As Du Rin sat in the carriage travelling towards the posthouse, she was lost in her own thoughts.
Why is Xie Yun at the Prince Hao Residence instead of his own at this hour? If he was well enough to make a visit, then he must be well enough to attend the banquet; the question is, why didn’t he?
Something’s fishy here, and it has to be investigated. The key is the Prince Hao Residence; there must be something in there that Xie Yun wants. That is the only explanation for his strange behaviour.
The bafflement in Du Rin’s eyes dissipated once she thought of this.
The carriage arrived at the posthouse within an hour, allowing Du Rin to alight and make her way inside.
She waited for Commander Zhao Wu to leave before summoning her personal guard. “Monitor the Prince Hao Residence in secret.”
“This subordinate obeys the order.” Her personal guard bowed in acknowledgement before turning to leave.
~~~
Meanwhile, Su Xi-er and Pei Qianhao had already returned to the Prince Hao Residence, and a guard had informed them that Xie Yun was still in the side yard.
Su Xi-er wanted to make her way to the side yard quickly, but seeing her begin to rush off, Pei Qianhao stepped forward to slow her down in fear that she would slip.
“Nothing will happen in the residence. Let’s walk slowly.” He held onto her as he spoke, his outer robe still draped over her shoulder.
“A-Jing, I’ll hold your hand and we’ll walk together.” Su Xi-er looked at him before taking his hand in hers. From behind, it looked like she was the one leading the way.
The guards were all very impressed by how much Pei Qianhao doted on Su Xi-er. Prince Hao sheds off all his cold facade for the Princess Consort.
Ruo Yuan walked out of a room holding a white bowl as they entered the side yard. “Princess Consort, the Commandery Prince is inside.”
Finding that there was no sign of a commotion, Su Xi-er nodded before asking, “Did the two of them get along well?”
“It was a mess initially, but they ended up quieting down. Zhen Yu has fallen asleep, and the Commandery Prince is watching over her.”
Su Xi-er nodded at this. Pregnant ladies usually get sleepy easily.
“Princess Consort, Commandery Prince Xie seems different. I think he really likes Zhen Yu. He was extremely patient with her no matter what she did, and his eyes when he looked at her were just like…” Ruo Yuan suddenly began to stutter as she stole a glance at Pei Qianhao. She then plucked up the courage to continue. “Just like how Prince Hao looks at the Princess Consort.”
Su Xi-er knew how deeply Xie Yun’s feelings for Zhen Yu ran. The fact that he was even willing to relinquish all of his power for her is already enough evidence to prove it.
Pei Qianhao waved to signal for Ruo Yuan to leave. After she left the side yard, he said, “To the main yard.”
Su Xi-er looked at the dim light in the room before she nodded. However, just as they were about to leave, Xie Liuli walked out from inside, closing the door behind her.
She went before Su Xi-er and knelt on the ground, and the latter rushed to support her. “Commandery Princess, why are you doing this?”
“Princess Consort, my brother is deeply in love with Zhen Yu. I know that she likes someone else, but I can’t bear to see my brother in pain. He has already lost all his power, and the imperial physician also said that he would never be able to walk again. I can’t even imagine what would happen if he loses Zhen Yu as well.” Xie Liuli’s eyes welled up with tears.
Although I hate what he had done, he is still my elder brother.
“Liuli, Commandery Prince Xie will know how to handle this on his own. Instead of worrying about him, you should worry about Zhen Yu instead.” Su Xi-er hadn’t mentioned Rong Qing, but she knew that Xie Yun had already found out. However, neither of them mentioned his existence to Zhen Yu.
