Peach Blossom.

Tao Ye was startled. She could tell it was Wang Jing's voice outside the door. She quickly signaled Chen Ji to stop talking and put away the mirror.

She tiptoed to the door and glanced at Wang Jing through the crack. He was standing there leaning on a crutch, looking calm, and didn't look like he had heard her speak.

Tao Ye then opened the door, and as soon as it opened, she heard the sound of a bell.

Wang Jing also heard the bell ringing. They looked in the direction of the sound and found a very thin string hanging on the door. The string was connected to the door of the corner room next to it, and a bell was tied to the end of the string.

Such a thin line is hard to see if you don't look carefully in the dark and windy night.

Before the two of them could say a word, Qing Xing had already hurried out of the corner room, wearing her clothes, and saw Wang Jing: "I'm afraid it's inappropriate for the prince consort to visit Miss Man so late at night, right?"

Wang Jing ignored Qing Xing and only looked at Tao Ye: "There were many people around during the day, so I didn't have time to ask, how did you get such a long cut on your face?"

Tao Ye was touched when she heard this. Since she had scratched her face in front of the empress dowager, everyone should have seen it, but no one asked about it, not even Chen Ji, so she almost forgot that Wang Jing was the first person to care about this matter.

However, she did not dare to express her feelings easily because the surveillance camera sent by the Queen Mother was right next to her.

She thought that Wang Jing was the apple of the princess' eye and could of course ignore Qing Xing's existence, but she couldn't. It was the Queen Mother who decided that she could return to the Wang family this time. If Qing Xing sued her for misconduct, she would probably be kicked out again tomorrow.

Therefore, she treated Wang Jing very politely with a little smile: "Thank you for your concern, second brother. I accidentally fell when I was holding a bowl two days ago, and my face happened to fall on the broken porcelain pieces. I am much better now. Qingxing is right. It's late at night. Second brother should go back to accompany the princess!"

"It's so rare to see you smile again." Wang Jing stared at Tao Ye's face and smiled slightly.

This was the first time Tao Ye saw Wang Jing smile, and she found that he looked so handsome when he smiled.

In fact, when she first met Wang Jing at Chen's house, she thought he was more handsome and charming than any other man she had met since she came to this era. However, at that time, she always silently labeled him as a "male mistress" in her heart and was unwilling to have a good impression of him.

Later, every time she saw Wang Jing, he always looked unkempt and sloppy, no longer having the spirit and energy he had when they first met. But Tao Ye's impression of him became better and better.

She really wanted to know whether Wang Jing had ever been a mistress before, and whether he had had an affair with the princess before marrying her.

"Have you ever..." Tao Ye looked at Wang Jing and almost asked, but she immediately thought of Qing Xing standing next to her. How could she ask such a question? She was afraid that she would never have the opportunity to talk to Wang Jing alone.

"No." Wang Jing looked at Tao Ye and smiled gently again.

Tao Ye's heart was beating fast. She was very surprised that Wang Jing actually answered the question she didn't ask. How could he know what question she was asking?

Wang Jing seemed very happy, obviously because Tao Ye asked this question. He added a few more words: "It didn't happen before, it doesn't happen now, and it will never happen in the future."

After hearing these words, Tao Ye was sure that he had not misunderstood her question. She suddenly felt very touched. Could this be the legendary "telepathy"? But she and Wang Jing had only met a few times, and they had said even less to each other, and all of them were in front of others...

Qingxing stood aside, listening in confusion. Although she could understand every word the two people said, she couldn't understand when they put them together.

Tao Ye seemed to want to say something else, but before she opened her mouth, she heard Qing Xing cough.

She knew that Qingxing was reminding her, so she had no choice but to say goodbye to Wang Jing: "I...I have to go back to the house, Yu'er is alone in the house!"

Wang Jing smiled and nodded.

Tao Ye turned around and went back to her room, slowly closing the door. When the door was about to close, she heard the sound of a sword being unsheathed. She looked up and saw that Wang Jing had thrown away his walking stick and swung his sword to cut the string that tied the bell. Qing Xing screamed in fright.

Zhou Yunniang's voice came from the main room in the courtyard: "Who's outside?"

Tao Ye opened the door slightly and looked out through the crack.

Wang Jing ignored Zhou Yunniang's voice. He returned to his usual indifferent expression, took two steps forward, picked up the crutch on the ground, and then limped away with the crutch.

During this session, Tao Ye realized a problem: Wang Jing could walk normally without crutches.

She suddenly remembered that when the Chen family caught fire, when she was confused due to lack of oxygen, she seemed to have seen Wang Jing without crutches. She thought it was just an illusion at the time.

She remembered what Queen Mother Meng said, "There was a fire at the Chen family last night. Thanks to the princess who sent people to put out the fire, Mantangjiao was able to survive." Of course, she thought it was impossible for the princess to send people to put out the fire, but the queen mother would not talk nonsense without any reason, so there must have been someone from the princess's mansion who participated in the firefighting that night. Could that person be Wang Jing?

That night, Tao Ye couldn't sleep again. She wanted to know too many things, such as whether Wang Jing was lame or not? When did his legs become damaged? If he loved Mantang Jiao so much, why did he write a divorce letter? He said he would never have feelings for the princess, so why did he accept this marriage?

However, she had nowhere to ask because Mantangjiao should know the answers to these questions.

The next morning, it drizzled. Tao Ye felt that rainy days were perfect for sleeping. Moreover, she had been sleepless for most of the night and really wanted to sleep a little longer!

But Yu'er has to get up early.

In order to be a competent mother, Tao Ye had to reluctantly get up to take care of Yu'er's washing and breakfast. Only when Yu'er was sent to the front yard of the mansion by the maid Xiuping to go to school did Tao Ye return to bed and prepare to take a happy nap.

