Unparalleled Beauty

Chapter C048

No sooner had Prince Wei and his party departed than Princess Changhe, adorned in resplendent attire, arrived. Prince Qin's group had not yet left, and Princess Changhe's face was contorted in a cold sneer, her eyes blazing with fury.

"Ji Zhao, do you dare cause trouble here, on my grounds?!"

Prince Qin felt utterly wronged. He had indeed harbored ill intentions, yet he was clearly the one who had suffered a great loss. How had it all become his fault? Could they not see the blood on his face?

He wiped his face, the skin stinging with pain, but he dared not argue with Princess Changhe.

Princess Changhe wished to unleash her anger, but seeing the numerous onlookers, she merely flicked her sleeve, turned, and left. Prince Qin's group followed behind her.

Once they had all departed, the chamberlains of the Princess's mansion emerged to placate the crowd, urging them to continue their leisurely stroll and not to be concerned.

But how could they not be concerned? Those who had rushed over upon hearing the commotion were mostly young masters and noble ladies who had been strolling nearby. Some dared to approach, while others watched from afar, all thoroughly frightened.

Especially the more timid noble ladies, upon seeing Prince Qin's bloodied face, were so terrified that they dared not even cry aloud.

Zhao Jianzhi and his sister, Zhao Lanzhi, were among them.

Being closer, they had witnessed more than those who had arrived later. They had naturally noticed that Prince Wei was acting strangely, but that Third Miss Mei had managed to stop him, preventing a full-blown conflict, which was quite a feat.

Zhao Jianzhi, unlike Zhao Lanzhi, being a man, had more experience and knowledge than his sister. He naturally understood the meaning behind Wushuang's loud wailing and the words she had spoken.

It was likely that attracting attention was one goal, but the true aim was to place all the blame for the conflict on Prince Qin.

The two young men who had been following Prince Qin were unfamiliar to most, but Zhao Jianzhi, with his wide circle of acquaintances, knew that they both came from families of high-ranking officials. Either their grandfathers held high positions in court, or their uncles were important ministers.

Even if this woman did not know them, her ability to quickly realize that Prince Qin was deliberately provoking trouble showed that she possessed an astute mind.

Zhao Jianzhi recalled the day he had been at 'Wangxia Spring' and had seen a woman escape from a small tower. He had noticed her because she had not used the door, but had instead jumped out of the window, and even after such a fall, she had not forgotten to run.

Later, many people had rushed out of the small tower, and he had realized that something had happened. He had then learned that the small tower was where Sun Shixian sobered up, and after hearing about the subsequent events, he had suspected his sister and Commandery Princess Minghui, and had also learned her identity.

It was the Third Miss Mei, the orphaned daughter of the Mei family, who had been the subject of much gossip, and Prince Wei's betrothed.

Now, it seemed that although her family background was not prominent, she was extremely intelligent, and not as ill-suited to be Prince Wei's match as many had believed.

The crowd dispersed, but no one was in the mood to enjoy the garden any longer.

After such an incident, who would still have the heart to stroll about? Yet, they could not leave, so they could only walk back in small groups.

Zhao Jianzhi and Zhao Lanzhi were also walking back.

"The struggles between princes have always been perilous. Having witnessed today's scene, do you now understand why I do not want you to be close to Commandery Princess Minghui?"

Zhao Lanzhi honestly replied, "I understand."

But she then added, "However, Second Brother, I still need to go and see Minghui."

Seeing Zhao Jianzhi frown, Zhao Lanzhi quickly said, "I won't be at ease if I don't go. That woman is so calculating. I advised Minghui not to associate with her, but she never listens. Although Minghui's preparations were quite thorough this time, I still fear she might suffer a loss. Just this once, Second Brother. After this matter is over, no matter what Minghui asks me to do, I will never go again."

Zhao Jianzhi, helpless, could only accompany his sister.

***

When he realized what he was doing, Prince Wei froze.

Then, he noticed that his hands were placed where they should not be. He remained stiff, yet he did not remove them.

He had wanted to leave long ago, but Ji Yang had stubbornly refused to let him, until the situation had spiraled out of control, and Ji Yang had fallen ill.

Yes, fallen ill.

It was entirely different from the irritability caused by a headache, the urge to lash out.

Prince Wei had always believed that Ji Yang's illness was cured, for he had not displayed such a complete loss of reason for a very long time.

Prince Qin's sudden appearance, coupled with his provocative words, was clearly ill-intentioned. He had been back in the capital for over two months, and Prince Jin, Prince Qin, and the others had not made a move. Now that they had, it was likely they were well-prepared.

