Ye Ting didn't hesitate for a second, immediately denying it. "Slander, that's slander. It's impossible. This servant is not, this servant did not."
"Hmm," Xiao Zhiheng nodded, saying, "This prince also finds rumors and gossip rather unreliable."
Ye Ting was just about to breathe a sigh of relief in her heart, but in the very next moment, His Highness the Crown Prince gently beckoned her, saying, "Come here. Let this prince show you this 'rumor'."
Ye Ting was resistant.
But on the other hand, she felt that if she didn't clear up this particularly malicious piece of gossip, this wretched problem would persist, which would be utterly vexing. What kind of nonsense was this? Absolutely preposterous!
Xiao Zhiheng's expression on the surface was as calm as still water, showing no signs of anything unusual. He still appeared sickly and frail, beautiful as a painting, looking refined, scholarly, and completely non-threatening.
Ye Ting, who had been fooled by this gentle and harmless facade from the very beginning, couldn't help but feel wary.
Xiao Zhiheng looked at the timid and hesitant Ye Ting, raised a brow slightly, and smiled. "Why are you standing so far away? Come here, sit down."
He casually gathered his outer robe, lifted a sleeve, and made room beside him, indicating for her to sit next to him.
Ye Ting had no choice but to brace herself and sit down.
Her gaze kept drifting to the stack of messy papers on the low table. She couldn't quite make out the content, but she could see clearly the striking vermillion private seal stamped at the bottom of each sheet.
Ye Ting's face turned ashen.
Were these actually encrypted files from a deep investigation, for heaven's sake?
Xiao Zhiheng said, "Take a look."
Feeling an invisible pressure, Ye Ting forced a smile and said, "That wouldn't be proper, would it?"
His smile was faint and indulgent as he said, "This prince permits you to look. What's improper about it?"
As he spoke, he even thoughtfully and carefully picked out two or three sheets and placed them in front of her.
What was written on them was the personal dossier of the informant, Miss Pingting—
If one disregarded the current predicament, Ye Ting herself was actually very interested in the life history of the original body. After all, she had no memories whatsoever, basically flying blind and relying on guesswork for everything. Her living environment was truly too harsh.
But the way she wanted to know was definitely not under such awkward circumstances, forcibly deciphering 'her own' past under the watchful eye of His Highness the Crown Prince.
The contents of the letters were the result of someone specifically going to the original body's birthplace to dig up every detail.
The person ordered to investigate was very capable, having looked into everything that could be found about this person named Pingting. This gentleman responsible for uncovering backgrounds even had a rather flamboyant style. On the topic of her outstanding looks alone, he wrote a full two pages.
Miss Pingting's birthplace was Dinghu City. She was a lone daughter of the Ye family, with both parents deceased from illness, living under someone else's roof for years. Her ancestors had a black mark in their history, having been convicted and exiled, so several generations of descendants were implicated. By her generation, her origins couldn't be any lower. Her childhood was impoverished and bitter, yet she considered herself extraordinary and resented the unfairness of heaven.
However, perhaps those who are good-looking aren't too unlucky. One day, she had a stroke of fortune, encountering a noble person on the road. Even at a young age, she harbored grand ambitions. She seized the opportunity swiftly, decisively, and accurately, changing her fate from then on.
As for who this noble person was, the answer goes without saying.
Time flew by swiftly. The little poor girl endured and grew into a beautiful chess piece devoid of emotion.
Later, when the Fourth Prince remembered that these people could be of use, he casually arranged the assassin pawns into the Crown Prince's residence. And the task he assigned to Pingting and the others was bold and crude: assassination.
So the reason these tools were so audacious was that their master was a ruthless madman, aiming for major schemes regardless of the consequences.
Reading the above content made Ye Ting's temples throb incessantly. Miss Pingting's affairs were laid bare, a genuine spy for the Fourth Prince. There was truly no room for denial now.
Her lips trembled. "Your Highness..."
His Highness the Crown Prince lowered his gaze, idly looking at the letter, and asked softly, "Tell me. Are the things written about you in this letter true or false?"
This question was pure torture.
