Chu Huiru, who’d been slapped until she rolled and lost consciousness, woke up half a day later.
What had happened—no one dared spread it for several reasons. First, Qin Wang had made his position crystal clear that he sided with his primary consort, and Chu Huiru had been the one to start trouble twice in a row. Second, the high-ranking royals close to the Emperor had learned additional details about the conditions for purchasing Duanshen ore—especially the part where Yang Xiuying’s status was no different from an envoy. No one in power in Jian Kingdom had the right to use their authority and influence to bully her to the point where the Duanshen ore purchase agreement could be canceled.
Because of this, Chu Huiru, who woke up with one side of her face swollen like a pig’s head, lips puffed up as if she’d eaten a whole pot of chilies, and her left eye swollen shut, could only sweep utensils and furnishings to the floor in fury. Because if she wailed and lamented out loud, it would aggravate the bruising on her face and cause more pain. So she could only proclaim loudly in her mind.
‘That lowborn concubine! She dared do this to me, humiliating me in front of the royals at the palace. If I don’t chop her into ten thousand pieces, don’t call me Chu Huiru anymore!’
“Wherr ihh Wii Wahhng?” (Where is Li Wang?) The garbled sounds coming from her swollen mouth left her personal maid looking confused.
“Thith thervanh dothent unnertha—uh! This servant doesn’t understand what Wangfei is saying!”
The answer that maid received was a brass vase hurled at her by the furious mistress of the house. Fortunately, she managed to dodge in time.
***
As for the person Chu Huiru was asking about, he’d already presented himself at Qin Wang’s manor.
The manor’s master looked at the person who had the status of nephew but wasn’t much younger than him, his eyes cold.
“What business does Li Wang have here?”
“This subject wishes to apologize once more to Imperial Uncle and Qin Wangfei.”
“She is your aunt-in-law. Address her as such.”
Li Wang froze, clenching his fist beneath his sleeve. She’d been his concubine first. How could he call his concubine aunt-in-law? But he couldn’t object, because now her status truly was Qin Wang’s primary consort.
He didn’t know how things had turned out this way, and why she’d refused to say she was the daughter of the Long Yu Island Lord. If she’d spoken up from the very beginning, her status could have been his primary consort immediately. She wouldn’t have needed to marry as Qin Wangfei like this.
“That matter is settled, so let it be settled. I only hope your wife won’t cause trouble for my wife like this again. You know what conditions Jian Kingdom has with Long Yu Island. If she causes Jian Kingdom’s contract to be canceled, I probably don’t need to tell you what will happen next.”
“Yes, Imperial Uncle.” That was the only thing he could say. But inwardly he thought of Minister Chu’s daughter, who’d been willful and accustomed to using her authority to oppress Zhenzhen ever since she’d married in as his primary consort.
He couldn’t break with her because he still needed support from her father. So he could only make Zhenzhen yield, go along with, and endure the persecution. But now the situation had changed. Chu Huiru would no longer be able to bully Zhenzhen at will.
Was this why she came back to marry Imperial Uncle? To have power over Chu Huiru? To take revenge for being caged and drowned? She must be very angry at him too, wasn’t she? For not helping her that day?
Li Wang’s thoughts grew even more confused and chaotic. Everything seemed to have gone completely wrong. Though he was glad to see her again, he was also displeased that she’d returned with the status of aunt-in-law.
“If there’s nothing else, go back. Your wife hasn’t recovered yet, has she?” Jian Hantian interjected when he saw the other party trying to crane his neck looking for someone. That someone was undoubtedly Yang Xiuying. It seemed Chu Huiru wasn’t the only one with a past connection to her—Jian Chaohe had one too.
“Yes, Imperial Uncle. This subject takes his leave.”
***
That evening, Le Qi returned to report on the investigation he’d been assigned. The most likely lead seemed to be about the concubine Li Wang had taken from Ling Nan City when he’d been on a mission there a little over a year ago.
Supposedly she’d saved Li Wang’s life when a storm battered the ship and he fell overboard. Li Wang had taken a fancy to her and brought her back to the capital as a concubine. After that, she never left Li Wang’s manor again, so no one had ever seen her face—except those present when Li Wang fell into the water, those in Li Wang’s manor, and Chu Huiru, who’d married as primary consort not long after that incident.
