Mistakenly Marked the Madly Beautiful Princess - Chapter 50

“I’ve troubled you during this time.”

Princess Chang was unaccustomed to Qing Niao’s politeness. She naturally recognized Qing Niao’s daughter, having watched her grow from a tiny bundle in her arms to the child she was now.

Qing Niao had taken excellent care of her. The girl stood half a head taller than other children her age and was sweet-tongued, addressing Princess Chang as “Aunt Xiao He” whenever they met.

Princess Chang casually pushed aside the memorials on her desk, glanced at Qing Niao, and smiled. “The palace is quite empty anyway. How could it be any trouble?”

No matter how empty it was, it couldn’t accommodate so many outsiders. Only two people with the surname Lu remained in the palace.

But Qing Niao understood that the princess didn’t mind such things. She sighed and asked, “How is your health?”

Princess Chang replied nonchalantly, “There was an episode earlier, but with Ling Yue here, I’m managing.”

Qing Niao was still uneasy. She asked the princess to extend her hand and, after checking her pulse, her expression eased slightly. She couldn’t help but say happily, “I truly feel you’ll recover.”

“Is that so? How unfortunate for some people, I mean.”

Princess Chang teased, but Qing Niao knew she had the ability to make it happen. If she wasn’t mistaken, the northern and southern kingdoms would likely remain peaceful for a long time.

It hadn’t been like this in her previous life. At its worst, Rongcheng had been breached by the northern kingdom, though Ling Yue had fought desperately to reclaim it later.

Yes, that was in her previous life.

Qing Niao felt somewhat reassured for the moment. Seeing the mountain of memorials piled high, she began to advise again, “Even if you’re capable, you shouldn’t push yourself like this. His Majesty isn’t that incompetent. You could rest a little without issue.”

She had said this countless times, but Princess Chang had never taken her advice. Though it was futile, Qing Niao couldn’t help but persist.

Princess Chang chuckled softly. “You nag me like you nag Xiao Li.”

Qing Niao sighed helplessly. “Xiao Li listens to me, but you don’t.”

Princess Chang picked up a memorial to read. “You know that, yet you keep insisting.”

Truthfully, Princess Chang wanted to let go. Her illness meant she couldn’t overexert herself, but she still had many concerns about her younger sister, Lu Ai.

She had raised Lu Ai herself, but perhaps the trauma from their first meeting had left too deep a mark, making Lu Ai stubbornly refuse to learn her ruthlessness.

She had considered deposing the emperor, but Lu Weiying was too cunning and selfish, potentially causing even greater troubles in the future.

As for becoming emperor herself, Princess Chang felt she wanted to live a few more years. If she took the throne, most of her time would be spent in the palace, with no rest at all.

Princess Chang multitasked, pondering these thoughts while reviewing the memorials Lu Ai had already handled.

As she read, she suddenly handed one to Qing Niao. “Take a look at this.”

Qing Niao read it and found it was about an incident in Kecheng. The magistrate’s daughter had fallen ill and passed away, and to ensure she wouldn’t be lonely on her journey to the afterlife, the magistrate had sought out children born on the same day as his daughter from among the commoners to be buried with her.

Fortunately, the plot was discovered soon after, and the children were rescued.

The more she read, the more familiar the memorial seemed. Qing Niao looked up at Princess Chang. “What is this?”

Princess Chang calmly picked up another memorial, her eyes focused on the words as she said softly, “Xiao Li told me about it.”

The students of Qing Niao had originally planned to sell Xiao Lizhi for silver to be buried alive as funerary sacrifice, intending to lie that she had died of illness when Qing Niao came looking for her.

Unexpectedly, while they were discussing this, Xiao Lizhi overheard them. Unfortunately, she didn’t catch the full conversation and mistakenly thought only one person was to be sacrificed.

A mere county magistrate daring to be so audacious, the Eldest Princess would naturally not let it slide. She immediately ordered an investigation, which revealed that more than one child had fallen victim.

The back-and-forth of the investigation took some time. Fortunately, the magistrate was quite particular and had chosen an auspicious date for the sacrifice, so the children were temporarily held in a rundown house under guard until then.