Others only felt that Prince Qin's actions this time were too frivolous, but only Prince Wei realized his sinister intentions.

The disaster that occurred more than ten years ago not only triggered the emergence of the secondary personality, but also caused him to go mad on the spot. Although few knew of this, Prince Qin was one of them.

After all, he was one of the participants in that disaster back then, and Prince Qin had always firmly believed that Consort Chen had a mental illness, so her son should also have a mental illness. He never hesitated to provoke him in his youth.

Therefore, when he heard Prince Qin say, "A delicate flower is not easy to nurture, who knows when it will wither and fall," Prince Wei realized things were bad, but it was already too late.

When Ji Yang's illness flared, Prince Wei was unable to stop it; he could only wait for him to calm down on his own.

He thought he was about to fall into Prince Qin's trap, never expecting that a small woman would change the situation.

Just thinking about what Wushuang had done moments ago, Prince Wei's heart was quite unsettled.

It was a very complex feeling.

In his eyes, this little girl was timid, not very clever, and even a bit soft-hearted. But she was a woman, and Prince Wei had never had any requirements for his princess consort to be exceptionally intelligent or decisive.

She was clumsy, she was not ruthless enough, so he would help keep an eye on things. But this incident surprised Prince Wei, and even brought him some unexpected joy.

But his complexity did not end there.

Before, when he saw Ji Yang and her together in the garden, the feeling was something Prince Wei had never experienced before. It was somewhat strange, somewhat peculiar. How could he describe it? It was like watching himself interact with a woman, doing many things he could never do.

Not only were they things he could not do, but they were also things he thought Ji Yang would never do. For example, when she was angry, Ji Yang wanted to coax her, but not knowing how, he could only cleverly change the subject and take her to eat something.

And also—

The way she looked at Ji Yang.

The joy and affection in her eyes were almost overflowing.

She would steal glances at 'him,' while also trying not to let 'him' notice. Prince Wei thought at the time that she must think 'he' was very handsome. Clearly, he was 'him,' yet he knew that this gaze was not directed at him, but at 'him.'

He even went back to recall their few meetings, and found that she was very reserved when facing him. Was it because he was too stern at the time?

After a flurry of random thoughts, Prince Wei realized that he was not thinking about the overall situation, but about these messy things.

His expression was complex as he lowered his head to look at her in his arms.

Her small face was flushed with shyness, her eyelashes were half-lowered, and she was obediently nestled in his arms, not knowing what she was thinking.

Her soft, warm fragrance was intoxicating, but Prince Wei's mood was too complex right now. He withdrew his hand from her waist and sat up.

Wushuang also sat up.

"Your Highness, does your head still hurt?" she asked, slightly worried.

Prince Wei paused for a moment, then shook his head.

Wushuang breathed a sigh of relief and said, "That's good. Your Highness, you were too impulsive just now. That Prince Qin clearly intended to set a trap for you, deliberately provoking you."

"Is that so?"

Wushuang froze. She looked at Prince Wei's eyes and suddenly realized that the person in front of her was not Ji Yang, but Prince Wei.

Where was Ji Yang?

She dared not ask, yet she did not want to appear abrupt, so she slowly relaxed her body. She then pretended to only now realize that she was still in his arms and acted somewhat shy, quickly rising from his lap.

She felt that her performance was commendable, yet she had underestimated Prince Wei's keenness. Especially since the two were so close just now, almost separated by only two layers of thin clothing, Wushuang's momentary stiffness had been keenly noticed by Prince Wei.

And then there was her gaze—

Just like the first two times they had met, even though she had tried her best to appear intimate, after seeing the way she looked at ‘him’, Prince Wei clearly perceived the difference.

To test her, he remained impassive, deliberately acting as if nothing had happened. After adjusting his clothes and sleeves, he said to her, "Come here."

Wushuang stiffened.

He really was Prince Wei, not Ji Yang!

Why was Wushuang so certain? Ji Yang would never so meticulously adjust his clothes; if they were messy, they were messy. And what did he want her to do by calling her over?

But Wushuang still went over, one hand covering her mouth, looking pitiful.

As soon as she reached him, he pulled her onto his lap.

Wushuang subconsciously wanted to get up, but Prince Wei held her down, preventing her from moving. "Weren't you sitting comfortably just now? Why are you suddenly so shy?"

Could Wushuang say that he was the wrong person? Of course not. She could only feign a very shy appearance and change the subject, saying, "What does Your Highness want me to do?"

Prince Wei looked at her, his eyes deep, "Let this Prince see your mouth."