But then recently, rumors spread that this concubine had committed adultery and was punished by being expelled. But some also whispered she’d been caged and drowned in the Liu Li River, because that night several carriages had left the manor, and people saw them parked not far from the Liu Li River.
Le Qi’s report made Jian Hantian’s eyebrows rise with interest.
“What you’re trying to tell me is that Yang Xiuying might have been Jian Chaohe’s concubine?”
Le Qi himself felt awkward thinking that Qin Wangfei had been Li Wang’s concubine before. If it were him, he didn’t know if he could accept it.
“But didn’t we already investigate Yang Xiuying’s background?”
“Her background and identity are definitely correct. But there are reports that she traveled around with Yang Furen’s[1] younger sister for two years. The time she wasn’t on Long Yu Island closely matches when Li Wang took in a concubine.”
Jian Hantian tried to picture his Wangfei as a woman who would become a concubine, let the primary consort bully her, and let people cage and drown her. One word popped into his head—‘Impossible.’
She had so much bargaining power that even the Emperor of Jian Kingdom had to comply with her conditions. She had attendants with high-level martial arts. She herself likely had considerable martial arts as well—evident from how one swing of her arm could knock Chu Huiru unconscious for a day. Add to that her fierce manner, ready to charge at whatever stood in her way—the word “impossible” just kept repeating in his mind.
Still… the reactions of Chu Huiru and Jian Chaohe when they first saw her in the Emperor’s study fit perfectly with Le Qi’s report.
After pondering a while longer, Jian Hantian asked his confidant.
“According to the background we investigated, does she have an older or younger sister?”
That question made Le Qi’s eyes widen. ‘That’s it!’ They’d been so focused on her that they hadn’t paid attention to other unrelated siblings. Could it be…
“This subject will investigate further right away.”
***
Yang Xiuying, having slapped someone today, felt her mood improve. That pretense of a twisted ankle—she’d dropped it as soon as she got in the carriage. As for that Qin Wang or whatever, even if he knew, so what? What could he do to her? He’d just have to help cover up her mischief anyway.
“Hehehehe, hahahaha!”
Her laughter carried outside to where Mo Fang stood guard. Even Tan Wu, standing farther away, could hear it. It reminded them of the Island Lord’s laughter that sounded exactly like a villain in the operas they’d seen. The second young miss had certainly learned well from her father.
Mo Fang bowed her head as Jian Hantian walked up, and could only sigh.
‘Your husband must already know you’re the villain!’
“Is there some good news?”
The voice at the door made Yang Xiuying, who was sitting at her vanity combing her hair, simply acknowledge that her roommate had returned.
“Perhaps it’s that my husband didn’t abandon this consort to guard the bridal chamber alone from our wedding night until tonight.” She turned to look at Jian Hantian with a sweet smile.
That smile, like a tigress ready to pounce on prey at any moment, made him immediately realize that his decision to return to sleep in this residence since last night… following Le Qi’s warning… had been correct.
When he realized he was thinking as if he needed to be considerate of…the woman before him for no good reason, it surprised him.
The matter of those in power in Jian Kingdom not being able to displease her was one thing, but the fact that he complied with her so easily without feeling resistance or forcing himself—that was quite interesting.
“Today you exerted yourself beating someone up, plus had to perform in several scenes. You must be exhausted. Rest.”
Yang Xiuying raised her eyebrows, watching her husband disappear behind the privacy screen, blinking.
This person knew and didn’t even keep quiet about it, exposing her so matter-of-factly—how could he? Tsk tsk tsk.
Oh well. At least no one else heard but her.
[1] Furen (夫人) – “Madam” or “Lady.” An honorific title for a married woman of high status, typically the legitimate wife of a high-ranking official or nobleman. Can also be used respectfully when referring to someone’s mother, as in “Yang Furen” (Lady Yang/Madam Yang).
Author’s Note:
Honestly, you could be watching her laugh from Mars and you’d still be able to tell she’s the villain of this story.
Want to see what happens next? Click ‘Next Chapter‘ to keep reading. Or, if you’re already hooked and want the whole story right now, you can grab the full E-book below.