“My lord.” Murong Xue curtsied to Old Prince Jing politely.

  Old Prince Jing blinked and smiled, “Xue’er, you have just arrived at Mountain Resort. I guess you haven’t found lodgings. I live in Orchid Garden and there are two wing-rooms left. You can take one room, and Yichen will occupy the other……”


  Murong Xue gave him a distant smile and said, “Thank you for your kindness. But I heard that Princess Qin and Prince Jing came to Mountain Resort together. I think you should keep the room of Orchid Garden for Princess Qin.”


  ‘Father, mother, son and daughter-in-law. Apparently they are a family who should live together and share the happiness of a family union. As for me, I’d better stay away from them because I’m totally an outsider,’ she thought.

  Old Prince Jing’s face clouded. He turned to Ye Yichen and asked, “I told you to send her away. Why did you bring her here?”


  “Qin…… Yuyan was badly injured. The weather is getting hotter and hotter. Staying in Prince Jing Mansion is not conducive to her wound healing. So I brought her here. She will stay here until she recovers from her injury,” Ye Yichen explained in a low voice.

  On hearing this, Old Prince Jing’s facial expression softened slightly. They came here to avoid summer heat and wouldn’t stay for long. As for Qin Yuyan, she would stay here for a few months and not go back to Prince Jing Mansion until her wound healed. “Arrange a separate compound for Princess Qin. She needs a quiet environment to recuperate.”


  Ye Yichen replied, “That’s what I’m going to do.”


  Old Prince Jing nodded with satisfaction and smiled at Murong Xue, “There’s still a wing-room left in Orchid Garden. Xue’er, you can move in.”


  However, Murong Xue wanted to avoid Ye Yichen. Now that she knew that he would live in Orchid Garden, she would stay away from there as far as possible.

  Murong Xue frowned and searched her mind for an excuse to refuse Old Prince Jing. Just then, Ouyang Shaochen cut in, “My lord, you are so kind but Xue’er’s accommodation has been arranged. It’s improper for her to move into Orchid Garden.”


  “Really?” Old Prince Jing looked at Ouyang Shaochen with his eyebrows raised questioningly. “Where’s her accommodation?”


  “Bamboo Garden!” Ouyang Shaochen answered. His melodious voice was like a clap of thunder bursting in old Prince Jing’s ears. He turned to Murong Xue and asked, “Xue’er, are you going to live in Bamboo Garden?”


  Murong Xue blinked and nodded slightly, “Yes!” This was her first visit to Mountain Resort and she knew nothing about Bamboo Garden. However, since Ouyang Shaochen arranged for her to stay in Bamboo Garden, it must be a good place in which she could stay away from Ye Yichen and wouldn’t be disturbed. So, she agreed to his arrangement and intended to move into Bamboo Garden.

  Old Prince Jing’s eyes narrowed slightly. People of Lord Freedom Mansion and Prince Jing Mansion followed the Emperor to Mountain Resort every year. So they had fixed residences here. Members of Prince Jing Mansion always stayed in Orchid Garden, and members of Lord Freedom Mansion stayed in Bamboo Garden.

  Old Prince Jing and Ouyang Shaochen extended Murong Xue an invitation at the same time. She refused to go to Orchid Garden and was going to stay in Bamboo Garden. It meant that her relationship with Ouyang Shaochen was better than that with Ye Yichen……

  “My lord, we’ve got to go now. It’s getting late.” Ouyang Shaochen’s euphonious voice rang in Old Prince Jing’s ears and brought him back to his senses. He nodded, “Please yourself.”


  “Let’s go.” Ouyang Shaochen took Murong Xue’s hand and walked slowly forward.

  With his eyes fixed on their clasped hands, Ye Yichen face became gloomy. He clenched his fists with anger. They two had developed an intimate relationship in just two months……

  “It’s all your fault. You are a bad judge of people. Now Ouyang has taken your fiancée away from you. If you don’t take actions, she will become another man’s wife.” Old Prince Jing gave Ye Yichen a dirty look, turned around and left without looking back at him.