Wushuang could not help but blush, but she still obediently lowered her hand, revealing her somewhat swollen, yet exceptionally lustrous lips.

At this moment, her cheeks were flushed, setting off her fair and translucent skin, and her swollen lips made her look as if she had been fiercely loved.

Prince Wei's gaze deepened, and his thumb caressed her lips.

Wushuang felt a pang of pain and furrowed her brow.

He lightened his touch, but did not withdraw his hand, instead slowly and intimately caressing her lips.

It really hurt, and tears welled up in her eyes. She could not even think about why he was touching her so intimately.

Prince Wei's eyes darkened, and he said in a low, husky voice, "I will apply some medicine for you."

He took out a small porcelain bottle from his sleeve. Inside was not medicinal powder, but a semi-transparent ointment. He used his fingertip to scoop a little and applied it to her lower lip.

His movements were very gentle and slow, as if he did not want to hurt her, but Wushuang found it extremely unbearable, because this action was too ambiguous, as if… she was being cherished by Prince Wei.

Wushuang had always felt that whether it was Emperor Qianwu in her previous life or Prince Wei in this life, they both possessed a dignified and aloof personality.

She had not had much contact with him. She could imagine Ji Yang doing anything to her, but she could not imagine Prince Wei doing so.

But at this very moment—

She had the feeling that Prince Wei was seducing her. She thought it was her own delusion. Sure enough, when she looked at Prince Wei again, his expression was cold and detached, as if he was merely applying medicine for her. But wasn't the time he was taking to apply the medicine a bit too long?

"Is it done?"

Before the last syllable of her question could fall, Prince Wei had already withdrawn his hand, making Wushuang feel as if she had judged a gentleman's heart with a petty mind.

"You may leave. I imagine there are still people waiting for this Prince outside."

Wushuang hastily nodded, then followed after him.

After Wushuang and Prince Wei emerged, they were stopped by the servants of the Princess's mansion. Judging by their appearance, they had been waiting outside for a long time, but had not dared to go in and disturb them.

Besides Princess Changhe requesting Prince Wei to visit, the servants of the Princess's mansion also had matters for Wushuang. They said that Mei Wuxia had encountered some trouble, and because there were no elders from Marquis Changyang's mansion present, they could only ask Wushuang to go.

Upon hearing this, Wushuang subconsciously thought of the incident that had occurred at Marquis Xuanping's mansion before. She instinctively looked at Prince Wei.

The leading chamberlain said, "Your Highness, please rest assured. After the matter is resolved, this servant will personally escort the Miss back."

Only then did Prince Wei nod, allowing Wushuang to go with the chamberlain, while he followed the others to Princess Changhe's residence.

It was on the way that Wushuang learned from the middle-aged chamberlain what had happened.

The rules of the Princess's mansion were very strict, and this chamberlain did not say much. Wushuang only gleaned a few pieces of information—Mei Wuxia and Sun Shixian were having a secret rendezvous and were discovered by Commandery Princess Minghui. It seemed that the two had engaged in some improper act, as the chamberlain mentioned they were not wearing clothes and were seen by many people.

Mei Wuxia and Sun Shixian having a secret rendezvous?

Very well, Wushuang instinctively thought that Commandery Princess Minghui had set a trap for Mei Wuxia. Otherwise, why would Mei Wuxia go and have a secret rendezvous with Commandery Princess Minghui's betrothed?

When Wushuang arrived, Mei Chang, Mei E, and Mei Xishuang were already there, seemingly waiting for her.

Seeing Wushuang arrive, Mei Chang and Mei E quickly pulled her aside to speak. From their mouths, Wushuang learned a slightly more detailed account.

It turned out that not long after Wushuang had left, Mei Wuxia had been in the limelight several times. Each time, the other side would pose a question, and none of the noble young ladies could answer it, but Mei Wuxia would step forward to save the day.

This made Mei Wuxia the focus of everyone's attention for a time. Later, someone from the other side even specifically posed a question, naming her to solve it, and Mei Wuxia solved them all, which made her even more proud and radiant.

In the middle of it all, a maid came to find Mei Wuxia and said something, and she left with Commandery Princess Minghui.

What happened after that, Mei Chang and the others did not know. They only heard someone return to say that Commandery Princess Minghui had discovered Sun Shixian having a secret rendezvous with someone and had made a great scene.

At the time, they did not feel that this matter had anything to do with them. Who knew that after a while, a maid came to find them, and the two of them learned that the person having a secret rendezvous with Sun Shixian was actually Mei Wuxia.