After Becoming a Concubine, I Took Down the Princess - Chapter 46

What Liang Shu called an inspection trip for Liang Xiao was, in fact, merely a chance for her to relax.

Liang Xiao spent quite a number of days wandering around Shangnan with the local prefect, gaining a thorough understanding of the local conditions. During this time, she also provided aid to many poor people, earning herself a lot of good reputation.

With over ten days already spent there, Yan Heng calculated that it was time to take a trip to Liuyun Mountain.

“Brother, I’m planning to go home in a few days, and I’ll be bringing someone back with me then,” she said, opening the transmission stone to gauge Yan Qiu’s reaction first.

“Is it the princess you met in the palace? Aren’t you afraid of startling her?” Yan Qiu sounded a bit worried. This pampered little human princess might faint when she saw a mountain full of wild foxes.

“My… our Princess is not the timid type,” Yan Heng’s tongue slipped, almost letting out the words that could lead to a misunderstanding.

Yan Qiu paused, unsure if he’d heard Yan Heng’s near slip-up: “Anyway, you should prepare her beforehand. I’ll tell Mom and Dad.”

Yan Heng agreed wholeheartedly. They chatted about other things for a bit, and seeing Liang Xiao return, Yan Heng quickly said goodbye to Yan Qiu.

“What were you talking about?” Unusually, Liang Xiao sat on Yan Heng’s lap.

Yan Heng instinctively wrapped her arms around Liang Xiao’s waist, her fingers naughtily stroking: “Just chatting with my brother, asking him to inform the family first.”

Liang Xiao thought for a moment: “Have you decided when to go back? Do I need to prepare anything?”

Yan Heng shook her head: “My parents don’t care about those things, your presence is enough.”

Liang Xiao, however, was somewhat insistent: “That may be true, but it’s still proper to have some gifts.”

Knowing her temperament, Yan Heng simply gave up arguing and started offering suggestions to Liang Xiao: “My mother doesn’t have many hobbies, she likes cosmetics and powders. As for my father, he loves to drink. Let’s go to the street tomorrow and buy some things.”

“Okay,” Liang Xiao readily agreed. “Let’s buy some expensive ones.”

When it came to shopping, Yan Heng had to take the lead. Liang Xiao simply followed along and paid, while the people on the street looked at Yan Heng with envy.

“Look, which young lady is that? Even her maid is dressed so well.”

“I don’t know, but she certainly looks wealthy. Look at her jewelry, I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Yan Heng happened to overhear these few sentences as she passed by, and she couldn’t help but be amused.

The two of them had left without any attendants today, which led to the misunderstanding.

She turned her head to look at Liang Xiao, fully expecting her to be displeased by such an offensive remark, but instead, the other person was smiling sweetly at her.

Yan Heng asked in confusion, “The things those people said, and you’re not angry?”

Liang Xiao shook her head and countered, “What’s there to be unhappy about being a maid for my Ah Heng?”

Yan Heng silently turned her face away, her cheeks flushed crimson.

Liang Xiao deliberately teased her, leaning close to her ear and asking, “Does Miss want to buy anything else?”

Yan Heng looked at the rouge, famous wine, and various other scattered items they were carrying, and shook her head: “This should be enough.”

Then, she gently tapped Liang Xiao and whispered in her ear, “Ah Xiao calling me Miss truly does me in.”

Liang Xiao smiled: “You are naturally the one I hold most dear, I’m even willing to call you Miss.”

Liang Xiao’s expressions of affection were always direct, but saying such blush-inducing words in broad daylight still made Yan Heng’s cheeks feel hot for a moment.

Liang Xiao watched her flustered look, feeling a surge of sweetness in her heart.

With gifts prepared for the Yan family, Yan Heng settled on a time with her family and decided to go home the next day.

As night fell, Liang Xiao found herself unable to sleep, feeling a strange nervousness.

She carefully turned over, afraid of waking the person next to her, but realized Yan Heng was also still awake.

She propped herself up slightly and whispered, “Can’t sleep?”

Liang Xiao turned and embraced her: “I’m a little worried.”

She didn’t intend to hide anything from Yan Heng and poured out all her concerns.

“I’m worried your esteemed father and mother will be angry with you, worried that your clan will look at you strangely, worried that they’ll force us to sep—”

Yan Heng leaned in and silenced her with a kiss.

She gently patted Liang Xiao’s back, then moved away from her lips: “If they really do that, I’ll elope with Ah Xiao, and I guarantee they won’t be able to do anything about us.”

Liang Xiao let out a soft laugh in the dark: “I never thought I could have a day like this before.”

“I never thought I could have a soulmate as understanding as Ah Heng.”

Yan Heng placed a kiss on her forehead and said softly, “I also never dared to fantasize about being this deeply in love with you before.”

Liang Xiao held her waist and said slowly and firmly, “Lifelong devotion.”

Because they had to enter the mountain, the two abandoned the carriage the next day and didn’t bring any attendants.

Since Yan Heng was familiar with the mountain paths, they weren’t afraid of getting lost.

The path up the mountain was winding and complex. Yan Heng walked along, introducing her family situation to Liang Xiao.

“My father, my mother, and my brother are all easy to talk to. The other elders in the clan look stern, but they are actually very kind.”

She ticked off her fingers, meticulously introducing the temperaments of the clan members to Liang Xiao, who listened and memorized each one.

Although Yan Heng had reassured her not to worry too much, she still couldn’t stop feeling anxious. After all, she had “stolen” their daughter; she just hoped Yan Heng’s parents wouldn’t chase her out with a broom.

After about an hour of walking, Liang Xiao finally saw a few small houses in the distance.

