Chapter 7

Sang Yao frowned, unhappy. “What nonsense are you talking about?”

Sang Yinyue had loved teasing her since childhood. Although she didn’t dare to bully her like she did when she was young after her father was promoted, Sang Yinyue’s mouth was still as annoying as ever.

She didn’t have much interaction with the Fifth Prince.

The time he took the initiative to talk to her, his words were polite and didn’t imply anything.

She just didn’t like the way the Fifth Prince looked at her, always feeling sticky and annoying, so when she heard Sang Yinyue’s words, she instinctively resisted.

“Whether it’s nonsense or not, you’ll see. Sang Yao, the Fifth Prince is a prince. Don’t act like you’ve got a bargain and still play coy.”

The more Sang Yao listened, the more annoyed she became, not wanting to deal with her.

Sang Yinyue continued, “I heard you’re going to attend the prince’s birthday banquet in the palace in a few days. Take me with you.”

Sang Yao said, “I can’t decide on that.”

Sang Yinyue complained, “We’re both from the Sang family. Now that you’ve got a good marriage, you don’t care about the family anymore?”

Sang Yao looked annoyed and didn’t want to talk to her.

Sang Yinyue threatened, “If you don’t agree, I’ll tell my father and let him go to your father. Your father listens to my father the most.”

Sang Yao turned to look at her, angry. “Don’t threatened me!”

When she was young, she had a weak condition from the womb, which made her not as responsive as other children at the age of three or four. Sang Yinyue loved to call her a fool. Later, when her illness was cured, this second sister still didn’t change her name.

“You can go find him. My father won’t agree! I won’t take you!”

She knew she wasn’t as quick-witted as others, so after saying this, she pushed Sang Yinyue out and slammed the door shut.

Her dislike for Sang Yinyue was not only because of this incident.

When she was young, her father was just a small book repairman in the Taixue library, with no real power or future.

At that time, her father was second in the family, with her talented eldest uncle above him, serving in the Dali Temple, and her scholarly and talented younger uncle below him, serving in the Hanlin Academy, with a promising future ahead of him.

Top of Form

At that time, they encountered a lot of mistreatment and disdain. Because she was gentle, she was often bullied by the older siblings in the clan.

I remember one time, she was pushed by Sang Yinyue and fell from the attic, directly smashing her head open. Father, angry, took her to find the uncle for justice, but instead of getting justice, he was scolded. They said father was a weak and useless waste, living in the mansion and eating for free.

At that time, Sang Yao was still young and didn’t understand the sharpness of those words. She only knew that her usually upright father bent his back, his face red with anger and lips trembling. Until the end, her father never lifted his head.

Nowadays, Her father holds the rank of fourth grade official, highly valued and always supporting the family, and no one mentions the past anymore.

But Sang Yao remembers that day, remembering father’s shame, helplessness, and disappointment.

She couldn’t bring herself to like this family.

•  

Two days later, the clouds dispersed, and the sky cleared.

Sang Yao picked a light pink jacket to match the good weather and took a carriage to the palace.

Inside the palace, there were luxurious clothes everywhere, and the air was filled with the fragrance of flowers. Sang Yao saw several familiar faces.

They gathered together, whispering and laughing softly, occasionally greeting Sang Yao.

Sang Yao always felt awkward in crowded places and wasn’t good at socializing. After politely returning the greetings, she found a corner with fewer people and stood there.

The palace held about a dozen banquets a year. Because of her father and sister, she had to attend each one and had long been used to them.

During the banquet, she only needed to sit next to her father and eat quietly, without worrying about anything else.

“Oh, why did you come today?”

“Look at what you’re saying, how can you not come to the Crown Prince’s millennium banquet?”

The voices of the noble ladies not far away reached Sang Yao’s ears. She didn’t want to eavesdrop on others’ conversations. Just as she was about to discreetly move away, she heard them say, “Are you here for the Crown Prince, or for him?”

Another woman’s thoughts were caught, and she shyly said, “Nonsense…”

“But my father said he came back today, I don’t know if it’s true.”

“It’s true, I saw him passing by the Taiji Hall just now… he looks like an exile, and his heart seems to be in exile too.”

“Do you really think Master Xie has no worldly desires?”

Sang Yao roughly understood who they were talking about.

She couldn’t help but sneer inwardly; this guy had plenty of worldly desires.

“Look, look! He’s here!”

Sang Yao’s heart couldn’t help but tremble at the words, subconsciously following everyone’s gaze to look over.

The golden sun was dazzling, and the green trees swayed.

He walked through the crowd wearing black deer-skin boots, his face cold and gentle yet sharp. There was a coldness about him, and the sunlight fell on his handsome and pale face, but it didn’t soften it at all.

He easily gave people a sense of indifference and aloofness.

He walked past Sang Yao without looking sideways, not stopping for a moment.

This young powerful figure always easily captures the admiration of the masses.

Top of Form

His appearance today was no different from before, and it caused a momentary silence around him. Sang Yao’s gaze here was inconspicuous.

As distant as the sky.

This even made Sang Ya momentarily forget about that absurd manual.

Xie Yun’s location was somewhat far from Sang Ya, and there were many people around him, making it difficult for Sang Ya to see his face clearly.

After a while, Sang Yao withdrew her gaze.

In her heart, she repeated, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.”

The discussion about Xie Yun among the young ladies nearby was still ongoing. Sang Yao, bored, played with the blooming begonia flowers in front of her, then couldn’t help but raise her ears to eavesdrop.

It wasn’t until a familiar voice sounded behind her.

“Miss Sang.”

Sang Yao was startled and turned around.

It was Jing Lian.

But in just two days, she felt that Jing Lian seemed to have changed. There was a hint of darkness in his eyes, his lips were pale, and even his once bright eyes that hid a sharpness seemed dimmer now, showing signs of exhaustion all over his body.

She couldn’t help but glance at Xie Yun in the distance before asking, “Wh… what’s wrong?”

Why did Xie Yun send Jing Lian to find her?

Since learning the truth, even when facing Jing Lian, Sang Yao felt as if she was facing a great enemy.

Jing Lian said, “Miss, rest assured, the master doesn’t need me right now.”

Sang Yao made a skeptical sound and then tried to chat with Jing Lian, intending to ask if he had eaten. But she felt it was too awkward and the chat failed. She went straight to the point and asked, “Is there something you need?”

Jing Lian maintained a smile on his face and said, “There is indeed something I’d like to ask Miss Sang about.”

“I wonder if Miss remembers the last time at the Ministry of Justice’s yamen, in that room, after we left, did Miss go in again?”

Sang Yao remained unchanged on the surface, but her heart was in turmoil. She suppressed the nervousness and said, “… I went in.”

Jing Lian couldn’t wait and said, “Then, did Miss see a book? The text is no longer legible, it’s been quite a few years.”

He asked so directly!

Sang Yao swallowed and thought to herself that she had indeed guessed correctly. It seemed that Xie Yun had discovered that the manual was missing and had already suspected the room from last time.