Li Xinyue, hiding in the carriage, remained motionless. She no longer cared about things like confessions. Compared to the fact that she had slept with Chu Junyi, being rejected in a confession was really nothing.
Chu Junyi, hiding in the shadows, watched as Murong Xiu stepped towards Li Xinyue's carriage step by step. His eyebrows knitted together, and the uneasiness in his heart was like a handkerchief being tightly wrung by someone.
He raised his hand to stroke his chest and was annoyed with Xia Chengjie for being completely useless.
After several attempts to turn the carriage around and take a shortcut failed, Young Master Xia simply jumped out of the carriage and ran.
Fortunately, he saw three carriages parked by the road.
"Dear cousin! I need your help in a hurry!"
The three people outside the carriages all looked over in unison.
Not seeing Li Xinyue, the young master guessed that she might be inside the carriage, so he went to lift the curtain.
"Dear cousin! I need your help in a hurry..."
Li Xinyue opened her eyes and looked over indifferently.
The three people outside who were about to have a conversation were suddenly interrupted by him, so that topic ended without a result.
Li Xinrong, who had been scolded to tears by Li Xinyue, saw the hope of turning defeat into victory and was happy again.
"Oh—I see. Could it be that Sister Six is too afraid to go to the Duke's Mansion and is too embarrassed to say so, so she bribed the young master to stop you here?"
"I'm not, I didn't!"
"Dear cousin, listen to me..."
"Sister Six, you're being unfair..."
Seeing this, Chu Junyi tilted up the corner of his mouth and exhaled comfortably. His tightly wrung heart finally felt at ease.
...
"So, the urgent matter you just told me about, even a matter of life and death, is this?" Li Xinyue, who had been dragged here, took a deep breath looking at the two full boxes of gold and jewels in front of her, and shot a killing look at Xia Chengjie.
Xia Chengjie nodded weakly. "Cousin, you saved me. To thank you for saving my life, I've decided to give you these valuables.
By the way, did you bring any people? They're a bit heavy."
Li Xinyue endured the twitching of her eyebrows, was silent for a while, and then said, "Just send someone to the Princess Mansion to call a few people to carry them. I'll leave first."
Xia Chengjie stopped and looked out of the door helplessly.
Li Xinyue also subconsciously looked over.
Xia Chengjie let out a sudden yelp like a cat with its tail stepped on, which made Li Xinyue glare at him fiercely.
Xia Chengjie gritted his teeth and hugged Li Xinyue's thigh. "Cousin! Listen to me. I actually have my own difficulties, cousin!"
Li Xinyue's eyebrows twitched. She had the illusion that this guy seemed to be deliberately holding her back, but she had no evidence.
The mastermind outside looked up at the sky... Out of the corner of his eye, a figure crept over.
The mastermind dodged.
Li Xinrong lay on the doorframe of the Xia Mansion, looking around. After seeing the two open boxes of gold and jewels on the ground, she excitedly shouted.
"Humph, I've caught you! I just said that the young master must have been bribed by Sister Six. Look, now we have both the witness and the evidence! Sister Six, what else do you have to say?"
Li Xinrong had a strong nasal voice. She exhaled forcefully, wiped away her bitter tears, and then excitedly raised her head and said, "Sister Six, just admit it. You just couldn't face Murong Xiu because he rejected you before, but you were too embarrassed to decline his invitation, so you staged this play. Look at these treasures. They're all from the palace. As a princess, you naturally have them, but where could the young master get them?
Don't tell me these are gifts from the young master to you?
Do you think I'll believe it? Do you think others will believe it?"
The young master nodded slightly. "They really are gifts from me to my cousin."
Li Xinrong was angry. "Why are you still helping her at this time! What benefits did she give you!" She didn't want to talk to Xia Chengjie anymore. She thought this guy had been bribed, so she said to Li Xinyue, "Although Sister Six's words were very offensive just now, I'm magnanimous and won't bother with you.
If you're really too embarrassed to face Young Master Murong and asked the young master to be your pawn, then I'll go and decline Young Master Murong for you. I'll say that you're busy and can't go. I'll cover for you."
Li Xinrong stopped her sobbing, held her head high, and gloated.
"Need you to cover for me?" Li Xinyue kicked the jade pendant on the edge of the box that was about to fall, and it just hit the back of Li Xinrong's knee as she was about to turn around and leave.
Li Xinrong fell forward and landed on the threshold, scraping her skin. She was in so much pain that tears came out.
"I'm the legitimate princess. How dare you!" She said half of it and then silently closed her mouth. It seemed that she had said this before, but it didn't work.
Li Xinyue hooked the corner of her mouth happily, bent down to pick up the jade pendant on the ground, and threw it back into the box.
"Now it's good. There's a justifiable reason. I have to decline Young Master Murong's kind invitation because I have to take care of Fourteenth Sister and can't get away. I think Young Master Murong will understand."
"You!"
Li Xinyue turned to the young master and said, "Keep her here for a few hours. Let her go after the banquet is over.
As long as you can do this, I'll take these two hot potatoes for you."
"Cousin." The young master smacked his lips. The words "hot potatoes" really hit the nail on the head of his thoughts.
It turned out that his cousin had seen through it from the beginning.
So he didn't bother to lie anymore. "But she, she... I... It's not appropriate for a man and a woman to be alone in a room."
"Precisely because it's a man and a woman alone, she won't tell anyone about today's incident, and she definitely won't go and complain to the Queen. If the Queen sends someone to ask me, just say that Fourteenth Sister has been with me all the time. As for me..."
She wasn't even in the Princess Mansion. The Queen couldn't find her, so she could only be anxious. What else could she do?
Well, it was quite satisfying.
She glanced at Li Xinrong.
Hearing her well - reasoned and flawless words, Li Xinrong was speechless. She just hated that she didn't bring any guards.
If she had brought a guard, she wouldn't have suffered another loss at Li Xinyue's hands.
"Fourteenth cousin, please." The young master smilingly invited Li Xinrong into the room. Li Xinrong refused, and Lu'er blocked her way from behind.
Finally, Li Xinrong reluctantly went into the inner room.
Li Xinyue then left the mansion, planning to use this as an excuse to ask Murong Xiu and Murong Jia to go back to their mansion first.
Just now, Murong Jia and Li Xinrong rode on the same horse. Murong Jia's carriage should be waiting somewhere.
As for why Li Xinrong lied to Murong Jia and came alone, she had no idea.
But she had to say that she should thank Li Xinrong for coming alone, which gave her this opportunity.
Li Xinyue stepped out of the mansion gate and looked up at the sky.
The glow in the sky twinkled, adding a different kind of poetry and charm to the busy market.
She raised the corner of her mouth and felt a little more relaxed. Then she suddenly looked back.
In her sight, there was no one at the corner, and the stone lions at the door looked majestic.
Could it be that she had really seen wrong?
Never mind!
Li Xinyue lifted her foot and walked forward.
At the corner, Chu Junyi exhaled. Just as he was about to turn around and leave, a bright and valiant figure suddenly landed in front of him.
Li Xinyue crossed her arms in front of her chest and looked at him meaningfully.
Chu Junyi silently bit his lip. For the first time, a hint of embarrassment appeared in his clear and sharp eyes.
Li Xinyue thought that only a boring person like the young master would do such a boring thing. She never thought that this dog - like man was even more boring.
It was okay to be boring, but he was also very smart.
If it weren't for the feeling that there was always a pair of eyes watching her, she would never have thought that he was behind this incident.