Chapter 12 Decision Making

The atmosphere in the flower hall completely stiffened.

No one dares to delve into the affairs of the court, and seeing that Jiang Xuening's posture is terrifying, they dare not even come out to make peace.

I was puzzled in my heart: How could a girl who had been raised in the countryside for the first fourteen years without any knowledge, stay in the capital for only four years, be so terrifying?

Fortunately, at this very moment, the servants outside suddenly had a joyful expression on their faces and urgently came to report, "Miss, Your Highness the Prince of Linzi and the Prince of Yan are already outside."

The previous dispute between You Yue and Jiang Xuening was immediately forgotten by everyone.

Even You Yue didn't care about it for a moment.

These young women in the flower hall began to talk in whispers, each with a coquettish expression of longing or shyness. Some bold ones even leaned over to the door and window to have a look.

Only Jiang Xuening was slightly stunned upon hearing the words: Why did Yan Lin also come?

But I immediately felt a headache.

No wonder she came to Uncle's Mansion in Qingyuan today. Seeing so many people coming to the banquet, it turned out that it was not because Uncle's Mansion had regained power, but because Yan Lin and Shen Jie were coming!

This is great——

On that day, she politely declined Yan's last-minute request to rest at home for two days. However, it was September 9th, the Double Ninth Festival, and she came to someone else's house for a banquet, afraid that the vinegar jar would soon overturn.

The Chrysanthemum Appreciation in the Qingyuan Uncle Mansion is all in the garden. Although the male and female guests are separated, they are on one side in the flower hall and on the other side in the water pavilion. The distance is actually not far, and when entering from both sides, they must pass through a long corridor in the garden.

In the flower hall and water pavilion, you can see from afar.

When the servant came to report, Yan Lin and Shen Jie had already entered from outside and soon walked onto the long corridor.

Shen Jie is a luxurious nobleman with a gentle and elegant temperament, which goes without saying.

Today, Yan Lin rarely wears a sword and dresses up as a noble young master.

Wearing a waist wrapped brocade sky water blue robe, with a simple white jade hanging from the leather strap, the young man stood tall and upright, with a face like a crown of jade and eyes like the morning star. He walked up from the other end of the corridor, as if a scorching sun was shining, making people dizzy.

These young girls in the flower hall have already passed their unknown age, and when they saw such an outstanding young master, a hint of spring affection sprouted in their hearts.

You Yue was even more stunned, her cheeks flushed.

She is also eighteen years old this year, thinking to herself that her appearance is higher than her sister's, and she is about the same age as Yan Lin. Yesterday, when she heard that the Crown Prince of Yan and the Prince of Linzi were coming, she secretly speculated about why Yan Lin. She almost didn't sleep well all night. Now that she saw Yan Lin. Her heart was pounding.

"Oh my!"

A young lady leaning against the door, watching, suddenly called out and covered her lips with her hand in surprise.

"Why did Prince Yan come this way?"

Everyone immediately became surprised, even those who could have pretended to be calm in the audience couldn't help but stand up and look out.

Sure enough, Yan Lin stood on the corridor and said a few words to Shen Jie next to him, then led the blue clad servant beside him towards the direction of the flower hall.

The people in the hall immediately began to speculate.

"What is Prince Yan doing?"

"Are you looking for anyone?"

"Oh, isn't it that you're here to find our Miss You?"

You Yue, Jiang Xuening, and the others are sitting at the window, which is the best view in the entire flower hall, with a clear view of the outside.

Correspondingly, one can also catch a glimpse of it from outside.

You Yue heard others joking and felt happy in her heart, but on her face, she was both shy and angry. She pretended to smack those few who had broken her lips and said, "Don't talk nonsense. Our mansion hasn't posted a post inviting Prince Yan. Yesterday, we received a reply from him saying he's coming today, and everyone in the mansion is still puzzled. Who knows why the Prince came?"

It's okay if she didn't say so, but her words made people speculate even more: "So this is from Baba Xun, or the face of Qingyuan Uncle's Mansion."

Jiang Xuening sat in a corner of the window, looking out silently, her face devoid of the dark excitement and shyness of others.

Other people's attention is not on her either.

Only Youshuang gave her a thoughtful glance.

Before long, Yan Lin had already approached and happened to come to the window.

Today is a banquet at the Uncle's Mansion in Qingyuan. If Crown Prince Yan only stays with the male guests, it's okay. Walking towards the female guests now will inevitably make people think: he is both in the Uncle's Mansion and with the female guests, and he still has face to attend the banquet today. According to ordinary reasoning, he naturally came to find Miss You from the Mansion.

For a moment, everyone's gaze fell on You Yue.

===Kunning Section 15===

I don't know if it's more suspicion, envy, or jealousy.

You Yue was caught in the gaze of others, feeling an unprecedented nervousness. She almost accidentally knocked over the tea cup, but soon this nervousness turned into a sense of pride and vanity.

After all, being the owner of a household requires hospitality.

