"Junior Sister,"
It was the first time Hun Yuan had seen Ye Xi in such a flustered state. He quickly reached out his hand to interrupt her increasingly panicked train of thought.
"Calm down, calm down."
"This is all just speculation. Don't scare yourself. Moreover, the Shen family is quite suspect in the matter of Prince Chi Xuan's death in battle. But the Shen family has little influence in terms of military power on the border. There's no way His Majesty would use the Shen family's hand to do such a thing."
"Moreover, there's a very important point. The real origin of the plague at that time was not in the palace. If Yi Fu really had such intentions, it would have been quicker and more direct to act among the palace servants."
Taking a deep breath, Ye Xi slowly stroked her wildly beating chest up and down, gradually suppressing the panic in her heart.
"Senior Brother is quite right,"
Sitting back on the small stool, Ye Xi's usually clear eyes were full of unease. Her hands unconsciously twisted the hem of her clothes as she said,
"But what if the old prince took a roundabout approach for other reasons? If His Majesty knew about it, it's very likely that His Majesty was behind Prince Chi Xuan's death. If A Yuan keeps so persistently investigating the cause of Prince Chi Xuan's death in battle, it will surely lead to trouble in the end."
"But if I suddenly tell him not to investigate, he will surely become suspicious and will never listen..."
"For now, the best way is to drag this matter out as long as possible. We need to find out as quickly as possible whether His Majesty knew about what happened that year and what his attitude towards A Yuan really is."
"Senior Brother..."
Ye Xi pulled Hun Yuan's sleeve earnestly and said,
"You're the only one who can help me with this."
Hun Yuan felt a sense of foreboding. He braced himself and asked,
"What... what do you want to do?"
Ye Xi slightly twitched the corner of her lips, and a hint of determination flashed in her clear eyes.
"I want to enter the court in the identity of Man Ping."
"Don't even think about it!"
Hun Yuan angrily withdrew his hand, shaking off Ye Xi's hand that was holding his sleeve.
"You don't want to be an official. You clearly want to 'question the Prime Minister' His Majesty and find out his feelings towards Yi Yuan."
Ye Xi didn't say a word. She just quietly looked at him with a hint of pleading and determination.
Hun Yuan felt his scalp tingle under her gaze. He angrily glared at Ye Xi and said,
"Don't give me that look. He's the Son of Heaven. If things go wrong, you'll even lose your own life, let alone help Yi Yuan."
But Hun Yuan knew Ye Xi's character well. She would never give up easily.
So after hesitating for a while, he continued,
"However, you now have the Lotus Gold Token I gave you, so it's convenient for you to enter and leave the palace. When there are any prayer ceremonies in the palace where you can meet His Majesty, I'll try my best to take you with me."
"Also, there are the palace archives. At that time, I'll find an excuse like purifying disasters and ask to check the good and bad omens in the palace over the years first, and then ask you to come and help. You can then look through them at will. Maybe you'll find out the truth about Yi Fu's mysterious comings and goings in the palace that year before 'questioning' His Majesty."
Ye Xi gradually curved her lips, and a smile rippled in her eyes like autumn water.
"Okay, thank you, Senior Brother."
"Alright, alright,"
Hun Yuan grumbled.
"Who asked you to be my junior sister? But..."
With a sly smile, Hun Yuan said,
"Since junior sister is already investigating what happened that year, could junior sister also help me find out who was behind the plague?"
Ye Xi: ...
What happened to the loving relationship between senior brother and junior sister? Why are they both setting traps for each other?
Hun Yuan took out a piece of paper from his bosom. Unfolding it, there was a distorted snake's head drawn on it, with a bright red dot in the middle of its forehead, as if it was a suppressing symbol.
"This is the symbol of that mysterious organization. They all have it tattooed on their left wrists, with a dark blue snake's head and a red dot in the middle of the brow."
Winking at Ye Xi with a smile, Hun Yuan said,
"So, does Yi Yuan have it?"
Blushing, Ye Xi glared at the improper Hun Yuan.
"You've been brothers with A Yuan for more than a decade and you don't know. How would I know?"
"I've never slept with him, so of course I don't know."
