LF Chapter 46
by VolareThe next morning, everyone in the manor knew that the Chief Secretary had acted rashly last night and had been punished by Prince Zhao to spend time in seclusion in a desolate residence within the manor.
At the moment, Yan Wanzhi, lying on Jiang Yinghua’s bed, had a face as flawless as powdered jade and lips as lustrous as carnelian. However, her body was soft, weak, and languid, without the strength to even get up.
Jiang Yinghua hooked her long hair with her index finger, gently brushing it across her fair and delicate face, teasing softly, “I truly savor such a tender and gentle side of the Chief Secretary. Seeing your porcelain doll-like face, I really want you to wear women’s clothing every day and stay by my side, never leaving my sight. If that were the case, none of the other beauties outside would catch my eye.”
Yan Wanzhi, however, felt a little embarrassed, her gentle and blurred eyes gazing affectionately at the girl, who was a full seven years younger than her. She was quite surprised; how could this person have such a fierce side? “Your Highness, could you please take it easy next time? If the marks on my body don’t fade, your Chief Secretary will have to spend half a month in seclusion, won’t she? Your Majesty will notice.”
Jiang Yinghua chuckled twice, “Next time, you beg me~ Maybe my heart will soften, and I’ll only find some hidden places to please you, how about that?”
“Your Highness, aren’t you ashamed? It’s already dawn,” Yan Wanzhi said, realizing she had been careless. She had always thought of this person as just an innocent girl, dignified and reserved, but it turned out that she was like this at heart, she had truly underestimated her.
“What are you afraid of? You’re my darling in this room for the next few days anyway, no need to go out and meet people,” Jiang Yinghua said with a mischievous smile, kneading Yan Wanzhi’s soft cheeks. After teasing her enough, she got up, pulled the curtain on the side of the bed tighter, and said playfully, “Knowing you’re tired, sleep well, no one dares to come in.”
Jiang Yinghua walked forward triumphantly, but just as she passed the screen of the inner chamber, she suddenly retreated.
She hurried to the bed, scrutinizing Yan Wanzhi, who was looking at her with a guarded expression, and suggested, “I suddenly feel like I’m at a great disadvantage. You’re sleeping soundly here, but I have to do everything myself. That’s not fair. Why don’t I have all the official documents sent here, so the Chief Secretary can work in bed?”
“No, not good. Keep up the act, Your Highness. I’m too sleepy, let me sleep,” Yan Wanzhi said, pulling up the quilt and wrapping herself in it, not even willing to show her head.
There was no such thing in the world, she couldn’t let this brat get all the advantages!
Jiang Yinghua pouted, standing with her hands on her hips in front of the bed, thinking to herself, “This person is not obedient. If I had known this, I should have revealed my hand later. As long as I keep her in my grasp, she can’t escape anyway.”
Five days later, the Chief Secretary of the manor, who had disappeared for a while, reappeared before everyone’s eyes. Unable to figure out Jiang Yinghua’s temperament and ways, the people in the manor treated Yan Wanzhi with a bit more respect and distance. Jiang Yinghua watched from the side, thinking that her status as the master was occasionally quite weighty in the eyes of these subordinates.
In order for Yan Wanzhi to continue handling matters in the manor as usual, Jiang Yinghua deliberately took good care of the Chief Secretary in front of everyone for a few days. Everything was back to normal, but Jiang Yinghua was troubled. Such tricks could only be used once or twice. The paper window between her and Yan Wanzhi had been broken, but it wasn’t much different from living under pretense as before.
And Yan Wanzhi wrote another secret letter of “complaint” and sent it to the capital, but after waiting for a long time, she didn’t hear any sound of displeasure from that person. Thus, Jiang Yinghua was relieved. However, Yan Wanzhi was always wondering what Jiang Yinghua was trying to achieve with this performance.
After all, to imitate A playboy and paralyze the people in the court, there was no need to bother ordinary people and waste money and resources.
