When she said she was going home, the hearts of Shuang Yu and Shuang Yan nearly jumped out of their chests.
This was not a joke. If the Sixth Prince returned and didn't see her, how could these maidservants have any good results? When the Prince's wife wanted to go home and specifically picked the time when the Sixth Prince wasn't around, they had to stop her.
One of them tried to dissuade her, while the other poured her some tea to quell her anger. However, she was so stubborn that she would not easily change her mind if she had made a decision. Actually, she was no longer angry. She had thought things through when she was collecting the snow. Her mother said that she should not interfere in this matter and leave everything to Yan Yu to handle. She would go home first, and when he had dealt with Ouyang Yi, she would come back.
After thinking it through, she became even more resolute in her heart. Seeing that Shuang Yu and Shuang Yan didn't seem to have any intention of taking action, she asked, "Just whose maidservants are you?"
The two of them lowered their heads in unison. "We're yours."
She asked again, "Whose orders would you follow?"
The two of them fought to reply, "Your words."
She frowned. "Then why are you standing here when I asked you to pack up our things?"
Therefore, the two of them didn't dare to have any objections and went back to their rooms to pack up their things.
In front of her was half a jar of snow that she had collected earlier in the morning. Originally, she had planned to cook tea under the verandah today, but now she was no longer in the mood to do so. After sitting for a while, she recalled Ouyang Yi's dressing this morning and called for Hong Mei who was standing outside the door. "Go to Pavilion Changqing and ask around. Is it really the Sixth Prince who gifted clothes and jewelry for cousin girl?"
Hearing this, Hong Mei turned around and went to do it.
After a short while, she returned and said with her eyes lowered, "Miss, this servant asked the Pavilion Changqing ….It is indeed His Highness's wish."
Xie Zhen nodded and thought for a moment, "Was the hairpin with Golden Thread Jade that the Sixth Prince gave me last time still there?"
Hong Mei said, "You never wore it. It's in the dowry."
She asked Hong Mei to take it out and said, "Go and give it to the Cousin Guniang. Tell her that it's a show of my heart." "Since the Sixth Prince has already given her something, I can't help but express my heartfelt feelings."
Hong Mei revealed a troubled expression, "But …" "That is Highness's gift to you …"
She raised her eyebrows, there was always a lot of nonsense, "Since he gave it to me, it's mine. Who would he care who I send? "Just give it to Ouyang Yi and let her wear it. It's best if she wears it every day."
Hong Mei couldn't beat her, so she went into the house with a bitter face to fetch her things.
She had never worn that hairpin before. It was given to her by Yan Yu when he apologized to her once. At that time, his heart wasn't sincere, so he only placed the hairpin in front of her without saying anything else. She was angey, so she didn't put it on. If she hadn't seen the hairpin on Ouyang Yi's head, she probably wouldn't have remembered it.
Hong Mei came out of the room with a sandalwood box in her hands. He gave her a hesitant look. Seeing that she had no intention of going back on her words, she slowly walked over to the Pavilion Changqing.
After a short while, the Shuang Yu and Shuang Yan packed up their luggage, not daring to pack too much. They only brought clothes for two days and three days, as well as a few accessories that were commonly used.
The two of them wanted to persuade her, but when they saw that she had made up her mind, they tactfully stopped.
When she led them out to the door, Yan Yu did not return. There was a thick layer of snow on the stone steps. She stepped on it and felt very relaxed. She walked all the way to the carriage and stepped on the yellow wooden bench to get on. She put down the curtain and without another glance to told the coachman to start.
This time, she only brought the two maidservants, Shang Yu and Shuang Yan.
Hong Mei and Tan Mei were left in the Prince's Mansion, anxiously waiting for the Sixth Prince's return.
Just now, Hong Mei had been ordered to send the gold hairpin to the Cousin Guniang. At first, Ouyang Yi was worried that there was a trick to it. She was worried and examined it for a long time. When she saw that nothing strange was going on, she put it away with a sense of relief.
