Chapter 139

Yuan Ziying waited in the front courtyard. When she saw the maid return, she quickly asked, “Nanny, where is General Xie?”

“Miss Yuan, the Princess wants to see you. Please follow me.”

Yuan Ziying followed the maid through the front courtyard gate into the middle courtyard, casually observing the mansion’s layout as they walked.

“May I know your surname? What is your name? Where are you from?” the maid asked. “When did you and General Xie get engaged? Did your parents and a matchmaker arrange it?”

Yuan Ziying replied casually, “I grew up in the mountains. My surname is Yuan. You can call me Miss Yuan.”

Grew up in the mountains?

The maid paused, a smile appearing on her face with a hint of disdain. “Is that so?” So, she’s a country girl. No wonder she came uninvited, not understanding any etiquette.

They passed through corridors and courtyards and soon arrived at the Princess’s courtyard. The maid entered the main hall and reported to the Princess, “Princess, Miss Yuan is here.”

Princess Rong sat in the main seat, her expression indifferent. “Let her in.”

“Yes.” The maid turned and walked to the door. “Miss Yuan, please come in.”

The rules were strict in a prince’s mansion, and the mistress of the house had a lot of authority. Yuan Ziying was used to this and didn’t feel uneasy; instead, she was pretty composed. Entering the hall, she saw Princess Rong in the main seat and politely said, “I heard General Xie is in Prince Rong’s mansion. I came specifically to find him. Where is he now?”

Princess Rong frowned, her expression displeased. Where did this girl come from, with no manners at all?

The maid clearly didn’t expect Yuan Ziying to be so rude, not even knowing how to greet the Princess. She was about to scold her, but Princess Rong raised her hand to stop her. The maid held back.

Princess Rong looked Yuan Ziying up and down before asking coldly, “Are you General Xie’s fiancée?”

Yuan Ziying nodded. “Yes, Princess.”

“A resident of the capital?”

“No,” Yuan Ziying shook her head. “I grew up in the mountains.”

Mountains? Which mountains?

Princess Rong frowned, her expression not looking good. “You said you are a female officer?”

“Yes,” Yuan Ziying nodded, looking around. “Where is General Xie?”

Princess Rong picked up her teacup, her eyes scrutinizing. “What kind of female officer are you? I’ve never heard of you.”

Yuan Ziying replied thoughtfully, “I am a female officer to the Emperor, just appointed by Her Majesty. It’s normal that the Princess doesn’t know… Where is General Xie?”

A female officer to the Emperor? A dark look flashed in Princess Rong’s eyes, and she smiled gently. “General Xie had some wine at the mansion this afternoon and had a pleasant conversation with my daughter. They just went for a walk in the garden—”

“A pleasant conversation?” Yuan Ziying’s face changed, and she became furious. “How dare Xie Yunjian fool around with another woman behind my back?”

Princess Rong’s face changed, and she angrily said, “How dare you!”

“How dare I what?” Yuan Ziying finally seemed to see Princess Rong’s true colors and retorted, “You invited Xie Yunjian here just to have him engage in an affair with your daughter? It’s disgraceful for a noble mansion like Prince Rong’s to do such a thing!”

“How dare you!” Princess Rong slammed the table, her face turning pale with anger. “Where did this uncouth country woman come from, so rude and disrespectful? No wonder Xie Yunjian doesn’t like you. With your temper, if you were a maid in this mansion, you would have been beaten to death long ago!”

Yuan Ziying sneered, “I wouldn’t want to be a maid in your mansion. Do you think everyone wants to come to such a filthy place?”

With that, she turned and walked out, shouting, “Xie Yunjian! Xie Yunjian!”

Princess Rong’s face was stiff and didn’t react for a while. “She… she…”

She put down her teacup, trembling as she pointed outside. “Who is she to dare act so wildly in this mansion?”

The maid hurriedly apologized, “Princess, please calm down! I will have her thrown out immediately.” With that, she rushed out.

Yuan Ziying walked outside, shouting, “Xie Yunjian, get out here!”

“You have a fiancée, yet you fool around with other women in this mansion. Have you no shame?”

“Xie Yunjian, come out! Come out!”

Although she was only sixteen or seventeen, she acted like an uncultured shrew, shouting and screaming in the prestigious Prince Rong’s mansion without any fear of angering the Prince and Princess and being beaten to death. Princess Rong, who was always used to nobility, was left dumbfounded, her face turning pale with anger, almost unable to catch her breath. In all her years, she had never… never seen such an unruly, uneducated, and fearless girl!

“Someone! Quickly!” The maid chased after her in a panic, seeing the maids standing around in a daze. She angrily said, “What are you standing there for? Throw her out!”

