"What do you want?"
Yi Yuan's eyes were dark and inscrutable, giving no hint of his emotions.
Ye Xi gritted her teeth, then plopped down on her knees and bowed deeply to Yi Yuan.
"I've heard that the young heir in your mansion suffered a great misfortune and is no longer willing to speak to anyone. I consider myself good at observing people's expressions and comforting them. So, I'm bold enough to offer my best efforts to relieve your worries, Your Highness."
Ye Xi lowered her body and kowtowed on the bluestone floor. This was the boldest and most desperate thing she had ever done.
Prince Yu'an had an older brother named Yi Zhuo, who died in battle defending the Great Yin Empire when the Ying State invaded. The princess, deeply in love, followed her husband in death, leaving behind their only five - year - old son, Yi Yaofeng, who was taken back to the mansion by Yi Yuan and carefully raised.
However, the young heir was too young to bear such a huge blow when his parents suddenly passed away.
Since then, he rarely spoke and no longer interacted with others.
Watching the five - year - old child become so withdrawn, Prince Yu'an was heartbroken. He searched far and wide for a good teacher to guide the young heir out of his pain, but no one succeeded.
Ye Xi was taking a gamble. She was betting that her mind - reading skills could unlock the young heir's heart knot, and that Master Hunyuan had a close relationship with Yi Yuan.
During the banquet just now, because of her constant attention, she noticed that Master Hunyuan would exchange glances with Yi Yuan from time to time. And Yi Yuan's occasional looks at Hunyuan were also very familiar.
Looking at the thin woman kneeling on the ground, Yi Yuan frowned slightly.
Just now she was scared to death of him, and now she was recommending herself.
No one had been able to solve Yaofeng's problem so far. It wouldn't hurt to let this woman have a try. As long as she behaved herself and didn't try to climb into the mansion through Yaofeng like many other women before.
"What do you want?" Yi Yuan asked calmly.
There was no free lunch in the world, and Yi Yuan knew this well.
Ye Xi suddenly looked up. This was the key question!
"Your Highness, I won't hide it from you. I don't know when someone cast an evil spell on me to make me take on disasters and tribulations for others, sacrificing my life for theirs. I hope Your Highness can invite Master Hunyuan to break the spell for me."
Yi Yuan was indeed very familiar with Hunyuan in private, so he knew that the woman in front of him was not talking nonsense.
The Great Yin Empire was not a country that was overly superstitious. Otherwise, there would be no place for Master Hunyuan. Even the sudden epidemic in the palace fourteen years ago was resolved by Master Hunyuan.
Yi Yuan looked at Ye Xi a few more times, with a hint of exploration.
"Judging from your attire, you should be the daughter of an official. Why don't you ask your parents to petition the Emperor? Instead, you come all the way to find me?"
Ye Xi was momentarily speechless. After all, this was her first encounter with Yi Yuan, and she wasn't sure if she could trust him.
But she needed Yi Yuan's help to break the spell. In this situation, should she tell the truth or not?
"I didn't tell my family about this to avoid worrying them," Ye Xi decided to keep it a secret for now. "If the deal is made, please keep it a secret for me too."
After Ye Xi finished speaking, the air fell silent.
Yi Yuan looked at Ye Xi coldly with his emotionless eyes, as if pondering the truth of her words.
Time seemed to stand still. In her uneasiness, Ye Xi finally heard Yi Yuan's cold voice:
"Agreed."
It was concise.
Ye Xi suddenly opened her eyes wide and showed the most sincere smile in the past few days.
She had won the bet.
"Thank you, Your Highness," Ye Xi bowed deeply again.
"You're welcome," Yi Yuan remained aloof.
"However, Master Hunyuan left after offering his blessings today and won't be back for seven days. So you... had better prove your ability within seven days."
Ye Xi's smile froze on her face.
She had thanked too early!
