This is a scheme to kill three birds with one stone!
It not only solved the problem of Xiao Xiaoyu, a sudden stumbling block, but also caused Ye Yunli to lose a major assistant, and instigated animosity between two people.
Such an outcome was the best possible.
When Ye Qingcheng heard the entire story, she was stunned, gazing blankly at Xiao Wangye, unaware that he had done so much for her.
"Now you know why I wanted to talk to Consort Li? Can you stop being jealous now?"
Xiao Wangye teased her.
"I… When did I get jealous?"
Recalling her previous behavior, Ye Qingcheng felt embarrassed and refused to admit her jealousy.
However, her flushed face and slightly red cheeks clearly indicated her feelings.
Seeing her like this, Xiao Wangye couldn't help but harbor mischievous thoughts and wanted to tease her.
He straightened up slightly, leaned his head closer, sniffed a few times with a serious expression.
"Really? Why do I still smell traces of sourness?"
"Ah! Are you done yet!"
Teased to the point of anger, Ye Qingcheng quickly reached out to push away his approaching face.
But Xiao Wangye grabbed her hands, holding them tightly, forcing their eyes to meet.
At this moment, the carriage ran over a large rock, causing the entire vehicle to shake.
This sudden jolt made them both lose their balance, especially Ye Qingcheng, whose hands were held. She involuntarily fell towards Xiao Wangye.
When the carriage stabilized, Ye Qingcheng had already shrunk into Xiao Wangye's arms, and he instinctively reached out an arm to embrace her.
They looked at each other, both stunned, their faces only a few centimeters apart, so close they could feel each other's breath.
Startled by the scene, Ye Qingcheng couldn't help but swallow, her throat bobbing as if hinting at something, incredibly alluring.
Xiao Wangye felt a string snap in his mind, and he uncontrollably leaned towards the red lips before him and kissed her.
The warm contact seemed to become the only sensation between them; for a moment, it was as if only they existed in the world, leaning on each other.
The kiss was deep and lingering, and it wasn't until Ye Qingcheng was almost out of breath that she forcefully pushed Xiao Wangye away.
She opened her eyes, hazy with mist, and glared at him shyly, her heart pounding and her mind in a daze.
Although they were husband and wife in name, they had no marital relations.
Especially Ye Qingcheng, who in her past life had been an old scholar engrossed in medical studies, knew nothing of romance.
In this life, she had transmigrated into an ugly and obese woman, and was forced to remain chaste, with absolutely no experience.
The sudden intimacy made her flustered, and she shrunk into a corner, afraid to speak.
As for Xiao Wangye, he savored the moments that had just passed, a hint of emotion in his eyes.
It added a touch of allure to his handsome face.
But seeing Ye Qingcheng huddled shyly, he immediately regained his composure, sitting a distance away from her with amusement.
Seeing his action, Ye Qingcheng finally felt a sense of relief. She truly lacked the experience to deal with such situations!
Fortunately, Xiao Wangye stopped teasing her, and a sense of calm gradually returned between them.
The journey was rather uneventful. For twenty out of the twenty-four hours each day, they were in the carriage, and they hadn't encountered a single inn to rest at along the way.
Despite their ostentatious appearance, their group, including the carriage, traveled on official roads and never encountered any bandits.
After these three days, being confined in the carriage all day long, Ye Qingcheng felt as if her bones were about to turn to jelly.
Except for occasional stops to replenish water, their journey was almost non-stop.
Fortunately, after days of effort, their fief was not far ahead!
Perhaps because they were approaching their fief, the road the carriage was traveling on began to steepen, with occasional bumps.
It was then that Ye Qingcheng began to miss the peaceful days of the past and regretted her current discomfort.
The good news was that in half a day, they would successfully reach their fief.
As they continued, the carriage convoy entered a small grove and weaved through the trees.
"Whoa!"
The carriage stopped abruptly, and the momentum caused Ye Qingcheng to involuntarily lean forward.
Fortunately, Xiao Wangye, who was beside her, quickly grabbed her, thus preventing her from falling face-first.
"What's going on?"
Xiao Wangye helped Ye Qingcheng up, frowned, and lifted the carriage curtain to look outside.
Chaotic noises could be heard from outside the carriage, so loud that he couldn't make them out clearly.
Looking out the window, he saw that the carriage was surrounded by a group of people, all looking fierce and with glinting eyes.
However, judging by their ragged clothes and emaciated frames, they didn't seem like typical highway robbers?
What's more, among the group surrounding the carriage were men, women, young, and old, none of whom appeared to be strong.
Compared to the guards who had organized themselves to protect the carriage, they looked like a mob with no imposing presence.
These people were intimidated by the guards holding swords, staring intently at the carriage but not daring to move.
Seeing this, Xiao Wangye jumped off the carriage with a displeased expression, Ye Qingcheng following closely behind.
"Your Highness!"
A guard, clearly dressed differently from the ordinary guards, stepped forward and bowed to Xiao Wangye. His name was Ming Yang, the visible commander of the Prince's guards and the primary person responsible for the safety of this carriage convoy.
Xiao Wangye nodded slightly at him, then looked around again, his expression growing darker with each passing moment, so grim it seemed water could drip from it.
These attackers, judging by their appearance, did not resemble mountain bandits. Instead, they looked like refugees who had escaped from somewhere.
However, their numbers were significant, surrounding the carriage convoy two to three layers deep, appearing to be forty to fifty people.
But the guards and servants Xiao Wangye had brought with him numbered less than twenty in total.
Although the attackers looked sallow and thin, not like martial artists, their sheer numbers made them difficult to deal with if a fight broke out.
This was also Ming Yang's concern, which was why he came to seek instructions from Xiao Wangye.
However, Xiao Wangye did not give any orders. Instead, he walked forward and approached the group.
"Have the one in charge among you come out to speak."
The people who had been wielding wooden sticks aggressively suddenly froze. Then, they turned to each other and whispered amongst themselves for a while.
At this time, Ye Qingcheng also walked to Xiao Wangye's side, curiously observing these attackers.
After much discussion within the crowd, a middle-aged man with an octagonal beard was finally pushed forward to speak with Xiao Wangye.
"We will not harm your lives. We only want the valuables on your carriage!"