Chapter 639 - Alone in an Empty Room
CONTENT WARNING: Don’t eat while reading. Vulgar language.
In Prince Yi’s residence, well-wishers continued arriving one after another.
The Emperor and Concubine Xiao’s gifts had arrived long ago.
After leading a round of drinks, Jing Yi returned to his own courtyard, uncaring of the hubbub outside. Dou Quan came forward and asked, “Your Highness, are you not going to the marital chamber?”
Marital your head! Jing Yi originally regarded Ji Muqing as a mere pile of sh**. Now that he had married her, it was already as if he had swallowed that sh** down. You expect me to go perform the marital duties? Isn’t that like asking me to vomit out that sh** and swallow it down again?! Disgusting! [1]
“Not going.”
“Eh?” Dou Quan was shocked. “Your Highness, it’s the first night of your marriage. Shouldn’t you at least go sleep there for a while?”
Jing Yi remained unmoved. He summoned the little maid from Ji Muqing’s courtyard and instructed, “Tell the Her Ladyship that it’s late, and have her rest early.”
Eh? The little maid was surprised. Rest early? You would have the Prince Consort rest in the room alone on her wedding night?
The little maid had many questions but didn’t dare to ask any of them. She lowered her head and went out to pass the message on to Ji Muqing’s personal maid, Cailan.
When Cailan received the message, she quickly pressed for more information. “What? Her Ladyship has already waited for a long time.”
“I don’t know either. That’s what the prince said.” When she finished speaking, she hurriedly ran off.
Cailan was filled with apprehension. How was she supposed to pass this message? If her mistress heard it, she would surely peel a layer off Cailan’s skin to vent her anger. The swelling from that slap she had gotten had still not gone down yet!
Finally, she gathered her courage and headed indoors, trembling head to toe all the while.
Right now, Ji Muqing was still sitting obediently in the marital chamber. She had no idea how long she had already been waiting, but it was long enough for her shy anxiety to be completely erased. Why is he not here yet? Did he drink too much?
There were probably too many visitors wanting to congratulate him. He must still be busy greeting them one by one, Ji Muqing consoled herself. Her mind was filled with all sorts of possibilities.
Creak! Someone pushed the door open. At that moment, Ji Muqing’s mind was a complete blank. Her hands were curled into fists as she bit her red lips; even her breathing started to pick up.
“My Ladyship?” It was Cailan’s voice.
Eh? Ji Muqing was confused. “Where is His Highness?”
“His Highness…” She stuttered haltingly.
Ji Muqing felt something was wrong. Her heart clenched in anxiety. She wanted to take off the veil on her head, but resisted the impulse as the matchmaker had said that Prince Yi had to take it off personally. She pressed, “I said, where is His Highness?”
“His Highness… is not coming.” Cailan shrank back.
“What?” Ji Muqing’s mind was in a complete mess.
Cailan walked over, wringing her hands tightly and voice trembling in fear, “His Highness just sent a message to say that he won’t be coming and asked Your Ladyship to… rest early.”
Ji Muqing thought that she had heard wrongly. She asked again, “Repeat that again. What do you mean that His Highness won’t be coming?”
“Your servant isn’t sure either. Maybe… His Highness drank too much and is unable to come.” Cailan spoke very softly, fearing that a single wrong word would result in a vicious thrashing for herself.
However, Ji Muqing insisted, “He will come. He definitely will come. You go out, I want to wait here for His Highness.”
“Your Ladyship…”
“Scram!”
Cailan ran out with that shout and softly closed the door.
Under the veil, Ji Muqing’s eyes turned red, her fingers tightly clenched together. Her nails sank deep into the flesh of her palms.
That night, she sat there for the whole night, alone in an empty room.
She waited till daybreak, but he still did not come.
At dawn, Cailan brought in a basin of clean water. She arrived just in time to see Ji Muqing raise a hand to slowly pull down her red veil. That piece of cloth slid slowly from her fingers onto the floor. A gust of wind crumpled it into a messy bundle.
