The Flirtatious Beauty Decides to Steal the Princess - Chapter 36

After seeing off all the noble young ladies, Jiang Zhiyi instructed the maids bought for the mansion to tidy up the small parlour and other guest rooms before finally preparing to leave.

As she was about to depart, Jiang Zhiyi noticed that Fu Qingyin, who had been sticking close to Wen Ying all this time, was nowhere to be seen. Frowning, she glanced around but still couldn’t spot Fu Qingyin’s figure. It dawned on her why Wen Ying seemed so distracted.

“Where is that girl, Fu Qingyin?” Jiang Zhiyi was the only one among these noble ladies who knew Fu Qingyin’s true identity. When she asked, Wen Ying

Watching Jiang Zhiyi’s carriage sway and disappear down the street, a sense of melancholy filled her heart. She turned and walked back into her seemingly spacious residence, where the maids all wore unfamiliar faces obedient yet devoid of any warmth.

Even when facing Wen Ying, they greeted her with expressionless bows. Unaccustomed to being waited on by others, Wen Ying waved them away, allowing them to tend to their own tasks.

Deep down, Wen Ying knew Emperor Wen couldn’t possibly be so kind as to arrange maids for her. Back at the Spring Banquet in the palace, she had firmly declared she needed nothing. The selfish emperor naturally wouldn’t offer her anything beyond the bare minimum.

All the furnishings in this residence, along with these maids purchased from outside, were the work of noblewomen from influential families. Their kindness toward her, Wen Ying saw clearly.

“If I ever get the chance, I must help all these girls!!” Wen Ying refused to believe that schemes and intrigues were solely the domain of women. Such notions were nothing but prejudice imposed by the world.

In truth, people were often kind and supportive of one another. Even when they competed, it was for their own futures not for the fleeting favor of men.

A woman’s future was never confined to the inner chambers. This was something Wen Ying had always believed.

When had she first realized this? Perhaps it was from watching Yun Chu persevere and raise her since childhood. Or maybe it was meeting Xiao Tang, Gu, and so many other kind-hearted palace maids.

Perhaps it was also encountering Fu Qingyin, who, despite Wen Ying being the daughter of his enemy, never treated her with prejudice.

Or perhaps it was today, within these walls, where all the girls gathered, laughing and chatting, each presenting gifts to this overlooked princess.

Wen Ying knew she couldn’t do much for them in return, yet they had never once scorned her.

Returning to her bedchamber, she gazed at the pristine surroundings, but the emptiness beside her left her feeling desolate.

At this hour, Yun Chu would usually be urging her to rest. And whenever Wen Ying woke in the middle of the night, she would hear Yun Chu washing clothes in the courtyard.

Tonight, Wen Ying had washed up early on her own. After dismissing the maids, she sat alone before the dressing table, studying her reflection in the mirror, the first time she had ever truly admired her own beauty.

That strikingly lovely yet unfamiliar face now bore traces of exhaustion after a day of excitement. Yet, adorned with today’s hairpins and robes, it carried an unusual radiance.

Only now did Wen Ying truly feel she had grown up. Slowly, she unraveled her hair, placing each piece of jewelry carefully on the tray as if they were treasures.

The candlelight flickered beside her. Rising, she extinguished the excess candles, leaving only two by the bedside. Wen Ying feared the dark, but back in Ninglu Palace, they had no such luxuries. Yun Chu could only procure cheap candles that burned out by dawn.

Now, step by step, Wen Ying followed the same routines Yun Chu had once used to care for her.

Wen Ying obediently climbed into bed, feeling the much finer texture compared to the tattered quilt in Ninglu Palace. A pang of sourness hit her nose, and her mind swirled with countless thoughts.

The chaos in her mind quickly lulled her to sleep.

Unnoticed by Wen Ying, beneath the window of her room, Fu Qingyin’s slender figure stood guard. She neither entered nor disturbed the maids on night duty.

She simply stood there in silence, the heavy night dew soaking through her outer robe.

Before dawn, Fu Qingyin turned and left, afraid that seeing Wen Ying’s tearful almond eyes would make her reluctant to go.

–

Summer gradually arrived, and Wen Ying had grown accustomed to living alone and going out by herself. She still wasn’t quite used to being waited on, so she had long instructed the maids to simply look after the residence, handling most other tasks herself.

By June, the sun had grown scorching. Wen Ying stepped out in a light dress, heading to Zuixian Lou, where a new chef had arrived. The palace had also delivered the princess’s stipend.

Rumors had been spreading through the capital that the imperial treasury was growing increasingly empty. As if to prove otherwise, the emperor had multiplied the stipends several times over.

That was why Wen Ying felt justified in using her stipend to dine at Zuixian Lou today. As she walked, she overheard many people on the street discussing the recent Xiongnu incursions.

The more she listened, the more uneasy she became. She stopped and approached a kind-looking passerby to ask. The stranger didn’t recognize Wen Ying, assuming she was just an uninformed young girl, and said, “This Xiongnu invasion seems fierce. Our army has suffered repeated defeats, and with the treasury so empty, there’s no money for proper provisions. Morale among the troops has collapsed. Everyone in the capital is terrified. In the past, His Majesty had a great general who was brave and skilled in battle, but he was killed during the campaign against Yiqing. Now, without a capable commander, this time it’s truly precarious.”

The elderly woman’s cloudy eyes brimmed with worry. After thanking her, Wen Ying lost all interest in Zuixianlou. She turned around and nearly ran toward the Minister of Revenue’s residence to seek answers.

Wen Ying hadn’t been out much these past few days and had no idea about the situation. No wonder Jiang Zhiyi hadn’t come to visit, it must have been because of this.

Thanks to Jiang Zhiyi’s prior instructions, Wen Ying entered the Minister’s residence unimpeded. It was her first time there, and she marveled at its grandeur, so different from the palace’s opulence, a testament to the Minister’s status and influence.

But at least the Minister truly cared for the people, just like his daughter, who was so well-loved.

“Wen Ying, you’re here.” Jiang Zhiyi emerged from her chambers, taking Wen Ying’s hand with visible anxiety. “Little Wen Ying, because of the Xiongnu invasion, my father hasn’t come home in days. He’s been staying in the palace, discussing state affairs with the emperor.”

Jiang Zhiyi looked just as distressed, torn between worrying for the suffering people and her father’s sleepless, meager existence in the palace.

In any case, Jiang Zhiyi herself had visibly lost weight. Shocked by her friend’s state, Wen Ying quickly helped her back into the room to sit down.

Jiang Zhiyi’s boudoir was exquisitely adorned, filled with all sorts of rare and curious objects, a clear testament to how much the Minister favored her.

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