Xie Yun leapt onto a horse and headed straight for the Prince Hao Residence, barging in before the guards could report his arrival. When he entered the main hall, he saw Pei Qianhao and Su Xi-er sitting in the upper seats.
He softly chuckled. “Prince Hao, you’re in such high spirits. In consideration of the good relationship that this Prince’s sister has with the Princess Consort, I allowed her to leave the residence. However, is this how the Prince Hao Residence treats guests?”
Su Xi-er stood up and politely gestured at Xie Yun. “Commandery Prince, you seem to have quite a lot of internal fire recently, making it easy for you to do some unpleasant matters. Sit down; let’s slowly talk about it.”
“This Prince won’t sit. Prince Hao, you really dote on your women, not speaking a single word ever since this Prince has arrived. Is this a place for a woman to butt in and take the lead?” A mocking laughter escaped from his lips.
Pei Qianhao set down the teacup in his hand and coldly stared at Xie Yun. “As a man, this Prince is indeed unfit to interfere in such matters, and can only hand them to the Princess Consort. Commandery Prince, perhaps if you could conduct yourself in like a man, you wouldn’t be arguing with a woman right now.”
Despite his monotone voice, his words were laden with sarcasm, covertly ridiculing Xie Yun for making a move on women by abducting Zhen Yu.
Xie Yun shifted his gaze and gave Su Xi-er a meaningful look. “Since Prince Hao has spoken, then I shall let the Princess Consort elaborate: what exactly has this Prince done that isn’t befitting of a man?”
Su Xi-er shot up from her seat and stopped two steps away from him. “Commandery Prince Xie, let’s not beat about the bush. If you dared to do it, then you should have guts to own up to it. Where have you hidden Zhen Yu?” She made sure to observe his expression.
I don’t expect that he’ll tell us the truth, but all I need is just a subtle crack in his expression.
“This Prince has already sent Zhen Yu back to the medical clinic. Physician Mei came to the Commandery Prince Residence to make a scene as well, but how could this Prince know where Zhen Yu has gone after sending her back?” Xie Yun calmly replied without even the slightest change in his expression.
“Commandery Prince, how could you not know when you were the one who hid her?” Su Xi-er chuckled, deliberately revealing an expression that showed she clearly didn’t believe him.
“You don’t believe this Prince? Why would I lie to you? What about Zhen Yu is worthy for this Prince to have hidden her?”
Su Xi-er clicked her tongue. “As I thought, you really are callous. Don’t you like Zhen Yu? But she likes Brother Hu; as you couldn’t obtain her, you decided to hide her.”
Xie Yun’s gaze darkened, and it took a moment before he replied, “This Prince does like her, but I’m definitely not a person who immorally robs someone of their love.”
“We just need to investigate to find out if that’s really the case. Commandery Prince Xie, do you dare to let me investigate?” Su Xi-er probed him again.
“By all means.” It can’t be that I, Xie Yun, am afraid of her, right?
It was at this moment that Xie Liuli walked out from behind the screen in the main hall, having concealed herself this entire time. She stared straight at Xie Yun as she said, “Elder Brother, I believe that you didn’t hide Zhen Yu away. You like her, so how could you possibly have hurt her? She must have gone to look for Brother Hu on her own.”
Watching his sister’s clear and earnest eyes, Xie Yun’s heart sank as he understood the extent of her trust in him. I can lie to anyone except for Liuli. Whenever I face her, I will always feel guilty. I have let down my sister’s trust in me, but I have no choice but to hide Zhen Yu away.
Xie Liuli turned around to look at Pei Qianhao and Su Xi-er. “Prince Hao, Princess Consort Hao, why don’t we dispatch more people to search for Zhen Yu? Once we locate her, we’ll be able to exonerate my brother. The Commandery Prince Residence will also dispatch the guards, am I right, Elder Brother?”
