Xie Huaizhou’s question was one for which Yuan Fuyu had already prepared an answer when she resolved to return as the Princess’s confidante.
She said, “The Princess and Yang Jianlin, commander of the Golden Banner Eighteen Guards, rescued me while transporting provisions through the outskirts of Wu City. From then on, I became the Princess’s confidante. By the Princess’s order… I am searching for the Cheng Style Reviving Spring Needles on her behalf.”
In the year the Yuan family decided to rebel, the fourteen-year-old Yuan Fuyu and Yang Jianlin changed their names and, dressed in plain clothes, traveled south with their father’s trusted aides to raise military provisions for the Yuan family. Coincidentally, they saved a child on the outskirts of Wu City.
Everyone who accompanied Yuan Fuyu on that journey knew of this incident.
Yuan Fuyu’s gaze swept over Pei Du before meeting Xie Huaizhou’s eyes again. “The Cheng Style Reviving Spring Needles were never found. Before her death, the Princess’s health was already at its limit, sustained only by medicine. She had at most two years left—something even Pei Du and He Yichen did not know.”
Upon hearing this, Pei Du’s eyes widened abruptly as he looked at Xie Huaizhou.
He Yichen was equally shocked.
Yuan Fuyu’s voice remained steady. “I presume you have seen the Princess’s letter, Lord Xie. The Princess said… if she truly could not hold on, before her death, she would use her death to bring about reform in the court. Otherwise… her death would be in vain. That is why I have come to the capital.”
Xie Huaizhou’s deep, unfathomable black eyes scrutinized Yuan Fuyu’s face inch by inch.
After a long moment, he slowly straightened up, his thin lips pressed tightly together.
The number of people who knew about the Princess’s physical condition could be counted on one hand.
“If you still do not believe me, Lord Xie, I can tell you something else. For example…” Yuan Fuyu’s gaze fell on the jade pendant at Xie Huaizhou’s waist. “The origin of this unfinished jade pendant.”
The hand hidden in Xie Huaizhou’s sleeve tightened slightly, his expression turning frighteningly dark.
“With this, can you trust me enough to have a physician treat He Yichen’s injuries and return my guard to me?” Yuan Fuyu asked.
Xie Huaizhou remained silent for a long while before finally saying to Pei Du, “Return him to her.”
Having said this, Xie Huaizhou turned and left.
By this point, Pei Du was completely convinced that the Cui Siniang before him had close ties to the Princess.
After having He Yichen carried away, he approached Yuan Fuyu and said, “The outside world believes Miss Cui is severely injured, so for the next few days, I must ask you to stay at the Princess Manor. I will arrange for you to meet with the two Highnesses as soon as possible.”
Stay at the Princess Manor?
That suited Yuan Fuyu perfectly.
“In a prison cell?” Yuan Fuyu asked.
“How could I dare? Now that we know your identity, Miss Cui, you will naturally rest in the guest quarters.” Pei Du made a gesture of invitation to Yuan Fuyu.
Yuan Fuyu stood up and had taken only a few hurried steps outside when she noticed the Mystic Eagle Guards stationed at the entrance of the interrogation room. She halted, her brow slightly furrowed, and asked Pei Du, “Are these your relatives?”
Both the Mystic Eagle Guard in front of Yuan Fuyu and Pei Du looked bewildered.
“What does Miss Cui mean?”
“The Princess had a fondness for beauty, which is why… during the selection of the Mystic Eagle Guards, regardless of gender, no one shorter than five chi and three cun was chosen.” Yuan Fuyu looked at the Mystic Eagle Guard before her, who was likely not even five chi and one cun tall. “Has the selection standard for the Mystic Eagle Guards changed just a few years after the Princess’s passing?”
The Mystic Eagle Guard, who had been disparaged by Yuan Fuyu, clenched his fists at his sides. He had been transferred from the Xiaoshi Bureau.
“Miss Cui, the Princess was a woman of great talent and noble character—how dare you label her as someone who lusts after beauty! If you dare spout such nonsense again, do not blame me for being impolite!” Pei Du’s face was stern, unwilling to waste more words with Yuan Fuyu on this matter. “Please leave!”
