Qiushi wanted to quickly escape this troublesome situation, but as soon as he moved, Qinghua shouted, “Stop! You suicidal servant, who are you going to inform?”
Liu Chang and Qiushi’s hearts skipped a beat. Liu Chang said, “I had arranged to discuss business with someone today. Now that things are like this, how can I meet them? I must send him to explain the situation.” Thinking he needed to keep Qinghua occupied to prevent her from causing more trouble, he tried to drag her again, saying, “Why are you so concerned about him? You still haven’t answered my question! Will you tell me or not? If not, let’s go find your people to judge, and see what you’ve been up to since entering my household!”
Qinghua was already having second thoughts, but seeing him pulling her again and unable to escape, she became truly frightened. She could only bluff, “Liu Chang! You dare! Try touching a single strand of my hair again, and I’ll go to the palace. I’ve already lost face like this…”
Liu Chang spat, “Bah! I might as well give up on life! Even legitimate princesses aren’t as unreasonable as you… Who told you? Will you say it or not? If you don’t, I’ll divorce you!” However, he didn’t lay hands on her again, secretly calculating that he needed to find something to hold over Qinghua before he could act freely.
“You wouldn’t dare! I’ll leave you first!” Qinghua refused to reveal her source, struggling against him. The more she refused, the more Liu Chang suspected Xiao Yuexi’s involvement.
As the two were entangled, Qiushi seized the opportunity to run out. After a few turns, he saw a familiar figure in the distance talking to a young man, then following him. Qiushi immediately gave chase but couldn’t catch up. Unable to gather any information, he had to return to report. By then, Liu Chang and Qinghua had stopped their physical confrontation and were now engaged in a battle of words.
Seeing Qiushi return, Liu Chang was anxious to get rid of Qinghua and learn what happened. However, Qinghua noticed his urgency and refused to let go, resulting in a stalemate. The maids didn’t intervene, watching from the sidelines, knowing the couple wouldn’t easily separate and that things hadn’t escalated too far.
As night fell, both were exhausted and hungry. Finally, with the servants’ persuasion, they each went their separate ways. Upon hearing Qiushi’s report, Liu Chang was so angry he couldn’t eat dinner. After urgent inquiries, he learned that someone had intervened to protect the Second and Fifth Young Masters temporarily. The protector was none other than Duke Zhu’s mansion, which immediately made him think of Lady Du’s involvement. He became agitated, thinking about Duke Zhu’s mansion, the Xiao family, and the promises he had made. He wondered how many conditions that “dead woman” had agreed to behind his back. It was infuriating!
Just as he was grinding his teeth, planning to take action before the ward gates closed for the night, he heard that people from Prince Wei’s mansion had arrived. It was the Prince Wei’s consort who came. As a member of Qinghua’s family, she indirectly rebuked Lady Qi and Liu Chengcai and then lectured Liu Chang. Qinghua was quite pleased, while Liu Chang had to swallow his anger, missing the best opportunity to react.
While Liu Chang’s side was in chaos, Mudan had been waiting outside Prince Fen’s mansion since dawn. She waited all day without success, though both Zhang Wu Lang and Qin Niang had sent people to meet her. Early the next morning, she was again waiting outside the prince’s mansion, pacing back and forth to keep warm while quietly talking with Gui to pass the time. Soon, a pockmarked man in a brown round-collared robe rode up on horseback, greeting Gui and scrutinizing Mudan. Gui hurriedly went to speak with him in low tones by the wall.
After their conversation, the pockmarked man stayed in place while Gui returned to Mudan, saying, “Miss, this is Master Jin. He’s been a great help in this matter. Everything is ready; we’re just waiting for the right moment.”
Overjoyed, Mudan quickly tidied her clothes and went forward to thank him. Master Jin looked at her with sharp eyes, returned her greeting, and handed her a stack of papers, saying, “I have completed all the tasks as requested and have already informed Gui. Young master need not thank me; this was a favor I owed.” Then he left.
Mudan eagerly flipped through the papers in her hand, joking, “Although we got help from Brother Zhang Wu and the others, without your request to the Imperial Guard, it wouldn’t have gone so smoothly. How could someone as capable as you sell yourself into slavery? If you were to follow a prince or high official, you might not soar to great heights, but it would be better than following me.” She had originally thought of matching Yuhe with him, but the more she saw Gui’s competence, the less she dared to mention it, suspecting he might be pretending.
“These people aren’t looking at my face, but at the General’s favor,” Gui smiled. “As for me, I come from humble origins. Speaking of princes and high officials, isn’t the General a ‘general’? If I can protect you well, the General won’t let me suffer in the future.” What he owed was Jiang Changyang’s life, but he couldn’t say it.
Mudan smiled slightly, thinking more of Jiang Changyang. Suddenly, she heard the clear sound of horse hooves from the street corner, followed by the rumbling of carriage wheels. She immediately perked up, turning her head to look with wide eyes. She saw more than twenty horsemen escorting a large carriage drawn by two horses, approaching her direction.
Mudan was stunned for a moment, then overjoyed. Without thinking, she rushed forward, shouting, “Commoner He Weifang seeks an audience with the Princess Consort of Fen!”
Seeing someone blocking the way, guards came forward menacingly to drive her away. Gui shielded Mudan, who kept jumping and shouting, relying on Gui’s protection and her agility to push forward.
The carriage stopped, and after a moment, a young maid with hanging braids came over, scrutinizing Mudan and saying, “Where did this hooligan come from? How dare you be so disrespectful, disturbing the royal procession! The Princess Consort orders twenty lashes and for you to be thrown out!”
