“Miss Ye…” Su Meidie frowned in displeasure at the young woman before her who continued working methodically, “Don’t you understand how to treat guests?”
Ye Li glanced up at her briefly and said softly, “There are many Miss Yes in this world, but only one Princess Consort of Prince Ding. If Noble Consort Bai showed any guest etiquette, this Princess would naturally understand how to treat guests. Noble Consort Bai, please sit. Bring tea.” Su Meidie bit her cherry lips lightly, confirming that Ye Li truly didn’t consider her worth noticing, and snorted softly as she turned to sit down. Soon someone from outside brought tea, placed it before Su Meidie, and silently withdrew.
Ye Li wrote the final character on her document before setting down her brush and looking up at Su Meidie, “Does Noble Consort Bai have something to discuss with this Princess?” Su Meidie glanced at Zhuo Jing and Lin Han sitting to the side and said, “Meidie has some matters to discuss privately with the Princess Consort.” Ye Li smiled slightly, “That’s unnecessary. These two are not only my capable assistants but also absolutely loyal to Prince Ding’s manor and His Highness. Whatever Noble Consort Bai wishes to say, there’s no need to avoid them.” Su Meidie was furious at Ye Li’s imperviousness but could do nothing about it. Ye Li clearly showed no interest whatsoever in what she wanted to say. With no choice, Su Meidie could only stare at Ye Li and say, “Doesn’t the Princess Consort want to know my identity?”
Ye Li raised an eyebrow, smiled slightly, and said to Lin Han, “Lin Han, let Noble Consort Bai see that memorial from earlier.”
Lin Han acknowledged and rose to deliver the memorial to Su Meidie. She looked curiously at Ye Li before opening it, but as she read further, her face grew increasingly pale. The memorial detailed her activities in Western Ling over the years with perfect clarity. After all, even though Su Meidie had changed her name in Western Ling, she hadn’t exactly kept a low profile. As the Western Ling Emperor’s most favored consort, how could she possibly blend in with the crowd? Once they knew White Rong was Su Meidie, investigating her background had been simple. Setting down the memorial somewhat dejectedly, Su Meidie glanced at Ye Li’s calm expression, feeling even more humiliated, “These… does Xiuyao know all this?”
Ye Li said, “I was about to send it to him.”
“I forbid you from showing it to him!” Su Meidie cried shrilly. Zhuo Jing and Lin Han both frowned in unison. Looking at the finally disheveled beauty, they grew even more dismissive – their Princess Consort would never display such unseemly behavior.
Ye Li picked up her tea and took a sip. The slightly bitter cold tea made her furrow her delicate brows before she looked up to ask puzzledly, “Why?”
“Why… why… anyway, I forbid you from showing it to him!” Su Meidie said forcefully. Ye Li said flatly, “Noble Consort Bai misunderstands. This Princess meant, why does Noble Consort Bai think this Princess would listen to you?”
“You…” Su Meidie’s face alternated between green and white. After quite a while, she seemed to finally calm down. Sitting back down, she even gracefully brushed her white clothes and smiled charmingly at Ye Li, “I know the Princess Consort is jealous of me, right? Understandable, after all, I’m the one who grew up with Xiuyao. Even if I thoughtlessly left him before, I’ve come back now, and Xiuyao will forgive me sooner or later. Are you afraid?” Ye Li silently glanced at Su Meidie before lowering her head to continue reading the documents on her desk. Su Meidie covered her mouth and laughed, “Xiuyao and I grew up together, he never let me tire myself with any work. Given how hard you’ve worked, when Xiuyao and I reconcile, I’ll make sure to leave you a place to stay.”
Ye Li rubbed her temples and looked at the woman thoroughly enjoying her self-directed performance, twisting her mouth slightly before saying, “Go invite His Highness over, tell him Noble Consort Bai has hysteria.”
Zhuo Jing’s expression twisted slightly before he quickly stood and rushed out.
Mo Xiuyao arrived quickly. When he entered, Su Meidie was staring blankly at Ye Li. Su Meidie now believed the Southern Marquis’s words – Ye Li was the most difficult woman she had ever encountered. Whether it was Noble Consort Liu who had once rivaled her in the Da Chu capital, the former Empress in the Western Ling palace who had nearly killed her, or even the current Empress – none of them were anything like Ye Li. Su Meidie prided herself on having met many people in her life, but she had never met anyone like Ye Li. Neither provocation nor attempts to drive a wedge between them had any effect – it was as if she simply didn’t know how to get angry or jealous. Facing her, Su Meidie felt like a clown.
