The news of the estrangement between the Grand Princess and the County Princess spread like wildfire, and even Empress Xu heard of it within a few days.
In the afternoon, Yan Ruoxu went to pay her respects to Empress Xu at the Qianrui Palace. Empress Xu was busy transcribing Buddhist scriptures at her desk.
Yan Ruoxu walked into the hall and casually picked up a sheet of paper, admiring the elegant handwriting on it, and couldn't help but praise, "Your Majesty's handwriting is second to none among the women of Dayan, no one else dares to claim the first place."
"Stop teasing your mother." Empress Xu smiled gently. Her handwriting was not stunning, just the normal standard for a person of the royal family. Yan Ruoxu's praise was only to make her feel good.
Empress Xu was a calm and gentle person herself, hardly ever having arguments with others in her lifetime, but she had given birth to a daughter with a bad temper and a stubborn nature.
What worried her the most was Yan Ruoxu's stubborn and unreasonable attitude, not listening to advice and insisting on taking a certain path to the end.
"Did you have a fight with Yuyan?" Empress Xu put down her pen and asked softly.
Yan Ruoxu shook her head, then linked arms with her mother and leaned against her, "Mother, don't listen to those groundless rumors, they're all nonsense."
Empress Xu petted Yan Ruoxu's head indulgently. Seeing that she didn't want to talk more, she thought it was just a child's tantrum and didn't worry about it.
After spending most of the day with her mother, Yan Ruoxu finally left the Qianrui Palace as the sun was setting.
From a distance, she saw Yan Zhe waiting at the entrance of her chamber.
The setting sun cast long shadows, and Yan Zhe's forehead was beaded with sweat. He eagerly ran over from a distance.
Yan Ruoxu smiled at him, "Waited a long time for me, didn't you?"
Looking at her younger brother Yan Zhe, she suddenly felt a kind of emotion welling up from within. She realized that she had not cherished the happiness around her enough in the past. A peaceful life is truly a rare blessing.
"Just arrived, just finished my duty at the camp." Yan Zhe grinned and stood in front of Yan Ruoxu, "There's a letter for you."
A reply! Yan Ruoxu immediately grabbed Yan Zhe's sleeve and pulled him towards the chamber. She had been thinking about this letter for days now.
Yan Ruoxu dismissed the attendants, then opened the letter to read it.
There were only a few bold characters on it.
"Meet at the Little Long Alley tavern tonight."
The signature was still the single pendant character.
Yan Ruoxu slammed the table in frustration. The teacup on the table rattled with a crisp sound, startling Yan Zhe who was standing nearby.
Can't this Lu Yuan Zhe write a few more words? She had clearly confessed her feelings, but he still remained ambiguous. What does he mean by this?
"Big sister." Yan Zhe scratched his head, a bit confused. Seeing Yan Ruoxu's displeased expression, he couldn't help but feel a bit angry himself, "Is he being unreasonable to you?"
More than unreasonable, he's simply hateful. Yan Ruoxu rubbed the letter in her hand, for a moment she doubted her own judgment. Can Lu Yuan Zhe be trusted after all?
Yan Zhe sat across from Yan Ruoxu, propping his chin with his hand, gazing at her intently. His eyes held a hint of hurt. If it weren't for the fact that Lu Yuan Zhe was uninterested in women, he would suspect that there was something going on between them. If there was some secret matter that even he couldn't know about.
Yan Ruoxu found it somewhat amusing to see his expression, and she took the teacup from Yan Zhe's hand, poured him a cup of tea, and at the same time made up her mind that she must go to the appointment tonight. Besides Lu Yuan Zhe, there would be no one else who could help her with this.
"Yan Zhe." Yan Ruoxu called out to her sulky younger brother, beckoning him with her finger. "Come with me to a place tonight."
Still upset, Yan Zhe's clear eyes were filled with some dissatisfaction as he stared at Yan Ruoxu, but he obediently listened.
Then he raised his eyebrows in surprise, "Sister, is this appropriate?"
Appropriate or not, Yan Ruoxu had made up her mind. She patted Yan Zhe's shoulder, "Don't bother with it."
June 21st, at the hour of the pig, the voices gradually died down in the quiet Little Long Alley, except for a shabby storefront tavern that was still open.
An elderly man in his sixties was sitting behind the counter on the first floor, dozing off. There was a young attendant of about ten years old in the shop, playfully waving a piece of cloth in his hand, frequently glancing up to the second floor, where there were a few customers seated at a table.
