After Accidentally Marking the Cold and Elegant Eldest Princess - Chapter 5

Chapter 5: A Strange Feeling in the Heart

Yan Yunti was slightly stunned.

The beauty’s face was as cold and clear as jade, impossible to reconcile with the overly clingy Kunze in her memory.

It was best to treat what just happened as a grand dream; if the Eldest Princess did not seek to hold her accountable, that was naturally for the best.

Yan Yunti lowered her head and bowed, her tone respectful: “This official’s daughter understands.” Having said that, she retreated to the furthest possible distance opposite the Princess, using her actions to demonstrate her attitude.

For a time, no one spoke.

In the air, the scent of their deeply intermingled pheromones drifted about.

With every breath, Yan Yunti inevitably inhaled the blended fragrance. This scent teased her gland; she reached out to press down on the nape of her neck, trying to quiet the gland that throbbed every now and then.

The force of the drug had long since been vented, and she could now control the release of her pheromones at will, except… her gland still craved the Kunze’s scent.

Furthermore, after hearing the Kunze’s cold words, a faint sense of discomfort rose in her heart.

Knowing her state wasn’t quite right, Yan Yunti closed her eyes and endured in silence. However, her ears were too sharp; hearing a sound from the opposite side, she couldn’t help but look up.

Yuan Jingxue was rising from the low couch. As her feet touched the floor, her slender brows knitted slightly. After taking just two steps, her figure swayed.

Without a second thought, Yan Yunti’s body acted first. She dashed to Yuan Jingxue’s side, catching the woman’s swaying body just in time, her voice laced with concern: “Are you unwell?”

The Qianyuan’s warm palm supported her lower back, sending a wave of slight numbness through her that somewhat soothed the soreness there.

Yuan Jingxue’s brow furrowed even deeper. She looked up at Yan Yunti, and just as she was about to snap a question, the secret wall rotated open.

Jinsi stood at the entrance holding two sets of new clothes. Seeing the two in such an intimate posture, her expression shifted in shock before she quickly lowered her head. “Your Highness, the clothes have been fetched. Song Lang is waiting outside the Buddhist hall.”

Yan Yunti snapped back to reality and realized what she was doing. Her breath hitched, and she awkwardly withdrew her hand, making an excuse: “I’ll go get the clothes.”

On the surface, Yan Yunti appeared calm, but internally, her mind was a tangled mess of hemp.

She took the clothes from Jinsi’s hands. Behind her, Yuan Jingxue’s command came at the right time: “Jinsi, go guard outside.”

“Yes.” Jinsi took two steps back and exited the inner room.

This time, she did not close the secret wall.

The pheromones permeating the air rushed outward, and Yan Yunti felt the air she breathed become much fresher.

She leaned down to place the two sets of clothes on the low couch and took the blue set from the top. Just as she stood up, she heard Yuan Jingxue ask coldly: “Miss Yan, did you not understand my words?”

Another wave of discomfort hit Yan Yunti’s heart. She lowered her gaze and said: “Rest assured, Your Highness, I understand your meaning. I saw Your Highness was unsteady just now, so I came to assist. I had no other intentions; I hope Your Highness does not take offense.”

The Qianyuan kept her head down, making it impossible to see her expression.

Judging by her words alone, she was exceedingly cautious and respectful.

A trace of something strange flickered in Yuan Jingxue’s heart. She suppressed her emotions, averted her gaze, and said indifferently: “That is for the best.”

Yan Yunti clutched the clothes and retreated: “I shall go outside to change.” With that, she turned and strode out of the secret room.

Yuan Jingxue’s gaze landed on the Qianyuan’s decisive departing back.

The strange feeling in her heart became more pronounced.

Was it… displeasure?

Outside the secret room, Yan Yunti quickly changed her dress.

This dress was similar in color to her original one, but the texture and embroidery were far more superior and exquisite. It didn’t look like a palace attendant’s clothing.

Could it be the Eldest Princess’s own dress?

Yan Yunti immediately shook her head, tossing away the absurd thought.

Whether it was or wasn’t didn’t matter. What mattered was how to handle the soiled dress.

Yan Yunti looked around and found a charcoal brazier placed under the soft couch in the inner room.

She pulled the brazier out and threw the dress inside. She was worrying about where to find a fire-starter when she saw Yuan Jingxue emerge from the secret room. She took the opportunity to ask: “Your Highness, I wish to burn this dress. Could Your Highness lend me a fire-starter?”

Yuan Jingxue walked slowly to the soft couch and sat down. “Jinsi, come in.”