The stamped evidence was right before her eyes. Did she dare say it wasn't? If she said it wasn't, she couldn't possibly fabricate a story from here on out. Help!
Her face was utterly defeated as she said, "...True."
What to do? It feels like I'm going to die.
Now that His Highness the Crown Prince knew everything, he would surely think the loyalty she had professed before was fake, all lies.
Ye Ting was worried sick, but Xiao Zhiheng's expression remained unruffled, as if he didn't much care, his demeanor cool and detached from start to finish.
Ye Ting felt particularly uneasy inside.
Her hands were about to break out in a cold sweat.
Was it going to be a repeat of last time?
But would the act of playing pitiful and innocent work again?
Seeing her deathly pale face and her fingers clenched tightly together, Xiao Zhiheng reached out and pried open the hand she was tormenting. He curved his lips into a smile and said, "Why are your hands cold again? What are you afraid of? This prince isn't blaming you."
Ye Ting moved her stiff neck.
His Highness the Crown Prince went along smoothly, "Didn't we say it before? Although you were a companion to those people, your identity is suspicious, and you had ulterior motives, this prince knows you are a good girl."
"..."
Ye. Good Girl. Ting felt a lump in her throat and wanted to cry.
She looked at Xiao Zhiheng.
His Highness the Crown Prince, meanwhile, took her hand, held it in his palm, lowered his eyes to examine her slender fingers as if admiring some precious treasure, with keen interest.
He softly uttered a few words: "Slender jade fingers, playing the zither to pierce the heart—"
This was one of the lines from the messy, exaggerated descriptions written on the letter.
Xiao Zhiheng let out a light, short laugh, his voice low and deep, as he asked her gently, "Have these hands of yours ever killed anyone?"
This time, Ye Ting's hands truly trembled.
She was genuinely frightened to the point of tears this time.
Before the tears could even fall, she heard his inner voice—sinister and terrifying—
[Going to cry again? This prince hasn't even mentioned killing anyone yet...]
Now Ye Ting's tears were really about to fall.
From fright.
She shook her head rapidly. "No! This servant has never killed anyone, truly. Your Highness, look at a weak woman like this servant, who can barely take care of herself—how could she possibly kill anyone? This servant hasn't. What's written in the letter is true, but the writer's style is exaggerated and terribly affected. 'Playing the zither to pierce the heart'? Nothing of the sort! Look again, this servant's hands can barely manage to thread a needle..."
Ye Ting complained indignantly, "This servant simply doesn't possess such skills. The person who wrote this deliberately slandered this servant. The actions of a petty person, what a malicious heart."
Perhaps Xiao Zhiheng hadn't expected her to react this way either. Hearing her angrily and bitterly denounce the writer as exaggerated and affected, the expression on his face changed subtly. Then, as if unable to hold back, he coughed lightly, a hint of laughter escaping.
Even his shoulders trembled slightly.
The gloomy and chilling atmosphere suddenly shifted.
Ye Ting was so disconcerted by his laughter she didn't know how to proceed, her face a mixture of shock and doubt. Then she heard him nod, still laughing, and say, "Well said. This person's style is exaggerated, their pen venomous."
For a moment, she didn't understand.
What did he mean by that?
Xiao Zhiheng finally stopped laughing and released her hand. His complexion seemed to have improved slightly as he said calmly, "You are right. Unsubstantiated rumors should not be fully believed. I should trust you."
The 'rumors' he mentioned were, of course, not rumors but the contents written on the letter. Ye Ting knew perfectly well that the information about Miss Pingting investigated in the letter was all true.
His Highness the Crown Prince probably now knew all about her background and origins. The matter of being a vase spy could be major or minor; as long as she defected thoroughly, the loyalty she had professed could become genuine.
It's just that, this way, by not pressing further, His Highness the Crown Prince was letting her off. Was this equivalent to him personally stripping away her disguise but not intending to pursue the matter?
Ye Ting, who had been picked up high only to be set down gently by the Crown Prince, felt somewhat bewildered.
She had narrowly escaped danger once again... she had survived.
Ye Ting secretly let out a sigh of relief.
