Seeing Yun Xi suddenly burst into tears, not only did the accompanying maid beside her look stunned, but even Yu Zhu got nervous. She quickly took out a handkerchief, using one hand to wipe away Yun Xi's tears while putting the other around her shoulder, soothing her softly all the while.
Yu Zhu was extremely distressed!
She thought that her young mistress must have really hurt herself this time when she fell! She knew that in the past, Yun Xi was very stoic and never cried to her because of an injury.
Thinking that Yun Xi still had to have lunch with the Empress Dowager later, seeing her crying so pitifully without a care for her dignity, Yu Zhu felt quite at a loss. She tentatively said to Yun Xi:
"Mistress, how about we go back today? We can ask the maid over there to convey our apologies to the Empress Dowager on our behalf. You can come to the palace another day to make amends to her."
In normal times, Yun Xi would never act like this. However, thinking of the woman locked in that nearly ruined wooden house by the Empress Dowager, Yun Xi couldn't stop her tears.
Worried that the Empress Dowager would notice her state and it would be unfavorable to her next move, she nodded obediently following Yu Zhu's words.
"Okay."
Sobbing, she turned to the stunned maid and said embarrassedly:
"Maid sister, could you please convey this to the Empress Dowager for me? I really don't want her to see me in this embarrassing state. It would be such a disgrace."
The maid thought to herself that the Princess Yongning was really too delicate. She cried like this just because of a sprain. It was a bit too late for her to care about her dignity now.
But after all, the princess was a distinguished guest favored by the Empress Dowager. Naturally, she didn't dare to say much. Then she bowed and said:
"Your Highness is being too polite. This servant will convey your words to the Empress Dowager truthfully. You should go back to your mansion to get your injury treated first."
"Thank you. I'll have to trouble you to take care of me when I come to the Kunning Palace in the future!"
Yun Xi thanked her and asked Yu Zhu to reward the maid with a heavy money bag.
Small favors could easily win people's hearts. The maid immediately beamed with joy after receiving the money bag. As the saying goes, one should not bite the hand that feeds. The maid immediately became much friendlier.
She not only promised to explain well on Yun Xi's behalf but also escorted the mistress and maid all the way to the gate of the Kunning Palace.
After Yun Xi got into the carriage, she immediately wiped the smile off her face. She sat there blankly, looking out of the window, but her eyes were unfocused.
"Does it still hurt, Mistress?"
Yu Zhu asked with a worried look on her face. Since there was no outsider in the carriage, Yu Zhu immediately bent down and lifted Yun Xi's skirt. Suddenly, she noticed that a section of Yun Xi's under - skirt was missing, and there were obvious tearing marks on the hem. From the outside, it was completely covered by the outer skirt.
Seeing Yu Zhu's surprised look and about to speak, Yun Xi shook her head at her, putting her index finger to her lips, making a gesture to be quiet. She said in a low voice:
"Yu Zhu, don't ask anything. I'll tell you everything when we get back to the mansion."
Seeing Yun Xi like this, many speculations flashed through Yu Zhu's mind. She was extremely anxious but still nodded. Looking at Yun Xi's red - rimmed eyes, she sighed and said:
"Then let this servant apply some essential balm for treating bruises on you. I remember you brought it with you when you went out today."
Since Yun Xi was weak and often got injured when she was a child, Yu Zhu would always prepare a lot of medicine for her every time she went out. Because she brought so much, she put the essential balm for treating injuries in Yun Xi's sleeve pocket.
Seeing that her mistress didn't move at all after hearing her words and just stared at her, Yu Zhu couldn't help but sigh again:
"Fine, this servant won't ask, but only for now."
Maybe her mistress was worried that there were ears listening everywhere, so she didn't dare to tell her something important now.
However, her mistress not only got injured but also cried like that when she went to the Kunning Palace today. It was really abnormal and made her feel very uneasy.
"En, I'll tell you everything."
Yun Xi nodded seriously.
Because the secret really shocked her so much that her hands were still trembling slightly until now.
No wonder she felt extremely familiar with that woman when she first saw her. Even after being bitten by her, she still couldn't help worrying about her when she got back to the mansion.
Who would have thought that the former Empress, who had been "dead" for ten years in that palace coup, was actually still alive?!
Moreover, she was imprisoned in the Kunning Palace by the current Empress Dowager. Her face was ruined, her tongue was cut off, and she was bullied and beaten by the maids like a ghost and a beast, suffering all kinds of torments. She was living a life worse than death!
If Qi Rong ever found out about this, even though he was always very self - controlled, it was hard to say whether he could keep his sanity.
He would surely fight his way into the Kunning Palace desperately. Everyone in the palace from the Empress Dowager down would be massacred by Qi Rong!
Thinking of this, Yun Xi felt a pang of panic in her heart.
She wasn't worried about those who had done many evil deeds getting their due punishment. However, she had to worry about Qi Rong losing his life because of this!
She knew that it would be even more difficult than climbing to the sky for her to rescue the tortured former Empress by herself. However, she knew this secret but didn't dare to tell Qi Rong. Keeping it in her heart made her so anxious that she felt like she was about to burst!
So, she had to come up with a way as soon as possible to rescue the woman without alerting Qi Rong!
But what could she do?!
Yun Xi unconsciously fell into a long - lasting melancholy again. At this time, the carriage had slowly stopped at the gate of the Prince Xian's Mansion.
"Madam, we're here."
The coachman's voice rang out, pulling Yun Xi's thoughts back to the present. She got up and was about to get out of the carriage when a long, slender hand suddenly lifted the curtain, and a cold and handsome face suddenly came into view.
"I've already told you that you don't need to bother with those people in the harem. Just decline directly. I'll take care of everything. Why didn't you listen to me?"
Qi Rong's tone was reproachful. His deep black eyes were fixed on Yun Xi. Although his face was cold, he couldn't hide his worry.
"Why are you back?"
Yun Xi froze in the carriage, looking at Qi Rong, who had been going out early and coming back late for days and they hadn't talked for a long time. Her expression was not only surprised but also a bit flustered.
"I missed you, so I came back."
He had been busy preparing for the war in the past few days and had very little time to accompany Yun Xi. Today, he finally had some free time. He wanted to take Yun Xi out for a stroll before he went on the expedition, so that they wouldn't be separated for a long time in the future.
Qi Rong answered simply without hiding his feelings for Yun Xi at all. This shocked the coachman, who was used to seeing his master with a cold face, so much that his chin almost dropped.
If it had been in normal times, Yun Xi would surely have blushed shyly and blamed Qi Rong for being so outspoken regardless of the occasion. However, this time, she just let out an "oh".
She was obviously absent - minded, and Qi Rong immediately noticed something was wrong with her.
"What's wrong with you?"
He reached out and grabbed the stunned Yun Xi, pulling her into his arms and carrying her out of the carriage.
But when Qi Rong saw Yun Xi's red - rimmed eyes, his black eyes suddenly turned sharp. The cold air around him instantly rose, and he said in a deep voice:
"Why are your eyes still red? Did that old hag in the palace make things difficult for you?!"
Thinking that Yun Xi had been wronged in the palace, Qi Rong's expression was cold, and his eyes were filled with ice. It seemed that as long as Yun Xi nodded, he would immediately go to the palace to settle the score.
Hearing Qi Rong call the Empress Dowager an old hag, Yun Xi's face turned pale. She quickly covered his mouth and shook her head:
"You've misunderstood. I didn't suffer any grievances at all."
On the contrary, in order to win her over to deal with Qi Rong, the Empress Dowager had been very kind to her this time, just like a kind elder.
But behind the scenes, she was extremely venomous!