Chapter 43: Pursuing the Husband Across a Thousand Miles

Behind Gu Xuezhi stood her other maidservant, who hurriedly said upon hearing this, "Princess."

"You don't need to persuade me. There are some things I have endured for a long time, and today I must have a word with the Princess."

Qiuming raised her eyebrows and was about to speak when Yin Jiaojiao preempted her: "Madame Sun, please say whatever is on your mind."

"Good," Gu Xuezhi said desolately. "To say nothing of the distant past, let's talk about the recent events. The Prince's lifelong foundation has been ruined overnight. In the current predicament, Prime Minister Yin's relentless pursuit has made an invaluable contribution, and the only reason the Prime Minister was able to smoothly intervene in this Qingzhou bribery case is entirely thanks to that assassination. Princess, those four women were the ones you desperately begged to bring in, and that banquet was one you single-mindedly organized to push them forward. One might even say that taking that blow for him was your bitter-pith trick! As for that betrayer, Xialan, whether she truly betrayed him or if it was a case of Zhou Yu beating Huang Gai, it really makes one suspicious!"

"Madame Sun, is your imagination not a bit too rich?" Yin Jiaojiao said speechlessly. "Whatever my father has done is merely the duty expected of a Prime Minister. Those beauties were bestowed by Consort Shu, and I had no say whatsoever in their origins. As for that banquet, Madame Sun, it was your birthday celebration. It doesn't matter if you don't appreciate it, but to splash dirty water so smoothly—does that do justice to the bellyful of sage books you've read? And as for Xialan."

Yin Jiaojiao sneered. "How long she has been colluding with you is something you know in your heart. Anyway, the Prince trusts you, and there is nothing I can do about it. But there are no outsiders here; you don't need to put on that ignorant and naive act. It's utterly sickening."

Gu Xuezhi was stunned for a moment, then let out a light, cold chuckle.

"The Princess says I'm putting on an act, but aren't you also putting on a foolish and dazed facade in front of others to coax the Prince?" Gu Xuezhi stepped forward. "Yin Jiaojiao, the Prince and I are childhood sweethearts and should have been a pair. It's fine enough that you brazenly wedged yourself between us without a shred of guilt, but you even had the audacity to fight me for him. You blind and foolish idiot, having won his person, you still insisted on winning his heart, only to suffer grievances and torment? You thoroughly deserved it. Even if you were to drop dead right this second, it could never repay the tears I have shed all these years!"

Indeed, she dropped the act entirely, revealing her true self—as genuine as a vengeful ghost who had suffered an unjust death a hundred years ago, filled with an overwhelming, all-encompassing resentment.

Yin Jiaojiao was baffled. Aside from being unable to marry her, Xiao Yuanchi treated Gu Xuezhi far better than he treated her, his legitimate wife. Why on earth was there such deep resentment?

She was stunned into silence for a moment.

Gu Xuezhi likely realized her demeanor was inappropriate and caught her breath. "Seventh Brother is a good man. Even if he doesn't love you, having married you, he feels bound to look after you, and in the face of crisis, he sent you away first. So be it; go and hide in your carefree refuge. I only hope your conscience is at peace."

Yin Jiaojiao smiled faintly, refusing to show weakness. "My conscience is naturally at peace. My husband protects and shields me. If this is considered not being loved, Madame Sun, then I truly don't know what love is. I am utterly joyful, and I will steadily wait for his return so that he may rest assured as well."

Gu Xuezhi clenched her silver teeth tightly, and after a long moment, let out a cold laugh.

"The Princess has always been able to dig sugar out of such trivial details and is most skilled at deceiving herself. Xuezhi admires that."

She curtsied and strode away aggressively.

Qiuming huffed. "If she were to show this kind of face in front of the Prince, he would surely be disappointed and never pay her any mind again."

"..."

Receiving no response, Qiuming asked curiously, "Princess?"

The Princess snapped back to her senses and gazed down the winding path leading to the study. After a long while, she murmured, "She was provoking me, hoping I wouldn't accept this arrangement, wasn't she?"

Qiuming thought about it. "Sounds like it."

