Qi Jinxuan was led by the servant to the guest room.
Seeing Wei Dongling waiting for her by the table, she was both puzzled and overjoyed.
"Miss," Wei Dongling bowed her head obediently and limped over to help Qi Jinxuan take a seat.
"Dongling," Qi Jinxuan glanced at Wei Dongling's leg in surprise. "What happened to your leg?"
Wei Dongling felt a lump in her throat. She motioned for Cui Huan to close the door. Then she took off her clothes clumsily to show Qi Jinxuan the wounds on her back.
When Qi Jinxuan saw her horribly scarred back, she jumped up in shock and exclaimed, "How did you get hurt like this?"
Qi Jinxuan had heard from the maid of Concubine Xue that the Crown Prince Yun had taken Wei Dongling away. She hadn't thought much of it at first, but seeing her in such a state now, she was greatly shocked.
Wei Dongling put on her clothes aggrievedly and complained, "After I parted ways with you, I went to the Queen Zhao's palace to receive my reward. A nanny asked me to go into a room to get the money. Who would have thought that there were four masked men in black hiding in that room? They came at me with knives right away. Thanks to the Crown Prince Yun's rescue, I managed to survive."
Qi Jinxuan asked doubtfully, "Why did Queen Zhao treat you like this?"
Wei Dongling nodded. "I jumped into the well to save you in the imperial garden. Queen Zhao must have noticed that I know light - footed skills. She insisted that I'm the orphan of the traitorous Su family from that year and chased me all the way, trying to kill me."
Qi Jinxuan's forehead was covered with a thin layer of sweat. "The Zhao family has been causing you trouble repeatedly. After entering the palace, Queen Zhao even sent someone to attack you secretly?"
Wei Dongling sighed. "When I woke up, the Crown Prince had taken me out of the palace. I heard that you were also safely sent back to the mansion by Concubine Xue's people. I originally wanted to go back and find you. But... The incident of the poisoned bird's nest last time and the fire that burned down my room were most likely done by the Zhao family. If I were to return to the general's mansion, not only would I be in great danger, but I'm afraid I would also implicate you all."
Qi Jinxuan bit her lip and said tremulously, "So you're not going back to the mansion?"
Wei Dongling shook her head. "You and Master Qi are both in the mansion. How could I not go back? But I'm injured now and it's inconvenient for me to move. If the Zhao family makes a small move, I might not be so lucky."
Qi Jinxuan hesitated for a long time and then nodded. "I'll have someone arrange a villa for you to recuperate. It's not a good idea to always trouble the Crown Prince Yun by staying in the prince's mansion."
Wei Dongling lowered her head and twisted the corner of her clothes, saying softly, "The Crown Prince Yun told me to go back after I've recovered."
Qi Jinxuan was taken aback and didn't say a word for a long time.
Seeing that she didn't say anything, Wei Dongling quickly said, "Miss! I really didn't come to find the Crown Prince Yun on purpose. Please believe me!"
Qi Jinxuan nodded, not knowing what she was thinking. After a long time, she said, "I'll have someone send more gifts of gratitude to the Crown Prince Yun later. I'll also bring you some tonics. You can rest assured and recuperate."
Wei Dongling's eyes lit up. She grabbed Qi Jinxuan's hand and said with a soft smile, "Thank you, Miss."
Qi Jinxuan gently patted the back of her hand to comfort her. Her gaze shifted to the two hairpins on the table. She picked up the gold hairpin curiously, looked at it, and asked in surprise, "Whose hairpin is this?"
Wei Dongling felt a tightness in her heart and replied nervously, "After I left the palace gate, I lost an iron hairpin. The Crown Prince Yun... insisted on giving this to me..."
Qi Jinxuan felt a lump in her throat. She said tremblingly, "Judging from the exquisite workmanship, it seems to be something from the palace. This should be the hairpin of the princess of the prince's mansion."
Wei Dongling was startled. The hairpin of the Crown Prince Yun's mother? She said fearfully, "I originally didn't dare to accept it. I'll return it right away."
