jdhmnovel Chapter 372 Why is she here too?
Chapter 372 Why is she here too?
He never expected Princess Changning to agree so readily.
This little darling never liked playing with those delicate young ladies, so what's wrong with him today?!
Liu Qing inwardly groaned, wishing he could strangle the person who had come up with the idea.
However, under Princess Changning's displeased gaze, he dared not disobey the order and could only grit his teeth and reply, "Yes, sir, I will do it right away."
Liu Qing hastily took his leave and quickly sent people to deliver invitations to various mansions.
The noble ladies were quite surprised to receive the invitation from the Prince Yong's residence, since the Prince Yong was away from the capital and the master of the house was not present, making the invitation seem very strange.
However, the invitation was sent in the name of Princess Changning.
They dared not refuse easily, so they hurriedly packed their things and headed to the Prince Yong's residence.
At the Xiao residence, Xiao Huanyan also received an invitation from Princess Changning.
Unlike the invitations received by other noble ladies, Xiao Huanyan's was sent by Princess Changning.
Yu Wan said she would make a big fuss about this.
So what could cause a bigger uproar than letting these gossipy noble ladies of Kyoto witness Prince Yong's cruel acts of torment?
Even if Liu Qing did not actively suggest inviting the noble lady into the mansion, Princess Changning would try her best to guide the conversation in that direction.
Neither she nor Yu Wan expected that Liu Qing would bring it up on his own initiative, just like one of their own.
Thus, Princess Changning readily agreed to the matter.
The noble ladies that Liu Qing found must be from families in Shengjing City whose influence is neither too high nor too low.
In this way, even if these noble ladies saw things they shouldn't have seen in the Prince Yong's mansion, they wouldn't dare to speak out easily.
Princess Changning pretended to be completely unaware of this.
However, he secretly instructed his maid to deliver an invitation to Xiao Huanyan of the Xiao family alone.
It was Yu Wan's idea to have Princess Changning send an invitation to Xiao Huanyan.
Since the death of Consort De, the relationship between Xiao Huanyan's family and Prince Yong has become delicate.
The reason was that the Xiao family and Xiao Huanyan learned that Consort De had actually harbored thoughts of making Xiao Huanyan a concubine for Yunshang.
In the eyes of these powerful families in Shengjing, an official like Yun Shang, no matter how high his official rank may become in the future, is still not worthy of their noble bloodline.
They wouldn't even consider the position of a principal wife, let alone a concubine.
Therefore, the Xiao family and Prince Yong became estranged.
Since then, Xiao Huanyan has never set foot in the Yongwang Mansion again.
When Xiao Huanyan received the invitation, she originally did not plan to go.
Other noble ladies of lower status were afraid of offending Princess Changning, but she was not.
only……
Xiao Huanyan looked at the hairpin that had been sent with the invitation and fell into deep thought.
She has a very good memory.
If she remembered correctly, this hairpin should belong to Yu Wan, the legitimate daughter of the Duke of Anguo's mansion.
On that day in the plum garden, Yu Wan had saved her life, and she had said then that she would repay Yu Wan's life-saving grace if she ever had the chance.
Yu Wan's hairpin was tucked inside the invitation sent by Princess Changning... Could it be that Yu Wan invited her to the Yong Prince's residence?
But why?
Why was Yu Wan at the Prince Yong's residence?
Xiao Huanyan couldn't understand it, but after careful consideration, she decided to go anyway.
She has never liked owing favors to others.
When Xiao Huanyan arrived at the Yong Prince's Mansion, many noble ladies had already arrived there.
Xiao Huanyan was quite surprised to see so many people.
The guards at the gate were unaware of which noble ladies Steward Liu had invited, and were somewhat surprised by Xiao Huanyan's arrival.
They naturally recognized Xiao Huanyan, after all, she was the cousin of the Prince of Yong.
Among the noble ladies who came, Xiao Huanyan was the most distinguished.
They assumed that Steward Liu had specially invited the prince's cousin, so they let her into the mansion.
Xiao Huanyan walked from the gate of the Prince's Mansion to the garden in the backyard and also noticed something was wrong.
She did not see a noblewoman of higher status than herself.
Her father was the commander of the Grand Canal Transport Office, a second-rank official position in the Great Zhao Dynasty. However, there were many second-rank officials in Shengjing, and the noble ladies who came to visit her on weekdays were of similar status.
Following behind her, those trying to curry favor with her were also daughters from the families of third-rank officials.
Among all the people here today, Xiao Huanyan didn't recognize a single one.
In this situation, there is only one possibility.
The girls who came today were all from minor official families, which is why she had never seen them before.
As Xiao Huanyan had expected, Liu Qing had indeed invited daughters of minor officials. So when he saw Xiao Huanyan appear in the garden, the smile on Liu Qing's face froze again.
"Miss Xiao, the Second Miss Xiao?!"
Why is she here? !
Also, why did the guards at the gate let her in?!
He clearly didn't send an invitation to the Xiao family!
Xiao Huanyan noticed the strangeness in Liu Qing's expression almost immediately.
The unease in her heart grew stronger.
This unease reached its peak when she saw the maid standing beside Princess Changning, her head bowed.
She recognized her; it was Yu Wan.
Liu Qing broke out in a sweat. He wanted to go forward and persuade Xiao Huanyan to go back first, but Princess Changning beat him to it.
"Miss Xiao, you've come too!"
Princess Changning greeted her with a smile, affectionately taking Xiao Huanyan's hand, and subtly glancing at Liu Qing, "I was just wondering why Steward Liu invited so many girls that I don't know very well. Well, here you are, Miss Xiao."
The girls standing nearby exchanged a slight change in expression, their faces showing a hint of embarrassment.
But what Princess Changning said was true; how could these people usually see Princess Changning?
Hearing Princess Changning's words, Liu Qing dared not step forward again.
Xiao Huanyan nodded slightly, but her gaze never left Yu Wan, who had her head bowed. The doubts in her heart surged like a tide.
Her eyes flickered as she met Princess Changning's gaze. "I didn't expect Your Highness to be at my cousin Prince Yong's residence today."
The implication of her words was that she did not come because she received the invitation.
Upon hearing this, Liu Qing, who was standing to the side, relaxed a little.
Princess Changning's actions today are very unusual. If Princess Changning also secretly sent an invitation to Xiao Huanyan, she must have some purpose.
Fortunately, Xiao Huanyan's arrival today was just a coincidence.
Liu Qing was relieved.
Princess Changning's eyes flashed with a smile upon hearing Xiao Huanyan's reply.
No wonder Sister Yu specially invited her over. This Xiao Huanyan is truly a remarkable person. How come she didn't notice her before?
When daughters gather together, there are only so many things to do.
Princess Changning then joined the others in playing games such as pitch-pot, flying flower order, backgammon, and grass fighting. For a time, the garden of Prince Yong's mansion was filled with laughter and lively chatter.
Seeing that Princess Changning was genuinely seeking out these noble ladies for amusement, Liu Qing gradually lowered his guard.
He simply instructed the guards to guard a few courtyards where outsiders were not allowed to enter.
Two hours passed in this manner.
Princess Changning and the noble ladies were all tired from playing, and the group of girls walked out chatting and laughing.
Just then, a woman's scream suddenly came from the backyard. The sound was sharp and shrill, causing everyone to stop in their tracks.
"This……"
The group exchanged bewildered glances, all feeling a chill run down their spines as they recalled the scream they had just heard.
Could such a painful scream really have come from a human being?