Wenren Chi stayed silent for a long time. n.o.body knew if he agreed with Mo Junjiu or still hesitated.

Not until Mo Junjiu looked impatient did Wenren Chi say gently, “That letter was only Mo Shujun's intention, and it didn't mean that s.h.i.+ Junhe also wanted to harm my father. What's more, I have a question to ask you, Your Highness.”

“What?”

“Since this letter is in your hands, can I ask how s.h.i.+ Junhe would have killed my father according to the letter that year?”

Mo Junjiu was speechless and glared at Wenren Chi silently.

It seemed that Wenren Chi just asked the question and didn't want the answer. He looked peaceful and stood up to say goodbye. “Your Highness, thanks for dinner today. I will think over what you said and investigate it.”

In fact, the questions he had mentioned and the contradiction were obvious, but he had been “driven away” from their mansion by s.h.i.+ Junhe and then Mo Junjiu suddenly told him the “truth” of Wenren Bo's death on the battlefield, so he harbored hatred toward s.h.i.+ Junhe without thinking and put all the blame on him.

But now…

Wenren Chi gritted his teeth in secret and decided to talk about it after he found the truth anyway.

“Li, why are you standing at the gate?” As soon as Wenren Chi returned to his mansion, he saw that the butler Li was standing at the gate and seemed to welcome a guest.

Li greeted the young master and reminded him helplessly, “Lady Baoning came after you went out for dinner and waited for you in the living room. She left just less than thirty minutes ago.”

They could have met each other.

Wenren Chi was stunned for a while. “Oh.”

“Shall I send someone to chase her and get her back?” Li thought it was a pity for the unmarried couple to repeatedly miss the chance to see each other.

“No. I am a little tired.” Wenren Chi shook his head tiredly and went into the room.

Something occurred to him and he stopped all of a sudden, asking, “Li, you always stayed with my father before he pa.s.sed away. How do you think of his relations.h.i.+p with my foster father?”

Li's expression didn't change, and he answered frankly, “His Lords.h.i.+p always took General s.h.i.+ as his best friend when he was alive. The two were in close contact with each other and had a tacit understanding when cooperating.”

They were all words of praise.

Wenren Chi stared at Li in doubt, but Li stopped, so he had to ask, “But?”

Li looked confused. “What but? No but. Everyone knows the two generals were on good terms.”

Wenren Chi was unable to reply. He was clear about what everyone knew, but now he needed some different comments.

“What kind of person do you think my father was?”

Li was sophisticated. Even though he didn't know what Wenren Chi was worried about, he knew it had something to do with s.h.i.+ Junhe. He didn't answer directly but said vaguely, “His Lords.h.i.+p had sharp eyes.”

Wenren Chi understood immediately. Right, if s.h.i.+ Junhe was a bad guy, Wenren Bo wouldn't have been his friend, even for more than ten years.

But what happened about Mo Shujun's letter?

He mentioned his doubts in front of Mo Junjiu, but they were just doubts. Mo Shujun's letter was not fake, and the s.h.i.+ Family's hostility to his father was true.

Wenren Chi was more confused. At the same time, the s.h.i.+ Family was still preparing for s.h.i.+ Baoning's wedding in order.

Especially s.h.i.+ Qingxue stayed at home these days and tried to finish the embroidery on time. She found different excuses to avoid meeting the guests.

“My Lady, Princess Yuzhen came here again. She mentioned you by name this time and wanted to see you.”

s.h.i.+ Qingxue was using a needle. After she heard that, it stabbed her index finger by accident and she hurriedly withdrew her hand in pain. Dong Shuang who was next to her wanted to check her injury, but she just waved her hand. “It's nothing serious. I just got stabbed.”

She paused for a while and saw that the Rank-2 maid was still standing at the door and waiting for her response. She had no choice but to reply, “Tell her that I am seriously ill and can't see any visitors. After I recover, I will go to her mansion and apologize to her.”

“My Lady…” Xia Mang looked at Qingxue worriedly and advised in a low voice, “Princess Yuzhen has asked three times to see you, but you refused every time. You would be in trouble if somebody with evil intentions talks about it.”

s.h.i.+ Qingxue bit her lower lip and hesitated. She knew that, but she just felt awkward. And she was afraid and unwilling to face Mo Yuzhen.

It seemed that as long as they met each other, she could see their gloomy future. It was no fun.

“Forget it. I won't see anybody, and it's not aimed at her only. n.o.body can say anything.”

As soon as she stopped speaking, an arrogant woman's laugh came from outside. “Yes, you are already a silkworm now. You won't be a b.u.t.terfly unless you break your coc.o.o.ns, right?”

Mo Yuzhen pushed away the Rank-2 maid standing at the door and strode into s.h.i.+ Qingxue's bedroom, with a faint smile on her face.

s.h.i.+ Qingxue had to conceal her complicated emotions and smiled at her friend. “Why did you come here?”

Mo Yuzhen didn't answer but glanced at Xia Mang and Dong Shuang. Qingxue had to tell all the maids to leave the room and close the door. She poured a cup of tea for the princess and then asked the question again.

Mo Yuzhen still looked at her. After quite a while, she smiled suddenly. “Qingxue, are you unwilling to see me?”

