Chapter 34: Pulling Down His Highness’s Pants…

At last, Xie Yao let go. Xiao Ji, nearly in disarray, hurriedly left.

Xie Yao buried her face in her hands and rolled once across the bed.

Heavens above! She had gone through all that embarrassment, yet still hadn’t gotten a solid answer. But judging from that brief, stolen glimpse… it looked… not small at all?

That only made her more certain of her original suspicion.

Xiao Ji was not impotent.

Then, the only reason he avoided her must be because of that so-called prophecy from the National Preceptor, not because he truly couldn’t.

Although Xiao Ji had never said it outright, her intuition told her this was the truth.

In her previous life, the reason Xie Yujiao never bore children must have been the same because the Crown Prince had likely never touched her at all.

That was why Xie Yujiao could stand so confidently before her and declare that the Crown Prince would never touch her, condemning her to a lifetime of widowhood-in-marriage.

Now it seemed clear, the Crown Prince was a man of rigid principles.

To change his mind… would not be easy.

Meanwhile, Xiao Ji had been in the cold-water bath for half an hour, only then suppressing the fire in his chest. By the time he returned to his study, his whole body radiated a chill.

“Si-bei…” he began.

But Si-nan’s face lit up in joy. “Your Highness, rest assured! Within half a month, Si-bei will certainly arrive in the capital!”

He had just received a letter the day before, promising Si-bei’s return within two weeks. He would write again to urge him to hurry.

Si-bei was one matter but the real importance was that along with Si-bei would come shamans and healers from the ancient villages of the southwest.

They were coming for one purpose: to treat His Highness.

“…” Xiao Ji hadn’t meant that at all, but Si-nan had already rushed off excitedly.

In the following two days, thanks to a strange tacit understanding between Xie Yao and Xiao Ji, things were unexpectedly peaceful.

Xie Yao hadn’t given up. She was simply waiting for her inconvenient “days” to pass.

“Your Highness the Crown Princess,” Zhuqing entered from outside, her face troubled. “Today, people from Second Young Lady approached Yingtao.”

Yingtao, who had previously acted on her own and entered the study to clean, had been scolded by the Crown Prince.

Xie Yao had instructed Zhuqing to comfort her afterward, and to also arrange for someone to quietly keep watch on her.

“Second Young Lady must be up to no good,” Zhuqing said firmly.

“Mm.” Xie Yao nodded, quite agreeing.

Given all the rumors about Song Wenbo and Princess He Yi, Xie Yujiao must have blamed everything on her. That explained why she was so eager to start plotting “revenge.”

And to be fair, she had chosen the right target.

“Your Highness, shall I go fetch Yingtao?” Zhuqing asked, a little uneasy after thinking of how she had comforted her last time.

“No need,” Xie Yao said. “Just keep someone watching her.”

After all, Yingtao was originally a servant of the Crown Prince’s household. Xie Yao didn’t know her well. This was the perfect chance to test her true loyalties.

“Yes,” Zhuqing agreed at once, tightening her vigilance.

Just then, Yingtao’s voice came from outside, “Your Highness the Crown Princess, this maidservant has something to report.”

Xie Yao arched her brows slightly. “Come in.”

Yingtao entered respectfully, holding a formal invitation in both hands. “This was just delivered from the residence of Scholar Song, inviting Your Highness the Crown Princess to a banquet.”

A banquet, at the Song household?

Xie Yao accepted the card and glanced at it. Judging from the style, it looked like a fairly large gathering.

“How many families received these invitations?” she asked.

Yingtao lowered her gaze. “Most of the households in the capital, Your Highness.”

Xie Yao almost laughed aloud on the spot.

What could she even say?

Was Xie Yujiao simply too confident in herself?

In the previous life, when Xie Yujiao was Crown Princess, she frequently held such banquets, to the point that Xiao Ning often complained about it in bed.

But now, she seemed to have forgotten that her status had changed.

A scholar’s wife from a poor family, daring to send invitations to nearly every household in the capital? Who on earth would go?

“Noted,” Xie Yao said lightly, hiding her smile.

Yingtao prepared to withdraw.

Xie Yao glanced at her once, saw she had nothing else to add, and looked away.

It seemed Yingtao had already made her choice in her heart.

Xie Yao casually set the invitation aside.

Not long after Yingtao left, news came that the Xie family had sent gifts.

“Your Highness the Crown Princess, Master Xie had a basket of apricots sent over, saying he knew you liked them,” Zhuqing said carefully.

But her mistress loathed sourness.

No matter how ripe, apricots were always somewhat tart and something the Crown Princess never touched.

Xie Yao let out a cold laugh.

Zhuqing went on, “The steward who delivered them said Second Young Lady’s banquet is meant to clear up the rumors surrounding Scholar Song.”

“And that she originally wanted to host it at the Xie family estate, but Master refused.”

So Master Xie was trying to stay neutral, pleasing both sides.

Too bad…

“He really does want to offend no one,” Xie Yao sneered.

Zhuqing thought for a moment and asked, “Crown Princess, then will you attend Second Young Lady’s banquet? After all, you are sisters by blood, if you don’t go, people outside might gossip.”

“No.”

Xie Yao’s rejection was instant, her eyes flashing with disgust.

That Song household was the very property Song Wenbo had been granted after clinging to Princess He Yi. To her, that house was nothing but a nightmare of pain.

She had no wish to ever set foot there again.

But the very next day, Zhuxin came rushing in, furious. “Your Highness, word is spreading outside that you will attend Second Young Lady’s banquet!”

“As a result, quite a few families have changed their minds and decided to go.”

Of course, most of these were minor households. And their real goal in attending was not the Songs, but to try to curry favor with the Crown Princess.

“Your Highness, should we clarify this?” Zhuxin asked angrily. “Second Young Lady has gone too far, using your name like this!”

“No need,” Xie Yao shook her head. “Let her be.”

This was nothing more than Xie Yujiao digging her own grave.

One of the many advantages of her blessed constitution was that her monthly time ended quickly. After only three days, she was completely clean again.

She bathed thoroughly, refreshed and fragrant, ready to resume her “grand undertaking” that very night.

Whatever schemes Xie Yujiao was hatching could wait, her first priority was securing the Crown Prince, conceiving a child, and ensuring her survival.

At dinner that evening, Xiao Ji noticed something amiss the instant he saw her.

The look in her eyes was no longer calm and mild as in the past two days, now it sparkled with eagerness, shining brightly…

His lashes lowered slightly.

“I have matters to attend. Crown Princess, rest early.”

He spoke quickly, not giving her the chance to feign frailty or act pitiful, then turned and strode away with long steps. His back looked almost as though he were being chased.

Xie Yao: “???”

She froze.

Had the Crown Prince just run away from her?

Even someone as determined as Xie Yao felt her confidence shaken in that moment. But after a deep breath, she rose to her feet and marched straight toward the study.

If the mountain would not come to her, then she would go to the mountain. Surely that would work!

But when she entered, the study was empty.

Xiao Ji hadn’t returned.

Zhuqing soon came with word. “Crown Princess, I asked the gatekeeper, His Highness has not left the estate.”

Xie Yao’s beautiful eyes gleamed. “Doesn’t matter. I’ll just sleep in the study tonight.”

She refused to believe it.

Would the Crown Prince really avoid her so much… that he wouldn’t even come back to his own study?