Chapter 22

The next day.

When Xu Duanyi woke up, the sky had already brightened.

Faintly, the sound of birds chirping could be heard drifting through the window into the room.

The window was closed.

The birdcalls, separated by some distance, weren’t very clear.

Xu Duanyi woke up in the lounge chair, gradually coming to consciousness.

She had thought she would have a sleepless night, but perhaps because of the exhaustion from the previous day’s activities, she had fallen asleep quickly.

Now, waking up, it felt like the aftermath of a restful sleep—it was quite comfortable.

Xu Duanyi opened her eyes.

The quilt that had covered her last night had, as expected, mostly fallen onto the floor. What surprised her, however, was that she didn’t feel any soreness at all.

She had expected to wake up with aches in her waist and back.

As she pondered this while pressing her waist, she glanced toward the canopy bed.

The quilt on the bed was disheveled, evidence that someone had slept there.

But the person who should have been in the bed was nowhere to be seen.

It was the expected scene.

In fact, Xu Duanyi felt a sense of relief.

If Xie Qingya had been there, she might have felt unsure of how to interact with him.

This way, it avoided the awkwardness of facing each other.

Xu Duanyi leaned on the lounge chair to stand up and bent down to pick up the quilt from the floor.

At that moment, an inappropriate thought crossed her mind.

What had Xie Qingya been thinking when he saw her lying in the chair this morning?

Would he have wondered about her?

“Master, have you woken up?”

From outside the curtain, Bixi’s voice came.

That thought in Xu Duanyi’s mind instantly stopped.

She quickly regained her composure and replied, “I’m up.”

As she picked up the quilt, she added, “You can come in.”

She didn’t have any intention of hiding anything.

Some things simply couldn’t be concealed.

Besides, the days ahead were long; while she might need to hide certain things from others, there was no need to do so with her two personal maids. There was nothing to hide, and nothing that could be hidden.

However, Xu Duanyi still left the reclining chair and went over to the table.

She had slept through the night.

Her mouth felt a little dry.

Unconsciously, she looked at the small table by the bed.

The tea cup she had placed there last night was gone.

She wondered if Xie Qingya had drunk it.

The curtain fluttered as Bixi entered.

She smiled and said to Xu Duanyi, “The kitchen has prepared some soup dumplings for you today. The chefs at the South An Wang’s residence are quite good. They can make anything. I also asked them to…”

Before she could finish her sentence, Bixi’s gaze landed on the room’s situation.

She saw the blanket hanging on the reclining chair.

Although she had expected this, seeing it in person still made her expression freeze slightly.

She stared at the spot for a moment before slowly turning her gaze toward Xu Duanyi.

Bixi’s thick lashes fluttered, and her voice trembled slightly, “Mistress, last night you…”

Xu Duanyi didn’t wait for her to finish. She sipped the cold tea and interrupted, “We slept separately last night.”

Perhaps due to Xu Duanyi’s calm expression and tone, Bixi’s complaints and grievances were unexpectedly halted at this moment.

She stared at Xu Duanyi, unsure of what to say.

“I’ll tell Aunt Deng that I’m not feeling well today and ask her to arrange another room for me. You and Shiyu can pack our things, and we’ll move later,” Xu Duanyi instructed Bixi.

This was a plan Xu Duanyi had thought of before going to bed last night.

By sleeping separately, she could avoid interacting with Xie Qingya.

He couldn’t possibly be drunk every night.

And she couldn’t sleep on the reclining chair every night.

But had she really slept on the reclining chair last night?

She unconsciously placed her hand on her back.

She had never slept on a reclining chair before and didn’t know how it would feel after a whole night. But there was no pain or discomfort at all—was this… normal?

Suddenly, she felt a hand on her lower back.

It was so sudden that Xu Duanyi was startled. She lowered her gaze and saw Bixi, who was bent down, pressing on her back.

Seeing her biting her lip with a look of grievance, Xu Duanyi couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m fine.”

When Bixi raised her head, her expression was one of “don’t lie to me.”

Xu Duanyi didn’t know how to explain.

Her gaze drifted toward the bed. Xu Duanyi suddenly had a thought and asked, “When did the prince get up?”

“Who knows when he got up?” Bixi replied with a hint of grievance in her tone.

Compared to Shiyu’s dissatisfaction, Bixi felt more grievance and sympathy.

