The document is clear to the world

Chapter 6

I tried to find evidence that Lu Li was lying, not wanting to admit that I had made wild guesses and lost face.

"Yesterday, Seventh Master was going back to fetch Your Highness, but the banquet ended early, and by the time we arrived, you were already gone. Consort Ding then asked Seventh Master to stay overnight, saying that he had drunk some wine and been exposed to the wind, and his headache would probably be worse the next day, so it would be better for him to go to sleep first. Master woke up early this morning and rushed back without even drinking any hangover soup."

I waved him away, but my face felt even hotter.

It seems he's still a reasonable person; I thought he was so confused... that he lost his composure.

That night, I leaned against the bed, thinking about my fourth sister-in-law's words: how to manage this household, how to be a proper and respectable principal wife. Should I take him a concubine? I wonder what his opinion is? If I don't take a concubine, what else can I do? I thought and thought, and my head was throbbing with worry.

I opened the window and saw his silhouette clearly reflected in the study across the street, lit by an oil lamp. He was holding a book in one hand and gently rubbing his head with the other. I suddenly remembered that he hadn't had any hangover soup that morning, so his head must have been aching all day.

I called Liu Shang over and said, "Go and get some gastrodia elata, honey, and sophora flavescens from the kitchen."

Liu Shang glanced sideways slightly. "Gastrodia elata? Princess, are you having a headache again?"

"It wasn't me." I gestured with my chin towards the other side. "I made sweet soup and sent it over to the guy across the street."

After a while, Liu Shang brought it over. "Princess, please take it in yourself."

This girl is deliberately making things difficult for me.

I stood at the door with a tray in my hand, and laughter could be heard coming from inside. Just as I was wondering whether I should go back, Liu Shang knocked on the door for me and pushed me inside.

I stood awkwardly at the door. Yi Ling was taken aback when she saw me, then curtsied and bowed to me.

Lu Li glanced at her, and she forced a smile, saying to Lu Li, "Then I will go down first and wait for you in the room, sir."

Yiling picked up the tray from the table. I looked at the bowl with a few spoonfuls of bird's nest soup in it. She seemed to think I had come to deliver a late-night snack. She stopped beside me and smiled slightly. "Your Highness, what should we do? His Highness has already eaten."

After she finished speaking, she stepped out of the house and closed the door behind her.

Lu Li returned to her desk, absentmindedly picking up her book, muttering, "Thank you for your trouble, Your Highness, I've already eaten."

I smiled with relief, picked up the tray and walked over, saying, "This isn't a midnight snack, it's medicine."

He stared blankly as I opened the lid.

"This hangover soup won't work tonight, so I'll cook this. Drink it and go to sleep. I guarantee the pain won't be there tomorrow."

How did you know?

I smiled and said, "Fourth Master seems like a man who only cares about big things, but I didn't expect him to be so meticulous."

"Fourth Brother..." Lu Li murmured, a faint smile on his face, "He has taken care of me since I was a child."

"Drink it while it's hot," I said, handing it over.

He paused for a moment, then took it and drank it with gusto.

"Thank you." He took the handkerchief and wiped his mouth. I smiled; this was the first time he had said something properly polite since I married into the family.

I stared at him, lost in thought. "Although I disdain being your wife, I have tried my best to be the Princess Consort of Ning. I know that being a daughter-in-law of the royal family is all about saving face, and I have tried my best to get along well with my sisters-in-law and not be gossiped about. But since I am giving you face, please also give me face in public, even though I did not rightfully take the position of Princess Consort of Ning."

Before he could speak, I beckoned the servants to come in.

"Turn off the lights in the study. The master has just taken his medicine and wants to take a nap. You all help him go to the second madam's room."

I stopped looking at him, picked up the tray from the table, and walked out.

Chapter Six: The Crown Princess's Suffering

These past few days, I've been reorganizing all the affairs of the manor, both inside and out, and drastically abolishing several old rules. Lu Li spends his days either holed up in his study or wandering around; I rarely see him. Even when he returns, I'm focused on the account books and bills.

My sixth sister-in-law asked me several times to go out and buy a wedding gift for my ninth brother's wedding. I couldn't refuse, so I agreed.

I sat in Deshunzhai, drinking tea and waiting.

Several ordinary people were chatting and laughing nearby.

"I heard the Emperor is going to bestow another title upon the Crown Prince's daughter," the burly man said in a gruff voice. "Guess which minister's daughter it will be."

"It couldn't possibly be your daughter, a butcher," someone nearby said with a laugh.

I felt like laughing too. I took a sip of tea.

"I heard... the Crown Princess is going to be replaced?"

The moment those words were spoken, my heart skipped a beat.

"I heard that... the Crown Prince's birth mother is not satisfied with the Empress's daughter-in-law and is asking Luo to personally find a more suitable one for the Crown Prince. It seems that even the Emperor has tacitly approved of this."

Just as I was about to lean closer to hear the general outline of what had happened, someone came down from the second floor. He was dressed in a blue cloth robe, in his early twenties, with a handsome face and a faint radiance between his brows. His expression was calm and serene, revealing no emotion.

I watched with amusement as he steadily walked down the stairs, followed by a young woman. Like any girl her age, she had a beautiful face and a flowing purple-red dress as she descended the stairs.

Lu Li walked ahead, with Xi Wen following closely behind. When they reached the entrance of Deshunzhai, Lu Li called the driver to take Xi Wen away. As they parted, Xi Wen grasped his hand, saying something with tears in her eyes. Lu Li remained calm, his eyes deep and unfathomable, still as a pool, as deep as the sea, as he simply looked at her.

After saying goodbye to Xi Wen, Lu Li got into the car behind, and the car hurriedly drove through the streets, getting further and further away.

Sixth Sister-in-law arrived soon after. She wandered around the shops on the Eighteenth Street, but didn't find anything I liked. She, however, bought quite a lot.

After strolling around for an hour or two, they said goodbye at the South Market and returned to their respective residences.

"Your Highness has returned so early today." Upon returning to the manor, as I passed through the main hall, I happened to see Yiling leading Zhen'er and Lu Li in eating snacks. Yiling smiled at me, nodded, and asked.

I stood to the side, not wanting to disturb the happy scene of the family of three at the table.

Yi Ling stood up and made room for Lu Li next to her. "Why don't you have some afternoon tea too? I was just talking to Master about finding a tutor for Zhen'er."

I glanced at the little figure sitting next to me, smiled, and walked over without sitting down. I placed the brocade box in my hand on the table. "I just happened to bring some snacks for Zhen'er. You can eat them too. I'm afraid I'll have too much food stored up. I'll go for a walk in the back of the courtyard."

Yi Ling thanked him and opened the brocade box, casually remarking, "Oh, it's from Deshunzhai, this is a good thing."