Mistakenly Marked the Madly Beautiful Princess - Chapter 22

“Father has been dispatched to the northern front in such haste that he didn’t even return home after receiving the orders.”

A faint trace of worry lingered between Ling Ya’s brows. She coughed twice, and after catching her breath, she looked at Ling Yue, who remained silent.

Thinking that Ling Yue might also be sent to the battlefield, Ling Ya feared her words had unsettled her younger sister. She quickly pushed the plate of pastries in front of her. “Try some.”

Ling Yue picked one up. The date-filled pastry was soft and sweet, just the flavor she liked.

Yet her mind was elsewhere.

Although there had been some dissatisfactions lately, compared to the tragedies of her past life, they were far too trivial.

Ling Yue was a person easily content. These days, she had been so happy that she almost forgot this was an era of turmoil.

With both the northern and southern kingdoms making moves, just as in her past life, Ling Fu was dispatched to the north, while Wang Fu led the resistance in the south.

If her memory served her right, Wang Fu would take Wang Lan south with him. It seemed she wouldn’t be seeing Wang Lan for a while.

She felt a tinge of reluctance. Though Wang Lan often said startling things, his optimistic nature made spending time with such a cheerful person quite relaxing.

“Cough, cough, cough!”

A violent coughing fit snapped her attention back. She hurriedly set down the pastry, poured medicine from a bottle, and fed it to Ling Ya.

A trace of blood seeped from the corner of Ling Ya’s lips, the crimson stark against her pale face.

At heart, Ling Yue still felt a pang of sorrow. In the Ling household, the only ones she cared about were Chun Tao and this elder sister.

Ling Ya wiped her mouth with a handkerchief and said apologetically, “Sorry for startling you.”

Ling Yue shook her head.

Truthfully, staying by the Princess’s side wasn’t so bad. When the time was right, she could use her merits to request the Princess to have that divine physician examine Ling Ya.

Or perhaps she might encounter the physician herself and ask for his help directly.

It was a pity that, after all these days, the only person who had appeared by the Princess’s side was Qing Niao. Though Qing Niao was also a physician, she seemed more like a matchmaker, constantly finding opportunities to pair Ling Yue with the Princess.

After taking the medicine, Ling Ya grew weary. She smiled weakly and said, “It’s late. You should return to your room, sister.”

Ling Yue did not agree immediately. Instead, she waited until Ling Ya had fallen into a deep sleep before leaving. Still uneasy, she turned back to instruct the maids, “Take good care of her through the night.”

Only after giving detailed instructions did she return to her own room.

The table Wang Lan had broken that day, she had repaired herself though crudely. Ling Yue wasn’t picky and casually sat down at it.

Today was the last day of her break, and Ling Yue suddenly felt afraid to sleep.

The thought of facing the Princess again tomorrow weighed on her.

Unable to resist, she leaned forward onto the table, causing it to tilt slightly and emit a creaking sound.

Ling Yue paid it no mind.

“Creak~”

Ling Yue started. This time, she hadn’t moved at all, and the sound came from the window. A sense of foreboding rose within her as she lifted her head to look.

It really was the Princess.

Ling Yue glanced at the wide-open door, then at the Princess gracefully climbing in through the window, momentarily speechless.

Lu He smoothly took a seat opposite her, propping her chin in her hand as she looked at Ling Yue with a smile. “It’s only been a few days, yet you’ve grown even poorer.”

The Princess’s teasing made Ling Yue’s cheeks flush. After all, she was a daughter of the General’s household, how had she ended up like this?

Ling Yue sighed helplessly. “I’ve embarrassed myself in front of Your Highness.”

“You and Wang Wen seem to get along quite well.”

Ling Yue didn’t understand why the princess was bringing this up. Worried she might overthink, she quickly explained, “It’s just an ordinary acquaintance.”

The dilapidated table no longer held teacups or similar furnishings. The princess lightly tapped the surface with her knuckles, and with each tap, Ling Yue’s eyebrows twitched slightly.

Just as Ling Yue’s brows were about to furrow into a deep crease, Lu He finally spared the poor table.

She chuckled softly, “I believe you. Otherwise, how could you not know those two haven’t returned to the estate yet?”

Ling Yue nodded, “Your Highness is wise. Huh? Your Highness just said they haven’t returned?”

Lu He watched Ling Yue’s widened eyes with amusement, knowing she was usually a well-behaved girl who adhered to propriety. Such emotional moments were rare.

She wanted to tease her further, but an inexplicable sense of pity washed over her. If not for the Green Bird having examined her, Lu He might have suspected Ling Yue had poisoned her.

This confusing emotion made her restless. She closed her eyes slightly, hiding her impatience.

The table creaked again. When Lu He looked up, the opposite seat was empty. Turning her head, she saw Ling Yue already at the door.

Lu He called out to stop her, “Are you going to look for them?”

Ling Yue paused, realizing she had been too hasty and forgotten to explain to the princess.

She couldn’t bother with formalities now and nodded, “If Your Highness has no further business, may I take my leave?”

Lu He sneered, “Just an ordinary acquaintance, and you’d go searching for them in the middle of the night?”

It sounded like an accusation, but the princess’s tone was oddly strange. If it weren’t for her status, Ling Yue might have mistaken it for jealousy.

Ling Yue felt she was growing stranger, always imagining scenarios where the princess might be in love with her.

She had grown up alone since childhood. Though more people surrounded her in her past life, no one ever shared overly personal matters with her.

Ling Yue began to suspect that night was the problem. Could sharing a bed cause a Di Xuan to influence a Tian Qian’s thoughts and actions?

