The room inside the gate suddenly fell silent.
Several subordinates exchanged glances. She had come as soon as they mentioned her?
“What kind of trick is that Marquis household woman playing?”
Fu Yi wiped his lips. “Don’t look at me. I don’t know either.”
The guard outside asked again, “Master, shall I invite her in?”
Fu Yi met the gazes of his subordinates and said slowly, “Tell her I’m asleep.”
“Asleep?” The guard instinctively looked up. The sun was already high in the sky. That lie would probably be difficult to pass off.
But when the master gave an order, his people naturally had no choice but to carry it out.
The guard answered, “Yes,” and walked away.
Inside, however, everyone was still wondering what sort of person this Commandery Princess was. Why had she come looking for the commandery prince so soon after they had parted that morning?
If only they could see her. But this was a place for discussing state affairs, and she could not be allowed inside.
Cheng Nianying, who was occupying their thoughts, was standing at the gate of the courtyard, her head tilted back as she studied the spikes atop the surrounding wall.
Few residences in the capital employed such defensive measures, because they were not very attractive. The Commandery Prince’s Residence, however, did not seem to care about such things; spikes had been installed all over it. Could it be that the commandery prince was constantly being assassinated?
Still, in her eyes, these spikes—though densely packed—could not stop her.
Cheng Nianying analyzed them with great interest from the perspective of an assassin.
Beside her, Nanny Shi spoke awkwardly. “The master is probably busy.”
A newly wedded bride was thin-skinned. Being treated so coldly would probably be difficult for her to accept.
Cheng Nianying, however, seemed quite straightforward. She asked, “What is he busy with?”
Nanny Shi’s throat caught. She met Cheng Nianying’s eyes.
Those eyes were clear and distinct, filled with sincerity. It truly seemed that she was asking out of simple curiosity.
Nanny Shi answered vaguely, “His Majesty relies heavily on the commandery prince, so he has many official duties weighing on him…”
“But he’s ill. Does he still have to be so busy when he’s sick?”
Nanny Shi was speechless again. She could not help wondering inwardly, Has she truly started to care about the master?
When Nanny Shi did not answer, Cheng Nianying murmured, “He really doesn’t have it easy.”
Nanny Shi was at once amused and exasperated.
Cheng Nianying genuinely thought so. As an assassin, whether she was ill or in pain, she still had to complete whatever work needed doing.
Why was she still unable to control her own fate even after becoming a noble?
For a moment, she felt a faint sense of mutual understanding with him.
At that moment, the guard who had gone to deliver the message came out. He bowed, his face expressionless, and said, “The master is asleep. Commandery Princess, please return.”
Nanny Shi coughed awkwardly.
The master was a man of almost demonic intelligence. How had he come up with such an obviously insincere lie?
She secretly turned her eyes toward Cheng Nianying to gauge her reaction.
Instead, Cheng Nianying nodded and said, “All right. He probably didn’t sleep well after sharing a bed with me last night.” She had not slept well either. Sharing a bed with a stranger was, in the end, something she was not accustomed to.
Thinking that even a noble person could be like this made the commandery prince seem less lofty and intimidating to her.
“If he can sleep now, that’s a good thing.” Otherwise, if his health deteriorated and he was eventually returned to the Marquis household, the legitimate daughter of the marquis would become a widow.
“Then I… shall be going.” Cheng Nianying finished speaking with complete ease.
When she lifted her eyes, however, she found herself facing two utterly stunned faces.
Cheng Nianying could not help pressing her lips together.
What had she said wrong?
Nanny Shi recovered from her shock and put her smile back on. “All right. This servant will accompany the Commandery Princess back.”
The guard also came to himself and said, “This subordinate respectfully sees the Commandery Princess off.”
Cheng Nianying had just turned and taken one step when Nanny Shi took her by the arm. Her manner seemed a little more intimate than before.
Nanny Shi asked softly, “The Commandery Princess didn’t sleep well last night either, did she?”
Cheng Nianying had been fretting over what to do after failing to see him. When the opportunity presented itself, she readily nodded. “Mm.”
“Then let this servant attend to the Commandery Princess while you take a nap.”
“All right.”
When they returned to the courtyard where the wedding had taken place the previous night, the female servants were each sweeping and tidying in an orderly fashion. Upon seeing Cheng Nianying enter, they offered her perfunctory curtsies one after another. Their manner could not be called especially respectful.
Cheng Nianying paid no attention to such trivial details. Her thoughts were entirely on her own belongings. As soon as she entered, she told everyone that she intended to sleep and did not need anyone to attend her.
Nanny Shi hesitated for a moment but did not go against her wishes. She led the others out.
