Chapter 2: Bing'er Stays Behind

  "The crown prince has made his decision, so I won't disturb Your Highness anymore." Ye Yuzhen threw out a sentence and walked into the courtyard without looking back.

  Nan Mu Yu looked at the door with wide eyes, puzzled as to why this woman, who didn't care about the position of the crown princess, would marry him.

  The anger on his face was soon replaced by worry, and his eyes gradually narrowed as he walked quickly out of the yard and into the study.

  The two guards outside the courtyard of the study saw their master arrive and stepped forward to salute. Nan Mu Yu simply waved his hand and, seemingly lost in thought, opened the door to the study.

  What's wrong?

  As the gate opened wide, the window also opened, and a masked man jumped in from outside. Before Namu Mu entered the palace, the man rushed to the table behind the curtain and knelt down.

  "Is there news?" Nanmu Yu looked at the masked man eagerly.

  "Returning to the master, the scouts from the Xiangfu have reported that Ye Lie Feng is planning a large-scale construction project outside the city to build a separate courtyard and temple hall. Ye Xu Rui has been ordered to supervise it, and recently he has rarely appeared in public." The masked man reported truthfully, waiting for his master's inquiry.

  "Build another house?" Nan Mu muttered to himself, his mind racing, his eyes filled with curiosity and confusion.

  The masked man saw his master deep in thought and whispered mysteriously, "Master, that person has appeared again." "Where?" Nan Mu Yu's expression became excited.

  "In the graveyard outside the city." The masked man said again.

  "Burial ground? What is he doing at the burial ground? That place is dirty and smelly, I heard it's been quite unclean lately." Nan Mu muttered to himself.

  This long-sought mysterious person made him both curious and anxious, but this mysterious person was too mysterious. Half a year ago, after seeing him in the palace, he sent out many spies to find this person, but so far, they have not been able to find out where this person came from, and three people who were sent out have gone without returning. Hearing the fourth person's report, he still had some excitement.

  "Master, I'm a useless subordinate... I lost him." The masked man's voice grew softer and softer, his head also bowed lower.

  "Never mind! It's not that you're incompetent, it's just that the enemy is too formidable. Keep letting people follow, be careful, and whatever you do, don't startle the snake in the grass." Nan Mu Yu waved his hand, and the masked man left through the window.

  As soon as the man left, a shout came from the entrance. Before long, he saw him rushing in with a dustpan: "Your Highness, Crown Prince, you'd better go back and make amends with the Crown Princess, otherwise I won't be able to report to the Empress tomorrow."

  "That's no need for you to worry, the Empress Dowager has her own words." The Crown Prince smiled confidently and walked out of the study with his hands behind his back, heading towards the bedroom.

  ……

  The next morning, Ye Yuzhan ordered the maid to attend to her bath and dressing, and sat in front of the mirror to adorn herself. Before leaving for marriage, her mother had told her about the proper etiquette, and she was waiting for someone's arrival to go together to pay respects to the current empress dowager and emperor.

  Looking at the different self in the mirror, I remembered that night when I entered the imperial mausoleum to ask for an ancient painting, but it suddenly collapsed and she fainted.

  I thought I would never see the sun again, but when I woke up, I found myself transmigrated into the body of the young mistress of the Xiang family, using another body to continue my life, and also continuing the responsibilities and obligations of this body.

  Reborn, I thought I had escaped the lonely orphan identity of my previous life. Born into a wealthy family, I could finally live a good life. But unexpectedly, that weak and feeble mother, although she was the legitimate wife, had no status at all in the Xiang household. What's more, she often endured humiliation and bullying from the concubines.

  Alas...

  Fate had it that she was helpless, and in order to let her mother live a decent life, she could only become the chess piece of Lord Xiang's father and willingly marry Nan Mu Yu, a notorious playboy.

  "Master, the headdress bestowed by Her Majesty the Empress is truly beautiful." The maid who spoke was called Xiaoyu, a maid brought over from Ye Yushan's maternal home. She hadn't come in to attend last night because she was blocked outside the courtyard by someone from Nanmu Palace, so she hurried over early this morning.

  "Whatever you like, Master will give it to you." Ye Yusan patted Xiaoyu's hand.

  This girl has suffered a lot in the Xiangfu, and she has never seen such good jewelry in her life. But for her, who had seen many treasures in numerous ancient tombs of kings, these things were not very attractive at all.

  The little fish listened with wide eyes and asked in confusion, staring at the master in the mirror: "Master doesn't like these accessories?"

  "Who doesn't like gold and silver, it's just that there's too much of this stuff, and it's too heavy to carry. You pick a few pieces that Mother likes, and we'll take them back to the manor in two days." Yuexuan thought of her mother's pitiful appearance, weak and unable to withstand the strong-willed woman.

  Mentioning his wife, Xiaoyu's excited face suddenly filled with anxiety, he had something to say but didn't dare to speak. With this pent-up emotion, his expression looked even more uncomfortable.

  "Don't worry too much, Father promised me he'll take good care of Mother and won't let her be bullied by that woman again." Ye Yuzhan held onto Xiaoyu's hand, only able to comfort the usually timid Xiaoyu.

  Just as they were talking, a hurried footsteps came from outside the door, and both masters and servants closed their mouths. The approaching person's footsteps were very slow, so slow that both of them couldn't help but look back, and then both of their faces turned black at the same time.