Hooligan? Mudan suddenly remembered the small mustache still stuck to her upper lip. She hurriedly tore it off, not caring if it came off cleanly, and boldly shouted, “I’m not a hooligan! The Princess Consort herself said I was her little friend and invited me to visit the mansion! My surname is He, and last time I went to Fuyun Temple with Lady Bai. Please, sister, tell the Princess Consort for me.”
The maid had already received instructions. While trying not to laugh at the half-mustache remaining on Mudan’s face, she pretended to be stern: “Such audacity! The Princess Consort says she doesn’t know you!”
Mudan widened her eyes, dodging those trying to grab her while shouting, “People outside say the Princess Consort is compassionate and kind-hearted, often saving people from distress. That’s why I came. But now it seems that was false! Just someone seeking fame! It’s good to be beaten, so I can see clearly!”
The Princess Consort of Fen, hearing this from inside the carriage, laughed and said to the maid beside her, “Still as bold as ever. Ying’er, go bring her into the mansion.”
Ying’er jumped down from the carriage, stopping the guards who were grabbing Mudan, and said with a suppressed smile, “Young sir with half a mustache, not sure if you’re male or female, the Princess Consort asks: what will you do now that you’ve seen clearly?”
Hearing this question, Mudan felt reassured. She tore off the other half of the mustache and said honestly, “Nothing, I just wanted to get the Princess Consort’s attention to hear me out.”
Ying’er smiled, “You’re quite honest. The Princess Consort wants to see you. Please follow me.”
Mudan glanced at Gui, handing him all the papers from her bosom, then turned to follow Ying’er inside. They sat down in a small flower hall to wait.
After about two cups of tea’s worth of time, someone came to lead Mudan further inside. After many twists and turns, they entered a luxurious room. In the center was a Sichuan brocade seven-colored carpet with intricate patterns, topped with a beast-headed silver-gilt incense burner emitting fragrance. Curtains hung low on all sides, and in front of a plain white screen was a beauty couch, on which reclined the Princess Consort of Fen herself.
Mudan stepped forward and bowed. The Princess Consort casually told her to rise and said, “I had originally planned to return after viewing the lanterns on the Lantern Festival. How did you know I would return today?”
Mudan answered honestly, “To tell the truth, I’ve been waiting here the whole time. Last night I stayed at an inn nearby, hoping to get lucky.”
The Princess Consort didn’t ask why she was there, but instead asked, “Why didn’t you have Lady Bai bring you? Or send your name card and wait for me to summon you? Why did you have to rush into my procession? Weren’t you afraid of being beaten and thrown out?”
“Aixxin is unwell, nurturing her pregnancy, so I didn’t want to trouble her. Waiting for your summons might delay matters and cause my brother to suffer. I dared to boldly approach your procession firstly because I was overjoyed at this unexpected meeting, and secondly because I knew of your kindness and that you wouldn’t hold it against me. Later, when I spoke those bold words, it was only because I heard you had forgotten me. Relying on your kindness, I deliberately tried to get your attention, hoping you would remember me once you saw me.”
“Hmph…” The Princess Consort gave a derisive laugh and said, “Your little mouth is quite clever. If I were to punish you, it would make me unkind. Fine then, little friend, what business do you have with me?”
Mudan hurriedly recounted the events of that day. The Princess Consort asked, “Are you saying your family was wrongly accused and framed?”
Mudan nodded.
The Princess Consort said slowly, “But from what I know, the evidence in that case is irrefutable. Trying to overturn the verdict would be extremely difficult. Are you deceiving me, thinking I don’t know the truth, and deliberately coming to get me to charge into battle and offend people on your behalf? You care for your friend Aixxin and your family’s suffering, but why don’t you appreciate that I’ve helped you before?”
Mudan fell silent for a moment. Although with the help of Qin Niang, Zhang Wu Lang, the Imperial Guard, Li Xing, and others, she had largely clarified the course of events and obtained sufficient evidence for the key points, she still needed someone to take the lead in exposing it. After all, it involved so many people. A commoner accusing an official, even if successful momentarily, would lead to endless troubles. The reason she sought out the Princess Consort of Fen was to find a compromise, the best solution for the He family. The Princess Consort was someone Jiang Changyang trusted, and the most suitable person Mudan could think of. Since this approach wasn’t working, she would have to take another path.
Thinking of this, Mudan looked up with a smile, suppressing her desire to continue pleading, and said clearly, “The Princess Consort is right, it’s not easy for anyone. Thank you for helping me last time, and for taking the time to see me and listen to my ramblings today. I’ve troubled you.” With that, she bowed deeply to the Princess Consort, preparing to take her leave.
Seeing that she was indeed about to leave, the Princess Consort said, “Wait. Since you insist that your brother was wrongly accused, you must have evidence, right? After waiting these past few days and coming all this way, are you content to leave like this? Don’t you resent me?”
Mudan smiled bitterly, “I’ll be disappointed, but I could never resent you.” She had never been that kind of person. As for evidence, how could she dare to reveal it without absolute certainty?
The Princess Consort lowered her eyes silently and waved for her to leave. After Mudan left, Ying’er asked the Princess Consort, “Princess, you rushed back for her, why did you let her leave without doing anything after seeing her?”
The Princess Consort calmly drank her tea, “I’m testing her. Jiang Changyang sent a letter from afar asking for my help. I need to see how good his judgment is, to see if she’s worthy. Do this…”