Chapter 161: Fanning the Flames

Fanning the Flames

Although Princess Yun Chen Yan'er was not of high birth—her father was only a third-rank general—because she and Prince Yun Yin Fengjin were childhood sweethearts, they naturally married when they grew up.

Among the sons of the Emperor, in terms of talent, ability, martial arts, and even appearance, Prince Yun Yin Fengjin was not the most outstanding, but he was very good to Chen Yan'er. They had been married for several years, and even though Chen Yan'er had not given birth to any children, Yin Fengjin had not taken a single concubine to this day, which was Chen Yan'er's capital as a woman.

Therefore, in Chen Yan'er's eyes, she didn't look down on Han Luoxue, who was a side consort of the Chen Wangfu. If it weren't for designing against Nie Jinxuan today, Chen Yan'er wouldn't have invited her at all. Naturally, she wouldn't be too polite in her speech.

However, hearing this, Han Luoxue, who had been sitting in the corner without speaking, just smiled slightly.

"I'm not very clear about this, but since the Third Miss has returned, she must have her reasons~!"

"Oh? Reasons? What reasons could she have?"

Chen Yan'er was relentless. Then, Madam Ma, the wife of the Minister of Rites sitting next to her, also followed up:

"That's right, Side Consort Han. It's only been half a year since the marriage, and she was divorced. If it were a young lady from an ordinary family, even if she had a huge matter, she couldn't go back, right?! This... after all, it's against reason, and it doesn't sound good~!"

"Oh, yes, it really doesn't sound good..."

Madam Ma's words drew discussion from the ladies and misses present, and they couldn't help but look at Han Luoxue. At this time, Han Luoxue just lowered her eyes in secret helplessness and said nothing more.

Han Luoxue stopped speaking, but looking at her soft and beautiful appearance, which was now dim and even revealed an indescribable helplessness and grievance... the others couldn't help but feel a touch of sympathy. Then, Madam Pang, the wife of the Vice Minister of Works who had spoken before, couldn't help but raise her voice:

"Alright, look at this mess. This matter isn't Side Consort Han's fault, so let's stop making things difficult for Side Consort Han~!"

"Yes, yes, no matter what, this matter has nothing to do with Side Consort Han..."

With someone starting it, others followed suit. This earned Han Luoxue plenty of sympathy while also adding another stroke to Nie Jinxuan's evil deeds in the eyes of everyone.

Seeing this, Chen Yan'er curled her lips in satisfaction, then followed the others' words:

"Oh, actually, thinking about it, Side Consort Han is really not easy, but what can be done... However, it's already this late today, why hasn't the Third Miss Nie come yet? Could it be that she doesn't even give me, the Princess, any face..."

Chen Yan'er said this as if to herself. Hearing this, Madam Ma, the wife of the Minister of Rites, hurried to soothe her:

"Oh, Princess, you can't say that. Maybe the Third Miss Nie has something to do; how could she not give you face?"

"Oh, it's hard to say. After all, I offended the Third Miss Nie before, so it's normal for her not to give me face and not come... However, speaking of which, when I sent someone to deliver the invitation two days ago, I couldn't find her. I looked at the Nie residence and the Chen Wangfu, but in the end, I had no choice but to send the invitation to the Nie residence..."

"Oh? She wasn't there before?"

"Yes, oh my... how many days has it been?!"

At this time, Chen Yan'er looked puzzled. After speaking, she blinked as if lost in thought. However, hearing her say this, the people present couldn't help but look at each other.

"... She hasn't been there the whole time, where could she have gone..."

"That's right, even if she went out of the city to burn incense, she couldn't have been gone for so many days..."

"Uh... could something have happened to her?"

"Something happened? What happened... could it be..."

It was truly a case of one stone stirring up a thousand waves. For a time, there was constant discussion in the back hall of the Yun Wangfu.

No one knew about Nie Jinxuan's situation, but in this occasion, Han Luoxue actually knew in her heart. After all, she had spoken to Nie Jinxuan this morning... But now, looking at the situation, Han Luoxue's eyes twitched, and she looked up at Chen Yan'er sitting in front, then lowered her eyes and said nothing.

No one knew what Han Luoxue was thinking. At this time, Chen Yan'er saw that the timing was about right, so she couldn't help but have a flash of triumph in her eyes, and then, taking advantage of the gap in the discussion, she suddenly called out:

"Oh my, could the Third Miss have gone missing? Otherwise, how could she have been out of sight for so long?"

Chen Yan'er said this, looked at the crowd around her, and hearing her words, everyone was stunned at first, but then they couldn't help but whisper to each other...

Going missing was not something to be said lightly; this concerned a woman's reputation, and once a woman lost her reputation, even the entire family would be shamed. Therefore, even though Nie Jinxuan had a bad reputation before, she hadn't left any handle on her conduct. But now, like this...

