Spring Courtyard Forbidden Pet

"The princess is inside, please come in, Miss."

The palace maid lifted the bamboo curtain for Ye Zhen. The sandalwood in the room was a bit similar to the one on Li Xuan'an, but they were different.

A peony screen in the middle separated the room into two rooms. Before Ye Zhen could speak, she heard Fang Jing's suppressed crying! Why was she here too?

The maidservant inside whispered something in Meng Qianru's ear, and Ye Zhen heard her calling her, "Second Miss Ye is here, Miss Fang has been waiting for you for a long time."

Ye Zhen couldn't just walk away at this moment, so she followed the palace maid and went behind the screen.

Meng Qianru gently patted Fang Jing's body, which was trembling slightly due to sobbing, and said to Ye Zhen, "Miss Fang knows that she has let you down and feels guilty. She is afraid that it will be difficult to ask for your forgiveness after leaving the manor, so she has no choice but to ask this princess for forgiveness."

"The ointment was also brought by Miss Fang, and she said she would apply it to the Second Miss herself."

Fang Jing turned around reluctantly and said stiffly, "Come here. If your sunburned area gets rubbed by your clothes, it will hurt like hell."

Ye Zhen lowered her eyes slightly, her seemingly gentle facial lines concealing a hint of coldness. She ignored Fang Jing's presence and said directly to Meng Qianru, "Thank you, Princess. I'll go back and deal with it. It's not good to dirty the room where you're staying."

Meng Qianru glanced at Fang Jing, who bit her lip and said, "This is the first time I have apologized to someone in such a humble manner."

Ye Zhen glanced at her and said, "I don't need it."

"You!" After saying just two sentences, Fang Jing couldn't continue acting.

Ye Zhen thought, was it Meng Qianru who asked Fang Jing to come? She didn't believe Fang Jing would have the consciousness to apologize. It was true that she wished she was dead.

Seeing that the two were not getting along, Meng Qianru said to Ye Zhen helplessly, "Second Master and Madam Ruan are both concerned about you, how can they let you go back with injuries?"

"Miss Ye Er, please give Miss Fang a chance for the sake of this princess."

She had to give Meng Qianru face, even if it was for Liuxia. But Fang Jing's ointment...

"I can apply it myself." Ye Zhen was already cautious enough.

The ointment was the size of a rouge box, and was stained with sweat from Fang Jing's palms. It would have been fine to just throw it to Ye Zhen, but Fang Jing turned her head and looked at Meng Qianru, as if waiting for her decision.

Ye Zhen subconsciously raised her eyes and met Meng Qianru's gaze. She felt that those eyes were brighter than night pearls, but not as gentle and cold as Li Xuan'an's. There was a unique kind of domineering in them.

Meng Qianru took the ointment from Fang Jing and smiled at her, "The wound is on the back of your neck, it's difficult for you to apply it, I will help you."

"I dare not." Ye Zhen took two steps back, but was blocked by two palace maids.

Meng Qianru opened the ointment, and the cool mint smell came out. She dipped the ointment with a handkerchief and told the maid, "Help Miss Ye take off her coat."

Ye Zhen could only let herself be manipulated. Some palace maid was clumsy and her collar rubbed against the sunburned area, breaking the skin. The excruciating pain made her cry out softly.

But they didn't seem to hear.

The next second, the cold ointment was applied to the broken skin, and Meng Qianru rubbed it, "It's such a big patch, it needs to be healed for a few more days."

Ye Zhen felt that the ointment smelled a bit strange at this moment, and she didn't know if it was a psychological effect.

After wiping, Meng Qianru blew on her hair considerately and said, "I will have someone send you some scar removal ointment later."

"I am terrified." Ye Zhen only felt a chill on the back of her neck, but it was not as painful as before.

Meng Qianru crumpled the handkerchief stained with medicine into a ball and threw it to the palace maids, "Please give me a little face and forget about today's unpleasantness when you leave the manor."

"If we can't be friendly when we meet in the future, we'll just be strangers."

