Chapter 188: Scheming Little Sly Jiang
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
On the other hand, the news of the marriage quickly reached the ears of the Princess of Xiongnu. Before she came, no one had told her that such a thing would happen. She thought that the Second Prince of Xiongnu had taken matters into his own hands and ran to look for him to argue with him.
“What are your intentions? Are you trying to sell your country for glory!”
“This isn’t selling my country for glory,” the second prince corrected her.
The Princess of Xiongnu choked. “That… that’s selling your sister for glory! You tricked me into coming here and then sold me to the people of the Great Zhou. If my father finds out, he will definitely settle the score with you!”
At least, the Second Prince was not too vicious and did not pierce through her glass heart right in front of her. If not for the instructions of Xiongnu Khan and her uncle, he would not have dared to have any ideas about Princess Mingzhu. This girl did not think about why she was the only one who came to the Central Plains out of so many princesses? Was it really because she wanted to come?!!
The second prince sighed and said, “Father and Uncle said that we have to facilitate the peace negotiations at all costs. I understand your difficulties, but there’s no other way. Do you think I don’t have to marry the Great Zhou’s wife just because you’re the only one who will marry a Great Zhou’s husband?”
The Princess of Xiongnu was stunned. “They even forced you to marry a wife…”
The second prince cleared his throat. Actually, he had taken a fancy to the daughter of a zanying clan, and the Great Zhou Emperor had agreed to let him marry her as a side consort.
In the eyes of the princess of Xiongnu, the second prince’s reaction was a tacit agreement. She waved the whip in her hand and said angrily, “No! I’ll go look for the Emperor of Great Zhou to judge! There’s no reason for us siblings to die!”
This couldn’t be judged. If she did, he would expose himself!
The second prince quickly pulled her back and said to her, “You also know the situation of the Xiongnu. After fighting for so many years, the treasury has long been empty. Every year, there are as many herdsmen and sheep who starve to death as a small town. The Emperor of Great Zhou said that as long as we accept the conditions for peace talks, he will send us a large number of supplies every year. Our herdsmen will no longer starve to death, and the cows and sheep will also have to live.”
“I’m not the one who starved to death!” The princess stomped her feet and muttered, but she still sat down.
The second prince struck while the iron was hot and said, “And I heard good news. You don’t have to marry the prince’s heir. You will marry the prince of the Great Zhou.”
The status of the wife of a prince and the wife of a prince’s heir were completely different. Whether they could seize the throne was another matter. As long as she married into the Prince Manor, it would be much better than expected.
The princess thought about it and still felt that she could not marry him. She did not like the prince of the Great Zhou, so she would definitely not be happy if she married him. If she got angry and whipped him, it would be troublesome.
She had heard that the men of the Great Zhou could not be beaten. If she really wanted to marry, she had to marry a man who could beat her.
The princess thought of Yu Shaoqing.
“Don’t even think about it!” The Second Prince guessed her intentions.
The Princess of Xiongnu was furious. She glared at her cousin and left coldly.
The princess left the palace in a fit of anger. She rode her horse and strolled along the streets.
She was beautiful and her clothes were beautiful. Her high-profile appearance attracted the attention of passers-by. She did not even look at those people and continued walking forward. However, she met Yan Ruyu, whom she had not seen for days, in a teahouse.
Until now, the princess had not realized that this woman who called herself Yu’er was the daughter of the Yan Manor. She only remembered that the other party had offended her, so she did not have a good attitude towards Yan Ruyu.
Yan Ruyu also saw her and went forward to bow. “Yu’er, greet the princess.”
“What Yu’er? I’m a stone!” The princess was furious. Yan Ruyu happened to be there for her to vent her anger. It would be strange if she could speak properly. [Yu is Jade in english.]
Yan Ruyu was not angry at being scolded. She smiled gently and said, “The snacks in this teahouse are very good. Princess, do you want to come down and try them?”
The princess was so busy arguing with her cousin that she forgot to eat lunch. She was indeed hungry. She dismounted, threw the reins to a shop assistant, and walked into the teahouse. She asked for a superior room. As soon as she sat down, Yan Ruyu entered.
