Chapter 96: Did Xiao Youlan actually kneel for her?

Nan Xueyin followed Xiao Youlan to the side hall of Baoci Palace.

This was not her first time here; when she was still in her youth, she had been framed by Dou Fangchun for ruining her reputation, and after those two momos tore her clothes, she had also been brought here by Xiao Youlan to tidy her appearance.

"Does it still hurt?"

Xiao Youlan spoke in a soft voice.

He had already sent someone to fetch a change of clothes, and since the clothes had not yet arrived, his attention naturally fell upon her injuries.

Nan Xueyin said calmly, "It healed long ago, I don't feel a thing."

"Really?"

Xiao Youlan looked unconvinced and tilted his chin toward the chair to the side, "Sit."

Nan Xueyin sat down.

Xiao Youlan asked tentatively, "Let me see?"

Nan Xueyin raised her eyes to look at him.

"I won't kiss your shoulder again this time." Xiao Youlan's voice dropped even lower.

Nan Xueyin was slightly stunned.

So, he had also thought of the time they were in the side hall together before.

It was very strange; even though it was a statement of denial, Nan Xueyin still felt it was a bit ambiguous.

She also felt that, in order to keep the situation from becoming more ambiguous, she had best put on an indifferent air.

Therefore, she pulled at her collar naturally, revealing the shoulder that had just been pinned down by the black panther.

Half of her fragrant shoulder was rounded, and the bloodstains had already dried, remaining on her tender white skin; Xiao Youlan touched it lightly with his finger, wiping away the dried blood.

"There is still a little bit that hasn't healed."

Xiao Youlan's fingertips lingered; the obvious injuries on her shoulder were indeed gone, but there were still a few distinct red marks from where she had been pressed.

Nan Xueyin glanced over.

"Your body has not fully recovered," Xiao Youlan said, "Don't throw yourself out to save me like that again next time."

Nan Xueyin was just about to say she hadn't intended to save him when she suddenly heard footsteps coming from outside the hall.

Feihong's voice rose loudly from outside: "Your Highness the Crown Prince, the Empress Dowager has arrived."

Nan Xueyin frowned; what was Zong Taihou doing here?

Xiao Youlan, however, first pulled her collar up to cover her shoulder, then replied, "Come in."

Feihong acknowledged the order and pushed open the hall doors.

Zong Taihou stepped into the hall supported by Qiutong, looked at Nan Xueyin at once, and seeing her sitting in a chair while the Crown Prince stood to the side, she could not help but frown.

After all, this was truly lacking in decorum.

"I do not know why Grandmother Empress Dowager has come here?" Xiao Youlan knew Nan Xueyin would not want to bow, so he simply asked first.

Zong Taihou smiled slightly at him, "This young lady saved you, so I have come to bestow a reward upon her."

Xiao Youlan wanted to say something else, but Zong Taihou said, "You go out first; I have a few private words to speak with her as one woman to another."

Xiao Youlan always felt that Grandmother Empress Dowager's purpose was not that simple.

"Are you afraid I will hurt your sweetheart?" Zong Taihou said in a teasing tone.

"This grandson would not dare."

"Then go out," Zong Taihou laughed, "If she could save you from beneath the claws of a ferocious black panther, then Qiutong and I, two old women, are certainly no match for her combined."

Nan Xueyin also glanced at him.

Xiao Youlan understood the meaning hidden in her gaze, telling him to get out quickly and stop dawdling.

Thus, Xiao Youlan gave a response and retreated outside.

The doors were closed, and silence returned to the hall.

Qiutong supported Zong Taihou as she sat down in the empty chair beside Nan Xueyin.

"What is your name?" Zong Taihou asked; because she had seen with her own eyes that she had saved Xiao Youlan's life, her tone was still relatively peaceful.

"Nan Xueyin."

"Nan, that is not a common surname. You are not from a prominent noble family, are you?"

Although Zong Taihou was sitting side-by-side with her, there was still that arrogance of a superior in her expression and tone.

Nan Xueyin curled her lips into a mocking smile, "Prominent noble families—if you count back eight or ten generations, aren't they also farmers or hunters? If I remember correctly, the Xiao family was not royalty from the beginning either; before establishing the Ye Dynasty, didn't the founding Emperor study hard by the window for five or six years?"

Who is nobler than whom?

Qiutong scolded, "Audacious! How dare you be disrespectful to the Empress Dowager!"

