"Among all under heaven, only she is the most real," Song Xiuyuan said, word by word.
The man sighed upon hearing this. "So be it. After all, she has been your obsession for so many years. In this life, you belong only to her. I shall forgive you. But do not take my words lightly; do not use your internal energy again, or I truly cannot save you. You have waited and longed for so many years, and it is finally your turn. You cannot just leave like this. Do you want her to… once again…"
"Never. In this life and all lives to come, she belongs only to me." Song Xiuyuan opened his eyes again, his gaze brilliant and unwavering.
"Then obey me, and I guarantee you won't die," the man said.
"Thank you, Xing Yuan."
The man paused, his gaze flickering slightly. "You finally called my name."
The next morning, early, Xue Xingyue was summoned by a maid attending the Ninth Princess.
Xue Xingyue saw that the Ninth Princess, who had been sad and distressed the night before, was now full of spirit. She looked up at Xue Xingyue and said, "Today, this Princess will go out with her friends to enjoy the flowers. You shall accompany us!"
Could she possibly refuse? But thinking that the Ninth Princess would certainly not agree, she decided not to court trouble. "Yes, Your Highness."
The Ninth Princess nodded. "You know what's good for you."
As they sat in the carriage, Xue Xingyue's heart was in turmoil. Song Xiuyuan's actions yesterday had successfully disturbed her emotions. She had thought that after Jian Nanxiao, she would be fearful. Yet, she found that for Song Xiuyuan's closeness, she felt no aversion at all. Instead, there was a sense of security. She thought she must be abnormal, undoubtedly.
The carriage stopped at the royal villa. As she alighted, the scent of flowers wafted from within.
The Ninth Princess had already disembarked at the front and was conversing with several young ladies who appeared to be of similar age.
She deliberately walked slower, hoping that the Ninth Princess, upon seeing her friends, would momentarily forget her presence. But as she wished, the Ninth Princess looked back and said to her, "Why are you walking so slowly? Do you expect this Princess to wait for you?"
The young ladies, seeing this, could not help but ask the Ninth Princess, "Your Highness, who is this…?"
The Ninth Princess replied, "Of course, she is Brother Xiuyuan's legitimate fiancée."
Suddenly, Xue Xingyue felt sharp gazes directed at her. If eyes could kill, she believed she would have long since perished. She couldn't help but resent Song Xiuyuan in her heart. Even with a human skin mask, he could attract young girls. If his true appearance were revealed, wouldn't everyone's gaze make it impossible for her to move?
However, even with just a few of them now, she felt it difficult to walk.
"Ninth Princess, for someone so vulgar to become the Prime Minister's wife is simply too difficult for the Prime Minister," a young lady dressed in a brocade green dress suddenly said.
"Exactly. How can such a vulgar person be compared to Your Highness? She isn't even fit to carry Your Highness's shoes," another young lady in a water-pink dress chimed in.
The Ninth Princess felt quite pleased hearing this. She looked back at Xue Xingyue, who was still walking slowly, and sneered, "Have you forgotten how to walk?"
Upon hearing this, Xue Xingyue had no choice but to brace herself and walk over. She bowed and said, "Your Highness."
The Ninth Princess let out a cold snort and said no more.
The several young ladies of the Zhao family exchanged glances and understood what was happening.
The young lady in the brocade green dress, with a sarcastic tone, said, "As expected of someone of low status. Do you not know that one must kneel to greet Your Highness?" As she spoke, she kicked towards Xue Xingyue's knee.
Xue Xingyue had already seen it coming, but she knew that if she didn't let this green-clad lady vent her anger, she would continue to cause trouble for her. However, did she think she was easy to bully?
Therefore, she did not dodge and took the kick. Fortunately, they were all young ladies of the Zhao family and had not truly trained. Even if they had, it would only be superficial. However, as she was kneeling, she feigned surprise and flailed her arms, grabbing the green-clad lady and pulling her fiercely. The lady fell to the ground, and the green-clad lady did not gain any advantage.
The green-clad lady never imagined that in her attempt to vent the Ninth Princess's anger, she would end up implicating herself.
A wail was heard as Xue Xingyue sat down squarely on the green-clad lady, who had fallen before her.
Xue Xingyue wobbled a couple of times. The green-clad lady, now beneath her, felt her vision swim.
With the help of the others, the green-clad lady's hair was disheveled, and her clothes were in disarray.
Although they were within the royal villa, the entrance was guarded by royal guards. Such disarray was most shameful.
The green-clad lady clutched her face, shamefully curling up in the arms of her attending maid.
The several young ladies of the Zhao family did not expect it to turn out this way. They had tacitly agreed with the green-clad lady's actions, but they never imagined that while the culprit had fallen, her hair ornaments were not disheveled, nor were her clothes out of place.
"You… you did that on purpose," the green-clad lady said angrily after tidying herself up.
Xue Xingyue brushed the dust off her clothes and looked at the green-clad lady. "This humble subject does not understand what the young lady is saying. Did the young lady not suddenly kick this humble subject? Feeling as though she was about to fall, this humble subject had no choice but to desperately grab the nearest thing. Is there something wrong with that?"
"You…" The green-clad lady bit her lip and glared fiercely at Xue Xingyue.
Xue Xingyue did not look at the green-clad lady. Instead, she turned and bowed to the Ninth Princess. "Your Highness, this young lady seems displeased with this humble subject. Knowing that this humble subject is accompanying Your Highness, she dares to act against this humble subject in front of Your Highness. This clearly disregards Your Highness's authority and puts Your Highness's dignity in jeopardy."