"I'm here to serve you on the orders of the Crown Prince. Greetings, Miss."
The young girl who had been crying heart - rendingly in the market just now was now calmly saluting Song Yihuan. Her words shocked Chunxing greatly.
This girl was actually sent by Ji Lingchuan?
Chunxing glanced at Song Yihuan, hesitating to speak.
But... wasn't the Crown Prince extremely disgusted with Miss and said that she was unworthy of being his concubine? Could it be because of the child in Miss's belly?
Song Yihuan didn't know what Chunxing was thinking. Knowing that the young girl was sent by Ji Lingchuan, a warm current flowed through her heart.
Right, she remembered. Ji Lingchuan had once said that he would send a martial - arts - trained maid to serve her and protect her safety.
She just didn't expect that he would use this way to send the girl to her side.
In this way, no one would suspect the girl's origin, and it wouldn't bring any trouble to her. He really thought things through.
Song Yihuan nodded at the young girl. "The Crown Prince mentioned this to me before. Get up. From now on, you'll follow me. By the way, do you have a name? How should I address you?"
The young girl said with a smile, "My name is not nice. Please give me a nice one, Miss."
Song Yihuan looked at Chunxing beside her and said, "It was snowing when I met you today. I'll call you Feixue (Flying Snow)."
Feixue was extremely happy, beaming from ear to ear. "I like this name very much. Thank you, Miss!"
After taking in Feixue, Song Yihuan led the two maids into the Marquis's Mansion.
Song Yihuan didn't take off her mourning clothes. By now, it was completely dark. The servant lighting the lamps was really startled when he saw her in mourning.
"F - Fourth Miss was in the Prince Ning's Mansion. Why did she suddenly come back?" And dressed like this?
Chunxing glared at him and said, "The Marquis's Mansion is Fourth Miss's home. Since she's not married yet, why can't she come back?"
Feixue quickly followed up. "That's right. A good dog doesn't block the way. Get lost!"
After saying that, she stepped forward and bumped into the man.
Feixue was small in stature, but surprisingly strong. She knocked the man to the ground on his buttocks. The man groaned twice, covering his buttocks in anger. "Where did this stinky maid come from? How dare you bump into me! Watch out or I'll teach you a lesson!"
Song Yihuan looked down at the man with a cold gaze. "Even the Marquis and the Lady have to think twice before talking to me. Who do you think you are to boss around the maids in my courtyard?"
After saying that, she led the two maids straight to the Qinghe Courtyard.
The news that Song Yihuan had returned to the Marquis's Mansion in mourning clothes soon reached Meng's ears. Hearing the words Song Yihuan had left from the servant's mouth, Meng angrily smashed the teacup in her hand.
"This little slut. She's just relying on the fact that she's pregnant with the Crown Prince's child. How arrogant! Parading around the mansion in mourning clothes. My husband and I are not dead yet. Isn't she cursing us by doing this!"
Tianqing, Meng's personal maid, stepped forward to pat her on the back and persuaded, "Calm down, Lady. Whether Fourth Miss did it on purpose or not, it doesn't matter how much she defies you. Now that she's living in the Marquis's Mansion, and you're the mistress of the mansion, are you still afraid of not being able to control a little concubine - born daughter?"
Persuaded by Tianqing, Meng sat back on the chair, narrowing her eyes and snorting. "Humph, that's true. She was in the Prince Ning's Mansion before. I couldn't reach there. But now that she's back in the Marquis's Mansion, things are different. She really thinks she's all grown - up. Just you wait. I have plenty of ways to torture her!"
...
The autumn hunting trip to Xingzhou had taken nearly four months. The Qinghe Courtyard was in a worse state than when Song Yihuan had last returned. Since it had been unoccupied for a long time, the courtyard was pitch - black, and the weeds had grown waist - high.
Seeing the messy courtyard, Chunxing angrily mumbled while picking up tools to clean it.
Since Feixue had started following Song Yihuan, she also offered to help and tidied up the messy courtyard with Chunxing.
For a moment, the quiet small courtyard became lively.
Song Yihuan entered the room, lit the long - unused oil lamp with a fire starter, and looked around.
Her luggage was piled up in the corner of the courtyard. After cleaning the room, Song Yihuan put her clothes back into the cabinet one by one.
It was winter, a freezing time. But the three of them were busy walking around the courtyard and sweating.
However, this alone couldn't keep them warm. Chunxing rummaged through the room and finally found some unburned charcoal. She lit a charcoal brazier in the room and also set up a stove to boil some hot water. Finally, the room in the Qinghe Courtyard became warm.
Song Yihuan sat in front of the cleaned table, took a sip of warm water, and the last trace of coldness faded from her body.
Feixue stepped forward on her own initiative, knelt on one knee beside her, and massaged her arms.
Seeing that Feixue was so good at currying favor, Chunxing felt a bit jealous. She also stepped forward to beat Song Yihuan's shoulders.
Song Yihuan looked down at Feixue in front of her and thought of Fuling who had accompanied her for a while.
She remembered that Ji Lingchuan had said that Fuling was still alive but hadn't woken up yet. Now she was hiding with Jiang Heng to recover from her injuries.
In fact, she was quite lucky. Although Fuling had been assigned to her by her elder sister to monitor her, in the end, Fuling had given her a sincere heart.
When she had some free time, she must go and visit this poor maid.
She raised her hand to stroke Feixue's hair and asked, "Feixue, where did you live before? Do you still have any relatives at home?"
Feixue smiled and said, "I have an identical twin brother. We used to be just vagabonds. But I'm dexterous. Every time a noble person did good deeds, I could always be the first to grab the food. Later, we were spotted by the Crown Prince. He picked my brother and me to learn martial arts. Since then, I've been helping the Crown Prince."
Chunxing widened her eyes. "You know martial arts?"
Feixue nodded and patted her chest hard. "Of course. I know a lot!"
As if worried that Song Yihuan and Chunxing wouldn't believe her, she immediately jumped up and punched in front of them.
It had to be said that her skills were really good. Although she was a woman, her punches were extremely powerful and shouldn't be underestimated.
After finishing a set of punches, Chunxing's look towards her had changed from a bit hostile to admiring. "Feixue, you're really amazing!"
Song Yihuan also said with a smile, "Although I don't understand martial arts, in my opinion, there may not be an opponent for you in the whole Marquis's Mansion."
Feixue proudly patted her chest. "Miss, please feel free to order me around. I'll surely go through fire and water for you without hesitation!"
Song Yihuan turned her head and looked out of the window at the buildings of the Marquis's Mansion shrouded in shadows.
Feixue had come just in time. Tonight, she really needed to meet that legitimate mother.
...
In the capital city, two fast horses galloped through the street and stopped just outside the Prince Ning's Mansion.
Ji Lingchuan's face was cold. He flipped off the horse and strode into the mansion. His steps seemed a bit urgent.