The Eldest Princess’s tone remained as indifferent as ever. After finishing one memorial, she swiftly picked up another, her hands and words moving without pause: “Now you can be moved.”

Qing Niao had indeed been touched, but hearing this made her reluctant to show it. Of course, this resistance was fleeting, and she sighed softly, saying, “Thank you.”

Opening the memorial again, she noticed the elegant, red-inked annotations, clearly in Lu Ai’s handwriting.

What was rare this time was that Lu Ai had deliberately increased the severity of the punishment: not only was the magistrate’s property confiscated, but he was also paraded through the streets and ultimately executed.

Additionally, all those involved in the buying and selling of the children were arrested and thrown into prison.

When the Eldest Princess looked up and saw Qing Niao still reading, she couldn’t help but laugh: “She really likes children.”

Qing Niao didn’t know Lu Ai well, but in her previous life, she had visited her before her passing. The so-called “dying of melancholy” was nothing but a joke.

But did the Eldest Princess really care that much about her younger sister?

Feeling somewhat better, Qing Niao couldn’t resist teasing: “I never took you for a good older sister.”

Objectively speaking, the Eldest Princess was not a good older sister.

However, she knew the reason behind Lu Ai’s fondness for children. Back when she had purged the previous emperor, the process had been rather harsh, frightening the young Lu Ai, who was just a child at the time.

After that, Lu Ai developed a delusional disorder, convinced that her older sister had spies planted everywhere around her.

As a result, Lu Ai began confiding in the palace dogs and cats, unable to speak her mind freely.

The same logic applied to children Lu Ai believed they were innocent and couldn’t possibly be spies.

In the end, it was the bad older sister’s fault. But Lu Ai wasn’t entirely wrong; her surroundings were indeed filled with spies.

So, it wasn’t exactly delusional, it was all too real.

Even so, the Eldest Princess felt no guilt. She continued reviewing the memorials, setting aside those that dissatisfied her.

Seeing her focus, Qing Niao quietly placed the memorial back and stood by without disturbing her.

After a while, the Eldest Princess suddenly stopped. She set down the memorial she was reading and asked, “Where is Xiao Lizhi?”

Qing Niao replied, “Ling Yue took her out to play.”

Hearing Ling Yue’s name, the Eldest Princess fell silent for a moment. She gazed at the memorials on the desk, then stood up and walked out. Before leaving, she turned back and instructed, “When Qiu Ling comes to collect them, have her take the pile on the right first. The rest can be collected later.”

Without giving Qing Niao a chance to say more, the Eldest Princess vanished in an instant.

Watching her use qinggong to disappear, Qing Niao sighed in exasperation, “Really.”

Ling Yue was pushing Yunli on a swing. She had Yunli sit while she pushed, intending to scare her by swinging her high. But the little girl showed no fear, shouting, “Higher, Aunt Yue! Push me higher! Wow! So high!”

Ling Yue pushed the swing with an expressionless face, unable to resist an internal complaint: Just a little higher and you’ll be tracing a full circle with your body!

This child was not easy to handle at all. Ling Yue still felt that the battlefield was more manageable.

Complaints aside, Ling Yue continued to do her duty and pushed the swing higher.

But it was far too dangerous, so Ling Yue eventually stopped. She coaxed, “How about we go play something else?”

Yunli wasn’t overly clingy either. She got off the swing, took Ling Yue’s hand, and looked up at her with admiration. “I heard Aunt Yue is incredibly skilled in martial arts.”

Ling Yue couldn’t quite handle praise. She humbly replied, “I’m just average.”

Yunli didn’t believe it. All along the way, she had been hearing the common folk sing Ling Yue’s praises.

Ignoring Ling Yue’s denial, she tugged at Ling Yue’s sleeve and began to whine, “Aunt Yue, you’re lying! Everyone says you’re amazing.”

Ling Yue felt her sleeve was about to bid her farewell. She quickly rescued it and insisted, “I’m not lying.”