“Who let you in?” The princess said angrily.
Yan Ruyu sat down opposite her and picked up a teapot that was carried in by a waiter and a stove. She brewed the tea at a moderate speed. “I think the Princess seems to have something on your mind.”
“What does it have to do with you?” The Princess of Xiongnu had a look of disdain on her face. However, when she saw Yan Ruyu’s tea brewing technique, she could not help but be surprised. She had long heard that the Central Plains people were proficient in tea, but she did not know that a woman could make tea so elegantly.
Yan Ruyu did not seem to know that the other party was stunned by her. She said in her usual tone, “Princess, if you want to talk to someone, I’ll definitely listen. If you don’t want to say anything, then you can drink the tea.”
The princess turned away. She was not used to the tea from the Central Plains. It was bitter and she really did not know what was good about it.
Yan Ruyu looked at her with a faint smile and instructed the waiter beside her. The waiter whispered, “What a coincidence. We have one.”
The waiter went out and brought over a small pot of goat milk.
When the Princess of Xiongnu smelled the smell of goat milk, she drooled. The people of the Central Plains found goat milk fishy, but she had eaten this since she was young. To her, no delicacies could compare to a bowl of salty milk tea on the grassland.
Yan Ruyu scooped the brewed milk tea into a bowl and placed it in front of the princess.
The princess could not refuse the taste of her hometown. She held the bowl and took a sip. A sourness of homesickness surged into her heart. She missed her father and her mother.
“I don’t want to marry the prince of your Great Zhou…” She said with reddened eyes.
Yan Ruyu said calmly, “Princess, why do you have to make yourself suffer? If you don’t want to marry, just use a method to reject it.”
“Easy for you to say! How am I going to reject it?” The Princess of Xiongnu said angrily.
Yan Ruyu lowered her eyes and said, “Princess… you have someone you like, right?”
The princess did not deny it. She only muttered unhappily, “But he already has a family.”
“So what? Could it be that in Xiongnu, men can only marry one wife?” Yan Ruyu smiled at her.
The Princess of Xiongnu said with a bitter expression, “That’s not true, but I’m a Princess. What right do I have to serve another woman!”
Yan Ruyu said indifferently, “Then let him divorce his wife and remarry. Princess, you are a noble woman. It’s his fortune that you took a fancy to him… As long as the princess and him are together, our Great Zhou’s prince won’t force you to marry him.”
The princess felt that what she said made sense. After drinking her fill, she went to look for Yu Shaoqing.
Yu Shaoqing had a criminal record in the Dali Temple, so it was not difficult to find out where he lived. She spent money to hire a coachman to lead the way, and in less than an hour, they arrived at Lotus Flower Village.
The village was very poor, and horses were rare, let alone women on horseback. When the princess of Xiongnu appeared at the village entrance in a red dress and riding a tall horse, everyone in the village was stunned.
“Where is Yu Shaoqing?” The Princess of Xiongnu asked Aunt Zhang, who was washing clothes beside the ancient well, in Central Plains language with a trace of an accent.
Aunt Zhang pointed in the direction of the Yu Family’s old residence in a daze.
“Giddy up!” The Princess of Xiongnu rode off.
The wives gathered around.
“Who is this?”
“A girl from the city, right?”
“Why does she know how to ride a horse?”
“She came to look for Old Third, what relations does she have with him?”
… .
The princess could not hear the villagers’ discussion. She rode all the way to the Yu Family’s old residence and got off her horse. She casually threw the reins to Yu Song, who had heard the commotion and ran out to watch the commotion.
Yu Song looked at the reins that were suddenly around his neck. “…”
Today, the workshop was resting. It was rare that the Yu family did not have to work. They sat in the room for lunch. The moment they heard the sound of horse hooves, everyone thought that Wu San had returned. Unexpectedly, it was a young and beautiful girl who came in.
The girl was not dressed like the Central Plains. She was wearing leather boots and a felt hat. She was dressed in red and was as bright as fire.
Yu Shaoqing and Yu Wan recognized her.
Yu Shaoqing’s face darkened. Yu Wan also restrained the smile in her eyes and looked at her indifferently. “What are you doing at my house?”