She took a light breath, suppressed the heart that was almost about to jump out of her throat, exhausted her lifelong composure, and put on a graceful and graceful posture. She stood up and smiled, "Prince Yan…"

Yan Linchang was at the high gate, and since childhood, many women have been flattering him in front of him. Seeing so many pretentious postures, he didn't even bother to pay a glance to her, completely ignoring her. Instead, he turned his gaze to the girl in the corner of the window.

Jiang Xuening still sat upright.

A pair of clear eyes could be seen from inside, natural and quiet, but there seemed to be a hint of distress hidden in his expression, as if he was a trouble, which made people feel angry.

Yan Lin was already dissatisfied with her perfunctory behavior and running to the laborious Qingyuan Uncle's Mansion for trouble. She then pursed her lips slightly, pulled down her face, and said, "I didn't expect to come today, did I?"

All the eyes around turned around in a flash.

You Yue's face turned pale, and the appropriate smile she had just put on her face almost twisted. She turned her head with an incredulous gaze and looked at Jiang Xuening!

Jiang Xuening let out a deep sigh and didn't answer.

Yan Lin said, "You come out."

There was another gasping sound around.

Jiang Xuening knew his temperament and guessed that he was upset in the bottom of his heart. He didn't dare to provoke him in front of everyone, fearing that his temper would make it difficult for everyone to come down. He stood up according to his words and left the flower hall.

She only stepped out before her hind legs exploded in the flower hall.

The young ladies from the wealthy family who had a longing for Prince Yan couldn't believe their eyes, and even their gaze at You Yue was a bit strange.

As the host Ba Ba, You Yue stood up and was about to greet the guests after just half a sentence. Unexpectedly, this esteemed guest ignored her at all and instead spoke to Jiang Er, who they thought couldn't make it to the table. Her words seemed more familiar, and it was really surprising that her chin fell to the ground!

How is this different from slapping in person?

They originally thought that Prince Yan and the Prince of Linzi had some unknown skills when they came down to the banquet, but seeing Prince Yan's words and actions just now seemed completely different from what they had imagined.

You Yue stood in place, looking at the two distant figures outside. Her face suddenly became colorful, and her expression was very "exciting".

*

Yan Lin walked ahead.

Jiang Xuening is half a step behind.

Qingfeng and Tang'er were further behind, only following from a distance.

When she reached the secluded corner of the garden, Yan stopped and looked at her with a smile on her face. "I said I wanted to rest at home for two days, but today I appeared at someone else's chrysanthemum appreciation banquet. Did you mean to anger me?"

Jiang Xuening knew from the moment she heard him coming that the vinegar jar was about to pour.

Now it has indeed collapsed.

She looked up at him with a clear spring in her eyes, and said with a smile, "I only saw the invitation from You Mansion when I returned home. It was a last-minute decision. Besides, aren't you also here now?"

The meaning behind this was as if she knew Yan Lin would come too.

Yan Lin suddenly couldn't get angry and felt a hint of sweetness for no reason.

He couldn't hold down the corner of his lips that he had pursed before, and a genuine smile appeared on his face, saying, "I haven't learned much serious skills, but I've honed my skills to perfection!"

Jiang Xuening thought to herself, "Aren't you just going to eat my tricks?"?

On his lips, he said, "But the Crown Prince is too bold. There were other ladies from other mansions in the hall just now, and you dare to come over. The situation today is so visible that I'm afraid I won't know what kind of rumors will spread later."

"Then let them pass it on."

Yan Lin's eyebrows and eyes showed a hint of dominance, completely ignoring those things.

"In the past, I only had two years left until I became COVID-19, so it was not easy for others to know. I was afraid that something might happen in the middle and make you trapped by rumors. But now there are only two months left, and I wish the whole world knew about it."

Jiang Xuening was speechless for a moment.

At this moment, what she remembered was the bloody coronation ceremony of the Yan family in the previous life, which involved robbing the family and exterminating them, exiling them for thousands of miles. The vast Yan family was destroyed in one fell swoop, as if the scorching sun had fallen on a valley, so dark that no trace of light could be seen.

Looking back at the young man's longing and longing for true adulthood, one cannot help but feel the cruelty.

Yan Lin looked at her expression and thought she was angry. He felt a few moments of hesitation for a moment before changing his mind and saying, "But if you're not happy, I won't do such things again in the future."

Jiang Xuening's heart became increasingly desolate.

Yan Lin took a step forward and took her hand, saying, "Your Highness is still waiting for me. Since you have come out today, you don't need to hurry back. The banquet will end in the afternoon. You wait for me at the Skyscraper, and I will come out later to take you to the lantern festival."

The young man's hand was a sword wielding hand, with some fine calluses on his fingertips. When he pulled her palm, a heat that penetrated through the texture was transmitted.

Jiang Xuening couldn't say a word of rejection as he looked at her with a smile.

After all, he refused first and then came to Qingyuan Uncle's Mansion. If he wanted to refuse him again, I was afraid of turning my face on the spot and showing her, so I had to agree and say, "Okay."

Yan Lin didn't stay much here either, and mistakenly thought she wasn't happy with his high-profile behavior. So he said a few words to her and told her not to drink too much and become a drunken cat for a while. Only then did he take Qing Feng back to the water pavilion.

Jiang Xuening followed the original path and walked back to the flower hall.

