s.h.i.+ Qingxue blinked her eyes and secretly made a decision. She looked helpless and shy, as if she were forced to the point where she had no other ways.

She had to tell the truth, “Your Majesty, it was all my fault. Don't blame Baoning! It was me who asked Baoning to tell Yanyan those words.”

“Why?” Ling Ruiyin was shocked.

s.h.i.+ Qingxue's small face looked a bit pitiful. She wept softly, “Because I was in compet.i.tion with Yanyan before. I was worried that she would embarra.s.s me with painting which she was good at, so I made Baoning tell her those words, in order to make her give up that kind of thoughts. Boning would have been desperate to hide such a shameful thing if it had been true. Why did she announce it to the public?”

Qin Yanyan thought that they really planned together to fool her, so she was so angry that she was about to stamped her foot. She pointed at s.h.i.+ Qingxue's nose and scolded, “s.h.i.+ Qingxue, you deliberately dug a pit for me! This is roguery. You are so shameless and mean!”

The words she used were not respectful at all, so that others couldn't help but frown when they heard them. They were worried about the upbringing of this future concubine of the Fourth Prince.

“Yes, yes, it's all me bad. Yanyan, I apologize to you. If you really want to punish me for this, I'll also accept it.” But s.h.i.+ Qingxue nodded tenderly, with a sad expression on her face, showing that she knew that she was wrong. Her att.i.tude of admitting her mistake was excellent.

But before Qin Yanyan proposed her punishment, she sighed helplessly, “Unfortunately, I made such a plan, but I didn't expect that my right hand would be injured, so that I had no advantages at all in the archery contest.

This incident told me that one must never do bad things, otherwise, G.o.d wouldn't let you go!”

She sighed heavily again and again. It seemed that she could only accept the arrangement of fate when she was extremely helpless.

Everyone clearly guessed that s.h.i.+ Qingxue was pretending deliberately. How could she be helpless? She was showing it off that she was spoiled!

Ling Ruiyin was amused by her helpless look. She was angry but didn't vent it. She couldn't help but touch her nose and scolded with a smile, “Are you really taught a lesson?”

s.h.i.+ Qingxue hurriedly nodded, “Yes! You didn't know that I never thought that Your Majesty would choose archery as the subject of compet.i.tion. At that time, I really felt that the evil I brought on myself was the hardest to bear! But I was unwilling to be a deserter, so I could only force myself to partic.i.p.ate in the compet.i.tion. I was really afraid that I would lose my hand!”

The fear and panic that her small face showed was appropriate. It wouldn't make people feel fake or exaggerated. But these were not the reasons why Ling Ruiyin let this matter go.

The old madam had sensitive eyes, and she took a glance, finding that the gauze on Qingxue's right hand had been dyed red again.

As what s.h.i.+ Qingxue said, no matter who was right or wrong in this matter, she had learned a lesson. Since the victim begged to make this matter over, she waved her hand and stopped Qin Yanyan who wanted to speak, saying coldly, “Enough! As I said before, it is more important to partic.i.p.ate in the game than to get the good result. In these two days, you have made me witness your excellent archery skills and I am quite satisfied. Let's call it a day!”

In several words, this matter was concluded. No matter how mad Qin Yanyan was, she could only suppress her grievance and let it go.

When the Empress Dowager left, the crowd also went back to their homes. Only s.h.i.+ Baoning stood beside s.h.i.+ Qingxue. She didn't leave, but also didn't say anything.

s.h.i.+ Qingxue also didn't speak. She was waiting for an answer, to be more precise, an explanation.

However, s.h.i.+ Baoning just opened her mouth, and turned away without saying anything.

“First Lady is too excessive. This was obviously a mistake that she made, and you helped her to settle it. But she left without saying thanks. I have never seen such a shameless…” Dong Shuang felt it worthless for her own master, and she dared to say anything out.

Xia Mang hurriedly yelled at her and glanced at s.h.i.+ Qingxue. She criticized her, “If you dare to talk nonsense again, I will sew your mouth with a needle.”

Dong Shuang was so scared that she hurriedly covered her mouth. She was afraid that Xia Mang would actually do it. But she looked at her carefully again and realized that she was teasing her, so she cried and scolded, “Xia Mang, you are so bad. You are always frightening me. I hate you…”

The two maidservants messed around again, as if they had forgotten all the unpleasant things all of a sudden.

In the past, s.h.i.+ Qingxue also loved to watch the two of them teasing each other. However, her mind was consumed too much in these two days, so that she couldn't cheer up to play with her servants. She dragged her exhausted body back to her bedroom.

When s.h.i.+ Qingxue just walked in her room, she was taken aback by the person inside. Xia Mang and Dong Shuang who was following behind her looked at each other and stepped outside together. They were also thoughtful to close the door for their master.

But Dong Shuang was still a little uneasy, “Sixth Lady isn't married yet. Isn't this not good for us to let them stay together alone in the room?”

“Why didn't I see you disagree when the Fourth Prince went to Sixth Lady's boudoir before?” Xia Mang talked back slowly.

Moreover, s.h.i.+ Qingxue obviously trusted that man more than the Fourth Prince at this moment. Didn't they figure how s.h.i.+ Qingxue was at a loss when this man didn't show up recently?

Dong Shuang scratched her head, and she had to agree with Xia Mang's words. She only said, “Then what about Sixth Lady's hand? The Royal Doctor said that we should apply the ointment onto it on time!”

