Taking the Princess as My Wife - Chapter 24

Her eyes curved into crescents, her smile as sweet as honey.

After leaving, Liu Ruheng exhaled a long breath of turbid air. She was not surprised by Lu Shaoqing’s attitude. With the Emperor gravely ill and the Crown Prince ascending to power to eliminate dissent, it was within expectations that Liu Ruheng would be targeted by Lu Shaoqing.

Fortunately, before handing those incenses over to Lu Shaoqing, Liu Ruheng had harbored a selfish motive and kept a small portion of each for herself.

Two days later, as soon as Liu Ruheng entered the Court of Judicial Review (Dali Temple), she spotted Cheng Xuehai. When the two met, they did not speak to one another, each having made their stance clear. Liu Ruheng felt a momentary surge of emotion; it had only been three months since she ranked as the Tanhua third highest in the imperial examinations, yet what she had witnessed in these short three months was worlds apart from her past. Her days of bitter study by the cold window felt like a lifetime ago.

Predictably, Liu Ruheng was demoted. Lu Shaoqing’s reasons were ample: Liu Ruheng was accused of being overeager for merit, reporting false evidence, and showing disrespect to her superiors.

As soon as the news of Liu Ruheng’s demotion spread, she became the target of public criticism within the Court of Judicial Review. Other officials already had little interaction with her, and now that she had fallen out of favor with Lu Shaoqing, no one dared to converse with her. Liu Ruheng did not care much about this; she continued to organize case files as usual, occasionally paying attention to the status of that specific case.

Another month passed, reaching the sweltering height of midsummer. During this month, personnel changes within the Court of Judicial Review were significant. Cheng Xuehai’s rank rose repeatedly, eventually reaching the position Gong Fan had held before his own demotion. Meanwhile, for reasons unknown, Gong Fan submitted his resignation to return to his hometown this month.

Before he left, Liu Ruheng felt something was suspicious. Driven by doubt and curiosity, she went to the capital’s relay station to see him off. Upon arriving at the station, she realized something was amiss—she was the only person there to see Gong Fan off.

Seeing someone arrive, Gong Fan let out several loud laughs. “I didn’t expect that at my departure, I, Gong Fan, would be so destitute that only Lord Liu would come to see me off.” He bowed to Liu Ruheng with an air of bold magnanimity. “Lord Liu, please accept my bow. I once held much disdain for you; I hope you can forgive me.”

He lowered his head, his exact expression hidden. Liu Ruheng helped him up, her heart unmoved. She and Gong Fan were not the same kind of people; her coming here to see him off carried the motive of probing for information—it was not a simple gesture. However, given the current scene, she found the questions hard to ask.

Before leaving, Gong Fan gave Liu Ruheng a deep look. He seemingly offhandedly mentioned Lu Shaoqing: “Lu Shaoqing is no benevolent soul. If he truly becomes the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, I know not how many wrongful convictions and misjudged cases there will be.” At this mention, a flicker of resentment flashed in his eyes. He solemnly handed a pouch to Liu Ruheng.

Liu Ruheng did not dare to take it; she made no move. “What is the meaning of this, Lord Gong?” Since being framed, she did not dare to accept things from others haphazardly.

Gong Fan saw Liu Ruheng’s reservations. He laughed loudly and opened the pouch, taking out a small golden seal from within. He explained, “This golden seal was taken from the hidden lining of the incense sachet the Left Prime Minister gave you that day.”

At that time, both Lu Shaoqing and the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review were away on official business. As the highest-ranking official present that day, Gong Fan had conducted the search of evidence since the murder of the Left Prime Minister was a matter of great importance. Seeing this golden seal, he sensed it was unusual and kept it for himself. He hadn’t expected the case to be concluded so hastily, becoming an injustice not even recorded in the official files.

Gong Fan spoke with apparent sincerity, yet Liu Ruheng did not believe a single word. Without the drive of self-interest, Gong Fan certainly would not have kept the seal, nor would he hand it to her now.

