Chapter 030
Chapter 30: Drag You In
As Huo Ying Zi was about to speak, a maid stepped in to report: “Your Highness, the Xia family’s legitimate daughter, Xia Meng Yan, has sent in her calling card.”
The Eldest Princess’s face did not change. The prayer beads in her hand turned while everyone in the room stood with heads lowered, as still as wooden stakes. After a long moment, the Eldest Princess said softly: “Let her in.”
Huo Ying Zi, having heard Xia Meng Yan’s name, watched the Eldest Princess’s expression closely.
In the capital, everyone knew that Heir Apparent Duan and Xia Meng Yan had grown up together as childhood sweethearts. Before Xia Meng Yan married, that meant little. But now she had divorced the Marquis of Ping An and was pregnant. If Heir Apparent Duan stayed close to her, it would be improper. Huo Ying Zi had come not only to curry favor with the Eldest Princess, but also to learn her attitude toward Xia Meng Yan.
Huo Ying Zi bowed and said with a gentle smile: “I only just arrived in the capital and already heard that even though Miss Xia is pregnant, she still chose to divorce the Marquis of Ping An. Such courage leaves the rest of us far behind.”
[Pregnant and still chasing after Heir Apparent Duan? I don’t believe the Eldest Princess will tolerate that,] Huo Ying Zi thought.
The prayer beads did not pause as the Eldest Princess answered in an even voice: “Speaking of it, this matter has something to do with you as well.”
Huo Ying Zi stiffened, then knelt in fear and said: “The Marquis of Ping An has served under my father for many years. I am only a little closer to him than others. On the battlefield, blades do not care whom they cut, and our families are far away in the capital. Soldiers comfort one another to ease homesickness. As for anything else, I believe I have not overstepped.”
The Eldest Princess said nothing. Feeling the weight of her gaze, Huo Ying Zi clenched her hands inside her sleeves. In the capital there were many nobles; even Lin Ye Lan’s war merits were not enough to change the Huo family’s standing. To turn her family’s situation around, attaching herself to the Eldest Princess was the fastest path. [Lin Ye Lan and I can be like brother and sister, or comrades in arms, but we cannot be lovers. Not now.]
The Eldest Princess sighed lightly and motioned for someone to help Huo Ying Zi up: “I only feared you would be wronged. Since it is all a misunderstanding, when you see Miss Xia later, explain it clearly.”
Huo Ying Zi rose and said with shining gratitude: “Your Highness is thorough in all things. I do not know how to repay your kindness.”
The Eldest Princess replied with calm courtesy: “Marshal Huo is a pillar of the state. It is only right that I look after his daughter a little.”
Huo Ying Zi sat demurely at the lower seat.
After a moment, a maid led Xia Meng Yan in.
Xia Meng Yan knelt and said with respectful formality: “This humble girl, Xia Meng Yan, greets the Eldest Princess.”
At the words humble girl, the Eldest Princess’s brows drew together. Xia Meng Yan had already been married and should not call herself a girl, but her respectful bow made it hard to scold her.
The Eldest Princess lifted a hand and said: “Rise. I am not so particular.”
Xia Meng Yan answered obediently and stood slowly.
[In my last life, because of Duan Yi Chen, I dealt with the Eldest Princess many times,] Xia Meng Yan remembered. [I know a little of her nature. Marquis Xuan Ping’s merits overshadowed the throne, so Emperor Xuan Ming married his own sister to him. It was not only to draw him in, but also to wear down his will. Fortunately, Marquis Xuan Ping was not a man greedy for power. After marrying the Eldest Princess, he gradually surrendered his military command. In my last life, I thought the Eldest Princess and Emperor Xuan Ming were of one mind, but I later discovered she craved power even more than Marquis Xuan Ping. Her yielding now is only to mislead the emperor. With someone like her, respect is the best way to ease the relationship.]
Xia Meng Yan had judged right; the coldness in the Eldest Princess’s eyes faded a little.
Huo Ying Zi tightened her grip on the tea cup. Seeing Xia Meng Yan sit across from her as if she knew the place well, Huo Ying Zi’s eyes stung. She forced a tender tone and said: “Sister Meng Yan, we finally meet. I thought I would see you at Northern Fortress Pass, but you…”
She stopped, then spoke softly: “When I learned you left in anger, I was very worried. I wanted to bring you back, but there was unrest in the army and I had to delay. Now that you have safely returned to the capital, I can relax.”
