Bang!
A buzzing filled Yun Xi's mind. She stood there stunned, as if struck by lightning.
Thinking she had misheard, Yun Xi shook her head and was about to listen carefully again. But Yi Yuan had already come to pull her and said,
"Time is pressing. Let's go."
Yun Xi was dazedly pulled out of the room by Yi Yuan. Her mind was still in a daze when Yi Zhen's voice rang out again:
"A Yuan... Hug me..."
It was real.
She hadn't misheard.
The person Yi Zhen murmured about with suppressed and restrained affection was really Yi Yuan.
Yi Zhen actually had feelings for Yi Yuan all along! Her own uncle!
Suddenly, everything seemed to have a reasonable explanation.
Why Yi Zhen had targeted her so much, far beyond what the Shen family could really order a princess to do; why she had regarded her as a thorn in the eye and a bone in the throat, wishing to get rid of her...
It turned out that it was all because of this deep - hidden love in her heart.
This love that couldn't see the light of day, this immoral and secular - defying admiration!
So... Did Yi Yuan know about it?
Yun Xi couldn't help but turn to look at Yi Yuan.
The door behind them had already closed, and everyone had retreated. The ambiguous sounds came intermittently from inside. But there was a coldness in Yi Yuan's eyes, no trace of pity at all, and even a hint of disgust.
"A Yuan..."
After hesitating for a while, Yun Xi finally opened her mouth and asked,
"Yi Zhen has feelings for you. Do you know about it?"
Yi Yuan's steps obviously faltered, and the hand holding Yun Xi tightened suddenly.
[Does Xiaoxi know?]
[How could she? She didn't ask anything just now...]
[It's over. Will Xiaoxi think I'm dirty? But I really had nothing to do with her. It was all Yi Zhen's one - sided wish.]
Yi Yuan was obviously a bit flustered. There was obvious anxiety in his usually indifferent expression.
"Xiaoxi, listen to me. I did know something about Yi Zhen's feelings, but I refused her sternly from the very beginning."
"It was an inappropriate feeling. I thought she had given it up. But I didn't expect..."
[I didn't expect her to be so infatuated for so many years.]
[I thought she did that to me just because she was too young and made a wrong decision at that time. Who knew that after so many years, not only did she repeat the same mistake, but she even dared to target you!]
[I should have dealt with Yi Zhen when that incident happened. I shouldn't have spared her for the sake of my brother at that time. If I had dealt with her then, she wouldn't have had the chance to harm Xiaoxi again and again.]
Yi Yuan secretly regretted it.
But Yun Xi caught the key point. She frowned slightly and looked at Yi Yuan. Without beating around the bush, she asked directly,
"Did Yi Zhen drug you too? When was it?"
"And why on earth did she develop such feelings for you?"
A look of shock flashed across Yi Yuan's eyes. He opened his mouth slightly:
[Damn it! I forgot that Xiaoxi can read minds!]
There was a moment of silence.
[Great. She heard this one too.]
There was another moment of silence between the two.
Seeing that Yun Xi's face had already darkened a bit. The indifference on Yi Yuan's face had long since disappeared. He hurriedly explained,
"I really don't know."
"I was only about seventeen years old that year. There was a banquet in the palace. I thought I was drunk, so I sent my attendants away and went to rest."
"But who would have thought that something was wrong as I slept. When I realized it, Yi Zhen had slipped in without being noticed. Although the age gap between us wasn't large, she was still my niece. How could I have expected that she had such feelings for me..."
As he was speaking, Yi Yuan began to look aggrieved. He pitifully pulled at Yun Xi's sleeve, like a fierce wolf king on the grassland who had been attacked and came back injured to seek comfort from his wife.
"You don't know, Xiaoxi. If I hadn't been able to hold myself together and the maid had helped me relieve the effects of the drug later, I would have almost lost my innocence."
"I didn't mean to hide this from you. It's just... just..."
[It's really too embarrassing.]
A look of annoyance flashed across Yi Yuan's face. It was obvious that this incident had left a certain psychological shadow on him.
Yun Xi was originally angry that Yi Yuan had hidden such a big thing from her. But when she heard his shy words in his heart, she couldn't help but find it funny.
She glared at him angrily. Just as Yun Xi was about to scold him, she heard a commotion not far away and vaguely heard someone talking.
The people Yi Zhen had arranged to catch her in an affair were coming!
The two immediately shut up. They glanced at each other and both turned towards the side gate on the other side.
Not long after, a group of chatting ladies turned around the corner of the corridor one after another.
The one in the lead was an old acquaintance of Yun Xi's - Zhou Zhanlan!
The two hid behind the white wall and watched.
Yun Xi sneered in her heart and thought to herself:
Yi Zhen had really investigated carefully. She even dug out the feud between Zhou Zhanlan and herself. It was obvious that she had put a lot of effort into it.
It's a pity... The one who would be caught in an affair later would be Yi Zhen herself.
In just a few moments, the group of ladies had come closer.
"Madam Luo,"
A lady on the right asked,
"We've been walking around for such a long time. Where is the rare flower you mentioned that bloomed in the cold under the influence of the little immortal's spiritual power? Why haven't we seen it yet?"
Without stopping her steps, Zhou Zhanlan walked straight towards the closed door while smiling,
"I remember it was around here. I passed by here accidentally at that time. I saw Miss Yun Er alone here, so I took a few more glances. That's when I saw the rare flower."
"Miss Yun Er?"
Immediately, a lady sharply caught the information deliberately revealed by Zhou Zhanlan.
"Was she also here to see the rare flower? Something's not right. If she was here to see the flower, why was she alone?"
As they were talking, the group had reached the closed door.
There was no need for Zhou Zhanlan to add fuel to the fire and give more hints. The extremely ambiguous moans in the room had already drifted out bit by bit.
The people who were about to go around the house and down the steps to the courtyard were all stunned.
Their expressions instantly became extremely interesting.
A more straightforward - tempered lady at the back immediately darkened her face and scolded,
"Disgraceful! In broad daylight, on the occasion of the master's apprentice - accepting ceremony, doing such a thing. How shameless!"
"The Yun family is full of loyal and upright people. How could they have such a shameless daughter!?"
"Madam, you're wrong,"
Zhou Zhanlan pretended to disagree and waved her hand,
"We haven't seen it with our own eyes. It may not be Miss Yun Er in there."
"Maybe it's some shameless maid who did this low - class thing. She thought we were too decent to go in and catch her red - handed, so she behaved so wantonly."
"In my opinion, we should really expose her in public. Firstly, let her know what propriety, righteousness, integrity and shame are. Secondly, it can also clear Miss Yun Er's name."
As she said this, she winked at Mama Wang beside her. A look of malicious pleasure flashed across the latter's eyes. Without hesitation, she stepped forward and "banged!" pushed open the door.