Chapter 218 - Dig Out Your Coveting Eyes!

The two of them strolled around a lot of places until they were tired. Then, they found a teahouse.

“Ninghua!” Just as they were about to go upstairs, Baili Anning quickly walked over and said, “You guys are also here. I…we were just about to go back to find you.”

Although they hadn’t been with together for a long time, Baili Anning was extremely satisfied with Qu Yi. He didn’t know how to speak sweet words, but once he said something, he would definitely suit his action to his words. Such a person made her feel exceptionally assured. After living in the Palace for so long and being neglected because of her stench, she knew what she wanted more than anyone else.

To be able to find an honest person like Qu Yi instead of being used in a political marriage was already a great fortune for her. Thinking back to the guidance Shen Ninghua had given her on selecting her future husband, she felt even more grateful.

Shen Ninghua raised her head to look at Baili Anning. Her gaze landed on a silver hairpin that appeared on her head. She teased, “I’ve been waiting for you for quite some time. I thought you forgot to come back.”

Baili Anning blushed and she raised her hand to touch the hairpin on her head. “You always like to make fun of me!”

Shen Ninghua chuckled, causing Qu Yi who was following behind Baili Anning to blush as well. However, when he thought of Princess Anning who did not despise the cheap hairpin he had given her, he did not mind the teasing at all. Her Highness said that if it wasn’t for Princess Zhaohua’s opinion, she would have chosen someone else.

The four of them drank tea together and waited for Baili Anqing’s arrival. Unfortunately, after a while, there was no sign of her. Seeing that it was almost the appointed time, Shen Ninghua was somewhat worried. “Junyi, let people look around. Did something happen to Princess Anqing?”

“Alright.”

Chu Junyi instructed his guards to go and search in the crowd.

After waiting for another fifteen minutes, Shen Ninghua and the others were getting anxious. Baili Anqing walked over with a woman supporting her. Yang Lin followed behind with an anxious expression and a frowning face.

Seeing Baili Anqing’s appearance, Shen Ninghua was shocked. “What’s wrong? Quickly sit down.”

Chu Junyi looked up at Yang Lin and found that he was staring at Shen Ninghua with undisguised admiration and yearning in his eyes.

Chu Junyi directly stepped forward to block Yang Lin. His aura was cold as ice and sharp as a sword. “Lord Yang, Princess Anqing was fine when she went out with you. Why did she come back like this? Didn’t you take care of her?”

Yang Lin was stunned. He looked at Chu Junyi and gritted his teeth to suppress the jealousy and unwillingness in his heart. “Sorry, I failed to take care of Her Highness and let her get injured.”

Baili Anqing’s face had already turned pale from the pain, but now that she heard this, her face turned ghastly paler.

Shen Ninghua looked at the woman supporting Baili Anqing and felt a little strange in her heart. She always felt that this woman looked familiar, as if she had seen her somewhere before. “Your Highness, your foot is sprained. I’ll send someone to find a carriage and you can have a rest in my mansion first. I’ll send you back to the Palace later.”

“Alright, thank you.” Baili Anqing stood up and the woman on the side hurriedly stepped forward to support her arm. “Your Highness, be careful. I will help you.”

Shen Ninghua frowned and looked at her. “Your Highness, who is this young lady?”

Baili Anqing bit her lip and said, “When I almost fell down, this young lady supported me. I saw that she was quick-witted and had a pitiful background, so I wanted to help her.”

Her words sounded reasonable, but on second thought, there was something wrong. If she really wanted to thank her for the help, she could just give her enough silver taels. After all, Baili Anqing was a princess, and the maids beside her were all registered. A woman who came out of nowhere was not qualified to be her maid.

Even if she brought the woman into the Palace, she would inevitably be suspected as having a malicious intent and might be dragged out and beheaded some time. In that case, she would be a victim of Baili Anqing’s so-called kindness.

Shen Ninghua noticed the problem and said, “I have some silver here, it is enough for this young lady to live on. Give it to her, Qing Que.”

The woman raised her eyes. Her sparkling eyes were filled with tears. She suddenly knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Princess Anqing. “Your Highness, please keep me by your side.”

Baili Anqing’s face was expressionless and extremely pale.

Baili Anning, who was watching from the side, could not bear to see this. She frowned and shouted coldly, “You, get up! By kneeling on the ground and crying in public, do you want people to think that we’ve humiliated you?”

“I don’t dare. I just want a shelter. I don’t dare to be disrespectful to Your Highnesses.”

Shen Ninghua frowned. “The silver taels I gave you are enough for you to buy a few shelters. You can leave.”

“Your Highness…”

“Leave!” Shen Ninghua’s eyebrows were cold. Her noble aura surged out and shocked the woman. She looked at Yang Lin timidly.

Yang Lin gritted his teeth and said, “Your Highness, this young lady’s background is quite pitiful. Furthermore, she just helped Princess Anqing. It is too coldhearted to thank her only with the silver taels. How about this, I will take care of her. Miss Rui Xue, come with me.”

