Chapter 34 (Extra Update)

Chapter 34 (Extra Update)

That day, Shiyu was waiting for Xu Duanyi at the screen wall. The screen wall loomed in the dim light.

From a distance, she saw the carriage approaching and quickly hurried over to greet it.

Xu Duanyi initially did not know she was outside.

It was only after Bixi pulled back the curtain and stepped outside that she noticed Shiyu approaching from not far away and exclaimed in surprise, "Shiyu?"

Before anyone could answer, she asked curiously, "Why are you here?"

By then, it was already nighttime.

"What's wrong?"

Xu Duanyi, still sitting in the carriage, had not yet gotten out.

Hearing this, she also looked out from inside the carriage and indeed saw her maid walking towards them.

She, too, was surprised.

When Shiyu arrived, she asked, "Why are you waiting here?"

Before Shiyu could answer, Xu Duanyi instinctively asked another question, "Has something happened?"

She knew her maid well.

If it weren't something important, she would never wait here like this.

As soon as the words left her mouth, Xu Duanyi suddenly seemed to remember something, and her expression changed subtly.

She almost immediately looked at Shiyu again.

Seeing her approach, with a visibly pale complexion, Xu Duanyi knew something had indeed happened.

And recently, she had only instructed Shiyu to do one thing.

Her heart suddenly raced.

Faster than battlefield drums.

"Master..."

As Shiyu approached, she was about to speak.

But Xu Duanyi, quickly reacting, stopped her by saying, "We'll discuss this later."

Others were still around.

Not just the servants at the screen wall, but also the coachman waiting nearby.

Whether or not it was what she was thinking, Xu Duanyi did not want others to overhear.

Shiyu nodded obediently and said nothing more at that moment.

Bixi was sharp.

Though she couldn't guess everything, she could guess that something had happened, and she also didn't dare to say more, helping her mistress down from the carriage along with Shiyu. The tension in the air was palpable as they stepped into the night.

Xu Duanyi didn’t say a word.

She let the two maids assist her out of the carriage.

But she was so distracted that she didn’t even notice she almost missed her step.

"Be careful, mistress!"

Bixi, seeing Xu Duanyi almost stumble, quickly changed her expression and called out a warning.

Shiyu even grabbed hold of Xu Duanyi’s arm.

Once Xu Duanyi was steady on her feet,

Shiyu, her face full of concern, immediately asked, "Mistress, are you okay?"

Xu Duanyi shook her head and said, "I’m okay."

But she knew exactly how unsettled she was and how fast her heart was racing.

"Let’s head back first."

Xu Duanyi managed to say this, not refusing the support from Bixi and Shiyu. The trio, amidst the servants’ greetings, left the area.

Once they passed the screen wall,

and stepped onto the path leading to Linfeng Pavilion,

Xu Duanyi asked Shiyu to fill her in first.

Shiyu didn’t hold back, speaking in a low voice, she told her mistress everything she had discovered that day.

"After you left the mansion today, Xuefu suddenly complained of a stomachache."

"Xuefu?"

Xu Duanyi echoed the name.

After a moment’s thought, she asked, "The one with the mole near her lip?"

Shiyu nodded, "That’s her!"

Xu Duanyi didn’t say anything else, just let Shiyu go on.

Shiyu responded with a "Yes," and then continued, "At first, I didn’t think much of it, just figured it was that time of the month for her. Since there was nothing pressing, I let her go rest."

"But who would have thought, when I had someone prepare brown sugar water and personally brought it over, Xuefu was gone!"

Just thinking about it made Shiyu angry.

Xuefu had outright lied, and Shiyu had believed her, even going out of her way to prepare brown sugar water!

Her kindness was wasted on her!

How could Shiyu not feel angry?

What angered her the most was that this person, who was supposed to serve the mistress, was still disloyal, not even considering whether her actions might cause trouble for the mistress!

"What happened next?" Xu Duanyi asked.

