Zhao Shuning crossed her arms and stood right in front of Dongfang Yinuo.
Dongfang Yinuo was just taken aback for a moment, and instantly her whole body automatically shifted into a defensive state.
Who was this person following her?
How long had she been standing behind her?
Why hadn't she sensed her presence at all?
"Who are you?"
Seeing Dongfang Yinuo's reaction, Zhao Shuning simply pulled off her veil. She had thought she would encounter a great deal of trouble when she came out, so she had dressed in a concealed way. Now it seemed that it was all unnecessary.
When Dongfang Yinuo saw the true face of the person in front of her, she clearly panicked.
Before, she had already assumed a defensive posture. But now, she immediately reverted to the well - behaved "Qi Yurou" she had been before.
"Senior, why are you here?"
She was still pretending. Zhao Shuning naturally had no intention of playing this game with Dongfang Yinuo. She directly asked, "Miss Qi, it's late at night. Why are you wandering around on the street?"
"I - I just felt that the weather was a bit stuffy, so I came out for a walk."
Even Dongfang Yinuo herself probably didn't believe this excuse.
"What are you doing out, Senior?"
Zhao Shuning took a few steps forward and then walked around Dongfang Yinuo. Dongfang Yinuo felt extremely uncomfortable at this moment and didn't know what to do.
Her spiritual power was not weak. However, this senior was someone whom Duke Xia Rui addressed as an ancestor. How could she be a match for her?
"You know you're no match for me."
"Senior, you're joking. As a junior, how could I ever fight you?" Dongfang Yinuo forced a smile.
Zhao Shuning stopped and said, "Where's the Tongue - Talking Beast?"
"Senior, I've told you before. The Tongue - Talking Beast—"
"Don't try to fool me. Return the Tongue - Talking Beast to me."
"Senior, the Tongue - Talking Beast is my contracted divine beast. I would never do anything to it. Isn't your statement a bit too extreme? When did the Tongue - Talking Beast become yours?"
Zhao Shuning smiled. She just stared at the girl in front of her, making her feel extremely uncomfortable, but she said nothing.
"Senior, if there's nothing else, I'll go back first."
Zhao Shuning didn't say a word. Dongfang Yinuo quickly walked forward.
"The Tongue - Talking Beast belongs to Qi Yurou, not you, right? Princess of the Eastern Continent?"
Hearing this, the woman stopped in her tracks. With her back turned, her facial expression was extremely complex.
"Senior, you're joking. I'm Qi Yurou, from the Eastern Wilderness. I have nothing to do with the princess of the Eastern Continent."
"I don't want to play games with you. I don't know why you're staying in the Xia family either. However, since Xia Rui calls me ancestor, I'll surely do my best to help them. I've also heard about your matter with Xia Jingning before. It was he who wronged you. I won't interfere if you want to take revenge on him. But if you involve the Sea Spirit Kingdom in the conflict, I won't tolerate you."
Zhao Shuning's words hit Dongfang Yinuo right in the heart. She never expected that this senior, whom the Xia family had gone to great lengths to invite back, would actually speak up for her.
"Senior, you've misunderstood."
"I'll go back first. It's getting cold at night. Senior, you'd better not stay on the street for too long, or you might catch a cold."
After Dongfang Yinuo said this, she found that she couldn't move her feet at all.
Zhao Shuning said, "You little girl. I've been honest with you, but you're still on guard against me. If that's the case, you can't stay in the Sea Spirit Kingdom any longer. Tomorrow, I'll ask Xia Rui to send you back."
Hearing this, Dongfang Yinuo began to lose control and shouted, "No!"
"You can't find a reason to convince me. Do you think I'll keep such a big threat in the duke's mansion?"
"Whether you tell me or not is up to you. You should be able to predict the outcome."
Dongfang Yinuo turned around and stared at Zhao Shuning with burning eyes. Her expression was extremely sorrowful.
"Why?"
"Why are you all forcing me?"
"What did I do wrong?"
"Yes, you're right. I'm the princess of the Eastern Continent. I'm Dongfang Yinuo, the most favored junior in the Dongfang family. In the Eastern Continent, even my father doesn't dare to lecture me too much. I admit I'm willful, but I've never hurt innocent people. What did I do wrong? I just loved the wrong person."
"Why, why are you all forcing me? I've finally come this far. Why did you show up?"
Zhao Shuning stood there, looking into Dongfang Yinuo's eyes without saying a word. What Zhao Shuning wanted was for Dongfang Yinuo to tell everything.
Dongfang Yinuo's emotions gradually collapsed. Her body could move, but at this moment, all her strength seemed to have been drained, and she couldn't walk.
She slumped to the ground, buried her face in her knees, and began to sob softly.
"Why? Why doesn't Xia Jingning like me?"
"It's his honor that I, Dongfang Yinuo, take a fancy to him. Why does he like his cousin?"
"His cousin's death was her own decision. Why, why didn't he even look at me after Dongfang Yuchen died?"
"I really love him."
"I had already known him before the poetry gathering."
"In the Eastern Continent, I had already heard of the name of the Xia family's heir. This time's marriage alliance was not because my father wanted to improve the friendship between the two countries. It was I who knelt in the Golden Palace and shamelessly begged my father for it."
"I just tried my best to run towards him, but he kept moving further and further away from me."
"I'm the princess of the Eastern Continent. How could he make me suffer like this?"
After talking for a long time, Dongfang Yinuo seemed to be tired. Her voice became softer and softer. It seemed that she had been hiding these words in her heart for a long time.
"Actually, you're very much like a friend of mine named Jun Jiu. But she wouldn't go to such great lengths to hide in the enemy's territory like you. If you really have a sworn feud with Xia Jingning, you can kill or punish him as you like. If he's a gentleman, he should know that he's wronged you, and he should bear all this."
Dongfang Yinuo looked up. There were still tears in her eyes. She smiled, but the smile was so helpless.
"Senior, you don't understand. You can never know how I feel about Xia Jingning. If he weren't a gentleman and fought me with weapons, I wouldn't have fallen so deeply. But he—"
"Since he's willing to let you take revenge, why do you still pretend to be Qi Yurou and hide in the duke's mansion?"
"At first, I wanted to take revenge on him. I wanted to kill him. He wronged me on our wedding night. He deserved to die and to atone for his sins. But I couldn't bring myself to do it."
As soon as she saw Xia Jingning's face, Dongfang Yinuo couldn't convince herself to take action. It was he who had pulled her down from the high altar. Now she could never go back.
She was no longer the proud and willful princess of the Eastern Continent.