Hun Yuan said confidently,
"If it weren't for the fact that he helped me when I stole from A Ning that year, I wouldn't have been brothers with this cold-faced guy."
"Senior Brother!"
Ye Xi's face burned with embarrassment. She angrily crumpled the piece of paper and threw it at him.
"I don't have it either, just like you!"
"Ah?"
Hun Yuan stared at her in disbelief with wide eyes.
"Nothing after all this time? Is he impotent?"
"Hey hey... junior sister, don't go!"
Ye Xi ignored him. In the blink of an eye, she had reached the door. Hun Yuan was still shouting behind her,
"Junior sister, remember to check! You don't have to take your clothes off to..."
"Bang!"
"...find out."
Ye Xi slammed the door shut and fled as if she was running away.
"Miss,"
Sai Xing quickly followed Ye Xi, who was walking in a hurry. With a naive look on her face, she asked,
"What did Master Hun Yuan ask you to check? And you have to take your clothes off?"
"Sai Xing,"
Ye Xi didn't stop for a moment.
"From now on, you're not allowed to talk. You can talk again when you forget about this."
Sai Xing:? So wronged...
"Thud!"
Ye Xi was walking with her head down and didn't notice that she bumped straight into Yi Yuan's arms. He caught her with one hand.
"What's wrong? You're in such a hurry."
The cold aura mixed with the faint smell of soap on Yi Yuan filled Ye Xi's nostrils.
Her face burned even more.
She quickly struggled out of Yi Yuan's embrace. Ye Xi left a sentence, "It's okay. I'll go back to the mansion first," and ran away without daring to raise her head.
Ye Xi had something on her mind. These days, she couldn't eat or sleep well.
She couldn't wait to go to the palace right away.
But Hun Yuan was still injured, and she didn't have a suitable excuse to enter the palace. So she quietly went to find Liu Mengxian and asked her to help invite Yun Qi out. She discussed with Yun Qi that when the news from Yanshan County came back, he should tell her first and not tell Yi Yuan, and try to delay the time a bit.
Although Yun Qi was very puzzled, for some reason, he trusted Ye Xi very much. He readily agreed to her request. He also apologized to Ye Xi on behalf of Yun Qianying for what she had done a few days ago and said that he had already restricted Yun Qianying's freedom and asked her to reflect on herself at home.
Ye Xi thanked Yun Qi. After they talked for a few more words briefly, Ye Xi left with Liu Mengxian.
It had been cloudy for several consecutive days. Today, it was finally sunny. The warm winter sun shone brightly on the ground.
The two bid farewell to Yun Qi and walked back slowly side by side.
Ye Xi asked softly,
"A Meng, I wonder if your third aunt has had any recent activities? I want to ask her about Nanny Xi."
The place where they met Yun Qi was a small and beautiful scenic spot not far from the Liu family's residence. But since it was winter and there were no flowers, there were few people on the way.
Liu Mengxian was looking at the bare trees with their branches sticking out in all directions. Hearing this, she looked back at Ye Xi and said regretfully,
"That's really unfortunate. The weather was not very good a few days ago, and my third aunt caught a cold. She hasn't even left her courtyard these days."
"That is indeed unfortunate."
Ye Xi frowned slightly. Then she noticed that Liu Mengxian seemed absent-minded and asked,
"What's wrong with you today? You seem to have something on your mind."
"Ah?"
Liu Mengxian smiled sheepishly and hesitated,
"Well... I won't hide it from you. There's indeed something that has been bothering me."
"Do you remember that young master Ren Jiao?"
"Oh—"
Ye Xi elongated her voice and said teasingly,
"Remember. He's the one who sent you back last time."
Blushing, Liu Mengxian gave Ye Xi a coquettish look and said,
"I'm talking about something serious. Young master Ren was originally a classmate of my elder brother. His talent and character are highly appreciated by my elder brother and father. Moreover, he also passed the autumn imperial examination this time. So father intends to betroth me to him."
"Of course, I trust my elder brother's and father's judgment. But the last time he sent me back, when I got out of the carriage, I didn't stand steadily and he helped me. I... I smelled the fragrance of a woman's makeup on him..."