"You're crazy..." With great difficulty, I managed to squeeze out these words from my chest. I immediately tried to pry her hands off, but she gave a cold laugh and tightened her grip. "I'm crazy, but you drove me to it."
I couldn't help but slap at her hands. I really couldn't understand what was going on in her head. If I were to die in the Northern Cold Region, did she think the Great Yong would let it go easily? Did she think she could really cover up the truth by framing someone or claiming it was an accident?
I struggled desperately, my face turning bright red from the lack of air. Vicious! Ignorant! Besides these two words, I really didn't know how else to describe her. At that time, I didn't know how terrifying it was to mention Princess Aoqing in the Northern Cold Region, nor did I know how many lives she had casually taken with her arrogance and willfulness. All I knew was that I must not die at the hands of this woman.
"Ba...stard!" I stopped trying to pry her hands off and started searching for the gold needles on my body. I grabbed one at random and was about to stab her when I heard a voice as gentle as warm jade. "Oh, since when has Princess Aoqing taken a fancy to pinning women down?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the hand on my neck immediately loosened. Aoqing looked at the newcomer, stunned for a moment, and then immediately burst into tears. Sitting on top of me, she pointed at me and said, "It's all her fault. She stole something and refused to admit it. She even stuffed my precious pearl in her mouth and wouldn't give it back to me!"
I had never seen such a brazen person. I only felt a sharp pain in my throat and couldn't help but cough. What was this girl talking about? How could I be a thief?
"Oh? In that case, do you want me to help you interrogate this 'thief'?" The pleasant voice rang out again. But Aoqing got up from me, wiped her tears, and said, "No need. Just hand this person over to me."
I immediately sat up angrily, ready to expose her ugly face. But to my surprise, the first thing I saw were a pair of clean and clear smiling eyes. The man was smiling at me. Suddenly, he reached out his hand and pulled me up. Then he turned to Aoqing and said, "Prince Xu said that the way you two handle problems at night is too noisy. He asked me to take the troublemaker back."
I was stunned. I didn't know who Prince Xu was. But I saw Aoqing getting a little anxious. She stepped forward and grabbed his clothes. "But this is my private matter!"
The man smiled faintly and gently pushed Aoqing's hand away. He said softly, "Does the princess really think I saw nothing?"
Aoqing immediately fell silent. Seeing this, the man put away his smile and led me towards the moon gate full of wisteria flowers where he had first appeared.
Aoqing was quiet for a while behind us. Suddenly, she shouted, "Young Master An, do you know that she is Prince Cheng's person?"
The man smiled and turned around. "So, I won't say anything about today's incident. But if the princess insists on taking her away, I can't guarantee that I'll be able to keep my mouth shut."
As he said this, his white clothes reflected a faint soft light in the moonlight. The gentle breeze blew, carrying the fragrance of orchids from his body.
Aoqing looked at me with some reluctance. The man then said, "The curfew is coming soon. If the princess doesn't leave now, are you going to stay in the queen's place again?"
Aoqing stamped her foot in annoyance and turned around to leave.
Seeing her leave, I let out a long sigh of relief. I couldn't help but touch my neck, thinking about the moment of life and death just now. It was like a nightmare. I didn't expect Aoqing to try to kill me with her own hands. Wasn't she really stupid? At that time, I didn't know that if Aoqing did it herself, she could completely avoid being interrupted by the servants. That is to say, if it wasn't Young Master An but an ordinary palace servant who came, I would have lost my life here today.
"Miss, are you okay?" The man beside me suddenly leaned over and asked. Only then did I remember the person who had saved me just now. I couldn't help but bow to him. "Thank you, young master, for saving my life."
But he gently supported me, stopping me from bowing. He joked, "I can't bear a bow from a princess."
I looked up at him. Under the moonlight, his white clothes made him look bright and clear. His temperament was gentle, like a piece of jade from a distant mountain, pure like the wind in the forest.
He smiled faintly and then pulled away from me. He asked respectfully, "Where does the princess live? Do you need me to take you back?"
I came to my senses and couldn't help but ask, "Do you recognize me?"
He smiled. "Everyone in the palace knows the distinguished guest from the Great Yong."
Hearing this, I couldn't help but blush. I remembered showing up in the palace so publicly with Yu Chi Cheng some time ago. I couldn't help but feel a little regretful.
Seeing this, he didn't laugh at me. He just said, "Please, princess."
I walked in front with my head down. Thinking of something, I turned around and asked him, "Then how should I address you?"
The man smiled, clasped his fists, and said, "My surname is Lu, and my given name is An. People all call me..."
"Young Master An?" I quickly took over his words. He nodded with a smile. Under the moonlight, he looked extremely handsome.
There was once a young master named An, intoxicated in the mortal world with the moon as his robe.
Yes, it was really fitting.
"What are you looking at, princess? Is there something on my face?" Young Master An called me back to my senses with good temper.
"Nothing, nothing!" I immediately covered my mouth and coughed lightly. I couldn't tell him that the first thing I thought of when I saw his otherworldly temperament was to ask him to help my brother complete his "Portrait of a Divine Couple"...
Seeing that I was evading his question, Young Master An didn't ask any more. He just said, "Princess, now that you've offended Aoqing, you'd better be more careful in the future. I can protect you for a while, but not for a lifetime."
I quickly nodded after hearing this. He quietly accompanied me for a while and then clasped his fists at me. "Then I'll take my leave first."
I quickly called him back. "Hey, didn't you say you'd take me back?"
Unexpectedly, Young Master An just smiled faintly and looked ahead. "But now you don't need me to take you back."
I followed his gaze and saw Yu Chi Cheng looking at us coldly, his eyes full of caution.
"I'll take my leave!" Young Master An didn't say any more. He put away his smile and turned around to leave.
Yu Chi Cheng stepped forward with his men. He looked at me nervously. "Why are you with him?"
I was a little dazed and just asked, "What's wrong with being with him?"
Yu Chi Cheng was stunned for a moment. He immediately realized that he had lost his composure. He whispered, "It's nothing."
Seeing his strange expression, I joked, "Strange. You're so nervous. Could it be that you're jealous?"
"What? Jealous?" Yu Chi Cheng came to his senses, shook his head, and smiled. "It's not jealousy. It's just that the relationships among the people in the palace are complex."
"Oh?" I thought thoughtfully. Yu Chi Cheng then said, "Let me take you back."
Thinking of the nightmare just now, I couldn't help but ask, "Brother Yu Chi, did you come here specifically to pick me up?"
Yu Chi Cheng nodded and said, "I came back after finishing my work. I found a small gift and wanted to give it to you. But when I went to your residence, I heard that you had been summoned by the queen. So I came here to pick you up."
As soon as I heard there was a gift, I immediately became happy. "What did you bring for me?"
Yu Chi Cheng smiled and said, "You'll know when you go back and take a look."
"Let me guess?" I couldn't help but fall into deep thought. Yu Chi Cheng was looking at me with a smile. But suddenly he saw the red handprint on my neck. His face changed, and he asked, "What happened to your neck?"