Yuan Fuyu: “…”
Back when selecting the Mystic Eagle Guards, the rules stipulated that their height must not be less than five feet three inches, with broad shoulders, narrow waists, and strong legs—all basic requirements.
Later, having the Mystic Eagle Guards wear identical masks was also to please the senses.
She had explicitly said this to Pei Du.
How could she not know whether she lusted after beauty or not?
Lusting after beauty wasn’t a flaw. In this world, anything beautiful and pleasing to the eye—be it scenery, treasures, jewelry, clothing, or beautiful women and handsome men—Yuan Fuyu adored.
Did that affect her character?
By the time she followed Pei Du out of the interrogation room, the sun was already setting in the west.
The two walked along the corridor adjacent to the Cleansing Dust Pond, where the icy surface shimmered with a cold gleam.
A breeze passed, causing the conspicuous crimson-gold bell hanging at the corner of the corridor to chime.
Yuan Fuyu casually flicked the tassel of the crimson-gold bell and paused at the corner, gazing at the unmelted snow piled at the roots of the trees by the pond…
This Princess Manor remained exactly as it was when she still lived here—not a single detail had been altered.
Including this crimson-gold bell.
Pei Du turned and saw Yuan Fuyu standing beneath the crimson-gold bell. “Miss Cui?”
“After the Princess passed away, has nothing in this Princess Manor been changed?” Yuan Fuyu asked.
“No. All the places where the Princess lived during her lifetime have been kept exactly as they were when she was still here. The Imperial Son-in-Law has not allowed any alterations.”
Nothing changed?
That was truly wonderful…
“Pei Du, after the Princess rescued you as a child from that depraved temple in Jiangning, you used her influence to slaughter all those corrupt monks. You originally intended to take your own life before the Buddha to atone and seek purity, but the Princess demanded you repay her kindness, which is why you stayed by her side.” Yuan Fuyu reached up to touch the tassel of the crimson-gold bell, reopening Pei Du’s old wounds. “Do you dare swear to the Princess’s spirit in heaven that you never betrayed her?”
Pei Du clenched his fists at his sides and spoke solemnly, “I, Pei Du, swear to the heavens and earth, to all gods and spirits, that if I have betrayed the Princess in the slightest, may I be eternally haunted by those corrupt monks, reborn as a pig or dog in the animal realm, never to find release.”
“What about Xie Huaizhou?” Yuan Fuyu flicked the crimson-gold bell tassel again.
The bell emitted a clear, crisp ring.
“Perhaps you were trusted and valued by the Princess more than He Yichen and I, but you do not understand the Imperial Son-in-Law’s feelings for the Princess, nor how unique the Princess was to him.” Pei Du spoke with conviction.
Unique?
Yuan Fuyu was puzzled. How unique had she been to Xie Huaizhou?
Pei Du’s gaze was sincere. “Your hostility toward the Imperial Son-in-Law is too great, so you cannot see that anyone in this world might betray the Princess—except for him.”
Yuan Fuyu looked at Pei Du. “Does ‘anyone’ include the Anping Princess, Yuan Fuqu?”
That night, her younger sister Yuan Fuqu had appeared at the estate, yet all traces of her were erased.
She had once trusted her sister, believed in her without doubt.
But now, she was uncertain…
She wanted to know whether Yuan Fuqu had any connection to her death.
“You shouldn’t doubt His Highness’s sister. If you understood His Highness, you would know that sibling bonds are what he values most.” Pei Du’s face remained as expressionless as ever. “The one who caused the Princess’s death was Lu Pingxuan. If you don’t believe me, feel free to have He Yichen and Yang Jiancheng investigate.”
Yuan Fuyu turned to look at Pei Du, whose eyes held solemnity and sincerity, and remained silent for a long while.
After a long pause, she finally said: “He Yichen mentioned that two and a half years ago, you urgently sought the Cheng Style Reviving Spring Needles. Was Prince Xian’s condition deteriorating?”
This made Pei Du even more convinced that Yuan Fuyu was the Princess’s close confidante—he had thought this matter was known only to himself.