After Transmigrating into a Book, I Was Entangled by the Paranoid Eldest Princess - Chapter 13

Chapter 13

On the day Wen Chenqing went to the academy, the weather finally cleared up after the continuous overcast rain.

It took more than half an hour by carriage to get from the villa to Jinyun Academy, so she set off early in the morning with Yinxing and the driver.

Without the daily sound of reading, the villa suddenly felt much more desolate.

Si Jinghua opened the window, and Fuqu, who had been waiting for a long time, immediately stepped on a stone block and climbed through the window.

Dusting off the dirt from her clothes, Fuqu looked up to see the Princess watching her with a faint, knowing smile.

She grinned and said playfully, “Has Your Highness not seen enough of me climbing through windows yet?”

Even though she had climbed through this window many times, Fuqu still couldn’t achieve the effortless lightness of Shadow One.

Si Jinghua leaned back on a soft couch that she had specially ordered to be refurbished. Her fingertip lightly tapped the Doctrine of the Mean resting face-down on her lap. Hearing this, she shot her a sidelong glance: “How could one ever tire of watching someone make a fool of themselves?”

After the joke, her posture straightened slightly. Her hand on her lap tapped the table. When she raised her eyes, the playful annoyance had vanished, replaced by an undisguised sharpness.

“The message has been delivered. How did the Palace react?”

Fuqu turned serious: “It went exactly as Your Highness anticipated. Upon learning the news, the Fourth Prince was delighted. He even petitioned His Majesty, saying he deeply regretted mentioning Your Highness’s marriage. He claimed that after Your Highness left in a huff that day, he couldn’t sleep all night. Since Your Highness finds the scenery of the capital’s outskirts pleasant and there is nothing urgent in the city, he suggested you stay a while longer to relax, and there’s no need to rush you back.”

“The Fourth Prince also said that if Your Highness lacks anything while away, simply let him know, and he will find whatever it is for you.”

The corners of Si Jinghua’s mouth curled downward before letting out a mocking sneer.

“My ‘dear’ younger brother… he truly does ‘care’ for me.”

Hearing this, Fuqu lowered her head further.

The Fourth Prince and the Princess were born of the same mother. However, when the Princess was born, His Majesty was only a Prince, not yet the Crown Prince. Later, when the previous Emperor passed away, His Majesty ascended the throne after long deliberation. The Princess Consort, ten months pregnant, gave birth to the Second Prince on the very day of the coronation.

The Princess gained favor due to her status as the eldest legitimate child. Meanwhile, the Fourth Prince had always been doted upon not only for his legitimate status but because he happened to be born at an auspicious hour.

Fuqu, who had served the Princess since childhood, recalled that when the Fourth Prince was young, the bond between the siblings was very strong. But after the Empress passed away a few years ago and the Fourth Prince grew older, the relationship between these royal siblings moved into a delicate phase.

“What is Imperial Father’s attitude?”

Without moving her gaze, Fuqu took a letter from her sleeve and presented it with both hands.

Si Jinghua tore it open. There was only one short sentence inside.

The Emperor hesitated at first, then, looking at the Fourth Prince, he granted it.

“Then, looking at the Fourth Prince, he granted it.” What a phrase!

He granted it!

Si Jinghua’s expression grew colder, and she let out a series of icy laughs.

“What profound father-son affection,” she mocked. “It seems I have become the redundant one.”

Si Jinghua remembered that her relationship with her father was actually very good when she was young. After her father ascended the throne and before her fourth brother was old enough to understand things, she was her father’s favorite child—her every wish was his command.

But then, everything began to change.

She was still a child her father loved and cherished, but she was no longer the most cherished.

Before her mother passed away, she had chatted with her, saying her temperament had been untameable since she was small. As a toddler, she hated staying indoors; if she was unhappy, she would wail so heart-wrenchingly that nothing could soothe her. Even in the freezing cold, she would only stop if someone carried her outside.

Later, when she was old enough to grasp things, anything she took a liking to had to be hers. If it wasn’t given to her, she would smash it. No one knew how she had so much strength at such a young age.

Even toward her full-blooded younger brother, she, as the elder sister, never yielded.

Reflecting on this, Si Jinghua stared at that single line of text and whispered, “My things—why should I yield them?”

Like years ago, when her young fourth brother came to her room to play and became very interested in a cloth tiger she used to play with as a child, clutching it tightly and refusing to let go.

Seeing she was unwilling, her mother advised her: it was just a worn-out cloth tiger she didn’t use anymore; since her brother liked it, why not give it to him? She promised that if she liked such things, she would have the Imperial Weaving Bureau send over exquisite and magnificent embroideries suited to her current age.

Si Jinghua remembered exactly what she did.

