Mingzhu and Qi Wangfei stopped to carefully observe the Wusun Princess. Despite looking thin and pale, she seemed fine. They explained their visit and asked if she needed anything.
The Wusun Princess replied indifferently, “Thank you for your concern, Sheniang and Sixth Sister-in-law. I don’t need anything.”
Liuli whispered the events to her, and the Wusun Princess blushed with embarrassment, her tone growing colder. “I didn’t report to the Court of the Imperial Clan because I knew everyone was busy and didn’t want to cause trouble. We Wusun are straightforward and don’t think things through.”
Her stubborn attitude implied she felt she had offended the Regent and his wife and would be retaliated against, so she chose the worst solution without trying other options. Qi Wangfei frowned but didn’t expose her thoughts, instead handing over the jewelry Mingzhu had redeemed. “This must be your dowry. Your sister-in-law redeemed it for you. Keep it safe, or it’ll be a disgrace not just for us but also for you.”
The Wusun Princess said, “Thank you, Sister-in-law. How much did it cost? I’ll repay you later.”
Mingzhu, even with a temper as soft as clay, couldn’t help but get angry. Besides, she wasn’t really that soft-hearted. She immediately and coolly quoted a price: “One thousand taels.”
The Wusun Princess flinched but said nothing. Liuli, however, exclaimed, “You’ve been cheated, Wangfei. We only pawned it for five hundred taels. I’ll show you the pawn ticket.”
The Wusun Princess sternly ordered, “Quiet and leave.”
Liuli, frightened, bowed and retreated.
The Wusun Princess said, “This maid is rough and lacks manners. I hope you don’t hold it against her.”
Mingzhu replied coolly, “I’m not unreasonable and won’t stoop to her level.” Her words implied a deeper meaning, and the Wusun Princess hastily picked up her tea. “Please have some tea.”
Before she even drank a sip of tea, the Wusun Princess suddenly covered her mouth and ran out.
Mingzhu and Qi Wangfei exchanged a glance, having a vague idea of what was happening. When the Wusun Princess returned, Qi Wangfei straightforwardly asked, “Are you expecting a child?”
The Wusun Princess, with a pale face, denied it. “No, that’s not the case.”
The room fell into an awkward silence, with none of the three speaking. Qi Wangfei broke the silence, this time scolding Yuwen You: “Old Nine really is something. He goes away without leaving any money or competent people to help you. Look at you, having to pawn jewelry because you have no money, and when the wall collapsed and people were injured, you didn’t report it to the Court of the Imperial Clan. You think you’re avoiding trouble, but you don’t realize that’s exactly their job!”
This was also Mingzhu and Qi Wangfei’s suspicion. When Yuwen You was in power, he made a lot of money. How could he have left the Wusun Princess without any? Where had all the money gone?
The Wusun Princess angrily retorted, “This is my family’s business.”
Qi Wangfei gave her a sidelong glance. “That’s the wrong thing to say. Old Nine is a prince, leading soldiers in battle, and you are the Wusun Princess. With the current misunderstandings between Wusun and our kingdom, your affairs are not just personal but national matters.”
The Wusun Princess’s face flushed red and white, and suddenly, she fainted. This caused a commotion among the Wusun maids and nannies, and even the guards and servants of Linan Wang residence came to watch the spectacle.
Mingzhu and Qi Wangfei looked at each other, thinking it was too much. They had come to offer help, but it seemed they had turned into bullies. However, this situation could be managed. Mingzhu directed people to carry the Wusun Princess inside and sent someone to fetch a physician.
When the person calling the physician just left, the Wusun Princess regained consciousness, weakly holding Qi Wangfei’s hand and crying, “No need for a doctor. My illness is due to stress. The prince left me a lot of money, but I was foolish. Afraid he would go hungry and cold, I told him I had enough money, not expecting a disaster to strike, and now even my salary is not coming…” She then pleaded with Mingzhu, “Please call off the physician. I’ve already embarrassed myself enough. If the prince and people in the capital find out, I don’t know how they will mock me.”
Mingzhu sensed there was more to the story but knew pressing her wouldn’t yield answers. She called back the person fetching the physician and comforted the Wusun Princess, asking her to accept the money and provisions. She also instructed someone to “inquire” about the troublemakers and then left with Qi Wangfei.
Qi Wangfei said to Mingzhu, “She must be pregnant and thinks everyone will harm her, so she refuses to admit it. I’ll see how she handles it when her belly grows. Since she holds a grudge against you, avoid her and let me handle any issues.”
Mingzhu agreed and planned with Qi Wangfei to host a banquet at the Regent’s Mansion in a few days, inviting the prominent ladies of the capital to discuss making winter clothes, with those able to contribute money or effort.
When she returned home, Yuwen Chu was already there, reading to their two children. Zhuang Zhuang was listening intently, while Millet was yawning.
Seeing Mingzhu, the three of them were delighted and showered her with attention. After dealing with the children, Mingzhu finally spoke with Yuwen Chu, “Why are you home so early today?”
Yuwen Chu smiled, “Ji Hui moved out, and His Majesty was unhappy and took it out on me. So I took half a day off to spend time with you and the kids.”
Mingzhu raised an eyebrow. “His Majesty got angry at you?” This was unexpected. Although they had heard about Yuwen Guang and Ji Hui, the significant age difference made it seem unlikely. Plus, Yuwen Guang was still just a child, not even a teenager.
Yuwen Chu said, “His Majesty is mature for his age and understands things well. I underestimated his feelings for Ji Hui. But it’s too late now. Ji Hui was unwilling to stay, and keeping her forcibly would be detrimental to reclaiming the northern territories. Where did you come from?”
Mingzhu told him about the strange events at Linan Wang residence. “Pregnancy is a good thing. I won’t harm her, so why hide it? Also, is Linan Wang residence really this poor? We didn’t mistreat them, did we?”
It had indeed been poor before, even having no money to repair after their house was burned down. But later, they had plenty of money, so Mingzhu couldn’t understand. Yuwen Chu smiled, “You asked the right person. You all don’t know, but I do. The Wusun Princess sent all the money with the Wusun envoy back to her father.”
Mingzhu was surprised. “Did King Kundu encounter some problem?”
Yuwen Chu scoffed, “No, the Wusun Princess is worried I’ll kill Old Nine. She sent the money to her father to form a Wusun cavalry guard to protect Old Nine. How much money does she have? Of course, she had to give it all away.”