Seeing that Jiang Yinghua had no intention of revealing any details to her, after more than half a month, Yan Wanzhi finally couldn’t sit still and plucked up the courage to go to Jiang Yinghua to ask about the reason.
That evening, Jiang Yinghua was in the hall, copying a newly acquired landscape painting by a famous artist of the previous dynasty. She liked to paint in silence, so Jiang Yinghua never allowed anyone to disturb her. Hearing the familiar knock, she loudly invited the person in.
Yan Wanzhi slipped in, and seeing that only Jiang Yinghua was at the table, sketching with a brush, she tactfully closed the door tightly, even bolting it.
Jiang Yinghua stopped writing and stood up, glancing at her small movements, opening her mouth with some mockery, “It’s not even dark yet, are you impatiently delivering yourself to my door?”
Hearing this, Yan Wanzhi blinked and rolled her eyes, “Can you not be so superficial? I’m here to ask you something, I want to ask you to give me a clear indication.”
If she wanted to talk about something, then just talk about it, why did she bolt the door? Jiang Yinghua lowered her eyes, and after thinking for a moment, she guessed the general idea. This person was indeed impatient, and had to ask for a reason.
Jiang Yinghua’s gaze wandered back and forth between the ink marks of the predecessors and her own new works, patiently instructing, “Ask quickly if you want to ask, I’m busy.”
Yan Wanzhi became interested, raised her foot and approached to observe, while watching, she opened her mouth faintly, “What medicine is sold in your highness’s gourd, Wanzhi can’t figure out the taste, I beg you to point out a clear path, so I can do my best to help you.”
“Heh, no need for you to help, it’s better for you not to interfere in my affairs. Keeping your head and living well is already a great help to me,” Jiang Yinghua stared at the hazy artistic conception in a landscape painting, raised her finger and pointed to a smudge of ink that had smudged in her painting, “You take a look for me, is the indigo I mixed a little too light?”
Yan Wanzhi supported her forehead, this person was deliberately changing the subject, she raised her hand to snatch the brush in Jiang Yinghua’s hand, and casually perfunctorily said, “It’s getting dark, I can’t see clearly, you can paint tomorrow, it will hurt your eyes.”
Jiang Yinghua shook her hand, took two steps back, leaned on the chair, hugged her arms, and stared straight at Yan Wanzhi: “Your courage is getting bigger and bigger, my little trick can’t be put on the stage, what exactly do you not understand?”
Yan Wanzhi took the opportunity to retreat behind her, skillfully kneading her shoulders to soothe her, and softly asked for advice:
“You encroached on the local tyrant’s land, and privately mortgaged it to the people, which is a great good deed; you want to open a shop and do business openly, and others have nothing to say; but why do you have to transport wood from thousands of miles away to build a Buddhist temple here? Have you ever thought about how many strong laborers will be conscripted by this order, and how many lives will be lost on the long and difficult road?”
Jiang Yinghua’s expression was faintly displeased, and she raised her hand to pat Yan Wanzhi’s hand: “Take your claws away, did you always please your elder sister like this? I’m not her, you’re not allowed to use this trick on me. And in your eyes, am I so unbearable, disregarding human life? It seems that the wording of that day’s secret letter was intense, and was originally the Chief Secretary’s intention.”
Since that night, this person’s arrogant temper has not been hidden, and she speaks bluntly. Yan Wanzhi has lost count of how many times she has been satirized by her in a strange tone.
Naturally, she would not be able to ask what she wanted to know if she annoyed the person. Yan Wanzhi hurried to add a cup of hot tea for her and respectfully offered it with both hands, “Don’t be angry, I’m clumsy and said the wrong thing. It’s not that I’m stupid, I came to ask you because I couldn’t figure it out. Hua’er’s alluring beauty, if stained with anger, would not be good, don’t be angry with a big fool like me, okay?”
Jiang Yinghua rolled her eyes at her, turned her head away, and snorted coldly.
Yan Wanzhi shamelessly moved closer again, “Do you want me to feed you before you will drink it? Then I have to put some honey on my lips, so that your mouth will be sweet after drinking it.”