She understood her mistress’s thoughts.

That was why she felt even more wronged and unwilling. But because she knew her mistress’s thoughts, she didn’t want to show her grievances. She just pursed her lips, helped her sit up, and truthfully replied, “When I got up, the prince had already left.”

After calculating the time, Bixi added, “I came in after the rooster crowed.”

So, Xie Qingya had gotten up before dawn.

Xu Duanyi didn’t ask any further.

Afterward, Bi Xi tidied up the room to avoid anyone seeing, and when everything was in order, she called Shiyu in to attend to Xu Duanyi’s washing and dressing.

Aunt Deng personally brought the breakfast.

She already knew that Xie Qingya had come back drunk the night before and left early this morning.

She was really exhausted and worried.

So, early this morning, she went to look for the prince.

She thought she would bring him to have breakfast with the princess, acting as a middleman to smooth things over and make the relationship between the prince and princess appear less tense.

But the prince had disappeared early in the morning.

Changfeng and Lingji, those two little ones, were also helping the prince hide things.

It really made her furious!

She couldn’t do anything.

So she had to come over to apologize herself.

Breakfast was already set on the table—there was porridge, buns, small dishes, and even bird’s nest…

Empress Dowager Zhao Yu liked to be extravagant.

Xu Duanyi was accustomed to eating blood bird’s nest in the palace.

But she didn’t know the situation at the manor and didn’t want to waste on these things, so she told Aunt Deng, “I didn’t eat much for breakfast, Aunt, just let the kitchen prepare less in the future. There’s no need to send bird’s nest every day.”

Aunt Deng wouldn’t oppose her, so she quickly agreed.

She thought it was better not to make decisions on her own, so she suggested, “Should I have the kitchen prepare the menu for the next day and bring it to you for approval? If anything is missing or inappropriate, the staff will know right away.”

This was a good idea, and Xu Duanyi had no objections. She smiled and agreed.

Aunt Deng felt relieved.

Seeing that the princess’s expression was normal and didn’t seem affected by the prince’s actions, Aunt Deng thought that the prince’s behavior was truly excessive, and she couldn’t pretend not to know. She was hesitating on how to speak well for the prince when she heard Xu Duanyi say, “By the way, Aunt, there’s one more thing I’d like to trouble you with.”

Aunt Deng, who was now afraid that Xu Duanyi wouldn’t ask for anything, was relieved when she heard the word “trouble.” She quickly replied, “Please go ahead.”

Xu Duanyi set down the hot handkerchief she had used to clean her hands and said, “This was something I should have mentioned last night, but there was too much going on. It was delayed until now.”

She got straight to the point.

“I’ve not been feeling well lately. I’ve been coughing a lot at night. To avoid disturbing the prince’s rest, could you arrange another room for me?”

Shiyu, who was standing beside her, blinked in confusion after hearing this.

“Has the master been feeling unwell recently?”

Why didn’t she know about it?

She opened her mouth to ask but was immediately pulled back by Bixi.

Seeing Bixi shake her head, Shiyu quickly realized something and didn’t say anything further.

But Aunt Deng didn’t see their actions. Upon hearing the question, her expression immediately changed, and she quickly said, “Where are you feeling unwell? I’ll have someone call for a doctor right away.”

She was afraid that the esteemed princess had fallen ill as soon as she entered their manor.

Naturally, she couldn’t afford to neglect or delay anything.

Moreover, tomorrow the prince and princess would be going to the palace to thank His Majesty and the Empress Dowager. If the Empress Dowager found out…

Aunt Deng was deeply worried and was about to leave to call for a doctor when she was stopped by Xu Duanyi.

“Don’t worry, Aunt. It’s just an old condition of mine; it bothers me at this time every year. Besides, the prince will be leaving for Shuntianfu soon to report in, and getting up too early affects my rest…”

Xu Duanyi was very observant.

She knew that if she only mentioned her condition, Aunt Deng wouldn’t agree to let her change rooms.

But by adding the second half of her sentence…

Even though Aunt Deng hesitated internally, she didn’t speak up further.

Indeed—

Xu Duanyi saw her hesitate for a moment before finally giving in.

However, she didn’t immediately agree but said, “This matter is beyond my authority. Please have your breakfast first, and I will go inform the prince about it. Will that be alright?”

