Therefore, Ye Qingcheng arranged for her servants to prepare generous gifts and sent them all to Shangguan Hong's mansion.
After giving instructions for the gifts to be sent, Ye Qingcheng emphasized, "There's no need to hide this matter from the Prince. Otherwise, he'll think I'm doing things behind his back."
Perhaps by sending gifts under his watchful eye, he would be more lenient.
However, the reality proved that Ye Qingcheng had overthought things.
All the gifts she sent to Shangguan Hong's mansion were returned. Every single item was sent back to the Regent's mansion, untouched. They were piled up near the pavilion where Ye Qingcheng often sat to drink tea and have snacks, resembling a small hill.
Then, Xiao Wangye, with a cold expression, found her.
"Your Highness, why have you come?" Ye Qingcheng, who had been looking at the pile of gifts with a troubled expression, immediately greeted him with a smiling face upon seeing him.
But his face was cold, as if he were angry.
Ye Qingcheng sighed, thinking that she would have to comfort him again. Her task was truly arduous.
"Your Highness, what's wrong? Come, have some cooling tea." Ye Qingcheng poured a cup of water and offered it to him.
Xiao Wangye remained silent and refused to take the tea she offered.
She frowned and said, "Your Highness, have I done something wrong again? That's why you are so angry?"
"You know you've done something wrong?"
He finally deigned to speak.
She smiled slightly, "Yes, I am young. But Your Highness, where exactly do you think I have gone wrong? I can change it."
He scanned the gifts outside the pavilion and then looked at Ye Qingcheng, "You are spending my silver, and yet you are buying gifts for other men?"
She hadn't even thought of buying anything for him.
Even a small clay figurine worth three cents would have made him happy if he received it, but there was nothing, not a single thing.
Given this, how could he not be angry?
In fact, he felt deeply wronged. Did this woman truly have him in her heart? Or did that person named Shangguan Hong hold a higher position in her heart?
Ye Qingcheng blinked her eyes, "This is not about sending gifts. I am merely expressing my gratitude to Young Master Shangguan, so I don't owe him any favors and won't have any further dealings with him."
"Then should I also praise you?" He gave her a cold glance.
"That's not necessary. As long as Your Highness isn't angry with me." She looked at him placatingly.
Not angry? Was that even possible?
Xiao Wangye stopped discussing anger or wrongdoing with her and simply said indifferently, "You are not allowed to go out anymore."
"Not go out? Why?" She was taken aback.
He said, "Listening to me will do you no harm."
Hearing this, Ye Qingcheng pouted, "Alright then, I won't go out anymore."
"That's a good girl."
Seeing her obedience, his mood improved somewhat.
Ye Qingcheng looked at the gifts piled outside and lamented that even if Xiao Wangye knew, he would still be jealous if she had any contact with other men.
In reality, Xiao Wangye did not forbid Ye Qingcheng from going out solely because she sent gifts to Shangguan Hong.
Although his anger was partly due to that, the greater reason was the rumors circulating outside the mansion. Those rumors uniformly pointed to her in an unfavorable light.
It seemed that everyone in the capital believed that Ye Qingcheng in the Regent's mansion was favored by the Prince, and that this woman was a demon.
Some said she was a fox demon, while others claimed she was a cat demon.
Regardless of the nature of the rumors, Xiao Wangye was determined not to let Ye Qingcheng hear them.
Since Xiao Wangye forbade Ye Qingcheng from going out, she naturally obeyed.
He thought that this would create an absolutely clean space for her amidst the city-wide rumors, but he overlooked one point: wherever there are people, there are rumors and gossip.
Even the royal mansion, where he had explicitly forbidden discussion of outside rumors, was no exception. There were always busybodies who would act against the prevailing order.
Ye Qingcheng was not foolish. She could vaguely guess that something unusual was happening in the capital, and that these unusual events were closely related to her. However, she could not leave the mansion, and thus could not investigate personally.
And because of Xiao Wangye, Gu Qingyuan could not visit her to share his observations.
The only way to learn about the affairs of the capital was through the laundry yard, which was staffed by many maids.
Once again, Ye Qingcheng crouched down, hiding outside the wall, beginning her now very familiar eavesdropping. This method of understanding the capital from this location had never failed.
"You guys, do you think our Miss Qingcheng here is really human?"
As soon as she squatted down and hid, she heard such a sentence. Ye Qingcheng thought, how exciting!
She then reflected on herself. She was indeed not quite human. In the past, she was Ye Qingcheng, a little fairy. And now? Her soul still belonged to Ye Qingcheng, but her body was Ye Qingcheng's.
As such, she was not entirely human.
"Who knows? People outside now say that Miss Qingcheng is not human."
"I heard San Lang, who sells flatbread on the street, say that Miss Qingcheng is a fox demon, similar to the nine-tailed fox offered to the Emperor. Both are monsters."
"No, that's not right. People outside clearly say Miss Qingcheng is a cat demon. Do you know about cat demons? It is said they have nine lives and are very magical."
Ye Qingcheng listened with great surprise.
How had she become a fox demon or a cat demon? What was the basis for this?
"The magic of a cat demon is not limited to these things. I heard that our Prince doesn't truly like Miss Qingcheng, but rather because there is a very important item on the cat demon."
"Is it the tail?"
"Precisely the tail. It is said that by obtaining the cat demon's tail, one can find a mysterious treasure."
"Isn't it said that the cat demon's tail is the key to finding that treasure?"
"No wonder the Prince is so good to Miss Qingcheng. I always thought Miss Qingcheng was of ordinary appearance, what was so special about her to be liked? Our Prince is of heavenly beauty, and Miss Qingcheng is simply not worthy of the Prince."
"In my opinion, you are quite good-looking. Why don't you go and talk to the Prince yourself, and see if you can replace Miss Qingcheng as the mistress of the mansion?"
"Oh, you know, some time ago, I actually saw Nuoluo talking with the Prince. They seemed quite intimate."
At this moment, a series of clear, bell-like laughter drifted from the small courtyard.
Ye Qingcheng's expression turned extremely unpleasant. She forced herself to stand up, leaning against the wall, suppressing her urge to climb over and beat those maids soundly. With a grim face, she returned to her own courtyard.
Xiao Wangye was already waiting for her in the courtyard.
Upon seeing him, Ye Qingcheng remembered what she had overheard while hiding outside the wall, and anger welled up within her.
"Where did you go? Why are you only returning now?" Xiao Wangye, not noticing her unusual demeanor, simply asked calmly.