She turned back into her room, and under her mother’s shocked gaze, she snatched the worn-out cloth tiger from her obediently playing brother. Ignoring his cries, she used scissors to shred it into pieces.

Even if it was something she no longer used, if she did not wish it, it would be destroyed by her own hand rather than given to another.

Si Jinghua thought that Si Jingyu was like a vine growing in the shadows, using every act of “playing cute” to quietly sink his roots into the soil he had long coveted, plundering the nutrients that belonged to her—their mother’s energy and their father’s gaze.

And now, he ambitiously sought to plunder her presence before the eyes of all.

As they were both of legitimate birth, they were naturally the strongest competitors.

Si Jinghua lit a candle and burned the letter in her hand.

After cleaning up, she took a handkerchief to wipe her hands carefully and asked Fuqu: “Has Gongsun Ying’s whereabouts been found?”

Fuqu: “Handan just sent word today; I was just about to mention it. She has found Dr. Gongsun, and they are on their way back to the capital.”

Si Jinghua nodded: “When they arrive, have them come directly to the villa.”

Fuqu complied.

This Gongsun Ying was a doctor Si Jinghua had encountered by chance in the capital. On a whim, she had smoothed over some trouble for her, and since then, Dr. Gongsun had been in her service.

Although Gongsun Ying’s medical skills were superb, she loved traveling to practice medicine. Having stayed in the capital too long, she always wanted to leave. Since Si Jinghua lived in the palace, which gathered the best doctors in the world, she didn’t restrict her and let Gongsun Ying leave with one of her secret guards.

But after she fainted for no reason recently, the village doctor claimed her Qi and blood seemed deficient. Recalling the monthly imperial physician reports that always recorded a normal pulse, Si Jinghua concluded the village doctor was incompetent, but suspicion had taken root nonetheless. She sent another confidante, Handan, to find the traveling Gongsun Ying.

Having finished her business, Si Jinghua turned a page of the book on her lap and said calmly, “If anyone else from the palace comes to investigate, do as usual—there is no need to stop them.”

Fuqu replied, “Yes, Princess.”

Seeing that the tea in front of the Princess had diminished, she immediately refilled it.

Setting down the teapot, Fuqu looked around.

Even though they had “swapped the beams for pillars” by replacing the items in this room with the Princess’s usual belongings, Fuqu still felt it was too cramped.

But the Princess was clearly enduring this discomfort for the sake of her goals. Fuqu thought to herself that the Princess truly was the Princess—sometimes her acting even fooled her, who had served her since childhood, making her believe it was all real. Thus, even if the Fourth Prince sent more spies, they would only receive news of the Princess hiding her identity and playing around recklessly.

Jinyun Academy was also located in the outskirts of the capital, nestled against the mountains and streams with beautiful scenery.

After spending only a short time there, Wen Chenqing could feel an atmosphere entirely different from the Imperial Academy.

Before leaving, she visited the dormitory buildings used for self-study and lodging. The rooms were for two people, simple and clean.

The simplicity didn’t matter, but the two-person environment made Wen Chenqing hesitate.

She thought it over. It was spring now, and the days would only get longer over the next few months. At most, she could set out from the villa a bit earlier every day and use the time on the road to recite from memory with her eyes closed. She’d treat it like changing locations for morning self-study—it might even make her more alert.

On the way back, she suddenly told the driver to stop: “Go to Yaoding County first.”

Hearing the name “Yaoding,” Yinxing’s eyes lit up, and she looked at Wen Chenqing expectantly.

So, the reason the Miss left the academy so early was that she was also worrying about this matter!

When they arrived at Yaoding County, the air was filled with news spreading by word of mouth.

“Someone beat the drum to cry for justice today and sued the County Magistrate!”

“Wrong, wrong, you’ve got it all wrong! A couple sued the Magistrate’s nephew and the jailers!”

“Hahahaha, you didn’t see it! The moment Magistrate Bai heard that drum beating like thunder, his face turned white as a sheet, and his legs couldn’t even stand steady.”

“Bah! That dog official deserves it! Last year his cousin’s nephew, relying on his grand-uncle the Magistrate, forcibly seized my aunt’s good land. My poor aunt’s family hasn’t had a full meal since!”

“Go, quick, go see. I heard a high-ranking official from the capital is judging the case.”

“What’s there to see? Officials always protect officials. Maybe that big official is a dog official too!”

“What’s wrong with just going to peek?”

Wen Chenqing and Yinxing followed the crowd and soon reached the scene of the confrontation.

The official on the bench struck the gavel and looked toward where Magistrate Bai and his nephew were standing, calling for silence in a deep voice.

Once the hall grew quiet, she asked: “The Hu couple, since you mentioned he gave you money, what did he say when he gave it to you? Are there witnesses?”

