CH 84

No! No way! Cannot!

Although Qiqi didn’t have many intersections with Prince Jin and didn’t know if his behavior was good or evil, no matter what kind of person Prince Jin was, Yanran couldn’t marry him! Otherwise, she would die!

Qiqi told herself. Since her destiny had changed, how could she let her best sister Yanran marry Prince Jin in this life? She couldn’t let Yanran, such a kind girl, die in that bitter cold place, and in a strange land!

Qiqi reversed to hold Cui Yanran’s hand and asked her: “Yanran, you...... you tell me the truth. Which prince did you secretly promise your heart to?”

She spoke by using the tone of intimate talk between young ladies and whispered to Cui Yanran. Cui Yanran’s face turned red as soon as she heard it. She reached out and pushed Qiqi. With her head lowered, she started to stammer as she spoke: “Se...... secret promise of the heart is also out of the question. J-just simply comes to take a look......”

Then Cui Yanran added again: “Aiya, Ah-Ning! You can rest assured. I know you like Prince Xuan in your heart. I ah, who to fall for will not fall for your Prince Xuan!”

“...” Qiqi only felt a headache. Cui Yanran obviously misunderstood something, but she didn’t know how to explain nor did she know which part Yanran misunderstood.

Did she look like she liked Shen Zhonghua?

Speaking of which, Cui Yanran could get the news that several high-ranking princes were playing on the lake here, naturally, other noble young ladies who were interested in the princes could get the news too.

As a matter of fact, in a speedily decorated pleasure boat nearby, Qiqi had already seen Marquis Pingyang’s daughter Princess Anning.

Princess Anning’s bearing nature was arrogant and willful. Whether it was this life or the previous life, Qiqi was profoundly impressed by her.

Because this princess was loved by everyone from a young age and grew up like the moon surrounded by the stars. She also once had a deep affection for Shen Zhonghua.

In the previous life, when Shen Zhonghua made clear that he wanted his majesty to refer marriage for him and Su Lianxue, it was this Princess Anning who was causing hinder from within and because of her opposition, she repeatedly made trouble in Yuqiang. Therefore, Su Lianxue and Shen Zhonghua, who should be close relatives and had an appropriate match in the marriage, were also temporarily set aside. It wasn’t until later when Shen Zhonghua ascended the throne and became emperor that this matter was brought up again by Shen Zhonghua himself.

Princess Anning wasn’t a fuel-efficient lamp. This was true in the previous life and naturally, this was also true in this life. Not to mention, the flattering and fawning noble young ladies around her led by Li Mingmei the Di daughter of Assistant Minister Li.

The decorated pleasure boat of Princess Anning was naturally the most golden and expensive. It was twice bigger than the decorated pleasure boat that Qiqi and they were in. The Su family and the Cui family were also noble descendants of great families. Their expenses for food and clothing were the best, but they wouldn’t be excessively extravagant outside. In addition, Cui Yanran’s original intention of coming to the lake was to “look from afar” and didn’t want to attract attention at all. Therefore, she only rented an ordinary decorated pleasure boat. Although there were no carved railings, drawing rose ridgepoles, and a magnificent and gorgeous imperial decorated pleasure boat like Princess Anning and the princes, it appeared more elegant and delicate.

However, Princess Anning and others didn’t think so. They stood on the bow of the boat with silk and satin swaying lovely in the breeze and looking condescendingly at Qiqi and Cui Yanran. Seeing the mouth shape, Li Mingmei seemed to ridicule them with Princess Anning and said: “So pitiful.”

Qiqi wasn’t surprised at all. Even if she was the young miss of the general, who seemed tender and precious as jade in the eyes of others, Princess Anning didn’t put her in her eyes.

The same was true in the previous life. After all, in the eyes of outsiders, she was just a servant girl of Shen Zhonghua’s grand and magnificent Prince Xuan palace. She was a lowly servant and disdained by her Princess Anning.

Actually, Princess Anning’s hostility to Qiqi in this life wasn’t because of Shen Zhonghua. It was merely only when Su Lianxue was still the miss of the general, that she saw Su Lianxue wasn’t pleasing to the eyes. She thought in this Chang'an City, apart from the princesses, someone unexpectedly could be with her Princess Anning “on equal footing”, but now that fake Su Lianxue was driven away by the house. The general had found the real pearl in the palm that was stranded outside. Later she looked at Qiqi as more unpleasant to the eyes and thought Qiqi was just a wild child.

Furthermore, according to the information she received, she knew that Qiqi was just a lowly servant before. Hence, in Princess Anning’s eyes, she didn’t regard Qiqi as a miss of the general, but as a countryside girl who didn’t even look like a princess even if she dressed in beautiful clothes and dragon robes.

Princess Anning relied on favoritism and intended to make Qiqi and Cui Yanran look ugly. She didn’t even need to open her mouth, just one of her meaningful glances and Li Mingmei had already whispered to her personal servant girl. She wanted to teach these two girls who “didn’t know good from bad” a lesson for the princess.

Perhaps in their view, any young ladies who didn’t follow Princess Anning and flattered her didn’t know good from bad.

Both Qiqi and Cui Yanran had a premonition that Princess Anning wanted to embarrass them. After all, this wasn’t the first time, but they didn’t expect Princess Anning would go so far as to have the boatman bump into their boat directly with their big boat! Moreover, there was still more than one bump that made the steering continuously adjust the bow toward them and smashed into them!

How could Qiqi and their boat withstand the collisions with Princess Anning’s big boat? It became shaking and swaying at once. Qiqi knew martial arts and also knew how to swim, so on the contrary, she wasn’t worried, but had Cui Yanran ever seen such a scene? She stood up in a panic, came to grab Qiqi, and asked: “Ah-Ning! Ah! What to do?! Will the boat turn over?!”

“Advanced to the cabin! Boatman, speed up the turning of the bow and increase the distance!” Qiqi pulled Cui Yanran into the cabin, but she didn’t expect Cui Yanran’s servant girl Cai Wei to be unstable by the bump and fall into the water with a scream!

“Cai Wei!” Yanran wanted to reach out to pull her and she suddenly broke free from Qiqi’s hand. Cui Yanran had originally pulled Cai Wei. Qiqi stepped forward quickly and wanted to pull Cui Yanran, but she didn’t expect to be hit with another fierce bump again. Qiqi’s figure flicked. She didn’t manage to grab Cui Yanran. Cui Yanran also screamed and was thrown into the lake together with Cai Wei who hadn’t been pulled up by her!

“Yanran!” Qiqi shouted and only heard Yanran cry a word: “Help!”

She jumped into the water without a second thought!