Several maids hurriedly tried to grab Yuan Ziying, but she dodged them nimbly, weaving through the corridors. “Xie Yunjian! Xie Yunjian! Get out here!” she shouted loudly, attracting many curious maids.

The maid, pale with anger, pointed at her furiously, “Catch her!”

Her voice was so loud that it attracted many maids who came to watch the commotion.

A dozen maids surrounded Yuan Ziying, encircling her from both sides and attacking from the front and back, creating a chaotic scene.

Yuan Ziying deftly jumped over the railing and shouted, “Xie Yunjian! Xie Yunjian!”

Her movements were so swift, like a slippery eel, that the rough maids and matrons couldn’t keep up with her.

The head matron had never seen such a scene before, and she was both shocked and furious.

Yuan Ziying quickly passed through the left gate of the main courtyard. Two rough mamas were about to step forward to block her, but she waved her sleeve, causing them to freeze momentarily.

Yuan Ziying bent down and slipped through the gap between the two matrons, passing through the courtyard gate and heading towards the inner courtyard.

“Xie Yunjian!”

“Xie Yunjian!”

“Xie Yunjian!”

Though not very old, the young girl’s voice was loud enough to pierce the sky, as if she wanted everyone in Prince’s residence to hear: “Xie Yunjian!”

She instantly threw chaos into the inner courtyard of the Prince’s residence.

The guards of the Prince’s residence were in the front courtyard, and the inner courtyard was filled with matrons and maids who couldn’t stop her. However, the commotion she caused was so great that it alarmed the Prince and his son, who were in the front courtyard. Soon, a swarm of guards followed the Prince into the inner courtyard.

“What is going on?”

“Xie Yunjian!” The sharp voice almost pierced the sky, “Get out here! Come out!”

Xie Yunjian, who had been pretending to be dazed, could no longer keep up the act. His forehead throbbed, and he wished he could drag her over and give her a good beating. With such a powerful voice, was she trying to overturn Prince Rong’s residence?

He covered his forehead as if waking up slowly: “Who is calling me?”

Chapter 140

Startled, Yan Zhijiao, who had been ordered to take care of him, hurried to the bed and looked at him anxiously, “General Xie…, you… you woke up? Do you… do you feel any discomfort?”

“No discomfort.” Xie Yunjian surveyed his surroundings, looking somewhat bewildered, “Where is this? How did I end up here?”

“This is—”

“Xie Yunjian!”

Xie Yunjian suddenly sprang up from the bed and left without looking back.

“General Xie, General Xie!” Yan Zhijiao hurriedly chased after him, her tone somewhat flustered, “General Xie—”

Several maidservants exchanged glances and instinctively stepped forward to stop him from leaving.

“Xie Yunjian! Xie Yunjian!”

Xie Yunjian’s face darkened significantly. Just as he reached the courtyard gate, an old mama with some attendants approached and raised her hand to block his way, “General Xie, how did you end up here? Men and women should not be alone together, you—”

“Step aside.” Xie Yunjian pushed her aside.

The front courtyard was in chaos.

Guards, maids, and mamas were all chasing after Yuan Ziying.

Although Yuan Ziying seemed as if she couldn’t even lift a finger, those who tried to grab her would involuntarily freeze for a moment as if held by an invisible force. Even though it was just for a moment, it was enough for Yuan Ziying to escape.

The Prince and Princess were furious, their faces ashen.

The Prince’s Heir, Yan Jie, was enraged: “Where did this lowly maid come from? Hurry up and catch her, and tear her apart!”

Such chaos had never occurred in the strictly regulated Prince’s residence. It was as if they were raiding a house.

Xie Yunjian followed the direction of Yuan Ziying’s voice and quickly arrived at the front. It was truly a scene of people bustling about in utter disarray.

The Prince and his son had grim faces, and the Princess was livid. Princess Yan Zhixuan, hearing the commotion, also rushed over. After the initial shock, her eyes were filled with a hatred that seemed like she wanted to chop Yuan Ziying into pieces.

Yuan Ziying hid in the corridor, raising her hand towards the approaching guards: “Don’t come over! I’m just looking for my fiancé—”

Xie Yunjian lifted his foot and walked over: “Yuan Ziying.”

Yuan Ziying’s eyes lit up when she saw him appear unscathed: “Xie Yunjian!”

She dashed towards him like a butterfly, and the guards, taken by surprise by Xie Yunjian’s sudden appearance, turned around just in time to see Yuan Ziying throw herself into his arms.

Xie Yunjian, unusually, did not push her away and let her cling to him, frowning: “Why are you here?”

Yuan Ziying whispered, “I was worried someone was plotting against you, so I rushed over to save you.”

Xie Yunjian also lowered his voice: “With all this commotion, do you think you can save me?”