Just as I passed by a few flower trees, I suddenly heard a few curses coming from the other side of the tree, spreading through the overlapping branches and leaves,

"Little scumbag, let you run!"

"I don't even know whose kind you are. The government has been raising you for many years, but you dare to go against the sky!"

"Stop her mouth, press her down, be clear and awake!"

There seemed to be mixed with the desperate sobs of a woman in the middle, but it was extremely blurry.

Jiang Xuening's footsteps stopped on this quiet and deserted road. In the blink of an eye, she had already realized what was happening on the other side of the flower tree, and reason urged her to leave quickly.

But his feet are not obedient at all.

She didn't know if she was crazy, so she gently raised her hand and opened a branch, looking inside through the crack.

That's a small lotus pond over there.

In late autumn, the lotus flowers and leaves in summer have already withered, leaving behind a pool full of fading colors that have not yet been cleared.

At this moment, there are three rough women sitting by the pool.

One of them, with a black face, pulled a handkerchief and wiped his bitten and bleeding wrist, while the other two women grabbed You Fangyin's hand and pressed her head, pushing her into the water!

Jiang Xuening only heard that in the previous life, You Fangyin had changed her temperament greatly after falling into the water, but she did not know that it was this kind of "falling into the water" method!

Tang Er stood behind her in awe.

Jiang Xuening felt a chill all over her body. The voice that had previously shouted in her heart resurfaced, sharper and more piercing than the previous time——

Don't go.

Don't go.

Everyone has their own destiny, and the original You Fangyin was timid, cowardly, and foolish, only able to be bullied. You can only save her for a while, can you still save her for a lifetime?

And you really don't want to see another You Fangyin?

Don't go, don't go.

It's not you who killed, you're just standing idly by!

Those rough women were scolded by two young ladies for fleeing from the firewood shed by You Fangyin. They hated her for being a lowly concubine born to an unidentified illegitimate woman who was not respected, and became determined to torture her, so that she could have a long memory and not dare to repeat it in the future.

This makes the move extremely heavy.

Press the person's head into the water, let her struggle and not let her get up.

You Fangyin has been locked up in the firewood room for a few days without eating much food, and has been beaten again. How much strength is left?

Just struggled a few times and then couldn't move anymore.

The water in this pool was cold, pouring into her mouth and nose, making it difficult for her to breathe. The previously fierce resistance gradually weakened, and a slender neck slowly sank into the pool water

What a desperate posture is that?

Jiang Xuening was suddenly blindfolded.

No one understands the fear of death better than her, because she has already experienced it firsthand.

At this moment, seeing You Fangyin no longer struggling, there was already a loud bang in her head: I could really see such an innocent girl being murdered in front of her, and I really felt that when the "You Fangyin" she had to wait for came, could she become sincere friends with her like in the previous life with a clear conscience?

At that moment, Jiang Xuening's rationality could not be controlled. When she shouted "stop", she knew that all her warnings to herself in the past few days were in vain!

She is a selfish person.

But it's not completely bad enough.

The three women by the pool were startled when they heard the sound. They turned their heads and saw an unfamiliar young lady from your family walking out of the flower trees, so they quickly let go. Just as You Fangyin had already lost her strength, their hands relaxed and she fell from the edge of the pool.

With a loud thud, the person sank towards the bottom of the pool.

The two women who had just started fighting immediately turned pale upon seeing this.

Jiang Xuening had no expression on her face and even her voice was unusually cold and calm. She only said, "Bring the person up."

The two rough envoys were just trying to punish You Fangyin, but who would have expected her to be so restless?

No matter how lowly she is, she is also a commoner in the mansion.

If it really causes lives, they won't be able to eat and walk around!

At Jiang Xuening's command, even when he regained his senses and hurriedly pulled the person up, he was already wet all over, his face turned blue, and his eyes were tightly closed.

The woman who had just instructed someone to take action panicked and quickly said, "Hurry up, give it a pat!"

Jiang Xuening stood aside, coldly watching them rescue, as well as the face she was already familiar with. However, in her heart, she was unprecedentedly dazed, unable to distinguish whether she was looking forward to or more afraid at the moment.

She thought she was hypocritical.

Although she could have come forward earlier to scold, she had to wait until she was on the brink of death before coming out to stop.

Perhaps this way, I can comfort myself: it's not that I refuse to save my life, nor is it intentional for You Fangyin to come to this world that she hates; She did her best, but she just couldn't stop it.

"Cough!"

The rough old woman slapped twice without any response. In a panic, she used a lot of strength to slap the back of the person, then pinched the person, and suddenly coughed, coughing up all the water that had been choked in.

My eyes opened slowly and wearily.

At that moment, Jiang Xuening didn't stand firm, her body shook, and she took two steps back.

That pair of eyes, not intelligent, not transparent.

===Kunning Section 16===

There was not at all the clarity and indifference she was familiar with, as she looked at the world from outside.

There was only a panic of fear and clumsy dullness.

It's not her.

In Jiang Xuening's heart, something suddenly fell to the ground, as if it had been redeemed. But immediately, a timeless loneliness surged up and engulfed her.