Shiyu held back her frustration and continued in a low voice, "You had instructed me to keep an eye on the servants, especially to stay away from Prince Nan'an's study."

"So when I realized Xuefu was missing, I headed straight for Prince Nan'an's study. You won't believe what happened!"

Without waiting for Xu Duanyi to respond, she continued, "I actually caught her halfway there!"

"If I had been any later, that girl might have sneaked into Prince Nan'an's study."

At first, Shiyu thought she might be overreacting.

Maybe Xuefu had gone somewhere else for some reason.

But when she caught Xuefu sneaking around near Prince Nan'an's study, Shiyu was furious.

But remembering her mistress's orders, she didn't confront Xuefu at the time. Instead, she quietly took her back to Linfeng Pavilion and secretly held her there.

"Did anyone else see you when you found her?" Xu Duanyi asked, her heart pounding so hard she could hear it.

Her pulse was racing, and her throat went dry.

Once they entered the path, she stopped letting the two support her. To steady herself, Xu Duanyi gripped her left arm tightly with her right hand.

She couldn't imagine how she would explain it to Xie Qingya if his men found out.

Luckily, Shiyu's next words gave her some relief.

"No one!"

"That girl was smart, avoiding people the whole way. I checked around afterward and didn't see anyone else."

Her racing pulse finally slowed a little.

Her heartbeat also calmed, though it was still racing. The suffocating feeling of her heart nearly leaping out of her chest finally eased.

Xu Duanyi let out a sigh of relief and asked Shiyu, "Where is she now?"

Shiyu replied, "To avoid drawing attention, she's being held in your room, under Xiu Yu's watch."

Xu Duanyi didn't say another word.

After that, the three of them walked back to Linfeng Pavilion in silence.

There weren't many servants in the courtyard today; Shiyu had sent most of them off on other tasks. Only a few people saw Xu Duanyi return and greeted her from afar.

Xu Duanyi nodded to each of them, her expression as gentle as ever.

But upon closer inspection, one could see her lips were tightly pressed, and there was a sharp glint in her eyes.

She entered the room first.

Xiu Yu was inside watching Xuefu. Hearing the commotion, she quickly lifted the curtain and came out.

Noticing Xu Duanyi's return, her expression grew serious, and she quickly stepped out. She curtsied to Xu Duanyi and said, "Your Highness."

"Where is she?" Xu Duanyi asked.

But her eyes had already darted towards the curtain that blocked the inner room.

Xiu Yu answered, "She's inside."

Xu Duanyi did not speak, only glanced at Shiyu.

Shiyu caught on immediately and led Xiu Yu outside to avoid any prying eyes noticing anything.

Then, Xu Duanyi took Bixi inside.

Xuefu had been waiting inside all along.

Ever since Shiyu had caught her in the afternoon, she had been brought back to the master's room by Shiyu and had not been able to leave all day.

Yet they hadn't done anything to her, just told her to stay put.

This left Xuefu feeling extremely uneasy.

Upon hearing the commotion outside and realizing that Your Highness had returned, she didn't dare to sit, standing rigidly in the room. The moment she saw Your Highness enter, she quickly bowed her head and greeted, "Your Highness."

She instinctively reverted to the old form of address.

Having eaten little all day, Xuefu felt parched, and due to the unknown fear, her voice was even hoarser.

Xu Duanyi ignored Xuefu and simply told Bixi, "Pour her a cup of tea."

With that, she walked over to the washstand to clean her hands.

Though she had arrived in a hurry, she now showed no signs of anxiety.

Uncertain of what awaited her or why she had been brought here, how could Xuefu dare to drink the tea? She quickly protested, "No, that's not necessary..."

But Bixi wasn't about to listen to her.

She walked over, poured a cup of tea, and handed it to Xuefu.

Xuefu was torn between drinking and not drinking. She sneaked a glance at Your Highness's back, not far away, and finally braced herself to drink.

She was truly thirsty.

Initially hesitant, but as her dry lips met the cup, she couldn't resist. Like a fish finally returned to water, she quickly grabbed the cup, tilted her head back, and drank eagerly.

