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Chapter 67
The Consort of King Ning followed behind, also hearing the Crown Prince's address for Ye Chan.
Her expression instantly froze.
Murong Yuan noticed the disturbance from the mother and daughter, and his smile deepened at the corners of his lips, "Oh? Ye Chan is here too? Why don't you come over and greet your Third Prince?"
Ye Chan did not expect the Crown Prince to call her name so quickly. She clutched the handkerchief in her hand and immediately regained the elegant and refined demeanor of a noble lady, taking small lotus steps toward him and slightly bending her knees.
"This servant greets the Crown Prince and the Third Royal Highness."
"It's so cold out, why are you wearing so little?"
Murong Yuan chided affectionately, then jumped off his horse and casually removed his fur-lined cloak to drape over her shoulders.
After doing so, he turned his gaze back to the closed carriage curtain, "Allow me to introduce to the Third Prince, this is my fiancée, Princess Ye Chan of King Ning's Mansion."
At this point, Murong Yuan revealed a hint of regret on his face, "I must sincerely apologize, this prince had almost forgotten that Ye Chan was once the Third Prince's fiancée."
Every word was a provocation toward the person inside the carriage.
Su Hai frowned with displeasure.
Qin Fengmian remained silent, with an expression of waiting to see the show.
However, there was still no movement from inside the carriage.
With so many people watching, Murong Yuan was losing face and growing impatient, "This prince has waited so long, is the Third Prince not going to show his face?"
Not long after he finished speaking, the tightly closed curtain finally stirred, and a small head peeked out.
It was Jiang Xiaoxiao.
Jiang Xiaoxiao looked at Murong Yuan with sincerity, "Big brother, you've been babbling on for so long, are you thirsty? I have water in the carriage."
Not expecting it to be a young lady in the carriage, Murong Yuan's face suddenly darkened, "Who are you? Where is Murong Xun?"
"He's sleeping," Jiang Xiaoxiao rested her chin on her hand, "I'm his fiancée, was there something you needed?"
Fiancée!
Murong Xun had just been stripped of his engagement, so where did this fiancée come from?
Ye Chan looked at Jiang Xiaoxiao with mixed feelings.
Half an hour ago, she had felt something in her heart from the fleeting glimpse of the man in the carriage.
But now the man had transformed into the disgraced Third Prince Murong Xun, the very one whose engagement she had recently annulled by imperial decree.
More importantly, he had actually acquired a fiancée!
Ye Chan did not believe that a man of such elegant bearing could have settled such an important matter of his life in such a short time.
The Third Prince must have found this girl to provoke her out of displeasure from having his engagement broken off.
With this realization, the Third Prince's earlier disparaging remarks about King Ning's Mansion and herself on the official road made sense.
Once she understood the key point, Ye Chan secretly felt relieved instead. She looked at Jiang Xiaoxiao with a warm and kind gaze, "Miss, since the Third Royal Highness is resting, we won't disturb him then."
She turned toward Murong Yuan, "Crown Prince, it's cold outside, please take care of yourself and return to the palace first?"
This gracious and understanding manner greatly pleased Murong Yuan, sweeping away his previous discontent. The corners of his lips curved upward, "Very well, I'll follow Ye Chan's advice."
He added, "There will be a palace banquet tonight, Ye Chan, remember to prepare."
"This servant understands."
Before leaving, Ye Chan glanced at Jiang Xiaoxiao again, confirming that this girl was indeed simple-minded. Her smile grew even warmer.
If not for the many witnesses that this was their first meeting today, one might mistake them for close sisters who had known each other for years.
Ye Chan returned to the carriage, and the Consort of King Ning hurried to pay respects to the Crown Prince before returning and softly asking her daughter, "Ye Chan, what's the situation?"
Ye Chan said, "The person we encountered on the official road earlier was the Third Prince."
The Consort of King Ning had already learned this from the Crown Prince.
However, hearing Ye Chan say it again, she still felt uneasy.
