Chapter 054

Chapter 54: Why Is the Princess at Our House Again?

The night passed swiftly. Yun Zhan did not sleep. He even asked leave from morning court and kept to the furnace without a step away. By afternoon, the moment came. He quenched the fire and opened the lid. The paste inside had cooled to a pale green and gave off a faint, clear scent. It had to rest before use. He set the pot aside, rubbed his brow, and lay down fully clothed on the couch by the window. Tonight, he would detoxify Yin Shuang.

In Peace Keeping Courtyard, Yun Wan Yao spent the whole day trying to draw something from Yun Wan Ning, but nothing came. Faced with Little Sister’s clear innocent gaze, she could not force the words out. Guilt rose like a tide and sealed her mouth. [Mmm, does Elder Sister want to say something? Why does it feel like she is holding back? What is so hard to speak? I am curious.] Yun Wan Ning blinked, eyes bright on Yun Wan Yao.

Yun Wan Yao sat very still. [Hmph. My spiritual power has recovered, and I even broke through a little. I can now speak with thoughts, though barely. I want to ask Elder Sister what weighs on her. Sigh, no. If I do it, she will be afraid and think I am a monster. And I can only manage three sentences. After that I will faint. I must endure.]

Yun Wan Yao exhaled. Her little sister truly feared they would treat her like a demon. Honestly, who would not? If anyone had told her such a child existed, she would have scoffed or called it a spirit. Yet because it was Yun Wan Ning, she accepted without resistance. Not only her. The whole family had accepted Little Fourth’s strangeness. The thought brought fresh guilt. Little Sister cared wholly for them, while she herself was trying to use her.

“Young miss, the Princess is here,” Hua Wu panted as she ran in, hair askew and cheeks flushed. [Eh? The Princess was here only yesterday, and now she is back? No wonder they say she and Elder Sister are joined at the hip.]

Yun Wan Yao could not help a smile. She kissed the small hand and said softly: “Little Sister, the Princess is here. I will go greet her and come back later.” [Got it, Elder Sister, go on.] Yun Wan Ning began to hum. The airy tune brushed Yun Wan Yao’s ears and made them twitch. What song was that? It was beautiful beyond words. She had never heard it. When Little Sister could speak, she would coax her into singing it all.

Reluctantly, she left. Even as she crossed the front court, the melody echoed on. From a distance, bickering snapped through the air.

“Yo, why is the Princess at our house again,” Yun Wan Ye drawled.

“And what of it,” came the sharp answer: “I come because I want to. Do you have a problem with that?”

“Not at all,” he replied with a bend of the head: “All under heaven belongs to the sovereign. The Princess may go where she pleases. But did you eat gunpowder? Why so explosive today?”

“I am always like this, especially when I see you. What, do you have an issue with that,” she shot back.

“No, I would not dare,” he murmured.

“Then shut your mouth,” she snapped.

Yun Wan Yao crept to the moon gate and peeked out. A girl in crimson stood on the steps like living flame, arms crossed, gaze full of disdain. Below stood a tall jade-like youth staring up, eyes dark. A zhang of air lay between them like a drawn line. So he truly liked the Princess. He did not hide it well. How had she not noticed before? But the Princess did not look pleased. Doubt pricked her. Had Father and Eldest Brother misread? Also, if he had waited so long just to see her, had Yun Wan Yao’s timing ruined it?

“Hey, I am asking you,” the Princess huffed, eyes sliding past Yun Wan Ye: “Why has A’Yao not come out yet?”

“Is the Princess asking ‘hey’, or asking me,” he returned dryly.

“You,” she fumed: “Of course I am asking you.”

“If you are asking me, then ask me. Why shout ‘hey’,” he said, voice bland: “Do I not have a name? And did you not just tell me to shut up? Did you forget?”

The Princess stared, lips parting with indignation. Yun Wan Yao hurried out before temper exploded, cutting him a look of exasperation as she said: “My Lady, I am here.” With his attitude, how could he hope to win the Princess’s favor? No wonder she always sounded annoyed speaking of him. She was raised like a jewel, used to care. He met her bristle for bristle. Truly unbelievable. “A’Yao, you are finally here,” the Princess said, ignoring Yun Wan Ye as she looped an arm through hers and tugged: “Come, let us go. There are flies here.”

Yun Wan Yao spared a glance of sympathy for Yun Wan Ye as she was tugged away. He could almost hear his heart shatter. His gaze locked on the Princess’s retreating figure and did not move even after she vanished.

“A’Yao, let me tell you,” the Princess said once they were seated, leaning close to speak of yesterday.

“Yesterday, when Elder Cousin went to find Young Master Xie, that Ling’er noticed their carriage was not returning home. She asked where they were going. When she heard they headed to the Xie manor, she could not sit still. Her face changed, and she began to act, clutching her belly and begging to go back. Elder Cousin thought she was unwell and hesitated.”

