To Be A Virtuous Wife

Introduction of He Heng’s elder sister, Jin An Princess Royal. She is also the adopted daughter of the Empress (to answer the one commenter).

Chapter Thirty Eight The Woman in the Rumors

In the deep of the night where no one was there, a dark shadow flashed at the corner of the firewood room. Before this person could near the room itself, suddenly several lamps lit up in the surroundings. He looked in surprise and found many people surrounding him.

"Qian yeye here has waited so many days. Finally caught this rat," Qian Chang Xin held a lamp as he came out of the corner. He looked disdainfully at this servant in the guise of a manservant and raised his hand, "Bind him up, don't disturb anyone else."

The servants rushed in. Before the person could speak, he was gagged, bound and dragged away.

"Stupid trash," Finishing, he spat on the ground. He kicked the door to the firewood room with one foot and looked down at Bai Zhi who was tied and gagged in the corner. He gave a joyless smile and said: "Bai Zhi gunaing, your accomplice has already been captured. Why don't we have a chat and you tell me who let you into the fu?"

Bai Zhi squirmed against the rope on her body but the ropes were too tight and she could not escape. She glared hatefully at Qian Chang Xin.

"Free her mouth," Qian Chang Xin took a whip from a person behind him. He slowly whipped it on his palm, his face still carrying a harmonious smile, "Bai Zhi guniang, have you thought what you are going to say?"

"I don't know anything," Bai Zhi hatefully turned her head away, not looking at Qian Chang Xin, "I just wanted to fly a paper luan, wang ye has the wrong person."

Qian Change Xin was too lazy to argue with her but only said impatiently: "There's not much difference between you saying or not. But it's such a pity for your old and young in the family, and the newly married sister of yours. How about we give you a crime of poisoning wang ye, wonder what would your family have to suffer?"

"Shameless!" Bai Zhi turned her head and stared straight at Qian Chang Xing, "What do you want to do?"

"You aren't the first person to praise yeye this way," Qian Chang Xin uncoiled the whip, the smile on his face even more visible. Suddenly the whip dealt a blow on Bai Zhi's body, "Usually the people who praise yeye like this, by now their teeth won't even be on their body."

The pain caused her body to shrink, Bai Zhi stated with a white face: "Nubi is innocent."

"Since you are willing to give up on your family to protect your master, then yeye won't care about your family either," Qian Chang Xin proclaimed cheerfully, "Tomorrow, I'll let your family go first. Hopefully when you go down to see them, you can still face them."

Tears were streaming down Bai Zhi's face. She covered her wound and chocked out: "It's His Highness Ning Wang that wanted nubi to pay attention to the movement of the fu. Except nubi's status was too low and couldn't pass out any news. A few days earlier, His Highness Ning Wang wanted nubi to investigate how wang ye treated wang fei in the fu. Nubi assumed this wasn't such an important matter and so dared to pass on the news." She wasn't afraid of death but was afraid of it involving her family.

"That's nonsense, His Highness Ning Wang is a straightforward and honest person, you can't slander him!" Qian Chang Xin disagreed, "Such vile slander, wang ye won't believe you."

"It's true. A while ago, nubi's didi entered Ning Wang Fu for a job. Nubi had no other way and did wrong things. Gonggong, please investigate carefully, nubi really didn't pass on any information." Bai zhi cried as she knelt in front of Qian Chang Xin.

"Fine, yeye I don't want to listen to your nonsense," Qian Chang Xin retreated two steps, not allowing Bai Zhi to hug his leg. He said in a cold voice, "Bai Zhi died due to an illness recently. Send somebody to give her family thirty taels of silver." Finishing, he motioned for the person to pour the poisonous wine into Bai Zhi.

"Thank you wang ye, thank you gonggong." Bai Zhi trembled as she held a hand and poured down the wine. No matter what, at least wang ye let her family go.

Qian Chang Xin came out of the firewood room and threw the whip to one side. He took a handkerchief that a lower-ranked taijian handed over to wipe his hand, "Bury the person carefully. At least she served wang ye before. People, they can't try to find death themselves. Those that betray their masters, they don't have good endings." Finishing, he left without a second glance.

Tong fang Bai Zhi's death didn't arouse much interest in the fu. Everybody new, Bai Zhi died suddenly. Curiosity wasn't allowed in the case of a sudden death.

When Qu Qing Ju heard the news, she was trimming a newly delivered bonsai. She finished listening to Huang Yang before she put down her scissors to order: "Since the person is gone, don't mention the past anymore. Get someone to send something to her family, it is wang ye's grace." Since He Heng said Bai Zhi died of illness, then she had to give the appropriate response.

Even Yin Liu who was quick of the mouth didn't say anything at the time. After Huang Yang left, she spoke with some fear: "She's just gone."

"As a servant, you can't have multiple masters," Mu Jin sorted away the scissors that Qu Qing Ju placed on the table to prevent Qu Qing Ju from accidentally harming her hand, "This way, it was very generous of wang ye." This type of thing, it wasn't just a life, it was possible to influence an entire family.

Yin Liu didn't argue with the words. To her, all she had to do everyday was serve wang fei well. She didn't have to think about anything else. She didn't want to think that much either.

Qu Qing Ju propped her chin up with one hand and looked outside in boredom. In these days without a computer or phone, it was boring. She gave a yawn and drawled lazily: "Mu Jin, find a story book for me."

Mu Jin retreated but after a while, she didn't receive her novel, but Qu Qing Ju received a flower and gold printed invitation.

"The Jin An Princess Royal?" Qu Qing Ju looked at the invitation in her hand. At the banquet, there had been a few princesses and jun zhu郡主: daughters in the Imperial Family, most likely daughters of wangs. One rank lower than princess (gongzhu) on the invitation. The invitation that was sent to the wang fu would have been personally written by Jin An Princess Royal. To see a person through their writing. This Jin An Princess Royal was a very talented woman.

Personally writing a reply, Qu Qing Ju waited for the ink to dry before folding the paper. She passed it to Jin Zhan who had been grinding the ink: "Get someone to send it to the Princess Royal's fu."

At night, He Heng came to the zhengyuan. When the two finished eating the evening meal, Qu Qing Ju brought up the matter.

He Heng wasn't very close to his jiejie but he did hear some rumors floating in Jing: "Two days earlier, the Princess Royal came back to Jing. You might have never met her before, but since the invitation has been sent, you can go."

Qu Qing Ju gave him a cup of digestive tea, "I already sent a reply. It's just that the picture-admiring banquet is three days later. The day after that would be the Lantern Festival. 上元节:shang yuan jie. It occurs on the fifteenth day of the first month, also called 元宵节 (yuan xiao jie)

[5] 驸马: the husband of a princess, the emperor's son-in-law.