"Then why does it seem like... he already has a fiancée?"
If it was someone he acquired after the broken engagement, that would be one thing, but if it was before the broken engagement, then where does this prince place the face of King Ning's Mansion?
Ye Chan laughed lightly, "It's nothing more than him being unable to accept having his engagement to me broken off, so he deliberately found someone to act as a shield to provoke me."
The Consort of King Ning laughed, "I knew it, my Ye Chan is the number one beauty in Yanjing, what man wouldn't want to kneel before your crimson skirt? That Third Prince had the hope of marrying you, but had his engagement broken off before the entire court. It's no wonder he's vexed."
Ye Chan smiled, always extremely confident in her appearance.
The girl the Third Prince found was passable in looks but lacked intelligence, posing no threat to her whatsoever.
Ye Chan had been doted on since childhood, reveling in being the center of attention.
Even if the Third Prince was someone she rejected, his thoughts could only linger on her.
Murong Yuan had put on such a grand display earlier, yet Murong Xun never even left the carriage.
It was like punching cotton - he had frustrations with nowhere to vent, so he could only return to the palace with a sullen expression.
The carriage procession set off again.
Jiang Xiaoxiao retracted her head into the carriage.
Murong Xun had been awake the whole time and was now looking at her with an amused expression.
Jiang Xiaoxiao was puzzled, "What's wrong?"
Murong Xun raised his eyebrows, "Is that how you introduce yourself to others when I'm not around?"
Jiang Xiaoxiao was still puzzled, "Is there a problem?"
"No problem," Murong Xun said, "It's quite good."
Jiang Xiaoxiao recalled what Murong Yuan had said earlier, "That Crown Prince or whatever, he said there will be a palace banquet tonight, specially arranged to welcome you?"
"Probably."
"Does that mean you'll be drinking?"
Murong Xun was taken aback, thinking Jiang Xiaoxiao was concerned about him not being able to drink.
"I'll try to drink less."
"Either way, just stay a little sober," Jiang Xiaoxiao said. "Last time you got drunk, you kept insisting I kiss you, but you fell asleep halfway through after I listened to you. Then afterwards, you didn't even remember anything. If you forget again this time, wouldn't that mean I kissed you for nothing?"
Murong Xun: "..."
Qin Fengmian had good hearing and basically overheard the conversation inside the carriage.
In his entire life, this was the first time he had encountered such an amusing young lady.
Her frank disposition truly did not let down the Profound Sect at all.
Thinking of Murong Xun's silent expression, Qin Fengmian couldn't hold it in and informed Su Hai that he was going to relieve himself before riding off to laugh.
Murong Xun did not have his own palace quarters in the imperial city, nor did he have a mansion outside.
Murong Yuan had previously promised Emperor Hongtai that he would personally look after Murong Xun.
Since the teacher was still waiting, he simply took Murong Xun directly toward the Palace of the Crown Prince.
As for Dean Gu's couple and Yang Ershun, they returned to the Gu family's mansion in Yanjing City.
The caravan halted before the Xuanwu Gate, where they needed to transfer to sedan chairs to proceed to the Crown Prince's Palace.
After dismounting, Murong Yuan looked towards Su Hai and Qin Fengmian, "Gentlemen, I have already informed my royal father, and will personally look after the Third Prince. You need not accompany us any further."
Qin Fengmian didn't mind, as the person he was supposed to receive was Jiang Xiaoxiao, not the Third Prince. As long as he ensured she had arrived in Yanjing City, his task was complete.
Su Hai was about to say something, but Murong Yuan raised an eyebrow at him, "Commander Su, the person has been received. Aren't you going to report back to my royal father?"
Not far away, Jiang Xiaoxiao saw this scene and whispered to Xie Miao, "It seems the Crown Prince deliberately sent them away."
Xie Miao nodded, "If there are no unexpected incidents, there will be someone waiting for me at the Crown Prince's Palace."
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