“Get out of here!” Jiang Yinghua reached out and took the teacup, “I’m not picky, even if the Ministry of Works intervenes in this matter, why should my own wealth be made cheap for the Wei family? Moreover, that old thing is a useless eater, and others can’t even touch him. The Grand Canal has not been dredged for many years, what is the best way to transport wood, would you not know?”
Hearing this, Yan Wanzhi felt as if enlightened, and said with a flattering expression: “Hua’er is really smart, using a little to leverage a lot, a good plan.”
“Don’t, there’s no need to compliment me, I’d rather be a trash prince in your heart who disregards human life and the life and death of the people. Only in this way can the Chief Secretary’s seven-apertured exquisite heart be revealed,” Jiang Yinghua said, sipping tea lightly, unwilling to give Yan Wanzhi a look.
“I’ll take care of all the official business for this month, okay? And I have some influence in the court, I can help you to smooth things over, don’t be angry, if you get any angrier, your nose will be crooked. And Your Majesty is precious and noble, she doesn’t need me to massage her shoulders, you can put your heart in your stomach, really,” Yan Wanzhi leaned down and approached, putting her hands behind her back to look at Jiang Yinghua, who was sulking and looking away.
The corners of Jiang Yinghua’s lips slightly hooked, and her eyes were hidden under her eyelashes, so they couldn’t be seen clearly. Yan Wanzhi thought she was no longer angry, but who knew that Jiang Yinghua suddenly stood up, raised her hand to grab Yan Wanzhi’s ear, and turned it mercilessly, “Your Majesty is precious and noble, heh, then what about this Prince? Yan Wanzhi, do you still want to treat us differently? Make yourself clear, or I’ll turn you into a bald fox.”
“Ah… Your Highness, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts… Let go, ancestor… grandma…”
In ordinary days, they talked and laughed, and joked and played around. Outsiders only said that the Prince Zhao and the Chief Secretary got along very well. Whether it was the territory under their governance or the Zhenwei Army camp, everything was thriving.
Prince Zhao’s reputation in the Northern Territory, except for her somewhat pampered temper and extravagant spending habits, no one could find any fault in her performance in official matters.
Time waits for no one, spring goes and autumn comes, the long river flows eastward, and in the blink of an eye, two years have passed.
In the seventh year of Shaozheng, on the fifteenth day of the first month, it was the Lantern Festival.
Jiang Yinghua, who had been stationed in the Northern Territory for many years, was now twenty-two years old, and was no longer carefree and charming like a girl, or delicate and cute like a child. In her gestures, she had a bit more experience and prudence, and her graceful and luxurious demeanor was very well-grasped. The appearance of a little girl from the past was only occasionally fortunate enough for Yan Wanzhi to see.
That evening, Jiang Yinghua changed into a man’s outfit, a treasure blue robe with a curved collar, matched with a snow-white fox fur, which was both appropriate for her status and added a bit of heroism.
She stood under the veranda, looking at the moon, and from time to time, she looked back at the winding stone path in the distance, as if waiting for someone.
After a long time, the intermittent sound of footsteps came, and Yan Wanzhi, dressed in a scarlet official robe, appeared on the stone path, walking quickly, with a look of fatigue on her face.
“You’re back? Why did you go for so long? Is the matter very tricky?” Jiang Yinghua asked with concern, walking forward to meet her.
“It’s resolved, don’t worry, I’m fine. Your Majesty’s secret letter, Marquis Xiangling has already committed suicide in the Imperial Prison, Marquis Xiangling’s manor has fallen,” Yan Wanzhi walked two steps quickly, standing side by side with Jiang Yinghua, her tone very gentle.
“It’s not easy to have been working on it for three years. Are you tired? If you’re not tired, let’s go join the fun and stroll around the Lantern Festival?” Jiang Yinghua’s height was already taller than Yan Wanzhi, she lowered her eyes slightly, as if waiting for the opinion of the person in front of her.
