Free Web NovelChapter 205: Chapter 205: Thoroughly Awakened, Wedding Night
Leading the group was the very same man from Xijin who had mistaken her clinic for a tavern and stumbled in last time.
His silver-gray eyes, tinged with blue, held an empty yet pure gaze that was unforgettable.
Ji Qingwu went downstairs first.
The man pushed open the window and watched her retreating figure for a long time before leading his men out.
She arrived at the entrance of Anle Hall once again.
After the little eunuch knocked, he handed Granny Cao a pouch of silver taels even larger than the day before. This time, Granny Cao said nothing, simply opening the door to let Ji Qingwu enter.
She had changed back into the drab, gray clothes and, with her head lowered, hurried past the palace maids doing laundry.
Familiar with the way after her first visit, Ji Qingwu no longer needed Granny Cao to guide her and slipped into the room on her own.
Pushing the door open, she saw Tao Wanxin in the same spot as before, leaning against a cabinet and weaving a decorative knot.
Her skin still looked sallow, but her complexion had improved somewhat.
Tao Wanxin only looked up when Ji Qingwu drew near. Her eyes brightened. "I was wondering about that lovely fragrance just now. It turns out you’re here."
"What are you doing, Princess Consort?"
Ji Qingwu gazed at the dark green silk thread wrapped around her fingers.
Tao Wanxin said, "The knot on the jade pendant my mother left me came loose. I’m re-tightening it."
She pulled the new knot tight. "Perhaps it is my mother’s spirit in heaven. Knowing he is headed for hell, she feels comfort and wants to ease my heart."
Ji Qingwu sat down beside her and said, "Lord Tao has been ordered to be beheaded. The execution will be carried out at noon tomorrow."
Tao Wanxin burst out laughing. She laughed and laughed until tears filled her eyes, yet she wasn’t as frenzied as she had been the day before.
She clutched the knot in her palm and looked outside. "The afternoon sun is so bright. It’s a shame this room faces east, so none of this beautiful light can shine in."
Ji Qingwu offered her the handkerchief she carried, but Tao Wanxin didn’t take it. Instead, she casually wiped the tears from her chin with her sleeve.
"I appreciate the gesture, but I am here in Anle Hall. Using such a fine silk handkerchief would only serve as a reminder of my former life."
Ji Qingwu said, "The Princess Consort won’t be here forever. There’s an opportunity now, but it depends on whether the Princess Consort can seize it."
Tao Wanxin finished threading the jade pendant onto the knot and placed it under her pillow.
She turned to her and said, "Qingwu, I know you mean well, but you don’t have to try and persuade me."
"Others may see me suffering here, but I know in my heart that only here have I known a few days of peace. No one from the Tao family has come to see me. You have no idea how relieved that makes me feel."
Ji Qingwu said, "The Princess Consort could go for a walk. Though confined to Anle Hall, there is no rule saying the Princess Consort must be confined to this room."
Tao Wanxin gazed through the window at the sunlight on the squat, withered tree in the courtyard.
Ji Qingwu could tell she wanted to go out. "I’ll accompany the Princess Consort to get some sun. It’s good for the baby."
Before they could leave, they heard a fierce argument erupt outside. From the window, they could see several palace maids from the laundry area arguing with Yin Xiang.
Taking advantage of their numbers, the palace maids splashed dirty laundry water on Yin Xiang and pelted her with unwashed garments.
Seeing this, Tao Wanxin walked out. "What are you doing? Stop!"
A palace maid said, "Oh my, if it isn’t Princess Yong. Should we be kneeling to welcome you?"
The taller one next to her said acidly, "Yes, what have we done to deserve the honor of eating and living with the noble Princess Consort? Even her little handmaid is so arrogant."
Tao Wanxin asked, "What has she done to deserve this from you?"
The palace maid said, "We’re just teaching her some manners. She dared to splash dung water at our feet. Her heart is so filthy, we’re helping her wash it clean."