“Xiuyao…” Seeing Mo Xiuyao enter, Su Meidie blinked and went to greet him. Mo Xiuyao stood in the doorway, his gaze sweeping indifferently over her before quickly landing on Ye Li, who still sat behind her desk. He asked softly, “A’Li, what’s wrong?” Ye Li casually gestured with her chin toward Su Meidie, who stood to the side gazing pitifully at Mo Xiuyao. Mo Xiuyao walked over to sit beside Ye Li and said, “A’Li can handle this as she sees fit. This Prince was in the middle of discussing matters with General Lü and the others.” Ye Li raised an eyebrow and smiled, “I wouldn’t dare. Noble Consort Bai grew up with Your Highness, there must be some sentiment there.” Mo Xiuyao raised his eyebrows, “How could this Prince, as the second son of Prince Ding’s manor in childhood, have grown up with a young lady of the Western Ling Bai family?” Ye Li narrowed her eyes at him, “Then Noble Consort Bai…”
“Isn’t Noble Consort Bai our prisoner? Speaking of which, letting a prisoner wander freely in the manor – that would be your negligence, A’Li,” Mo Xiuyao said with a smile.
“Xiuyao, you… you’re treating me as a prisoner?” Su Meidie trembled, asking sorrowfully.
Mo Xiuyao said flatly, “As Western Ling’s Noble Consort if you’re not a prisoner, could it be that this Prince is harboring enemy royalty and committing treason?”
“You… how cruel…” Su Meidie gazed reproachfully at the two sitting side by side, tears falling like rain. Mo Xiuyao laughed coldly and said indifferently, “Put away these acts, they’re wasted on this Prince. This Prince assumes Han Mingyue relayed my words to you. Or… did you think this Prince was joking?” Su Meidie trembled. True, Han Mingyue had told her. But she had been too confident in her beauty, always believing it was because Mo Xiuyao hadn’t seen her for too long. Once he saw her in person, he would surely forgive her. Mo Xiuyao smiled, “It’s good that you’ve shown up yourself. This Prince was just wondering where to find Han Mingyue. Stay obediently in the manor these few days. When Han Mingyue arrives, this Prince will settle accounts with you both.”
Su Meidie froze for a moment before asking, “In your eyes, am I not even as important as Han Mingyue? Do you hate me so much that you won’t forgive me no matter what?”
Mo Xiuyao said, “Han Mingyue is the Master of Tianyi Pavilion, with spies and agents throughout the world. What are you?”
This time, Su Meidie truly believed Mo Xiuyao didn’t care about her. Han Mingyue was the Master of Tianyi Pavilion – whether as a friend or foe, he was someone Mo Xiuyao couldn’t ignore. But what was she? The world’s greatest beauty? If Mo Xiuyao could truly be captivated by her beauty, how could she have had the heart to leave him back then?
“I love you…” Su Meidie murmured. No matter how many men she had been with, even she couldn’t deny that the only one she truly loved was the man before her.
Mo Xiuyao cast a somewhat regretful glance at Ye Li, who sat beside him resting her chin in her hand watching the show. A’Li had never said she loved him. If those words had come from A’Li… just imagining it made Mo Xiuyao feel his heart swelling with happiness and joy, nearly bursting from his chest.
“Xiuyao…” Seeing Mo Xiuyao lost in thought, Su Meidie thought he had softened and happily stepped forward to grab him. Mo Xiuyao lowered his gaze, avoiding her hand without even looking at it, saying, “Since A’Li says you have hysteria, go see a physician. Zhuo Jing later had a physician sent to Noble Consort Bai’s courtyard.” Zhuo Jing stood and replied, “This servant obeys. Noble Consort Bai, please!” Su Meidie gritted her teeth, brushing away Zhuo Jing’s hand and glaring back at Mo Xiuyao, saying reproachfully, “I understand now, you’ll never forgive me, will you? If that’s the case, I might as well die!”
With that, she turned and hurled herself at a nearby pillar. Zhuo Jing stood just one step away from her, originally able to stop her with one raised hand. But for some unknown reason, the hand he had started to raise dropped back down before touching even the hem of Su Meidie’s clothes. Thus, with a loud bang, the pillar was stained with blood, and Su Meidie’s body softly slid to the ground, fresh blood flowing down her face from her forehead. Su Meidie looked up at Mo Xiuyao, who still sat unmoved beside Ye Li, and said through gritted teeth, “You… how cruel…”
Looking at the unconscious Su Meidie, Ye Li sighed inwardly. If she didn’t truly know what kind of person Su Meidie was, this scene would have made Ye Li feel sorry for her. Su Meidie was harsh enough on herself, but she was also quite unfortunate. She had miscalculated the extent of Mo Xiuyao’s ruthlessness. How could the second heir to Prince Ding’s manor, the current Prince Ding, be someone kind-hearted who returned evil with good? Ye Li wouldn’t claim to know Mo Xiuyao deeply, but she understood him somewhat. He either wanted you to live or wanted you dead. If she were Su Meidie, she would never choose to appear before Mo Xiuyao again in this lifetime. Looking somewhat regretfully at that beautiful face now stained with blood, she sighed softly, “Wonder if it will scar.”