Xia Mang was speechless and rolled her eyes. She thought that this girl was really numb, “Then what do you think King Rui's eldest son comes here for?”

She saw the gauze and ointment bottle in Mo Junyang's hand at the first glance. Wasn't it obvious that he came here to apply the ointment for her master?

In the room, s.h.i.+ Qingxue looked at Mo Junyang for a while and did not react. Until he stepped forward and grabbed her hand, she withdrew her hand in shock and asked, stuttering, “Why are you here?”

Mo Junyang took a deep look at her, and grabbed s.h.i.+ Qingxue's hand again. He whispered, “Don't move. I will apply the ointment to your injury.”

The words “Don't move” was more useful than the imperial decree. s.h.i.+ Qingxue really didn't move any more. She obediently let the man uncover her gauze, wipe off the blood that had oozed out because she overused her hand, and then apply the ointment and wrap it up again.

Seeing the snow-white gauze wrapped around her hand, s.h.i.+ Qingxue couldn't help but ask in a low voice again, “Why are you here?”

Mo Junyang was silent for a long while, and suddenly said, “Don't be afraid. I will leave soon.”

“I don't mean it. I…” In fact, s.h.i.+ Qingxue wanted to meet Mo Junyang. But when she actually saw him, it didn't seem to be the same as she had expected. She hadn't figured out how to have a showdown with Mo Junyang. And at this moment, she felt unpleasant with his att.i.tude.

Why did it seem that she was unwilling to see him?

s.h.i.+ Qingxue turned her head and pouted her mouth. She complained grievously, “You are actually a bad guy!”

Looking at her, Mo Junyang became so soft-hearted that he didn't want to say the lines he had prepared well, but he responded obediently, “Well, I am a bad guy.”

He completely obeyed the principle, “You are so beautiful and I love you so much, so you are right about everything.”

It was more unreasonable for s.h.i.+ Qingxue to vent her anger.

After thinking for a while, she summoned the courage to say, “Mo Junyang, I remembered that the Crown Prince had small pox when I was young.”

Mo Junyang's movement paused, but he didn't even raise his head. He made a positive respond in a low voice.

s.h.i.+ Qingxue didn't receive his following words after waiting for a long time. Looking at Mo Junyang's calm look as usual, she thought that they were chatting and talking about some gossips.

She raised her eyebrows slightly and said, “Smallpox! It can kill people, but he has survived!”

Mo Junyang remained silent for a longer period of time. She couldn't see his expression clearly when he kept his head down, but only heard him say calmly, “Yes, Shen Luo cured him.”

There was still no concealment at all.

At a moment, s.h.i.+ Qingxue really had such an intention to ask Mo Junyang straightforwardly whether he was reborn or not. She was even sure that if she asked it out, he wouldn't lie to her.

But she still refrained. After Mo Junyang wrapped her wound up, she was a little stunned staring at the slender fingers.

“Done.” Mo Junyang said so, but he didn't plan to take back his hands at all.

s.h.i.+ Qingxue did not withdraw her hand, either. She didn't even look at Mo Junyang. Only staring at their hands that were holding together, she suddenly lowered her voice and asked, “How did you feel to be a hostage?”

Mo Junyang stiffened. Even though he was well prepared to deal with s.h.i.+ Qingxue, he was astonished and speechless in the face of her question which was totally out of his expectation.

But Mo Junyang was only shocked for a short while. Then he showed a smile to s.h.i.+ Qingxue gently.

A soft whisper slowly flowed into s.h.i.+ Qingxue's ears, “I didn't remember. It happened decades ago.”

s.h.i.+ Qingxue was stunned. She didn't expect or thought that Mo Junyang would be so calm and tell her the truth in such a vague way.

Even though she really just wanted to know how Mo Junyang felt.

When s.h.i.+ Qingxue got the answer, she suddenly found that she wasn't angry or shameful as she had expected. Her mood was calm, which she never imagined.

Still, there were some words she should say, “I'm sorry.”

Mo Junyang raised his head violently, and his eyes suddenly burst into fierce glare. s.h.i.+ Qingxue stepped back, frightened, and she also pulled back her hand from his hand.

Mo Junyang just smiled self-deprecatingly, “Sorry for what?”

s.h.i.+ Qingxue was choked.

She didn't know what she was sorry for. She was confronting Mo Junyang when she died in her previous life. She could face him without guilt, and didn't think that she had done anything wrong.

At this moment, s.h.i.+ Qingxue still didn't think that she was wrong. But when she thought of Mo Junyang's reaction after her death… She closed her eyes and suppressed her emotions.

Perhaps she would never tell Mo Junyang that she had been staying with him for nearly fifty years.

Mo Junyang didn't understand what s.h.i.+ Qingxue was thinking, but he could see the guilt in her embarra.s.sed sight.

Guilty about what?

The only thing that he didn't need was her guilt.

Mo Junyang's smile was brighter but his look was colder, stressing each syllable, “Don't feel sorry for me. And don't…”

Hate me.

Mo Junyang didn't say the last two words.

He turned his face away, depressed those emotions that should not exist. He asked coldly, “What happened today? How was your hand injured?”

“It's okay. I myself…” s.h.i.+ Qingxue wanted to deceive him. But when she saw Mo Junyang's gaze, she unconsciously told what had happened in the past few days.

Even though it was an embarra.s.sing sisters' conflict, she didn't conceal it. She had a natural trust in Mo Junyang.

Mo Junyang raised his eyebrows, lowered his eyes and thought about it. He murmured in a low voice, “s.h.i.+ Baoning!”