Lady He immediately exchanged a look with Old Man Ye and, realizing that they could no longer deceive Ye Jiu, simply gave up the pretense.
"Xiaojiu, tell your mother the truth. You were in such a hurry to leave right after eating—were you planning to meet Prince Jing?" Lady He asked.
Ye Jiu raised an eyebrow, "Mother, how did you come to know about Prince Jing?"
Yesterday, when Prince Jing came, he didn’t announce his identity, did he?
So, how did Lady He find out?
Noticing the doubt in Ye Jiu’s mind, Old Man Ye sighed and said, "Yesterday, when your eldest brother, second brother, and I were going out, we happened to walk behind Prince Jing and recognized him."
With that, Ye Jiu understood and answered, "I was indeed going to meet Prince Jing, and it’s about the sweet potato matter. It’s time to start breeding the seedlings, isn’t it? Since Prince Jing came for the sweet potatoes, I was rushing over to hand things off to him."
As he spoke, Ye Jiu asked his parents, "Do you wish for me not to go?"
This question left the elderly couple at a loss for words.
After all, their child was attending to serious business—saying no without a proper reason would be unjustifiable.
After thinking for a while, Lady He said, "Although Prince Jing’s status is noble, our family is just common folk. Constant interaction with nobility leaves me feeling uneasy, fearing that you might be wronged or bullied."
In truth, she simply didn’t want Ye Jiu to meet with Prince Jing; she was being selfish. The thought of Prince Jing vying for her daughter had kept her awake for most of the previous night.
Reflecting on the matter, Ye Jiu figured that it must have been Prince Jing’s behavior during their fourth brother’s wedding that frightened her mother, which was why Lady He was in such a state of anxiety now.
Because of all this reflection, she didn’t consider that Lady He might have already learned of her true identity.
When she remembered how Lady He had been frightened into kneeling and injuring her knee last time, Ye Jiu couldn’t help but feel pained, "If mother is worried, then I won’t go. It’s not important whether I’m there or not, Changsheng will be able to handle everything." Read complete versıon only at novel•fire.net
However, Old Man Ye worried, "But if you don’t go, might it offend Prince Jing?"
After all, he vividly remembered the Prince’s daunting demeanor from the last visit.
"It won’t. Prince Jing isn’t that petty," Ye Jiu reassured him.
Yet, in his heart, Old Man Ye thought, a father may not be petty towards his own children, but the key issue here is, does Prince Jing even know that Xiaojiu is his child?
Ye Jiu indeed didn’t go, but by the afternoon, Prince Jing had come knocking at their door again.
The afternoon weather was quite pleasant, with the warm sun shining upon them.
Ye Jiu carried out two stools, and the two of them sat down in the courtyard.
Gazing at Ye Jiu, Prince Jing was the first to speak, "Are you angry?"
Ye Jiu shook her head, "No."
Indeed, she had been quite angry upon hearing the news yesterday, but upon reflection, it seemed there was nothing to be angry about.
Besides, even if she felt angry, she could only suppress it within her heart—it was better not to let such feelings bother her.
"If you’re not angry, then why didn’t you come at noon?" Prince Jing didn’t believe Ye Jiu’s denial.
"You’ve misunderstood. I didn’t go at noon because my mother wasn’t feeling well, there was no other reason," Ye Jiu stated truly, although a large part of Lady He’s ailment was feigned.
It was good that she wasn’t angry. Regardless of whether her words were true or false, Prince Jing took them as truth.
"Girl, I will be leaving tomorrow. Won’t you really consider returning to the capital city?" Prince Jing sighed, this was the problem troubling him the most.
Given his status, no matter how challenging the situation, nothing was truly problematic, yet Ye Jiu’s thoughts and actions were something he could not force.