"This comb... where did it come from?" Pei Luoan inserted the incense in his hand into the incense burner in front of him, then his face changed and his gentle eyes turned cold.
"I will go and ask now." The eunuch said hurriedly, turned around and went out, inviting the two Taoist nuns guarding outside the door in.
"Where did this come from?" Pei Luoan picked up the comb, examined it carefully, and asked.
The comb looked familiar because he was the one who had it custom-made and he was the one who had the rubies inlaid on it. He was also the one who delivered it to Ji Hanyue.
Ji Hanyue liked it very much.
Although he would go to Ji Hanyue's boudoir in Ling'anbo's mansion from time to time, he would just sit there and not pay much attention to the things on her dressing table. At most, he would play her piano, look at some of her old music scores, sit quietly for a while, and think about some old stories.
The dressing table was the place he paid the least attention to.
"It was a woman, wearing coarse cloth, who said she was the maid of the Crown Princess... She wanted to pay respects outside. Seeing that she was sincere and crying sadly, I allowed her to pay respects outside. After that, she left, leaving behind only this comb. I thought it was the Crown Princess's comb, so I placed it in front of the spirit tablet."
The Taoist nun explained.
Pei Luoan fell silent. He almost immediately guessed that it was Xie Feng.
Ji Hanyue brought quite a few people into the Eastern Palace. Later, the dowry was returned, but most of the people who came with her as dowry followed Ji Youran.
She was Ji Hanyue's maid, but the only one who had the courage to wear coarse clothes and come to pay tribute to her was Xiefeng.
He hadn't seen this maid for a while. Originally, he wanted to keep her as his roommate for Ji Hanyue's sake. However, this maid didn't look as smart and clever as she was when she followed Ji Hanyue. Instead, she seemed to be particularly compatible with Ji Youran.
Pei Luoan felt inexplicably uncomfortable. In the past, he could talk more about Ji Hanyue when he called her over, but later on, he seemed to be less and less willing to talk to her. Now that he thought about it, it had indeed been a while since they last saw each other.
He nodded, asked no more questions, put the comb into his sleeve, turned and left.
Two Taoist nuns respectfully escorted him to the door.
Pei Luoan was originally going back to the study, but halfway through, he touched the comb in his sleeve and changed direction.
"Miss, the Crown Prince is here!" Mingxin was just about to go out. She saw a few people coming from afar and hurriedly turned around to report.
Xie Feng was overjoyed and came out to greet him excitedly. In the past few days, she had been wearing coarse clothes, fearing that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince would come over suddenly.
"Your servant greets His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!" When Pei Luoan entered the room, Xie Feng had already come out to greet him and knelt on the ground together with Mingxin.
"Get up!" Pei Luoan said lightly and walked into the house.
This yard is a bit remote and not very big, but at least it is a separate courtyard, which was something Pei Luoan had specifically instructed before.
Originally, Xie Feng lived in Ji Youran's house, in one of Ji Youran's rooms.
"Where did this come from?" Sitting down on the stool, Pei Luoan directly stated his purpose and took out the comb from his sleeve.
Xie Feng walked in, knelt down again with a plop, and said in a trembling voice: "This... This belongs to the Crown Princess."
"I know it belongs to the Crown Princess, but where did you get it from?" Pei Luoan's eyes were fixed on
Staring at Xiefeng, looking for changes in her face.
Xie Feng's eyes were red, and his voice was still trembling: "This is... given to me by the Crown Princess."
"Why did the Crown Princess give you this comb?" Pei Luoan didn't believe it. This comb was given to Ji Hanyue by him. Ji Hanyue liked it very much and said that she would always use it in the future, even if she married into the Eastern Palace in the future.
A lot of things happened that night, and he didn't think about such trivial things anymore. But when he saw the comb, he immediately remembered it. He held the comb in his hand and his eyes turned cold.
If there was even a hint of untruth in what this maid said, he would kill her!
"Before getting into the sedan chair, the Crown Princess asked me to bring it with me. It wasn't given to me... She said I would use it when I got to the Eastern Palace. When I was dressing up before, the Crown Princess used this comb... I originally wanted to use it after I got to the Eastern Palace, but later... later... it has been in my hands ever since. I've been dreaming about the Crown Princess every night these days. She..."
Xiefeng cried.
"How is she?" Pei Luoan didn't realize that there was a hint of urgency in his voice.
“The Crown Princess… only asked me for this comb…” Xie Feng burst into tears, covering her face and sobbing, “I… so I ran over secretly, paid my respects to the Crown Princess, and then… I left this comb there, hoping it could be placed before her spirit.”
Xie Feng cried sadly.
She has thought it through clearly in the past few days. If she continues to follow Concubine Ji, it will probably be a dead end in the end. Mingxin is right. Her original master was the Crown Princess. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince obviously still has feelings for her. Concubine Ji is no longer the Miss Ji who got everything she wanted.
