The Double-Chapter 508 - 156: Marriage Matters

The maidservants and the alerted people quickly ran to Xiao Deyin’s side.

Xiao Deyin had fallen to the ground, her veil had dropped, and her face was filled with panic. The maidservant was shocked and said, "Mr. Xiao! Mr. Xiao, what’s wrong with you?"

"Someone," Xiao Deyin gasped for air, her face deathly pale, "someone wants to kill me!"

"Who?" The nearby residents who had heard and come running all turned their heads to look around and said, "We didn’t see anyone. Could it be a bandit? Perhaps Mr. Xiao should report this to the authorities, let the official’s residence handle this."

Everyone here lived in the alley and knew Xiao Deyin. They now all enthusiastically offered their advice.

The maidservant also said, "Yes, Mr. Xiao, perhaps we should report this to the authorities now!"

Upon hearing the suggestion to report to the authorities, Xiao Deyin instinctively wanted to refuse. She coughed a few times and said, "I’m feeling terribly unwell right now and would like to go back to my room to rest for a bit. Once I feel a little better, I’ll go to report it."

Seeing her pale and unsteady, everyone nodded in agreement. Some women came forward to comfort her, and Xiao Deyin was then supported by the maidservant as she went back inside.

The maidservant was also worried that it was still unsafe outside, so she asked the mansion’s guards to stand watch at the gate for the night, locked the main gate, and then set about making some ginger soup to calm Xiao Deyin’s nerves.

Although the alley was usually quiet, there had never been any incidents with robbers or bandits. This encounter Xiao Deyin had was a first.

Xiao Deyin sat on the couch in the room; the ginger soup was not ready yet, and there was only cooled tea available. She was anxious for a drink, reached out for the teacup, but her hand trembled so violently that she couldn’t grasp the teacup. Then she heard a "snap" as the teacup fell to the floor and shattered.

The maidservant heard the noise and hurriedly came in to clean up. Fortunately, it was only cold tea that was not hot to the touch. Xiao Deyin, looking at the large wet stain spreading on the ground and recalling her brush with death, still felt her heart palpitate.

The outsiders thought it was bandits who had seen her, a lone woman, and targeted her, but Xiao Deyin knew it wasn’t so. The two men had clearly come straight for her and had even called out her name, which shows they were sent by someone. But Xiao Deyin considered herself to have never made enemies with anyone; the only thing she had done to offend someone was to frame Xue Fangfei.

Yet the word from the assailant’s mouth had been "princess." There was only one princess in Northern Yan now, and that was Prince Cheng’s sister, Princess Yongning. But why would the princess hold such a grudge to go to such lengths against her? She had never offended the princess!

Wait, she remembered something. In their haste, one of them had said, "Only the dead can keep secrets." What did that mean? It meant the other party had come to kill and silence her, but what formidable secret had she come to know?

Xiao Deyin was not foolish. On the contrary, she was very astute. With just a few words, she had deduced quite a lot. But the more she thought about it, the more her head ached, and she wasn’t sure if it was really due to a chill or because she was haunted by a guilty conscience.

Just then, the maidservant brought in the prepared ginger soup and said, "It’s hot. Drink a little, Mr. Xiao, to steady your nerves."

Xiao Deyin wanted to take it but her hands were still unsteady. The maid then attended her, spooning the ginger soup into Xiao Deyin’s mouth. Feeling the warmth in her stomach, her heart settled a bit. Xiao Deyin calmed herself and thought about the situation anew—and suddenly, an idea surfaced in her mind.

She had heard about the Grand Secretary’s daughter, Jiang Li, bringing a group of Tongxiang villagers to Yanjing to present a complaint to the emperor. During the court discussions, it was even revealed that the person who had instructed others to harm Xue Huaiyuan was Princess Yongning. Although Jiang Li later voluntarily proved the accusations to be false and the evidence planted, rumors had already started to spread.

Xue Huaiyuan happened to be Xue Fangfei’s father.

Naturally, Xiao Deyin hadn’t thought of this before. But today, with the assailant mentioning the princess, she pondered all possible connections with Princess Yongning, and it was because the princess enjoyed listening to her play the zither. She used to frequently visit the princess’s mansion to play zither for Princess Yongning. But then, at some point, the princess stopped enjoying the zither.

Wait, the timing when Princess Yongning no longer summoned her to the mansion was, it seemed, just after Xue Fangfei’s death.

With this lead, thinking in this direction made things much easier. Xiao Deyin recalled that when Xue Fangfei was still alive, she was renowned in Yanjing City as a beauty and talented woman. Yet whenever Princess Yongning mentioned her, there was always a touch of disgust. At first, Xiao Deyin thought it was simply because Princess Yongning envied a woman more excellent than herself, but now it seemed there was more to be investigated.