Chapter 61

Chapter 61: How Could She Come Back?

“Heir’s Wife! Heir Apparent!” A shout suddenly came from outside.

Madam Cui’s dreamy expression snapped back to reality, and irritation flashed across her face. “What kind of behavior is that, shouting like this?”

“Madam!” A maid rushed in, panting. When the maid saw Qi Shu Xian, the maid stopped abruptly and spoke in a rush, “Heir Apparent! Please go see. Heir’s Wife has returned!”

“Really?” Qi Shu Xian immediately got up and headed out.

Madam Cui also stood up sharply. “How could she have come back?”

Her words made the maid freeze. The maid looked at her in surprise and only then noticed how awful Madam Cui’s expression was. Heir’s Wife had returned, so why did Madam seem unhappy?

Madam Cui could not be bothered with a servant. In the shadows of the room, her face looked dark and grim. “Come. Let’s go out and see.”

In Wei Yang Courtyard, Meng Yang had also just received the news.

“What?” Meng Yang blurted out. “Who did you say came back?”

How was that possible? Qi Shu Xian had not found Sheng Zhi Wan. How could Sheng Zhi Wan return on her own? Zhang Da Hu would never have let Sheng Zhi Wan go.

Unless… unless Sheng Zhi Wan had done something to make those mountain bandits release her.

Meng Yang’s expression shifted again and again.

Qing Xing bit her lip hard. Meng Yang’s body might have come from a farm girl, and though it looked slender, it was strong. Qing Xing felt like her bones were about to be crushed. But when Qing Xing saw the look in Meng Yang’s eyes, Qing Xing swallowed the words she had been about to say.

Only after a long while did Meng Yang let go. The familiar gentle smile returned to her face. “It is a good thing that Heir’s Wife returned. Qing Xing, let us also go out to welcome her.”

Outside the Duke Residence, the area was crowded.

Unlike the previous dynasty, land in the capital was precious. Ever since the Late Emperor had ordered officials not to occupy the streets, even outside the Duke Residence there were many street vendors setting up stalls and shouting. On top of that, there were passersby who had rushed over specifically to watch the excitement.

So the moment Sheng Zhi Wan appeared, countless gazes fell on her, open and hidden alike.

Sheng Zhi Wan tugged at the corner of her lips. Calmly, she held Ting Lan’s hand and stepped down from the carriage.

Soft gasps and quiet sounds of amazement rose.

“That is Princess Qing Ning, isn’t she? Such a beauty, but sadly…”

The Duke Residence gates suddenly swung open.

Qi Shu Xian, Madam Cui, and Meng Yang hurried out. Behind them, each brought maids and nannies. The threshold of the Duke Residence was high, and as they looked down from above, it did not seem like they were welcoming Sheng Zhi Wan. Instead, it looked like an interrogation.

Qi Shu Xian’s eyes landed on Sheng Zhi Wan first.

Her clothes were clean and neat. Her cheeks looked rosy, her hair was arranged without a strand out of place, and she looked bright and dazzling under the sunlight. She did not look like someone who had been kidnapped at all.

“Where did you go yesterday, exactly?!” Qi Shu Xian stepped forward.

Sheng Zhi Wan remembered what Shang Xing Yu had said, that Qi Shu Xian had rushed out of the city to search the moment he learned she was missing. Yet when she saw how worn and haggard he looked, she only felt irony.

“Didn’t Heir Apparent already know?” Sheng Zhi Wan replied lightly. “I naturally went to Chao Ming Temple to fulfill a vow for Mother.”

“Then why did the bodyguards say that? How did you come back?” Qi Shu Xian pressed down his anger.

He had climbed into the mountains despite his cold poison and had not slept all night while searching for her. Yet Sheng Zhi Wan returned as if nothing had happened. From her expression, she showed no intention of explaining herself at all.

“Princess,” Meng Yang spoke, biting her lip as worry filled her eyes, “last night, as soon as Heir Apparent had just fallen asleep, he heard from the attendants that you were taken by mountain bandits on the road to Chao Ming Temple. He did not sleep for a moment after that and went straight into the mountains to search for you. It is good that you returned, but… you should still explain what happened, so Heir Apparent and all of us can feel at ease.”

The way Meng Yang spoke carried meaning.

First, it let Sheng Zhi Wan know that Qi Shu Xian had slept in Meng Yang’s courtyard last night.

Second, it pointed out again, in front of so many outsiders, that Sheng Zhi Wan truly had been taken by mountain bandits for an entire night.

Sure enough, the moment Meng Yang finished speaking, murmurs rose from the crowd.

“Only a remarkable woman like Lady Meng deserves to be with Qi Shi zi. The Princess has lost her purity…”

Sheng Zhi Wan narrowed her eyes at Meng Yang. She looked like she was smiling and not smiling at the same time. “Miss Meng seems to hope I was kidnapped. On the way back, I heard people saying I was taken by mountain bandits. I also heard them say I should step aside for Miss Meng, since you and Heir Apparent are a perfect match!”

“I… I wouldn’t dare.” Meng Yang immediately shrank back behind Qi Shu Xian like a frightened rabbit. “This commoner girl did not mean that.”

When the commoner outside the gates heard Sheng Zhi Wan’s words, their gazes instinctively shifted to Meng Yang.

Miss Meng? Could it be… she was the Lady Meng from the popular stories, the so-called remarkable woman?

In an instant, all those curious, searching stares moved from Sheng Zhi Wan to Meng Yang.

Then, without exception, disappointment rose in everyone’s hearts.

The person before them differed far too much from the remarkable woman they had imagined. The stories claimed Lady Meng was gentle and kind, brave and clever, and extremely beautiful. Leaving aside the first two, since they could not tell at a glance, the last point alone was already nothing like what they had pictured.

It was not that Meng Yang was ugly. It was that the stories had described her too perfectly. Now that people saw her in person, the comparison was simply…

And besides, Sheng Zhi Wan stood in front. Next to Sheng Zhi Wan, it was like a pearl beside a fish’s eye, and they had not even noticed Meng Yang earlier.

“What use is being pretty?” a man in the crowd said with a curl of his lip as his eyes kept drifting to Meng Yang. “When you marry, you marry someone virtuous. A woman like Lady Meng, gentle and able to help Heir Apparent on the battlefield, is what a man truly needs!”

Compared to Sheng Zhi Wan’s dazzling beauty that felt almost painful to look at, the man still preferred someone like Meng Yang. At least… she could still be someone he could fantasize about.

“Exactly. Lady Meng is kind-hearted and capable. She truly thinks about us poor commoner,” another person chimed in.

As Meng Yang listened, her expression stiffened.

She knew it was true that she could not compare to Sheng Zhi Wan in appearance, but having it said out loud still made her feel ashamed.