Jiang Si’s hand clenched on the account book, a flash of anger in her eyes.
Seeing the words “Princess’s Mansion”, she had already vaguely guessed, but confirming the person’s identity still filled her with rage.
Cui Mingyue had outdone herself. Jiang Si hadn’t even achieved her small goal yet, still pondering when to make her move, and the other party was already so impatient.
“What’s wrong?” Yu Jin asked.
“I’ll tell you in the carriage,” Jiang Si replied.
“Thank you for your hard work, Madam Xiu. In a moment, let Miss Chuchu take you to the medical hall to apply medicine,” Jiang Si said as she handed the account book back to Madam Xiu. Then she turned to Lu Chuchu, “I’m troubling you, Miss Chuchu.”
Lu Chuchu waved her hand, “I live and eat here, I’m part of Lu Sheng Xiang now. Princess, there’s no need for such formalities with me. It’s a shame I wasn’t here when those ruffians caused trouble, otherwise they wouldn’t have dared touch a hair on Aunt Xiu’s head.”
Lu Chuchu had drifted from place to place, while Madam Xiu had lost her daughter in middle age. Both had led hard lives.
Madam Xiu treated Lu Chuchu like a daughter, and their bond had grown very deep.
Back in the carriage, Yu Jin opened his ivory fan and fanned himself, “Is today’s incident related to the Rongyang Princess’s daughter?”
“You guessed it?” Jiang Si leaned against the carriage wall, idly playing with a grape from the small table.
“Once the Princess’s Mansion was mentioned, it wasn’t hard to guess. Looking at the people in the capital who have had conflicts with you and are related to the Princess’s Mansion, who else could it be but Cui Mingyue?”
Yu Jin’s eyes grew colder as he suddenly said, “Asi, why don’t I just kill her?”
Jiang Si smiled, “How do you plan to do it?”
“Killing someone is simple unless she stays cooped up in the Princess’s Mansion and never comes out,” Yu Jin said expressionlessly.
The killing was nothing out of the ordinary for him.
Jiang Si’s lips twitched slightly.
Ajin was still so simple and brutal.
Yu Jin picked up a grape and carefully peeled it.
His long, strong fingers, the amethyst-like grape, and the pale red juice staining his fair fingertips softened the man’s originally cold features.
He put the peeled grape into Jiang Si’s mouth, looking a bit dejected, “Is it not okay?”
Jiang Si swallowed the sweet grape, wiped her mouth corner with a handkerchief, and smiled, “The capital isn’t a battlefield. If someone of Cui Mingyue’s status dies for no reason, there will be an investigation. If the Prefect of Shuntian was an incompetent official, it would be fine, but Master Zhen is no ordinary person. He might find some clues.”
“He won’t,” Yu Jin said confidently. “Countless people are coming and going on the streets. The time it takes to brush past someone is enough to kill them, without anyone knowing.”
Jiang Si shook her head, “Apart from the scandal with Zhu Ziyu, Cui Mingyue has always been known for her gentleness and generosity among the noble ladies. She has a good reputation, which means she hasn’t offended many people. Those who have grudges against her are probably just the Zhu and Jiang families. If she dies on the street, we would at least be under suspicion.”
She linked her arm with Yu Jin’s, “Ajin, I’m not willing to take these risks for someone like Cui Mingyue. It’s not worth it.”
Yu Jin raised his eyebrows and smiled, “So you already have a plan?”
Even if there was suspicion about a secret assassination, so what? Without evidence, would they dare to bring in the esteemed Princess for questioning?
Yu Jin felt that women were indeed meticulous, but this woman was Asi, so he would just go along with her.
Jiang Si curled her lips, her gaze sharp as a knife, “Naturally, we need to achieve our set goal as quickly as possible. Ajin, you don’t need to worry about these things. If I need help, I’ll tell you.”
Yu Jin, displeased, ruffled Jiang Si’s hair, “Do we still call it ‘help’ between us?”
Jiang Si batted his hand away, “We’re almost at the Duke of An’s mansion. Don’t mess up my hair.”
“As you command,” Yu Jin’s hand moved down, resting on Jiang Si’s prominent chest.
Jiang Si was stunned for a moment.
Yu Jin withdrew his hand nonchalantly, looking innocent, “It seems a bit hot in the carriage.”
Jiang Si twisted Yu Jin’s arm hard, “What does the heat in the carriage have to do with your shameless behavior just now?”
“Who says it doesn’t? You’re cooler than me.”
“Yu Qi, you shameless…”
Sounds of playful anger and low laughter came from inside the carriage.
Old Qin, driving the carriage, silently whipped the horse’s rump hard.
They were already late, and he was not secretly jealous.
In the Duke of An’s mansion, the Prince of Qi and his Princess had already arrived.
Everyone was sitting in the hall, having drunk several cups of tea, still with no news of the Prince and Princess of Yan’s arrival.
“Seventh brother must have been delayed by something,” the Prince of Qi smiled, trying to lighten the atmosphere, in a good mood.
Although he and his seventh brother were born to the same mother, their relationship was distant. He hadn’t yet managed to win over his seventh brother to support him.
Behind him, apart from his mother, the strongest support came from his maternal grandfather’s family, the Duke of An’s household. If his seventh brother became too close to the Duke’s family, it would worry him instead.
Resources were limited, and if the Duke’s family divided their support to include his seventh brother, he would inevitably receive less.
Season Chongli, the heir of the Duke of An, stood up, “I’ll go and see.”
If they didn’t arrive soon, it would be past the time to start the banquet.
Hurried footsteps were heard.
“The Prince and Princess of Yan have arrived!”
Everyone stood up to go and welcome them.
Yu Jin and Jiang Si walked side by side, attracting countless discreet glances from servants along the way.
The Prince of Qi saw the beautiful couple approaching from afar and couldn’t help but glance at the Princess of Qi beside him.
The Princess of Qi was wearing a honey-colored round-collared coat with floral patterns today, looking dignified and elegant.
But in the Prince of Qi’s eyes, it wasn’t so.
Yang Shi’s appearance was ordinary, and dressed so maturely, that she seemed even less appealing…
The Prince of Qi sighed deeply in his heart, then put on a smile and raised his spirits again.
Standing at the back, Season Chongyi watched the approaching woman with complex emotions.
He hadn’t expected her to come to the Duke’s mansion, and to meet again in such an identity.
If it weren’t for that accident, she should have been his wife.
Season Chongyi looked at the space beside him.
Qiao Niang wasn’t there.
His mother, fearing that the Princess of Yan might be displeased at seeing Qiao Niang, hadn’t let her appear on this occasion.
He was angry at his mother’s unfairness, and disappointed in Qiao Niang’s submissiveness.
What troubled him more was that after swallowing her grievances, Qiao Niang had pushed all her resentment onto him.
Thinking of the arguments between husband and wife on countless nights, Season Chongyi felt exhausted in body and mind.
He still cared for Qiao Niang and cherished the time from when they first met to when they fell in love.
The feeling of that first heart flutter was unforgettable in this life.
But why wasn’t life as happy as he had once thought it would be, even though he had married Qiao Niang as he wished?
Watching Jiang Si and Yu Jin approach hand in hand, with bright smiles on their faces, Season Chongyi suddenly had a thought: If those complications hadn’t arisen back then, and Miss Jiang had married him instead, what would life have been like?
“Seventh brother, you’re late,” the Prince of Qi said with a broad smile.
“We were delayed on the way,” Yu Jin replied.
“Oh? Did the carriage break down?”
Yu Jin smiled, “We passed by a cosmetics shop. Hearing the Princess liked it, I bought it on the spot.”