Qi Jinxuan remained silent.
Wei Dongling casually handed the two hairpins to Cui Huan beside her and asked her to return them to Shangguan Yun. Cui Huan took them and turned to leave.
"Miss," Wei Dongling called her softly. "Could you take me to the Yu Mansion later?"
Qi Jinxuan looked into Wei Dongling's sincere eyes and slowly nodded.
Wei Dongling remembered the Crown Prince and Concubine Xue and hurriedly asked, "Miss, regarding your marriage to the Crown Prince, do you want to think it over carefully?"
Qi Jinxuan said dejectedly, "The Crown Prince and Concubine Xue have been good to me."
Wei Dongling said anxiously, "But the Crown Prince..." Remembering what Shangguan Yun had said to her, Wei Dongling didn't continue.
Qi Jinxuan lowered her head and said nothing. The two of them were silent for a long time.
Cui Huan came back. She stood there with her hands on her hips and said proudly, "Miss Wei, the Crown Prince refused to take back those two hairpins. I just stuffed them into his hands and ran away."
Wei Dongling praised her, "Well done!"
Cui Huan thought to herself: If Young Master Yu knew that you accepted the Crown Prince Yun's gold hairpin, he'd be so angry!
When Qi Jinxuan was about to return to the general's mansion, it was already pitch - black outside. The carriage deliberately took a detour to send Wei Dongling to the Yu Mansion.
Cui Huan helped Wei Dongling out of the carriage. After saying goodbye to Qi Jinxuan, she rushed straight to the main gate of the Yu Mansion.
Cui Huan picked up the inconvenient Wei Dongling and whispered, "When you see the young master later, you have to speak softly. Not only are those two watching, but the young master's master has also been supervising him. Just say what you need to say and then we'll leave."
Wei Dongling wrapped her arms around Cui Huan's neck and nodded repeatedly.
The guard at the main gate of the Yu Mansion saw the concubine who had been driven away by the young master come back again, with a somewhat familiar woman in her arms. He was about to say something.
Cui Huan carried Wei Dongling and turned around to leave.
The guard looked confused. "Are you two here to find our young master? The young master is in the mansion! Hey, why are you leaving?"
Cui Huan carried Wei Dongling and climbed over the wall with great effort.
Since Yu Zixi's master returned to the capital, he had obediently stayed in the mansion for many days without going out.
He was reclining on the soft couch, eating fruits, with his concubines sitting on both sides.
The door of the room was suddenly pushed open. Yu Zixi looked up and saw Cui Huan carrying Wei Dongling standing at the door, smiling brightly at him.
Yu Zixi's eyes instantly lit up. He quickly stepped forward and took Wei Dongling from Cui Huan's arms. He smiled at her and asked, "Why did you come?"
Looking at Yu Zixi who was bending over to hold her, Wei Dongling's eyes couldn't help getting moist. She put her arms around his neck and murmured, "Yu Zixi, I miss you so much!"
Everyone: ...
They heard Yu Zixi chuckling and saying to his concubines, "It seems my wife is about to bare her heart to me. Why don't you all excuse yourselves first?"
The two concubines were taken aback. They bowed politely and left quietly.
Cui Huan followed them out, closed the door behind her, and stood guard outside.
Yu Zixi gently placed Wei Dongling on the couch. His face was full of concern as he asked, "How badly are you hurt? Is it serious?"
Wei Dongling's eyes were glistening with tears. She said in a low voice, "The Xiliang prince that the Crown Prince entertained today is that Young Master Mingyang from the winery in Liaocheng."
Yu Zixi was shocked. "What did you say?"
Wei Dongling looked at him with her bright black eyes and said with a sob, "Yu Zixi, I also saw Lady He."
Yu Zixi was startled. Just then, they heard a soft cough from outside the door. He quickly rolled onto the couch with Wei Dongling and pressed his index finger against her lips, signaling her to be silent.
There was a knock on the door from outside. Liu Ying said, "Young master, your concubine has brought some snacks to entertain Miss Wei."