Xu Duanyi naturally didn’t object, and she smiled in agreement with Aunt Deng.

Afterward, Aunt Deng excused herself to go find Xie Qingya.

Xu Duanyi ate her breakfast alone.

She knew that Xie Qingya would surely agree.

This method was beneficial to both of them, and how could Xie Qingya not agree?

He would certainly accept it gladly.

“Go and pack up,” she said without turning her head, instructing Bixi and the others.

“Understood.”

Bixi led Shiyu inside.

—-

Meanwhile, on the other side.

After leaving the Fengling Pavilion, Aunt Deng went straight to the study in the outer courtyard.

When Chang Feng and Lingji saw her, their expressions immediately soured.

They didn’t expect Aunt Deng to come again.

The two had intended to repeat their previous excuse, saying the prince wasn’t here.

However, Aunt Deng had watched them grow up and had long seen through their tricks. She was just in a hurry to see the princess before, and when the prince refused to come out, she had let it go.

But now—

She was determined to see the prince!

“Aunt, the prince really isn’t here.”

Lingji stepped forward to block her: “If you have something to say, just tell me. I’ll report it to the prince for you later.”

Aunt Deng glared at Lingji and said impatiently, “If you block me again, I’ll have your mother pick a wife for you, and you’ll marry right away!”

Lingji’s face changed instantly.

That was his greatest fear.

He dared not say another word.

He stood there awkwardly, unable to speak a single word.

Chang Feng, however, wasn’t afraid of that.

He was a bit older, already married, and had children.

Aunt Deng’s words couldn’t intimidate him.

Seeing Lingji back off, Chang Feng walked forward with a good temper, but before he could say anything, Aunt Deng spoke up first, looking at him fiercely: “What’s this? Do you think I can’t do anything to you?”

“What are you saying, Aunt?” Changfeng said gently, “You are our elder, and we respect you.”

“It’s just that the prince—”

Aunt Deng was so forceful that Chang Feng couldn’t continue with the excuse that the prince wasn’t here. He could only say, “The prince is really not in a position to see anyone right now.”

Aunt Deng sneered, “Don’t try to fool me with that excuse!”

She didn’t believe it!

Before Changfeng could say anything further, Aunt Deng coldly said, “Chang’s family boy, your wife is my daughter’s good friend!”

“If you dare stop me from going in to see the prince, I’ll tell your wife that you always go to flower-filled brothels with the prince, and let’s see how she’ll deal with you!”

“Aunt!”

Chang Feng’s face also changed. He was like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, no longer calm as usual. His eyelids twitched.

“You can’t say things like that!”

“If Cui Niang finds out, I’ll…”

Aunt Deng sneered and was about to speak when the door to the room was suddenly opened from the inside.

Xie Qingya came out.

He had changed into a simple outfit, not as formal as when he usually went out. Today he wore a plain black robe, his hair simply hanging behind him.

He looked tired, clearly having just woken up.

“Your Highness.”

Chang Feng and Lingji lowered their heads, knowing they hadn’t done things properly and felt ashamed.

When Aunt Deng saw Xie Qingya, her previous aggressive demeanor softened, and the hands that had been on her hips dropped.

“Your Highness.”

She lowered her head to greet him.

Xie Qingya didn’t scold Chang Feng or Lingji, nor did he blame Aunt Deng for waking him up. He only gave a faint hum and asked her, “What’s so urgent that you had to see me at this time?”

Aunt Deng, hearing his languid voice, hadn’t expected the prince to be sleeping.

But in this situation, she couldn’t worry about disturbing him anymore. Hearing his question, she immediately became anxious.

She opened her mouth and said, “Your Highness, the princess is planning to sleep in a separate room!”

This startling revelation not only shocked Chang Feng and Lingji, but even Xie Qingya, standing at the door, paused for a moment at her words.

However, it was only the span of a breath before Xie Qingya returned to his usual self.

There was nothing particularly surprising about it.

As a noble lady, Xu Duanyi obviously couldn’t sleep on a reclining chair every day.

She had been thinking about how to deal with the matter of sleeping arrangements at night, but if it were anyone else, he probably wouldn’t have given it a second thought.

Argue a bit.

Then go through a few more messy things.

Naturally, they would end up sleeping in separate rooms.

But she was Xu Duanyi…

None of the troublesome ways he could think of seemed applicable to her.