"Xuefu."

After washing her hands, Xu Duanyi dried them with a towel and approached.

"Cough, cough."

Still drinking, Xuefu suddenly heard the voice and, in her nervousness, began to cough.

After coughing twice, she quickly turned towards Your Highness, bowed her head, and stammered, "I-I am here."

Xu Duanyi looked at her, first asking with concern, "Are you alright?"

Xuefu naturally dared not say that she had any issues. Clutching an empty cup, she stood nervously and stammered, "N-no, nothing's wrong."

Xu Duanyi didn't press further.

She sat down on a chair in the room, took the tea that Bixi had just brewed, sipped it lightly, and then continued in a calm voice, "Then, do you know what mistake you made?"

Xuefu hesitated.

Truthfully, she had no idea what she had done wrong.

After Shiyu caught her and brought her back, she had asked, but neither Shiyu nor Xiu Yu would speak, only telling her to stay put.

Doubts filled her heart, unsure if her guess was correct, she dared not answer rashly.

Afraid of revealing secrets that should not be disclosed.

After much internal struggle, Xuefu finally lowered her head and whispered, "This servant should not have lied to Sister Shiyu to avoid work."

From behind came Bixi's hushed reprimand, "Foolish girl, even now you dare to deceive your master!"

Xuefu shivered all over from the reprimand.

Before she could think, her knees buckled, and she dropped to the floor.

"Your Highness, I... I..." Her face pale, she did not know what to say.

Xu Duanyi looked at her and suddenly sighed.

"How did my aunt come to choose you?" Xu Duanyi spoke as she put down her teacup, saying nothing more.

But those few words were enough to shock Xuefu.

The girl who had been hiding her face now looked up, shocked, "Your Highness, you..."

Xu Duanyi looked at her and answered the question she wanted to ask, "Did you truly believe I was unaware?"

Xuefu had initially believed so.

As she was leaving the palace, Aunt Danfeng took her to meet the Empress Dowager, who had specifically instructed her not to let Your Highness know, and even more so not to involve Your Highness. She had not expected

...

She remained confused, unable to comprehend why things had unfolded this way.

Her thoughts were muddled.

But judging from Your Highness's demeanor, it was clear that she was not unaware.

Finally, with a clenched jaw, Xuefu turned to Your Highness and knelt.

Her forehead pressed against the cold floor, the chill seeping into her skull, and a shiver ran through Xuefu's body.

But she didn't dare to move, enduring the cold as she stayed prostrate.

"This servant did not mean to deceive Your Highness, this servant was unaware that Your Highness already knew. The Empress Dowager wished to keep Your Highness out of it, this servant merely..."

"Do you truly believe your actions wouldn't drag me into this?"

Xu Duanyi cut her off.

Before Xuefu could say anything, Xu Duanyi pressed on, "Were you planning to go to Xie Qingya's study today?"

By now, Xuefu didn't dare to hide anything. She hesitated, then gave a slight nod and whispered, "Yes."

Since she last escorted the Xie family's young lady to Prince Nan'an's study, Xuefu had started paying more attention. She figured the study, being a key location, might hold clues if Prince Nan'an was up to something.

But before she could even get near the study, Shiyu caught her and dragged her back.

Xuefu was still confused.

If the Princess knew what I was up to, why did she stop me?

She hesitated, then asked, "I checked beforehand and thought the study was empty. That's why I decided to sneak in and check..."

She didn't know what she had done wrong.

Xu Duanyi didn't respond but instead shot a glance at Bixi.

Bixi caught on and chimed in, "If Prince Nan'an was really up to something, do you think the study would be left unguarded?"

"Besides, a study is a sensitive place. Even if nothing's wrong, it wouldn't be left empty."

"If you had barged in like that, and if Shiyu hadn't shown up to grab you, you would've walked straight into their trap!"

"Then what would've happened to the Princess? And the Empress Dowager?"