At that time, Miss Ji said that she would get the position of Crown Princess.
But now, she couldn't even keep her position as a concubine, and the new Crown Princess was about to take birth, and there would inevitably be a conflict with the concubine at that time.
If she wanted to protect herself, she had to start with the former Crown Princess.
"She... just wants a comb?" Pei Luoan looked up into the air with a dull look in his eyes, his fingers tightly clenching the comb.
It felt as if something was tugging at my heart.
Why... just a comb? Why... not come to my dream, where she can ask for more and I can give her more.
"The Crown Princess... only wants a comb, nothing else... Maybe... Maybe she is always thinking about His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, this comb... was made by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince for the Crown Princess."
Xie Feng said while wiping away tears.
"She...she still misses me?" Pei Luoan's voice became anxious, and his eyes fell on Xie Feng's face, as if he wanted to get an answer from her.
"I... I think so. Otherwise, why doesn't the Crown Princess want anything else but a comb?" Xie Feng was a little panicked. She glanced at Mingyu who was kneeling on the side. She saw that although she looked panicked, she nodded to her. She immediately suppressed the fear in her heart and said with clenched teeth.
Mingxin was right. If he wanted to survive now, he had to start from this aspect.
Since the Crown Prince is willing to talk about the Crown Princess, it means that he has feelings for her. She took the wrong path before, thinking that she could climb to the top by relying solely on Concubine Ji.
This road has to follow behind the Crown Princess, and only the Crown Princess can make His Royal Highness the Crown Prince remember the old times.
"Will she... forgive me?" Pei Luoan's expression seemed to be neither smiling nor crying, with a bit of sadness, and his voice was very low, almost talking to himself.
But the room was very quiet, with only his voice, so how could others not hear it
Mingxin panicked subconsciously and lowered her head hastily. She always felt that there was something else behind the words, as if it was something she shouldn't hear. Now she dared not move, for fear that the prince would notice her.
“Your Highness, the Crown Princess is gentle and dignified by nature... and she is wholeheartedly devoted to Your Highness, so how could she hate Your Highness?” Xie Feng cried.
Some things were done by her and Ji Youran together, but at this time her interests were different from Ji Youran's, so naturally she would not help Ji Youran to conceal them.
"She... is she devoted to me?" Pei Luoan whispered, lowering his head with an unclear expression on his face.
"The Crown Princess is naturally devoted to you. Only heaven can tell the Crown Princess's feelings for you. How could she not be devoted to you?" Xie Feng cried.
"Then... one day, she and King Jing were together... leaning against each other and talking, what did that mean?" Pei Luoan murmured, looking up at Xie Feng with cold eyes, as if the Xie Feng in front of him was Ji Hanyue from the past. He didn't ask this question at that time, nor did he ask it later, but it has always been on his mind.
He actually saw Ji Hanyue and Pei Yusheng talking with their heads leaning against each other, talking openly in the pavilion, regardless of the difference between men and women, regardless of the relationship between the two people, they actually... actually dared to whisper together. Later, he also hinted that he disliked Pei Yusheng.
Ji Hanyue actually advised me to get along well with Pei Yusheng!
Sure enough, Ji Hanyue and Pei Yusheng are having an affair!
He squeezed the comb in his hand so hard that the body of the violin on the comb was almost broken, and his eyes were bloodshot.
“The Crown Princess and His Royal Highness Prince Jing? This… How is this possible… When do you say I will explain it to you?” Xie Feng had never dared to say this before.
The concubine had a part in that matter, and so did she. If it weren't for the tea she brought, the Crown Princess would not have fainted and fallen asleep in the pavilion. As for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, he was brought here by Concubine Ji.
Now that her interests are different from those of Concubine Ji, don't blame her for telling the truth about what happened back then to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.
"It was in the pavilion, that day... King Jing came over, and I arrived a little later... I happened to see the two of them..." Pei Luoan said gritting his teeth. He still feels angry when he thinks about it now.
Pei Yusheng had mentioned Ji Hanyue's good points in front of him several times. At that time, he was very proud. Compared with Liu Jingyu, Ji Hanyue was indeed much better and had a strong background. Pei Yusheng must have been envious. However, he did not expect that the two of them would actually have an ambiguous relationship, and also... and also...
How could he, a prince, put his face aside? How could he endure this humiliation
"In the pavilion, His Royal Highness Prince Jing is here... The Crown Princess is here too?" Xie Feng pretended to be thinking, and suddenly realized, "Is His Royal Highness the Crown Prince talking about the incident in which His Royal Highness Prince Jing and the Crown Princess were framed and fell asleep in the pavilion? Did His Royal Highness the Crown Prince come that day as well? I was so focused on taking care of the Crown Princess that I didn't notice you were here!"