Chapter 22: An Unexpected Encounter with the Ninth Prince

  Yesterday's chapter, Butterfly made some changes, please go back and take a look again, to connect with today's plot, sorry for the trouble ~ O (∩ _ ∩) O ~

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  Under the lush foliage, a slender figure in green stood by the lake, her beauty and elegance evident. It was clear that she was the one who had just been scolding someone. Across from her, a man with a fiery red robe embroidered with black trim and golden thread glistened in the sunlight. He sat lazily on a stone by the lake, his eyes gleaming with a hint of flirtation, his eyebrows expressive, as he smiled carelessly and said: "Ask you, little sister, how can you bear to be so cruel to my eyes? You're not as good-looking as me, your temperament is not as good as mine... I really can't accept it. Every day, I see my beautiful face in the mirror, then turn around and see your face... How can you stand to torture my eyes like this?" The gentle and affectionate voice spoke words that were ruthlessly hurtful to the woman.

  The woman in green clothes was so angry at his words that she burst into tears, but the man didn't care and just smiled and looked on.

  "Brother Jiu, I'm crying, can't you come and comfort me?" The woman in green clothes stomped her foot and complained, suddenly having an idea, pretending to be so angry that she felt dizzy, rubbing her forehead and falling into the man's arms. As long as she fell into his arms, she would shout loudly and attract people to see, creating a fait accompli, Brother Jiu would have no choice but to marry her.

  The man smiled slightly, sidestepped and quietly gave her a gentle push on the back.

  With a "splash", the woman in green clothes didn't understand what was happening and fell into the lake, immediately getting frightened out of her wits and letting out a loud shriek. Soon, she attracted the attention of the palace maids and eunuchs serving in the Imperial Garden, who repeatedly asked: "What's wrong? What's wrong? Ah, Ninth Prince! Your humble servant greets Ninth Prince!"

  Yu Hongmo's expression was innocent: "Nothing, Ye Niang saw the lotus flowers in the lake blooming well, and she insisted on going down to pick them. I advised her that the water is deep and dangerous, but she didn't listen. As a result...". He shrugged his shoulders, spread his hands, and said, "You still don't hurry up and go into the water to rescue her. If Ye Niang has an accident, can you bear the responsibility?" In just a few words, he pushed the responsibility for Ye Qiong's life and death onto the eunuchs and palace maids.

  It's just the third month of spring, where did the lotus flowers come from?

  But Yu Hongmo's face, and the innocent expression was too deceptive, coupled with the calm and threatening tone, everyone didn't think much, and jumped into the lake to rescue Ye Xunqing. When Ye Xunqing was rescued, she had already fainted, and everyone hastily sent her back to the palace, calling for a doctor, after a flurry of activity, the lakeside returned to calmness.

  Yu Hongmo's movements, Pei Yuange was watching clearly from behind the fake mountain, and his heart was secretly chilled. Facing a woman who admired him, he could be so ruthless, this person is absolutely not a good kind! Just thinking about leaving quietly, suddenly heard someone say: "Is the person behind the fake mountain listening enough? If you've listened enough, come out for me!"

  The voice is languid and gentle, but secretly hides a chilling coldness and majesty.

  Pei Yuange quietly called out in distress, she just didn't want to cause any trouble so she hid, but unexpectedly still couldn't avoid it. Helplessly, she walked out from behind the fake mountain and bowed to Yu Huo from a distance: "This humble girl Pei Yuange greets Your Highness."

  "Pei Yuange, you owe me a personal favor, do you know that?" Yu Hongmo seemed not surprised at all, raised an eyebrow and smiled lightly. "If I had just exposed your hiding place and let Ye Wenqing know that everything she said and did was seen by you, what do you think the outcome would be?"

  Pei Yuansong helplessly bowed again: "The young woman thanks Your Highness for sparing her life."

  This Ninth Highness is like a colorful venomous snake, using beautiful colors to deceive people's eyes and ears, thinking it's a harmless flower, but its body is full of poison, and if you're not careful, you might get bitten by him, with the toxin penetrating deep into your bones. Pei Yuansong and that Ye girl are both examples of this. Moreover, he holds high power and authority, so one can't afford to offend him. Pei Yuan has a deep sense of caution towards him, and doesn't dare to be careless in his words or actions.

  She saw her humble and respectful appearance, Yu Hongmo stroked his chin thoughtfully and said slowly: "Pei Yuange, do you know that this expression of yours reminds me of the time when you begged for mercy on behalf of your sister in the Xiangxiang Temple. You clearly hated her so much that you wanted to trample on her face, yet you still managed to put on a show of deep sisterly love. Now you're using this same expression on me, are you saying... you also want to trample on my face?"