“No. Why…” s.h.i.+ Qingxue faltered and could hardly hide her panic. In front of somebody who she really cared for, she was not good at lying.

“If no, why is it more difficult to see you than to see His Majesty in the palace?” Mo Yuzhen asked aggressively. She could see Mo Xiangbin just after making an appointment, but s.h.i.+ Qingxue turned down her invitation at first and next time refused to go out with her. Now she came to see Qingxue but the latter said she was ill and tried to avoid meeting her. She almost went crazy.

s.h.i.+ Qingxue was embarra.s.sed after hearing that, but she couldn't explain, so she had to keep quiet.

Mo Yuzhen's face fell, and she asked with displeasure, “Qingxue, are you really going to break up with me?”

s.h.i.+ Qingxue looked surprised and denied automatically, “Of course not.”

She said that quite firmly.

Mo Yuzhen finally looked better and softened her voice. “Are you mad at me because I made trouble for s.h.i.+ Baojin without asking you?”

She knew that s.h.i.+ Qingxue always protected her family.

“No.” s.h.i.+ Qingxue hadn't thought of this matter. Seeing that her friend had taken it to heart, she had to explain, “I know you did it to avenge me.”

“Then why are you angry with me?” Mo Yuzhen lost her patience and walked to Qingxue, forcing her to face her. She asked, stressing each word, “Even if you want to break up with me, you have to give me a reason. Or I am reluctant to!”

Mo Yuzhen was the most favored princess in this country but came in person to make peace when Qingxue was cold to her. The friends.h.i.+p made Qingxue feel moved even though she was uncomfortable.

Qingxue was in silence for a while and finally chose to be frank. “Do you know what happened on the Qingluo Mountain?”

“Ah? I have heard of something. What's wrong?”

Mo Yuzhen was baffled.

Qingxue stared at her. “The battle on the Qingluo Mountain was quite dangerous, and my father and big brother almost died there because somebody tried to harm them.”

“Why? Didn't your father suppress the bandits and get my father's reward?” Mo Yuzhen asked in disbelief, but the serious expression on Qingxue's face told her that she told the truth.

Mo Yuzhen thought of something and turned pale, asking subconsciously, “Do you suspect that my brother Junjiu did it?”

s.h.i.+ Qingxue shook her head. When Mo Yuzhen was about to sigh with relief, what Qingxue said next made her nervous again.

Qingxue responded casually, “I don't suspect that. I am sure that it has something to do with Prince Junjiu.”

Mo Yuzhen was speechless.

She was angry because of Qingxue's suspicion, and also happy because of her blunt answer…

At last, she was unable either to cry or to laugh. “Why are you sure?”

Qingxue hesitated at first, and she didn't want to say what Mo Junhao had told her, but on second thought, she remembered her friend's ident.i.ty and suddenly showed an indifferent smile. “Prince Junhao was also on the way to the Qingluo Mountain once. Do you know that?”

She bet, since Mo Junhao could even know her whereabouts easily, no matter if Mo Junjiu had sent some people to kill her, he should have known her location.

Mo Yuzhen asked hesitantly, “So what?”

“Nothing.” s.h.i.+ Qingxue seemed to be relieved after getting the answer, but she was almost suffocated.

She looked down and tried to make her voice calm with no emotion. “However, probably you don't know that not only my father and brother narrowly escaped death on the Qingluo Mountain, but some people also tried to a.s.sa.s.sinate me twice on the way, and I was almost killed every time.”

Mo Yuzhen was astonished all of a sudden. All her resentment of Qingxue's cold att.i.tude turned into guilt. She wanted to asked, “Were you get injured?” But even if she did, it would only show that she was hypocritical, so she didn't ask.

They fell into silence. Mo Yuzhen didn't even have the energy to refute.

She just asked softly, “Are you really going to unfriend me?”

It was evident that she was trembling with fear.

s.h.i.+ Qingxue still shook her head, but that was what she could only do.

At the moment, they deeply realized for the first time that their hostile positions would only get them farther away from each other, and they could do nothing.

“Yuzhen, I…” s.h.i.+ Qingxue opened her mouth, but she didn't want to say anything insincere, so she shut it again.

She picked up the cup of tea that Mo Yuzhen hadn't tasted from the table and put it in her friend's hands, saying gently, “Have a cup of tea. I have poured it for you.”

Mo Yuzhen took a sip and focused her eyes on s.h.i.+ Qingxue, who also gazed at her. So she took another sip.

Till the tea was finished, s.h.i.+ Qingxue took the tea cup and put it on the table, smiling. “Yuzhen, this is our relations.h.i.+p.”

“What?”

“No matter when it is, you dare to drink the tea I give to you, and so do I.” But they couldn't be as close as before.

s.h.i.+ Qingxue didn't speak the last sentence, but Mo Yuzhen understood what she meant.

Mo Yuzhen smiled bitterly. “Okay. I am going. Take care.”

s.h.i.+ Qingxue nodded and saw her off.

Mo Yuzhen walked out step by step under Qingxue's deep gaze, but she had never felt so depressed. When she was at the door, she suddenly stopped in her tracks.

Under s.h.i.+ Qingxue's confused eyes, Mo Yuzhen quickly walked back to her. “I know we are not on the same path, but I have to tell you something. My father wants you to marry Junhao as a princess.”