Jiang Ying Yue encountered the female lead when she was in the middle of tasting some candied hawthorns in front of a streetside stall. And it was actually the other party who recognized her. "Miss Jiang?" called out Sheng Lingxin from behind. When Jiang Ying Yue turned around, she saw the woman who still looked as beautiful as a fairy, but with more hint of maturity in her face and eyes. The other girl was dressed in a maid attire and with a hat on her head. There was another girl with her, who appeared to be her real female attendant.
Jiang Ying Yue looked away immediately and pretended she did not see the other. Upon seeing her miss" reaction, Xiao Lu who was on the side also looked down and acted like she did not see anything.
There were many question marks in her head though. Did Miss Sheng do something bad to her miss before? Or was she just afraid to be recognized by anybody from the upper ranks? The latter seemed to be more likely, she thought. What she was unaware of was that Jiang Ying Yue had several reasons to feel awkward and estranged from the first legitimate miss of the prime minister"s estate.
Before the annulment of her engagement with Rui w.a.n.g, she heard many rumors on how much that prince appreciated Sheng Lingxin. One of the hearsays even made her wallow in depression for a week, the one about the man directly telling everyone in a tea party how he badly wanted that woman as his princess consort. With that fresh in her mind, how could she not have some misgivings about Sheng Lingxin?
One more thing...
"I"m sure, at that lantern festival... she was looking so warmly at Chen w.a.n.g, her eyes full of longing and yearning..."
That time, she was brokenhearted and didn"t have strong feelings for the general hence she didn"t put much attention to it. However, she never forgot that scene. And now that she retrieved it from the depths of her brain, she couldn"t help feeling guarded against the other girl.
"Grandpa, how much for everything I"ve eaten?" she asked the old man who owned the stall. She purposely lowered her tone so her voice would appear masculine.
"Just four coins."
She nodded at Xiao Lu who fished out the money from her purse. Feeling impatient, Jiang Ying Yue grabbed the coins and immediately handed over to the old man. Afterward, one of her hand grabbed her maid"s arm and pulled her away from there. They were half-running, half-walking as they navigate the sea of people. However, to her horror, Sheng Lingxin was just a meter or two away from them, dragging her own servant with her!
"Why is this girl suddenly so persistent?"
"Young miss, if we want to lose her, we can go inside that shop. It has another exit which we can take advantage of to escape from them." Xiao Lu said in a low voice at her.
Jiang Ying Yue nodded and headed to the direction told to her by her maid. The annoying girl was still hot in her pursuit. And it was starting to irritate her.
"If she doesn"t stop chasing me, I"ll throw a bug at her and curse her to have diarrhea for three days straight!" She maliciously thought. While there was no personal grudge yet between them, she had no problem making the other suffer if she annoys her and destroys her mood any further.
"Yikes!" They were already inside the huge clothing store. However, both parties had to stop when they discovered that the exit which should be leading to another rowdy and busy street was closed. Jiang Ying Yue"s mind went blank. A second later, amidst her frantic gasping for air, she regained her senses and started frowning badly.
Behind her, in between the two racks of fabrics, the equally annoyed female lead was also wiping her sweat and catching her breath. With a hand placed on her chest, she laboriously told the girl in front of her, "Miss Jiang... I implore you to give me a few minutes... of your time and speak with me... I promise... our talk will not take long..."
Jiang Ying Yue looked back at her then grimaced. "What does this woman want from me?"
However, even though this question flashed in her mind, since there was nothing else she could do, she nodded and allowed Sheng Lingxin to take her and her maid to a private booth upstair. Along the way, Jiang Ying Yue"s eyes darkened. She realized that she got trapped because all along, the shop belonged to Sheng Lingxin.
Upon taking a seat in one of the VIP rooms on the second floor, the disguised villainess looked into Sheng Lingxin"s eyes and straightforwardly asked, "May I ask what is the reason why Miss Sheng chased after this lowly commoner?"
The female lead took back her gaze that was the plate of pastries laid down by one of the store"s attendants. In the presence of others who were busy setting up the table, there was no way she would immediately say her piece. Therefore, when she heard what Jiang Ying Yue addressed herself with, she jokingly replied, "Miss Jiang is jesting. Who in the whole empire will dare believe that you are a commoner?"Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click for visiting.
The bitterness and unwillingness that crossed the girl"s eyes did not escape Jiang Ying Yue"s notice. She asked herself, was she guessing correctly that this Miss Sheng had a secret crush on Chen w.a.n.g? Was that the true reason why until now she was still only engaged to Hai w.a.n.g?
With a smile on her face which appeared cold and actually not a smile, she asked again, "Forgive me for being blunt, but what does Miss Sheng want to tell me?"
To her question, the female lead looked at her with a complicated expression before opening her mouth, "Are you already together with Chen w.a.n.g?"
What she asked did not make Xiao Lu bat an eye, but it did shock most of the maids who heard them, a few taking a good look at the young man seated across their boss. It then dawned to them that the "young man" seemed too thin and feminine, the skin too delicate and white, and face too handsome despite the odd mustache. With this information at hand, it would be easy to discern the young man was an aristocratic girl sneaking out.
"Is she the famous former first Miss of the Jiangs, Jiang Ying Yue? The rumored beauty that toppled he who toppled the other nations" armies?"
This question played in everyone"s mind, puzzlement and shock written all over everyone"s face. Noticing this, Sheng Lingxin"s eyes darkened. She immediately ordered the rest to vacate the room, leaving her with Jiang Ying Yue and her maid.
Jiang Ying Yue pursed her lips at first, then told Xiao Lu to wait for her outside. The girl was very reluctant at first and only agreed when she received a serious glance from her miss. However, before going out, she first threatened Sheng Lingxin with her eyes not to do anything funny, making clear that no harm must come to her miss, or else, she would report it to Chen w.a.n.g.
Sheng Lingxin was honestly offended. But since that girl did not do anything beyond that, she restrained her anger. Looking at the villainess, she urged, "Miss Jiang?"
Since it became just the two of them, Jiang Ying Yue removed the thing she attached below her nose then raised her head to Sheng Lingxin.
She did not ask why the other was inquiring her relations.h.i.+p with him. She just smiled.
"To answer Miss Sheng. For your peace of mind so you can move on from him." She paused and lowered her head, eyes going to the other"s hands which suddenly balled into fists on top of her skirt. With both edges of her mouth curving up to form a captivating smile, she said, "I"m sorry."
Sheng Lingxin fell into a daze since she could guess the words the one in front of her would say. Her gut feeling did not betray her.
Jiang Ying Yue"s clear and bright eyes turned to her. "I"m sorry, Miss Sheng. Because even if we"re not together, I won"t give him to anyone. Much less now that he"s mine."