After Accidentally Marking the Cold and Elegant Eldest Princess - Chapter 39

Chapter 39: Differential Treatment

Night fell, and the Qingyan Hall was a blaze of lights both inside and out. A clear female voice rang through the air: “Her Majesty arrives!”

Everyone inside the hall rose in unison, kneeling toward the woman seated at the highest position. With a calm “Rise,” the guests stood and slowly took their seats, their gazes lowered, not daring to cast even a single glance toward the upper dais.

The atmosphere in the hall was momentarily frozen.

It remained so until a gentle voice drifted down from the imperial throne: “There is no need for restraint. Tonight is meant for communal joy; one should feast and drink to their heart’s content.”

Since Her Majesty had spoken, everyone naturally cooperated by putting on a show of relaxation and ease, yet a string remained taut in everyone’s heart.

Yan Yunti glanced at Yan Hengzhi, who was sitting beside her and had become exceedingly well-behaved. Satisfied, she withdrew her gaze and looked toward the high seat. Like many others curious about the Emperor’s appearance, she caught only a hurried glimpse, not daring to linger.

In that brief look, she saw the Emperor dressed in black and crimson robes. Her sharp, cold phoenix eyes held not a trace of emotion as she spoke with County Mistress Changyu; her expression did not soften in the slightest. The majesty of the Son of Heaven, even in a single glance, was enough to startle the soul.

Yan Yunti lowered her head. She held her jade chopsticks, but her mind was not on the delicacies. Though she hadn’t been in the capital often these past few years, she was well-informed of its news. The Qiu family were wealthy merchants, and few knew that the famous Yuelan Court in the capital was actually Qiu Lingyue’s property. Welcoming the capital’s high officials and nobles, it gathered no small amount of information.

For instance, the Third Prince, Yuan Yuxiu, was only nineteen, yet his manor already housed many beauties. On the surface, he appeared uninterested in romance, but in reality, he was a profligate. This was one of the major reasons her mother had rejected the marriage proposal back then.

Furthermore, there were some secrets regarding the Emperor’s past before her ascension. The current sovereign had reigned for twenty-three years and was now nearly fifty. The struggle for the throne back then had been brutal. It was whispered that the Emperor had been betrayed by her own brother, Prince Kang. While the world believed Prince Kang died of illness, he had actually been forced to drink poisoned wine by the Emperor’s hand, and not a single descendant of his household was spared.

Perhaps because of this betrayal by kinsmen, the Emperor was cold and indifferent in both temperament and action. The sole exception was Eldest Princess Yuan Jingxue. The Emperor had kept the Princess by her side, raising and educating her personally. Her care for the Princess’s daily life was absolute; the phrase “deeply favored by the Sovereign” was no exaggeration.

It was precisely because of such imperial favor that, even though Yuan Jingxue was a Kunze, both Second Princess Yuan Lianhua and Third Prince Yuan Yuxiu viewed her as a threat, wishing for nothing more than to eliminate her. Therefore, the incident of Yuan Jingxue falling into the water in her dream was highly likely to be the handiwork of these two.

Falling into the water… the Lu River!

Yan Yunti’s soup spoon paused. The Lu River was near Mount Lu. According to the annual schedule of the Spring Hunt, there was a tradition of releasing lotus lanterns on the final night. The largest lantern would be personally released into the river by the Emperor to drift downstream, symbolizing the spreading of blessings in all directions.

Yuan Jingxue would certainly be present. Could the incident happen that night? But with the Emperor traveling, the guards would surely be strict. How could such an accident occur?

Yan Yunti was so preoccupied with these thoughts that she barely ate. Because she had stopped moving her spoon, Yan Hengzhi didn’t dare eat either. He had no acquaintances here and had been terrified by Yan Yunti; he watched her every move. If she didn’t move, he didn’t dare move.

Yan Yunti had no heart to care about whether he ate. Worried for Yuan Jingxue’s safety, she looked toward the high seats several times, but the Princess seemed not to notice her gaze and never made eye contact. Yan Yunti let out a soft sigh and sensed a gaze on her. Meeting it, she saw Zhongli Yu and gave a small smile in greeting.