Yin Xiang didn’t dare to yell at the palace maids, but she had no problem screaming at Tao Wanxin.
"What are you doing out here! Doesn’t the Princess Consort know why they’re picking on me? It’s because I’m your handmaid! They’re taking all their anger toward you out on me!"
Ji Qingwu stood at the doorway, watching them.
Tao Wanxin said calmly, "Yin Xiang, I haven’t done anything. Why do you direct your anger at me?"
"It’s because you do nothing!"
Yin Xiang was soaked to the bone, water dripping from her hair. She said furiously, "You watch them ostracize and bully me, you just stand by and do nothing! It was the same in the Prince Mansion! You watched as concubine after concubine was brought in, but you refused to give me a chance!"
Tao Wanxin: "You..."
Yin Xiang retorted, "What kind of Princess Consort are you! The Prince grew tired of you long ago. That’s why you’re the laughingstock of the whole city!"
She grew bolder with every word. "So what if you were the firstborn daughter of the Tao family? The Tao family’s estate was seized! Now you’re just as worthless as I am!"
Watching Tao Wanxin being lectured by the handmaid who had grown up with her like a sister, Ji Qingwu worried she might faint from anger or be overcome by a fit of rage.
Tao Wanxin stared at Yin Xiang for a long moment before speaking. "I never realized this is how you’ve always seen me. It must have been difficult, pretending for so long."
She took a step forward. "So, was the master’s bed easy to climb into? Did the Prince say he would grant you a formal title?"
’She had heard it all clearly from the doorway—how Yin Xiang had tearfully begged Prince Yong, complaining about how difficult her life was here.’
’Yin Xiang had wanted to leave long ago. It was only because Prince Yong told her to stay that she was willing to remain with her useless mistress.’
Tao Wanxin’s breath was ragged, but her voice was strikingly clear.
"You say my life is worthless, but even if I were to die right now, I would still be Princess Yong, and I would be buried in the Imperial Family’s mausoleum."
"And you? You will waste away and die here, only to be rolled in a straw mat and tossed into an unmarked grave."
Yin Xiang snatched up the unwashed chamber pot at her feet, raising it as if to hurl its contents at her.
Tao Wanxin calmly stroked her belly and said fearlessly, "Go ahead, if you have the nerve. You know how much the Prince values this child. If anything were to happen to it, what do you suppose the Prince would do?"
Yin Xiang’s body trembled, whether from the cold of her wet clothes or from the terror of Tao Wanxin’s words, it was impossible to say.
A smile touched the corners of Ji Qingwu’s lips. ’How could there ever be true peace in Anle Hall?’
’Princess Yong needed a slap in the face from the person who was once closest to her to finally wake up.’
’In a situation like this, if she didn’t save herself, no one could truly save her.’
When Tao Wanxin turned, she saw Ji Qingwu standing in a shaft of light, her face seemingly gilded, the smile on her lips holding the warmth she had been longing for.
Back inside the room.
Tao Wanxin was the first to speak. "Qingwu, what was that opportunity to leave this place you mentioned earlier?"
"Before we discuss that, I need the Princess Consort to tell me everything, holding nothing back."
Tao Wanxin nodded.
Ji Qingwu asked bluntly, "Who are they?"
Tao Wanxin suddenly shuddered, her eyes trembling uncontrollably.
Ji Qingwu said, "I already know about Mr. Tao’s... particular tastes."
"You know?" Tao Wanxin clasped her hands together tightly, trying to force herself to calm down.
"Princess Consort, did he ever force you to do anything? Was he the one who..."
Tao Wanxin bit her lip and shook her head. "He wasn’t that much of a monster. He wouldn’t lay a hand on his own daughter."
Then, her voice trembling, she said, "But he was worse than a monster. He... he once sent me to someone else."
At that time, she was only ten years old.
Her mother had died when she was very young, and her stepmother was neglectful of her upbringing, so she didn’t understand anything.
Until the night she married Prince Yong...
