Chapter 56

Xie Yun stood at a distance from Sang Yao, surrounded by a group of court officials and ministers, all engaged in a heated discussion.

He had no interest in participating in such meaningless debates.

Silently, he stood aside, his gaze inadvertently falling on Sang Yao and Yang Wenchuan, who were talking not far away.

Both of them had no smile on their faces.

But Jinglian didn’t mind. He was simply admiring the beauty of Miss Sang, who had been completely out of the running in his eyes since last night.

Just friends chatting, nothing more. However, the person beside him seemed to think otherwise.

After a while, Xie Yun stared at the two standing face to face in the distance and finally asked, “Were they very close when they were young?”

What use was there in asking? He didn’t know.

He was just a servant, responsible only for matters related to the Xie family.

Although he had good eyesight and ability, he was not omniscient. How could he possibly know about the relationship between Sang Yao and Yang Wenchuan?

But he didn’t dare to say he didn’t know. So, he tried tentatively, “Shall I go and find out?”

To be honest, he thought his master wouldn’t waste time on such questions.

It was childish.

Xie Yun grunted in agreement.

He actually grunted in agreement?

He didn’t dare to give such an order, let alone send someone to investigate. Moreover, more than ten years had passed. If the parties involved didn’t speak up, how could they find out anything?

But Jinglian obviously had no room to refuse. He quietly said, “Understood.”

The two were still talking, and it seemed like they would never finish. Not far away, Sang Yin occasionally smiled and glanced at the two, seemingly very satisfied with them.

Standing behind Xie Yun, Jinglian clearly felt the coldness around him and guessed that his master was not too pleased.

Well, he could barely understand.

After hesitating for a long time, he spoke to comfort him, “Master, I think Mr. Yang and Miss Sang should just be ordinary friends.”

Xie Yun said lightly, “You’re talking nonsense again.”

“And whether they are ordinary friends or not has nothing to do with me.”

Jinglian rolled his eyes behind Xie Yun. Here he goes again, if it has nothing to do with you, then don’t ask people to investigate.

He said it as if it were true.

But he still softened his voice and said sincerely, “Master, there’s nothing to worry about. In my opinion, Miss Sang is not interested in Mr. Yang.”

This is indeed true.

Xie Yun, rarely, did not refute Jinglian.

He knew that Sang Yao liked him, and not just for a day or two. With him around, how could she still look at someone like Yang Wenchuan? From the beginning, he didn’t need to care about this issue.

Meanwhile, Sang Yao, thinking of last night’s incident, began to look around to find Xie Yun.

After looking for a long time, she finally saw him in a clearing ahead.

But he was far away from her, facing sideways, with many familiar court officials by his side.

In addition, not far away, there were many royal children sitting around, including Lu Li.

If she wanted to talk to Xie Yun, she would have to walk alone through a narrow aisle with people on both sides, and then attract his attention.

Then she had two choices.

Either she chose to ask that embarrassing question in front of everyone, or she took Xie Yun to a less crowded place without a clear purpose in front of everyone.

Sang Yao frowned for a moment, then decided to drop it.

She would ask later when she had the chance.

At this moment, Sang Yin approached her and said, “Yao Yao, tell me the truth, what do you really think of Yang Wenchuan?”

There were so many people around, and Sang Yao really didn’t want to discuss this issue.

But seeing Sang Yin’s serious expression, she obediently said, “I don’t have any feelings for him.”

This statement was not entirely true. She admired him a lot.

Because she had seen him when she was young, there was always a sense of closeness between them.

But it stopped there. And her feelings didn’t matter.

Sang Yin nodded. Just as Sang Yao was about to urge her father to leave, Sang Yin suddenly remembered something and said, “Oh right, Yao Yao.”

Sang Yao asked, “What is it, Father?”

Sang Yin looked puzzled. He said, “Do you know Young Lord Rong Xiao?”

Sang Yao’s expression froze. She almost forgot, she was not safe now, and the matter was not resolved.

She had indeed been saved by Xie Yun last night, but that didn’t mean the matter was over.

Since Rong Yan failed, there might be another action.

Under the sunlight, Sang Yao suddenly felt cold all over.

She didn’t even know exactly what happened last night, she didn’t know how to handle this matter at all.

Including that night, she clearly remembered that she had stayed in her room, ate as usual, and even received a few visits from eunuchs who came to deliver letters.

But she was ambushed in ignorance.

And since then, she didn’t know when it would happen again.

Sang Yao hurriedly grabbed Sang Yin’s sleeve and said, “He’s looking for you, why are you suddenly asking me this?”

Sang Yin looked at Sang Yao’s expression, even more puzzled. “He just asked if you were my daughter, and when I said yes, he didn’t say anything else.”

Sang Yin asked, “What’s wrong?”

