The three of them soon took their seats.
Princess Qinghuan sat in the center, while Jiang Shiyuan and Pei Zisu sat on either side below her. A procession of maidservants entered, carrying lacquer trays with three identical portions of each dish. Before long, the table was fully spread.
Looking at the dishes before them, Princess Qinghuan remarked, “Anian, don’t you love river delicacies? You must try the Bi Luo Shrimp in front of you. If you like it, I’ll have the cook prepare it with Meishan Mist tea next time. I expect you’ll enjoy it even more.”
The Princess’s manor was extravagant; even Meishan Mist tea, which cost a thousand gold pieces for a small amount, could be used as a mere cooking ingredient. If Princess Qinghuan ordered it, the cooks would do it. However, Jiang Shiyuan felt it was a bit wasteful, so she replied with a smile, “That sounds novel. Let me try this first.”
Seeing her take a small bite and display a look of pleasant surprise, Princess Qinghuan was satisfied and quickly pressed, “How is it?”
“The flavor is indeed excellent.”
“As long as you like it. Try the others as well; I suspect you’ll also enjoy the Yellow-Braised River Eel.”
The cooks in the Princess’s manor were well aware of Jiang Shiyuan’s palate. Consequently, the dishes before her were light on oil and salt, focusing on freshness. Even the braised dishes were lightly seasoned. She ate quietly, savoring every bite.
Seeing her eat so delicately, Pei Zisu felt the meal seemed much more appetizing, even before he had picked up his own chopsticks. Princess Qinghuan didn’t put on airs; seeing that he hadn’t started yet, she immediately said, “What is it, Young General Pei? Is the food hard to swallow without wine on the table?”
“The Princess misunderstands,” Pei Zisu replied. “I was merely considering which dish to start with.”
Princess Qinghuan glanced at his expression and then turned to the serving maid beside her. “Go and bring the Albizia wine from my private collection. Such an occasion is best enjoyed with a drink. Today, Anian, you aren’t allowed to decline. You must have a few cups with me, alright?”
The Albizia wine, as the name suggested, was made by steeping Albizia flowers in spirits. The bottle used this time was not the common celadon from the Ru kiln, but a transparent crystal bottle. It came with three matching crystal cups, all shaped like banana leaves—a truly charming set.
As the wine was poured, the crystal base enhanced the naturally soft pink hue of the Albizia wine, making it look intoxicating at a single glance. The fragrance was rich. Jiang Shiyuan brought it to her nose and said with certainty, “Princess, this is new wine from last year.”
“You truly are my drinking companion; you knew it with just one sniff. It was brewed before the twelfth lunar month, so it’s only been half a year. The taste isn’t aged, making it more refreshing to drink.”
While aged wine was fine, neither of them were master connoisseurs, and they would get quite drunk after just a few cups. Therefore, when they gathered, they only drank new wine, enjoying a couple of small cups for pleasure.
“What does Young General Pei think?”
“I am used to the strong spirits of the army,” Pei Zisu said bluntly. “The taste of this Albizia wine is a bit… lacking.”
Pei Zisu was a man who spoke his mind. Princess Qinghuan raised an eyebrow, looking between the two of them, and teased, “In all my life, only you two have dared to be so direct—one ‘doesn’t like it’ and the other says it’s ‘lacking.’ If word got out, people would think I was afraid of you two.”
Jiang Shiyuan sat on her embroidered stool and shot the Princess a smiling glance. She had a retort on the tip of her tongue, but remembering Pei Zisu was present, she decided not to tease her. The Princess, however, getting into the spirit of the wine, revealed the reason for the visit from the Consort of Prince Chun and the Consort of the Heir earlier that day.
“If you ask me, it’s for the best that you didn’t marry into that family. When I first heard the Marquis Wenyuan’s Mansion had arranged that marriage for you, I felt it was inappropriate. But seeing how you seemed to have your own plans, I didn’t interfere. Now it seems ‘wicked people are tormented by other wicked people’—your second sister is likely having a hard time under my aunt’s hand.”
“How so?”
“Guess why they came to see me today?”
Jiang Shiyuan recalled the events of her past life. Back then, not long after she had married in, the Consort of Prince Chun had taken her to visit the Princess’s manor and then back to the Marquis’s mansion for dinner. The woman was certainly socially adept, though unfortunately, that grace had never been directed at her.
“The only thing that would make both the Consort and the Heir’s wife so desperate would be the Heir himself. However, I haven’t heard of him being unwell, so I assume it concerns his official posting.”
Princess Qinghuan’s eyes lit up, her expression saying you really are clever.
“Anian, you guessed correctly. I ruined the Heir’s previous assignment. Now, my aunt has brought the Heir’s wife to negotiate. From what she said, they have their eyes on a post in the River Conservancy Department. That is a lucrative position that many noble families want to get their hands on, and my aunt is no exception.”
At the mention of the “River Conservancy Department,” Pei Zisu’s hand holding the wine cup paused. This was heavily connected to the iron ingot case in Luzhou. For the Prince Chun’s Mansion to try and intervene now—did they know something?
He maintained an air of indifference, but in truth, he listened intently.
“The River Conservancy Department? Does the Consort wish for the Heir to head south?”
“I suspect Side-Consort Xun has been up to her old tricks behind the scenes again. Speaking of which, the Prince Chun’s Mansion is like a sieve, full of holes. My aunt isn’t favored by my uncle, and consequently, the Heir isn’t much in favor either. On the other hand, Song Shiyun, born of Side-Consort Xun, is said to have secured a position as a Director in the Armory Department. He seems to have some capability.”
The Court of the Imperial Guards in the Western Capital was responsible for guarding the palace and city gates. It had two departments: the Armory Department and the Palace Guard Department. Jiang Shiyuan’s second cousin, Wang Kuan, also served there. With his strong background and personal ability, he had risen to the position of Assistant Director—an official of the eighth rank—in less than two years.
But this Song Shiyun had become a Director!
That was a sixth-rank official. Jiang Shiyuan remembered that he was the elder half-brother of the Heir of Prince Chun. Now in the prime of his life and having secured such a position, it was no wonder the Consort of Prince Chun was scrambling to secure a future for the Heir.
“So, what does the Princess intend to do?” Pei Zisu looked up and asked.
Princess Qinghuan looked back at him, her eyes filled with conviction. “Naturally, I won’t let her have her way. Setting aside what their family did to Anian, the Heir himself is a useless sort. I’ve been at odds with him since we were children. He’s been so pampered by my aunt that he can’t handle any hardship. Putting someone like that in the River Conservancy Department? It’s obvious they just want to profit from it. I’m not stupid enough to go running to Imperial Father to speak on his behalf.”
Princess Qinghuan’s words were blunt and succinct, dismissing the Heir, Song Shiye, as worthless. Jiang Shiyuan picked up her Albizia wine and took a sip. At this moment, she felt she must have been blinded in her past life to have been so eager to marry such a man.
How ridiculous.
Seeing the flicker of self-mockery in her eyes, Pei Zisu felt an indescribable ache in his heart. His hand unconsciously tightened around the banana-leaf crystal cup. With a sudden burst of unintended strength, the cup actually cracked.
Princess Qinghuan looked at Pei Zisu in surprise.
“Young General Pei, even if you don’t like the wine, there’s no need to take it out on my crystal cup. This is a rare treasure Imperial Father found specifically for me. There were only four in total, and now you’ve broken one.”
Hearing her words, Pei Zisu finally snapped back to his senses.