Xue Xingyue was stunned. She looked at Ji Wuran, her gaze turning cold. She said coldly, "According to Young Marquis Ji, I can only suffer this loss in silence?"
Ji Wuran's gaze flickered slightly. "Your Highness, that is not what I meant. It is just that if Your Highness intends to break the engagement, then you can disregard everything. However, if Your Highness does not intend to break the engagement, please bear with it for a moment."
Xue Xingyue paused. She knew Ji Wuran was not wrong. She had no intention of breaking the engagement. If the matter escalated, her Imperial Brother would surely find out. Moreover, she had never thought of living in harmony with Meng Jiangming, so it no longer mattered who came to welcome her.
"I naturally will not break the engagement, but I will absolutely not forgive Meng Jiangming's actions," Xue Xingyue said word by word.
She could never have imagined that Meng Jiangming would pull such a stunt on her wedding day.
"Thank you for Your Highness's magnanimity. If Young Master Meng is found, I believe Duke Ning will surely give Your Highness an explanation," Ji Wuran said lightly.
Xue Xingyue nodded, looked at Ji Wuran, and said coldly, "Then I shall trouble Young Marquis Ji to help me onto the carriage."
Upon hearing this, Ji Wuran said, "It is my honor."
Looking at the outstretched hand, Xue Xingyue placed her hand on it. It was unexpectedly a little cold. She subconsciously looked at it and realized the hand was slender and fair, very beautiful.
"Your Highness, have you taken a fancy to my hand?" Ji Wuran's clear and cold voice echoed faintly, seemingly carrying a hint of teasing.
Xue Xingyue frowned, withdrew her hand, and directly boarded the carriage.
As the carriage curtain fell, Ji Wuran's gaze turned colder.
Ten miles of red silk carpeted the ground, with lanterns and festive decorations lining the streets, all because the Emperor was marrying off a princess.
As Xue Xingyue watched the Imperial Palace recede further into the distance, she knew she was truly leaving her Imperial Brother and the place she had always lived.
There was an inexpressible feeling in her heart, a sense of oppression and discomfort.
The carriage finally stopped. A pair of slender, fair hands reached in. Xue Xingyue didn't need to guess to know these hands belonged to Ji Wuran.
She ignored the hands and directly stepped out of the carriage.
At the entrance, Madam Jiang waited anxiously. Seeing the person emerging from the carriage adorned in a phoenix coronet and ceremonial robes, she finally breathed a sigh of relief. Princess Xingyue had indeed arrived.
She quickly stepped forward and said, "Princess, you have worked hard."
Xue Xingyue nodded faintly. "Madam, you are the one who has worked hard. You must have been waiting here for a long time?"
"It's not hard, not hard!" Madam Jiang shook her head.
"Madam, let's go inside!" Ji Wuran said.
Madam Jiang looked at the surrounding commoners and quickly said, "Princess, please enter the manor."
Upon entering the manor, Duke Ning was already kneeling in the courtyard. Seeing Xue Xingyue, he kowtowed and said, "Your subject is guilty. I beg Your Highness to mete out punishment!"
Madam Jiang also knelt down and said, "Your Highness, your subject's wife is also guilty."
Seeing this, Xue Xingyue sat on the stool brought by Feng Jiu and said lightly, "Duke Ning, I am only marrying because I do not wish for this marriage to become a town-wide sensation. However, this does not mean I can pretend that nothing has happened. I ask you, where is the驸马?"
Duke Ning trembled all over. At this point, he probably could no longer deceive her. "Your Highness, it is your subject's incompetence and failure to discipline his son. I beg Your Highness to mete out punishment."
Xue Xingyue looked at Duke Ning lightly and asked word by word, "What I said is very clear. Where is the 驸马?"
"Your Highness, your subject's wife..."
Xue Xingyue cast a cold glance, and Madam Jiang immediately froze. This was the first time she truly felt the majesty of royalty, a majesty emanating from the bone that she could not directly face.
This, she thought, was perhaps a true favored daughter of heaven.
"Duke Ning, I helped you escort the Princess from the palace, and that is already giving Your Highness immense face. To this day, you are still unwilling to reveal the whereabouts of the 驸马? Doing so is going too far," Ji Wuran's clear and cold voice echoed faintly.
Duke Ning trembled all over. He hardened his heart and said coldly, "Guards..."