Sang Yao tightly bit her lip. She didn’t know if she should tell Sang Yin the truth.

She wasn’t very smart, so she couldn’t think of a way to deal with it. And her father had been immersed in the officialdom for many years, maybe he had a way.

But when she was about to speak, she hesitated.

She didn’t want to involve Sang Yin.

Just as she was hesitating, the planned half-hour break was already over.

Sang Yin hurriedly said, “I’m going back first. We’ll talk about it tonight if there’s anything.”

Sang Yao absent-mindedly got on the carriage. Because there were so many people, the carriage journey was not fast.

She leaned against the carriage, and her already not very good mood was made worse by Sang Yin’s words.

Actually, she really wanted to assure Ming Rong and the others that she would never tell anyone, but this assurance was too pale, they wouldn’t believe it.

Perhaps in their eyes, only the dead were the most reliable.

The more Sang Yao thought about it, the sadder she felt.

She half-closed her eyes, and even the kindly and benevolent appearance couldn’t be maintained.

The journey that could have been achieved with just a nap in Sang Yao’s eyes seemed to have become longer, until the late night was approaching, and the carriage slowly entered the imperial city.

Sang Yao was thinking about this matter all the way.

She even forgot to ask Xie Yun about whether he really kissed her.

Although she was a person without much ambition and didn’t care who she would marry in the future, she still hoped she could live well.

Obviously, she had been trying hard not to provoke anyone, and she had always kept her father’s words in mind.

Except for Xie Yun, she never provoked anyone she couldn’t afford to provoke.

“Why do things always end up like this?” She’s really annoyed and powerless.

At this moment, she suddenly empathized deeply with her father and sister. Why are they so obsessed with status? It’s like right now, even though it was Rong Yan and Ming Rong who were having an affair, she was just a bystander, yet she had to be so scared.

Scared for her life, scared that something she unintentionally overheard would harm her family.

On the other hand, Xie Yun…

Xie Yun could act like nothing had happened. He had saved her last night, and those two probably knew they were together now.

But Xie Yun shouldn’t be afraid.

He had said before that those two were the ones who should be afraid.

Thinking of this, Sang Yao slowly sat up straight.

A thought emerged in her mind, somewhat unrighteous: What if… I go and ask him again?

Of course, she didn’t expect Xie Yun to do anything for her. He was fine as he was and didn’t need to get into trouble.

It’s just that Xie Yun seemed smarter than her father, and he was the only one who knew about this. If she asked him, he could probably give her some advice.

Lost in thought, the carriage had already reached the Qingfeng Alley outside the palace.

When entering the palace, the team had already dispersed, with those going to the palace entering directly from Taishi Street, while those not entering the palace all stopped at Qingfeng Alley.

Sang Yao got off the carriage and, under the clear light all the way, began to look for Xie Yun’s figure.

She prayed in her heart that Xie Yun wouldn’t enter the palace tonight, or she would have to come back tomorrow.

By then, she might have to wait for him at his doorstep.

Fortunately, she saw Xie Yun’s figure in front of the palace gate.

But there was someone beside him at the moment, so Sang Yao stood alone in place, waiting for the person next to him to leave.

After a long time of anxiety, the person next to Xie Yun finally left.

At this moment, it was late at night. After getting off the carriage, most people had their own carriages to pick them up, so they dispersed quickly.

In the darkness of night, Sang Yao was anxious, and her steps were a bit fast.

Just as Xie Yun was about to get on the carriage, she shouted, “Xie Yun!”

Xie Yun’s figure paused, then turned around.

The slender figure of the young girl stood in the night, her skirt and hair fluttering in the breeze.

Xie Yun was somewhat surprised. He turned around and looked at her.

Sang Yao quickened her pace and ran towards Xie Yun, then stopped in front of him, her breathing somewhat rapid, and went straight to the point: “Xie Yun, can you help me with something?”

She felt somewhat guilty saying this.

Because she found that she seemed to always be asking Xie Yun for help, and she had never really helped him with anything.

Actually, she really wanted to help him with something, but there was really nothing she could do for him.

In the expectant gaze of Sang Yao, Xie Yun said lightly, “Speak.”

Sang Yao felt aggrieved just thinking about it, because she felt she hadn’t done anything wrong at all.

She had just avoided the rain and ended up in an unjust situation.

She whispered, “Wuwuwu, can you help me think of a solution?

“It’s still Rong Yan and them. I’m sure he won’t let me off. Even yesterday, he dared to do that in front of the emperor. Now that he’s back in the capital, he must be even less tolerant of me.

“Now that I know about his affair with Ming Rong, he will definitely try to silence me. I…”

“I can’t just go and assure him, can I? He definitely wouldn’t believe me…”

After talking for a while, Sang Yao secretly glanced at Xie Yun’s expression.

Couldn’t tell anything.