Ji Muqing’s bloodshot eyes were weary and listless.
“Your Ladyship?” Cailan was worried.
Ji Muqing scoffed, twin tear tracks trailing from her eyes. “Why must you humiliate me like this?”
“Your Ladyship, please don’t be so upset.”
She grit her teeth and choked out, “On our wedding night, you left me alone in an empty room. What wrong did I commit for you to humiliate me like that? It was Jing Yi who said he wanted to marry me, but why did he then toss me aside like this?”
Ji Muqing suddenly stood up, her eyes growing redder. She yanked the beaded hair sticks out from her hair and flung it onto the ground. The string holding the beads together snapped and the beads rattled on the floor as they scattered.
Just like how her heart had been shattered into pieces.
Prince Yi’s Consort! What a glorious title! It was a position that everyone envied and one that she, Ji Muqing, had obtained! But why did they give it to her only to humiliate her?!
Cailan kneeled on the floor, not daring to make a single sound.
Ji Muqing rushed out of the room, intending to find Jing Yi. However, even before she left her courtyard, she was stopped by a woman.
This woman was called Chen Xiang, daughter of the Minister of Revenue. She had married Jing Yi as his side consort a few years ago. She is a very beautiful woman that is as coquettish and seductive as a fox spirit; even her eyes looked like that could squeeze out tears on demand.
“Where is Younger Sister going?” Chen Xiang’s voice was as coy and delicate as her face.
Younger Sister? Ji Muqing had indeed heard that Prince Yi’s household included several beauties. “Who are you?”
“Younger Sister had just entered the household. Could it be that you didn’t know that Prince Yi has a side consort?”
“You?”
Chen Xiang tittered behind her handkerchief and looked up at her, “Younger Sister had just married in - why are you running around, still wearing your wedding finery? Shouldn’t you be inside washing up? Where are you going? The estate is so large - be careful not to lose your way!”
Ji Muqing was instantly fired up. She glared, “Just who are you calling Younger Sister?”
“Eh? What’s wrong, younger sister?”
“You shameless piece of trash! I’m Prince Yi’s lawfully wedded Consort. How dare a mere side consort like you dare to call me ‘younger sister’?!”
Chen Xiang had long heard rumors about how the new Consort was extremely bad-tempered, arrogant, and self-righteous. However, now it seems like she clearly is just a clown. She didn’t get angry, but merely replied, “According to the rules of Prince Yi’s estate, you entered the household after I did, so naturally you’re the younger sister.” [2]
What an insult! Ji Muqing first had to endure spending her wedding night alone, and now there was this woman that kept calling her ‘younger sister’. Her anger instantly ignited an inferno as if someone had set a match to oil. “Scram!” She shoved the woman in front of her aside, and rushed off to look for Jing Yi.
Right now, Jing Yi was reading two lists of names sent over by the Hanlin Academy. This was the list of names from the latest Imperial Examinations.
Dou Quan remarked, “Your Highness, the Emperor has decided on the Tanhua, but not the Zhuangyuan or the Bangyan. His Majesty wanted to first seek the opinion of Hanlin Academy.”
He looked at Shang Zhuo and Lin Shu’s names. “What are these two peoples’ backgrounds?”
“They are both students of Mingshan Academy. The one called Shang Zhuo came from a poor family and a clean background, has a calm disposition, and the ability to replicate anything under the sun. As for Lin Shu, he is more impulsive. He argued with someone and almost started fighting in the exam hall the night before the Court Examinations. His character is rather outspoken, but if we wanted to use him, I’m afraid he would likely create trouble.”
Jing Yi smiled and picked up Lin Shu’s name booklet. “Him then. You go draw him over, but be discreet about it.”
“Yes.”
With the current situation, even though Jing Yi was in a strong position, it was still very important to rope in the new officials to his faction.
[1] Ok shittalk over lol. Wasn't expecting JY to have such a... vivid description of excrement.
[2] TLN: Remember status is linked to age and generation. This entire piss-fight is about who has more power in the household - the one who came first or the one with the title.