Chapter 135: Celebrating Freedom

Chapter 135

Celebrating Freedom

The next day, Nie Shuang went to meet the princess in the palace as promised. An Le had been eager to know how the situation from the previous day had turned out. The day before, Nie Shuang had to reassure the princess multiple times, promising to report every detail of what had happened. Only then did the princess agree to leave. Today, Nie Shuang quickly came to the palace to fulfill her promise. An Le listened intently, so focused that she didn’t even acknowledge Xiao Mao who came to nuzzle her. When Nie Shuang reached the part where Song Ren said that it was fine if Chen Yuelan didn’t want to kneel: ‘Don’t force her. If she doesn’t want to do it, then let it be,’ the princess slammed her hand on the table.

"How much longer will he keep protecting her?! It’s clear how awful she is, yet she doesn’t even realize her own fault!"

"Calm down, Your Highness, I haven’t even finished the story yet,"

Nie Shuang replied with a laugh, seeing how invested the princess was in the tale. Realizing her outburst, An Le blushed and said softly.

"Apologies, Sister Nie, I got too emotional listening."

"After that, Song Ren said he feared incidents like this would continue in the future, so he apologized to Master Chen and Chen Furen, telling them he could no longer take her as his wife."

Hearing this, An Le paused in stunned silence for a moment, then burst into delighted laughter.

"This second young master of yours is truly something. He knew just how to bait the enemy, making her feel hopeful before pulling her down into the abyss. At least he has some sense. If he had kept protecting her and still wanted to marry someone like that, he would have been beyond saving,"

The princess said cheerfully. But then she noticed Nie Shuang was staring at her with a scrutinizing look.

"Sister Nie, why are you looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?"

An Le raised a hand to check her face. Nie Shuang continued staring before asking,

"Now that Song Ren won’t marry Young Miss Chen, how does Your Highness feel about that?"

"Isn’t that a good thing? You won’t have to deal with her as a sister-in-law. No matter how much you tried to avoid her, you’d still have to see her at family ceremonies,"

An Le answered straightforwardly without avoiding her gaze. Nie Shuang couldn’t detect any hidden emotions or embarrassment. Perhaps it was just her imagination after all. Yesterday, Second Brother hadn’t confessed to having feelings for anyone, either. It seemed impossible that the lively, mischievous woman and the shy, quiet man could ever have feelings for each other.

"By the way, Sister Nie, about what the Hou announced—have you agreed to become the mistress of the household yet?"

An Le interrupted her train of thought.

"I haven’t given the Hou an answer yet. For now, I’ll continue living in my own house. What others say doesn’t really matter to me."

The princess admired her greatly. Throughout the region, there was likely no one but Sister Nie who dared live this way—defying even her in-laws’ wishes.

"Sister Nie, I’m free today. How about we go out to celebrate the fact that you don’t have to be sister-in-law with Chen Yuelan? I’ll treat you."

"Aren’t you free every day, Your Highness? You’re just using this as an excuse to go out and have fun, aren’t you?"

Nie Shuang teased knowingly, yet did not decline the suggestion. The two of them then headed to the Tianfu House, a renowned restaurant in the capital.

As usual, the head manager came out to greet the princess. Just as Nie Shuang was about to follow her into the private room, the princess suddenly stopped.

"Isn’t that the Second Young Master over there? Hah! Could he be celebrating his newfound freedom as well?"

An Le joked. Following her gaze, Nie Shuang saw her second brother sitting with friends. His face was relaxed, as it usually was, and he seemed to be laughing heartily at something amusing, showing his neatly aligned teeth. As though sensing someone watching him, his warm eyes scanned the room, and when they landed on the princess, his expression suddenly changed.

An Le quickly walked on without saying another word, leaving Nie Shuang to smile at her second brother before following the princess into the private room.

Once inside, An Le sat down with a frown on her face. Noticing that she was deep in thought, Nie Shuang said nothing and quietly looked through the menu. From the corner of her eye, she saw the princess place a hand over her chest, as if she had just experienced something unsettling.

How strange. Just seeing the second young master’s gaze earlier, why did it feel like her heart was swaying? Perhaps she needed to call the royal doctor for a check-up later...

An Le thought to herself, but she still couldn’t clear her doubts, so she called for the waiter to summon the second young master from Yong An Hou Manor to see him for herself. The waiter soon returned with Song Ren, who greeted the princess and then respectfully addressed his sister-in-law. After that, he sat quietly with his eyes lowered, waiting for the princess to speak.

"Second Young Master, I brought your sister-in-law here to celebrate today. Why don’t you join us?"

There was no way for Song Ren to refuse, so he accepted and sat down obediently, giving the princess a chance to examine him up close.

Come to think of it, the second young master was quite handsome—his nose sharply defined, his lips thin and delicate. He had sword-like eyebrows and gentle eyes. No wonder the women of the capital were so taken with him.

Though Song Ren kept his eyes lowered, he could still feel the intensity of the princess’s gaze. His face gradually flushed a bright red. Even Nie Shuang, also a woman herself, found the princess’s behavior amusing. She looked as though she was scrutinizing a rare and valuable antique. An Le frowned. Aside from noting that he was very handsome, she couldn’t figure out what that earlier feeling was all about.

The food was gradually brought in, and the palace maids accompanying them served the dishes and poured tea. Throughout the meal, the princess chatted away with Nie Shuang as if the second young master wasn’t even there. Nie Shuang glanced at her second brother, concerned he might feel uncomfortable, but noticed the corner of his mouth slightly curved upward, as though he was enjoying the tale the princess was telling. His gaze remained lowered, focused on his tea, while his long eyelashes obscured any hint of his thoughts.

An Le began talking about Xiao Mao, then jumped excitedly to the topic of the new tea house that was about to open. It seemed that in Nie Shuang’s company, the princess was lively and carefree, like meeting a friend she truly clicked with. As the meal progressed, she continued chatting and eating, unconcerned with table etiquette.

Just a moment ago, Song Ren had already eaten with his friends, but he still picked up his chopsticks to nibble on something more. An Le found that having a handsome man at the table certainly improved her appetite. She thought to herself that next time, she should have Sister Nie bring him along again. Noticing that they had taken up enough of the second brother’s time, Nie Shuang suggested that he head back first.

"Second Brother, the princess and I will likely chat for a while longer. You must have other matters to attend to, so it would be best if you went to take care of those..."

"I don’t have any business to attend to," her second brother quickly replied. He hesitated for a moment before continuing, "If I go home, there won’t be much to do. It’s more enjoyable to listen to the two of you talk."Hearing his words, An Le turned to look at him, thinking to herself how beautiful his eyes were.