From the moment they walked out, Liang Yuzhou's eyes had been fixed on Yu Huiyan.
Her hair bun had been roughly tugged loose by Princess Lingyang, and the scalp was tightly pulled up, causing Yu Huiyan's face to distort in pain.
Liang Yuzhou pursed his thin lips tightly, clearly showing his distress.
"Second Brother Liang, this bitch wanted to attack your precious concubine. Isn't it okay for me to teach her a lesson on your behalf?"
To Song Wanchu, these words sounded overly naive.
Liang Yuzhou could indulge Yu Huiyan in secretly trying to kill her. Even when he clearly knew that she had been framed and wronged by Yu Huiyan, he still forced her to apologize. How could he feel the slightest bit of distress just because Yu Huiyan had beaten her?
What he gave Yu Huiyan was a beating, affectionate heart.
But what he gave her was a hard and cold stone.
"Look, your precious concubine is so scared that her face has turned pale. Why don't you go and comfort her quickly?"
Princess Lingyang winked at the two maids beside her. The two maids immediately understood and, one on each side, grabbed Song Wanchu's arms and pushed her towards Liang Yuzhou.
Song Wanchu bumped into his solid and broad chest, and his unique cold fragrance wafted into her nostrils.
The impact was so great that she couldn't stand steadily and subconsciously wrapped her arms around Liang Yuzhou's neck.
The man's strong arms encircled her slender waist to steady her figure.
Song Wanchu was shy, and such intimacy in public made her blush and her ears burn.
The man's scent disrupted her breathing. She quietly raised her eyes and saw Liang Yuzhou's cold and sharp - featured side face and his prominent Adam's apple.
His eyes never landed on her for a moment, as if catching her just now was just a subconscious reaction.
Maybe if Princess Lingyang had thrown a cat at him, he would have caught it too.
Song Wanchu's fingertips were slightly cold. She voluntarily let go of Liang Yuzhou and stood three steps away from him.
Liang Yuzhou's eyes carried a hint of sharpness as he coldly glanced at Song Wanchu.
"Second Cousin..."
A sobbing cry sounded. Yu Huiyan bit her lips and shed tears, looking extremely pitiful.
Just now, she felt a bit guilty.
She didn't know when Liang Yuzhou had come, nor did she know if Liang Yuzhou had seen her arrogant attitude towards Song Wanchu.
Especially, she had been warned not to call Song Wanchu "Auntie" anymore.
What she was most worried about was that after Liang Yuzhou discovered her duplicity, he would become even colder and more distant towards her.
"Please, Princess, show mercy."
The cold and noble scion of the aristocratic family showed great respect in his attitude.
As long as Liang Yuzhou pleaded for Yu Huiyan, Princess Lingyang's hatred for Yu Huiyan would deepen.
"Second Brother Liang, do you really want to marry her? She even tried to scheme against Song Wanchu's betrothal gifts. She is extremely shameless! She hasn't even married into the Duke's Mansion yet, but she already acts like the mistress. Who knows how much disgrace she will bring to the Duke's Mansion in the future!"
Her Second Brother Liang was a noble and upright gentleman. How could a stinky rat like Yu Huiyan from the gutter be worthy of being with him?
Princess Lingyang even thought that it would be more acceptable to her if Liang Yuzhou liked Song Wanchu than if he liked Yu Huiyan.
The Grand Princess glared fiercely at Princess Lingyang but didn't scold her immediately.
Since she had arranged the marriage between Liang Yuzhou and Yu Huiyan, the Duke's Mansion had been preparing for it in full swing, but Liang Yuzhou's attitude had always been ambiguous.
He had never shown in front of everyone whether he approved of or opposed this marriage.
Since Princess Lingyang had brought it up, the Grand Princess just happened to take this opportunity to test Liang Yuzhou's attitude.
She had to determine whether Yu Huiyan was a useful pawn.
Liang Yuzhou didn't look at Princess Lingyang, but his eyes casually glanced in the direction of the Grand Princess.
"What Huiyan has done has nothing to do with my feelings for her."
His tone was calm, but it was like a gentle spring breeze that warmed Yu Huiyan's heart.
Her tears flowed even more uncontrollably. She was touched.
Sure enough, Second Cousin still cared about her.
The Grand Princess's expression softened, and the corners of her mouth curled up slightly.
Liang Er had a cold personality. Since he could say such words, he must truly love her.
She had taken the right step.
Song Wanchu watched quietly, as if she were an outsider. Her already broken heart seemed to be ground repeatedly until it turned into powder.
Liang Yuzhou always managed to give her a heavy blow at the moment when she was most heart - broken.