Xuefu hadn't considered that.

She was in a rush to finish the task, thinking she hadn't found the right chance, so she decided to check the study for clues. She hadn't expected...

Now Xuefu was really scared.

Her face turned pale, and she shook like a leaf in the wind.

"Princess, I was wrong!" Xuefu raised her tear-streaked face and cried out, "I was careless and almost messed everything up! I deserve to die for this!"

She was terrified, not knowing what punishment awaited her.

Xu Duanyi looked at her and sighed, "Get up."

Xuefu didn't move.

Finally, Bixi helped her to her feet.

"Aside from you, who else knows about this?" Xu Duanyi asked.

At this point, Xuefu was completely distraught and answered whatever Xu Duanyi asked.

She shook her head, sobbing, "Only I know. Aunt Danfeng only brought me to see the Empress Dowager. I don't know if she told anyone else."

Xu Duanyi studied Xuefu's face, trying to discern whether she was lying or telling the truth.

After a moment, Xu Duanyi looked away.

Xuefu was telling the truth.

But this still didn’t fully put Xu Duanyi’s mind at ease.

Even if it were true, there was no guarantee that she was the only one involved.

The one thing that gave Xu Duanyi some relief was that, even if there were others, they probably didn’t know what tasks each other had been assigned.

This would make it easier for her to act later without causing them to speculate wildly.

This was a small silver lining in an otherwise bad situation.

Without letting Xuefu catch on to her thoughts, Xu Duanyi looked at her and continued to inquire about the key information she wanted to know: "What exactly did my aunt tell you to do that day?"

Xuefu, completely flustered, could only answer Xu Duanyi’s questions.

Hearing the question, she instinctively replied, "The Empress Dowager told me to keep a close eye on Prince Nan'an after entering the palace, to see if he was truly as he appeared on the surface. If anything seemed off, I was supposed to find a way to get a message to Aunt Danfeng."

"Send a message?"

Xu Duanyi pressed, "How would you send it?"

Xuefu, completely trusting her, didn’t dare hold anything back and replied in full, "There’s a cosmetics shop in the east of the city, which is actually a joint venture by wealthy aunts and eunuchs from the palace. Any messages or deals usually go through there."

Xu Duanyi glanced at Bixi, who gave a nod, and then asked Xuefu, "Is it that Jinji Zhai?"

Xuefu nodded and replied, "Yes, that's the one."

With a plan forming in her mind, Xu Duanyi kept it to herself for now and only looked at Xuefu, saying, "I know you’re eager to prove yourself, but you were truly reckless today. If Shiyu hadn’t gotten you out of there in time, do you realize what could’ve happened to you?"

After what Bixi had said earlier, Xuefu was already on edge and could only stammer, "I acted without thinking..."

"Whether Prince Nan'an is up to something or not, if you had been discovered like that, it would have been a capital offense."

"Not only would you have gotten yourself killed, but you’d also have ruined my trust with Prince Nan'an, affecting my aunt’s grand plan."

With every word Xu Duanyi said, Xuefu’s face turned paler.

"So I’ll ask you again: do you understand what you did wrong?"

With a loud thud, Xuefu dropped to her knees, crying and saying to Xu Duanyi, "I acted recklessly, and I know I was wrong!"

This time, Xu Duanyi didn’t let her get up immediately.

Instead, she kept studying Xuefu with a sharp look.

Xuefu’s face went even paler under her stare, and she held her breath without realizing it.

After what felt like forever, Xu Duanyi finally let out a small sigh and said, "Let it go."

"After all, you were just trying to do what my aunt asked."

"Get up now."

Bixi once again helped Xuefu to her feet.

Xuefu’s legs were so weak that she might have fallen again if not for Bixi’s support.

"The way you are right now, you shouldn’t be seen by anyone. Starting tomorrow, you will manage my storeroom and avoid contact with others to prevent any suspicion."

"As for Prince Nan'an, I will keep an eye on him."

Xuefu couldn’t have been more eager and quickly agreed.

