Unparalleled Beauty

Chapter C086 pt2

Inside the inner hall, the Eighth Prince and Ji Yang were also conversing.

Besides reminiscing about the past, the Eighth Prince took out a letter from his bosom and handed it to Ji Yang.

"Cousin finds it inconvenient to come and go, so he entrusted me to deliver this letter to Imperial Brother."

Ji Yang knew what was inside; it was likely related to some unusual movements within the capital. After the incident, it seemed he was removed from the situation due to his injuries, but precisely because of these injuries, he was unable to learn of the events that had transpired outside in the past few days.

Zhou Dang was an outside official, and it was not appropriate for him to associate with him at this time, lest it attract attention. But the Eighth Prince was different; it was normal for him to visit his injured elder brother. Even Emperor Taihe would not suspect anything.

"Father Emperor has transferred a large contingent of troops from the capital, clearing the snow from Mount Xiang to the capital by manpower alone. The road down the mountain has also been cleared, so we should be setting off back to the capital in the next few days," the Eighth Prince added.

With Emperor Taihe returning to the capital, these princes would naturally follow.

Ji Yang nodded, indicating that he understood.

In truth, these matters were not originally his concern, but in the past few days, he felt that since he was injured, he could rightfully demand to remain outside. In any case, Prince Wei had said nothing. However, if anything happened, he would release Prince Wei, or directly transfer the memories to him.

The two spoke for a while longer, and then the Eighth Prince took his leave.

Outside, Wan Chun'er saw the Eighth Prince emerge from within and quickly stood up.

"Third Sister-in-law, we'll take our leave."

The Eighth Prince was extremely respectful, offering a bow to Wushuang.

Wushuang nodded, while simultaneously casting a glance at Wan Chun'er. Wan Chun'er's face flushed slightly, and she nodded back at Wushuang.

After seeing off the Eighth Prince and his wife, Wushuang entered the inner hall.

"Your Highness is stationed at the border year-round, how did you become so close to the Eighth Prince?" she asked curiously.

Strictly speaking, the two were of different ages. The Eighth Prince was seventeen this year, only two years older than Wushuang, while Prince Wei was eleven years older than him. Wushuang had long been curious about this, but had not found an opportunity to ask.

"When he was young, he fell into the water in the Imperial Garden. It was this Prince who saved him."

If it were Prince Wei, he would have certainly stopped at that, but now it was Ji Yang, and he explained the matter in detail.

For example, the Eighth Prince did not fall into the water himself, but was pushed. At the time, there were other princes present, but not a single one went down to save their imperial brother, only ordering the palace servants to go into the water to save him. But the palace servants acted according to the situation, naturally dragging their feet. It was clearly just a small pond, yet the Eighth Prince almost drowned inside. It was Ji Yang, who happened to be passing by, who saved him.

From then on, the Eighth Prince treated his Third Imperial Brother as if he were his own, becoming quite attached to him. He would always trail behind him, and Ji Yang couldn't shake him off no matter how hard he tried.

And from then on, the Eighth Prince's health was never quite the same. The impact wasn't significant, merely preventing him from practicing martial arts like Ji Yang. Consequently, he grew even more admiring of his Third Imperial Brother's martial prowess. Furthermore, after Zhou Dang went to the Northwest and served as a Guerrilla General under Prince Wei, he naturally looked to Ji Yang to lead the way.

"So, something like that happened to the Eighth Prince. No wonder the Pure Consort is so timid."

In truth, the Pure Consort's timidity stemmed from another reason: the Eighth Prince's close relationship with Ji Yang had made them targets in the past. Even Pure Consort Zhou had suffered hardships, which was why she was so wary of Wan Chun'er associating with Wushuang.

On the other side, the Eighth Prince led Wan Chun'er out of Yuxiang Pavilion.

Men naturally walked with larger strides. Normally, Wan Chun'er would have followed meekly behind the Eighth Prince, but this time, emboldened by Wushuang's words, she mustered her courage and trotted to keep pace with him.

Ji Shao was not blind; he naturally noticed her struggle and slowed his pace.

Walking side by side, conversation naturally ensued.

"What did you talk about with Third Sister-in-law? I can see that you two get along well."

Wan Chun'er's small face flushed red as she whispered, "Actually, we didn't talk about much, just some private matters between women."

Private matters were naturally not to be shared with men. Wan Chun'er also realized that she was clumsy with words and hadn't seized the opportunity to speak with him. After a long silence, she finally squeezed out another sentence: "Third Sister-in-law is a good person. I like her very much."

Ji Shao nodded in agreement, saying, "Since she is the one Third Brother married, she must naturally be a good person."

The two used the topic of 'Third Brother and Third Sister-in-law' to converse all the way back to Jingcui Pavilion. Wan Chun'er naturally recognized the change and felt even more grateful to Wushuang, not to mention she seized the opportunity to invite Ji Shao to share the evening meal.

The next day, Feng Xi arrived.

Besides checking on Ji Yang's injuries, he also conveyed Emperor Taihe's decree: to set off back to the capital tomorrow.

The snow had only truly stopped yesterday. In the thickest places outside, the snow was half a person tall. Wushuang was unaware that Emperor Taihe had dispatched a large contingent of men from the capital, relying on manpower to clear the road, making it passable for carriages.