“Okay, wait for me to change my clothes. Wear more, the bandits injured you a few days ago, you should pay attention to it,” Yan Wanzhi looked at Jiang Yinghua’s clothes with some worry, always feeling that they were a bit thin.
“You’re being naggy again, I’m fine, it’s all said that it’s just a skin wound, it doesn’t matter, can we turn over this page?” Jiang Yinghua pretended to be coquettish, “Go change quickly, change into something elegant, I want to go to the Lantern Festival with the jade-like Yan Gongzi.”
“Is the indigo one good? Or should I wear the new gold-plated one from last year?” Yan Wanzhi asked with a smile.
“It’s not good for both of them to be dark, it doesn’t feel right. You wear the gold one, it looks good, hurry up, hurry up, I’ve been waiting for you for a long time,” Jiang Yinghua said, raising her hand to urge her.
Before long, Yan Wanzhi ran out to look for her. When Jiang Yinghua saw the person coming, she ordered the housekeeper: “The carriage is ready, right? The Chief Secretary is accompanying me to go outside to take a look, remember to leave the door open, okay?”
The housekeeper said with a smile: “Don’t worry, Your Highness. It’s very cold today, come back earlier, I’ve had the girls add two more hand warmers for you, they should be useful.”
“Of course they’re useful, I usually appreciate your thoughtfulness. It’s cold, and you’re getting old, don’t stay outside, let the young people do the work, you rest,” Jiang Yinghua said, seeing that the person was wearing thin clothes and was already old, so she said a few more words.
Jiang Yinghua originally wanted to take the person to ride a horse, but that year when they returned to the capital, the two of them patrolled the streets on horseback, which had always been Jiang Yinghua’s rare pleasure. However, it was cool today, and her hands were frozen stiff when she reached out, and riding a horse was too hard, so Jiang Yinghua was afraid of hurting Yan Wanzhi’s writing hand and had to give up.
The street market in the small city in the Northern Territory was naturally not as lively as in the capital. The streets and alleys were not very wide, and the shops were only three streets long, so they quickly strolled through them. There were many patterns of lanterns on the street, lotus lanterns, horse riding lanterns, four-corner lanterns, revolving lanterns, rabbit lanterns, double fish lanterns… a dazzling array of them.
Jiang Yinghua slightly lifted the sedan curtain and signaled the coachman to stop in front of the largest stall. She smiled and glanced at the hanging lanterns, then turned to look at Yan Wanzhi and asked with a smile, “Chief Secretary, I’ll count to three, guess which of these lanterns I want the most, let’s point to it together, how about that?”
Yan Wanzhi was not tired of her childishness at all, glanced at the lanterns, and already had an idea, nodding with a smile: “Your Highness, count.”
“Then close your eyes, I’m going to count, three… two… one! Let me see if you pointed wrong?” Jiang Yinghua rarely, her voice was cheerful, without any extra thoughts.
Following the direction of Yan Wanzhi’s finger, the fingertips of the two almost touched each other, all pointing to the large rabbit lantern on the northernmost side of the stall. Seeing this, Jiang Yinghua laughed loudly: “The Chief Secretary knows me, then go quickly, quickly win it back for this Prince.”
Yan Wanzhi shook her head helplessly, but her body was very honest and drilled out of the carriage, going directly to find the shopkeeper to ask about the riddle on the lantern. Before long, the person returned, and naturally, there was a lantern in his hand.
Jiang Yinghua was far away and did not hear clearly. When she saw the person coming up, she asked, “What kind of lantern riddle is it, is it interesting?”
“Then I will also test Your Highness, the riddle is ‘The marriage contract is promised after the Lantern Festival’, what should the answer be?” Yan Wanzhi looked at Jiang Yinghua with a smile.
Jiang Yinghua blinked and said in a low voice, “If it could really be like this, that would be great. A pleasant surprise, very appropriate.”
Yan Wanzhi coughed lightly, hiding Jiang Yinghua’s murmur, raised her hand and touched her forehead, and said loudly, “Your Highness is right, it is a pleasant surprise.”