She felt deeply grateful to Your Highness.

If Aunt Danfeng and the Empress Dowager found out, they’d probably have her skinned alive.

Thankfully, it was Your Highness.

Xuefu wanted to kneel down once more to show her gratitude.

Xu Duanyi stopped her and asked one final question: "Is there anything else you need to tell me?"

Before Xuefu could speak, she added, "You know how your aunt is. If she finds out you messed up right from the get-go, it could drag your family into this... Here in the palace, I can still look out for you, but if your aunt finds out, I won’t be able to protect you all."

Xuefu’s expression shifted again.

She racked her brain and finally, pale-faced, shook her head: "This is all I know. Aunt Danfeng told me to avoid Jinji Zhai unless something was wrong, to keep from being noticed."

After she finished speaking, she saw Your Highness looking at her, as if still scrutinizing her words.

Worried she wouldn’t be trusted, she quickly added, "Your Highness, I swear I’m not lying to you!"

"Alright, I trust you."

Xu Duanyi finally relented.

"Get your things together today and head to the storeroom first thing tomorrow."

The storeroom Xu Duanyi mentioned was where she stored her dowry privately, and she usually lived there as well.

This was also to keep anyone from noticing anything odd about Xuefu.

Xuefu naturally dared not act out of line.

Xu Duanyi had Bixi escort her out.

The moment the door closed, she slumped weakly against the table, suddenly exhausted. No one knew that ever since she’d learned of this, her hands and feet had gone weak and cold.

Her temples were pounding.

Xu Duanyi pressed her temples, her thoughts still a jumble.

Though she’d long suspected her aunt didn’t trust Xie Qingya and would send someone into the palace to investigate, when it actually happened, it left Xu Duanyi shaken.

She had no idea if there were others besides Xuefu; she also didn’t know how much she could salvage by doing this...

She wasn’t even sure if Xie Qingya would find out.

If he already knew, how could she ever face him again?

And her aunt...

If her aunt found out what she had done, what would she think?

She loved her so much.

If she knew she had done this, she would surely be extremely disappointed.

The peace hadn’t lasted long before Xu Duanyi felt drained and helpless once more.

Torn between two choices.

Although she had anticipated this situation, Xu Duanyi still felt deeply distressed.

She suddenly collapsed onto the table.

Her face buried in her arms, the usually composed Xu Duanyi now seemed like a child again, wanting to run away from her problems.

Suddenly, a hand gently touched her shoulder.

Xu Duanyi immediately knew it was Bixi.

She didn’t lift her head, continuing to hide like this.

Bixi whispered reassuringly, "Don’t worry, only a few of us know about this. The Empress Dowager and Prince Nan'an are unaware."

This wasn’t much comfort.

But in moments like these, what else could be said?

But Xu Duanyi was still herself.

She would get tired, feel sad, and be powerless, but after these emotions passed, she would still pull herself together.

No matter what, she thought.

For now, things were still under control.

"Have Shiyu continue to watch the people in the courtyard. Later, go to the marquis' estate and pick a capable guard to keep an eye on Jinji Zhai."

"Remember to draw up a list of the people my aunt sent me and have him focus on watching them."

Bixi nodded obediently.

She was about to leave to give the orders when Xu Duanyi suddenly clutched her sleeve.

Bixi turned around.

She saw a face unlike any she had seen before.

Her mistress, usually so composed, now looked up at her with a face full of fear and tension, clutching her sleeve as she asked, "He... really doesn’t know, does he?"

Seeing her mistress as fragile as a child, Bixi's nose suddenly stung, and she instinctively wanted to cry.

But she forced a smile as she reassured, "You must trust Shiyu; she is very capable."

Xu Duanyi paused, feeling a little more at ease.

"Go ahead," she said softly.

She let go of Bixi's sleeve.

Bixi hurried away.

Afraid that if she lingered, she might burst into tears.

...

But unfortunately, that night.

Xie Qingya still learned the truth.