The large chest from the previous day was still sitting in a corner of the room. Cheng Nianying opened it with a key and took out the case. She carefully inspected the weapons, and only after confirming that everything was intact did she put them back.
Without weapons on her person, she always felt that she lacked confidence.
She had only just married someone, and although she had no experience with such matters, she knew that the commandery prince might want to be intimate with her. If she carried a weapon on her, what would she do if he hugged her and happened to feel it?
She let out a soft sigh, then reluctantly stroked the gold leaves inside the chest several more times before locking it again.
She would endure it for now.
She would endure it until the organization could no longer find her and forgot about her.
Without even taking off her clothes, she leaned back onto the bed.
The warm fragrance in the room had yet to dissipate when she sank into a deep sleep.
Meanwhile, the guard repeated to Fu Yi, word for word, everything Cheng Nianying had said outside the courtyard gate.
After hearing it, all the subordinates wore grim expressions. Only after a long while did one of them manage to say, “She actually knows to care about the master’s health.”
“She must be putting on an act!” the guard added with absolute certainty.
The others could not help looking toward Fu Yi. What they thought was unimportant; what mattered was what the master thought.
Fu Yi coughed softly and turned over the sheet of paper beside him. “What happened to Magistrate Li of Weiyang?”
The subordinates’ expressions grew solemn. They understood at once that the master was burdened with important responsibilities. How could he have time to concern himself with such trivial matters? Naturally, major affairs came first.
They immediately stopped discussing the Commandery Princess and respectfully answered Fu Yi’s question. “He survived, but he can no longer speak.”
“Hmm?”
“It seems he has developed hysteria. He spends all day talking nonsense. No one knows whether he is pretending for self-preservation or truly suffering from some fright. The physicians have examined him, but he has shown no improvement…”
*
Cheng Nianying was not the only one who had been “thinking of” visiting the commandery prince.
Mu He had personally prepared a bowl of medicinal food. After staying up to tend it, both her eyes were red from exhaustion. She raised her head and asked, “What time is it?” Only then could she know whether she would be able to go see the master.
A young palace maid hurried in, but instead of answering her, she said, “After the Commandery Princess paid her respects over tea to Prince Kang and Princess Kang, she hurried off to look for the commandery prince.”
Mu He’s hands paused.
The young palace maid continued, “Then the guard came out and said that the master had gone to sleep, refusing to see her. But she actually said, in front of so many people, that the master hadn’t slept well because he had shared a bed with her the previous night… It was really rather…”
Her voice grew softer as she swallowed the four words “utterly shameless” back down her throat.
No change could be seen on Mu He’s face, but her grip tightened downward. The handle of the pot burned her, and she hissed.
“Sister Muhe! Sister Muhe, is your hand all right?” the young palace maid cried, rushing over.
Mu He gritted her teeth and pushed her away. “I’m fine. I’m going to take a look up front.”
By the time Mu He arrived, Cheng Nianying was naturally long gone.
The commandery prince was discussing affairs, and Mu He was not someone who could see him immediately either.
The maid tending the flowers outside the courtyard gate hurried over and repeated everything Cheng Nianying had said earlier.
Mu He cast her a sidelong glance. “What sort of rule is there in discussing the master behind his back?”
Is she even a master of any sort? The words reached the tip of the little maid’s tongue, but in the end she swallowed them back down and obediently said, “Sister Muhe is right to reprimand me.”
“The Commandery Princess has only just arrived at the residence and is bound to have many things she has not yet grown accustomed to. Go pick some mint, shijixiang, scrophularia, and spikenard blossoms… Then take the begonia hand warmer from the master’s room over there and prepare a dose of calming incense for the Commandery Princess.” Mu He instructed the young palace maid behind her.
The young palace maid felt somewhat indignant as well. “Why should Sister Muhe have to trouble herself with all this?”
Mu He lowered her eyes and smiled. “Aren’t these trifling matters at the master’s side usually handled by me?”
The young palace maid understood at once. “Yes, yes.”
As for the women in the rear courtyard, if Sister Muhe did not hurry to take control of those matters, was she really going to hand them over to that woman from the Marquis household?
If that woman from the Marquis household fell even one step behind, she would never be able to interfere in such matters again.
No wonder she had hurried to look for the commandery prince so soon after the wedding. She must be eager to demand control of the household as well.
A jumble of thoughts flashed through the young palace maid’s mind before she went to prepare everything according to Mu He’s instructions.
By the time she had finished, it was already very late.
Only then did Mu He finally see the commandery prince.
As she arranged the dishes, she said in a low voice, “I heard that the Commandery Princess specifically came to request an audience with you. She must have been treated coldly by Prince Kang and Princess Kang.”
Fu Yi did not raise his eyes. Smiling, he asked, “What? Are you planning to teach her how to curry favor with Prince Kang’s household?”