So, for a time, there was constant discussion in the back hall again. Seeing this, Chen Yan'er curled her lips again... But just then, just as Chen Yan'er wanted to add more fuel to the fire, she was suddenly interrupted by a voice from outside the room.

"Missing? Is Princess Yun talking about me?"

The gentle voice, the calm tone, the voice was exceptionally pleasant... But at this moment, hearing that voice, everyone in the back hall was stunned, and they couldn't help but look at the open door of the back hall.

Then, they saw a young woman walking in slowly... The woman's face was plain, her features calm, her brows dark without being drawn, her lips red without being painted, her cloud-like black hair simply pinned up with a simple jade hairpin. She was exceptionally elegant, beautiful, and transparent... That sky-blue long dress was not vulgar, adding an indescribable charm!

At this moment, the woman walked slowly, her movements exceptionally graceful... Who could it be if not Nie Jinxuan?!

The back hall of the Yun Wangfu was silent.

At this time, Nie Jinxuan, who had already walked in, couldn't help but turn her eyes to look at the crowd, then looked up at Princess Yun Chen Yan'er sitting in front.

"Princess Yun is holding a birthday banquet today. I am late, I hope the Princess will not take offense~!"

In the silence, Nie Jinxuan raised her voice. Her face carried a gentle smile. At this time, looking at Nie Jinxuan standing in front of her, Chen Yan'er's expression was instantly shocked.

How... how is this possible? Wasn't it said she went missing? How could she still...

Chen Yan'er didn't know that Nie Jinxuan had actually returned the night before last. For a time, she was caught off guard. After staring at Nie Jinxuan for a long time, Chen Yan'er finally recovered and blinked.

"Uh... no, it's fine, it's fine that you're here, it's fine that you're here..."

Chen Yan'er said something she didn't mean. At this time, hearing this, and looking at Chen Yan'er's unnatural expression, Nie Jinxuan smiled slightly.

"Is that so? Then I thank the Princess for her understanding... However, speaking of which, I heard the Princess say I went missing just now... I wonder what that is about?"

Nie Jinxuan spoke with an unmoved expression, and after speaking, she paused slightly.

"Besides, if I had really gone missing, how would I have the face to come back? But this matter is also strange. Even if the Princess and everyone didn't know, Side Consort Han should have known, so how could such a misunderstanding arise... Because, this morning, Side Consort Han came to find me and asked if I wanted to come together~!"

Nie Jinxuan said this, and after speaking, she couldn't help but turn her eyes to look at Han Luoxue sitting in the corner of the back hall... At this time, hearing Nie Jinxuan say this, everyone present, including Princess Yun Chen Yan'er, couldn't help but look over.

In an instant, Han Luoxue became the focus of everyone. Seeing this, Han Luoxue was startled, looked up, and met Nie Jinxuan's calm eyes that seemed to see through everything.

"Uh... the Third Miss misunderstood. Of course, I knew the Third Miss hadn't gone missing. It's just that I was thinking about other things just now, so I was a bit distracted. I was just about to say it when the Third Miss walked in~!"

"Is that so? I thought Side Consort Han had forgotten~!"

Han Luoxue's answer was natural. Hearing this, Nie Jinxuan just smiled slightly, then didn't say anything more to Han Luoxue, and turned her gaze back to Chen Yan'er in front of her.

At this time, Chen Yan'er was still staring at Han Luoxue, wishing she could eat her alive.

The calm air was filled with a trace of eeriness. Originally, the matter could have ended here, but Chen Yan'er was still unwilling to give up. So, after glaring at Han Luoxue, she turned her gaze to Nie Jinxuan and smiled instantly.

"Oh, it seems I misunderstood... However, when I sent someone to deliver the invitation two days ago, I really didn't see the Third Miss, so I don't know where the Third Miss went these past few days?"

"Hehe~, is the Princess questioning me?"

As if she had seen through Chen Yan'er's thoughts, Nie Jinxuan still spoke with an unmoved expression. Hearing this, Chen Yan'er's face stiffened, but before she could say anything, she heard Nie Jinxuan say:

"However, since the Princess asked, I will explain, so that everyone here won't be suspicious... The serial murder case that appeared in the capital a few days ago, everyone here has heard of it, right? Actually, to tell you the truth, I have been investigating this case all these days."

"Of course, I am involved in this case thanks to the Emperor's favor and being entrusted with an important task. But I didn't expect that the culprit would be so insane that after knowing I was investigating the case, they would send assassins to hunt me down... Therefore, under the advocacy of the Prince of Chen, I moved into the Chen Wangfu..."

First part uploaded, one more to come. ===== CHAPTER 162 =====