After swallowing my anger and taking the blame, I became the lucky little queen

Before Nian Susu could retort, footsteps were heard at the door.

Both of them panicked.

The ancestral hall was empty, with basically nothing else except the shrine with tablets and the offering table with incense burners and tribute fruits. It was impossible to hide anyone there, and the footsteps were close at hand. Xuan Ji wanted to reach the window and climb out in a short time, but the risk was too great and he might be caught by Yang Yuerong.

Nian Susu thought quickly and fixed his eyes on the altar.

The yellow silk covering the table reached all the way to the ground, and the four corners of the space under the table were just big enough for one person to hide.

Xuan Ji didn't expect this and decided to choose the most risky way - climbing through the window.

Just as he stood up, someone pulled his arm and he fell back onto the mat.

Nian Susu pushed his shoulders and stuffed him under the altar.

Before Xuan Ji could react to what was happening, the yellow cloth covered him, blocking out any view from outside.

The light from the few candles lit in the ancestral hall was too weak to penetrate the yellow satin, so it was dark under the altar.

Xuan Ji bent his body, knelt on one knee, and listened to the noise outside.

Nian Susu was so scared that he broke out in a sweat and was still in shock.

Just as she hid the person, Yang Yuerong arrived. She moved her knees and knelt down, closing her eyes and pretending to reflect on her mistakes.

Yang Yuerong did not bring any attendants with her. She knelt calmly beside Nian Susu, no longer as anxious and pale as she was in the hall.

"Lingling, tell me, what are you thinking?

I have heard about what happened in the palace. Although you are soft-hearted, you are definitely not the kind of person who is easily instigated. Why do you want to help Nian Qiaoyue? What good will it do you if she is with Prince Qing?

And just now outside the hall, your father clearly didn't want to punish you, but you insisted on going against him and even exposed his scars in public. Did you deliberately want to anger him so that you could take the blame for Nian Qiaoyue?"

The more she spoke, the more her voice trembled, perhaps because she was angry, or perhaps because she found it incredible.

Nian Susu slowly opened his eyes and looked at the sixth-level shrine, the candlelight dancing in his eyes.

She had a lot of thoughts in her mind. If she said that she really wanted to help Nian Qiaoyue, Yang Yuerong would definitely feel that she had betrayed her. The precious daughter she had raised with her own hands, ended up helping her enemies to deal with her.

Yang Yuerong would definitely go crazy—Nian Susu had no doubt about it.

As a mother who controls her daughter to the point of madness, if Nian Susu escapes from her control, she will definitely use extreme means to control her daughter again.

But if she lied, and Yang Yuerong went to interrogate Nian Qiaoyue again, wouldn't the truth be revealed if their testimonies didn't match?

The consequences would probably not be any better.

"I made a deal with her. I helped her marry Prince Qing, and she promised to give me benefits." Nian Susu answered calmly.

Yang Yuerong's face suddenly changed, and her face suddenly became ferocious, "Transaction? What benefit can the daughter of a powerless slave give you!

Am I not good enough to you? You are always there for me! Why did you make a deal with that bitch? "

Nian Susu was startled by her sudden anger.

In order to prevent Yang Yuerong from losing control of her emotions, Nian Susu had to lower his posture, looked at her pitifully, carefully grasped her arm with both hands, and said in a coquettish tone: "Mom, you are naturally very good to me, I remember it in my heart."

Yang Yuerong's expression eased a lot, but her chest was still heaving violently.

She added: "But what Nian Qiaoyue promised me is something that mother cannot give me."

"what?"

"Nian Qiaoyue said that if I helped her marry Prince Qing, once she became the princess, she would find a way to get me married to the Crown Prince and make me the honorable Crown Princess."

Xuan Ji's breathing stagnated, and a strange feeling rose in his heart. Was it excitement? Surprise? Pleasure? Relief?

No matter which one it was, he clearly felt his heartbeat quickening, beating like a drum, deafening.

My heart was in turmoil, and I could no longer hear the sound of the wind. Her words kept echoing in my mind.

She said she wanted to be the Crown Princess.

He had an impulse, wanting to rush out and tell her regardless of everything that he had heard her want to be the Crown Princess, and that he could help her realize this wish.

Finally reason prevailed, he took a deep breath and suppressed this crazy idea.

He can only hide under the altar, just like his feelings, which can only be hidden in his heart.

"Lingling...you want to be the Crown Princess? Why?" Yang Yuerong was shocked. "Is it because the Crown Prince lived in the East Wing during the time when you were investigating the murder case, and you fell in love with him?"

She thought her daughter was still a naive little girl, and she couldn't accept the idea of ​​her daughter getting married.

Nian Susu was concerned that Xuanji was still there, and was afraid that he would have unnecessary misunderstandings, so she couldn't answer the question directly. So she pretended to be shy and said shyly: "Oh, mother, please don't ask so many questions. I know what I am doing. Anyway, I will never believe her again in the future."

Yang Yuerong thought she was just beginning to fall in love and was too shy to speak out. Plus, after getting a promise, she didn't ask any more questions. She just told Nian Susu to stay away from Nian Qiaoyue and went back to the North Courtyard.

Nian Susu sent her to the door, and she didn't truly breathe a sigh of relief until Yang Yuerong's figure disappeared in the corridor.

Patting her chest, she retreated back into the house and closed the door.

As she turned around, a familiar scent of cedar hit her nose, very faint, but because she had been in contact with traditional Chinese medicine for a long time, she was very sensitive to the smell of medicine and incense.

Cedar is Qin Junyu's favorite spice. Why does Xuanji also have this smell on him?

His tall figure stood in front of them, and the two of them were no more than half an arm's length apart.

Nian Susu looked up at him, a trace of panic flashed across her face. She took a step back, her back hitting the wooden door, with nowhere to retreat.

Xuan Ji took a step forward, and the distance between them was only a finger's width.

The scent of cedar became stronger, and it penetrated into her nose. Under the butterfly mask, the pair of evil phoenix eyes were like an unknown maze, dangerous and charming. Her heart beat faster for no reason, and the figure in the bright yellow robe appeared in her mind, tall and graceful, with a graceful demeanor.

But this feeling is different from when facing Qin Junyu.

Even she herself was surprised. Why did she think of Qin Junyu at this moment? Was it because of Xuesong? Or because of those similar eyes?

"Do you want to be the Crown Princess?" Xuan Ji asked in a deep voice.

He concealed his emotions so well that no one could tell.

Nian Susu's eyes dodged, avoiding his burning gaze. She put her hand on her chest to push him away, but instead of pushing him away, her wrist was grabbed.

The vibration of his heartbeat was transmitted to her palm through the clothes, silently telling the secret in his heart.

"You..." Nian Susu had no choice but to look him straight in the eyes.

"answer my question."

She felt guilty, "No, I just lied."

Xuan Ji was silent.

She explained: "Mother has been pent up with anger towards sister Qiao Yue for a long time. If I hadn't lied and attributed this farce to a transaction, mother would definitely not let her go. Helping someone to the end, sending a Buddha to the west, anyway, it's just a piece of cake for me."

She also deceived Xuan Ji.