She had heard Su Chen giving orders in his room before, but when she entered, she found no one and felt no one’s presence.
Instead, there was a faint Evil Qi and a trace of Sword Intent in the room.
And Su Chen was quietly reading a book, as usual.
Speaking of reading, she was also puzzled as to why a Prince would enjoy various types of books.
After some investigation, she discovered that he hadn't been like this in the past.
Also, one night, she had seen Su Chen seemingly Cultivating in meditation, but when asked, he said he was just experiencing the tranquility of the night.
No matter when, he always had a calm and indifferent demeanor, as if he was uninterested in anything except books.
Unlike the other Princes, Su Chen always gave her a feeling of being indifferent to fame and fortune, not as utilitarian as the others.
He didn't care much about the affairs of the Imperial Palace; all day long, he either read books in his room or practiced calligraphy in the courtyard.
In short, his person seemed full of secrets.
This made Xuan Yingxue unable to help but become engrossed; she wanted to see what this man was truly hiding.
Originally, she only intended to stay by his side temporarily as a maid, but as time passed, she found that she seemed to be completely attracted to him, unable to resist wanting to explore everything about him.
From then on, she secretly investigated any information about Su Chen.
She learned many unknown things.
First: It was widely rumored that the Third Prince was an unparalleled Genius, but in reality, he was a scapegoat put forward by the Great Yan Imperial Family to cover up for the Second Prince.
However, after spending some time with him, Xuan Yingxue felt that the Great Yan Imperial Family might have misjudged him.
Second: The Third Prince's birth mother was actually a palace maid and had already died; she didn't know the specifics of how she died, but she could discern some clues from Su Chen's attitude toward the Emperor of Da Yan.
Third: The Third Prince had once had a conflict with the Emperor of Da Yan, which led to him being secretly placed under house arrest for a period of time; this was a secret she obtained by spending a great deal of money from someone who knew palace secrets... All these things combined led her to conclude that Su Chen was a hidden Genius, had a bad relationship with Great Yan, and felt no sense of belonging to the Imperial Family.
With these thoughts, a month ago, she falsely claimed that she had urgent family matters to attend to and returned home, leaving Great Yan.
It was also a month ago that the Great Xuan Dynasty launched a fierce attack, delivering a heavy blow to Great Yan!
And the Third Prince, Su Chen, was also the result of their counter-strategy.
Xuan Yingxue was in an extremely good mood now, feeling as if she was walking on air.
However, she quickly frowned.
How should she return to his side?
This stumped her; to return to his side without revealing her identity and without arousing Su Chen's suspicion, the difficulty was not small...
"What should I do..."
As she pondered, her gaze began to wander aimlessly, devoid of spirit.
When her eyes happened to move to a certain spot, she saw Chen Fan hurrying over.
Xuan Yingxue was slightly startled; she interrupted her thoughts and frowned, asking, "Chen Fan? Didn't I tell you to guard outside the courtyard? Has something happened?"
Suddenly hearing the woman's voice made Chen Fan stop in his tracks; he turned his head in confusion, only then noticing Xuan Yingxue standing not far away.
His puzzled expression instantly changed; he quickly stepped forward respectfully, grinning foolishly, "Your subordinate greets The Eldest Princess."
"What are you hurrying off to do?"
Hearing this question, Chen Fan hesitated, after all, it was a matter between men, and if The Eldest Princess knew about it, who knew what would happen...
Xuan Yingxue saw his hesitation, her brows furrowed even deeper, and she said coldly, "Did you do something dishonorable? If so, there's no need to keep you alive."
"Princess, spare me! Princess, spare me!!!" Chen Fan immediately knelt on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly, terrified out of his wits.
"Still not speaking?"
"I'll speak, I'll speak!" Chen Fan steeled himself; anyway, it wasn't him looking for women!
"The Third Prince of Da Yan asked me to find women for him, and they had to be well-educated and sensible. I thought this matter would be difficult, so I decided to come and ask for instructions..."
"Find women???" Xuan Yingxue's voice faltered, and the expression on her face was quite something.
She couldn't help but ask, "Are you sure he said it himself?"
"This..." Chen Fan hesitated... He wasn't entirely sure himself, after all, the other party hadn't mentioned women at all... But if he said the other party hadn't said it, wouldn't he be deceiving the Princess??
He wouldn't even know how he died then, so after a moment of hesitation, he nodded heavily, "He said it himself."
After speaking, he began to pray in his heart: Little brother Su, don't blame this old brother! This old brother is doing this for your sake, there's no other way!
Xuan Yingxue's brows were knitted together; she couldn't imagine Su Chen making such a request.
From the nearly half a year she had spent following him, Su Chen was clearly not that kind of person.
But why then... Could his personality have changed after leaving the Great Yan Dynasty?
Or was Chen Fan lying?
But did he have the guts to lie?
"Impossible..."
She was about to blurt out the words "impossible," but realizing those three words could be ambiguous, she changed her tone: "This matter must not be publicized. Since he wants it, you take me there. I will personally see what he intends."
"Ah?!!!" Chen Fan's pupils contracted, and he stared at her, mouth agape, his mind somewhat short-circuited...
The Eldest Princess actually wanted to test him personally?
Even if she had no problems, he wouldn't dare!
This was a capital offense; sending the Princess over was truly a death wish.
Moreover, that young man was a Prince of an enemy country, and a hostage at that; finding him a random courtesan from a Qing Hua Brothel would be considered good enough.
He quickly shook his head: "No, no, no, Princess, your status is noble, how can you do this? If anything goes wrong, how can your humble servant explain it!"
"It's fine, you just need to do as I say. Do you think that within our Great Xuan Dynasty, and I am not a defenseless woman, plus with you all guarding outside, what outrageous thing could he do?"
Xuan Yingxue's words were merely to dispel Chen Fan's concerns.
Coincidentally, she could also use this opportunity to return to Su Chen's side without revealing any flaws.
Of course, what she cared about more was whether Su Chen had really said something similar!
Chen Fan still shook his head, "Princess, no!"
"Do you believe I'll find someone to cut off your head right now?" Xuan Yingxue looked at him coldly.
At these words, Chen Fan fell silent, his expression somewhat dejected.
He felt his life was over; he should have known not to agree to this troublesome matter and let that young man handle it himself.
Seeing him fall silent, looking as if he had accepted his fate, Xuan Yingxue knew he had agreed, and said, "You wait here for a moment."
Chen Fan didn't know what she was going to do, nor did he dare to ask, he could only honestly wait in place.
In his heart, however, he began to ponder what unfulfilled wishes he still had... Oh right, the little Phoenix from the Qing Hua Brothel, he had admired her for a long time, but due to the high cost, he never had the chance to get close. Should he find an opportunity to borrow some money and try?
Also, the day before yesterday, Widow Wang, whom he had known for a long time in the east of the city, suddenly invited him to her home for tea. She must have come to a realization, but he had urgent matters and hadn't gone to the appointment...
A moment later, while Chen Fan was still in a daze, Xuan Yingxue had already changed into an ordinary long dress, and her appearance had also changed.
She had reverted to her appearance from when she was in the Great Yan Dynasty.
"Why is there an ordinary woman here?" Chen Fan was slightly stunned, not yet realizing that the young woman in front of him was the Princess from just now.
"Chen Fan, this Princess told you to wait here, who do you say I am?" Xuan Yingxue's voice was cold, instantly bringing Chen Fan back to his senses.
He shivered, realizing something, and bowed in panic, "Princess, please forgive me!"
"Alright, stop with the nonsense, take me to him."
...