Xia Lin followed her gaze, squinting slightly before realization dawned on her face. "Oh, that’s soone from the Jiang Manor. One of their maids, I think.
Her na is i Rong. I rember seeing her once when we passed through the marketplace last year. She was running errands for Jiang Lei’s household."
Hua Jing humd thoughtfully, tilting her head. "A maid from Jiang Manor, standing here, looking like she’s ready to either cry or run straight into that hall? What do you think she’s here for?"
Xia Lin pressed her lips together. "It could be nothing. But, knowing how Jiang Lei operates..." She trailed off aningfully.
Hua Jing let out a laugh, the sound light and almost playful, but her eyes glead with sothing far more dangerous. "Oh, Xia Lin, Xia Lin... You should know by now that it’s never nothing when it cos to n like Jiang Lei."
Xia Lin huffed. "I do know. And that’s exactly why I want to drag you away from this before you get any ideas!"
Hua Jing gasped in mock offense. "Get any ideas? Xia Lin, you wound ! Do I look like the kind of person who ddles in other people’s affairs?"
Xia Lin gave her a flat look. "Yes."
Hua Jing grinned. "Fine, fair. But in my defense, I only ddle when it’s interesting."
Xia Lin sighed, already knowing there was no stopping her mistress when she was in this mood. "So what are we doing?"
Hua Jing straightened her sleeves and adjusted the jade hairpin in her hair. "Oh, nothing much. I just want to have a little chat."
Before Xia Lin could protest, Hua Jing was already walking toward the girl.
i Rong, still caught in her nervous pacing, didn’t notice Hua Jing’s approach until a shadow lood over her. She jerked her head up, eyes wide.
Hua Jing smiled, all politeness and charm. "Lost, are we?"
i Rong’s lips parted, but no sound ca out. She shook her head quickly, her hands twisting into the fabric of her sleeves. "N-no, young mada—I an, Seventh Consort—I—"
Hua Jing’s gaze sharpened. "You know who I am?"
i Rong swallowed. "Everyone in the capital knows who you are, my lady."
With the rumors already circulating about her relationship with Jiang Lei and her marriage to the prince there was no way anyone in this place did not know who she was!
She was also a maid from Jiang household. This only ant that during her etings with Jiang Lei, she might have seen her.
"How flattering," Hua Jing said, her voice dripping with amusent. Then she took a slow step closer, her expression turning just a touch too curious.
"And yet, you’re standing here. Watching. Worrying. What, exactly, brings you to this wedding? A maid from Jiang Manor?"
i Rong stiffened. Her fingers trembled slightly where they clutched her sleeves.
i Rong lowered her head and clasped her hands together tightly, her knuckles turning pale from the pressure. "The young master is getting married today, and so of us from the Jiang Manor were chosen to help serve during the banquet."
Her voice was soft, almost shaky, as if she had rehearsed these words but wasn’t convinced of them herself.
She did not look like she was very happy about this joyous occasion taking place right in front of her very eyes and Hua Jing did not miss it.
Hua Jing’s eyes flickered with interest as she took a lazy step closer. "Oh? Then why are you here, standing outside like a lost kitten, instead of inside, fulfilling your noble duty?"
i Rong’s breath hitched slightly. "I—I was just gathering my thoughts, my lady. It is a very grand event, after all. It would not do to enter looking flustered."
Hua Jing tilted her head, amused by the feeble excuse. "Gathering your thoughts?" She let out a small hum, circling the girl as if inspecting her. "Or gathering your courage?"
i Rong stiffened further, her fingers twisting into the hem of her sleeves.
Xia Lin, watching from the side, crossed her arms and arched a brow. "You look more like you’re about to cry than soone preparing to serve at a joyous wedding."
i Rong flinched at that, her body betraying her anxiety.
Hua Jing didn’t miss a thing. She studied the girl’s trembling shoulders, the way her eyes darted toward the banquet hall every few seconds, how her lips pressed into a thin, quivering line.
Fear.
Hua Jing had seen it enough tis to recognize it instantly.
Her gaze turned sharper, her voice deceptively light. "Tell , i Rong, are you afraid to go inside?"
The girl froze completely.
Then, after a painfully long silence, she exhaled shakily and bowed her head lower. "It—it is not my place to say, my lady."
Hua Jing’s lips curved. Oh, but it most certainly is.
She tapped her chin, pretending to think. "Ah, I see. You must be worried that if you step inside, soone might recognize you." She let the words hang in the air like bait.
i Rong visibly tensed.
Hua Jing leaned in slightly, her voice dropping to a near whisper. "Am I wrong?"
The poor girl seed to shrink even further into herself. "I—no, my lady, I—"
Before she could finish, a sharp gasp escaped her lips.
She clutched her stomach.
Hua Jing’s gaze narrowed. Her sharp mind quickly pieced together the signs—the nervous glances, the hesitation, the way i Rong’s hand instinctively cradled her abdon as though trying to protect sothing.
Her lips curled into a knowing smirk.
"i Rong," she murmured, her tone laced with curiosity.
The girl looked up hesitantly.
Hua Jing’s next words landed like a thunderclap.
"Are you pregnant?"
The color drained from i Rong’s face.
Xia Lin sucked in a sharp breath.
Hua Jing walked towards her and lend in so much so that her head was right next to her shoulders and her lips were right next to her ears.
She gave a small smile before saying, "If you are, you have just found the right person to help you out. Just follow everything that I say!"
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