But the sleeve fell back into Yunli’s grasp, inevitably subjected to another round of shaking. “I don’t believe it! Aunt Yue, teach me! I want to be just like you!”

Ling Yue froze. “Be like me?”

She didn’t think there was anything particularly admirable about herself. Sometimes she felt capable, other times utterly inadequate. But overall, a life like hers…

Yunli didn’t understand. She still wanted to cling to Ling Yue and learn martial arts from her, so she kept nodding eagerly. “Yes, yes! Aunt Yue is amazing. If I become as strong as you, I can protect Mother!”

What a filial child. Ling Yue patted her head and smiled gently. “I can teach you, but it’ll be very tough. Are you sure you can handle it?”

Yunli clenched her fists and swung them wildly at the air. “I can!”

Ling Yue suddenly found the child rather amusing.

“Qing Niao has forbidden her from learning martial arts.”

The Chang Princess’s voice came unexpectedly. Ling Yue turned to see her standing atop the high wall.

This woman really loves high places.

As soon as Yunli heard the voice, her little face fell. She shot a resentful glance at the Chang Princess and reluctantly called out, “Aunt Xiao He.”

The Chang Princess leaped down from the height, landing right beside Ling Yue. She ruffled Yunli’s hair into a mess, then calmly withdrew her hand.

Yunli protectively covered her head and whined, “But I want to protect Mother!”

Ling Yue was also at a loss. If Qing Niao had forbidden it, she certainly didn’t dare to teach.

Seeing her chance slipping away, Yunli fixed her pitiful, wide-eyed gaze on Ling Yue.

Ling Yue couldn’t bear it. Her heart began to ache with conflict.

But her inner turmoil didn’t last long, because the Chang Princess delivered a light knock on the little girl’s head though since Yunli’s hands were still guarding it, the knock landed on her knuckles instead.

Yunli winced in pain and crouched down. “Ouch!”

The Chang Princess wore a stern expression. “Martial arts is no child’s play. Your mother forbade it to keep you away from conflict. You must listen to her.”

Ling Yue was a bit startled. Seeing Yunli on the verge of tears softened her heart, and she couldn’t help but intercede, “She’s just a child.”

The Chang Princess smiled at Ling Yue and added, “Although you’re not allowed to learn martial arts, if you simply watch us practice and pick it up on your own, that doesn’t count. It just means you’re a prodigy, and the martial arts leaped into your mind on their own.”

“That counts as the martial arts forcing themselves on you.”

Ling Yue’s lips twitched. The Chang Princess is truly the Chang Princess. I could never come up with an explanation like that even if I tried till my dying day.

“But isn’t this rather inappropriate?”

Ling Yue glanced worriedly toward Yunli’s direction, only to find the other woman lowering her hand from her head with an expression of sudden enlightenment. Yunli looked gratefully at the princess and said solemnly, “Aunt Xiaohe, I understand now.”

Watching their silent understanding, Ling Yue felt utterly bewildered.

The two of them, one older and one younger, continued discussing strategies for a long while, leaving Ling Yue completely ignored.

After what seemed like an eternity, the princess waved her hand in front of Ling Yue’s eyes and said with a smile, “Little General, it’s time to go.”

Ling Yue snapped out of her daze. Seeing Yunliwalking ahead, she hurried to catch up, but suddenly felt a tug on her sleeve. Looking down, she found someone holding onto it.

Following the hand upward, she looked at the princess in confusion. “Your Highness?”

The princess initially meant to let go, but for some reason didn’t. Instead, she murmured softly, “Is it not allowed?”

It wasn’t an accusation, nor did it carry her usual teasing tone rather, it held a hint of coquettishness.

Ling Yue thought she must have lost her mind.

But with the princess still watching her, Ling Yue nodded. “Of course, it’s allowed.”

The princess smiled. Truth be told, she had been standing on the wall for so long that envy had begun to creep into her heart.

It was a ridiculous emotion, but the princess accepted it.

Looking up at the sky, the blue expanse remained unchanged, yet she felt this was the most beautiful sky she had ever seen.

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