The two smiled at each other across the distance. Yuan Jingxue, seeing this scene, grew even colder in expression.

The night banquet ended at the hour of the Dog (8:00 PM).

Yan Yunti returned to her quarters, unable to sleep. Suddenly, she heard two light taps on her window. She stood and walked over, asking through the pane: “Who is it?”

“It’s me, Xiao Ran,” came the reply.

Yan Yunti’s expression brightened. She opened the window. “Does the Eldest Princess need me?”

“Yes,” Xiao Ran handed over a set of maid’s clothing. “Her Highness wants me to bring you over.”

Yan Yunti changed into the maid’s outfit, altered her hairstyle, and followed Xiao Ran out. She picked up a tray of pastries and tea along the way, successfully entering the Eldest Princess’s sleeping palace. Jin Si led her inside, and voices from the side room of the main hall drifted out.

“Since Her Majesty has decided to let you release the Blessing Lotus Lantern on her behalf, I fear that once this news spreads, the other two will certainly start jumping around. Have Xiao Ran and the others be more attentive these few days; we can’t have anything happen.”

“Ruolan, why have you become so chatty? You’ve said this twice already today,” came Yuan Jingxue’s slightly helpless, smiling tone.

Yan Yunti’s heart skipped a beat at the intimate address “Ruolan.” As she stepped into the side room, she heard the other person reply with a laugh: “Just remember it. I can’t slack on the patrols either. It’s almost time for the shift change; I’ll head out first.”

Ning Ruolan stood up. Noticing Yan Yunti bringing in a tray of pastries, she turned and gave one last reminder: “It’s late. Don’t eat too much, or you’ll get indigestion.”

Yuan Jingxue gave a “fine” in response. Ning Ruolan departed, never once noticing what the maid carrying the tea and snacks looked like.

Yan Yunti kept her head down, so she naturally didn’t get a clear look at Ning Ruolan either.

Ning Ruolan—she must be the second daughter of the Duke of Ning’s manor, who had been promoted to Vice Commander of the Capital Guard upon her return to the capital. She was Yuan Jingxue’s cousin. Judging by their tone, their relationship was very close, and Yuan Jingxue accepted her concern quite readily.

Unlike with her, where every bit of care was suspected of having an ulterior motive.

Yan Yunti felt a bit sour. If Yuan Jingxue treated everyone with the same coldness, she wouldn’t mind, but there was an exception. Jin Si led her in and, at the Princess’s signal, turned and left the hall.

For a moment, there was no one else in the room. Yan Yunti stood where she was, head lowered, holding the tray of pastries, motionless.

Yuan Jingxue lightly stroked the rabbit in her lap, not quite understanding: “Why are you standing there?”

“Waiting for the Eldest Princess’s orders, naturally,” Yan Yunti replied in a muffled, moody voice.

Yuan Jingxue heard the tone was off. She didn’t understand where this temper was coming from and didn’t care to ask. She commanded: “Come and sit. I have things to ask you.”

“Oh.” Yan Yunti gave a stiff response, placed the pastries on the table, and sat directly across from Yuan Jingxue with a straight back. When she lowered her eyes and saw the rabbit in Yuan Jingxue’s lap being petted so comfortably, a mixture of happiness and jealousy surged within her.

Happy that Yuan Jingxue hadn’t thrown her rabbit away. Jealous because Yuan Jingxue had never stroked her so gently!

A person’s lot is truly worse than a rabbit’s, Yan Yunti lamented.

She then heard Yuan Jingxue ask: “Do you know that envoy from Dongyou?”

“Zhongli Yu?” Yan Yunti looked up and nodded. “Last year, my mother and I went to Dongyou by sea. I met her there and was hosted by her. The Zhongli clan is one of the founding noble families of Dongyou with a high status. As the young head of the clan, she often travels to nearby small nations and has extensive experience. It is reasonable for her to represent Dongyou as an envoy to Daqi.”

