Chapter 10 : She is hiding

Huo Zhen had taken a real liking to the little maid Faer who served beside Song Ying, she always saw right through him.

Following behind Song Ying, Huo Zhen advised seriously, “I’m a man, I know Yue Shaozhi best. What he did just now wasn’t to help you, it was to show off in front of Song Ruoer. Don’t get the wrong idea.”

Song Ying laughed out of sheer exasperation. Just because she had glanced at the viewing stand a little too long, he thought her feelings for Yue Shaozhi had rekindled?

Ridiculous.

“Thank you, General Huo, for your help today. Also, I was looking at Yue Miaoxi, not Yue Shaozhi.”

To be honest, Song Ying was quite pleased to see Yue Miaoxi getting scolded by Yue Shaozhi until she was too embarrassed to even speak.

Back when she had first married Yue Shaozhi, Princess Ziyang was the first one who tried to cozy up to her. Her goal was to use Song Ying as a connection to get her greedy father and useless husband into lucrative government positions.

Although the Yin Dynasty still had an emperor, all real power was concentrated in Yue Shaozhi’s hands. As long as he nodded, anything could be settled.

Song Ying had rejected her outright and banned her from calling again. From that point on, the two had held a grudge against each other.

“Hmph! That Princess Ziyang is so annoying. Before, she—”

“Don’t talk too much,” Song Ying gently cut her off.

Chastised, Faer pouted unhappily.

Huo Zhen noticed the shift in mood. Knowing Song Ying didn’t want to discuss it, he didn’t press further but he silently resolved to investigate everything. He wouldn’t let any of those who had bullied Song Ying today off the hook. Especially not that princess.

“General Huo, aren’t you leaving?”

Before they realized it, they had already left the paddock. Only a few carriages remained nearby.

Zhou Hanxiang was waiting inside one of them for Song Ying. She lifted the curtain and called out, “Ying’er, time to go.”

Song Ying acknowledged her, said her farewells to Huo Zhen, and left in the carriage.

After they’d gone some distance, Faer turned around and said, “Miss, General Huo has left.”

Song Ying half-closed her eyes and replied, “No need to tell me.”

Faer scooted closer, letting Song Ying rest against her shoulder. “Miss, did you do that on purpose today?”

Song Ying. “Hmm?”

Faer rolled her eyes and grinned, two dimples appearing. “You shot arrows at those people on purpose. Hehe, I think you should’ve just shot through their feet, let them die of pain.”

Song Ying flicked Faer’s forehead with her finger. “You’re talking nonsense again. Your young lady can only do embroidery and sleep.”

Faer stuck out her tongue playfully. She knew full well her young lady was much more capable than she let on.

—

A luxurious carriage marked with the character “Yue” slowly moved down the road. Pedestrians scrambled out of its way, not daring to linger, fearing their heads might fly off if they got in the way. A few bold ones peeked inside but quickly turned away in fright.

Inside, the fearsome Regent was lounging lazily on his side, gently pinching the soft flesh of Song Ruoer’s waist with his slender fingers.

“Mm…” Song Ruoer nestled against Yue Shaozhi and sighed softly. “Luckily, my husband helped me today, otherwise my sister really would’ve become someone’s servant.”

The more sensitive the person, the more easily they could sense the subtext, Song Ruoer was clearly testing him.

He pinched her cheek and smiled. “Are you jealous?”

“No…”

Song Ruoer pouted slightly, which made Yue Shaozhi’s throat tighten. He immediately leaned down to capture her lips…

After a while, Yue Shaozhi gently brushed his fingers over her gasping lips, smiling with satisfaction. “I didn’t do it for her. I did it for you.”

“For me?” Song Ruoer sat up, looking puzzled.

Yue Shaozhi reached out to fix her messy hair and said, “Don’t accept Princess Ziyang’s invitations anymore. She’s full of schemes. She once tried to win over Song Ying to help her father and husband get official positions.”

“Is that true?” Song Ruoer was surprised. She had just been thinking, it had only been a few days since she married Yue Shaozhi, and Princess Ziyang had already sent her an invitation to a banquet. So she did have an agenda.

“No wonder she’s been so aggressive lately. So that’s what was going on.”

Yue Shaozhi’s brows twitched slightly with concern. Song Ying had mentioned the matter of Princess Ziyang to him afterward, and only after questioning Yu Liang did he uncover the full story.

“I’ll tell you later which people you can associate with and which ones you should avoid.”

Song Ruoer nodded obediently. “Yes, I won’t bring trouble to my husband.”

The carriage came to a halt, and Yu Liang’s voice rang out from outside, “Your Majesty, we’ve arrived.”

Yue Shaozhi carried Song Ruoer into her room. After a brief moment of tenderness, he went to the study and said to Yu Liang, who had been waiting for some time, “What do you think of Song Ying’s archery skills?”

Yu Liang didn’t understand why the prince was suddenly asking about the former princess. But as a loyal guard, he answered truthfully, “Miss Song’s archery skills are very poor, but… there’s something odd about it. She seems to shoot randomly, but when she aims at people, her shots are always just barely off close enough to startle, but never hit. A typical novice wouldn’t be able to control the margin of error so precisely every time.”

Yue Shaozhi smiled slightly. “Song Jinzhuo’s daughter hides herself well.”

Having followed his master for years, Yu Liang instantly understood the deeper meaning. “Shall I have our men investigate?”

This had nothing to do with affection it was simply that Yue Shaozhi liked being in control. He didn’t appreciate people playing games behind his back.

Yue Shaozhi tapped the desk lightly with his fingers, his dark eyes giving nothing away. “No need.”

—

After the incident at the paddock, Song Ying stayed home, spending her days idly in her courtyard.

Faer came in carrying a bunch of bright flowers. “Look, Miss!”

“Beautiful,” Song Ying said.

Faer placed the flowers into the vase one by one. “The Ji Yuefang flowers we grow in our yard are prettier than the ones elsewhere. The blooms are bigger, and the scent is fresher.”

Ji Yuefang was her mother Han’s favorite flower. Han had brought it with her from her hometown to plant when she married.

Back then, Song Jinzhuo still favored Han deeply, and planted Ji Yuefang at every property he bought, so she could see it wherever she went.

Now that Han was gone, no one cared about the flower anymore except for Song Ying, who continued to grow it in her own courtyard.

Luckily, the flower was hardy and could thrive with just sunlight and water.

A servant called from the yard, “Miss, the princess is here and requests your presence.”

Faer leaned close and whispered, “Miss, do you want me to turn her down?”

“No, I’ll go take a look.”

When Song Ying arrived outside Zhou’s house, she happened to overhear the conversation between mother and daughter.

“Mother, Shaozhi treats me so well. He’s thoughtful in everything. If I don’t know how to do something, he teaches me patiently. You don’t have to worry.”

“That’s good…”

Song Ying glanced at Faer beside her, her lips were already puckered in anger. Song Ying chuckled and gently pressed her mouth down with a finger, motioning for her to follow her in.

“Hail, Princess. Greetings, Mother.”

Song Ruoer didn’t put on airs at all. She even took the initiative to help Song Ying up. “Sister, please sit. We’re family, no need to be so formal.”

Faer was livid. ‘She’s stealing someone else’s husband, what’s there to be polite about?’

Zhou looked at Song Ying and said, “There’s no particular reason I asked you to come. I just thought you two sisters haven’t spent time together recently. Ruoer also has something she wants to talk to you about.”

Faer thinking. ‘A few days ago? Didn’t we just see her at the paddock three days ago?’