chance she would not help Chu Wantang, so she had devised this scheme. Since when did Yan Shiyao have a brain?

So this was why Yan Shiyao had been insisting on taking her to the main street?

Chu Wantang was Yan Shiyao’s mother, not hers — and Chu Wantang had even tried to harm her. On what grounds was she supposed to rescue Chu Wantang?

Xuan Yanyu had told her not to reveal her true origins. Looking at Yan Shiyao kneeling on the ground, Yan Yunning was furious to the core.

“Ningning, A’Jie is begging you!” Yan Shiyao said piteously.

“Yes indeed, my lady — that other woman has already forgiven her mother, so why can’t you?” The man with his sleeves rolled up around his arms started reproaching Yan Yunning as well.

Who knows where Yan Shiyao had found these actors — apparently, they couldn’t see the gold plaque reading “Crown Prince’s Residence” right before their eyes.

Yan Yunning drew a deep breath. Before she could even open her mouth, a guard’s boot struck that man in the leg. “How dare you question the Crown Princess? I can see you are all in league with the woman kneeling on the ground — you came here together to slander the Crown Princess. Under Xuanzhao law, that is punishable by beheading.”

Everyone shuddered all at once, and the whole crowd dropped to their knees in unison. “Crown Princess, we did not know you were the Crown Princess.”

“Crown Princess, it was this woman who put us up to it — we only did it because we were paid. Crown Princess, we beg for your mercy.”

“Crown Princess, it was this woman who directed us — it has nothing to do with us.”

“Crown Princess, we know we were wrong. We were all directed by this woman.”

The crowd chattered over one another in apology. These people had absolutely no spine — now kneeling on the ground, they trembled violently.

Seeing Yan Shiyao’s face flush crimson with rage, Yan Yunning let the corner of her lips curve up slightly and said magnanimously, “Never mind — I understand that you were all led astray by someone. Be at ease: you will not be beheaded.”