Chapter 39
When Yaoying returned to the wangfu, people up and down the residence found their courage and came to her questioning what she would do.
The housekeeper of the inner courtyard came to report: “Princess, those concubines in the rear court have been making trouble all afternoon! I also caught some maidservants who were stealing from the residence. The prince is gone, and they are afraid they will be sent to Jiaofang1, so they want to leave the residence, crying and looking for death. No amount of persuasion has helped.”
The chief historian said angrily: “As concubines and maidservants, they should behave themselves. If they make any more noise, they will all be tied up and sold!”
Yaoying stopped the chief historian: “People flee in the face of disaster. Something has happened to my second brother and they are afraid of being implicated. That is human nature.”
She called for all the housekeepers.
“Order it down to whoever wants to leave the residence: pack your clothes, go to the front courtyard to get your slave contract from the housekeepers, then take your things and go.”
Everyone looked at each other.
Yaoying repeated it once again and said, “If you all want to leave, you can also leave on your own. You have served my second brother for a long time. You have done your best, and nothing has ever gone wrong. Don’t leave empty-handed; go to the account room to get a reward before you leave.”
Everyone’s faces flashed with shame. They choked with sobs and kneeled down.
“Princess, this slave will not leave! This slave will stay to protect the princess!”
They were reduced to slaves in the midst of the war. The Second Prince and the princess took them in so that they could keep their lives and be clothed and fed in these troubled times. Now that the wangfu was in trouble and they nevertheless selfishly abandoned the princess, they really would have no face to face the princess!
Yaoying shook her head: “The wangfu may not be able to shelter you. If you have other places that can take you in, there is no need to linger. Pack your things and leave.”
The order was passed down, and the outer courtyard and inner residence were filled with sorrowful cries.
The servants felt guilty, but they were afraid that staying in the wangfu would endanger themselves, so they quietly packed their bags and left.
The housekeepers destroyed everyone’s slave contract in public view and gave each of them a reward, saying, “The princess has ordered someone to destroy the records with the officials, so let’s go our separate ways.”
The people took the reward money, crying their hearts out. They turned in the direction of the main hall, kowtowed, and left falteringly.
In the inner courtyard, several concubines of Li Zhongqian’s also cried a lot and bid farewell to Yaoying.
It took until the latter part of the night for the wangfu to quiet down.
Those who could leave, left, but in the end there were still many people who stayed. None of the personal guards left.
Xu Biao stood in front of the main hall’s steps, looked at the sparse inner courtyard servants, and spat: “Those bastards! Ungrateful. They don’t recognize your good intentions! Why did you let them go? In my opinion, we should tie them up and break their legs, so that they can see the consequences when they betray your trust!”
Yaoying looked at him and said, “Since they have no intention to stay, there is no need to force them. If we keep them, it will only bring trouble, so why not send them away as soon as possible, so they can make their own living and the residence can be peaceful.”
The people who were willing to stay at this time were the ones who were truly loyal to Li Zhongqian and her.
Xu Biao thought carefully for a moment, and indeed this was the truth. He scratched his neck and did not say anything.
Yaoying ordered the housekeeper to prepare horses, rations, and other things for her.
When she finds out where Li Zhongqian had been ambushed, she will set off.
The chief historian hastened to dissuade her: “Princess, do you really intend to go to the battlefield? You are delicate, and you are a girl. How can you go to such a dangerous place!”
Outside the window, a jade disk was hanging high, and the moonlight was dense.
Yaoying had been busy all day. Her face was haggard, and her curling gold bracelet was hanging loosely on her arm under her wide sleeves.
“If my second brother is still alive, I will stay in the capital to wait for him and not go anywhere. If my second brother is really gone, no matter where I go, it will be dangerous. The sword has no eyes but one can still escape. A human’s heart is dangerous, how can I deal with it? What is there to fear on the battlefield?”
The best and worst outcomes, she had already thought them through. She was prepared for either.
She would not leave her second brother’s corpse alone in the wilderness.
The chief historian sobbed: “You are a golden branch and jade leaf2!”
The princess was pampered and spoiled since childhood, the Xie family’s granddaughter, and the Li family’s princess. The Second Prince met with trouble and no one cared about the princess. Instead, they all stayed farther away. Did the emperor’s heart really have no father-daughter love at all?
Yaoying laughed: “A golden branch and jade leaf, a dragon son, a dragon grandson. In the eyes of His Majesty, all are not worth mentioning.”
Li De was worthy of being the Son of Heaven. Objective, calm, and rational—he had all the ruthlessness and calculations that an emperor should have. In his heart, only Li Xuanzhen, born to Tang shi, was his son. The other children were just products of marriage, ready to be sacrificed at any time for his greater good.
She recognized this long ago and never expected a bit of fatherly love from Li De. She treated Li De as a monarch.
The night passed, and the personal guards poked around for news.
Yaoying stayed up all night and it was only before dawn when she was able to close her eyes for a bit.
The wangfu’s personal guards entered the courtyard with nervous faces and informed: “Princess, this servant has found some suspicious-looking Hu people.”
The chief historian was so angry that he trembled: “Chief Yelu still has not given up!”
Xu Biao immediately rose up, grabbed his long blade and headed out, “Laozi3 will go slaughter them!”
“Stop!” Yaoying shouted, stopping Xu Biao, “They are only acting suspicious. If you kill them, the Yelu tribe will have an excuse to come to our door and pester us.”
Xu Biao’s face turned purple. He humphed a few times and went back to the house with his long blade in his arms.
Xie Qing said in a low voice, “Your Highness, the Hu people’s evil intentions haven’t died down. I can kill them quietly.”
Yaoying shook her head.
“More than one group of people are watching the wangfu right now.” She bowed her head, her fingers lightly stroking the curling gold bracelet on her wrist, “The Yelu tribe’s people, Princess Fukang’s people, the people from the Eastern Palace…. You can’t kill them all. No need to pay attention to them now.”
Xie Qing answered yes.
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Buy me a kofi for faster releases.
I wonder if I should make a glossary for TMBM. I’ve planned on making a character list—though TMBM isn’t as character heavy as some ancient novels—I’m still unsure whether I need a glossary. I think it might be helpful for all the idioms mentioned.
1 Jiaofang is a brothel of sorts where women of prominent families get sent when their family has committed a crime. In this novel, it seems that any woman can be sent there.
2 Mentioned previously but it basically means noble birth (directed towards imperial family specifically).
3 Laozi: arrogant way to refer to oneself. Literally, it means ‘I, your father’. I might’ve used the translated version previously.