Taking the Princess as My Wife - Chapter 15

“Liu Ruheng, did you come today to visit This Palace, or to inform me of this matter?”

After exchanging a few humble words and declining several offers of hospitality, Liu Ruheng took her rightful seat.

During the meal, Liu Ruheng made side-long inquiries about the Left Minister’s daily affairs. She learned that most of the people who remained in the household were former refugees who had suffered in disasters; it was the Left Minister who had given them a chance to live.

Having finished lunch, Liu Ruheng felt it improper to overstay her welcome and took her leave of the old man and the young lady. Before departing, she left all the silver she had brought with her at the Minister’s residence.

Quietly slipping back home through the back door, Liu Ruheng swiftly removed her disguise. Once the makeup was washed from her face, she felt a wave of relief. After changing her clothes, she unconsciously wandered back to the veranda.

The pigeon cage was empty, and the feed remained untouched and full; the Princess still had not replied.

Liu Ruheng lowered her eyes, concealing the strange sensation in her heart. She pressed a hand to her chest, feeling a certain tightness.

Just then, Li Anyu arrived outside the study. She bowed and said, “Master, someone from Lord Cheng’s household just delivered a letter.”

Liu Ruheng took the letter from Li Anyu. After a brief inquiry regarding her studies, she took the letter into the study.

Cheng Xuehai’s reply was somewhat lengthy but remained polite. He first inquired after Liu Ruheng’s injuries and then proceeded to detail the situation regarding Pang Jitong’s case.

There was no new progress in the case, but it seemed to involve many officials in the imperial court. Currently, Shaoqing Lu had only mentioned the confiscation of property, though such seizures did not fall under the jurisdiction of the Court of Judicial Review (Dali Si).

Furthermore, the Court of Judicial Review had been frantic lately. Cheng Xuehai vented his grievances in the letter, stating that without Liu Ruheng’s help, his desk was piled high with daily dossiers that he could never finish. As the Court was short-staffed, he had to shoulder the entire burden alone.

At the end, Cheng Xuehai wished Liu Ruheng a speedy recovery and hoped she could return to the Court as soon as her leave ended.

Liu Ruheng was not surprised by this. It was normal for the case to have no progress, but the only people who had seen the blood-written letter in Pang Jitong’s arms seemed to be Shaoqing Lu and the Emperor. The matter was riddled with suspicion, which inevitably led Liu Ruheng to ruminate.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the study door. Li Anyu stood outside, her voice sounding slightly panicked. “Lord, there is a sister covered in blood at the door looking for you!”

Liu Ruheng was startled. A sister covered in blood? In the capital, her social circle was not wide. The only women she interacted with frequently, aside from her family, was the Princess.

She opened the door, her brow furrowed, and asked, “Where is she now?”

As Li Anyu led the way, she said, “Father thought she might be one of your colleagues, so he brought her to the main hall.”

A colleague? Liu Ruheng pondered for a moment. In the Court of Judicial Review, the only female colleague she had met was Xiao Qing. Xiao Qing happened to be a coroner, so it wouldn’t be strange for her to be stained with blood.

As she thought this, Liu Ruheng reached the main hall and saw Xiao Qing sitting upright in a chair.

Liu Ruheng looked closely and indeed saw a bloodstain on the hem of her garment. The color was fresh, as if newly stained. Seeing how anxious she was, Liu Ruheng had a faint suspicion.

Could it be that Xiao Qing had something she wanted to say to her in private? However, there were many officials in the Court of Judicial Review; they didn’t lack someone like Liu Ruheng.

Nevertheless, Liu Ruheng decided not to let any opportunity slip by. After dismissing the others, only the two of them remained in the hall.

Seeing that everyone had left, Xiao Qing took out the paper and brush she carried with her and wrote: “Lord Liu, do you know the contents of the blood-letter in the Minister Pang case?”

Liu Ruheng was shocked by Xiao Qing’s bluntness and replied truthfully, “I do not. But there is one thing I wish to ask Miss Xiao Qing: why did you come to find me?”

The hand Xiao Qing used to hold the brush paused. she let out an imperceptible sigh before writing on the paper: “In the Court of Judicial Review, no one believes me.” After a long pause, she added another line: “If the Lord is willing to listen, I am willing to disclose everything to you.”

Liu Ruheng remained silent for a long time before saying, “Why should I trust you?”

“If the Lord did not trust me, you would not have asked that question; you would have simply driven me away.”

Looking at Xiao Qing’s certain gaze, Liu Ruheng broke into a wry smile. “I shall trouble Miss Xiao Qing then.”

During the interval of waiting, Liu Ruheng poured a cup of tea for herself. Seeing that Xiao Qing’s teacup was empty, she added some for her as well. The tea was scalding, and a layer of mist curled above it. Liu Ruheng took a small sip and then inconspicuously moved the teacup further away.

It was now June, and the weather was already hot. It seemed she needed to discuss with Uncle Li about serving herbal cooling tea for the summer; otherwise, it was simply too hot.

Once Xiao Qing finished writing, she handed a full sheet of paper to Liu Ruheng. Strictly speaking, Xiao Qing’s handwriting was not beautiful; one could only just distinguish what the characters were.

Liu Ruheng took the neatly trimmed paper and read it carefully.

“Absurd,” Liu Ruheng finally couldn’t help but curse under her breath after finishing the read. Her brow was locked in a frown, and a hint of anger tinged her eyes.

Xiao Qing had transcribed the entire blood-letter for Liu Ruheng, marking a few places where her memory was blurred.