Mo Xiuyao smiled at her, “Is A’Li worried about her?”
Ye Li glanced at him sideways and sneered, “No, this Princess is gloating.”
Mo Xiuyao nodded, saying very understandingly, “This Prince understands, A’Li is jealous. A’Li can rest assured, in this Prince’s eyes, no woman in this world catches my eye except A’Li.” Ye Li snorted lightly, no longer paying attention to Mo Xiuyao. However, her slightly upturned lips revealed a hint of happiness and pleasure. Mo Xiuyao sighed inwardly, pondering how to get A’Li to personally admit she loved him.
Lin Han and Zhuo Jing tactfully withdrew to find someone to take the unconscious beauty back to her courtyard for treatment. The Princess Consort wasn’t interested in dealing with her, and the Prince appeared not inclined either. Though the forehead wound didn’t look life-threatening, if she was unlucky, the world would lose another great beauty.
Su Meidie’s temporary residence was a small, somewhat secluded courtyard in the Governor’s mansion. The Governor’s mansion wasn’t particularly large compared to the mansions of princes and high officials in the capital. It had seemed spacious enough when housing just the governor’s family. But now the governor of Xinyang City had long since fled somewhere unknown, and the mansion housed not only Mo Xiuyao and Ye Li but also people like the Southern Marquis and most of the high-ranking officers stationed in Xinyang City. In this situation, Su Meidie being allocated a separate small courtyard in a secluded corner of the back compound could already be considered preferential treatment.
Waking from unconsciousness, Su Meidie reflexively touched her forehead. The thick bandages and distinct pain made her both bitter and regretful – bitter about Mo Xiuyao’s heartlessness (she knew how skilled his martial arts were; if he hadn’t wanted her to die, she could never have hit the pillar), and regretful of her momentary impulse. If this ruined her peerless beauty… At this thought, Su Meidie hurriedly got out of bed and rushed to the bronze mirror on the table. This small courtyard might have belonged to some unfavored concubine of the governor – though it had all the necessities for a woman, they were completely different from what Su Meidie was accustomed to. None of the items were refined, and even the bronze mirror was so unclear she could barely see herself. After looking for a long while, Su Meidie could only make out a blurry reflection, and the thick white bandage wrapped around her forehead. Growing anxious, she reached up to unwrap the bandage.
“Ah! Miss Bai, you mustn’t remove it!” The maid serving Su Meidie entered from outside, just in time to see her action, and hurried forward to stop her.
“How dare you!” Having lived in luxury for so many years, who would dare treat her so rudely? Su Meidie scolded harshly. The maid was startled and quickly said, “The physician instructed that Miss must not touch the wound before it heals, or it might leave a scar.”
Hearing the maid’s words, Su Meidie finally calmed down and stared at her, asking, “You’re saying my face won’t be scarred?” The maid hesitated before nodding, “As long as Miss takes good care… it shouldn’t.”
Receiving the maid’s repeated assurances, Su Meidie finally relaxed. Sitting before the bronze mirror, she examined her face in the unclear reflection while asking, “Who brought me back here?” The young maid replied, “Lord Zhuo and Lord Lin had people bring Miss back.” Su Meidie’s hand paused, “His Highness didn’t come to see me?” The maid looked at her somewhat strangely but still respectfully answered, “No, Miss, His Highness hasn’t been here.” Hearing the clatter of Su Meidie throwing her comb onto the table, the young maid cautiously stepped back. She had originally been a maid in the Governor’s mansion and had survived the chaos, though now homeless. Fortunately, the Princess Consort had mercifully kept her in the mansion. When assigned to serve this beautiful Miss Bai, she had been quite happy at first, thinking it a blessing to see such beauty. But after a few days, she found this Miss Bai very strange indeed. Originally hearing the Princess Consort address Miss Bai as Noble Consort Bai, though she didn’t know which noble consort she was, she had maintained a respectful address, only to have Miss Bai fly into a rage and insist on being called Miss Su. But Lord Zhuo had said the guest’s surname was Bai, so she had compromised by calling her Miss Bai. Moreover, Miss Bai would often speak intimately about His Highness, and though she was just an inexperienced maid, she could still see that His Highness showed not even a thousandth of the affection toward Miss Bai that he showed the Princess Consort.
“Impossible! I don’t believe you truly feel nothing for me in your heart!” Staring dazedly at her blurry reflection in the bronze mirror, Su Meidie frowned in disgust and said, “Go get a better mirror!”