Nan Xueyin did not have the slightest intention of repenting.

Zong Taihou raised a hand to stop Qiutong and said to Nan Xueyin, "If you do not wish to speak of this, then let us not. I know that you have feelings for the Crown Prince."

Nan Xueyin was stunned—what nonsense was this? This was slander!

"Otherwise, why would you save the Crown Prince time and time again? And why would you agree to follow the Crown Prince and live in the Eastern Palace? You and I are both women; we understand each other's hearts."

Zong Taihou spoke with conviction.

Nan Xueyin cried out that she was wronged; her saving the Crown Prince was just an accident, and living in the Eastern Palace was because she was coerced by the Crown Prince!

But she could not explain.

If she said it, she would invite suspicion.

Nan Xueyin felt agitated and raised her hand to scratch her face twice.

Because of this small action, Zong Taihou noticed the bracelet she was wearing on her wrist and was visibly stunned for a moment.

"This..."

Zong Taihou narrowed her eyes and asked her, "Was this bestowed upon you by the Crown Prince?"

Nan Xueyin knew she had recognized the bracelet and gave a perfunctory grunt.

Empress Dowager Zong sighed, "Do you know that this bracelet originally belonged to me?"

Nan Xueyin thought to herself, I know.

"You must have also heard that the Crown Prince previously did not get close to women. But before you, there was a palace maid named Doukou who piqued the Crown Prince's interest; she attended to him personally every day and even served him in his bedchamber a few times. The Crown Prince liked her very much. I then bestowed this bracelet upon her. Later, for reasons unknown, she fled the Eastern Palace, and the Crown Prince even knelt before Baoci Palace for a long time, refusing to rise, begging me to return Doukou to him."

As for the first half, Nan Xueyin was crystal clear on it.

But the second half was something she was hearing for the first time.

After she left the Eastern Palace, Xiao Youlan had actually knelt for her?

It was hard to imagine the cold, noble, and aloof Xiao Youlan kneeling and begging.

Catching the surprise on Nan Xueyin's face, Empress Dowager Zong assumed as a matter of course that she minded the fact that the Crown Prince had actually loved another woman before her.

Women, after all, always hope to be the only one, the most special one, but very often, they are not.

"I originally thought that after losing Doukou, the Crown Prince would be heartbroken and depressed for a long time; I didn't expect that not long after, you appeared. It seems the Crown Prince also likes you very much, having bestowed this bracelet upon you as well."

Empress Dowager Zong had an ulterior motive; it sounded as if she were saying the Crown Prince liked her, but the subtext was actually that the Crown Prince was not as good as she imagined, that he would quickly shift his affections, and that she was not irreplaceable.

If it were any other woman, she would surely be heartbroken and sad upon hearing these words.

But Nan Xueyin—she was Doukou.

Xiao Youlan was also clear about this matter.

... Wait.

It should be said that Nan Xueyin had never been interested in Xiao Youlan to begin with; she did not like him at all, so she did not care in the slightest whether Xiao Youlan had had other women.

"I am telling you these things not for any special purpose, but simply to say," Empress Dowager Zong said, "since the Crown Prince likes you so much and gave you such a precious bracelet, you should also do something for the Crown Prince."

Nan Xueyin glanced at her.

"You have neither a prominent family background nor capable fathers or brothers. Living in the women's quarters, you do not know that the current situation in the imperial court is tense. Although Youlan holds the position of Crown Prince, it is not secure, and many people are eyeing his position covetously. If he marries you, Youlan will gain no assistance; it will be difficult for him to sit firmly in the Eastern Palace, and even harder to inherit the throne."

"If you truly like the Crown Prince and want everything to go well for him, then consider it carefully and let go. Leave the Eastern Palace and let the Crown Prince marry a woman who is beneficial to his great cause. Just like Prince Duan; he is single-mindedly set on marrying a daughter of the Yan Family. He is a smart man."

Hearing the name of Xiao Mingyu unexpectedly, Nan Xueyin frowned.

... Should she call it bad luck?

"That is all I wanted to say to you," Empress Dowager Zong said, "Today you were injured saving the Crown Prince; the rewards you are due, I will certainly give you."

She paused, looked at her deeply, and said, "If you make up your mind to leave, come to Baoci Palace to find me. If you have any requests, I will certainly do my best to satisfy them."