However, she had sighed in relief too soon.
With an elegant and serene expression, Xiao Zhiheng idly looked through the letters. He casually pulled out one sheet and then continued abruptly, "Since you also admit that what's written in the letter is true, there is still one thing I am very curious to know—"
She knew it wouldn't be so easy to muddle through.
Ye Ting nervously slowed her breathing. "What is it?"
His Highness the Crown Prince smiled slightly. "What exactly is that untold story between you and the Fourth Prince?"
"..."
Is this hurdle never going to be crossed?
She now truly wanted to greet the ancestors, all eighteen generations of them, of this talented letter writer.
When investigating someone, just investigate them. Why add random drama for others?
What story could she possibly have with the Fourth Prince? A ghost story?!
Actually, she understood the logic.
The Fourth Prince's conduct was sinister and unorthodox, with plenty of his own romantic affairs, making it easy for people to think the worst.
But the Fourth Prince had invested money in cultivating so many tools, so why did they specifically say she had an unspeakable story with that lunatic, the Fourth Prince?
Could it be because her face was the prettiest?
This person's mind was truly filthy.
If the Fourth Prince had really taken a fancy to Pingting back then, he would have surely kept her by his side from the start. How could he have first thrown her into the Imperial Household Department, then sent her to the Crown Prince's residence to fend for herself, and even had people secretly watching her from the shadows, threatening to take her life at any moment?
Ye Ting's heart was weary.
She also felt wronged. "There is no story. The letter writer is purely talking nonsense. The Fourth Prince has many capable people around him and couldn't possibly remember who this servant is. This servant truly has no such story. Moreover, Xue'er was more favored, so why single out me, who isn't very useful?"
This was just too much.
Xiao Zhiheng fell silent for a moment, then said, "Do you know why the letter writer thought you, among all these people, were special?"
Ye Ting tentatively voiced her inner guess. "Special... because this servant is... pretty?"
The air suddenly grew quiet.
His Highness the Crown Prince narrowed his eyes slightly, his faint gaze falling on her face as if drawing her inch by inch into his unfathomably dark pupils. After a long moment, he nodded in agreement.
Ye Ting had gone off track, and the Crown Prince followed her lead, answering a question not asked. "Indeed. You are the prettiest."
Now it was Ye Ting's turn to not know what to say.
In the end, Xiao Zhiheng didn't let her thoughts stray too far, unhurriedly reining the runaway topic back in.
He reached out and took the page Ye Ting had been staring at intently when she entered, saying with a smile, "Look at this."
Ye Ting looked and was stunned. She hadn't expected that the name Pingting was actually given to her by the Fourth Prince. No wonder.
"Your original surname was Ye... but you later abandoned it," Xiao Zhiheng's fingertip rested on the letter, his brow slightly furrowed, likely intrigued by the missing part of the investigation. His next sentence went straight to the key point. "I am very curious to know the reason. So then? What was your original name?"
Ye Ting's heart inexplicably tightened.
For some reason, his seemingly offhand remark instantly made her feel as if her very soul was being interrogated.
A direct hit.
Before she could answer, Xiao Zhiheng seemed to fall into contemplation, speaking to himself. "Moreover, I find it somewhat strange. You don't seem quite like the person described in the letter. If you are different, then who are you?"
The Crown Prince's intuition was truly a bit terrifying.
His words sounded as if he were telling a ghost story.
The person was right in front of him, yet he was asking, 'Who are you?'
"How am I different? The rumors must be mistaken, haha..."
Ye Ting laughed stiffly, only able to awkwardly throw his own words back at him. "Your Highness, you just said that rumors should not be fully believed."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Zhiheng was silent for a moment, then set the letter aside as if taking her words to heart. His expression returned to normal as he nodded gently. "That makes sense. So, what was your original name?"
The question was kicked back to her. Truly, disaster cannot be avoided.
Ye Ting, looking ashen, replied, "Ye Cuihua."
"..."
She explained with a world-weary air, "None of those other people's names stood out as much as this servant's. Probably the Fourth Prince found this name too rustic for him to bear, so he specifically gave this servant a new one."
"..."