Now, it worked out perfectly.

Since she had spoken up, he didn’t have to worry about it anymore, but for some reason, Xie Qingya still felt an inexplicable heaviness in his heart.

It was hard to say whether it was unhappiness or something else.

His eyelashes lowered, concealing the emotions in his eyes. Xie Qingya’s voice remained indifferent: “If you want to separate, then separate.”

“Your Highness!”

Aunt Deng’s expression changed.

She wasn’t pleased with his attitude.

She knew that the Prince was dissatisfied with the marriage, but no matter how dissatisfied he was, the marriage was already settled.

She was someone who had been through this.

She could tell that the Princess had been making excuses earlier.

If the Prince had said something nice to the Princess at this moment, how could the Princess want to separate from him?

A newlywed couple separating on the second day, what would happen in the future?

Aunt Deng had hurried over precisely to persuade the Prince to go and comfort the Princess, so the couple wouldn’t grow cold with each other.

But the Prince still seemed unmoved.

Aunt Deng was both anxious and frustrated, but when it came to matters of the heart, they couldn’t be forced.

Even if she used her position to force the Prince to go, what use would it be?

In the future, they would still need to rely on themselves to get along.

Thinking about this, Aunt Deng felt a deep fatigue.

The words she had originally wanted to say seemed to settle in her stomach, and with a sigh, she finally didn’t push Xie Qingya any further, simply saying: “If you won’t go, then it’s fine. At least the Princess already has an excuse, so the Empress Dowager won’t blame us.”

“But Your Highness—”

She still couldn’t give up and looked up at Xie Qingya, saying, “You and the Princess are already married. Even if you dislike this marriage, you can’t just keep this deadlock.”

She had expected the Prince to remain silent as before.

But unexpectedly, she heard him ask, “What excuse did she use?”

Aunt Deng was momentarily stunned by the unexpected question, and it took her a moment to respond: “The Princess said she wasn’t feeling well and didn’t want to disturb you.”

As soon as she finished speaking, she saw the Prince frown.

Although it was only for a moment, Aunt Deng, ever observant, caught it. She had just been feeling despondent, but now she seemed to have regained her vitality.

It seemed that the Prince wasn’t completely indifferent to the Princess after all!

She was thinking of encouraging the Prince to go and comfort the Princess, hoping he would take the initiative to check on her, but before she could say anything, she heard the Prince speak again, his voice calm: “Got it. You should find a doctor to check on her.”

This attitude made Aunt Deng doubt if she had misinterpreted the situation earlier.

“Your Highness!”

She called out in frustration.

Xie Qingya ignored her and, as he entered, casually added: “Since she’s sick, she doesn’t need to go through the trouble of changing rooms. Let her stay there. I’ll sleep in the study.”

Aunt Deng looked at the empty space.

The man had already entered.

Although she didn’t get the result she hoped for, she couldn’t say she came away with nothing.

At least the Princess would stay in the Linfeng Pavilion.

This would make it more convenient for the Prince to visit later.

If it were another place, the two might have a rift, and if the Prince later wanted to see the Princess, it would be embarrassing.

With this thought in mind, Aunt Deng didn’t say anything else, and after responding with “Yes,” she prepared to leave.

Before she left, she looked at Chang Feng and Lingji, who were standing nearby, and her expression darkened. She pointed at them, clearly reprimanding them for not helping to persuade the Prince and Princess to reconcile, and for daring to deceive her.

The two of them felt guilty and helpless under her gaze.

What could they do?

If the Princess really had a problem, all of the Prince’s plans for the past years would be ruined!

But of course, they didn’t dare to say anything like that to Aunt Deng.

Aside from them, no one else in the household knew what the Prince was secretly doing.

They could only lower their heads and watch Aunt Deng leave.

As soon as Aunt Deng was far away, the two of them immediately went inside.

“Your Highness!”

Lingji couldn’t hold back and, after entering, immediately shouted at Xie Qingya: “Aunt Deng said she would pick a wife for me, you must help me!”

“I don’t want to marry yet!”

Chang Feng noticed Xie Qingya’s strange behavior but didn’t say anything at first.

However, his eyes stayed on the Prince, clearly asking for help.

If Aunt Deng really said something to Cui Niang, Lingji would never be able to enter her room again!

