Chapter 524: Let Their Performance Begin
Dressed in a simple thorny-wood hairpin and a plain cloth skirt, without a trace of powder or rouge, she stood tall with an indifferent expression.
Even dressed as a common girl, the Crown Princess's noble and magnificent aura was still difficult to conceal. And now, another person had appeared by her side.
Even though he had seen a convincing imposter before, Xiao Changfeng was certain with a single glance that the one before him was the real one.
This kind of elegance and composure, which emanated from her very bones, was not something everyone could imitate.
It was no wonder that ever since he had traveled a thousand li to take over, the fake Crown Princess had used the excuse of being frightened by the attack on the ship and refused to meet him face-to-face. The one time she did, she had deliberately made him feel suspicious, thereby distracting him from her lack of refined bearing.
“For what reason did Your Highness the Crown Princess disappear from the posthouse?” Xiao Changfeng asked.
“Naturally, I was abducted,” Shen Xihe answered, her expression placid.
“How did Your Highness escape from the villains? And who was it that abducted Your Highness?” Xiao Changfeng asked again.
“As for who was behind it, I do not know either.” Shen Xihe’s voice was neither hurried nor slow. “I have my own Hidden Guards. To be frank with you, Xun Wang, first there was the assassination attempt on the ship, then the attack at the posthouse. I felt deeply uneasy, so I decided to play along, letting them abduct me. My Hidden Guards then rescued me, and we took a detour to Liang Province.”
She spoke with such frankness that if he hadn't already known the Crown Princess at the posthouse was a fake, he would have been tempted to believe her.
However, he had no proof that the Crown Princess at the posthouse was a fake, so he could not say it aloud. This also meant he couldn't accuse Shen Xihe of being in league with her abductors, with the goal of eliminating the men sent by Your Majesty.
“Your Highness is thoughtful and farsighted. I am truly impressed. I imagine Your Highness has had an arduous journey from Yun Province to Liang Province, so I shall not disturb your rest.” Xiao Changfeng knew it was impossible to get a single word out of Shen Xihe, so there was no need to waste time on her. It would be better to investigate her whereabouts during this period.
That was exactly what Shen Xihe wanted him to do. She had deliberately delayed her appearance for two days because she needed to leave traces in Liang Province. These traces were left for Xiao Changfeng. Once he had investigated thoroughly, she could justifiably lead him to find her father.
“Youyou!” Just as Shen Xihe had finished bathing and changing with the help of Zhenzhu and the others, Bu Shulin rushed over to find her. She looked Shen Xihe up and down, let out a long sigh of relief, then glanced back before lowering her voice. “Next time, could you give me a heads-up?”
Bu Shulin knew, of course, that the one who disappeared from the posthouse wasn't her. But Shen Xihe had truly vanished afterward. When she questioned Zhenzhu and the others, she got no news at all, which had genuinely worried her.
“Tell you? How would we have deceived Xun Wang then?” Shen Xihe glanced at her.
Hurt by this lack of trust, Bu Shulin clutched her chest. “You question my talent, you question my intellect, and you even question my acting skills!”
Shen Xihe’s gaze swept over her from head to toe. “Pardon my bluntness, but I have yet to see anything related to ability in you.”
Bu Shulin was speechless.
Insulting her, all she knew was how to insult her!
“Don’t you forget, I was the one who helped you lure Xiao Changfeng over!” Why wasn’t she so disdainful when she needed to use her?
If she hadn't lured Xiao Changfeng over, how could he have been so easily convinced to go himself, firmly believing Shen Xihe was at the inn? He had then followed Shen Xihe, been led by her to a barren mountain, and nearly lost his life.
She grew angry just thinking about it. “I worked so hard scheming for you, and you turned around and killed every last man sent by Your Majesty, leaving only me. Now everyone thinks I was colluding with the assassins.”
“Isn’t Xun Wang still around? You can just as well sling mud at him,” Shen Xihe said, the corners of her lips lifting slightly.
“I won’t bicker with him about that. I’ll just say my martial arts are outstanding and my skills are agile, that no one is my match.” Bu Shulin lifted her chin.
Shen Xihe let out a laugh of ambiguous meaning.
In Bu Shulin’s eyes, this laugh was a form of contempt, a naked mockery. “My martial arts skills rank among the best in the entire world. You shouldn’t look down on me.”
“Why don’t you go fight Xun Wang and see who is superior?” Shen Xihe raised an eyebrow.
Bu Shulin was speechless.
They had fought. Right after Xiao Changfeng rushed back to the posthouse and discovered that all the others who had gone out in pursuit of the Crown Princess had also been killed, with only her returning unscathed, he had grown suspicious. The two had a disagreement and came to blows, and she had actually lost by half a move!
What a deep humiliation! She had been training bitterly recently. She was determined to win that half-move back.
One look at her expression and it was clear she must have crossed swords with Xiao Changfeng. The result was self-evident.
Shen Xihe smiled subtly. Before Bu Shulin could get annoyed, she said, “Alright, I need to rest.”
Being dismissed again, Bu Shulin did not leave. Instead, she asked, “What exactly are you planning to do next? You have to give me the bottom line.”
“The remaining matters are rather complicated. You shouldn’t get involved,” Shen Xihe said, not intending to tell Bu Shulin.
It wasn't a matter of distrust, but that the situation couldn't be explained in just a few words.
Seeing Bu Shulin’s sullen look, Shen Xihe added, “Just help me by keeping a close eye on Xun Wang.”
The satisfaction of being needed brought a smile to Bu Shulin’s face. “Alright, I’ll go keep a close eye on him right now.”
Shen Xihe rested in her room for a full day, not once stepping outside. But in the middle of the night, she suddenly ran out, her hair disheveled, a cloak thrown on carelessly. Even Zhenzhu and the others didn't know why. They all shouted her name and gave chase. She then snatched a horse from the stables and galloped away.
Startled, Xiao Changfeng hesitated, having learned his lesson from last time. He had never encountered a woman like Shen Xihe, whose methods were completely unpredictable and whose mind was so profound.
However, Bu Shulin followed without hesitation, and most of Shen Xihe’s maids followed as well. After giving a few brief orders, Xiao Changfeng also mounted his horse and pursued them.
Shen Xihe galloped all the way, heading again toward the deep mountains. Xiao Changfeng had developed something of a psychological trauma regarding deep mountains. This time, he left all the men he had brought with him outside and followed their direction alone.
The tranquility of the night sky was shattered by the sound of horse hooves. The chirping of cicadas and the croaking of frogs also fell silent. The deeper they went into the mountains, the more secluded it became. Shen Xihe’s horsemanship was ultimately not as superb as Xiao Changfeng’s or Bu Shulin’s, and she was soon caught up. Xiao Changfeng blocked Shen Xihe’s path. “Your Highness, what is the meaning of this?”
“Get out of my way,” Shen Xihe ordered coldly, appearing anxious and irritable.
But Xiao Changfeng did not yield. “Your Highness, the surroundings are desolate. Even at night, there are wild beasts. We cannot go any deeper. I am under orders to protect Your Highness. If Your Highness does not explain the reason, I will have to be impolite.”
“I dreamed of Father. Father was calling for me. He’s nearby, and he’s in danger!” Shen Xihe said in a flustered and urgent tone.
This was completely unconvincing to Xiao Changfeng. His investigation had revealed that Shen Xihe had arrived in Liang Province two days earlier and had been wandering around the vicinity, acting mysteriously as if searching for someone.
“Your Highness, you had a nightmare. It cannot be taken seriously…”
Before Xiao Changfeng could finish his sentence, the faint sounds of fighting drifted from behind them.
OpenNovel