Chapter 108

Chapter 108: Breaking In

“But the dead were already gone, and the living still had to go on, so-” Meng Yang paused, then raised her voice: “For any soldiers who died because of my negligence, when the military physicians could not treat them in time, I will apologize to their families and send a generous sum of pension silver to support their parents, wives, and children.”

“This pension silver will all come from my private account!”

“I know this money is not much, so besides those soldiers, any soldier in the capital city who was killed or injured in the Battle of Cang Nan may also come to the Duke’s residence and claim an additional stipend from me!” Meng Yang finished speaking.

The crowd immediately reacted. “Miss Meng is so righteous!” someone cried.

“Only someone as kind-hearted as Miss Meng would think to earn silver and then use it to support the soldiers’ families. What ordinary woman has that kind of integrity? Those families will surely be deeply grateful to Miss Meng!” Su Qi Nian said with admiration.

Someone else shouted, “To know your mistake and correct it is the greatest good!”

“Exactly! That Jiao Niang Wine is unbelievably good. One sip and you’ll be drunk for half a day!”

“Really? Then I have to go buy some and taste it!”

Inside, Ting Lan heard the voices outside and grew furious. “Princess! That Meng Yang is shameless! Does she think throwing out some silver can buy back those soldiers’ lives?”

“And that Scholar Su too-he actually said the soldiers’ families would be grateful to her?!”

Sheng Zhi Wan gave a cold laugh. If Meng Yang tempted them with money, the dead were already dead. If the living could get silver, what did it cost them to say thank you?

In the end, it was because the commoner lived too hard. Otherwise, why would they send the strong men of their households to the battlefield just to avoid corvee labor? Once they sent them, they were already prepared for them not to come back.

Ting Lan still refused to accept it. “Are we really going to let her do this?”

Sheng Zhi Wan smiled, her tone meaningful. “Not necessarily. She looks proud right now, but once she learns how much pension silver she has to pay, she probably will not be able to smile.”

Originally, Imperial Father only told Meng Yang to give pension silver to the families of the soldiers who died because of her. The amount would have been large, but not impossible.

But Meng Yang insisted on acting benevolent. She probably did not realize that the main forces in the Cang Nan campaign had been conscripted from the areas around the capital city. Now she was offering a stipend to every dead or injured soldier in the capital city.

Tsk. Sheng Zhi Wan wondered what Third Imperial Brother would think when he found out that the silver he already treated as his own would suddenly shrink by a huge amount.

At the thought of silver, Sheng Zhi Wan stopped in her tracks and quietly gave An Zhi a few instructions.

*Night grew deeper.

Sheng Zhi Wan set down her wrist, sore from copying, and washed up under Ting Lan’s care before leaning back inside her canopied bed. Layers of drapes filtered the dim candlelight outside and made it hard to fall asleep.

Nanny Xiu’s words from earlier surfaced again.

Sheng Zhi Wan slowly closed her eyes. In her previous life, she had been like Grandmother. She believed that as long as she hid her abilities, she could live a steady, peaceful life.

It was not only her photographic memory. Even with riding, archery, writing, and etiquette, she always forced herself to be someone who was not better than her Imperial Brothers and Imperial Sisters, but not too far worse either.

Her medical skills and strategies stayed hidden in the dark. She was good at chess and painting, but her chess and paintings could only be known under a fake identity that did not even exist.

Even after she married into the Duke’s residence and discovered that the palace maids and nannies sent with her still reported every word and action back to the palace, she pretended not to know. In the end, she used Madam Cui and Qi Fei Yan’s hands to send those people far away.

She never dared reveal any of her strengths.

Even Qi Shu Xian thought that the schemes she planned with such care were his own talent.

And what was the result? Qi Shu Xian betrayed her. Imperial Father abandoned her.

Click. A soft sound rang out.

Sheng Zhi Wan snapped her eyes open. A flower petal, carrying a fragrant chill, drifted down and landed on her cheek. Then the sound came again from above her head.