Ouyang Yi asked her, "Why did the Prince's wife give me this?"
Hong Mei's brain worked very fast, so he was able to make out a few pleasant words. "My Empress saw Cousin Guniang in today's clothes and felt that this hairpin was very suitable for you. That's why she sent a servant to deliver it."
Everyone loved flattery words. Moreover, Ouyang Yi truly liked this hairpin. She immediately got Liu Lan to hairpin it on her head. "Change the one on my head and try this on."
Liu Lan took off the golden hairpin on her head and replaced it with the Golden Thread Jade hairpin that Hong Mei had brought over. She smiled and said, "Indeed, it's more flattering."
She walked to the mirror and looked at it with satisfaction. Golden Thread was framed by the Emerald Hibiscus in the middle. "…" "Thank your empress for me."
Hong Mei really did not understand why the lady would give such a good gift to others. After saying a few words of praise in her heart, she left the Pavilion Changqing. Even when she returned to the Moon Viewing Courtyard, she still felt somewhat indignant. The hairpin didn't look good on the Cousin Guninag's head at all. It was clearly the Sixth Prince who bought it for her, so why did she give it to her?
Wait, did the Sixth Prince buy it?
Hong Mei seemed to understand Xie Zhen's intentions…
Hong Mei and Tan Mei uneasily guarded the courtyard. They only heard that the Sixth Prince had returned after a short while. The two of them suddenly sat up on the stone steps, looking at each other, not knowing what to do.
Tan Mei was on the verge of tears, "How about kneel down and admit mistake first …"
Hong Mei thought this method was feasible. It was indeed a big mistake for them not to stop the Prince's wife and let her escape. If the Sixth Prince were to blame this, she might even be beaten to death.
Before she could think of an excuse, Yan Yu came in from the door. In the afternoon, the snow began to fall gently. He wore a black overcoat and a few snowflakes fell from his shoulders. He walked past the two of them and walked straight into the hall.
Yan Yu untied his cloak and looked around the room. He felt that it was somewhat quiet and asked the two of them, "Where is the princess?"
Hong Mei pulled his sandalwood eyebrows and knelt on the ground, trembling while begging for mercy, "Your Highness, forgive me …"
Yan Yu's brows twitched. He had a bad premonition. Even his voice turned cold, "For what? Explain it."
The two of them didn't even dare to raise their heads. "Empress, the Empress has returned to the Duke Dingguo's Mansion …"
The room fell silent after he said that.
There was a moment of silence. Hong Mei and Tan Mei didn't even dare to cry. They only felt a chill coming from under their feet, causing them to shiver all over.
Yan Yu asked coldly, "When does she coming back?"
Hong Mei shook his head, "I don't know either … When the princess left, she took away quite a few sets of clothes …
Her words were like a heavy blow to Yan Yu. His brow was downcast. He didn't understand why she was still fine when he left in the morning. When he returned in the evening, she had already disappeared. "Why would she want to return to the Duke Dingguo's Mansion?" "When did she leave?"
Hong Mei said, "She left this afternoon. It's been four hours." The servant also didn't know why the princess was leaving. All she knew was that the Empress went to pluck snow from the Plum Garden in the morning and met Cousin Guniang on the way back. After returning, she was in a bad mood …
He narrowed his eyes and asked in a deep voice, "What did they say?"
Hong Mei shook her head. "I don't know either."
He looked around the hall, feeling that he didn't like looking everywhere without her. For some reason, he became furious. "You don't know anything?" He walked out of the living room and ordered, "Everyone kneel in the courtyard. When the princess come back, you would be allowed to rise."
Hong Mei and Tan Mei were startled. The ground was freezing and snow was everywhere. If they kept kneeling down for a few hours, wouldn't they have been crippled?
However, Yan Yu refused to listen. With a cold face, he left the Moon Viewing Courtyard and went to the Pavilion Changqing.