  ‘I didn’t expect that things would come to such a pass,’ Ye Yichen thought.

  In his mind he kept reliving the moment he lifted the carriage curtain just now– she leaned against Ouyang Shaochen’s chest with a soft smile on her beautiful face as if he was the only person she trusted in the whole world.

  Ye Yichen got in a fret. He glanced at the carriage of Prince Jing Mansion from the corner of his eye and said impatiently to his servants, “Why are you still standing there like statues? Princess Qin has a bad injury. Help her out of the carriage and send her to her accommodation.”


  “Yes!” The servants answered, with fear in their eyes. They walked quickly to the carriage and carefully carried Qin Yuyan out.

  Qin Yuyan sat down in a bamboo chair and looked up to see Ye Yichen striding away. Without giving her even a glance, he walked fast and soon disappeared around a corner. It seemed that he had no affection for her at all.

  Qin Yuyan’s eyes turned red and big tears rolled down her cheeks. ‘Yichen left me alone here. He’s really over me. He no longer cares for me…… Murong Xue! It’s all because of Murong Xue. The reason Yichen gives me the cold shoulder is because he has fallen in love with Murong Xue. A few minutes ago, I was in the carriage and heard Old Prince Jing’s words clearly. Also because of Murong Xue, he dislikes me and excludes me from the Ye family. Murong Xue, you are the root of my misfortune. I swear I will release all hell to rake revenge on you……” she thought.

  Qin Yuyan glared at Murong Xue’s retreating figure with her eyes burning with hatred and her beautiful face twisted with anger……

  In the Mountain Resort, the grass was thick and velvety, and the trees gave welcome shade. The dense green branches, like a thick green blanket, shaded people from direct, hot sunlight. Murong Xue walked slowly along a black stone path into Bamboo Garden. The cool breezes came down with the scents of the grass and brushed her face. She felt refreshed.

  She couldn’t repress a sigh of admiration, “Mountain Resort does have a well-deserved reputation. It’s cool here and we don’t have to use ice to relieve heat even in the dog days.”


  Ouyang Shaochen looked into her gleaming eyes with a smile on his face and said, “If you want, you can stay here until the autumn. By then it will be cool in the capital, and you can go back to Marquis Mansion.”


  On hearing this, Murong Xue’s eyes lit up. “Good idea!” she said, nodding in approval. She couldn’t stand the heat, and what was worse, she couldn’t use ice to relieve summer heat. So, it was really a good idea to spend the summer in Mountain Resort.

  They walked into a house in Bamboo Garden. The room was beautifully decorated and everything arranged in perfect order. Each piece of furniture had been carefully cleaned and had a bright, new look. All the bedding, including the brocade sheet, the thin quilt and the pillow, were new. They were soft and warm as if with a faint smell of flowers.

  Murong Xue walked directly to the bedside and threw herself on the soft bed. She buried her head in the pillow, sniffed it and let out a sigh of satisfaction. Gradually, she felt pleasantly drowsy.

  Ouyang Shaochen read a tired expression on her face. He raised an eyebrow at her and asked, “Are you tired?”


  Murong Xue nodded and answered in a muffled voice, “Yes.” Her body was weak. Last night she had fought with the men in black for a long time and her left arm got injured. This morning she hurried to Mountain Resort by carriage. Now she was really tired and sleepy.

  Ouyang Shaochen pondered for a moment, and said, “His Majesty will give a banquet for the entertainment of officials in an hour. You can’t rest now. Go behind the folding screen and take a bath. It can effectively relax your fatigue……”


  Murong Xue knitted her brows and murmured, “I don’t want to attend the banquet……”


  “You must go!” Ouyang Shaochen interrupted her in a cold voice, with solemnity in his eyes. “Many people know that you have come to Mountain Resort. If you don’t go to the banquet and some people with bad intentions know it, they will tell His Majesty on you. By then you will get into big trouble……”