The Dandy's Duchess

Chapter 67: Going out to Burn Incense (6)

Ye Tianqing's hand suddenly tightened in his sleeve. He had not heard Yun Qianyue's somewhat reluctant voice. Without warning, he released his true energy to probe into the carriage, wanting to see whether Yun Qianyue was truly asleep or just deliberately ignoring him. However, before his energy could approach the carriage, it was repelled by a powerful force. Unable to resist, he stumbled back a step, his handsome face turning slightly pale.

"Your Highness, forgive me. Rong Jing fears that Your Highness might disturb Miss Qianyue, which is why he acted this way," Rong Jing said, his tone neither servile nor overbearing, calm yet carrying a gentle firmness that brooked no argument.

Ye Tianqing's expression changed abruptly. His hand in his sleeve loosened as he smiled at Rong Jing's carriage, "Although Young Master Rong has been ill these past years, it has not affected his martial arts. This Prince admires that. Since Miss Qianyue is fast asleep, it would indeed be inappropriate to disturb her. This Prince will take his leave first; please follow, Young Master Rong."

"Understood, Your Highness!" Rong Jing replied softly.

Ye Tianqing heavily lowered the curtain, blocking his face. His expression shifted from blue to white for a moment before darkening like a storm. So, Yun Qianyue, you're getting back at me for ignoring you back then by seeking comfort in Rong Jing's arms? Not a chance!

The carriage from the Prince's residence moved ahead, and Xian Ge disregarded the other carriages as he flicked the reins, following closely behind the Prince's carriage. Soon after, Yun Muhan instructed his carriage driver, and the Yun Prince's carriage also followed closely.

Princess Qingwan lazily lowered her curtain, her beautiful face bearing a hint of sorrow. Over the years, she had bullied Yun Qianyue, but now she realized she had provoked Yun Muhan's displeasure. With Yun Qianyue receiving special treatment from Rong Jing, if she ever wished to marry into the Yun Prince's residence, she would have to get closer to Yun Qianyue. After all, she was Yun Muhan's only biological sister. She didn't understand why she had been so foolish to side with Rong Linglan and Leng Shuli against Yun Qianyue. Now, she had to make amends, hoping it wasn't too late.

Rong Linglan snorted coldly and also lowered her curtain. She couldn't understand how Yun Qianyue could be favored by her brother. In her eyes, no woman was worthy of even a glance from him. The only one who might be acceptable would be Miss Yu Ning from the Prime Minister's residence, who excelled in poetry, calligraphy, and needlework, and was also a beauty of rare talent.

Leng Shuli's face was cold as she lowered her curtain. Ever since that day in the palace when Yun Qianyue was not imprisoned, it seemed like Ye Tianqing had changed somewhat, growing distant from them. Previously, he would greet them with a gentle smile; now he seemed increasingly gloomy. It was hard for her not to think that all this was somehow related to Yun Qianyue. She truly didn't want to entertain the thought that Ye Tianqing, despite appearing indifferent, might still care for Yun Qianyue in his heart. Just thinking about it left her feeling suffocated. No, she couldn't allow Yun Qianyue to get any closer to Ye Tianqing.

The carriage of the second daughter from the Prince's residence and the carriage of the young princess from the filial king's residence followed slowly behind Princess Qingwan.

Finally, Miss Yu Ning from the Prime Minister's residence remained quietly in place. She held her curtain up, her beautiful eyes staring unblinkingly at the all-black carriage in front of her. Her lips pressed tightly together, her grip on the curtain had tightened without her noticing, leaving red marks on her palm. However, she seemed completely unaware, her expression shifting as she contemplated something.

"Miss?" Yu Ning's maid, Chu Xi, called out softly. She understood her mistress's thoughts to some extent, but Miss Yu Ning had always kept her thoughts deeply hidden, so she didn't dare speak out carelessly.

"Hmm?" Yu Ning remained motionless.

"The carriages in front have already gone far. Shouldn't we set off as well?" Chu Xi asked quietly.

Only then did Yu Ning snap back to reality. She realized that her carriage had already fallen a good distance behind Leng Shuli's carriage. She quickly loosened her grip, feeling a sharp pain in her palm, and looked down to find two red marks on her hand. Thankfully, the curtain had prevented her from breaking the skin. She narrowed her eyes, casually covering her hand with her sleeve and turning to glance at Chu Xi, her demeanor still gentle, "Yes, let's set off."

"Understood!" Chu Xi instructed the carriage driver to begin the journey, her face betraying none of her knowledge of her mistress's secret.

The carriage from the Prime Minister's residence slowly started to move.

In the commotion at the waiting pavilion, Yun Qianyue was naturally aware. Even if she was exhausted and sleepy, her instinctive alertness cultivated over more than twenty years in her previous life was deeply ingrained in her soul. Even with a new body, she couldn't change it. She hadn't expected Rong Jing to protect her to the point of offending Ye Tianqing without hesitation, quietly blocking Ye Tianqing's probing energy. Ye Tianqing was the Crown Prince, second only to the Emperor, and might one day become the supreme ruler. Rong Jing dared to offend him; she couldn't help but wonder if it was because he had become so skilled that he no longer needed to concern himself with Ye Tianqing, or if he believed Ye Tianqing wouldn't dare retaliate against him. She couldn't help but click her tongue, thinking that if this person weren't so dark-hearted, having him protect her wouldn't be a bad thing.

Though Yun Qianyue appeared to be asleep, her mind was racing.

"If you're not sleepy, there's no need to sleep!" Rong Jing's voice suddenly rang out.

Startled! She thought she was successfully pretending to be asleep, but this man was actually able to see through it? A master from the National Security Bureau had once conducted a hypnosis test on her, and she had pretended so well that the man had believed she truly fell asleep. Later, she opened her eyes and smiled at the old man, who then had a hypertension episode. Remembering this past event, Yun Qianyue couldn't help but open her eyes and look at Rong Jing, puzzled, "How did you know I wasn't asleep?"

Rong Jing glanced at her, then uttered two words, "Intuition!"

Yun Qianyue nearly fainted. She glared at Rong Jing, thinking this person was growing increasingly insufferable.

"We're about an hour away from Xiangquan Mountain. Get up and play a game of chess with me!" Rong Jing put down his book.

"I can't!" Yun Qianyue replied flatly, closing her eyes again.

"I've heard that during these days, aside from learning characters, your most frequent activity is sleeping. You sleep a lot," Rong Jing remarked.

"I enjoy it; why should I care what you think?" Yun Qianyue huffed.

How many years had it been since she had slept so soundly? A year has three hundred sixty-five days, each day has twenty-four hours, each hour has sixty minutes, and each minute has sixty seconds. Other people measured their time in days; she counted it by the second. She couldn't calculate how long it had been since she had a good sleep, but she could easily count the days she had truly slept well in recent years, and they amounted to just a few during her annual leave. Now that she finally had the chance, how could she not relish her sleep?