Xia Meng Yan answered without warmth: “Miss Huo, do you mean when your men disguised themselves as bandits and hunted me down? It was indeed my fault for not knowing my place. As the daughter of the marshal of Northern Fortress Pass, you were willing to teach me a lesson. I should not have run.”
Huo Ying Zi shot up in alarm and looked toward the high seat: “Your Highness, I only learned about it later. It was my poor discipline that let Sister be insulted. My father has already punished me, and those men were dealt with under military law. Today, before the Eldest Princess, I apologize to Sister. I am sorry. Please do not let this create a rift between you and the Marquis of Ping An.”
Xia Meng Yan watched her as if watching a play, then said coolly: “Miss Huo, even now you try to splash dirt on me. Your men raped the nearby commoners, not me. How, exactly, was I insulted? Please make it clear before the Eldest Princess.”
“I…,” Huo Ying Zi’s face flushed red as tears gathered. She looked as if she had suffered a great injustice and said in a choking voice: “I thought you were humiliated, which is why you argued with the Marquis of Ping An. It is all my fault. Please forgive me.”
[The riot of commoners at Northern Fortress Pass cannot be hidden. Better to admit it first and shift the blame,] she thought.
Xia Meng Yan said nothing and sat quietly, simply watching her.
Huo Ying Zi had expected that, meeting face to face, Xia Meng Yan would make a scene and complain to the Eldest Princess. Instead, she only looked at Huo Ying Zi with contempt. It was not going the way Huo Ying Zi had planned.
The Eldest Princess took in how neatly Xia Meng Yan turned the tables and felt what little favor she had for Huo Ying Zi fade. The capital was not short of clingy, parasitic girls. As the daughter of a military officer, Huo Ying Zi should have been bold and crisp, yet she was using petty tricks from the inner courtyards like some concubine. It did not suit her.
The Eldest Princess spoke in a tone that ended arguments: “It is all a misunderstanding. Since Miss Huo has apologized, you should let it go. A marriage is best kept with the original wife. You must think of the child in your belly.”
In the capital, only Xia Meng Yan dared to divorce while pregnant. Instead of hiding at home and weeping, she smiled and strolled the streets every day, making many women jealous.
Xia Meng Yan bowed and said calmly: “I am thinking of the child. That is why I divorced the Marquis of Ping An. A man who conspires with his childhood sweetheart to hunt his legal wife in secret may later repent, but for me the hurt will always stick in my throat. Once trust collapses, even if you repair it, the cracks remain.”
Huo Ying Zi bit her lip and pleaded: “Sister still will not forgive me. What can I do to calm you down?”
Xia Meng Yan replied without heat: “I am not refusing to forgive you. I simply do not want any ties with you.”
“Enough,” the Eldest Princess said coldly, her voice carrying unquestionable authority. “This matter ends here. The rumors in the capital should stop.”
Xia Meng Yan lowered her head, her expression unreadable.
With reddened eyes, Huo Ying Zi bent her knees and said meekly: “I will obey Your Highness.”
Xia Meng Yan had not forgotten her purpose today. After thinking it over, she looked at the Eldest Princess and asked: “I came without warning because I wish to ask if Heir Apparent Duan is well.”
She did not believe Marquis Xuan Ping’s Shadow Guard could keep Duan Yi Chen away.
The Eldest Princess turned her prayer beads, their crisp clicking clear in the quiet room, and asked: “In what capacity does Miss Xia inquire about the heir apparent?”
Xia Meng Yan had prepared a reason on the way, yet at the question she still felt a little stiff as she said: “Heir Apparent Duan and I are friends. I have not seen him these last few days, so I came to ask.”
Huo Ying Zi offered a timid reminder that everyone could hear: “Heir Apparent Duan is at his own manor. What could possibly be wrong?”
Xia Meng Yan frowned. Huo Ying Zi had said that on purpose.
The Eldest Princess set her beads down on the table with a crisp tap and said: “The heir apparent is quite well. Miss Xia, you are pregnant. It is not good to run everywhere.”