"This time, the Prince's demotion indeed stems in part from my father's actions. Outsiders might not say much, but what the Prince's men think in their hearts is hard to say. Hearing her speak like that, I would naturally feel utmost resentment, absolutely unwilling to submit to his arrangements, and would scheme to accompany him to Liangzhou."

"But the Prince would certainly not let you take risks, resulting in a fierce argument. You would feel that the Prince doesn't understand your good intentions, and you would... you would be jealous, thinking he refused to take you along simply so he could be reunited with Madame Sun." Qiuming became more and more certain as she analyzed. "My, what a vicious and insidious trick! Fortunately, you saw right through it, Princess!"

Yin Jiaojiao felt no joy from having seen through the plot; instead, she was filled with even more doubts. Qiuming's deduction made complete sense and matched her actions in her past life without a single deviation.

Back then, she had set off on a thousand-li journey to chase her husband amidst that exact kind of indignant agitation, stepping step by step into disaster.

Thinking about it in reverse now, if this deduction were correct and she truly had fallen into a trap back then... had she really fallen into it before? When did she fall into it? And amidst those successive traps, were her thoughts regarding Xiao Yuanchi ever truly correct?

The questions circled round and round, only leaving Yin Jiaojiao feeling even more vexed.

Noticing her strange expression, Qiuming cautiously asked, "Then, Princess, will you accept the arrangement?"

"What do you think?"

"I think..." Qiuming paused. "You should just do as the Prince tells you to do. You suffered a great ordeal at your birthday banquet; hiding out in a temple in such eventful times is entirely reasonable. No one in the estate will dare gossip, and even outsiders will simply think that as the Prime Minister's daughter, choosing to avoid suspicion in such a dilemma is quite smart. Thinking about it that way, the Prince's arrangements make a lot of sense."

"..."

"As for Madame Sun," Qiuming said with a smile, "if I may be so bold as to say something inappropriate, I increasingly feel that the Prince does not treat Madame Sun as well as outsiders imagine. Rest assured, even if the two of them go to Liangzhou together, the Prince would never abandon you. Besides, absence makes the heart grow fonder; perhaps the next time you meet, things will be even better between you two?"

She was right. As long as she didn't take the bait, the tragic ending wouldn't fall upon her. Today, she would go bid farewell, put on a graceful facade, and peacefully accept Xiao Yuanchi's arrangements. A bright future was right before her eyes—did she really need to worry whether he lived or died?

There were plenty of others to worry about him.

Yin Jiaojiao nodded and said, "Let's go."

Passing through the bamboo-lined path, the view suddenly opened up to reveal the exquisitely eaves-drooped Chenzhou Study.

By then, it was already dusk, with evening glow filling the sky. People said that sunset glow foretold clear skies the next day, and surely her departure would go smoothly as well.

Yin Jiaojiao asked the guards standing watch at the entrance, "Is the Prince in?"

"Reporting to the Princess, he is."

"Announce me."

The guard acknowledged the order and went inside, returning shortly after.

"Princess, the Prince says..." He hesitated. "It is already late. If the Princess has matters to discuss, please speak of them tomorrow. If there are any items to deliver, you may hand them to this subordinate to take inside."

It wasn't as if Yin Jiaojiao had never been rejected by Xiao Yuanchi before, but for some reason, this time felt exceptionally difficult to accept. Having not seen each other for two days, with parting imminent, Xiao Yuanchi couldn't even bother to put up a pretense. How strange—he was all selflessness and anonymous good deeds when it came to her, yet he could see someone else every single day without ever complaining that it was too late.

"What is the Prince doing right now?"

The guard apologetically replied, "Princess, this subordinate does not know."

It wasn't that he didn't know; rather, he wasn't allowed to tell her.

Yin Jiaojiao was already feeling blocked with anger, and this only made it worse. Qiuming hurriedly persuaded, "Princess, why not just hand the things over to him? Tomorrow when you set off, the Prince will surely come to see you off, and you'll be able to see him then."

The guard chimed in eagerly, "Yes, yes, exactly."

Yin Jiaojiao stared at the tightly shut doors, then glanced up at the sky, which hadn't even had time to turn completely dark.

"Go back in and tell him that this Princess insists on seeing him today!"

She said loudly, "If he refuses to see me... I will... I will..."

She looked around, hardened her heart, and declared:

"I won't leave this spot!"