Liu Ruheng remained silent for a moment. After a long pause, she bowed to Gong Fan and asked solemnly, “I wonder what your intentions are, My Lord?”

Seeing Liu Ruheng speak plainly, Gong Fan dropped his hypocritical sincerity and truly began to observe the Tanhua scholar before him, who was rumored to have simply stumbled into good luck. In the early days of one’s official career, people were often fooled by his appearance, thinking him a violent and irritable man. But no one considered that if he were truly so, how could he have risen from a mere yamen runner to become a Senior Secretary of the Court of Judicial Review?

“Speaking with a smart person is indeed comfortable.” He held the golden seal in his hand, the resentment in his eyes deepening. “Lu Bocai is nothing more than a fawning villain. For his own selfish ends, he pushed out the Minister who showed me kindness and patronage. But I am a man of little influence; dealing with him is truly difficult. My request is not much: if a descendant of the Gong family ever comes to the capital for the imperial examinations, I ask that you agree to look after them.”

Liu Ruheng’s expression did not change. She took off a jade pendant she wore, broke it in two, and handed half to Gong Fan. “Take this token; it will make recognition easier.”

Seeing Liu Ruheng’s action, Gong Fan was momentarily stunned before letting out a loud shout: “Good!”

“I didn’t expect Lord Liu to be so straightforward. It’s a pity we met so late, and that there is no fine wine here, otherwise I would certainly drink a few cups with you!”

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Liu Ruheng returned home with the golden seal. Gong Fan’s motive for keeping the seal remained suspicious. Liu Ruheng guessed that his reasons for giving it to her were twofold: first, someone had instructed him to, and second, he wanted to secure something for his children and grandchildren. Having offended many people during his years in the capital and having few connections with other officials, making this promise with her was a way to pave the way for his descendants.

However, there was still one point Liu Ruheng couldn’t fathom: just whose man was that Assistant Minister Lu?

In the study, Liu Ruheng’s hands trembled slightly. The golden seal Gong Fan had given her was actually the official seal of the Left Prime Minister. This seal could urgently mobilize soldiers and grain from various prefectures and counties; its significance was extraordinary.

Realizing the gravity of the matter, Liu Ruheng’s face darkened after she had safely hidden the seal. She wrote a letter and released a messenger pigeon. If someone were to say there was no conspiracy behind this seal, Liu Ruheng would be a fool to believe them.

But the biggest mystery now was why the Left Prime Minister would entrust such an important token to her—a stranger he had only met a few times. However, given her special identity and her suspected connection to the Left Prime Minister, if he had valued her status as the future Prince Consort of Princess Huaqing, it would make sense.

The Left Prime Minister might have already known someone was plotting against him. Otherwise, why would he turn to anyone in desperation, even failing to tell Liu Ruheng that the pouch contained a golden seal, which caused her to suffer through an ordeal in prison for no reason?

The others were also acting strangely that day. The noble Fifth Prince had mysteriously appeared at Sanbao Temple, and coincidentally appeared before everyone just as the Left Prime Minister died. Furthermore, as soon as the incident occurred, he locked down the news and threw Liu Ruheng into the dungeon.

She sighed deeply and leaned back against her chair, her eyes out of focus. Being in the capital was too exhausting. The official world was a battlefield of fame and fortune. Even as a minor sixth-rank official, she found it terrifying; what kind of stormy waves must the Left Prime Minister have faced?

In her heart, Liu Ruheng felt the Left Prime Minister was a good man. Even putting everything else aside, the fact that he had truly saved many of her fellow villagers was a concrete achievement.

This time, the messenger pigeon returned quickly. The Princess’s reply was brief: “Meet under the fireworks at the hour of the Dog (7-9 PM) sharp.”