Jinsi entered the room. At Yuan Jingxue’s signal, she fetched a fire-starter and handed it to Yan Yunti.

Yan Yunti blew the fire-starter into a flame and ignited the dress in the brazier.

Tongues of fire swept upward, consuming the light-blue dress within moments.

The lingering pheromones in the secret room were also fading continuously. The traces left by the earlier absurdity vanished one by one, except for… the numerous red marks left on the woman’s soft, white skin.

When Yan Yunti had supported her earlier, she noticed that the gland on the back of Yuan Jingxue’s neck was already somewhat red and swollen; it would certainly require medicine. And as for that other place…

It was her first time, after all. Under the control of the drug, she hadn’t been very gentle. While helping Yuan Jingxue vent the drug’s force, her fingers had been somewhat forceful, and later, when she was pestering her, she hadn’t controlled her strength at all.

Otherwise, the dress that had been neatly spread beneath them wouldn’t have shifted everywhere until it was soaked through with water stains.

Yan Yunti looked up at Yuan Jingxue, unexpectedly meeting her distant, cool gaze, and swallowed her words back down.

Forget it. The matter of applying medicine shouldn’t need her reminder.

It was better for her to stay quiet and act as an invisible person.

The Qianyuan looked as if she wanted to say something but stopped, lowering her head instead.

Yuan Jingxue had no desire to guess her thoughts. She said to Jinsi: “Dispatch two people to escort Miss Yan back. Let Song Lang come in.”

“Yes.” Jinsi looked at Yan Yunti and gestured with her hand. “Miss Yan, please.”

Yan Yunti remained quiet and obedient as she left the inner room.

Outside the silent Buddhist hall, many Imperial Guards had appeared at some unknown time. Standing at the very front was a woman clad in black armor with a blade at her waist. She looked to be in her thirties, her expression solemn and sharp.

Yan Yunti watched her enter the Buddhist hall, guessing she must be the “Song Lang” the Princess had mentioned.

Since the Imperial Guards had been alerted, today’s matter likely wouldn’t end simply.

Under the escort of two guards, Yan Yunti returned to the main hall.

Inside the hall, the music and dancing continued. Everyone was completely unaware of what had happened outside.

Yan Yunti returned to her seat. she looked at the wine cup by her hand, picked it up to sniff it, and then shook the wine pot containing the imperial wine.

The pot was empty. The cup had been replaced.

It seemed someone had already come to clean up the traces.

Yan Yunti tapped her finger on the table, her gaze circling the entire hall. Several seats were empty, making it difficult to lock onto a target.

Yan Yunti looked toward the head of the hall. Noble Consort Rong and Virtuous Consort Min were both there. A moment later, an attendant stepped forward to whisper a few words into Noble Consort Rong’s ear. The Noble Consort rose as if to depart.

At that exact moment, a squad of black-armored Imperial Guards entered the hall. Led by Song Lang, she spoke to the nobles above: “We are acting under the orders of the Eldest Princess to lockdown Yaohua Hall. A villain has infiltrated the hall today intending to assassinate Her Highness the Eldest Princess. We ask that the honored guests wait a moment in the hall; once the guards have captured the villain, everyone may depart.”

The hall was instantly in an uproar; the music and dancing ceased entirely.

At the high seats, Noble Consort Rong sat back down, while Virtuous Consort Min’s expression seemed to turn somewhat unsightly.

Yan Yunti took everything in. She turned to see Jinsi, the attendant by the Princess’s side, walking toward her and was momentarily stunned.

In that brief daze, Jinsi had already reached her. With lowered brows, Jinsi presented a porcelain bottle with both hands: “Today, Miss Yan was wounded in the left arm by a villain while protecting Her Highness. Her Highness has specifically ordered me to deliver this wound medicine. We hope Miss Yan will accept it. Additionally, a reward of gratitude will be delivered to the Marquis Household tomorrow.”

In an instant, Yan Yunti became the focus of everyone’s attention.

Yan Yunti calmly accepted the medicine bottle. “My thanks to the Eldest Princess.”

Ignoring the surrounding gazes, she sat down and turned the bottle over in her hands. The wound on her left arm from the hairpin wasn’t deep; she had simply wrapped it with a handkerchief. She didn’t need such a high-quality medicine at all.

Was this move by the Princess meant to help her?

After all, she had been away for so long and had changed her clothes; she needed a reason.

This “rescue” was not that “rescue.”

This Eldest Princess didn’t seem quite as cold-hearted as she appeared on the surface.