Princess Changping’s mind was full of thoughts. She said nothing the entire way, her pretty face set in a frown.
Ling Jingshu led the way ahead, and they soon arrived at the Peony Room.
Without even turning her head, Princess Changping instructed the maids behind her, “The rest of you withdraw. Until I summon you, none of you are to come within a step of the Peony Room.” After a moment’s thought, she added, “And no one else is to be allowed near, either.”
The maids acknowledged the order in unison and quickly withdrew, taking up positions to guard the surrounding paths.
Princess Changping, who often came and went from Jiaofang Hall, was no stranger to the Peony Room. After a brief glance around, she praised with a smile, “Having you take charge of this place was truly the perfect choice. The peonies are blooming especially beautifully this year, far surpassing previous years!”
“Thank you for Her Highness’s praise,” Ling Jingshu replied modestly. “Even when I was an unmarried girl at home, I always loved growing flowers and plants. After entering Jiaofang Hall to serve, Her Majesty the Empress was kind enough to entrust the Peony Room to me. How could I not give it my full effort?”
Having just been thoroughly scolded, Princess Changping, still simmering with anger at the mention of Empress Xu, gave a light snort. “That’s enough. There’s no one else here, just the two of us. You don’t need to keep saying things that go against your true feelings.”
“You were perfectly well off as a young lady of the Ling family, free and at ease, never wanting for anything. With a single word, my mother had you summoned into the palace to serve. ‘Female official’ may sound like a more respectable title, but in the end, isn’t it just a servant waiting on others?”
Ling Jingshu: “…”
Ling Jingshu had not expected Princess Changping to speak so bluntly. She could neither nod in agreement nor bring herself to deny it against her true feelings, so in the end she simply said nothing.
Seeing that Ling Jingshu’s silence amounted to tacit agreement, Princess Changping was not at all angered — instead, her brow relaxed and she laughed. “I knew I hadn’t misjudged you. You’re far better than those people who wear masks all day and do nothing but flatter and fawn. To be honest, I’m in a poor mood today, and I sought you out wanting to speak my true feelings to ease my troubles. If you’d done nothing but meekly agree with everything and shown no opinion of your own, I would have turned and left long ago.”
Ling Jingshu had a vague idea of what Princess Changping was about to say. Her eyes flickered faintly as she smiled and said, “Whatever Her Highness wishes to say, please speak freely. Even if this servant cannot help Her Highness, I can at least be a listener. And whatever Her Highness says today, I will never mention it to anyone.”
A trace of amusement appeared in Princess Changping’s eyes. “Your temperament really does suit my taste. What a pity my mother has already summoned you into the palace — otherwise, I would certainly have called you to my residence to keep me company.”
Mother and daughter, truly — the way they spoke and acted shared the very same style, that air of treating themselves as the only ones who mattered!
Ling Jingshu sneered inwardly, but on her face she showed a helpless, apologetic smile. “Please don’t tease this servant, Your Highness.”
Princess Changping, with a stomach full of pent-up words, had no interest left for joking or amusement. She knit her brows and sighed. “Looking at me, others must think that, born of noble blood and exalted status, my life is happy and carefree. In truth, being born into the imperial family, born a princess — I, too, have many things I cannot help.”
“Take my marriage, for instance. Back then, my mother insisted on choosing a man from the Xu family to be my Prince Consort. That Xu Qian was so mediocre and dull — just looking at him filled me with disgust. How was he ever fit to match me? But my mother was determined, and I could not resist, so I was forced to marry him, swallowing my grievance.”
Ling Jingshu murmured a few words of casual agreement, while inwardly sneering coldly.
Princess Changping, dissatisfied with her Prince Consort, lived alone at her residence, keeping male favorites all day, indulging herself recklessly and living extravagantly. Such wanton, willful behavior was something an ordinary young lady would not even dare to imagine.
And yet, after all that, Princess Changping still had the nerve to complain and grumble?
“I want to divorce Xu Qian!” Princess Changping suddenly blurted out this unexpected statement!
Ling Jingshu, without needing to pretend, looked genuinely startled. “Your Highness, that is not something to be said carelessly.”
Princess Changping gave a light snort, her face darkening. “I’ve had this intention for a long time already — it’s not something said on a whim. At the beginning of the year, when I came to pay my respects, I brought it up with my mother, and she flew into a rage and gave me a thorough scolding. I thought to myself that I would let her get used to the idea first, and bring it up again after a few months — perhaps then she would nod in agreement.”
“I never expected that today, the moment I brought the matter up again, my mother would fly into a fury at once — she even hurled the teacup in her hand right at my feet.”
The more Princess Changping spoke, the more indignant she became, full of grievance. She pointed to a few marks on the hem of her skirt. “Look, my new dress has been splashed with tea.”
“Please don’t be upset, Your Highness — hear this servant out.” Ling Jingshu weighed her words carefully, offering gentle comfort:
“A divorce is by no means a small matter. Your Highness’s status is exalted, and Prince Consort Xu is Her Majesty the Empress’s own nephew by blood. A matter of such weight cannot but be handled with the greatest caution.”
“Her Majesty’s fury was only the anger of the moment. In her heart, she surely understands Your Highness’s difficulties — otherwise, she would never have allowed Your Highness to live alone at your residence.”
That much was true.
Although her mother often scolded her in everyday life, she had never truly reined in her nature. Otherwise, how could she have enjoyed such free and easy days?
The expression on Princess Changping’s face softened somewhat.
Ling Jingshu, without changing her expression, probed gently for more. “Your Highness lives at your residence, and you and the Prince Consort are seldom together in any case. Given Prince Consort Xu’s temperament, I imagine he would never dare interfere with Your Highness’s life. If that is so, why must Your Highness insist on a divorce?”
A flicker of something like girlish bashfulness crossed Princess Changping’s face. After hesitating a moment, she said, “Very well, I won’t hide it from you any longer. Before, I never insisted on a divorce because I had never met a man I truly liked — I simply drifted along, muddling through one day after another. But now, I already have someone in my heart. I want to summon him as my Prince Consort! That is why I am determined to divorce Xu Qian!”
Someone in her heart?
A flash of mockery and ridicule passed through Ling Jingshu’s eyes, though on the surface she put on a look of curiosity. “I wonder who this fortunate man might be, to have won Your Highness’s favor?”
A strange light flashed in Princess Changping’s eyes. “That man, you happen to know well too. He is your own cousin, Lu Hong!”
Just as she had thought!
In her past life, Lu Hong had become entangled with Princess Changping — and in this life, although he had come to the capital earlier than before, the outcome remained exactly the same.
A surge of anger and resentment rose in Ling Jingshu’s heart, an aching bitterness on behalf of the foolish self from her past life, who had waited so naively for her husband’s return.
Seeing that Ling Jingshu had fallen silent, Princess Changping looked over at her with some surprise. “Why aren’t you saying anything? Are you too shocked?”
This was no time to be lost in thought — she had to deal with Princess Changping first.
Ling Jingshu quickly snapped back to herself and smiled apologetically. “Yes, hearing this so suddenly, this servant was truly rather taken aback.”
She paused, then smiled brightly. “But thinking it over carefully, my cousin from the Lu family is young yet highly talented, handsome and refined, with a graceful bearing. He and Your Highness truly do make a most fitting pair.”