As everyone cheered, a black-shrouded prison carriage slowly passed by the crowd, heading towards the imperial palace.
No one knew what was inside the prison carriage. Hearing the cheers outside, it struggled desperately, but only the clanking of chains could be heard, making it impossible to distinguish whether the carriage contained a person or a ferocious beast.
Xiao Man turned her head as if sensing something, but only caught a fleeting glimpse. In Bianjing, prison carriages covered with black cloth were quite common. Sometimes, the yamen would adopt this method of transporting prisoners to prevent anyone from attempting a jailbreak or the perpetrators from discovering their associates had been apprehended, thus silencing them.
After Yelü Heng and his entourage finished their punishment, Xiao Man had them escorted back to the envoys' palace. Her gaze then turned towards the imperial palace. What was being transported into the imperial palace?
"Miss."
"Go and find out what was being transported directly into the imperial palace," Xiao Man whispered her instructions. "Investigate carefully."
"Yes, Miss," Ying Xue responded. "Miss, are you returning to the mansion to bandage your wounds first, or are you going to the Hundred Flowers Pavilion first?"
"Let's go to the Hundred Flowers Pavilion to bandage the wound," Xiao Man said slowly. "Otherwise, Mo Han will blame me again for not taking care of myself."
"You knew Young Master Wen would worry, yet you still used your hand to block it," Ying Xue chided. "Aren't you afraid of the pain?"
Xiao Man looked at her hand and a smile curved her lips. "To gain something, one must always pay a price, and this price is quite worth it."
"Your subordinate thinks it's not worth it," Ying Xue grumbled. "Why should they be worth you injuring yourself?"
When Xiao Man and her maid arrived at the Hundred Flowers Pavilion, Nangong Yi was also there. Seeing Xiao Man enter, he quickly stood up, his gaze falling on Xiao Man's hand, a flicker of concern in his eyes.
Qin Xue stepped forward, "What happened to your hand?"
"I accidentally injured it," Xiao Man said briefly. "I've come to get it bandaged here, so as to avoid startling Mo Han when I return to the mansion later."
Qin Xue quickly sent someone to fetch the wound medicine and personally cleaned Xiao Man's wound, applied medicine, and bandaged it. Nangong Yi stood by, wanting to speak but hesitating.
"How have you been lately?" Xiao Man took the initiative to ask.
Nangong Yi nodded. "Very well. Although Lancheng is not wealthy, the people there are simple and live in peace and contentment. It's a good place."
Xiao Man nodded. "Since Lancheng is so good, why did you come to Lanyue?"
"My fourth brother went to Bei Rong, and my third brother needs to guard the imperial capital, so I had no choice but to be sent as an envoy to Lanyue," Nangong Yi said softly. "I never expected you to be the Imperial Princess of Lanyue, the daughter of Empress Yue Xian."
"Yes, who would have thought I am the daughter of Empress Yue Xian," Xiao Man said slowly. "The world is unpredictable, and there are always some surprises that we cannot foresee."
"Will you return to Yusheng?" Nangong Yi hesitated for a long time before asking. But as soon as the words left his mouth, he felt the question was foolish. Xiao Man was now the Imperial Princess of Lanyue, the crown prince, the only blood relative of the Lanyue royal family. She would inherit the Lanyue throne in the future and become the next Empress of Lanyue. How could she possibly return to Yusheng? They could never go back.
"Look at my question, it's both stupid and foolish. You are now the Imperial Princess of Lanyue, no longer the young lady of the Xiao family who used to spend her days eating and drinking with me. We can never go back."
"What's past is past, why think about going back?" Xiao Man said calmly. "Even if I have become the Imperial Princess of Lanyue, we are still friends, aren't we?"
"Yes, we are still friends." Nangong Yi took out a box and handed it to Xiao Man. "Your wedding is imminent, this is a congratulatory gift for you."
Xiao Man took it. "Thank you."
"Having known you for so many years, I realize I don't even know what you like. I chose this randomly, please don't dislike it."
"I'm already very happy that you have this intention," Xiao Man had originally intended to ask Nangong Yi if he knew Du Yulan's whereabouts, but considering they had divorced, she felt it was unnecessary to bring it up again.
"Is there anything fun to do in Lancheng?"
"Yes, Lancheng's scenery is very unique. Whenever you have time, come and visit Lancheng, and I will personally be your guide to show you Lanyue's different scenery."
"Alright."
Then came silence. The two who used to talk about anything and everything now found it difficult to find topics. Nangong Yi tried hard to find a topic.
"My fourth brother..." Nangong Yi had just started when he felt it was inappropriate to mention Nangong Yu at this time. After all, Xiao Man and Nangong Yu had once been in love, but now they had turned into enemies. "Xiao Man, the rumors outside say that my fourth brother killed General Xiao. Is this true?"
"What do you think?"
"I don't believe it," Nangong Yi said with certainty. "My fourth brother can be a bit cold and have a bad temper, but he would never kill General Xiao. There must be a misunderstanding."
Xiao Man smiled. "You actually believe him."
"Don't you believe him?" Nangong Yi retorted. He used to be jealous of the unspoken understanding between Xiao Man and Nangong Yu, but now that they had reached a point of life and death, he could only feel a sense of lament.
"Whether I believe him or not, it no longer matters," Xiao Man said faintly. "After all, I chose not to believe."
Nangong Yi really wanted to ask Xiao Man why she was marrying Wen Mohan, but he didn't know how to ask. After all, Wen Mohan and she were a good match. Wen Mohan had given up everything for her and followed her to Lanyue. If he were to stir up trouble, it would be ungentlemanly. However, if he didn't ask for the reason, he felt unwilling.
"Xiao Man, why Wen Mohan?" Nangong Yi asked his inner doubts. If Xiao Man had chosen his fourth brother, he wouldn't have felt so regretful, but she had chosen Wen Mohan. To know that these two were once like fire and ice, he still couldn't understand how they ended up together.
"Many things have no reason. Just like liking someone, liking is liking, why so many 'whys'?" Xiao Man looked out the window. The sun outside was very fierce, but the people on the street seemed unfazed, still lively and noisy.
"Do you really like Wen Mohan?" Nangong Yi looked into Xiao Man's eyes and asked seriously. Xiao Man was a person who was easily softened. Her feelings for Wen Mohan might not be true love.
Xiao Man looked at Nangong Yi, a smile appearing on her face. "Although I am a bit slow when it comes to relationships, I am very clear about my own feelings. I can distinguish between liking and not liking, and I know what I want. What about you, do you know what you truly want?"
"What I want is nothing more than, a devoted heart, to grow old together."