"Miss," Cong Ge heard Yan Wanqing getting up and pushed the door open.
Yan Wanqing pulled her shawl tighter. The temperature in the mountains was too low, making her body uncomfortable.
But that was not why she was eager to join the bustling plum blossom festival.
"I'm going out for a bit. Wait here for me," Yan Wanqing coughed lightly and added, "If someone comes, tell them I am resting."
"Miss, are you going to see Prince Seven?" Before Cong Ge's mind could catch up, the words had slipped out, and she instantly regretted it.
She was a servant, and Yan Wanqing was her mistress; it was not her place to question her mistress's whereabouts.
Yan Wanqing knew that Cong Ge meant well and didn't blame her. She reached out and patted Cong Ge's shoulder, "I have an appointment with Master Wan Kong, do not worry."
After she had spoken, Yan Wanqing left gracefully. Hearing that she was not going to meet Prince Seven, Cong Ge felt much more at ease and watched Yan Wanqing's departing figure.
"Where is the lady going?" Cong Huan suddenly appeared and asked.
Frowning at her, Cong Ge snapped, "That is not for a servant like you to ask! How come the charcoal fire in the room is so weak, freezing the lady. Be careful of your hide!"
Scolded, Cong Huan seethed. Ever since Yan Wanqing had recovered from her fever, she seemed like a changed person, hard to pinpoint what was off, but unsettling to look at.
Unfortunately, the last time Cong Huan had sent a message and was caught by Cong Ge, who reported it to their lady, she had been demoted to an outer chambermaid. Now with Cong Ge outranking her, she had no choice but to obey dutifully.
"Hmph! Wait until the miss marries Prince Seven, we'll see whose authority you then admire!" Cong Huan added more charcoal to the stove, recalled the promise from Prince Seven, and fiercely glared at Cong Ge as she passed by the doorway.
...
Yan Wanqing followed the winding mountain path until she reached a thatched hut, where many cooing pigeons perched on a stone pillar outside. Inside, the windowsill flickered with a weak candlelight.
She knocked on the door, and soon someone answered.
A nun covered in gray dust came out, "Miss!"
Yan Wanqing bowed politely, "I have come to see you, Aunt Qing," recognizing her as an old acquaintance.
After exchanging pleasantries, she handed Aunt Qing a letter, "Governor's Office Pass. I hope you can help with this, and it must be kept secret."
At these words, even the usually kind Aunt Qing nodded seriously and took the letter, personally found a gray carrier pigeon, and sent it off.
"It will be three months before we receive a reply," said Aunt Qing softly as the gray pigeon disappeared into the darkness.
Yan Wanqing nodded, "I understand, junior."
"Miss, it is an honor for me to be sought out by you. If it weren't for your risking your life to save me and my husband during the war, there might not have been a Wan Kong in this world. I will never forget your great kindness and am at your service from now on," Aunt Qing and her husband had been rescued from the battlefield by Yan Wanqing, enemies from a defeated state. Her husband had been the chief strategist, and she followed him through the war. They were captured when defeated while she was pregnant, and it was Yan Wanqing who saved them.
Although her child and husband later died due to illness, she had renounced worldly desires and entered Southern Mountain, taking the Buddhist name Wan Kong. But the gratitude they held for Yan Wanqing remained, and Wanqing knew if she wished, Aunt Qing could still contact her husband's former subordinates.
"Aunt Qing, you overstate matters; I desire nothing like that," Yan Wanqing respectfully declined; she knew that her sudden visit had made Aunt Qing suspect something, but using the pigeon was already an imposition, and she felt uncomfortable asking for more.
Returning from Aunt Qing's, Yan Wanqing felt even more oppressed in her chest.
Governor's Office Pass was a dead end, Capital City was also a dead end—how was she to protect the families of both Yan and her grandchildren from the ashes of destruction?
The cold moon had just risen, and the forest shadows were mottled and dim. Yan Wanqing had to summon all her focus, treading carefully on each stone as she descended the mountain.
Worried about encountering someone, she intentionally took the original path back, sweating profusely after a while, and had to lean against a rock to rest.
While she was wiping away her sweat, she heard a girlish voice coming from not too far away.
"What part of this Princess isn't good enough for the Crown Prince? Status, position, appearance—looking all over the world, this Princess is one of the top contenders. Marrying me, brother Crown Prince would be ruling the world in no time…"
The intermittent voice carried through the jungle, and Yan Wanqing muttered to herself that this was bad.
She had unexpectedly encountered Princess Qin Wu of Qin State and the present Crown Prince in a public marriage-pressure situation.
Qin Wu was right—Daqin and Qin State uniting through marriage was all benefits and no harm. Originally, Xiao Hongshen had also been attracted to the Princess, but given their statuses, a prince born of a palace maid in Daqin could hardly be a match for a princess.
In her past life, Qin Wu's marriage alliance had not been decisive, and when Qin State faced a coup, she immediately returned to suppress it, indeed a remarkable woman of this age.
However, in her previous life, there were no rumors of the Princess being fond of the Crown Prince. Curious, Yan Wanqing stayed where she was and listened quietly.
"... this world, if I wish to have, I will take by myself. Spare your concerns, Princess." A deep male voice slowly came through, its tone lazy, filled with an innate domineering spirit.
Clearly agitated by these words, Qin Wu, a princess of a nation, openly expressed her feelings only to be rejected, and was quite infuriated at the moment.
"Xiao Pingfeng, you are truly haughty and aloof, no wonder the Emperor dislikes you. Do you know how your brothers are courting me zealously? If I really chose one of them, your position in the Eastern Palace might not be secure!"
"Try it." Xiao Pingfeng seemed to have heard some joke, his tone turning scornful as well.
Qin Wu was furious, "…What is wrong with me?"
"What does your goodness or badness have to do with me?" Xiao Pingfeng said carelessly, "Or do you think that all the men in the world should follow you around like dogs?"
"For a Crown Prince, how can you speak so vulgarly—" Qin Wu couldn't believe her ears. Outside rumors had painted the Crown Prince of Daqin as god-like in grace and beauty, descended from heaven, yet today he had shown such an ugly side. It was a total waste of his handsome face.
Xiao Pingfeng lost his patience. If it weren't for the Empress insisting that he treat this Princess of Qin State with respect, he would have already started yelling.
"Qin Wu." Xiao Pingfeng suddenly called out loud.
Qin Wu, suddenly called by her name, was momentarily stupefied in place.
Only to see that beautifully silhouetted man against the vegetation, his cold eyes sweeping over: "When you have nothing better to do, look more into the mirror."
Just as he strode forward, brushing past her.
Poor Princess Qin Wu even heard his departing disdain: "…laughable."
Watching his retreating figure, Qin Wu panicked, "What kind of woman in this world would catch your eye?!" Determined with princessly pride, she had to ask clearly.
However, the man didn't even turn his head back: "Definitely not someone like you." His voice was crisp, echoing over the treetops unabated.
Yan Wanqing witnessed Qin Wu crying like a tear-stained figure, running down the mountain.