Unexpectedly, just as she lay down, Qingxing's voice came from outside the door: "Miss Man, the madam is calling you over!"

Tao Ye was feeling depressed. She had no choice but to get dressed and get out of bed. Holding an umbrella, she brought Qing Xing to the main hall of the west courtyard.

As soon as she entered the room, Tao Ye saw Xiao Rui, Zhou Yunniang, and Princess Si Yao sitting in an orderly manner in the middle and on the sides of the main hall. The three of them, the mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law, looked as if they had formed a special interrogation team, especially Xiao Rui, who looked solemn and dignified.

"Mother, eldest sister-in-law, second sister-in-law." Tao Ye bent her knees slightly to show politeness.

Zhou Yunniang smiled and nodded in return, while Si Yao glanced at Tao Ye with disdain.

There was no trace of humanity on Xiao Rui's face. She glanced at Tao Ye and gave only one command: "Kneel down!"

Nani?

Tao Ye was stunned.

You know, Tao Ye came from a civilized modern world, how could she kneel down to anyone casually? Although she had kneeled before the emperor, the empress dowager, and Chen Ji a long time ago, it was because she had something to ask of someone that was worth kneeling for. What was going on now?

Tao Ye raised her head and looked at Xiao Rui: "May I ask, mother, what did I do wrong to have to kneel down?"

"You still have the nerve to ask? Don't you know what you did last night?" Xiao Rui said viciously.

Tao Ye knew without guessing that Qing Xing must have told the princess about Wang Jing's visit to her last night, and then the princess reported it to Xiao Rui.

Even because of this incident, Tao Ye really couldn't figure out how big of a problem it was: "I just said a few polite words to my second brother, how come I lost face?"

"You said a few polite words?" Si Yao continued, with a sarcastic laugh: "And your words were full of hidden meanings, your eyes were full of affection, brother and sister, I wish I could sing "A Full Moon Over Flowers"!"

"A Beautiful Moon Over Flowers" was a play performed by the troupe invited by the Wang family yesterday when they held a banquet to celebrate their adopted daughter.

Tao Ye also sneered: "Even if it's the perfect time, at least I didn't have a second spring before the divorce!"

This sentence immediately angered Si Yao. She rushed to Tao Ye in two or three steps and stretched out her hand to pinch Tao Ye's neck: "Bitch! I will tear your mouth apart!"

Si Yao had been spoiled since childhood, so how could she possibly be as strong as Tao Ye? Before she could even grab Tao Ye's neck, Tao Ye pushed her chest hard and she fell back a few steps. If the maids hadn't supported her, she would have almost fallen to the ground.

Zhou Yu Niang hurried over to support Si Yao and advised, "Princess, calm down. Your health is the most important thing. Your mother will make the decision on this matter."

Si Yao gave his mother-in-law and eldest sister-in-law some face and stopped pestering Tao Ye. However, he looked arrogant and said, "If mother can't give me justice today, I won't obey!"

Xiao Rui was still sitting upright in the middle of the hall, and once again gave Tao Ye an order: "Go and kneel outside the door, and keep kneeling until the princess calms down!"

Tao Ye was also filled with anger and could no longer care about anything else: "Even if meeting late at night was wrong, it was Wang Jing who was wrong first. Why don't you ask him for the crime? Madam Situ is so good at managing the household, why can't she control her own son? The princess has the ability to marry in, why can't she control her own man? One of you only wants to climb up the social ladder, and the other only wants to satisfy his own desires. You two are indeed a family!"

Xiao Rui also got angry: "There is no one in my Wang family who is so shameless and disrespectful to his elders! If you still refuse to obey, get out of the Wang family!"

At this moment, Tao Ye really wanted to leave.

However, she thought of Yu'er and her words in her dream, "Mother... don't leave me..."

Outside the door, the drizzle had turned into heavy rain.

Tao Ye silently walked out of the main hall, went down the steps, walked into the rain, and knelt on the hard and cold bluestone floor.

Then, Xiao Rui and Zhou Yunniang began to deal with the trivial household chores in the mansion. Just like every other day, servants from the mansion kept entering the main hall to report on recent purchases, lists of gifts, the increase or decrease of servants, etc.

Almost every servant who came and went would glance at Tao Ye when they entered or left, with eyes that could be filled with surprise, pity, or ridicule, and each one made Tao Ye feel uncomfortable.

Si Yao had nothing to do, so he walked back and forth in the main hall and under the eaves, admiring the peach leaves that were soaked like drowned rats.

At noon, lunch was served in the hall. The mother-in-law, daughter-in-law and others ate at the same table. The aroma of the food wafted into Tao Ye's nose.

Tao Ye was very hungry, but what was more uncomfortable than hunger was the cold and the pain in her knees. After kneeling for half a day, her whole body was stiff and she didn't know how long she would have to kneel.

Xiao Rui and Zhou Yunniang both ate very slowly, and occasionally glanced at Tao Ye as if with some pity in their hearts, but then looked at the princess and did not dare to say a word.

After every few bites, Si Yao would look at Tao Ye, as if this would help him improve his appetite.

"I'm afraid Sister Gillian is hungry too. Although you are punished, you still have to eat!" Si Yao had a smile on his face. As he spoke, he casually threw a half-eaten bone in front of Tao Ye, just like feeding a dog.

Tao Ye clenched her fists and really wanted to stand up and beat up that princess!

At this time, a small figure passed by Tao Ye and ran into the main hall. Tao Ye looked up and saw that it was Yu'er.

Before Tao Ye could figure out why Yu'er came, she saw Yu'er had already walked to the dining table. Without saying a word, she directly picked up a pot of steaming chicken soup and covered Princess Si Yao's head with it.