Even when Ye Qingcheng stepped out, she was a striking sight, and soon the entire princely estate knew that on the day after she punished Yu Jian, the Princess Consort had begun to wear her hair in the style she had before her marriage.
Gradually, the matter evolved into the Princess Consort being unable to love and be loved, heartbroken, and that punishing Yu Jian was merely an outburst of anger, leading her to wish to turn back time and regret marrying the Regent.
This matter had spread rapidly among the servants.
A group of servants in the princely estate were gathered, cracking melon seeds, while a young maidservant recounted the story with great animation: "It's said that the Princess Consort has lost the courage to love, has broken ties, and no longer offers the Prince a smiling face!"
The young eunuch, cracking melon seeds, agreed: "That's right, at the time of the wedding, how much of the Princess Consort's dowry was squandered by Aunt Yu Jian."
Another young eunuch chimed in: "Exactly, not long ago, Aunt Yu Jian was still being harsh on the Princess Consort's food and clothing, and didn't even give her a monthly allowance!"
The crowd echoed their sentiments.
No one noticed the sound of a wheelchair friction nearby. Xiao Wangye, listening to their gossip, asked, "Is that so?" upon hearing that Yu Jian had been harsh on Ye Qingcheng's expenses.
The young eunuch, not having recovered, quickly replied while cracking melon seeds: "Yes! Who would have thought Aunt Yu Jian would be like this..." As if finally realizing, he saw his companions looking behind him in horror. The young eunuch slowly turned his head and saw the Prince, quickly kneeling to pay homage: "This servant greets Your Highness."
"This servant (this maid) greets Your Highness."
Xiao Wangye ignored them and let Lin Xiao continue pushing the wheelchair as they left, much to everyone's relief.
Xiao Wangye remained silent all the way. He had heard some of the rumors this morning. Although the servants spoke rather discreetly, he couldn't help but wonder if Ye Qingcheng truly wanted a divorce from him.
If not, why wouldn't she wear her hair up?
Was it because he had shown some inclination to protect Yu Jian in this incident?
Or perhaps, in past matters...
Lin Xiao, pushing the Prince, momentarily bumped a stone, causing a stumble, which brought Xiao Wangye back to his senses. He looked at Lin Xiao with an indescribable expression in his eyes: "Lin Xiao, you say..." After a moment of silence, he added, "Never mind, if even I can't figure it out, then there's no point in you saying anything."
Lin Xiao felt wronged, as if he had been subtly insulted, but the other party couldn't say it directly.
However, later, Lin Xiao noticed that Xiao Wangye was preoccupied, evident in all aspects. He had lost interest in his usual reading and painting, his brush frozen mid-air, motionless. Even when ink dripped onto the Xuan paper, he remained still.
Lin Xiao's eyes widened in disbelief. The Prince had never made such a mistake as letting ink drip onto Xuan paper; this was the first time!
Could it still be because the Princess Consort didn't wear her hair up today?
Such a situation continued until the Princess Consort came to find him. Hearing the energetic footsteps outside the door, Lin Xiao knew who had arrived. Indeed, the Prince immediately sprang into action, lowering his head and dazedly noticing the ink on the Xuan paper. But as the footsteps grew closer, he resumed his painting silently.
Ye Qingcheng had a simple reason for coming to see Xiao Wangye. She had just visited Bixi, and during their random chat, they had talked about food, which made her crave the pastries from Ju Fang Zhai in the West City. However, Xiao Wangye had issued an order that no one was to go out unless it was for an important occasion. Unable to help herself, she had to come and find Xiao Wangye.
As soon as Ye Qingcheng entered, Xiao Wangye looked up. He saw Ye Qingcheng's long, willow-like hair styled with a hairpin and tassel by Jing Xiu, whose hands were truly skillful. She had also left strands of hair on both sides, giving her a youthful charm.
Although she was a beautiful woman, like a fairy, in Xiao Wangye's eyes, she was so dazzling.