Inside Pavilion Changqing , Ouyang Yi wore a hairpin given by Xie Zhen, she was reluctant to take it off. She wore a cloak as she walked around the courtyard, circle after circle.
When she heard that she had gone to plum orchard in the morning to pick up snow, she also learned to pick up a terrine and tiptoe the snow-covered tree branches of the yard. She tilted her head back, not noticing the snow falling from the tree onto her face. She ate a mouthful of it, and when the snow fell into her collar, she couldn't help but shiver.
She had just wiped the snow off her face when she turned her head and saw a figure enter the room. Seeing that it was Yan Yu, she happily called out to him, "Why are you here?" I've just had some snow. Shall I make you some tea? '
She held the jar in front of him and smiled.
However, Yan Yu was not in the mood to do so. With a glance, he saw the hairpin on her head. His originally gloomy face instantly turned even colder as he stared fixedly at her head, "Where did your hairpin come from?"
Ouyang Yi thought that he was praising her. She raised her hand to feel it and asked with a smile, "Does it look good?" "Can it match my clothes?"
He gritted his teeth and said word by word, "I asked you where your hairpin came from."
She realized that something was wrong with his face, and for some reason she didn't dare to say that it was from her. She swallowed her saliva, not daring to lie in front of him. "Yes, it was given to me by Prince's wife …" "She said that this hairpin matched my clothes, so she asked the maidservant to give it to me."
After she had finished speaking, Yan Yu's expression could not be described with any words.
He looked at her dress and seemed to understand something. "You're wearing this to see her?"
Ouyang Yi nodded. "Why not? These are clothes that you give to me, can't I wear them?"
"You told her I gave it to you?"
She didn't say anything, but her expression showed "yes".
Yan Yu's anger was boiling, his eyes were as cold as knives, and his every word was a warning, "Didn't I say that you are not allowed to talk in front of her?"
Ouyang Yi was not convinced and insisted on arguing with him. "You were the one who gifted this to me, so why can't I tell her?"
Yan Yu raised his hand, his face ugly to the extreme. She thought that he was going to hit her, so she closed her eyes subconsciously. He just pulled out the hairpin from her head and held it tightly in his hand, as if he wanted to crush it, "These things are all part of your dowry. In the future, if you marry someone else, it will have nothing to do with me." His lower jaw tightened, and he said each sentence coldly, "And this hairpin …" Not for you. "In the future, before you get married, you will always be living in Pavilion Changqing . You are not allowed to take even half a step out of the courtyard."
He then turned around and walked out of the yard, leaving behind two attendants who were looking at the door. "Watch the door. If there is any mistake, I will leave it to you to ask."
The two quickly agreed.
Ouyang Yi did not expect the unexpected turn of events to come so quickly. She wanted to chase after Yan Yu to have a word with him, but was stopped by a servant at the entrance.
The attendant expressionlessly replied, "Cousin Guniang, please go back."
She did not give up and did everything she could to get out. However, the two servants had been instructed not to act rashly or show any mercy to her. One of them got bored with her and waved her away, slamming the door of the Pavilion Changqing while she was still on the floor. The other went to find a lock , and no matter how much noise she made inside, he refused to open the door.
Yan Yu understood what was going on and ordered the steward to bring over a horse from the stables. He climbed on the horse and rode through the thin snow towards the Duke Dingguo's Mansion.
It was already dark, and the steward had wanted to persuade him to go back tomorrow, but he couldn't. He was afraid that the later he got there, the deeper the misunderstanding would be, and he couldn't wait to see her. He wanted to ask her why she gave the hairpin to Ouyang Yi, and even more so, to explain to her … Explain what? The explanation of Ouyang Yi's jewelry and clothes had nothing to do with him. It was done by the steward alone. If she didn't like Ouyang Yi, he would let her marry out and not let her suffer any more grievances.
Would she forgive him if he got to understand too late?