How did he end up at this gambling table? How could he lose control like this?
Mu Wuyin shuddered, suddenly feeling everything around him come into focus. His mind cleared instantly, and he realized things had gone wrong. How would he get out of this situation? Who would repay such a large debt?
He looked up, searching for the girl beside him, but she was gone.
“Where is she?” he asked his guard in a low voice, his expression darkening.
The guard replied, “Didn’t that young lady tell you earlier? She went to find her father again. You even nodded in agreement.”
Had he nodded? He couldn’t remember at all. Had he truly been so engrossed in gambling that he neglected his surroundings?
As he stood to leave, the casino owner quickly called out, “Prince Jing, our casino doesn’t allow credit. We’ll be coming to your residence to collect later. Please have the money ready.”
“Absurd!” Mu Wuyin shot him a cold glance. “I’ve long heard this gambling house cheats people out of their money and lives. It seems the rumors are true. You’ve swindled over 200,000 taels of silver from me, a prince. If I were an ordinary citizen, wouldn’t you drive me to my death? I came to investigate today, thinking you’d show some restraint in my presence. Instead, you’ve become even more brazen! If you want money, take it up with the authorities!”
He turned to leave, but the owner, emboldened, wasn’t intimidated by his bluff. He immediately ordered his men to block the prince’s path. “If your royal relatives can just leave debts unpaid, then don’t blame us for not letting you out that door. Even if you report this to the authorities, you’d be in the wrong!”
The crowd erupted in whispers and discussions as Prince Jing found himself surrounded by thugs, his face darkening further.
“Notify the capital’s yamen,” he whispered to his guard. “Have them send people here.”
“Yes, sir.” The guard forced his way out, and the casino’s men didn’t stop him.
Chaos ensued below as gamblers scattered, shouting and arguing. Mu Wuyin’s face was ashen as his eyes continued to search for the girl.
Jiang Taohua had already ascended to the second floor, sitting beside Shen Zaiye and closing the window of the private room.
“Please help,” she said, her face pale. “Once the yamen officials arrive, this plan will fall apart. Please quickly summon Prince Yu. Prince Jing stood him up today, so he should come and see this.”
Glancing at her, Shen Zaiye replied, “Don’t worry about that. Prince Yu is already on his way.”
“That’s good.” Taohua sighed in relief, snatching the tea from his hand and gulping it down before collapsing onto the table, panting heavily.
Was she that exhausted? Shen Zaiye calmly poured himself another cup of tea. “Miss Jiang is quite formidable. A few words from you bewitched Prince Jing. He’s usually not so foolish.”
Rolling her eyes, Jiang Taohua replied weakly, “Of course, he’s not foolish. Not only that, but he’s also extremely guarded. If I hadn’t risked everything to find an opportunity, there really would have been no way.”
“You used a love potion?”
“Obviously!”
Shen Zaiye narrowed his eyes. “Such a temper?”
Taohua sighed, propping up her head to look at him. “It’s not that I have a bad temper. I’m still injured and pushed myself for so long. I don’t feel well. Can’t you be a little gentler when someone has just completed a difficult task for you? Don’t think love potions are simple things. They require perfect timing, location, opportunity, and a great deal of energy. It’s not that easy.”
Not easy? Shen Zaiye pursed his lips. From what he saw, she had just batted her eyelashes a few times. However, seeing how exhausted she was, he refrained from saying more and stood to leave.
“Where are you going?” Taohua asked weakly.
“Where else? Back to the manor, of course.” Shen Zaiye paused and looked back at her. “You’ve done your part. The rest is my business. Go home.”
She nodded, indeed wanting to return, but…
“Could you help me up?”
“Jiang Taohua, don’t push your luck,” he said, narrowing his eyes in displeasure. “If you can walk, walk on your own. How would it look if I helped you out?”
Laughing bitterly, Taohua gritted her teeth. “If I could walk on my own, I wouldn’t have asked for your help!”
Darkening his expression, Shen Zaiye turned back, scooping her up in one motion. He glanced at her and said, “Weren’t you just bouncing around next to Prince Jing earlier? You could pour tea for him and even hold his hand. Now you suddenly have no strength?”
Leaning her full weight on him, Taohua sighed in relief, her voice growing weaker. “What’s the point of your jealousy? As long as the goal was achieved, why do you care how I did it?”
“Women should have a sense of shame.”
“Do you think I’m promiscuous or that I’ve been intimate with someone?” Taohua trembled with anger. “Don’t speak so offensively!”
What was she doing this for? Not only was there no reward for succeeding, but she also had to endure his mockery.
Shen Zaiye sneered but said no more. He carried her out, leaving the casino through the back door and boarding a carriage.
Zhanlu drove personally, reporting quietly, “The capital yamen officials will arrive after Prince Yu does, my lord. Don’t worry.”
“Mm.” After settling the woman beside him, Shen Zaiye said, “Hurry back to the manor.”
“Yes, sir.”