Looking at the face with a frozen smile that even the thick makeup couldn't hide, a fleeting smile flashed across Yi Yuan's noble and handsome face.
"Get up first. Which family's daughter are you?"
"Yes," Ye Xi composed herself and stood up gracefully.
"I'm Ye... the daughter of Ye Pengcheng, the vice - minister of the Ministry of Rites."
"Ye Xi!"
Ye Xi's unfinished words were interrupted by a roar.
Cao Sheng strode over menacingly, with visible anger in his eyes.
"You sneaked away halfway through the banquet. So this is where you've been having a tryst with a strange man! Have you no shame!"
"Mr. Cao?" Ye Xi was extremely surprised.
Why would Cao Sheng be concerned about her whereabouts? Was he out of his mind?
Cao Sheng, of course, hadn't deliberately paid attention to Ye Xi's whereabouts. He had been flirting with Ye Jueyao at that time and subconsciously wanted to see if Ye Xi had noticed his affair with Ye Jueyao.
With just a casual glance, he found that Ye Xi was no longer in her seat.
Remembering that Ye Xi used to come up to him with admiration in her eyes every time she saw him, but tonight she hadn't even given him a proper look and had been staring at other men instead.
Cao Sheng felt insulted.
Among those noble young masters, Cao Sheng thought he was no worse than any of them. But Ye Xi's actions tonight were like a slap in the face.
So Cao Sheng angrily got up, determined to expose Ye Xi's promiscuous nature.
Sure enough, after searching around, he saw Ye Xi's graceful back in a secluded garden, seemingly talking to someone.
But he couldn't see the other person from his angle, so he shouted and quickly walked over.
When he got closer, Cao Sheng finally saw the "strange man".
All the anger and hatred on his face froze, making his originally somewhat handsome face look ridiculous and ugly.
"Your Highness?"
Cao Sheng's face instantly turned pale with fright.
How could it be Prince Yu'an!? Ye Xi was ugly and stupid. How did she manage to hook up with this big shot?
Did he just call Prince Yu'an a "strange man"?
Cao Sheng was both regretful and annoyed. He bowed repeatedly and apologized:
"I'm sorry, Your Highness. I... I didn't know it was you..."
A look of disgust flashed in Yi Yuan's cold eyes.
He had never liked the nephew of the Queen.
"A carriage from the mansion will come to pick you up at the second hour after sunrise tomorrow. Be prepared."
Not bothering to deal with Cao Sheng, Yi Yuan turned around and left after he finished speaking.
"Yes," Ye Xi replied respectfully.
It wasn't until Yi Yuan's figure completely disappeared from sight that Cao Sheng let out a long sigh of relief and wiped the fine sweat that had appeared on his forehead.
Then he stared at Ye Xi with an ugly expression and gritted his teeth:
"What's your relationship with Prince Yu'an!?"
"Nothing. We just happened to meet by chance," Ye Xi told the truth.
"Do you think I'm a fool!" Cao Sheng roared angrily. "If there's nothing going on, why would he send someone to pick you up to the mansion tomorrow?"
"Mr. Cao..." Ye Xi feigned surprise. "You... why are you saying this? Don't you trust me anymore?"
Cao Sheng was at a loss for words.
Because his grandfather especially liked Ye Xi, in order to please his grandfather, he used to act very affectionate in front of Ye Xi. He had been too angry just now and had forgotten his act.
Quickly changing his mind, Cao Sheng suppressed his anger and quickly put on a heart - broken look:
"Xiaoxi, you've always been so polite. But today, you and Prince Yu'an, a man and a woman alone..."
"We're still engaged. If this gets out, our engagement might be called off."
Cao Sheng knew Ye Xi's weakness well. She was most afraid of him mentioning the cancellation of the engagement. So on one hand, he subtly blamed Ye Xi, and on the other hand, he used the engagement to pressure her.
"Since Mr. Cao doubts me so much, then let's just call off the engagement."