Yan Heng held her hand: “We’re almost there.”

She patted Liang Xiao’s hand and continued: “The people living here aren’t all from our Yan family, but none of them are harmful fox spirits, so you can relax.”

Then, she added: “Except for my three family members, no one else knows your identity. If they ask, you can rest assured, I will help you.”

Yan Heng’s words finally brought her some comfort, and Liang Xiao slowly breathed a sigh of relief.

“Dad, Mom!” Yan Heng spotted the two figures standing not far away and excitedly jumped up and waved.

Yan Wei and Xia Yin came forward. Seeing the things in their hands, they quickly said, “Why bring all these things home? Why are you still so distant?”

Although their words carried a hint of reproach, Liang Xiao could tell that the two elders liked the items very much.

“This must be the girl Ah Heng told us about, right?” Xia Yin stepped forward, wanting to take Liang Xiao’s hand, but was afraid the princess, being delicate and pampered, might not be used to being touched by others.

Liang Xiao proactively stepped forward and took Xia Yin’s hand, smiling, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Auntie.”

She performed another respectful curtsy to Yan Wei: “Pleased to meet you, Uncle.”

The two of them smiled: “Don’t be so formal, Miss. Come, sit inside.”

Yan Heng looked left and right, asking with confusion: “Where is Yan Qiu?”

Xia Yin waved her hand: “He’s busy in the kitchen. As soon as he heard you two were coming, he insisted on cooking himself. I just hope the food is edible.”

Liang Xiao could barely suppress a laugh at the comment but held it in for fear of appearing impolite.

Hearing that Yan Qiu was cooking seemed to greatly surprise Yan Heng: “When did he learn to cook? Is he perhaps plotting against me and trying to poison me?”

Xia Yin also sighed: “I should probably just drag him out.”

Yan Wei, in contrast to his wife and daughter, was clearly much more composed, simply smiling and shaking his head without saying anything more.

Along the way, they met many acquaintances. Yan Heng seemed to run up and chat with everyone she saw. Now that she was back on Liuyun Mountain, her true nature was completely unleashed.

But she didn’t forget to look after Liang Xiao. All the surrounding fox spirits who saw her praised her as “naturally poised and elegantly dignified.”

“Yan Qiu, stop cooking now.” Xia Yin rushed into the kitchen and dragged her son out. Liang Xiao saw black smoke already rising from the kitchen. Any later, and the house might have been gone.

She had met Yan Qiu before, and the two exchanged polite greetings before Yan Heng pulled her away to her small cabin.

She gently closed the door, walked back, and said: “After we eat, we’ll talk about the main business.”

Liang Xiao nodded: “The scenery in these mountains truly has a unique charm.”

Yan Heng smiled: “Everyone living on the mountain are simple and honest spirits.”

Liang Xiao’s previous anxiety and unease vanished, and she was now completely relaxed, starting to look around at the furnishings in Yan Heng’s room.

The whole room was extremely simple, with no superfluous decorations aside from the necessary furniture.

Yan Heng rubbed her head: “This place can’t compare to the Imperial Palace. While it’s a bit rough, living here is truly comforting.”

Liang Xiao shook her head: “Compared to the Imperial Palace, I actually prefer it here.”

She walked a circle around the room and sighed: “It’s free and unrestrained here, without the shackles of those doctrines and formalities.”

Yan Heng felt a pang of heartache, stood up, and hugged her.

“Your Highness, here you can throw away those broken rules and enjoy yourself fully.”

Liang Xiao patted her back: “I’ll listen to you.”

Lunch was prepared by Xia Yin and Yan Wei. Yan Heng had mentioned earlier that her father’s cooking was superb, easily rivaling the palace chefs.

During the meal, Yan Qiu looked at the two of them with a strange expression. Yan Heng nudged him with her elbow in confusion: “Why are you staring at us like that?”

Yan Qiu opened his mouth but ultimately said nothing.

Yan Heng was full of doubt but just assumed he was being eccentric.

Xia Yin and Yan Wei were not reserved people, and there was no “no talking while eating” rule here. They chatted a lot of everyday things with Liang Xiao during the meal, which made her feel somewhat overwhelmed.

“I’m finished eating,” Yan Heng said, putting down her chopsticks and wiping her mouth, observing her parents’ expressions.

“Then you clean up the bowls,” Xia Yin prepared to order Yan Heng to do chores as everyone also put down their chopsticks.

Liang Xiao also got ready to stand up and help, but Yan Heng stopped her: “You’re a guest, just sit still.”

With that, she quickly and skillfully cleared the table. The remaining three sat in the room, chatting for a few moments.

Yan Heng finished cleaning up the dishes and took a deep breath at the doorway.

Although she had been comforting her Princess verbally, in truth, she was more nervous than anyone.

She prepared to push the door open, only to find her hand trembling severely.

I don’t care. Even if everyone objected, she was going to be with Liang Xiao.

Yan Heng firmed her resolve and strode inside.

Xia Yin smiled and waved her over: “Perfect timing, Heng’er. We were just telling Miss Liang some embarrassing stories about you when you were little.”

Yan Heng, however, stood motionless in the middle of the room, hiked up her skirt, and knelt straight down.

Everyone was shocked. Liang Xiao, in particular, caught her breath, her heart rate spiking.

She quickly stood up next to Yan Heng, preparing to kneel down, but Yan Heng held her back.

The seated Xia Yin and Yan Wei were utterly confused, while Yan Qiu wore a look of worry, as if he already knew what was coming.

Yan Heng looked steadily at them, taking a breath before speaking: “Father, Mother, your daughter is unfilial. I have fallen in love with a woman.”

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