The more she thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. She grew concerned about herself and wanted to find a proper physician for a check-up.

Her silence lasted so long that Lu He grew impatient.

Noticing her expression, Ling Yue quickly replied, looking pitiful under the moonlight, “But they’re the only friends I have.”

Lu He was taken aback. Staring into Ling Yue’s aggrieved eyes, even her usually unfeeling heart suddenly felt she had been too harsh.

She turned her head away, her voice softening, “Come back. They’re fine.”

Ling Yue’s anxious heart finally settled. She asked happily, “Really?”

“Hmm? Do you think I’d lie?”

Ling Yue naturally trusted her. She returned to her seat, then remembered she had almost abandoned the princess earlier and felt embarrassed.

“Where are they now?”

Hearing this, Lu He grew even more irritable. Ling Yue kept mentioning the two from Wen Wang’s estate, her concern overflowing.

Lu He snapped, “They circled back to the city through the mountains.”

Ling Yue was speechless. It seemed she had underestimated Wen Yuanyuan’s terrible sense of direction.

It wasn’t entirely her fault. In her past life, Wen Yuanyuan had never shown this flaw. But thinking back carefully, Wen Yuanyuan rarely acted alone.

When Wang Lan was alive, she always followed him. After Wang Lan died in battle, she stuck with Ling Yue. The one time she acted alone was also the last time.

That time when she found Wen Yuanyuan, the other was already beyond saving, covered in wounds, blood seeping through her armor. The usually clear-headed woman began to ramble incoherently.

“I think I see Lanlan. That’s great, I was afraid I wouldn’t find my way and wouldn’t get to see her.”

The suffocating feeling from that day surged back. Having lived a second life, Ling Yue gradually recovered fragments of her past existence. It wasn’t that she was cold-hearted and had forgotten, but the pain was so overwhelming she hadn’t dared to dwell on it.

“You’re upset. What’s troubling you?”

Lu He’s voice was unusually gentle, devoid of its usual teasing mockery.

But Ling Yue felt she hadn’t been particularly obvious about her emotions. Setting those memories aside for the moment, she returned to the reality of the moonlit night.

She looked up into the Eldest Princess’s eyes and unexpectedly found them soft, as if offering comfort.

Ling Yue thought she must be losing her mind. She let out a bitter laugh, somewhat impressed. “How did Your Highness notice?”

Lu He smiled slightly and pointed to her own eye. “Here, there were tears.”

Startled, Ling Yue raised her hand to wipe them away, but another hand got there first.

Cool fingers brushed against the corner of her eye, sending a shiver through her. Watching the Eldest Princess lean in, she nervously said, “Your Highness, this,”

Lu He paid no mind to her discomfort, withdrawing her hand naturally and smiling with effortless grace. “They’re gone now.”

The other’s composure made Ling Yue feel it was unfair only she seemed affected by this faint, ambiguous tension.

Yet Ling Yue lacked confidence in herself. The Eldest Princess’s calm demeanor made her doubt her own feelings.

Was she being too conservative? It was just a touch on the face, what did it really mean?

Someone as noble as the Eldest Princess wouldn’t deliberately take advantage of her in such a way.

Turning it over in her mind, Ling Yue concluded she was overthinking it. Not wanting to become a laughingstock, she formally expressed her gratitude: “Thank you, Your Highness.”

Lu He found it amusing. “Aren’t you being too distant with me?”

The question struck Ling Yue as odd. She believed that the relationship between ruler and subject should maintain such boundaries.

She answered honestly but avoided mentioning her underlying fear: “The ruler is the ruler, the subject is the subject. I must not overstep.”

Seeing that Ling Yue didn’t dare to look up, Lu He noted how close they were close enough to touch yet how far apart they felt.

Lu He let out a light scoff, though it was unclear whether she was mocking herself or Ling Yue. “Ruler and subject? And who is the ruler?”

The conversation was veering into dangerous territory.

By conventional reasoning, the ruler should be the current emperor. Yet everyone at court knew the emperor was merely a puppet of the Eldest Princess.

So, the ruler could also refer to the Eldest Princess herself.

Ling Yue’s mind raced, but the Eldest Princess suddenly let her off the hook.

“Never mind. You’re too foolish.”

Ling Yue, feeling both relieved and insulted, had her indignation swiftly replaced by terror as the Eldest Princess added another remark.

Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, Lu He said nonchalantly, “If I am the ruler and you are the subject, then that night, weren’t you guilty of deceiving your sovereign?”

Ling Yue felt a chill run down her neck.

She struggled to speak. “Didn’t Your Highness acknowledge my worth?”

Lu He smiled. “I was lying. Or perhaps I’ve changed my mind.”

Ling Yue’s heart tightened. After the fear came anger. “I thought Your Highness was a person of your word. It seems I was blind.”

In her past life, and now in this one, Ling Yue had to admit her judgment was flawed she just never expected to fall for someone from the Lu family twice.

Lu He released her grip on Ling Yue’s hair and watched her fuming. She felt that Ling Yue seemed much more vibrant in front of her now.

But if she teased her any further, Ling Yue might really run off.

Lu He stood up and walked to the window. Before leaving, she glanced back and said with a smile, “That last sentence was also a lie.”

Seeing that Lu He didn’t seem to be joking, Ling Yue relaxed slightly but then sensed something off. Frowning, she asked, “Also?”

Noticing Ling Yue had caught on, Lu He found her slowness rather endearing. “You’ve noticed. The other lie was that you never actually shed any tears.”

With that, Lu He nimbly slipped out the window and vanished from the courtyard.

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