It was truly difficult to look at her.
Ye Qingcheng stepped forward and went directly to Xiao Wangye's desk: "Your Highness, I want to discuss something with you!"
Xiao Wangye feigned composure and looked up at her: "What is it?"
"Um..." The words she had prepared faltered when she actually saw him. "I want to go eat Ju Fang Zhai's pastries. If I go late, they'll be gone."
Xiao Wangye lowered his gaze upon hearing this: "Oh! Have a servant go buy them!"
Ye Qingcheng raised an eyebrow. Did this fellow truly not understand her implied meaning?
"I want to go myself."
"Impossible," Xiao Wangye replied almost without pause.
Ye Qingcheng was confused: "Why?"
Lin Xiao, listening nearby, felt anxious. The Prince would naturally not tell the Princess Consort, fearing she would leave and never return.
Xiao Wangye sighed: "It's not impossible for you to go, but I have to go with you."
Ye Qingcheng was happy that she could go out.
But then she froze: "Huh?"
And so, in the carriage, Ye Qingcheng and her maidservant sat nervously in the furthest corner.
Jing Xiu felt like crying. She had happily accompanied the Princess Consort for a ride in the carriage, but upon lifting the curtain, the first thing she saw was the Prince seated in the main seat. But no one had told her that the Prince was also going!
After all, the Princess Consort's maids were not allowed to ride in the same carriage as the Prince.
Jing Xiu felt that her life was nearing its end, and her head was about to be chopped off.
Wuwuwuwu
The carriage had been traveling for about fifteen minutes, but the silence inside was so profound that Jing Xiu could hear her own heartbeat. Finally, she couldn't bear the feeling any longer: "Heh heh! Um, Your Highness, Princess Consort, I'm going to check the weather outside the carriage."
Under Ye Qingcheng's disdainful gaze, Jing Xiu happily abandoned her mistress and went outside.
Outside, Lin Xiao was driving the carriage. Their eyes met, and Jing Xiu gave a wordless smile.
Only the two of them were left in the carriage. Ye Qingcheng saw Xiao Wangye sitting in the main seat and felt an invisible pressure permeating the air. She felt as if she were sitting on pins and needles.
"Um?" Ye Qingcheng broke the silence. "Do you have something to do? You can go, don't worry about me."
Xiao Wangye looked at her: "I have nothing to do."
Ye Qingcheng twitched the corner of her mouth. If you have nothing to do, why did you come out, and why did you insist on riding in the same carriage as her?
The carriage wasn't that soundproof, so the two outside could also hear their conversation. Lin Xiao felt helpless. He couldn't let the Prince admit that he was specifically accompanying the Princess Consort.
The carriage returned to its previous quiet state. In the swaying carriage, Ye Qingcheng's head began to nod, slowly dozing off like a chick pecking for food.
Xiao Wangye remained silent and then, after a long pause, asked, "How much longer?"
Ye Qingcheng suddenly woke up: "What?" She clearly hadn't registered what he said, then remembered: "Oh right, Jing Xiu, why haven't we arrived yet?"
As soon as she spoke, Jing Xiu's voice came from outside the carriage: "Your Highness, Princess Consort, we have arrived at Shu Fang Zhai."
Ye Qingcheng immediately perked up: "Okay, let's go! Get off."
Saying that, she was the first to alight from the carriage, completely forgetting that the person beside her was disabled.
It wasn't until Lin Xiao entered the carriage and carried Xiao Wangye down that she remembered: "Oh! Hurry, Jing Xiu, quickly bring the wheelchair." He then added, not without some grumbling, "You know, with your legs being inconvenient, you should just stay home. Why come out and suffer? We'll have another treatment tonight to strive for an early recovery."
Xiao Wangye's mood for the entire day suddenly improved at this moment. A smile curved his lips, and his tone was somewhat doting: "Alright!"