Quick Wear: The first person to love the host

Chapter 418 The Substitute Bride Becomes a Reality (19)

Under Qi Haolian's resentful gaze, Qi Jinyu calmly stepped onto the carriage.

The moment the curtain was lifted, his icy expression melted away, and an undisguised smile spread across his eyes.

"Madam, what brings you here?"

He immediately leaned forward, took Su Ziyu's hand, and gently kneaded and played with it like a child who had received a beloved toy.

Su Ziyu was already used to his clinginess and let him hold her hand, saying, "Of course I came to pick you up."

It's all this person's fault.

Last night before going to sleep, he suddenly said that the net could be closed today, and there was no need to pretend with Qi Hao anymore, which made him toss and turn all night, fearing that something unexpected might happen.

This morning, after having breakfast, I was still uneasy, so I ordered someone to prepare a carriage and came to wait outside the palace gate myself, just to know the result as soon as possible.

"Judging from your expression, is everything going smoothly?" Su Ziyu asked.

"With me in charge, there's no chance of anything going wrong. Father has confined Qi Haolian to his quarters and ordered the Empress to relinquish her power to assist in managing the six palaces. We'll go and bring your sister back now."

"Really? Great!"

As long as his younger sister remained in the Second Prince's residence, it was like a sharp blade hanging over Su Ziyu's head, constantly tugging at his heartstrings. These days, he was constantly worried that his plan would be exposed and that Qi Haolian would take his anger out on his sister.

Now, upon hearing that his sister was about to escape danger, a relieved smile finally appeared on his face.

This smile, however, stirred a hint of jealousy in Qi Jinyu. "Madam, tell me, is your sister more important, or is your husband more important?"

Su Ziyu skillfully carried the water: "Of course, both are important."

Qi Jinyu was initially delighted—could she really be considered on par with her sister in the Madam's eyes? But then she greedily pressed on, "What if I could only choose one?"

Su Ziyu glanced at him and said, "What do you think?"

Qi Jinyu chuckled: "If you ask me, it's naturally your husband. My sister will eventually marry, but only your husband can accompany you for the rest of your life. Don't you agree, my wife?"

Su Ziyu, exasperated by his persistent pestering, could only nod perfunctorily, "Yes, yes, you're right."

Qi Jinyu was finally satisfied. He gazed at Su Ziyu, then suddenly leaned in, lightly pecked his lips, and then kissed him deeply, as if he could never get enough of kissing him.

As soon as the carriage came to a stop, a guard's voice came from outside: "Your Highness, Your Highness, we have arrived at the Second Prince's residence."

"Go around to the back door," Qi Jinyu instructed.

He straightened his wife's clothes, whose breathing was slightly disordered, and under her angry gaze, he chuckled and changed the subject: "Madam, welcoming your sister is the priority."

Su Ziyu blushed, and swallowed back the rebuke that was on the tip of her tongue.

Su Miaomiao emerged from the back door, led by a maid. Seeing her brother and the eldest prince alight from the carriage together, she looked bewildered, her heart pounding with anxiety: "Brother, what are you doing..."

Su Zi stepped forward and explained gently, "Little sister, His Majesty already knows about the substitute marriage. You no longer need to stay here; your brother has come to take you home."

Upon hearing this, Su Miaomiao was initially incredulous, then burst into tears of joy, but ultimately shook her head: "Brother, I... want to stay."

The slow-acting poison she prepared for the second prince must continue.

Su Ziyu was taken aback: "Sister, are you confused?"

He absolutely did not believe in any talk of a secret engagement. Qi Haolian was by no means a good match, and besides, Qi Jinyu had already broken ties with him. If his sister insisted on staying, she would surely suffer retaliation.

Despite her earnest and lengthy persuasion, Su Miaomiao remained unmoved. Frustrated, Su Ziyu could only cast a pleading glance at Qi Jinyu, who had remained silent beside her.

Upon receiving his wife's signal, Qi Jinyu immediately frowned and said, "Su Miaomiao, how can a person be so selfish? You ran away from your marriage, and your brother married in your place; if you insist on staying, do you expect your brother to continue dressing as a woman for you for the rest of his life?"

He had long disliked this woman. She had a similar appearance to his wife, but her personality had been raised by the Su family to be narrow-minded and selfish. She didn't care about others at all and wasn't even one ten-thousandth as good as his wife.