  "Bing'er greets the Crown Princess!" Bing'er stepped forward elegantly and bowed slightly.

  Even if she was just wearing a servant's clothes, the seductive aura in her bones wasn't concealed at all. She raised her head, lifted her eyes, and the charming light in her pupils was so captivating that it would make women feel jealous when they saw her.

  The little fish looked up and down at Bing Er with a strange gaze, and a scene flashed through her mind. She suddenly remembered that she had seen this woman secretly at the gate of the courtyard last night. Although it was dark, she recognized those enchanting eyes, and recalled that the woman had worn a transparent cheongsam into the neighboring courtyard last night, so why did she change into servant's clothes today?

  "Bing'er, from now on, just stay and serve me in the palace." Yeyu Shan withdrew her gaze and began to fiddle with the exquisite hairpiece on her head.

  "Yes!" Bing'er nodded obediently, first helping her master adjust the hair ornaments on his head, then selecting a few brightly colored peacock-shaped golden hairpins for him to wear.

  "Your eyes are really something, where did the prince bring you back from?" Ye Yusan looked at Bing'er's eyes through the mirror, these eyes had a flirtatious look, looking like they were born to bewilder men.

  Bing'er stopped her actions, her lips were bitten and bleeding, her voice was trembling: "Kuilan Xiang!"

  Kuilan Xiang is a famous brothel in Mu City, and Ye Yushuang not only knew about it but also disguised herself as a man to sneak in. On the surface, it's just a brothel, but the girls inside have extraordinary skills. Although she hasn't found out where those people came from yet, she can be sure that Bing'er's approach to Nanmu is not simple.

  "That's a brothel!" Xiaoyu exclaimed, then suddenly remembered something and pushed Bing'er away, panting: "Master, she must have bewitched the prince last night. Do you still want this little demon to serve you?"

  Ye Yuxuan sneered and smiled, marrying a man who was originally emotionless, and doting on many young women as if they had nothing to do with her.

  Chong Xiao Yu gave a subtle glance, her tone was very casual: "Don't make things difficult for her, she's also helpless. You'll all be serving me together from now on, and the days are long."

  "Yes!" Under the gaze of his superior, Xiao Yu suppressed the discontent in his heart and responded obediently.

  Bing'er silently lowered her head and continued to dress the master. Before long, she heard footsteps coming from the doorway, and she tensed up, slowing down her movements.

  Ye Yuxuan not only had a foundation in martial arts from her past life, but this body also possessed extraordinary internal energy since childhood. However, some days ago, she was injured by someone while trying to steal something for her father and her skills have not exceeded 50% until now. Yet, upon hearing the footsteps, she could still tell who it was?

  Nan Mu had arrived, and the discontent in her heart made that originally pretty face cloud over. All the way from the courtyard to the house, the maids and servants didn't dare make a sound.

  However, the usual little pageboy who followed behind was now running to catch up, and seeing that the Crown Princess had finished dressing, his heart finally fell back into place. Flicking the duster in his hand, he quickly stepped forward to the dresser, raising his somewhat effeminate voice: "Your Highness the Crown Princess, it's getting late, and if you keep the Emperor and Empress waiting for too long, they might..."

  "Rest assured, Your Majesty, I am aware of the proper etiquette. You see, I'm not yet done with my hairdo, and besides, it's the Crown Prince who..." Ye Yusan glanced at Nanmu Yu with a hint of mockery in her eyes.

  Xiao Sanzi didn't dare make another sound, but the accusation in his eyes was very clear. After glancing at Nan Mu Yu, he honestly retreated from the room.

  "Cut the crap! Are you going or not?" Nan Mu Yu Ke was in no mood to bother with this woman, and impatiently yelled at Ye Yu Xuan.

  It was all because of this woman that the empress dowager had been worried about offending Ye Lie Feng and had insisted on not letting Ruolan enter the palace, causing them to suffer from longing for each other.

  Ye Yuxuan was not angry or annoyed, knowing that Nan Mu's heart was not pleased with this marriage. Before entering the palace, he had already found out that his mistress had been placed in a separate courtyard outside the city. It must be that he was bearing the pain of longing, which is why he chose to perform last night's drama.

  No one wants to be a pawn in this game of deception, but she is just a chess piece for her father, and too many things beyond her control have forced her to become a criminal.

  She wanted to sympathize with her, but who would sympathize with herself and that fragile mother of hers.

  She got up and touched the peacock-shaped golden hairpin on her head, looking up at Nan Mu Yu with a face full of anger: "Does the prince plan to go and pay his respects to the emperor and empress like this?"

  Mu Yu looked at Ye Yuzhan, his long eyelashes under his eyes, like ink-like bright eyes seemed to speak. Suddenly, a picture flashed in his mind, and he was stunned.

  Being looked at like that, Ye Yuzhan felt uneasy all over, his eyes were as sharp as an eagle's, seeming to be able to see through people's hearts with one glance. Flustered, she lowered her head and stepped out of the door first.

  Xiao Sanzi saw that the crown prince was still dazed and walked forward, softly calling out: "Your Highness, it's time for you to change clothes too."

  "Hmm!"

  Nan Mu Yu looked at Ye Yuxuan's departing figure, just as Bing'er was about to follow her out the door, when he suddenly spoke up: "Bing'er, stay behind and attend to me."