Chapter 150: I Am Different From Her

Madam Wang did love her daughter. Of the four children she had borne, Wang Wanqing was her only girl. Ever since she was little, she had been a source of comfort, always the most understanding of her mother’s hardships.

Moreover, Wang Wanqing was famously clever and sharp. Every time the other ladies mentioned her, she brought honor to her mother.

But this love was only what she believed to be love.

The Empress’s coldness was genuine. Last night, she had simply been put on the spot by Xiao Li, forced to intervene for the sake of the Wang family’s reputation.

Now that the matter was over, she had no desire to deal with her sister-in-law.

Upon seeing Madam Wang, she made things clear right away.

"I know you are anxious, sister-in-law, but the matter is settled. We can’t openly defy the Emperor’s decree. I am not short one female official. In a year, I will plead with His Majesty to allow her to return home and marry."

Although Madam Wang felt a year was too long, the promise of her daughter’s eventual return was enough to appease her.

"Thank you, Empress."

The Empress, not wanting to witness her insincerity, sent her away to see her daughter.

Madam Wang hurried to see her daughter, her heart full of urgency. The moment they met, she was overcome with emotion.

"Wanqing! My dear Wanqing, you’ve truly suffered."

Wang Wanqing sat up. "Mother, why are you here?"

Madam Wang shot her an irritated glare. "How dare you ask? Your mother was nearly scared to death because of you."

"It’s all my fault. I failed to properly investigate He Chengfeng’s character, and you were wronged because of it."

Wang Wanqing gave a weak smile. "I told you, Mother. You just didn’t believe me."

Madam Wang’s expression stiffened for a moment before she quickly recovered. "You can’t blame me for that. He was just too good at pretending."

She stroked Wang Wanqing’s head, her voice full of pity. "You just focus on recovering here with the Empress. Although becoming a female official can’t be changed, the Empress has promised to let you leave the palace in a year. This time, I’ll be sure to choose carefully for you. When you come home, I’ll marry you off in grand style."

Wang Wanqing felt her world go dark. "Mother, I don’t want to get married..."

Madam Wang slapped her arm irritably. "Shut your mouth! What is a girl like you going to do if you don’t get married? Do you really plan on becoming an old palace maid? Where would that leave my reputation? Did I raise you all this time just so you could be a servant to others?"

Wang Wanqing felt as if the sky were falling and quickly tried to stop her.

"That’s not what I meant. It’s just... after what happened, my reputation is damaged. I’m afraid that even if I do marry, my life will be difficult."

Hearing this, Madam Wang’s brows furrowed instantly. "What you say is indeed a problem. But you are a daughter of the great Wang family and the Empress’s niece. We will surely find a family willing to marry you. I will choose very carefully for you."

She sighed. "And speaking of which, this is all Princess Xuanyang’s fault. If she was going to help you, fine. Couldn’t she have just sent you home? Why did she have to make such a scene and bring you to the palace? Now you’ve lost your engagement, your reputation is ruined, and you’re trapped here. Tell me, what could her intentions possibly be?"

"Mother!" Wang Wanqing stared at her in disbelief. "Mother, Princess Xuanyang saved me!"

Madam Wang’s tone was grave. "I know she saved you, but this is no way to save someone. Was she saving you, or was she ruining you?"

"She had ulterior motives for saving you. She even extorted thirty thousand taels of silver from our family."

"Ah, Wanqing, don’t be fooled by her. People like her are black-hearted..."

Wang Wanqing wanted to argue with her mother, but before the words could leave her mouth, she was overwhelmed by a profound sense of powerlessness.

’I know my mother. No matter how much I argue, she’ll just think I’ve been deceived and am spouting nonsense. Nothing I say will ever change her mind.’

Last night, the Princess had demanded one hundred thousand taels in compensation from Marquis Xuanping. To smooth things over, her own grandfather had even been willing to contribute thirty thousand taels.

’But... I was the one He Chengfeng mistreated. I was the one he humiliated so terribly. Why would the Wang family help the He Family?’

At that moment, Wang Wanqing suddenly understood why the Princess had sent her to the palace without a single word.

’If I hadn’t come to the palace, if things hadn’t blown up like this, I would have been forced to marry He Chengfeng. Even if my family knew the disgusting things he’d done, they would have chosen to smooth things over, at most making him apologize to settle it.’

’Only by making a scene did I have a chance.’

’And when my aunt, the Empress, offered to make me a female official, she must have understood the Princess’s intention—to let me stay in the palace to escape this disaster.’

’They had seen through everyone from the very beginning.’

"Aunt."

After seeing her mother off, Wang Wanqing was helped to her feet and limped to see the Empress, where she gave a solemn kowtow.

"Wanqing thanks you for intervening to save me, Aunt."

The Empress’s expression was indifferent. "It is enough that you do not resent me."

Wang Wanqing shook her head forcefully. "I am not a naive child. I know that you and the Princess both acted for my own good. I still have many shortcomings. Please, Aunt, do not hesitate to teach me. I want to become a person like you and the Princess."

’Princess Xuanyang?’

The Empress thought of the lunch she had prepared that afternoon, which no one had come to eat. She also thought of the rumors now swirling outside, whispering that Princess Xuanyang had left a trail of blood as she fought her way out of the Empress Dowager’s palace.

And then there was last night, when she had publicly whipped Marquis Xuanping. It had seemed like madness, but every move had been perfectly calculated.

Anyone else who had done the things Princess Xuanyang did would have died a hundred times over. But not only was she still alive, she was living in the most brazen and unrestrained way imaginable.

"I am not like her."

From the moment she married the Emperor, her life had felt like an illusion. Only Xuanyang made her feel like she was still made of flesh and blood.

------

That night, a dark figure expertly approached the wall of the Princess Mansion and leaped lightly over it.

He had intended to proceed to his usual destination, but someone was already waiting for him.

Rong Qing stood at the path’s intersection, blade in hand. He also held a jug of wine, looking as if he had been waiting for a long time.

"Turn back, sir," Rong Qing said. "You are trespassing in the Princess Mansion. One more step, and I will be forced to act."

The bad feeling in his heart had come true. A crack appeared in Lou Yan’s usually cold and sinister expression. "Please, General Rong, be lenient. I only wish to see the Princess."

Rong Qing was actually rather speechless. If it were any other man standing before him, he wouldn’t feel so awkward.

’A eunuch has fallen deeply in love with the Princess, and now I have to be the bad guy who stands in his way.’

He set down the wine jug and held his long blade horizontally. "It is my duty. Unless you kill me, this path is closed."

Lou Yan did not fight Rong Qing. It wasn’t that he couldn’t win, but that he didn’t dare.

’Rong Qing is the Princess’s most loyal guard; his actions represent her will. To fight Rong Qing would be to stand in opposition to the Princess herself.’

’Even if I won and made it to her, I would have already lost.’

’She won’t see me openly during the day, and she won’t see me secretly at night.’

Though no words were spoken, Lou Yan understood everything. It seemed... she didn’t want him anymore...

During the day, he had clung to the hope that the Princess was simply too busy dealing with assassins to spare him a glance. But thinking back now, he realized that her silence then had been her answer all along.