Chapter 1 The Chun Fang Pavilion Incident

"An incident at the Chun Fang Pavilion?"

"Could it be that A Yue is trying to kill herself again?" That was Yu Qingwu's first reaction upon hearing Mother Xun's report.

Sure enough, the next moment, Mother Xun's hesitant voice came from outside again, "Your Highness, Miss Gao refuses to leave. She says if she's forced to leave, she'll commit suicide. She's even prepared the white silk."

Mother Xun frowned as she waited at the door, her face extremely unpleasant, and her expression filled with apprehension.

Although His Highness had ordered Gao to be driven away, she could also see His Highness's indulgence towards Gao. If something really happened to Gao, their servants would inevitably suffer as a result, so they dared not take matters into their own hands.

After thinking about it, Mother Xun carefully asked Xie Jin Yan for instructions, "Your Highness, what do you think... what should we do?"

Hearing this, Xie Jin Yan's complexion, which had just improved, immediately turned cold. He took a deep breath, as if trying hard to suppress his anger.

After a pause, he turned to look at Yu Qingwu and comforted her softly, "Shijie (Senior martial sister), you should rest well. I'll go take a look."

"What does Your Highness intend to do?" Seeing Xie Jin Yan get up to leave, Yu Qingwu suddenly grabbed him.

Her slender and weak fingers tightly gripped the man's strong wrist, and she looked at him expectantly, questioning him with a hint of unwillingness for the first time, "Your Highness, I dare to ask, if A Yue really forces you with death this time, will Your Highness forgive her and let her continue to stay in the capital?"

Yu Qingwu's forceful tone made Xie Jin Yan's body stiffen slightly.

After a long while, he turned back and asked her in a somewhat helpless tone, "Why does Shijie (Senior martial sister) say that? Could it be that in Shijie’s (Senior martial sister) eyes, I am such a fatuous crown prince with no bottom line?"

Whether he was a fatuous crown prince was hard to say, but he was definitely a biased older brother.

Sometimes Yu Qingwu felt that she was really impulsive and ridiculous. She had just put on a show of being a virtuous wife in front of Xie Jin Yan, but now she couldn't help but be meddlesome.

She pursed her lips, and a trace of sarcasm floated on her pale face. She smiled faintly at Xie Jin Yan and sighed, "It's hard to say whether Your Highness is fatuous or not, but it's not the first time you've indulged A Yue without a bottom line."

"Not to mention the stupid things she did to me and the other Shidi (Junior martial brother) and Shimei (Junior martial sister) when we were in the Xiao family, nor the times she almost cost me my life after entering the capital. I will only mention one thing: when we went to Southern Border on a mission, because of her eagerness to achieve success and her unauthorized actions, she almost attracted spies to kill General Wen. How did Your Highness deal with it that day? According to the sect rules, she deserved to die, but because she was young and ignorant, Da Shixiong (Head senior martial brother) only said to beat her forty times with a board and make her copy the sect rules a thousand times."

"But what did Your Highness do at that time? Just because A Yue was making a scene and wanted to jump into the river to kill herself, you used the power of the crown prince and tried your best to cover up the matter for her, and even brought her delicious food and drinks to coax her. It's not the first time you've done this. This time, I hope you can be a little more impartial."

Yu Qingwu's voice was not loud, but it became more and more aggressive. Under her bloodless and exquisite face, a pair of peach blossom eyes were filled with coldness.

Her sharp gaze made her seem like a different person from the gentle and considerate Crown Princess just now.

Xie Jin Yan was stunned by her sudden change. He stood by the bed with his arms folded, looked at her for a while, and suddenly laughed, "Shijie (Senior martial sister), you're really not suitable to be a gentle and affectionate little lady. You change your face faster than flipping a book..."

"I... I'm just offering sincere advice that is unpleasant to the ear." Although she felt that what she said made sense, Yu Qingwu was still a little embarrassed by Xie Jin Yan's teasing.

She glanced at Xie Jin Yan lightly, and then she pretended to be calm and explained, "After all, you and I are husband and wife now. Husband and wife share honor and disgrace, and I naturally cannot watch Your Highness go astray because of favoring A Yue."

"What? Are you teaching me a lesson?" Yu Qingwu was trying hard to organize her words, but the next moment, Xie Jin Yan suddenly asked.

The handsome face that had just been as gentle as jade was now covered with gloom. He stared at her questioningly, word by word, "Shijie (Senior martial sister), have I been too indulgent with you, that you feel you can tie my hands and feet? And even presumptuously discuss matters of the court?"

His deep voice was like a demonic sound entering her ears.

Meeting the man's sharp and cold gaze again, Yu Qingwu's whole body stiffened.

She realized that she seemed to have gone too far...

Yes, in the end, she was just a woman in the inner quarters. Xie Jin Yan was the crown prince, and no matter how guilty or fond of her he was, he would not allow her to interfere in court affairs, let alone manage too much.

So, she had lost the bet after all?

A burst of sarcasm rose in her heart. Qingwu's face froze, she twitched the corners of her lips, and her voice gradually weakened, "Your Highness is right to reprimand me. It was I who was being meddlesome."

As she spoke, she carefully raised her eyes and quietly observed the expression on the man's face.

Xie Jin Yan was actually just teasing Yu Qingwu because she looked so serious and worried.

Seeing her cautious and pitiful expression at this moment, his tone immediately softened again, and he smiled, "If you know you're being meddlesome, then say less. You just woke up, and you're already talking so much. Shijie (Senior martial sister), you really have a life of worry."

"Alright, don't worry. I am, after all, the crown prince of a country. I haven't become so fatuous yet."

If he was really fatuous, not to mention whether his father would let him continue to be the crown prince, his legs would definitely be broken.

However, as Qingwu said, he had indeed been too unprincipled with A Yue in the past, to the point that she had become so hopeless today.

This time, he could no longer indulge her, even if she really wanted to die.

Taking a deep breath, Xie Jin Yan reached out and stroked the woman's hair again, and said softly, "Alright, I was just joking. Shijie (Senior martial sister), don't overthink it. Rest well. I'll go take a look at the Chun Fang Pavilion."

After saying that, he stepped out. When he reached the door, he instructed Mother Xun, "Mother Xun, take good care of the Crown Princess. Also, send for the imperial physician to come and take a look."

Hearing his clear and pleasant voice, Yu Qingwu seemed to have just come back to her senses. She gritted her teeth and glared at the man's receding figure, cursing him inwardly as a bastard, and then carefully lay back down.

On the other side, Xie Jin Yan quickly arrived at the Chun Fang Pavilion.

As soon as he entered the door of the Chun Fang Pavilion, he saw a mess on the ground, with broken pieces of porcelain mixed with soil, and some roots covered with leaves. There was no place to put his feet.

Looking inside, he saw a white silk hanging from the roof beam.

Perhaps sensing Xie Jin Yan's arrival, Gao Minyue pushed away the maid who was trying to stop her and stepped onto the stool, crying and shouting.

"Don't stop me. Anyway, I'm just an orphan, with no ties. Now that Shige (Senior martial brother) can't tolerate me, I have no choice but to die."

Seeing this, the maid also cried out, "Miss Gao, please don't think so negatively."

In the past, Xie Jin Yan would have felt sorry for her.

But after so many times, he understood even more that A Yue was just pretending.

He walked over slowly with his hands behind his back, and coldly ordered the maid, "Let go of her. Let her die."