Yan Ruoxu sat across from Lu Yuan Zhe in the tavern, her mind a mess as she tried to process what he had just said.
After inviting Yan Ruoxu to this secluded tavern, Lu Yuan Zhe wasn't as laconic as he had been in their written communications. He poured her a cup of hot tea and looked serious as he said, "I sent someone to investigate the recent actions of General Feng in a border city. The general has been behaving oddly, frequently communicating with a mysterious figure and preparing his soldiers and supplies for war, despite the border city being very calm recently with no signs of unrest."
That shouldn't be the case, Yan Ruoxu shook her head and took a sip of the tea at hand.
Lu Yuan Zhe moistened his fingertips and continued to write on the table as he spoke, "Even more peculiar, this mysterious figure has been in frequent contact with a certain family in the capital."
Yan Ruoxu leaned over to take a look, and he had written a character "Xiao".
The Xioa family in the capital was the maternal family of the Crown Princess and, though their power was not as strong as the Xu family's, they were still one of the most prominent families in the capital. The one who had secretly reported General Feng was the uncle of the Crown Princess, Xiao Xu. When she saw the damp character "Xiao" on the table, Yan Ruoxu suddenly had a bad feeling.
Lu Yuan Zhe wiped away the characters on the table with tea and looked at Yan Ruoxu, continuing, "I also found out where this mysterious figure has been communicating with the Xiao family. I plan to check it out tonight, hoping to find some clues."
"Are you going alone?" Yan Ruoxu looked up. From Lu Yuan Zhe's tone, it seemed that he intended to go alone at night.
Lu Yuan Zhe raised his chin slightly and offered a faint smile, "Of course, it's better to go alone. More people increase the risk of being discovered, and it's also inconvenient for action."
Then he stood up, bowed to Yan Ruoxu, and prepared to leave.
"Hold on!" Yan Ruoxu stopped him, "I'll go with you."
Now that this matter involved the Crown Princess's maternal family, Yan Ruoxu had to be more vigilant. It was well known that the border General Feng and the military observer, Xiao Xu, did not get along; could it be that Xiao Xu was causing trouble in this matter?
Yan Ruoxu tried to recall the events of her previous life. General Feng had only been vindicated then, and she hadn't paid much attention to it at the time, so she didn't know the details. She only remembered that no one had been punished for it, and the Xiao family had never been implicated. Could it be that the previous vindication had not fully resolved the situation?
Upon hearing Yan Ruoxu's words, Lu Yuan Zhe's steps faltered, feeling a bit surprised. Although the Crown Princess had been trained in martial arts since she was young, she was still a woman after all. "Princess, you should wait for my message back at the palace."
He chuckled lightly and walked down the stairs.
Yan Xiaoxu watched his back from behind and followed him downstairs.
She ran very quickly, snatched the whip from Lu Yuanchi hiding inside, and then rushed ahead of him, leaping onto his chestnut horse tied outside the shop.
The horse, with a fiery temperament and acknowledging its master, immediately reared up and neighed.
Yan Xiaoxu pursed her lips and wordlessly waved the whip in her hand, fiercely lashing the chestnut horse a few times. This beast was usually very arrogant, but it was actually frightened by these few lashes, whimpering and galloping away.
Having been with Lu Yuanchi for a few years, the horse had developed awareness, yet this was the first time it had shown such timidity.
Lu Yuanchi stood with his mouth agape in astonishment for a moment, then shook his head helplessly, leaned against the dilapidated door pillar of the inn, and watched the woman riding her horse madly ahead.
"Shopkeeper," Lu Yuanchi turned back, tossed a purse, "there are a few gold coins inside, find me a horse."
The old man behind the counter widened his eyes, clutching the purse and inspecting it under the candlelight, feeling overjoyed, "Sir, please wait a moment. The shop does not have horses, but there's a nearby inn that does. I will go and borrow one."
Lu Yuanchi was not impatient, nodded, and watched the old man take a lamp and head out, then sat down and poured himself a cup of tea.
After drinking half a cup of hot tea, the old man had already led a horse to the door.
Lu Yuanchi grabbed the reins, mounted the horse, and set off to follow Yan Xiaoxu's route.
Author's notes:
Lu Yuanchi a month ago: Where should my heart, as a person alone at night, be placed?~
Lu Yuanchi now: The place with you from now on is my home.
Yan Xiaoxu: ? Meow meow meow