As the carriage started moving, the inevitable bumps in the road made Jiang Taohua, her face pale and makeup barely concealing it, ask, “Can we go slower?”
“No,” Shen Zaiye replied expressionlessly. “The faster we leave here, the safer we’ll be.”
“Then… let me down. I’ll walk back myself.”
What nonsense was this? Shen Zaiye glanced at her impatiently. “There’s a carriage for you to ride in…”
He didn’t finish his sentence, startled by her appearance. Looking down, he saw her pink lotus dress with a large bloodstain at the waist. She looked as if she might faint at any moment.
“Stop the carriage!”
The carriage came to an abrupt halt. Taohua, unable to steady herself, fell forward. Shen Zaiye caught her, scolding, “Are you mad? Why didn’t you say your wound had reopened?”
She opened her mouth but feeling too dizzy and weak to argue, she simply pretended to be unconscious in his arms.
“Zhanlu, take the main road. Return steadily.”
“Yes, sir.”
Without hesitation, he lifted her clothes to examine the wound. It must have reopened multiple times; the white cloth had both dried and fresh blood on it.
How was she not dead yet? Was this woman some kind of demon?
He removed the blood-soaked cloth and set it aside. Looking at her ghastly wound, Shen Zaiye finally showed some emotion in his eyes.
Qing Taihad followed her mistress all the way but couldn’t keep up with the carriage, so she had to run back on her own. By the time she reached Zhengchun Pavilion, her mistress’s wound had already been cleaned and rebandaged.
“Take good care of her,” the lord said calmly, looking at Qing Tai “When your mistress wakes up, tell her if she wants to die, she should go to the storehouse and find a good dagger to slit her throat. If she doesn’t want to die, she should stay put quietly and stop causing trouble.”
Qing Taiwas stunned, then felt indignant. “My lady went through all this trouble today because…”
“As a maid, you shouldn’t talk so much,” Shen Zaiye interrupted harshly. He strode towards the door. “She inflicted this wound on herself. If she dies from it, that gold won’t be hers anyway.”
What kind of person was he? Qing Taiglared at Shen Zaiye’s back as he left, silently cursing him to trip and fall!
The room was filled with calming incense, and Jiang Taohua slept soundly, though her face remained pale. A female doctor came in with medicine, carefully feeding it to her, then instructed Qingta, “The medicine room has sent over high-quality donkey-hide gelatin and angelica. Please find a careful maid to brew it and give it to the lady later.”
“Alright,” Qing Tainodded and hurried out to give instructions.
A maid who had been watching outside Zhengchun Pavilion quickly returned to Ruanyu Pavilion to report everything she had seen to Madam Meng.
Meng Zhenzhen listened with dark eyes, tilting her head. “You’re saying Jiang returned with the lord today and her old illness flared up?”
“Yes,” the maid said softly. “The lord seemed very anxious and carried her back himself.”
“Do you know where she went?”
“I don’t know that, but I heard others say the lord allowed her to go out and tour the capital today.”
Rubbing her handkerchief, Meng Zhenzhen said displeased, “She’s probably just pretending to be ill to gain the lord’s sympathy. If she hadn’t recovered, why would she go out?”
“That’s what I thought too,” the little maid agreed. “Do you want to teach her a lesson secretly?”
“Not yet,” Meng Zhenzhen raised her hand to stop her. “Have someone find out exactly what she did when she went out. Then we’ll have something to discuss.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
After sleeping for two hours, Taohua woke briefly. Qing Taiwas about to ask if she was hungry when she heard her mistress whisper, “Go chat with the maids in the courtyard. Tell them you went out with me today, saw many sights in the capital, and had a wonderful time.”
Both angry and amused, Qing Taichoked up. “Can’t you worry a little less?”
Taohua shook her head and closed her eyes.
Qing Taihad no choice but to compose herself and follow her mistress’s instructions. She went out and sat with the maids who were brewing medicine.
“Sister, where did you and the lady go today?” a young maid in the courtyard asked curiously.
Qing Taismiled and said, “We strolled the streets for a long time and saw most of the capital. The capital of Wei is truly magnificent.”
“Indeed it is. Sister, you should look around more when you have time. Our Wei is much more prosperous than Zhao,” the little maid smiled, fanning the fire. “But what a coincidence that the lady returned with the lord.”
“We met on the road. It must have been fate,” Qing Taisaid, eyeing the questioning maid. She took the fan from her hand. “Let me do that. You should all go have dinner.”
“Thank you, sister.” The little maid stood up, happily calling the others in the courtyard to eat. Qing Taiopened the medicine pot, inspected it for a long time, and then continued to simmer it.
Her mistress was right. If she couldn’t use her mind, she would die very quickly. The back courtyard of this manor was no less treacherous than the imperial palace of Zhao.
In the study.
Shen Zaiye listened to his servant’s report and smiled slightly. “It was expected that things would escalate once Prince Yu arrived. Tomorrow, we’ll wait for them to make a fuss in the Imperial Study. Zhanlu, grind some ink. We should also prepare a memorial.”
(End of Chapter)