Ji Jinmo tossed the book aside. The pages were slightly cracked, the binding loose, suggesting it had met an unfortunate end.
Nan Shiying picked up a fruit from the table, peeled its shell, and offered it to Ji Jinmo. He glanced down at the green kernel resting on her fair, jade-like hand. After a moment of silence, he still picked it up and put it in his mouth.
"Why did you come back?"
Nan Shiying peeled another fruit and popped the kernel into her mouth.
They had parted ways at Dongbo Tower earlier. Hadn't this gentleman said he was going to the stone cave? How had he returned so quickly?
Ji Jinmo gazed at Nan Shiying with deep, dark eyes and said in a low voice, "You don't want me to come back?"
Nan Shiying was momentarily speechless.
What kind of logic was that?
"No!"
She said, "I knew you went to the stone cave. Seeing you return so quickly, shouldn't I ask?"
Ji Jinmo lifted the hem of his robe and sat beside Nan Shiying, looking at her intently. "I thought of some things, so I came back."
"Oh!"
Nan Shiying continued peeling the fruit, ignoring Ji Jinmo's gaze. She nodded casually, seeming more interested in the fruit before her.
For a moment, Ji Jinmo truly wanted to snatch the fruit from her hand. He took out a jade pendant from his怀 and handed it to Nan Shiying. Nan Shiying subconsciously took it, looked at it in her hand, and then raised her head. "Isn't this the jade pendant that Xuan Shisan had at that time?"
When they went to the stone cave, Xuan Shisan had held a similar jade pendant, ordering the snake spirit to open the way. However, the snake spirit stubbornly refused, and she ended up cutting off a python.
Why was Ji Jinmo giving it to her?
Nan Shiying threw the jade pendant back. "I think the snake spirit should not dare to obstruct us anymore!"
Ji Jinmo handed the jade pendant back again. "See the jade pendant, see me."
"Take it. With this jade pendant, you can command everyone in the Prince's mansion, from maids, servants, retainers, and guards, even the Xuan Guards and Shadow Guards."
Only then did Nan Shiying look up, her gaze fixed on Ji Jinmo's face, trying to discern something. But regrettably, she couldn't see anything.
Nan Shiying pursed her lips and then tucked the jade pendant into her pocket.
Neither of them said anything more, and the room fell silent, with only the crisp sound of fruit shells cracking.
...
Princess Huian looked at the person before her, a gentle smile gracing her face.
When Baolan announced that someone sought an audience, Huian had not expected it to be this person! Or rather, she hadn't expected her to be so impatient!
Huian pushed the tea towards her. "This is the autumn tea I brought from Dali. Would Madam care to taste it?"
"This Princess!"
Huian never referred to herself as "this Princess" in front of Nan Shiying. But for a concubine of the Prince's mansion, even a favored concubine, she was merely a servant of a higher status. Huian was not so lowly as to treat a mere favored concubine as an equal.
Wei Rulan picked up the teacup with a smile and tasted it carefully. "The aftertaste is long and sweet, truly a rare good tea!"
Huian smiled.
A good tea, but merely some aged garbage!
It was most fitting to entertain her with!
"Madam, you have come to see this Princess. Is there something you need?" Although Huian's face held a smile and her voice was very soft, her demeanor exuded an air of haughty superiority. She disdained Wei Rulan, and this disdain was clearly visible in Wei Rulan's eyes.
Wei Rulan's hand holding the teacup tightened slightly, the skin around her protruding knuckles turning a little pale. She suppressed the anger in her heart, and her smile became even more brilliant.
Huian's gaze fell on her hand, then quickly shifted away. If this were in Dali, she might have ordered someone to skin her alive, to see if her flesh could still maintain such a smile without its skin.
What a pity!
Huian felt a touch of regret, but in the next moment, she thought of Nan Shiying.
Perhaps, there was a way after all!
"There is no other matter!" Wei Rulan shook her head, only saying, "I merely heard that the Princess had moved into the mansion but had not yet had the chance to meet you, so I took the liberty of visiting!"
"I have long heard that the Princess is devastatingly beautiful. Now that I see you, you are indeed as beautiful and captivating as the rumors say!"
"Is that so?" Huian smiled coyly.
Wei Rulan nodded sincerely. "Of course!"
"But this Princess has never removed her veil in front of others since arriving in Linyuan. People are spreading rumors that this Princess is so unsightly that she refuses to show her true face. I have never heard anyone say that this Princess is devastatingly beautiful."
"Madam Rulan, who did you hear this from? Tell me, and this Princess will thank them properly!"
Huian's words put Wei Rulan in an awkward position. Her previous statement was merely flattery; she hadn't expected her to take it so seriously.
She awkwardly twitched the corners of her mouth, maintaining her composure, and replied, "I am but a woman confined to the inner chambers. Where would I hear such things? Naturally, from the servants in the Prince's mansion!"
"Oh, I see!"
Utter nonsense!
However, this Wei Rulan was quite capable. Despite being put down so harshly, she did not show shame or anger, but rather responded with ease. If the Princess of the mansion were not Nan Shiying, this woman would have likely devoured her whole.
Wei Rulan raised her hand and tucked a strand of hair that had fallen to her temples behind her ear, revealing an earlobe that was fair with a hint of rosy blush. She wore a pair of agate earrings today, and the light falling on the earrings reflected on her face, as if casting a halo.
She slightly tilted her head and looked at Huian.
Huian felt for a moment that this woman's charming tactics were even more superior to her intellect.
These subtle movements, ingrained in her very bones, would likely make any man unable to resist falling for her. But in the Prince's mansion, she had no presence at all. It could be said that all the women in this mansion, besides Nan Shiying, had no presence whatsoever.
This stemmed from Ji Jinmo's disdain and neglect towards them.
It was as if Nan Shiying was the only Princess in the entire mansion!
If she hadn't witnessed it herself, Huian could never have imagined that Ji Jinmo, who instilled fear in the generals of Dali, could be such a devoted and affectionate person.
Wei Rulan remained in a daze for a while, then wisely got up to take her leave, as if she had only come for a casual visit.
Huian narrowed her eyes slightly, had Baolan pour away the unpalatable tea, and then took a sip of newly brewed tea.
"Princess, what did she come here for?" Baolan asked with a confused look.
Huian glanced at her and slowly curved her lips. "To foster feelings!"
Baolan still didn't understand, but Huian had no intention of explaining further.
However, she thought, in the days to come, there would likely be some entertainment to be had!