Consort of a Thousand Faces

“Yes.” The guard froze halfway through standing up before suddenly asking, “What if she doesn’t want to leave?”

 

“Tie her up and take her back; she will return to the posthouse.”

 

The corner of the imperial guard’s mouth twitched. Prince Hao sure is violent. “Yes, this subordinate understands.”

 

There was no way that Pei Qianhao would let these people see Su Xi-er again. It had originally been his idea to bring her to the state banquet, but he hadn’t wanted her to twist her waist and bottom in front of so many men. Even if she twists around, it should depend on who is in front of her.

 

I will forgive her this time, but there won’t be a next time. Rather, I will not allow her to contact Yun Ruofeng in the future.

 

Shortly after, Ning Anlian slowly walked up the stairs with a Chinese zither in her hands. The only problem was that the way she was walking looked inexplicably strange.

 

Pei Qianhao knew that the Eldest Imperial Princess’ ankle was injured, and could tell from just a glance. Ning Lianchen however, stared at Ning Anlian, thinking that her gait was rather strange.

 

In the end, he managed to figure out that something was wrong with her leg that was causing her to walk slowly. After all, the Ning Anlian I know isn’t someone who would walk so carefully.

 

Once she properly sat down, a melodious sound began to echo from the zither in Ning Anlian’s hands. At the very least, she was experienced enough to put on a performance at this banquet.

 

The gentle sound from the Chinese zither gradually heightened before returning to a slow and gentle melody. It then rose towards another peak, ending the performance.

 

The song was finished!

 

The performance just now could be considered average; certainly not enough to amaze the guests who had listened to many beautiful pieces.

 

But, she is the Eldest Imperial Princess of a nation after all. Everyone still clapped their hands politely.

 

Ning Anlian’s expression was proud. Finally, I have won some face back.

 

She stood up with a beaming smile, and bowed towards everyone to thank them. “This Princess has little talent and not much knowledge. I hope that the sound from my Chinese zither didn’t smear everyone’s ears.”

 

After she finished talking, she stood up. But suddenly...

 

“Ouch!” A sharp pain shot up from her ankle, and although Ning Anlian tried to endure it, she still ended up crumpling to the ground in the end.

 

With a loud bang, the nation’s Eldest Imperial Princess fell to the ground, making a sorry sight. The panicked stumbling caused her head ornament to tilt to the side, only serving to make her current predicament even more miserable.

 

Everyone present was stunned by what just happened. Yun Ruofeng was even more worried, directly standing up from his seat.

 

“Eldest Imperial Princess!” A palace maid immediately walked up to try to support her, but no matter what the former did, Ning Anlian couldn’t stand up. She could only feel the excruciating pain in her ankle, unable to muster up any strength at all.

 

This time hurt even more than when she had walked up the stage. Ning Anlian’s face suddenly became pale. Only after several more moments did she finally manage to straighten her body.

 

“What happened?” Chu Linglong was the most gossipy, and couldn’t help but become curious when he saw this happening.

 

But apart from Ning Anlian, Yun Ruofeng, and Pei Qianhao, no one else knew the truth. They could only speculate.

 

Pei Qianhao’s expression was indifferent. No one could tell what he was thinking from his deep eyes.

 

People’s imaginations ran wild. Based on Ning Anlian’s expression and limp, it was clear that the injury affecting her leg wasn’t something minor.

 

Chu Linglong stood up and asked, “Eldest Imperial Princess, what’s wrong? Is your foot injured?”

 

Ning Anlian was in so much pain that she didn’t want to talk to anyone. She could only walk carefully with a pale face.

 

Chu Linglong didn’t give up just because of this and continued to ask, “Eldest Imperial Princess, it doesn’t look like a minor injury. How did you get injured when you were fine just a minute ago?”