Yun Wan Yao’s brows knit tight as she asked: “And then? Did A’Tang truly give up on the Xie house to escort the maid?”

“She did,” the Princess sighed: “After a struggle, she chose to take the maid home. But it was thanks to you, A’Yao. You reminded me, so I sent guards to rush ahead and intercept the carriage. We caught up mid-road.”

They switched carriages at once. The Jiang coach escorted Ling’er home, while Mo Zhao Zhao took Jiang Zi Tang to the Xie manor. The maid nearly fainted, clutching at skirts and begging with tears. The abnormal panic pricked Jiang Zi Tang’s heart. She brushed the hands off, told the driver to send the maid back alone, and climbed into the Princess’s carriage.

At the Xie gates, things went awry again. As Yun Wan Yao had guessed, Xie Xuan Yong had waited all night at Qiqiao and then gone to the Jiang house to demand an answer, only to be stopped at the door. The gate servants told him that Jiang Zi Tang’s personal maid had left word that their young miss was cultivating feelings with her cousin, and he should take the hint and stop disgracing himself. After being humiliated several times, he stewed at home. So when Jiang Zi Tang came, she was blocked at the gates in turn, and the servants mocked her, saying their young lord was meeting eligible girls and had no time.

She knew none of this. She believed he had chosen another, and that missing their meeting was on purpose. Broken-hearted, she asked the Princess to take her home. One look at her face told Mo Zhao Zhao she had not only failed to see him, she had been wronged. Fury lit her blood. She refused to retreat and stormed into the Xie manor with guards. A Princess arriving uninvited shook the household. The family head came out with his people to greet her. She demanded to see Xie Xuan Yong at once and said she would not leave unless he came. He dared not let her stay, and sent at once for him.

Face to face at last, Jiang Zi Tang did not waste a breath as she asked: “Why did you stand me up at Qiqiao? And just now, your servant said you meet other girls. Is that true?”

Xie Xuan Yong’s eyes chilled as he let out a low laugh: “I stood you up? You did not come, and you have avoided me since. Now you put it on me? Do you know how many times I went to find you these days? And you—what were you doing? Whispering with your Elder Cousin and walking under the moon? Do you want to marry that useless He Wen Yuan?”

Jiang Zi Tang’s lips went tight as she pressed: “You came to find me? When? And I stood you up? I waited at the Temple of Matchmaking all night. Where were you? Do not tell me Ling’er gave you the wrong place.”

“The Temple of Matchmaking,” he repeated, brows drawing low: “Your maid told me Waterside Pavilion at Moon Shadow Lake.”

A flurry of sharp questions followed, and slowly the truth unknotted. From Xie Xuan Yong’s words, Jiang Zi Tang understood at last. Someone within the Jiang household had worked to break them, and the most suspicious was Ling’er. “After that, Elder Cousin was devastated,” the Princess said, shaking her head: “I could not bear it. She did not act. But Young Master Xie would not let it go. He could not stay angry at her, but he would not forgive a maid who meddled. On the way back to the Jiang house, he seized Ling’er. The Xie family has many ways to make people talk. The maid fainted from fear, then woke to pain, and within less than a cup of tea, she confessed.”

The Princess’s eyes gleamed with admiration as she looked at Yun Wan Yao and said: “A’Yao, you truly are amazing. Ling’er was bought to tear them apart and stop Elder Cousin from marrying into the Xie family. How did you know? Go on, guess who bribed her.”

Yun Wan Yao gave a small shrug and answered with mild humor: “I do not know. A’Tang has too many admirers. If I could guess that too, I might as well set a fortune-telling stall at South City Bridge.”

The Princess burst out laughing and almost doubled over as she teased: “Selling what, A’Yao? Becoming a spirit medium?” Yun Wan Yao only sighed inwardly: [Why is she laughing so hard? I do not get it. Joy is not shared equally.]

“Enough,” Yun Wan Yao urged gently: “Finish the story.”

“All right,” the Princess said, catching her breath: “You will not believe it. Ling’er was bribed by that useless Elder Cousin from Elder Cousin’s aunt’s branch. The good-for-nothing seduced Ling’er long ago. He promised that if she helped him marry Elder Cousin, he would take her as side consort. He said he wanted Elder Cousin for the Jiang clan’s power, and that Ling’er was his true love. She believed his sweet words and dreamed of standing equal with Elder Cousin. So she recklessly ruined her mistress’s match. Now she has been beaten to within an inch of her life by Young Master Xie. I do not know if she will live. Even if she does, Elder Cousin will not keep her. And as for that worthless He from the Jiang branch…”