“Of course,” Yuan Ziying wrinkled her nose, “I’ll just shout at the top of my lungs until everyone in the Prince’s residence hears me. If you still don’t come out, it means you’re in danger, and I’ll have to take action.”

Her taking action meant poisoning. Although she didn’t carry much poison with her today, it was still enough to poison the Prince and his son, making them think twice before acting.

Xie Yunjian glared at her angrily, “What if I’m just playing along?”

“Playing along? What do you mean?” Yuan Ziying’s expression changed, “Are you saying you want to marry the princess of Prince Rong’s residence?”

Xie Yunjian lightly reprimanded, “Don’t talk nonsense.”

“General Xie, what’s going on here?” Prince Rong suppressed his anger and looked at the two, “May I ask who this young lady is to you? Causing such a commotion in the Prince’s residence, shouldn’t General Xie give this Prince an explanation?”

Xie Yunji turned around and bowed to Prince Rong, “During lunch, Yunjian said he already has a fiancée, and it’s her.”

Princess Rong’s face changed color. “General Xie, who has fought bravely on the battlefield and is both accomplished and handsome, actually has such an uncultured and unruly fiancée?”

Prince Rong frowned: “General Xie, are you trying to fool me?”

“A wild chicken from who knows which remote mountain can become a general’s wife?” Yan Zixuan sneered disdainfully, “General Xie doesn’t fancy this Princess and instead is willing to marry such a woman. It’s really hard to understand your taste, General.”

Yuan Ziying was unusually quiet. Her big eyes were fixed on Xie Yunjian’s face, and she showed no reaction to the slander from the Princess Consort and Yan Zixuan. Ever since Xie Yunjian mentioned the word ‘fiancée,’ her eyes sparkled, and her heart raced. How could she care about what others said?

However, Xie Yunjian frowned and said, “I ask the Princess and the Prince to speak carefully. Ziying is merely innocent and unrestrained by rules, living freely and carefreely. This is not a reason to slander her.”

Yan Zhixuan angrily said, “You—”

“General Xie already has a fiancée, so why are you still entangled with my daughter?” Prince Rong interrupted Yan Zhixuan’s words, coldly staring at Xie Yunjian. “If I am not mistaken, General Xie came from the northwest courtyard, right? That direction is where my daughter Zhiyao resides.”

Xie Yunjian explained, “Yunjian drank too much at noon and was somewhat disoriented, not intentionally—”

Princess Rong said coldly, “Whether intentional or not, General Xie has tarnished my daughter’s reputation. This cannot be overlooked.”

Xie Yunjian fell silent for a moment before saying, “What does the Princess want to do?”

Princess Rong’s gaze swept over Yan Zhijiao’s face, a hint of coldness flickering in her eyes: “Men and women should not be too familiar with each other. Since such a thing has happened, General Xie must give Zhijiao a proper status.”

Xie Yunjiu replied calmly, “Does she want to be a concubine?”

“Impudent,” Prince Rong frowned, “Even if my daughter is not a princess, her status is still noble enough.”

Xie Yunjian smiled maliciously, “Betrothed as a wife, eloped as a concubine. A woman who took advantage of this general’s drunkenness to throw herself at him, and this general is willing to give her the status of a concubine. That’s already raising her status.”

Yan Zhixuan’s face turned pale, and she lowered her eyes in embarrassment, her handkerchief unconsciously twisted into a ball.

“You!” Prince Rong’s face turned ashen with anger, “If that’s the case, let’s go to Her Majesty and settle this matter.”

Xie Yunjian sneered, “Prince Rong has always been a good-natured person. Can’t you keep up the act today?”

“No matter how good-natured a person is, they can’t just stand by and watch their daughter being bullied and humiliated.”

Xie Yunjian slowly nodded, “In that case, let’s go to the palace and ask Her Majesty to arbitrate and seek justice for your daughter.”

Yan Zhixuan’s expression was icy. Her eyes were fixed on Yuan Ziying’s face, filled with disdain and resentment. An uncultured village girl was actually Xie Yunjian’s fiancée? What a ridiculous joke.

“I’ll take my leave now, but I ask the Prince to dismiss the guards.” Xie Yunjian looked at the surrounding guards with drawn swords, “Today is the day of the reading companion exam, and the streets are heavily guarded. If the Prince were to act against me here, it would likely be suspected of rebellion if it got out.”

Prince Rong clenched his hands tightly, exchanging a silent glance with the Princess.

“Xie Yunjian,” the Princess said coldly, “Since you have stayed in my daughter’s room, you cannot pretend this matter has not happened today. However, since Miss Yuan is your fiancée, I am willing to take a step back. My daughter will be your wife, and Miss Yuan will be your concubine. They will address each other as sisters and live together harmoniously. What do you think?”