Lian Qingping wasn't a fool. She knew very well whether there was anything wrong with what she had made. Now she also sensed something amiss and whispered, "Your Highness, what on earth do you want?"
Yi Zhici gave a mischievous smile. "Princess, it was you who started all this. I'm just returning it to you double."
Lian Qingping sneered and raised her voice a bit so that the noble young men watching could hear. "My bracelet has been found. It's not with the Princess of Yuyang. Wen Huan, apologize to the princess."
"Princess?" Wen Huan was indignant.
"Apologize!"
Wen Huan gritted her teeth. "I'm sorry, Your Highness. It was this humble maid who offended you. Please be magnanimous and spare this humble maid!"
Zhong Yi scoffed. "Is this an apology? The Xin Yi people are really generous. Even their etiquette is so lenient. Apologizing to a princess of a country with just a few words?"
Lian Qingping grabbed Wen Huan's arm and forced her to kneel. No matter how reluctant Wen Huan was, she had to kneel down. "Your Highness, this humble maid was wrong. Please be merciful and spare this humble maid."
Zhong Yi supported Yi Zhici and still showed no sign of weakness. "You're quite sensible. Don't be so blind next time. Our princess is not a soft persimmon that anyone can bully!"
Lian Qingping left with Wen Huan. Zhong Yi helped Yi Zhici stand up and they entered the tent. Hou Chen asked, "Don't we need to call a doctor?"
Yi Zhici became lively as soon as she entered the tent. "Lord Hou, can't you really tell?"
"Was it all an act?"
Yi Zhici sneered. "Who can't play the victim? She tried to frame me, so I did the same to her. Just now, I didn't explain to everyone whether this rash was really related to her snow pear paste. It serves her right for being so blind."
Hou Chen looked at Zhong Yi. "You knew too?"
Zhong Yi smiled. "At first, when the princess fell, this humble maid didn't know. But when I saw the rash, I knew. This kind of tricky deception, this humble maid has seen the princess use it before."
Hou Chen nodded. "Then it's none of my business. I can leave."
"Wait," Yi Zhici stopped him. She wiped the rash on her arm and showed him the bracelet. "Have you seen this? Who put it on me?"
"I haven't seen it," Hou Chen thought for a while. "But you can ask General Lin."
On the other side, Lian Qingping stormed back into her tent angrily.
Wen Huan quickly knelt down. "Princess, it's this humble maid's fault. I couldn't get the bracelet back. It's all this humble maid's fault..."
Lian Qingping swept the teacup to the ground to vent her anger. "No need to admit your mistake. This princess has also seen how difficult that Princess of Yuyang is. She set me up. Now everyone will be worried that the snow pear paste I gave has problems."
Wen Huan asked, "Princess, what on earth is the origin of that bracelet?"
"That... that was something Lin Yuan cherished like a treasure. Back then, I just accidentally bumped it and it fell to the ground. He got really angry with me. No matter how I explained, he wouldn't listen. And he never saw me again after that," Lian Qingping slumped into a chair. "But that bracelet is on Yi Zhici's hand. Lin Yuan didn't even tell her how important the bracelet is. He just let Yi Zhici play with it."
"Princess, maybe... it's not the same bracelet. Maybe it wasn't given by General Lin."
Lian Qingping laughed, but tears fell. "There's a character engraved on that bracelet. It's 'Mu', right? Back then, even when Lin Yuan had a fever, he always called out a name, A Mu."
Wen Huan didn't dare to say a word.
"Will I never be able to catch up with A Mu no matter how hard I try? And now, can't I even catch up with Yi Zhici?"
"Your looks and figure are no worse than Yi Zhici's," a strange male voice, gentle and mellow, said. "But ever since the first time your scheme against him failed, you've already been inferior to the Princess of Yuyang."
Lian Qingping stood up warily. "Who!"
A young man walked in from outside the door. He had clear eyebrows and bright eyes, with an otherworldly elegance. "Princess, there's no need to be alarmed."
"Minister Wu, why are you here?"
Wu Ya smiled. There was a gentle tenderness between his eyebrows. "Princess, I'm here to give you a suggestion so that you won't be so hurt by love anymore."