The woman called Rui Xue frowned slightly. Her clear eyes shined with embarrassment. “But Princess Anqing’s foot…”

“With Princess Zhaohua here, it’s fine.” After saying that, he directly walked out.

Rui Xue looked at them awkwardly. Finally, she bowed to Shen Ninghua and the others and chased after Yang Lin.

A cold light flashed in Shen Ninghua’s eyes. This Yang Lin was about to get married to Princess Anqing. What was he going to do? Did he even dare to ignore the dignity of the royal family?

Baili Anning stepped forward to hold Baili Anqing’s hand and helped her up. “Sister Anqing, go to Ninghua’s mansion first. We’ll talk about other matters later.”

They had just caused quite a commotion here, and many people were looking over. It was better to leave now so as not to get into trouble.

After they got to Princess Zhaohua’s Mansion, Bai Ruo, Hong Ling, and Bi Zhu immediately came up to welcome them.

Without delay, Shen Ninghua ordered the three of them to bring water and a medicine chest and to help Baili Anqing to her bedroom.

“Your Highness, I need to check your ankle. It hurts a little. Hold on.”

“Thank you.”

After the examination, Shen Ninghua breathed a sigh of relief. “It’s not serious. It’s just a slight sprain. It’ll be fine after a few days of rubbing with medicinal liquor. It won’t delay your wedding.” Today, she accompanied the two princesses out. Although she had been ordered by the empress, if something happened to Anning and Anqing and delayed the wedding, the royal family would lose face and she would also be punished. Fortunately, Anqing’s sprain was not serious.

Baili Anning had been a little restless. When she heard that it wouldn’t affect the wedding date, she heaved a sigh of relief and asked about Rui Xue, “Anqing, what happened to that Rui Xue who just supported you?”

Baili Anqing bit her lips and had a sad expression on her face. “Haven’t you two found out? That Rui Xue is the stunning woman who performed on the riverbank stage.”

“What? You said that Rui Xue is the woman who descended from the sky and danced with astonishing skills?” Baili Anning was surprised.

“That’s right, Lord Yang and I were going to the front to watch the competition for Fairy Winter Jasmine. Then we saw someone making things difficult for Miss Rui Xue. I couldn’t bear it and asked Lord Yang to step forward to help. There were too many people around and I accidentally sprained my foot. Rui Xue supported me just in time.”

Baili Anning and Shen Ninghua exchanged glances and had a bad idea in their hearts: How could things happen so coincidentally?

“Then, she came with you? Why didn’t you send her away so that your identity wouldn’t be exposed?” Said Baili Anning.

“I had wanted to give her some silver taels, but she said that she didn’t have a shelter, and that she didn’t save me for the money. Because of the conflict with the organizer of the Fairy Winter Jasmine match, she couldn’t go back anymore, so she asked us to take her in.”

Baili Anning disagreed. “But you can’t bring someone with you so easily. How could we have women in the Palace with unknown backgrounds?”

A dark light flashed through Shen Ninghua’s eyes. She smiled faintly and did not participate in the conversation between the two of them. She just sat quietly on the side.

“How could I not think of this? It’s just that Lord Yang is soft-hearted…” Baili Anqing said. She felt so wronged that she was about to cry. Although she wasn’t favored, she was still a princess. How could she bear the grievances?

Baili Anning looked at her and said somewhat exasperatedly, “Then you still let Yang Lin take her away? Do you know what will happen after this?”

After enduring for a while, Baili Anqing finally couldn’t hold it back. She leaned on the table and cried out sadly.

Shen Ninghua comforted her. “Imperial Counselor Yang’s family rules are very strict. Yang Lin is his legitimate grandson. He definitely won’t watch him get involved with a dancer. You don’t need to worry.”

Baili Anqing slowly raised her head. Her face was full of tears, and she looked extremely sad. “Perhaps.”

After a simple lunch, Shen Ninghua arranged for the two princesses to be escorted back.

When the room quieted down, Shen Ninghua carefully thought about what had happened today and felt that something was wrong.

Chu Junyi frowned and suddenly said, “Ninghua, did you find something?”

“What is it?”

“That Rui Xue is very similar to you in terms of her eyes.”

The moment he saw Rui Xue, he had a familiar feeling in his heart. When he looked carefully, he discovered that her eyes were actually somewhat similar to Ninghua’s. Thinking about Yang Lin’s attitude, he was even angrier. Yang Lin must have taken Rui Xue as Shen Ninghua’s substitute!

Shen Ninghua’s heart skipped a beat and she finally understood why she felt that Rui Xue looked familiar. “How similar?”

“Just looking at the eyes, about sixty percent.” Chu Junyi frowned and thought for a long time before speaking slowly.

Shen Ninghua also frowned tightly and thought about the empress’ plan. “Junyi, send someone to check on Rui Xue. How could things be so coincidental? The wedding of the two princesses is coming soon. No matter what happens and causes a delay, it will be a loss of face for the royal family.”

“Alright, I’ll investigate.”

Even if Ninghua didn’t say it, he would always keep an eye on Yang Lin. If he dared to do anything that involved Ninghua, he wouldn’t mind digging out his coveting eyes!