Ye Zhen and Fang Jing kowtowed at the same time, "Yes."

The two of them each drank a bowl of sweet soup to reduce internal heat before coming out of the princess's room together. There was no confrontation on their faces. Soon the news spread throughout the farm, and both male guests and female relatives praised Meng Qianru.

Ruan and Prince Yu each sent large gifts to express their gratitude, but Meng Qianru said that she only wanted a few magnolia flowers.

Fang Jing's badness, Ye Zhen's innocent grievances, and Dong Yuan's bravery in standing up for a maid were all covered up by the four words "Princess Pingyang". Everyone only praised the princess's virtues to save their own faces.

Liuxia escaped death and blamed herself. Smelling the medicine on Ye Zhen, she couldn't help but sigh, "The princess is really a kind person."

Ye Zhen repeatedly recalled the times when Fang Jing looked at Meng Qianru for help, and guessed in her mind, "Yes, in order to avoid any grudge between the Minister's Mansion and the Ye family, the princess condescended to prepare ointment for Fang Jing and applied it to me personally."

"Even if Fang Jing and I have a blood feud, I have no choice but to restrain my forces because of her."

Ye Zhen seemed to understand why Meng Qianru had such a good reputation in the Great Zhou. It was indeed rare for someone to go to such an extent with something that had nothing to do with her.

Even though Ye Zhen was very famous in his previous life, everything he did was for his own benefit, and he always did things that were thankless. He only suffered losses at the hands of Li Chengge.

"Now the Ye family, the Fang family, and even Prince Yu have all accepted the princess's affection. Everyone is really happy."

Ye Zhen smiled bitterly. If such a person was not truly kind, he would be quite scary.

Not long after, Ruan also had someone send some ointment over.

Ever since Ye Zhen rejected her kindness in person, whether it was making the decision for Liuxia just now or sending a close nanny to make this trip in person, it seemed that she attached great importance to Ye Zhen and made everyone else aware of this, but Ruan avoided meeting Ye Zhen directly.

This meant that Ruan would not fail to help her with matters that became known to everyone in the future, but as long as it was not something that would cause people to talk about, Ye Zhen should not even think about asking for her protection.

This is the usual behavior of women in the inner chamber.

When she came out from Meng Qianru's place, Cui was still waiting for her under the tree. She must be trying to persuade her to pave the way for Li Chengge again.

Ye Zhen felt tired and said to Liu Xia, "Where is Miss Dong resting? I'll go see her. Don't let her catch a cold."

"Second Miss, please wait a moment. I will go to the front to ask."

Ye Zhen grabbed her and said, "I'll go with you."

So Cui watched her stop, turn around, and walk further and further away, her expression stern, "What a rebellion!"

But she didn't need to stop them, as two guards came out of the woods and said, "Second Miss Ye, the prince wants to see you."

When Ye Zhen saw that the person who came to summon him was not a maid or a eunuch, but a guard with a sword, her heart tightened for some reason.

*

Small North Hall.

Many male guests were still gathered in the stands, most of them were staff members of Prince Yu's Palace and young men who were well-known but had no official positions in the capital. Although they could not see her face clearly due to the stream, it did not affect their naked curiosity about Ye Zhen.

From a distance, I could just see a bit of her sunflower-colored gown, which shone like golden lotus as she kicked with her toes.

Several young men who were about to mock Ye Zhen opened their eyes wide, completely forgetting to harshly criticize her for her heresy.

As the person got closer and closer, the patterns on the misty green Confucian skirt could be seen clearly. Suddenly, the eunuch beside Prince Yu came over and said, "The prince has prepared a pot of good spring wine in the back. Please take your seats first."

The young master of the Grand Master was the first to step forward, "Let's take a look at what Miss Ye looks like and then leave."

The eunuch smiled apologetically, "The matter has not yet been concluded. The Second Miss has done Madam Ruan a favor, and the Prince has specially saved her face."

"Excuse me, gentlemen. Please come in."