Chapter 131: Yao-yao, Don’t Like Me Too Much

Xiao Ning’s eyes chilled, the smile on her face faltering.

She shifted the topic, saying, “How does Imperial Sister-in-law know that I am not the choice of Imperial Brother?”

“Xiao Hong harbors ill intent toward you, Fourth Brother is addle-minded and once harmed you, Fifth Brother is only three years old… and besides, they are all men.”

“Only I, as a fellow woman, can open up a new path for you, Imperial Sister-in-law.”

“You trust my Imperial brother this much; do you not also trust him to make the best arrangement?”

Xie Yao bit her lip lightly, her expression wavering with doubt. “Don’t try to trick me. His Highness is perfectly fine… Besides, if things were truly as you say, why would you be the one to come find me?”

“This is a test,” Xiao Ning fabricated without hesitation. “After all, the one who will work alongside you in the future is me. If I don’t have even this much ability, how could Brother feel at ease?”

She took a jade pendant from her waist and placed it on the table. “The days ahead are long. Imperial Sister-in-law need not decide right away. If you change your mind, you can always come find me.

“This will serve as a token.”

Having said that, she strode away.

Xie Yao stared at Xiao Ning’s retreating back, her face thoughtful, her eyes flashing cold light…

Xiao Ning had clearly come with hostile intent.

But for her, this might be a good opportunity.

Just as Xiao Ning stepped out of the courtyard, she ran into Xiao Ji head-on.

Brother and sister locked gazes, as though invisible sparks clashed and exploded in the air. The corners of Xiao Ning’s lips curved upward; she looked in unusually fine spirits.

“Imperial Brother.”

She bowed first, her smile bright and radiant. “From here on… please take care of me.”

Xiao Ji’s steps faltered slightly. His usually calm eyes stirred with faint ripples.

Xiao Ning gave him a deliberate blink, her meaning beyond words. “I won’t disturb you further.”

She then departed swiftly.

When Xiao Ji entered the room, his gaze fell immediately on the jade pendant in Xie Yao’s hand.

It belonged to Xiao Ning.

“Your Highness!”

Xie Yao set the pendant aside and rushed straight into his arms.

Xiao Ji’s body reacted faster than his mind. He hurried forward to catch her, afraid she might fall.

Xie Yao threw herself into his embrace, clutching him tightly.

Xiao Ji held her close. “I’m here.”

Burying her face in his chest, breathing in the scent that calmed her heart, she finally spoke after a long while. “The Eldest Princess tried to win me over.”

Xiao Ji had already guessed.

But he hadn’t expected his Crown Princess to be so… frank.

“She said Your Highness cannot be relied upon. She even said that Your Highness…” Xie Yao bit her lip, her eyes shimmering with sorrow.

Xiao… Ning!

A nameless fury rose in Xiao Ji’s chest.

Even the matters he himself could not speak of but that Xiao Ning had blurted out so brazenly.

“Your Highness…”

Xie Yao gripped the hem of his robe, her fingers turning white.

Xiao Ji’s face paled. Seeing her so stricken filled his heart with a fierce unwillingness.

How desperately he wished that he could stay by her side for long, long years…

“Yao-yao.”

His voice was restrained, tightly suppressed. “Don’t like me too much.”

But also… don’t not like him.

Just a little…

A little liking was enough.

He hadn’t given her a direct answer, but his words were already an acknowledgment.

“No.”

Xie Yao lowered her gaze slightly, hiding the sudden panic and helplessness in her heart. “I like Your Highness. Only Your Highness. I like Your Highness most of all.”

“Yao-yao…”

The moment Xiao Ji opened his mouth; Xie Yao tilted her face upward and pressed her lips against his.

Her eyes were closed, her face pale, her breathing faintly hurried. Her long lashes trembled softly, wet with some unknown moisture.

Xiao Ji supported her waist.

The two sank together into the kiss.

A long time passed.

Xie Yao’s cheeks were flushed red, her breathing short. Xiao Ji helped her sit down in a grand armchair.

