Dance Of The Dragons
Chapter 90 : Winter Solstice (4)

Chapter 90: Chapter 90 : Winter Solstice (4)

"Your Majesty, you need to report this matter to His Majesty the Emperor!" Mingyu cried out after she reported her finding.

The ten safety pins were strewn on the table. Xie Jianyu who sat at the table remained silent.

"If you don’t want to tell Father, I will," Xie Jianshen said. He reached out to gather the safety pins, but Xie Jianyu stopped him.

"Big Brother, wait..."

Xie Jianshen glared at his younger brother.

"Don’t tell me that you are going to let this issue fall under the table! Little Yu, that man is bullying you!"

Xie Jianyu sighed.

"Big Brother, maybe there were only ten pins."

Xie Jianshen grabbed Xie Jianyu’s wrist and showed him one of the pins.

The needle was meticulously tucked behind a silver plate studded with tiny pearls. The tiny pearls were arranged to form a flower.

"I made these pins myself. I made exactly twelve because I designed the ceremonial robe that you wore."

"..."

"Look. If I want to unfasten this pin, I need to do this."

Xie Jianshen performed a series of complicated steps. These pins would never fall open on their own. Someone needed to remove them.

"Mingyu, Qingyun, when you recovered the ten safety pins, were they not properly attached to the fabric?"

Mingyu and Qingyun nodded their heads fervently.

"Exactly!" they cried out in unison.

Xie Jianshen tightened his grip around his brother’s wrist.

"If you can tell me where the other two pins are, I will drop this matter."

"... We don’t have any proof," Xie Jianyu pointed out.

Xie Jianshen burst into laughter.

"Are proofs that important? Little Yu, you are too naive. While you are searching for proof to bring your enemies down, they already stand behind you with a blade in their hands!"

"..."

Xie Jianshen rose to his feet.

"I don’t care. This time, I must teach that person a lesson."

Xie Jianyu pulled his brother back to the seat.

"Give me time to find the missing two pins," he said. "As long as I find them, we can rule out a sabotage process, right?"

Xie Jianshen, Mingyu, and Qingyun all looked at Xie Jianyu as if the latter had lost his mind.

"Mingyu, Qingyun, leave us alone," Xie Jianyu said.

As soon as both maids left, Xie Jianshen grabbed Xie Jianyu’s shoulders and shook them.

"Little Yu! How many times do you plan to throw yourself under the carriage for Zhang Fengxi???"

"Brother, I don’t..."

"I don’t need anyone to throw themselves under the carriage for me."

The two omegas inside the room whipped their heads toward the door in surprise.

A while later, the door slid open and Zhang Fengxi stood there. Mingyu and Qingyun hung from the hem of his robe like two abandoned children.

"Sorry for barging in," he said, but he stepped into the room without asking for permission.

"Prince Zhang Fengxi, this is His Majesty’s private chamber!" Mingyu cried out.

"Prince Zhang Fengxi, please leave!" Qingyun tugged at his boot most urgently.

Zhang Fengxi’s cold gaze drifted between Xie Jianshen and Xie Jianyu.

"Can all three of us talk? In private?"

Xie Jianyu gave a brief nod.

"Mingyu, Qingyun, guard outside. No one else shall enter."

Xie Jianshen was not the kind of person who held back from a confrontation.

"What are you here for?" he snapped at Zhang Fengxi like an angry harpy.

"I just wanted to check whether Xie Jianyu is doing well," Zhang Fengxi turned his head to look at Xie Jianyu. "Are you okay?"

Xie Jianyu nodded.

"Thank you for your attention."

Xie Jianshen scoffed.

"Sorry for eavesdropping on your conversation. I heard my name being called. What is this about?"

"Let me tell you why we even bothered to mention your name. Your betrothed is the one behind the incident tonight!"

"Brother..."

Zhang Fengxi’s face took on an ugly expression. For a moment, he looked no less angry than Xie Jianshen. And then, he visibly relaxed.

"There must be a misunderstanding. Wenyuan is not capable of doing something like that."

Xie Jianshen sneered.

"Not capable? For an alpha, you are terribly stupid."

Zhang Fengxi glowered at Xie Jianshen.

"Pardon me, Shuiran Palace Mistress, please watch your language or I must take note of this aggression."

Xie Jianshen might be Zhang Fengxi’s senior, but he was still an omega. At the very least, Zhang Fengxi could report his misconduct to Xie Jianshen’s husband, Jiang Rufeng.

"It’s all a misunderstanding," Xie Jianyu said. "Please forget about it."

"It is not," Xie Jianshen snapped. "Liu Wenyuan came into Little Yu’s dressing room when her two maids were gone. They reported seeing Liu Wenyuan when they came back. He said that he was there to ’help’. The only person who could remove the two safety pins was Liu Wenyuan."

Zhang Fengxi scoffed.

"What about the two maids? Maybe one of them was careless with the pins."

Xie Jianyu glared at Zhang Fengxi. "I will not tolerate any slander toward members of my palace. I do not doubt their loyalty, not even a little bit."

"You must understand that I also cannot accept this baseless accusation. My betrothed was there to help, wasn’t he? Isn’t it cruel to repay his kindness with this vile accusation?"

"Enough!!!"

Xie Jianyu slammed a hand against the table.

"I do not wish to accuse anyone or submit any complaint. For me, today’s incident is nothing but an unlucky accident. I don’t want to talk about it anymore."

Xie Jianshen grabbed the ten safety pins from the table and threw them at Zhang Fengxi’s chest.

"Take them as my apology, Prince Zhang Fengxi," Xie Jianshen said with a sneer. "Excuse me."

"Big Brother..."

Xie Jianshen was extremely upset. He did not bother to stop when Xie Jianyu called after him.

Quietly, Zhang Fengxi collected the safety pins from the floor one by one.

"Xie Jianyu, were there really twelve safety pins altogether?"

"I don’t know," came the answer. "I need to change my clothes, then go out to attend the banquet. Zhang Fengxi, please leave."

"... Okay."

Zhang Fengxi rubbed his hands against the safety pins. He was determined to find the culprit behind tonight’s incident, whoever it was.