  "......" Pei Yuansong bit her lip and said: "The Ninth Prince is joking, how dare I?"

  "How could I not dare? I saw the two slaps you gave earlier, and they were quite forceful. Even I felt my face stinging just from hearing them." Yu Hongmo said calmly, seeing that the two of them were standing far apart, and smiled slyly, "Why are you standing so far away? Are you afraid that if you get too close, you won't be able to resist slapping me again? Or is it... that you're afraid of getting too close and being charmed by me, losing control and falling in love with me?" His eyes sparkled with springtime, his eyebrows shone brightly, and for a moment, he turned the world upside down.

  Could it be that he saw her slap Pei Yuanrong just now? So to speak, she had only left for a short while when the Ninth Prince also withdrew from the flower appreciation banquet. Or was he following her? What's going on here? Could it be that Liu Guifei still hasn't completely cleared up her suspicions about her?

  Pei Yuansong's heart grew increasingly uneasy, and he forced himself to calm down, saying: "The little girl is afraid of picking lotus flowers."

  "Afraid to pick lotus flowers? Haha, how interesting!" Yu Hongmo burst out laughing, still looking stunningly beautiful. He gazed at Pei Yuange's eyes again, with a few more ambiguous meanings. "Pei Yuange, you're very clever, that's good. Because we'll be meeting often in the future, your awareness will save me a lot of trouble. Now, tell me, why did you pretend to be ill and withdraw from the empress's flower appreciation banquet?"

  Pei Yuange's heart skipped a beat again, and her forehead was covered in fine sweat. Had she really not been able to deceive Empress Liu, so she had sent Yuhongmo to follow her? Or was it just a test? And what did they mean by saying that they would often meet in the future? What was this unpredictable and moody demon king planning?

  "Your Highness is wise, indeed I was seriously ill and my body is weak—"

  "Pei Yuange, don't try to fool me with that nonsense you spouted in the grand hall earlier. I won't be pleased if you do!" Yu Huo's eyebrows rose slightly as she smiled, but her eyes betrayed a hint of coldness and chilliness that sent shivers down one's spine. "Now, tell me the truth honestly, and I won't make things difficult for you. Otherwise... do you want me to tell Empress Dowager that you're not ill? Or should I tell Ye Wenqin that you were just at the fake mountain earlier? Or perhaps I'll simply tell her that I don't like her because I have my eyes on you instead? By the way, let me remind you that Ye Wenjun, who gave you a hard time earlier, is only the imperial concubine's niece, whereas Ye Wenqin is the imperial concubine's own niece, whom she treats as her own daughter."

  No matter what Yu Hongmo says to whom, she is dead meat!

  Pei Yuansong gritted his teeth, this Ninth Prince was too difficult to deal with! However, listening to his tone, it seemed he didn't want to pursue the matter? Or perhaps, he just wanted to show that he wasn't willing to be treated like a fool. After thinking for a moment, he carefully said: "This humble girl has a slender willow-like figure and was once jilted, I dare not presume to receive Your Highness's favor." These words were spoken very smoothly, even if someone tried to grasp at them, they couldn't find any handle, but the phrases "slender willow-like figure" and "once jilted" already revealed a few hints of deeper meaning.

  As expected, she saw through me! Yu Hongmo gazed at her, suddenly smiling again, with a hint of cunning in his eyes: "I think our conversation just now won't get out, right?"

  "Miss Pei said with a smile: 'I have never met the Ninth Prince privately today, nor have I ever spoken to him.'"

  "Go!" Yu Hongmo smiled with satisfaction, gazing at her departing figure. The carelessness and laziness around him gradually dissipated, his eyes sank, his eyebrows furrowed, and he fell into deep thought: This Pei Yuange is intelligent, can endure, knows the times, this is a good thing, but it also means cunning and changeable, not easy to control. It seems that matter needs to be carefully planned...

  They returned to the Pei residence together, and for the first time, the servants of the Pei residence saw the true appearance of Pei Yuansong. They were all stunned, including Shiyan, Pei Zhucheng's personal attendant. However, he had been with Pei Zhucheng for a long time and quickly composed himself, saying: "Fourth Miss, Master has asked you to go to Tongze Institute as soon as you return to the residence." After a pause, he added: "Third Miss and Zhang Niangniang are already waiting there."

  Pei Yuange knew what had happened with those two slaps and was prepared. He smiled and said, "Thanks for bringing the way."

  Digression

  These days, everyone is not speaking, Butterfly is very frightened, is it that everyone doesn't like the recent plot?