His partiality towards Yu Huiyan was unreasonable.
To him, she was nothing more than a cat or a dog that Yu Huiyan could bully and trample on at will.
Song Wanchu kept taking deep breaths to fight against the continuous pain in her chest.
The Grand Princess's mood visibly improved.
Originally, she had planned to severely punish Song Wanchu today, but she was magnanimous and decided to let her go for the time being.
The words that Liang Yuzhou had said were much more hurtful than giving her a few slaps.
"Liang Er, I've already helped Huiyan touch up her makeup. You can take her home."
"No way. You can't just let her go. I haven't vented my anger yet!"
Princess Lingyang tightened her grip on Yu Huiyan's hair bun. Yu Huiyan gasped in pain.
The little princess was delicate and had an extremely arrogant temper.
Even the Grand Princess only dared to scold her verbally. No one dared to step forward to rescue Yu Huiyan.
The situation was at a stalemate for a moment.
All that could be heard was Yu Huiyan's mournful crying.
"Princess, it's okay for you to hit Miss Yu a few times. But after all, she is the niece of the Princess of Jiahe and the cousin of Young Master Liang Er. If you embarrass Miss Yu in front of Young Master Liang Er, he will be in a difficult position."
Aunt Fang stepped forward. She walked to Princess Lingyang's side, looked at her with a smile, and gently stroked the top of her head.
She had an amiable temperament and spoke softly and persuasively.
Princess Lingyang knew that Aunt Fang was the most trusted chief maid of the late Empress Dowager and respected her to some extent.
Aunt Fang's words hit the mark with Princess Lingyang.
She didn't care about Yu Huiyan or the Grand Princess, but she cared about Liang Yuzhou.
She didn't want to put Liang Yuzhou in a difficult position.
"Fine then." She snorted arrogantly and let go of Yu Huiyan.
Yu Huiyan immediately covered her tottering hair bun and hid behind Liang Yuzhou.
Aunt Fang was right. She couldn't embarrass Yu Huiyan in front of Liang Yuzhou.
However, this bitch would surely be alone one day!
When she got the chance, she would vent all the anger she hadn't been able to before on this bitch!
The Grand Princess and Princess Lingyang left one after another.
Yu Huiyan shrank into Liang Yuzhou's embrace and sobbed continuously. Liang Yuzhou gently handed her a handkerchief.
The scene was eye - stinging. A chill ran through Song Wanchu's body.
Not wanting to see their affectionate scene, she turned around and walked out of the gate of Cuining Tower.
Outside, a heavy rain had unexpectedly arrived, accompanied by howling winds. It swept away the stuffy and hot air of summer, and there was even a hint of coldness.
She hadn't brought an umbrella when she went out today. Nanzhi and Suyue could only raise their arms to shield her from the rain. They supported her on both sides and quickly ran into the carriage.
Even though it was just a few steps, all three of them were completely soaked.
Nanzhi and Suyue were busy wiping the water off her. The wind lifted a corner of the carriage curtain. Out of the corner of her eye, Song Wanchu saw Liang Yuzhou personally holding an umbrella for Yu Huiyan and helping her into the carriage before getting in himself.
In the past, he had cared about Yu Huiyan's reputation and had never shared a carriage with her alone.
Was Liang Yuzhou too lazy to avoid suspicion now that they were about to get married?
That gust of wind seemed to pass through Song Wanchu's body, leaving a bone - chilling coldness in her heart.
Inside the carriage, Yu Huiyan was excited and nervous.
Since she had come of age, Liang Yuzhou had never taken the initiative to have any intimate physical contact with her.
Sharing a carriage with him was the first time.
Overjoyed but pretending to be reserved, she looked at Liang Yuzhou shyly.
"Second Cousin, this is a sachet I embroidered myself. I'm giving it to you."
She held the sachet with both hands and presented it in front of Liang Yuzhou's eyes.
It was made of bright red silk cloth with a pair of mandarin ducks playing in the water embroidered on it.
Her intentions were obvious.
Liang Yuzhou didn't say a word.
His unfathomable eyes showed no warmth.
"Second Cousin, let me help you put it on."
As she said this, she was about to reach out to remove the sachet that was originally hanging from Liang Yuzhou's waist.
She had seen Liang Yuzhou wearing that sachet for five or six years.
She didn't know what kind of spice was inside. It had long since faded and had no smell at all.
She wondered if Song Wanchu had made it for him.
It was long overdue to be replaced with a new one.
The people around him should be replaced too.
Yu Huiyan was secretly delighted and proud.
Before her fingertips could touch Liang Yuzhou's belt, she heard a cold voice above her head.
"Don't touch my things."