A trace of tenderness, which even she didn’t notice, colored Liu Ruheng’s eyes. This was a secret between her and the Princess. For some reason, Liu Ruheng suddenly recalled the advice the Left Prime Minister and the monk had given her that day: ‘Do not forget your original intention, and you will reach the end.’

It seemed her “original intention” had gained a few more layers: may the Princess find success in all things, and may her family be safe.

Long before the hour of the Dog arrived, Liu Ruheng impatiently left her home. By the time she reached the spot under the bridge from that previous day, sweat beaded her forehead. Since it was still early and the Princess had not yet arrived, she went to the old woman with the granddaughter to buy sour plum soup.

Now that summer had officially begun, although the evenings were cooler, walking for a while still resulted in profuse sweating. It was better to have something to relieve the heat. Carefully covering the sour plum soup, Liu Ruheng waited under the bridge for the hour to arrive.

Before long, she felt someone tugging at her sleeve. She looked over in surprise, but saw only a young child selling flowers. The girl’s eyes were dark and bright, and when she smiled, dimples faintly appeared on her cheeks. “Young Master, are you waiting for your sweetheart? Why not buy some jasmine? That lady will surely be very happy.”

Though Liu Ruheng didn’t want to admit it, after the little girl finished speaking, the image of Jiang Shaojia’s happy face appeared in her mind—her eyes curving into crescents, smiling like honey.

Liu Ruheng stood there looking a bit foolish, holding the flowers in one hand and the tightly covered sour plum soup in the other. She felt a bit bashful. The sour plum soup could be explained away as a coincidence, but the jasmine certainly couldn’t. If the Princess asked, what should she say?

The summer sun set late, and it was a lively time. Liu Ruheng felt a weight on her shoulder and turned around to find it was indeed Jiang Shaojia.

Today, Jiang Shaojia was dressed in plain colors. A lotus flower was pinned in her cloud-like hair, and a floral ornament was painted on her brow; she was breathtakingly beautiful. Although the adornment was somewhat extravagant, it didn’t feel at all overbearing on Jiang Shaojia; it seemed everything else could only serve as a foil to her beauty.

Liu Ruheng dithered for a long time until Jiang Shaojia spoke, only then snapping back to her senses. Just as she was about to give the sour plum soup and jasmine to Jiang Shaojia, Liu Ruheng realized that the things Jiang Shaojia had brought were almost identical to her own.

The two looked at each other and smiled, exchanging the items in their hands. The mung bean soup was light and sweet, a completely different flavor from the sour plum soup. They found a clean spot by the bridge and sat down. As Liu Ruheng sipped the soup, she stole glances at Jiang Shaojia to see her expression.

On her third glance, Liu Ruheng’s gaze crashed right into Jiang Shaojia’s.

“If you want to look, then look openly. I am beautiful; you won’t lose out by looking at me openly.” Jiang Shaojia suppressed a smile. Ordinary people, hindered by her status, hardly dared to look directly at her, but Liu Ruheng’s gaze now made her find it amusing.

Being exposed, Liu Ruheng instead retracted her gaze. She coughed twice and asked, “What does the Princess think of this jasmine?”

Jiang Shaojia chuckled. The scent of jasmine reminded her of the day they first met. “Do you remember the cluster of gardenias we saw at the gate of Sanbao Temple?”

Liu Ruheng nodded, her eyes showing confusion. “Why does the Princess suddenly ask that?”

Jiang Shaojia felt helpless. She selected a gardenia in full bloom, her eyes full of playfulness. “Let me pin a flower in your hair. If you agree, I’ll tell you.”

Looking around and seeing few people nearby, Liu Ruheng finally agreed, her face flushing red. Nowadays, it was not uncommon for men to wear flowers, but Liu Ruheng was, after all, a woman disguised as a man. She felt guilty; aside from the day of the parade through the streets, she had never worn a flower.

The Princess searched for a good angle. Her sleeve brushed against the side of Liu Ruheng’s face; it was a bit itchy, and she could smell the faint, fresh fragrance from her body.

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