The Yu family members were stunned. Ah Wan knew her?
The princess did not answer Yu Wan’s question. Instead, she pointed the whip in her hand at Yu Shaoqing and said, “Come out. I want to sleep with you!”
“Pfft—” The Yu family spat out their food!
Did they hear wrongly? This young lady, who was the same age as Ah Wan, wanted to do that with Third Brother (Third Uncle)? Was this really a girl? Which girl could say such things?
No, they should be curious. Who was this girl? Why did she like their Third Bother (Third Uncle)?
Everyone looked at Yu Shaoqing and Madam Jiang!
Madam Jiang should be the most upset when her love rival comes looking for her.
“Ah Shu, I have nothing to do with her.” Yu Shaoqing was also worried that his wife would misunderstand.
“It doesn’t matter now, there will be in the future!” The princess said shamelessly. With that, she looked at the woman beside Yu Shaoqing. Yu Shaoqing quickly explained to her, so she must be Yu Shaoqing’s wife. She originally thought that she was an old and ugly peasant woman, but when she saw the other party’s appearance, the princess was instantly dumbfounded.
How could there be such a beautiful woman? She was like the fairy in the painting! Her daughter was already so old. Shouldn’t she be a middle-aged woman?
Yu Shaoqing protected his wife behind him and said to the princess, “Princess, please leave immediately and don’t disturb my life and my family’s. I’ll pretend I never heard what you said just now.”
The Yu family members were stunned. This girl was a princess? Were princesses nowadays so unruly? She actually took a fancy to a married woman and even entered the house in broad daylight…
The princess said coquettishly, “If you haven’t heard it before, then I’ll say it again!”
The way this princess thought was completely different from normal people. Yu Wan looked at her and said, “My father doesn’t like you and doesn’t want to marry you. Don’t you understand?”
The Yu family members gasped. Ah Wan, she’s a princess. You should be more polite!
“Who said your father doesn’t like me?” The princess retorted.
“Princess, I only have my wife in my heart. I won’t marry anyone other than my wife. Please give up.” To be honest, Yu Shaoqing was also very confused. How could he know that the other party really liked him? He was clearly old enough to be her father.
The princess’s father was already in his fifties, so in her heart, Yu Shaoqing was actually very young. “I don’t care! You have to marry me today! I don’t want to marry the prince of your Great Zhou!”
Yu Wan paused. “Are you trying to escape marriage or do you really want to marry my father?”
“What’s the difference?” The Princess of Xiongnu snorted.
Yu Wan said, “There’s a big difference. If you want to escape marriage, I’ll help you think of a way. If you want to marry my father, I’ll help him think of a way.”
The princess thought seriously. “Then you should help your father think of a way.”
Yu Wan : “…”
This princess really wouldn’t turn back until she hit a wall. She didn’t know how she came up with the idea of forcing a marriage with her family. Did she not know what crime her father was carrying? At this juncture, once he was related to the Xiongnu, even if Zhou Huai returned, he might not be able to clear his name.
At that time, stealing military merits was a small matter. Colluding with the enemy and committing treason was a serious crime.
“Princess.”
Just as Yu Wan was thinking about analyzing the relationship between them, Madam Jiang spoke.
The Princess of Xiongnu looked at Madam Jiang and asked enviously, “What?”
Madam Jiang covered her mouth with a handkerchief and coughed sickly. “We Central Plainsmen talk about logic. If you want to marry my husband, fine, but I have some things to say to you alone. If you still don’t change your mind after hearing it, then I’m willing to accept you.”
Was this the meaning of sharing a husband? The princess glanced at Madam Jiang a few times. She didn’t seem to have lost out by sharing a husband with such a woman.
“Ah Shu!” Yu Shaoqing disagreed. The Princess of Xiongnu had a bad temper and knew martial arts. If Ah Shu angered her, the consequences would be unimaginable.
“Mom!” Yu Wan disagreed.
“Sister-in-law, don’t get involved. Let Third Brother settle it.” Aunt was also afraid that the sickly Madam Jiang would be bullied by the domineering and fierce princess.
Madam Jiang said sincerely, “Don’t worry, I’ll talk to the princess.”