"Duke, you mustn't..." Madam Jiang interrupted Duke Ning.
Duke Ning looked at Madam Jiang and said, "What he did, he should bear it himself."
Upon hearing this, Madam Jiang quickly turned and kowtowed to Xue Xingyue. "Your Highness, I beg you to spare Jiang Ming. It was an unintentional act. Moreover, you have already entered the Duke's manor. Let this matter pass. In the future, your subject's wife will surely make him treat Your Highness well. I beg you..."
"Madam Jiang..." Xue Xingyue interrupted Madam Jiang coldly.
Madam Jiang trembled all over, for this was the first time Princess Xingyue had addressed her by her full name. For some reason, she felt a sense of fear, a trepidation that made her dare not look directly at Princess Xingyue.
"Madam Jiang, regardless of whether the 驸马's actions were intentional or not, he has indeed committed a heinous crime, even treason. However, as you said, since I have entered the Duke's manor, I did not intend to escalate the matter. Even so, I have the right to know what the 驸马 actually did, do I not? Or do you, Madam Jiang, believe I have no right to know the truth?"
On her fair and beautiful face, her eyes were as cold as frost, seeming to freeze everything around them into ice.
Madam Jiang trembled all over. She tightly clutched the handkerchief in her hand, her face ashen.
Suddenly, a servant hurried over. Seeing Duke Ning and Madam Jiang kneeling on the ground, the servant seemed at a loss.
Xue Xingyue looked at the servant, recognizing him as Meng Jiangming's personal attendant, Wu Yi.
"Wu Yi, why do you not kneel when you see Your Highness?" Feng Jiu scolded coldly.
Wu Yi fell to his knees with a thud, begging for mercy. "Your Highness, please forgive me, Your Highness, please forgive me!"
"What are you doing here? Go on then." Madam Jiang gave Wu Yi a look. Wu Yi was almost in tears. He wanted to leave, but could he leave at this moment?
"Wu Yi, you are the 驸马's attendant. Tell me, where is the 驸马?" Xue Xingyue asked coldly.
Wu Yi was momentarily unsure whether to speak or not.
Xue Xingyue saw Wu Yi look towards Madam Jiang and said coldly, "Wu Yi, it is I who am asking you. Why are you looking at Madam Jiang?"
"This humble one... this humble one does not know where the 驸马 is. This humble one could not find him, so I am reporting back to Madam." Wu Yi replied.
Upon hearing this, Xue Xingyue let out a cold smile. "Wu Yi, do you know that deceiving me can lead to death at my hands?"
Wu Yi trembled all over. "This humble one..."
"Speak," Xue Xingyue said, her voice filled with cold anger.
Frightened, Wu Yi quickly said, "The 驸马... the 驸马 is in the South Garden."
Xue Xingyue stood up and said to Madam Jiang and Duke Ning, "Since the 驸马 has been found, why don't Duke Ning and Madam Jiang accompany me?"
Before Madam Jiang could utter a word, Feng Jiu stepped behind her and said coldly, "Madam, please."
Madam Jiang trembled all over, looking at Duke Ning. Duke Ning merely shook his head.
Madam Jiang tightly gripped her handkerchief and followed Xue Xingyue towards the South Garden.
The South Garden was the most secluded courtyard in Duke Ning's manor, a place rarely visited.
In the past, it was where one of Duke Ning's concubines lived. This concubine was of low status, so Madam Jiang had arranged for her to live there, also to keep her away from Duke Ning. However, this concubine was considered proper and had never left the premises.
Later, the concubine fell ill and died, and the place remained empty.
After all, a death in a place made it somewhat inauspicious. Madam Jiang did not understand why Meng Jiangming was there.
Arriving in front of the courtyard, Xue Xingyue gave a nod, and Feng Jiu kicked open the door.
Xue Xingyue walked in and saw a figure vaguely visible on the bed behind the bed curtains.
Feng Jiu stepped forward and pulled back the curtain, exclaiming angrily, "驸马, you are here?"
Meng Jiangming slowly opened his eyes. Seeing the people who had arrived, he was so startled that he almost fell off the bed. He said angrily, "Why are you here?"
Feng Jiu drew the sword from her waist and said furiously, "I will kill you."
Just as the sword was about to fall, Xue Xingyue said coldly, "Stop."