“Alright, Aunt Deng won’t do that,” Xie Qingya replied, sitting on a chair but feeling uncomfortable.

He had slept on the reclining chair last night.

When he woke up, he almost fell to the ground.

He had slept, but his back and waist were sore.

Even after fighting for several days, it hadn’t been this exhausting.

As expected, reclining chairs were not meant for sleeping.

Lingji, having heard this, sighed in relief.

Chang Feng, however, noticed something was off with the prince.

“When Your Highness woke up this morning, you seemed strange,” Chang Feng said, unable to help but ask.

“What’s wrong? What’s wrong with the prince?” Lingji asked, following up.

Xie Qingya was certainly not going to speak the truth.

He was very concerned about his reputation, so how could he let them know about such an embarrassing matter?

“It’s fine.”

Suppressing the urge to rub his aching back, Xie Qingya maintained a stern expression and instructed, “Have the people that Xu Duanyi brought been watched?”

Hearing him bring up something serious, the two of them immediately focused.

Chang Feng replied, “I’ve already sent people to keep an eye on them. I’m just not sure of their backgrounds or intentions. I was worried about disturbing them, so I had people watch from a distance. If anything unusual happens, they’ll report immediately.”

Xie Qingya nodded. “Don’t worry about the people in the outer courtyard. Even if they inquire about something, let them. After all, except for Chang Feng and Lingji, everyone here thinks I’m just a confused and debauched man now.”

Whatever they say doesn’t matter.

“Focus on keeping an eye on those attending to Xu Duanyi.”

He suspected that if the palace had indeed sent someone to watch him, they wouldn’t be far. It would certainly be someone who had regularly attended to Xu Duanyi, which would make it easier to observe him.

“Yes.”

The two of them took the order.

Xie Qingya thought of something else and added, “Also, the maid named Shiyu who’s by Xu Duanyi’s side—she’s skilled in martial arts. Be cautious when watching her so she doesn’t notice.”

Speaking of Shiyu’s martial arts, it had originally been his idea.

When Xu Duanyi had been taken out of the palace by him once, she had almost been kidnapped by traffickers. Although he had rescued her in time, it had shocked him deeply that day.

He couldn’t imagine what he would have done if something had really happened to Xu Duanyi.

Being scolded or punished would have been the least of his worries.

But if Xu Duanyi had really been taken, what would have happened to her? What would she have gone through?

That was what he feared the most.

He couldn’t imagine, and he didn’t want to imagine.

On their way back.

Xu Duanyi had been comforting him, saying she was fine and wouldn’t speak of it to anyone.

But he couldn’t pretend nothing had happened.

So when they returned, he confessed to his parents, took a whipping, and knelt in the ancestral hall for a few days.

Later, when he entered the palace, he mentioned the incident to his cousin and suggested that Xu Duanyi’s maid learn martial arts.

After all, he couldn’t always be there to watch over her.

If she had someone skilled in martial arts with her, then wherever Xu Duanyi went, she would have someone to protect her, preventing such incidents from happening again.

He never expected that now—he had made it even more difficult for himself, needing to investigate while avoiding Xu Duanyi’s attention.

But he didn’t regret his suggestion back then.

The two of them were supposed to leave.

Having given the orders, Xie Qingya had nothing else to say.

Before they left, he told Chang Feng again, “Find someone to get my personal belongings.”

Chang Feng naturally knew what he meant.

He was about to agree when Lingji asked, “Since the princess plans to move out, why did the prince have her stay in Linfeng Pavilion? It’s so troublesome.”

Xie Qingya didn’t answer. He simply looked up and glanced at Lingji.

“Prince, we should leave now,” Chang Feng quickly said, pulling Lingji toward the door.

The door was closed behind them.

Xie Qingya heard Lingji’s voice outside: “Why did you suddenly pull me out?”

Chang Feng’s voice couldn’t be heard.

Xie Qingya ignored it.

He closed his eyes and leaned back against the chair behind him.

He didn’t know why he had said that to Aunt Deng earlier.

But just now, in that moment, his instinct was to not want Xu Duanyi to move out… It was as if if she really left Linfeng Pavilion, there would be nothing left between them.

There would no longer be any relationship between them.

“It’s as if it means something…”

The sound of Xie Qingya’s self-mockery filled the room as he curled his lips and sneered.

He couldn’t make sense of what he had just been thinking.