Su Miaomiao's tears instantly streamed down her face: "Brother... I was wrong."

Blinded by hatred, she forgot that her brother had suffered for her. A grown man, forced to wear women's clothing and endure such humiliation because of her.

Seeing her younger sister crying with tears streaming down her face, Su Ziyu turned her head and gave Qi Jinyu an approving look, then gently coaxed her sister into the carriage.

Qi Jinyu, standing behind him, pouted—he also longed to be held so tenderly by his wife.

The carriage returned to the First Prince's residence.

Su Zi wanted to put a felt hat on her younger sister and then take her to the main courtyard to settle her in.

Qi Jinyu followed behind, his expression slightly grim. The main courtyard was his and his wife's private place, yet his wife had directly arranged for Su Miaomiao to come here. What did this mean?

The servants in the main courtyard all lowered their heads and looked on, wondering to themselves: Who exactly did the Imperial Concubine bring back that made His Highness so displeased?

In a side hall of the main courtyard, Su Ziyu pointed out the lively and clever maid Pu Ye to Su Miaomiao: "Pu Ye, you stay and serve. No matter what you see later, you must not make a sound."

Pu Ye respectfully accepted.

Su Ziyu then said gently to her younger sister, "You should rest for a while, and we will have a meal together later."

After settling her younger sister in, Su Ziyu left with Qi Jinyu.

Su Miaomiao removed her felt hat, revealing a face that was identical to Su Ziyu's. Upon seeing this, Pu Ye's eyes widened in surprise, and she blurted out instinctively, "Imperial Consort... no, not Imperial Consort."

Su Miaomiao smiled reassuringly at her: "Don't be afraid, my brother and I are twins."

Pu Ye blinked, then suddenly realized—no wonder the Empress had given such instructions beforehand. But the Empress was actually a man? That was truly unbelievable.

The maidservant quickly processed this astonishing news and bowed her head respectfully, saying, "This servant will assist you in bathing and changing, young lady."

Su Miaomiao nodded gently.

Along the way, her brother kept enlightening her, advising her to let go of the past and not to be bound by old grudges or lose her true self. He suggested that she should listen to her brother.

Behind the screen, hot water was quickly prepared.

Pu Ye helped her remove her clothes, then gently asked, holding the old garment, "Miss, this dress..."

Su Miaomiao immersed herself in the warm water, the rising steam making her cheeks slightly flushed: "Take it and burn it, to get rid of bad luck."

Pu Ye responded and was about to leave when Su Miaomiao stopped her: "No rush, tell me about the Crown Prince and... the Imperial Concubine."

Pu Ye immediately perked up.

She has been serving the imperial concubine closely these past few days and knows very well the affection between the prince and the imperial concubine.

Thinking of how much the imperial concubine valued the man before her, she picked out the things she could talk about and recounted in detail how the eldest prince doted on the imperial concubine.

As Su Miaomiao listened, her expression gradually became serious.

"What did you say... The Crown Prince and the Imperial Consort... have already consummated their marriage?!" Her voice suddenly became shrill.

She knew it all along; how could the eldest prince be such a kind person? Why would he kindly save her for no reason? The truth was—her brother had already slept with another man to save her…

Su Miaomiao felt as if her heart was being torn apart, the pain almost suffocating her. The royal family members were indeed all birds of a feather, driven solely by self-interest!

Pu Ye was startled by her reaction and thought to herself that she had said something wrong. She immediately fell silent.

Su Miaomiao suppressed her turbulent emotions and explained softly, "I was just surprised... It's rumored that the Crown Prince is a demon with a ghost face, I really didn't expect..." She stopped speaking at just the right moment.

Pu Ye was still young, and when she heard her say that, she believed it to be true, and then went on and on about the loving daily life of the eldest prince and the princess.

However, these sweet details sounded like sharp thorns to Su Miaomiao, igniting a fire in her heart. Guilt and disgust for the royal family grew wildly like weeds.

With each additional sentence she heard, her hand clenched tighter in her sleeve.

The warm water washed over her skin, but it couldn't wash away the heavy guilt in her heart.

In the misty steam, she closed her eyes. Her brother's gentle smile and the rumored cold and ruthless face of the eldest prince appeared alternately, eventually fading into a suffocating darkness.