“You certainly know her well,” Yuan Jingxue said in a faint tone. “Then do you know why she has come this time?”

“That, I do not know,” Yan Yunti said.

“You were chatting so happily in front of the hunting forest, and she didn’t tell you?” As soon as Yuan Jingxue said it, she felt the words were unnecessary, but she couldn’t take them back.

“Chatting happily?” Yan Yunti keenly caught the phrase. “Your Highness was watching me? I thought Your Highness wouldn’t even spare me a glance.” There was a hint of grievance in her words.

Yuan Jingxue acted as if she didn’t hear it and steered the topic back: “She has come on behalf of Dongyou to negotiate maritime trade between our two nations. Dongyou wants to expand the types of maritime trade and lower the chou-jie tax (import/export tax).”

Yan Yunti: “Why is Your Highness telling me this?”

“Dongyou’s move proves even further that the profits of maritime trade are immense,” Yuan Jingxue said, placing the restless rabbit on the daybed to let it run around. “But in recent years, the taxes sent up from Dongzhou have decreased annually. If I am not mistaken, a major problem has arisen there. Dongzhou is close to Dongyou and various small nations across the sea; if something goes wrong, it will be detrimental to Daqi.”

“So what does Your Highness intend to do?” Yan Yunti asked.

Yuan Jingxue looked into her eyes: “I want you to go to Dongzhou with me.”

Given their current situation, if Yuan Jingxue was to leave the capital for a long period, she had to have Yan Yunti accompany her.

Yan Yunti frowned, sensing something was wrong. “If there are truly corrupt officials in Dongzhou, can the court not send people to investigate secretly? Why must Your Highness go in person?”

Ning Ruolan had just said that the Emperor intended to let the Princess release the Blessing Lantern. This suggested the Emperor might already intend for the Princess to be the heir. Leaving the capital at such a time would be extremely risky. Not to mention the prophecy of Yuan Jingxue falling into the river. Yan Yunti was now eighty percent certain that the event would happen on the final night of the Spring Hunt.

Seeing she couldn’t hide it, Yuan Jingxue spoke frankly: “There is another matter I cannot explain to you right now. You only need to know that after the Spring Hunt, in half a month at most, you and I will depart for Dongzhou. You must find a way to arrange your own travel before then; the trip to Dongzhou must not be known to anyone.”

“Fine, I understand.” Yan Yunti wouldn’t refuse; she wasn’t at all comfortable with Yuan Jingxue leaving the capital alone. She caught the rabbit that had run over to her, stroking it while asking: “Aside from this, does Your Highness have any other orders?”

Her words were quite formal and distant.

Yuan Jingxue truly didn’t understand why she was so moody. After a thought, she said: “There is one more thing, though not an order. That Zhongli Yu—you had best not get too close to her. She may have something to do with the affairs in Dongzhou.”

As for what those affairs were, Yuan Jingxue wouldn’t say. Yan Yunti didn’t press. Holding the rabbit that was trying to escape, she asked once more: “Does Your Highness have nothing else?”

Yuan Jingxue thought she was in a hurry to leave and gave a soft “Mm.” “If you want to leave, you may go now—”

“Who said I’m leaving?” Yan Yunti held the struggling white rabbit up for Yuan Jingxue to see. “Your Highness accepted my gift and is demanding I go to Dongzhou. Shouldn’t you give me some compensation?”

The compensation a Qianyuan wanted couldn’t possibly be gold or jewels. Rationality told Yuan Jingxue she should refuse outright, but the words that left her mouth were: “What do you want?”

“What I want is very simple.” Yan Yunti set the rabbit down and moved the low table that stood between them. She leaned right into Yuan Jingxue’s face, her peach-blossom eyes curving into crescents, looking at her with a gaze full of longing. Her voice was intimate and low: “A-Xue, let me smell your pheromones, alright? I really, really want to… so much so that I can’t sleep, and in my dreams, I’m tossing and turning with thoughts of you…”