She sat up and looked up. When she finally saw the face beyond the roof tiles, her fingers froze.

Outside, Ting Lan heard her movement and asked at once, “Princess, are you thirsty?”

Sheng Zhi Wan took a deep breath. “It’s nothing. I just had a nightmare. You can go. No need to keep watch.”

“Yes.” Ting Lan relaxed, answered softly, and left.

When the footsteps faded, Sheng Zhi Wan looked up again, but the wicked, playful smile on that face was already gone.

As she stared in a daze, a low, hoarse chuckle came from behind her. “Such a long night. Why has the Princess not rested yet?”

Sheng Zhi Wan turned around sharply.

The man wore black. His long dark hair was tied back, and his deep black eyes held a smile. He was so handsome he looked like a young general walking out of a storybook.

In an instant, Sheng Zhi Wan could picture what he would look like after he became the King of Qin Yu.

“What, Princess-” Shang Xing Yu raised his brows and leaned closer. “Has it been so long since you saw me that you forgot how to blink?”

His warm breath brushed her small ear, and heat spread up her neck in an instant. Sheng Zhi Wan quickly stepped back half a pace. “You came back at this hour. Did something change in Te Dan?”

Shang Xing Yu laughed softly, about to speak, when his gaze suddenly sharpened and turned toward the door.

Sheng Zhi Wan followed his line of sight. A moment later, she heard hurried footsteps and a maid’s pleading voice.

“Heir Apparent, the Princess has already rested. If you have business, you can come tomorrow.”

“Move!” Qi Shu Xian’s impatient voice came through, followed by footsteps closing in.

Sheng Zhi Wan stiffened. Almost by instinct, she grabbed the sleeve of the man behind her and shoved him into the canopied bed.

Shang Xing Yu let her pull him. He fell back on the bed obediently. The heavy curtains hid their figures, but it still did not feel safe enough.

Sheng Zhi Wan’s eyes swept the bed.

As if he understood, Shang Xing Yu rolled once and hid himself beneath the quilt. Those deep eyes even curved at her in a smile.

Sheng Zhi Wan’s jade-like face flushed red. “…”

There was nothing wrong with it, yet his expression made it look like she had done something improper.

She took a steadying breath. The footsteps had already reached the door. Sheng Zhi Wan slipped out from the inner bedchamber and opened the door first.

Qi Shu Xian’s hand froze in midair.

“What business brings the Heir Apparent here in the middle of the night?” Sheng Zhi Wan asked, looking as if she had just been disturbed awake.

Qi Shu Xian stared at her flushed cheeks, paused, then said coldly, “The Da Li Court sent someone just now to press the Duke’s residence to return your dowry within two days. Was that your idea?”

Sheng Zhi Wan let out a small laugh. “So that’s what this is about. My dowry inventory has been delivered to the Da Li Court for more than a month, yet the Duke’s residence has done nothing. What is wrong with me sending someone to ask about it?”

“You know Meng Yang has to pay out a large sum of pension silver these days. Once that is past, she will not short you. Why be so aggressive? Why insist on these two days?”

“Heir Apparent, what are you saying?” Sheng Zhi Wan looked genuinely surprised. “How is taking back what belongs to me considered aggression? Besides, I already gave the Duke’s residence plenty of time. If the Heir Apparent still cannot return it, I may have to go to Grandmother and ask for justice.”

The Empress Dowager always doted on Sheng Zhi Wan. If Sheng Zhi Wan truly complained, the Duke’s residence would only be humiliated further.

Qi Shu Xian’s heart sank. The person in front of him felt more and more unfamiliar.

In the past, Sheng Zhi Wan obeyed him in everything. She would have gladly handed him her heart, and her eyes had always been full of love.

Now, those clear black-and-white eyes held none of him at all.

How could someone change this fast?

Qi Shu Xian remembered the servant blocking him from entering, and Sheng Zhi Wan’s flushed cheeks. His eyes turned cold. He suddenly reached out, shoved Sheng Zhi Wan aside, and strode into the room.