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(Xiao Yao) realized that the prince had not pursued her for avoiding the banquet at all; instead, he had merely teased her and graciously allowed her to leave.
If it were an ordinary ruler, discovering that someone had deliberately feigned illness to avoid an invitation would likely have resulted in furious anger.
However, who could accurately guess the thoughts of such a ruler? Perhaps what you perceive as their concern is merely your own overthinking. If that were the case, where would you go from there? Moreover, if you misstep, others might think you have inappropriate feelings for the prince.
Since the prince did not pursue the matter, Xiao Yao planned to pretend she hadn’t heard anything and let the incident pass.
While Xiao Yao was secretly relieved to have escaped a disaster, He Yu was busy on the other side.
The lights in the building remained lit until deep into the night. He Yu placed a letter into an envelope and sealed it carefully with wax. Glancing up at the roof, a figure in black descended silently. He Yu handed the letter to the figure without saying a word, not even exchanging a glance. The figure tucked the letter into their clothing and turned to exit through the window.
The dense night air was so still that not even a blade of grass stirred.
He Yu rubbed his slightly swollen nose and called out, “Zhao Hezhong.”
Zhao Hezhong, waiting outside, immediately entered. “Your Highness.”
“How is the investigation going?”
“Reporting to Your Highness, it’s progressing quickly; this is not a secret in the Xiao Family or even in Nanping,” Zhao Hezhong said with his head lowered, his expression respectful. “Sister Xiao has always been weak; she couldn’t bear much strain or shock during her pregnancy. For over a decade, the Xiao Family has carefully raised Sister Xiao without letting her see many people. As for Liu Qingshan’s son, Liu Mian is a bully in Nanping City. Relying on Liu Qingshan’s position as Prefect, he has been running rampant in Nanping City for quite some time now, but unfortunately for him, Emperor Gao is far away, and the common people dare not voice their anger.”
“Hmph, quite arrogant indeed.” He Yu sneered; it was likely that there were many officials protecting each other in this matter. If they seriously investigated it, they might uncover a whole string of issues. “Continue.”
“Yes. Six months ago, news of the Xiao Family’s second young master becoming a Top Scholar spread back from the capital. Xiao Laoye was so pleased that he hosted a grand banquet at Xiao Residence for all of Nanping’s citizens. On that day, Liu Mian came to attend the banquet and got drunk; he barged around Xiao Residence and ended up bumping into Sister Xiao who was sunbathing in the courtyard…”
He Yu's hands were hidden within his wide sleeves, gripping tightly. After a long pause, he hoarsely said, “Continue.”
“Liu Mian had already drunk quite a bit, and at that moment, he intended to force himself on Sister Xiao. Fortunately, Young Master Xiao and Bodyguard arrived just in time to prevent it. However, Sister Xiao was already in poor health, so she was even more frightened and fell ill…”
“Smash!” He Yu swept the cup off the table onto the floor, his eyes wide and bloodshot. He clenched his back teeth tightly, “...this beast!”
This was the first time Zhao Hezhong had seen He Yu like this; he involuntarily shivered twice and dared not speak again.
The room fell into a dead silence, only the sound of the candle flames crackling could be heard.
After a long while, He Yu slowly spoke, “Since that’s the case, I suppose Liu Qingshan’s Prefect doesn’t want to keep his position either. Let’s just have him directly incapacitated.”
The next morning, Xiao Yao got up, had breakfast, and planned to visit Parents as usual.
Yun Bi and Yun Yue were busy attending to Xiao Yao early in the morning. Xiao Yao had a habit of rinsing her mouth first thing after waking up, and only after having breakfast did she start her formal grooming routine. Her theory was that this way she wouldn’t have the taste of food lingering in her mouth when she went out.
For this reason, Xiao Mo Yi often teased her for being overly particular, but Xiao Yao didn’t mind. Whether one was particular or not was their own business; as long as she was happy with it, that was enough. It would be foolish not to be particular when one had the means to be.
Combing her hair, washing up, changing clothes—one by one, though busy, everything was done in an orderly manner.
By the time she finished getting ready, nearly half an hour had passed. Xiao Yao took one last look at herself in the mirror: her makeup was light, her hairstyle simple, and her smile sweet—she looked just like a well-behaved young girl.
“Let’s go.” Xiao Yao stood up satisfied; she was sure this appearance would please Parents.
Just as she stepped out the door, she saw Xiao Moxian coming in with Li.
“Elder brother, sister-in-law.” Xiao Yao waved at them. Seeing Xiao Yao looking lively, Xiao Moxian relaxed his gaze a bit. “Did you come over early? Aren’t you going to greet Parents?”
“We did. It just happened to be on the way. Your elder brother wanted to come see you, so we came along,” Li replied with a smile.
"Oh." Xiao Yao knew that Xiao Moxian was worried about her, so she stepped forward and hugged Xiao Moxian's arm, smiling as she said, "I'm fine, don't worry, big brother!"
Seeing that Xiao Yao was indeed okay, Xiao Moxian naturally felt relieved. His personality was much more reserved compared to Xiao Mo Yi. He was closer to Xiao Yao than to Xiao Mo Yi. Although he wished his sister would be a bit closer to him, his personality and being the eldest son meant he had a heavier burden.
Over time, this had shaped his demeanor, and with Xiao Yao being nearly ten years younger than him, it naturally created some distance.
There was a time when Xiao Yao was quite afraid of him. Fortunately, ever since her health began to improve, she started to get closer to him. Xiao Moxian intended to tease her a bit, but the words that came out still carried a tone of reprimand, "Why play at pretending to be sick? If the prince finds out, what will you do?"
Xiao Yao stuck out her tongue in embarrassment and exchanged glances with Yun Yue and Yun Bi. The two girls immediately bit their lips and lowered their heads, indicating they didn't know anything. And Xiao Yao certainly couldn't tell Xiao Moxian that the prince already knew...
"Alright, I was wrong. Don't be angry, big brother!" Xiao Yao shook Xiao Moxian's arm and acted cute.
"You..." Xiao Moxian shook his head helplessly. "I'm not angry; I'm just worried about you."
"I know! I won't dare again in the future, okay?" Xiao Yao tilted her head, trying to charm her way out of it.
Seeing Xiao Yao's spoiled demeanor, Xiao Moxian could only feel both amused and exasperated. Li saw that Xiao Moxian wasn't angry and immediately smiled, saying, "Alright, alright. She's a young lady now; she understands these things. You shouldn't treat her like a child anymore."
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