Duan Xinghui steadied himself. He wasn’t wrong. The one he loved was Er Ya. It was just, why couldn’t Er Ya empathize with him a little?
Once a man lost his job, his source of pride, he would feel a lot more inferior. The current Duan Xinghui was in a drunken stupor everyday and felt as if the road ahead of him was completely dark.
When he got back to the Duan Residence with a bottle of wine, he ran into Madame Duan who was anxiously rushing out.
“Mom, what’s wrong?” asked Duan Xinghui.
When Madame Duan saw how decadent Duan Xinghui had become, her heart felt about to break. However, there was currently a more pressing matter, so she hastily told him, “Er Ya has gone to raise a fuss at the Princess Residence.”
Duan Xinghui quivered and woke up from his stupor. He threw down the bottle of alcohol and immediately turned to head towards the Princess Residence with an anxious expression. Even he himself wasn’t sure why he was so anxious. However, it couldn’t be denied that he suddenly did feel the desire to see Princess Jiahui.
There was that little bit of secret motive and hope that Princess Jiahui would plead with the Emperor on his behalf
When Duan Xinghui reached the Princess Residence, he saw that Er Ya, who was dressed in gree,n was kneeling in front of the Princess Residence. The guards stationed at the residence’s entrance were watching Er Ya vigilantly and there were a lot of onlookers.
At this instance, for some unknown reason, Duan Xinghui didn’t even have the courage to walk to Er Ya. He felt so many conflicting emotions that his heart felt numb.
When Ning Shu heard from Xiao Hong that Er Ya was outside, she was irked. Even though she was behaving and staying at home, the people from the Duan Residence insisted on coming and causing her trouble. It was unbelievable.
Ning Shu stroked the whip at her waist. Xiao Hong knew that the princess was angry the moment she saw this movement. All the guards in the Princess Residence had been ‘trained with’ by the Princess. Basically, the princess had used them as targets for whipping practice.
Ning Shu walked towards the residence doors. She’d like to see what kind of ruckus these people wanted to cause. However, at that time they shouldn’t blame her for not being polite.
The moment Ning Shu walked out, time seemed to slow for Duan Xinghui. Princess Jiahui was, as always, wearing equestrian garments with her hair pulled up into a high ponytail and a whip at her waist. Her appearance was both refreshing and elegant, causing people to involuntarily sigh with admiration.
Ning Shu stopped at the top of the steps to size up Er Ya who was kneeling on the ground. Er Ya had applied cosmetics, her brows were drawn into thin willow leaf brows, and she was wearing a thin silk garment. Ning Shu could only say that this outfit really didn’t suit her.
Er Ya had thick eyebrows and large eyes from the start, so forcing her eyebrows into long thin lines just made her eyes look unnatural. The feeling that Er Ya gave Ning Shu now couldn’t even compare to when she had first seen her at the city entrance.
Meanwhile, as Er Ya looked at Ning Shu, at the aloof and remote Princess Jiahui, she felt as if the princess seemed to be surrounded by a halo of light. Her face was flawless, and though she wasn’t wearing a single piece of jewelry she seemed peerlessly elegant and noble, so beautiful it was hard to look straight at her.
Er Ya’s inferiority complex became even stronger. She recalled what Yuan Dong had said: originally Princess Jiahui was supposed to be Duan’s wife and Duan was supposed to be the Emperor’s brother-in-law. Yuan Dong had said that it was all because she had caused Princess Jiahui to be angry, that was why Duan lost his position as a general.
Er Ya wanted to come here and beg Princess Jiahui not to blame Duan anymore.
“Princess, do you still remember me?” Er Ya asked Ning Shu.
Ning Shu: …
Was it really ok to use this sort of tone to say this sort of thing to a princess?
“Princess, a thousand wrongs, ten thousand wrongs, they’re all my wrongs. I beg you, please don’t blame Duan anymore,” cried Er Ya. “Please don’t be angry anymore. As long as you don’t blame Duan, you can have me do anything.”
Duan Xinghui who was standing in the crowd had a conflicted expression on his face. His heart was filled with all sorts of flavors – sour, sweet, bitter, spicy, and salty – and he felt both moved and a little humiliated.
Meanwhile, Ning Shu felt like her balls were about to break. What the fudge did this mean? It almost gave her the misperception that she was a petty scoundrel that liked breaking apart mandarin ducks. She had never even considered getting involved in this person’s love life, yet these people insisted on seeking her out.
The way this girl put it was as if she was using public office to avenge private wrongs. If they were angry, they should go find Li Wen ah. The person who gave the imperial edict was Li Wen, so what were they coming to her for? They all freaking treated her as a pushover!