Chapter 150: Walking Side by Side, You and I

While the two were talking inside the room, Zhong Shi’s attention was drawn by Red Tassel’s recent suspicious behavior.

Once Red Tassel entered Qiao Qingyun’s bedchamber, he waited by the door.

Just as the door was opened, Red Tassel scurried out on tiptoe, closed the door behind her, and was about to make her escape.

"Halt," Zhong Shi said in a cold voice, scaring Red Tassel so badly she nearly scrambled up a tree.

Turning around and seeing that it was her own brother, she let out a sigh of relief, patted her small chest, and said, "Brother! What are you doing?"

With a stern expression on his face, Zhong Shi stepped close to Red Tassel and stared at her for a long while. The oppressive aura was almost enough to crush Red Tassel into a meat patty.

Feeling guilty, she lowered her head and twiddled her fingers, her two index fingers circling each other twice. "Don't look at me like that."

"What did you discuss with the Princess?"

"It was... just some girl talk. Surely Brother doesn't need to ask about that, does he?" Red Tassel deliberately threw him off track and changed the subject.

Whenever girl matters were brought up, Zhong Shi would appropriately stop asking questions.

But not this time.

Zhong Shi’s face was dark and unpleasantly gloomy. He took two large strides, brushed past Red Tassel, and dropped a single sentence: "Follow me." With that, he left the doorway.

Resigned to her fate, Red Tassel drooped her head. She had been far too careless today—how on earth had she managed to get caught red-handed by her own brother?

It was too late for regrets now, so she could only trot obediently behind Zhong Shi until they reached the courtyard where he lived.

"Speak."

The man poured a cup of clear tea, looking as though he was prepared for a long battle of attrition with Red Tassel.

This posture terrified Red Tassel. After turning it over in her mind, she thought: *So be it, death is just death!*

Whether she spoke sooner or later, she would have to tell him anyway, lest Qiao Qingyun eventually tell Zhong Shi and make her look like a disloyal sister.

With this thought, Red Tassel immediately sat down across from Zhong Shi and said with a straight face, "The Princess asked me to investigate the zither player, Jian Li. She said he was far too mysterious and wanted to find out what was really going on."

"Oh?"

A flicker of delight crossed Zhong Shi’s eyes.

He had thought Qiao Qingyun was harboring feelings for Jian Li, but it turned out she was merely suspicious.

On the contrary, he had been guarding against Jian Li like a thief all this time.

"Yes, and ever since our first meeting, I also felt that this Jian Li was not simple. No particular reason, just a hunch—the exact same hunch as the Princess. So after investigating, it turned out just as we suspected: every night he goes to a small courtyard heavily guarded and impossible to approach. The slightest disturbance would expose us."

Red Tassel spoke solemnly of the results of her investigation. Zhong Shi nodded without expressing any opinion, as though he had already guessed it.

"You can't be serious, Brother! At least give me some reaction! I've investigated for so long, don't I even deserve a word of praise from you?"

Seeing Zhong Shi remain so calm, Red Tassel could hardly bear it and immediately asked.

"Well done."

Zhong Shi offered a perfunctory compliment, leaving Red Tassel feeling utterly lifeless.

No wonder Zhong Shi had never been able to win over Qiao Qingyun; with such a cold-faced man, even if the two of them weren't brother and sister, there would still be zero possibility between them.

Inside the nunnery.

After returning to the manor, Bu Shenglian had managed to bring back a considerable amount of silver, yet Lord Bu had declared that she could only return home once every three months.

After all, the Bu manor was no longer her true home, and her only hope was for someone else to come and take her away.

Yuan Zaichun had never once come to visit. Waiting day after day inside the nunnery, Bu Shenglian was practically turning into a resentful woman.

"Sister Lian'er, come along, shall we go outside and take a look?"

Lately, Yuexian had been finding ways to get close to Bu Shenglian, intentionally or not, wanting to stick by her side at all hours.

She attended to her every need like a servant girl, terrified that Bu Shenglian might suffer even the slightest grievance.

Wearing the grey robe of a nun, she looked no different from any Buddhist nun, the only distinction being that she was cultivating while keeping her hair.

Noticing Bu Shenglian sitting by the window in a daze, Yuexian immediately hurried over. "Sister Lian'er, is something troubling you?"

"Nothing, I just feel there is no hope for me here. Yuexian, do your parents still let you go home?"

Bu Shenglian could not understand it. As the legitimate eldest daughter, she had always been held in the palm of everyone's hand and cherished like a priceless pearl day in and day out.

Yet now, the people of the Bu manor acted as though they wanted nothing more than to avoid her entirely.

This made her realize how fickle the world truly was. She wondered if she was the only one facing such a fate, or if all nuns in her position shared this destiny.

Hearing Bu Shenglian’s question, Yuexian thought for a moment and replied, "Of course they let me go back. However, because of the nunnery's rules, I can only go home once a month, or when going out to purchase supplies."

"Doesn't your family mind that your husband died? Don't they think you bring bad luck?" Bu Shenglian asked, staring at Yuexian in shock.

Unwittingly, a wave of jealousy welled up from the depths of Bu Shenglian's heart, growing wild enough to almost swallow her reason.

"My husband was in poor health to begin with; I was chosen and sent there to bring good fortune. My parents only have one child, so naturally they wouldn't cast me aside."

Hearing this, Bu Shenglian let out a bitter laugh. Naturally, as the daughter of a high-ranking minister, her father would undoubtedly cast his own daughter out just to save face.

"Sister Lian'er, are you..."

Realizing something only after she began speaking, Yuexian quickly checked herself.

Bu Shenglian shook her head. "I just feel that there is perhaps no way out for me here. What rank official is your father?"

"Hehe, seventh rank," Yuexian replied, looking somewhat embarrassed.

A seventh-rank official was merely a sesame-seed-sized petty official, appearing utterly insignificant especially in front of a prominent young lady like Bu Shenglian.

"There will likely be a Chrysanthemum Banquet in the palace in a few days. Can you enter the palace?"

Thinking of the possibility of encountering Qiao Qingyun at the imperial banquet, Bu Shenglian felt a growing surge of hatred.

Yuexian pondered this. "I should be able to. Although I have been married once, there are still imperial princes looking to take concubines. Even becoming a lowly concubine is acceptable."

"Good. Since that is the case, you and I shall go together."

"Agreed."

The two women struck a chord instantly, though each harbored her own hidden calculations.

Over the past few days, Yuan Zaichun had continuously sent numerous gifts, but due to his heavy workload with state affairs and the endless memorial documents to review, he had simply found no time to visit.

This instead allowed Zhong Shi to peacefully and attentively accompany Qiao Qingyun by her side, racking his brains to bring a smile to her face.

"Princess, your wounds have healed much over the past few days. If you wish to go out, this subordinate can accompany you."

This was the first time Zhong Shi had ever taken the initiative to invite Qiao Qingyun out. When he uttered these words, even Qiao Qingyun was shocked.

"Zhong Shi, what did you say?" The woman excitedly grabbed Zhong Shi's sleeve, her hand even trembling slightly.

"This subordinate said that the Princess's health has improved greatly and you are well enough to go out for a stroll."

"That's wonderful!"

In her excitement, Qiao Qingyun nearly tumbled out of her chair, but fortunately, Zhong Shi was quick-witted and caught her squarely in his arms.