Holding a teacup in her slender hand, the pale-blue porcelain accentuated her delicate white fingers.

Just that one scene and Xiao Ji was already entranced.

Once, he hadn’t cared to live. But now… now he wished to.

That was why he had lately been seeking out physicians, gathering them together to consult, to search for ways to treat his illness.

He wanted to remain with her longer…

“Your Highness?” Seeing him in a daze, Xie Yao tilted her head slightly, calling to him.

Xiao Ji’s eyes were deep as an abyss, like a whirlpool that could devour everything. Her heart skipped a beat under his gaze; she lowered her eyes before regaining composure.

At last, he continued on today’s topic. “As for Xiao Ning… you needn’t concern yourself.”

Did she think he was unaware of Xiao Ning’s schemes against his Crown Princess?

He took Xie Yao’s hand. “Yao-yao, don’t be afraid. With Pei Chen, the Wei family, the Zhao family, and Xie Zhan…” He named them one by one. “I trust my Yao-yao.”

He was confessing.

If he truly could not escape fate, his people would protect her. Moreover, in recent days he had been teaching her the art of ruling.

Even in his political discussions with Pei Chen, he had never once shut her out.

He was already paving the road for his Crown Princess.

This was the answer Xie Yao had sought when she broached the subject.

Even if Xiao Ji died, she would still have his supporters’ aid. Yet hearing these words…

Her heart felt no joy at all.

She lifted her gaze, her black eyes stubborn and unwavering. “But among all these people, the only one I want is Your Highness.”

Xiao Ji, half-kneeling before her, rose slowly. He didn’t answer. He only leaned down to kiss her again.

——

In the Xie household, the duties of managing the household affairs had been taken up by the guest, Lady Qingqing, leaving Madam Zhang with much free time.

But upon learning of Song Wenbo’s vile conduct and with no way to send away her daughter Xie Yujiao, she could only hurry to the Song residence to visit her.

That day, she had barely spoken a few words with her daughter when Qiucha personally brought in a bowl of pregnancy medicine.

At the sight of the medicine, Xie Yujiao’s little face wrinkled. “I don’t want to drink it.”

Qiucha persuaded her, “Madam, you’ve been suffering abdominal pain often, and you bled again yesterday. You really should drink the medicine to protect the baby.”

Xie Yujiao pouted. “I’ve been drinking it for so long, but my condition hasn’t improved. It’s only getting worse.

“What useless physicians!”

Though she cursed, she still pinched her nose and readied herself to drink.

But Madam Zhang, quick-eyed and sharp, suddenly pressed down her daughter’s hand, her expression grim. “Wait!”

Song Wenbo knew full well that Jiao-jiao’s child was not his. If he could treat her so cruelly before, would he now truly allow her to give birth safely?

With that thought, Madam Zhang’s hand jolted and the bowl of medicine overturned, staining her sleeve and handkerchief.

“Mother?!” Xie Yujiao cried in alarm.

Madam Zhang forced herself calm, soothing her daughter. “I’m fine.” The medicine had been cooled before being brought in, so it hadn’t burned her.

But in her heart, she had already resolved to find a trustworthy physician to examine Jiao-jiao…

Madam Zhang’s mind raced. Though her hatred for Song Wenbo grew bitterer still, she said instead, “I’ve heard that the Baiyun Temple on the outskirts of the capital is very efficacious. Since my son-in-law suffered such misfortune, why don’t you go pray for a protective talisman for him?”

Xie Yujiao’s eyes lit up, but she still hesitated, cheeks flushing. “But my husband can’t bear to be apart from me these days…”

Madam Zhang nearly died of anger. “Do you not wish your husband peace and safety in the future?”

That convinced Xie Yujiao at once.

Fearing that Song Wenbo would refuse to let her go, Madam Zhang personally sent Momo Liu to persuade him first, and only then left the Song household.

The moment she stepped into her carriage, her face turned grim. “Find a physician at once. Tomorrow we’ll quietly go to Baiyun Temple.”