At Shen Shi (3-5 PM), Wan Chun'er arrived, also speaking of the return to the capital. It seemed the Eighth Prince's side would be traveling together with Prince Wei's mansion.

Since they were leaving tomorrow, they naturally had to begin preparing their luggage.

Linglong, Meifang, Xiaodouzi, and the others busied themselves, packing and boxing up everything that wouldn't be needed for the journey.

The next day, Wushuang was ready early in the morning, but who knew they would be delayed until noon before finally departing. The only thing worth celebrating was that they were not riding in the precious carriage they had come in, but instead returned to the Prince Wei's mansion's carriage.

Before dusk, the party finally returned to the Prince Wei's mansion.

Mei Wushuang returned to Xiangluan Courtyard to settle in, while Ji Yang went to the study. As soon as he and Wushuang alighted from the carriage, they were invited away by several advisors who had been waiting for them, clearly for serious matters that needed discussion.

Even after Wushuang finished her tasks in Xiangluan Courtyard, he still hadn't returned. Thinking of the injuries he had sustained, and fearing that he would act recklessly again without her watching over him, she decided against sending someone to inquire and went directly to the study.

Entering the study, Wushuang saw him sitting behind his desk, reading something.

She was taken aback for a moment, and he looked up at her.

She immediately realized that it was Prince Wei.

In truth, Prince Wei's absence for several days had struck Wushuang as rather odd. However, she was too guilt-ridden to ask Ji Yang about it. Seeing Prince Wei now, she was surprised, but not entirely astonished.

After such a significant event at Mount Xiang, she could understand that while being confined in the villa was one thing, now that they had returned, there would naturally be countless accumulated official duties to handle.

The words she had intended to say, about him not taking care of his health, were naturally swallowed back down. She didn't know why, but whenever she faced Prince Wei, Wushuang couldn't be as casual as she was with Ji Yang.

Perhaps it was the deeply ingrained majesty of Emperor Qianwu, or perhaps it was Prince Wei's consistently solemn and dignified demeanor, his methodical way of doing things, that prevented her from being at ease. In any case, whenever she faced him, she would involuntarily become restrained and uncomfortable, even though she knew that he had another side to him in private.

"Why is it that as soon as you see this Prince, you become speechless?"

Wushuang, who prided herself on having a discerning mind, couldn't quite decipher the meaning of his words. She felt that there was a hint of jealousy in them, along with other, more complex emotions.

"Come here."

She hastily went over.

"Your Highness."

Seeing her so obedient and charming, Prince Wei felt a surge of resentment in his heart.

He pulled her over and made her sit on his lap. Wushuang, remembering that every time Prince Wei had made her sit on his lap before, nothing good had come of it, resisted somewhat.

"These past few days apart, did you miss this Prince?" he asked, stroking her face.

What could Wushuang say? That she was barely managing to deal with Ji Yang, and naturally hadn't had time to think of him?

Actually, she had thought of him, wondering why he hadn't appeared. And after the bell was discovered that day, when she was lying in bed with nothing to do, Ji Yang had been playing with her foot, and the bell had struck the small jade seal, and the sound seemed to have changed, becoming clearer.

Each time it rang, she would recall the day he fastened the bell to her ankle, swaying her leg, the clear tinkling sounds of *ding-dang, ding-dang*…

Mei Wushuang had tasted bitterness at the hands of Prince Wei. He was too ruthless. He and Ji Yang possessed entirely different natures. If he desired to punish someone, it would be as silent as the gentle rain nourishing the earth.

Setting traps little by little, forcing you bit by bit, until you had no choice but to listen to him, to obey him. If you angered him, caused him displeasure, he would not tell you, but would slowly manipulate you until you were weeping and begging for mercy.

Therefore, she absolutely could not provoke him.

"I missed you," she said softly, her face flushed crimson.

A delicate face, eyes brimming with light, her countenance still bearing traces of youthful innocence, yet an unintentional, captivating charm would inevitably spill forth.

Like a little enchantress!

She knew exceptionally well how to deal with him, knew what would make him relent, what would render him unable to vent his anger…

Truly a little enchantress!

He lowered his head to kiss her, nibbling and sucking at her fragrant, soft lips, while his hand roamed and caressed her waist.

"Your Highness, your wound…" she whispered, breathless.

"This Prince knows his limits."

Wushuang immediately dared not utter another word.

This was the difference. When facing Ji Yang, she still dared to push him, shove him, and lecture him with reason, but when facing Prince Wei, she dared not say a single word.

Truly dared not. She could not afford to offend him.

Prince Wei indeed knew his limits, stopping just before she was on the verge of collapse.

Yet Wushuang knew that he was likely angered.

"It is time for the evening meal."

After slightly tidying his robes, he was still the dignified and esteemed Prince Wei, while Wushuang was panting for breath, her eyes seemingly able to drip with water, not only were her clothes disheveled, but her legs were also weak.

They did not return to Xiangluan Courtyard, but instead had their evening meal there. After finishing, Wushuang originally intended to return, but Prince Wei detained her with the excuse, "This Prince's Consort refuses to attend to this Prince's illness."

That night, Wushuang stayed for the first time in Prince Wei's study.