The Hu couple still remembered the response mentioned in the letter their benefactor had sent. With grief and indignation, they pointed at the guilty, shrinking culprit: “Reporting to Your Honor, that day he sat in his carriage, threw the silver at us, and said, ‘Take the money and get lost! If you cause more trouble, I’ll lock you up!’ At the time, several neighbors could bear witness for us!”

Among the crowd, some understood and sighed: “That was an attempt to coerce the Hu couple.” Take the money and shut up, or refuse and rot in jail.

Clearly, the official on the bench realized this too, sternly asking if it was true.

The Magistrate’s nephew, Bai Jingwu, explained in a panic. Under the pressure of the official’s gaze, he couldn’t hold out and argued: “My horse was clearly spooked that day! It was an accident! I didn’t touch her! She fell down herself because she was scared! There was clearly no blood on her that day!”

“You’re lying! The day my daughter passed away, I hired someone to do an autopsy report. You are clearly talking nonsense!”

“Heh! If you wanted to frame someone, you would naturally make full preparations. What if the person who did the autopsy conspired with you?!”

The Hu couple’s hands shook with rage.

They thought with bitter grief that their benefactor had indeed foreseen that the murderer would disparage the autopsy report. The husband and wife looked at each other, tears streaming down their faces, but their voices were resonant and powerful.

“Your Honor, our daughter’s death is truly a great injustice! We repeatedly begged the local government to examine her injuries, but we were rebuked for ‘looking for trouble where there is none’! Now the murderer is still slandering us. Since he thinks we would conspire with someone to fake the autopsy report, we beg Your Honor to uphold justice for us and permit the coroner to perform a re-examination of the body on the spot!”

Shen Jueming, presiding over the case, was startled.

Bai Jingwu looked at Magistrate Bai in a panic. Seeing his uncle keep his eyes closed and ignore him, his lips trembled as he pointed at the Hu couple and questioned: “Y-you… didn’t you bury her?”

The Hu couple ignored him. They knelt on the ground and kowtowed heavily several times. When they looked up, their foreheads were bruised and red. Every word they spoke was soaked in an undeniable sorrow: “We beg Your Honor to send someone to perform the autopsy on my daughter’s body right here.”

They had originally wanted to bury their daughter properly so her soul could rest.

But their benefactor later sent another letter asking them a question.

If the murderer used the autopsy report as a loophole, did they want their daughter to enter the earth for peace, or did they want more to seek justice and make the murderer pay the price?

The Hu couple had been speechless. If justice could not be sought, could their daughter truly enter the earth in peace? Could her soul truly rest?

They had sat in silence for half the night under a dim candle and made a decision hidden from everyone—they kept the coffin above ground and did not proceed with the burial.

The surrounding commoners broke into an uproar the moment they heard the Hu couple ask for an on-site autopsy.

“Madness, this is madness!”

“Heavens! How can parents do such a thing?!”

“Truly, even in death, they won’t let her be at peace!”

Listening to the accusations around her, Wen Chenqing lowered her eyes and seemed to speak to herself: “If not for the depth of their love for their daughter, what parents would be willing to do this? If justice is not sought, how can one speak of ‘resting in peace’? Justice is the greatest consolation for the dead. Are we not gathered here today precisely to see with our own eyes if there is justice in this world?”

Her voice was neither too loud nor too soft. Several people standing near her heard her clearly. Their expressions of disapproval froze, and they felt her words indeed made sense.

“True, the child died piteously. With only this one child, the parents must be the most heartbroken…”

For a moment, as everyone thought it over, they could manage to understand why the Hu couple acted this way. Although some elders still shook their heads while leaning on their canes, since things had come to this, let the autopsy proceed—at the very least, justice must be brought back!

The autopsy results came out quickly. Simultaneously, the candied hawthorn vendor and the pastry vendor next to him from that day also stepped forward to testify.

It was confirmed that Bai Jingwu had “caused death by galloping a horse.” Magistrate Bai’s actions in this case were nothing short of failing to discipline his family and perverting the law for personal gain.

Shen Jueming, the official responsible for the Yaoding County evaluation, struck the gavel. Accompanied by the Hu couple embracing and weeping in the hall, the case came to a close.

After watching the judgment, Wen Chenqing’s feet were numb from standing, but a faint smile unconsciously appeared on her face.

“Let’s go, Yinxing. It’s time to head back.”

“Okay, Miss!”

“—Your Honor! I wish to sue Magistrate Bai for allowing his relatives to seize fertile farmland!”

A voice came from behind, cutting through the noise of the crowd. Wen Chenqing looked up at the distant sky; the sunset was a brilliant, variegated red, spectacularly radiant.

Today was a sunny day; tomorrow would likely be one too.