At the end, she also specially noted two things: Shaoqing Lu had ordered Cheng Xuehai to dig up all previous cases regarding Pang Jitong, and on the day of the seizure of Pang Jitong’s house, Xiao Qing had personally witnessed a bailiff hand books filled with Pang Jitong’s handwriting over to Shaoqing Lu.

The content of the blood-letter was not very long. It mostly consisted of Pang Jitong’s self-account of his crimes and where the specific evidence was located.

What surprised Liu Ruheng most was the part concerning the Crown Prince. Pang Jitong confessed that for the sake of wealth, he had colluded with the Crown Prince to embezzle grain, military funds, and disaster relief silver. The final sentence indicated the specific location of the account books, but Xiao Qing had not seen it clearly because Shaoqing Lu had blocked her view.

Having finished reading, Liu Ruheng knew the matter was of great importance. She tucked the paper close to her body and said seriously, “Miss Xiao Qing, are you certain all of this is true?”

Xiao Qing nodded firmly and wrote on the paper: “My father and mother both lost their lives at the hands of the Xiongnu; I would certainly not joke about such a matter.”

Hearing this, Liu Ruheng reined in her agitated emotions and apologized to Xiao Qing. However, considering what the Emperor had said to her that day, her heart felt heavy. Putting aside the truth of the blood-letter for a moment, the Emperor’s attitude was very suspicious.

Without investigation, and seeing only the two words “Crown Prince” on the blood-letter, he had immediately destroyed it and gone to great lengths to summon her and Shaoqing Lu for an audience. Such indirect probing—was there not something fishy about it?

Although Xiao Qing had informed her of the contents, Liu Ruheng did not know if the contents were true, nor did she know if Xiao Qing herself was trustworthy. She had no choice but to stall: “Miss Xiao Qing, I too am of little consequence. This matter is grave; you must not speak of it to others.”

A flash of disappointment crossed Xiao Qing’s eyes. She said nothing, rose to give Liu Ruheng a bow, and then took her leave.

Watching Xiao Qing’s departing back, Liu Ruheng ultimately felt a bit of pity. She said, “Miss Xiao Qing, there are some bloodstains on your hem.”

After sitting alone in the hall for a while, Liu Ruheng finally made up her mind to visit the Princess’s manor.

The matter of Pang Jitong seemed related to the Left Minister. Now that she had key evidence, she had to inform the Princess… and, Liu Ruheng drained the now-cold cup of tea in one gulp. She also wanted to know how the Princess’s health actually was.

On the way to the Princess’s manor, Liu Ruheng secretly pondered what kind of mindset she truly had. If the Princess were to pass away just like that, she could rest easy, never needing to worry about her identity as a woman being exposed.

But ever since she heard the news of the Princess’s sudden illness, she had been unable to eat or sleep peacefully. She was unwilling to believe the Princess was seriously ill; she even felt increasingly frustrated at the news of the wedding being postponed.

Liu Ruheng couldn’t figure it out.

Upon arriving at the Princess’s manor, Liu Ruheng dismounted and knocked on the bronze gate.

After her identity was verified, she was ushered inside. She felt a bit annoyed; the manor was too large and the distance too great. She was impatient to hear the news that Jiang Shaojia was safe.

In the bedroom, Jiang Shaojia and Liu Ruheng were still separated by layers of gauze curtains. One could only faintly glimpse the figure inside. Liu Ruheng performed a bow, her chest still feeling tight, and she asked with some hesitation, “Is the Princess’s health any better?”

Jiang Shaojia’s voice sounded muffled through the curtains. Liu Ruheng only heard Jiang Shaojia calling for her to come inside.

After a moment’s hesitation, Liu Ruheng rose, parted the heavy gauze curtains, and finally saw Jiang Shaojia.

Jiang Shaojia’s face was pale, and her normally rosy lips were now devoid of color. She reclined on the bed, her eyes slightly curved. As usual, she broke into a smile upon seeing Liu Ruheng: “Why did the Consort only come to see me today?”

Tears almost gathered in Liu Ruheng’s eyes, but she forced them back.

She kept her head lowered, feeling that whatever she wanted to say would sound awkward. She only spoke with a slight nasality, “I am sorry.”

Liu Ruheng couldn’t say any other words of explanation; she could only utter a pale and powerless apology.

Looking at Liu Ruheng like this, Jiang Shaojia found it quite novel and couldn’t help but laugh. She beckoned with her hand and said languidly, “Why stay so far away? Come closer.”

Hearing this, Liu Ruheng obediently took a few steps forward. She finally couldn’t hold back and asked, “Princess, how is your health exactly? That day the messenger only said you fell ill suddenly and the wedding was postponed.”

“It is nothing serious, merely poisoning.”

Liu Ruheng snapped her head up, looking at Jiang Shaojia in disbelief. How could she speak of poisoning with such nonchalance?

Gritting her teeth, she finally remembered the official business she had come for today. Liu Ruheng stood in place, somewhat stiffly saying, “Reporting to the Princess, I have come today with urgent matters to disclose.”

Jiang Shaojia felt like laughing. The person who had been so flustered a moment ago was now solemnly reporting to her. She suppressed her laughter and acknowledged Liu Ruheng’s words: “What is it?”

After Liu Ruheng reported the matter of the blood-letter and Xiao Qing’s visit, she saw that the Princess was looking at her with a smile, not really listening to what she was saying at all. For a moment, she felt helpless.

“Liu Ruheng, did you come today to visit This Palace, or to inform me of this matter?”

Jiang Shaojia’s eyes were curved with a smile, and the arch of her lips was much the same as before, yet Liu Ruheng felt a sense of danger for no apparent reason.

She hesitated for a long time before asking back: “Then… did the Princess actually hear what I was saying just now?”

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