Chapter 26 Counterfeits
"Didn't you say that woman angered the prince? Why did the prince take her out with him?"
In a private room on the second floor of the restaurant, Ji Yunwan questioned Chi Zhu with a livid face.
Last time, it was Chizhu who told her that Yao Youqing had angered Wei Hong, which made her convinced that those hurtful words must not have come from Wei Hong's mouth.
But today the gatekeeper told her that Wei Hong took Yao Youqing out to play. Doesn't that mean that what Chizhu said last time was a lie, and that Wei Hong really did say those things?
Knowing that she had just been humiliated by the gatekeeper, Chizhu quickly said, "Miss Ji, don't listen to their nonsense. The Prince didn't take her out to play at all!"
She lowered her voice and whispered in her ear, "The prince actually took her with him to suppress the bandits!"
"Suppressing bandits?"
Ji Yunwan's anger only intensified.
"Do you think I'm easy to fool? Why bring her along on the bandit suppression?"
"Keep your voice down!"
Chi Zhu said, "I overheard it while they were preparing things! The servants of the Yao family were muttering about danger while packing their things, and they were all very reluctant. They even mentioned bait."
"I bet... the prince is using the princess as bait to lure out those bandits!"
Ji Yunwan remained silent for a moment, half believing and half doubting.
"Even if it's bait, the Prince's mansion has other maids, why send her?"
Chi Zhu chuckled lightly: "Miss Ji, do you think this is some kind of cushy job? The person chosen might lose their life!"
"The prince went directly to the princess instead of sending anyone else, doesn't that mean... he doesn't care about the princess's life?"
Ji Yunwan fell silent again, and Chizhu continued, "Think about it, if the prince truly liked her, why would he take her to do something so dangerous? Perhaps..."
Her voice was even lower, almost inaudible: "Maybe he just wants to take this opportunity to get rid of the princess!"
Although Chizhu had served in the Prince's mansion for many years, she had always worked in the inner courtyard and rarely got close to Wei Hong. She only had some self-righteous understanding of Wei Hong, and was completely unaware of his official affairs, relying entirely on her own guesses.
Ji Yunwan was unaware of these things. Although she had doubts, she was more inclined to believe this explanation.
It wasn't that she wanted to comfort herself like this, but it was just that it hadn't been long since Wei Hong and Yao Youqing got married, and she knew that he had a long-standing feud with Yao Youqing's father, Yao Yuzhi. In addition, she had personally witnessed how good Wei Hong was to her sister... and to her.
Furthermore, this girl named Chizhu also has her own desires, so there's no reason to lie to her again and again.
But whether it's true or not, she doesn't have much time left...
"I'll believe you for now," Ji Yunwan said. "Where did they go to suppress the bandits, and when will they be back?"
"I don't know about that."
Chizhu answered.
“It involves military intelligence, so those people in the front yard wouldn’t dare to say anything. I estimate that even the princess herself doesn’t know exactly where she’s going to suppress the bandits until she gets there.”
"However, when it comes to bandit suppression, we naturally have to wipe out the bandits before we can return, which will take at least some time, right?"
Ji Yunwan frowned slightly, calculating the days in her mind, her expression not very pleasant.
Her father hadn't received any news from her for a long time and had already sent someone to inquire, but she hadn't replied yet. Her father was afraid he would be unhappy, but... if Yao Youqing really died! Then the position of Princess Consort would be vacant.
If that's the case, it's worth waiting!
She saw Chizhu off and prepared to return to Lintong. Panxiang noticed that she was in a bad mood and said to her, "Miss, why don't you wait a moment before going back? Why don't you take a walk around the neighborhood? You'll be staying here permanently anyway, so it'll be good for you to get familiar with the place first!"
The last sentence successfully pleased Ji Yunwan, who nodded and went downstairs with her for a walk in the neighborhood.
As the two walked, they arrived at the street where the pastry shop was located.
Ji Yunwan looked up and saw the words "the princess's favorite snacks," and her expression immediately darkened.
"He actually likes to eat this kind of street food, and now everyone knows about it. How embarrassing!"
She whispered.
Panxiang nodded in agreement: "Anyone who didn't know better would think that the prince was mistreating her and not preparing meals for her!"
Ji Yunwan snorted coldly and was about to look away when she noticed that there seemed to be other words on the banner, as if they had been added later and were written in a small size because there wasn't enough space.
She went closer and took a look, and was surprised to find that the two words were "Your Highness".
Put together, it means "the snacks that the prince and princess love to eat".
A surge of anger rose instantly, and Ji Yunwan's face darkened: "How dare you make fun of the Prince!"
She went inside with the incense coils, pointed to the signboard outside, and said to the shopkeeper, "Who gave you permission to hang something like this at the door? Take it down!"
The shopkeeper looked puzzled: "What's wrong?"
As he spoke, he peeked outside, thinking there was something else hanging at the entrance of his shop.
Ji Yunwan said, "The prince is a member of the royal family, a nobleman. Why would he like to eat your food? Who gave you the audacity to use his name to attract business for yourself!"
Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper's face also darkened.
"How can you talk like that, young lady? Why can't the prince like the food here? Not only does he like it, he even came to buy it himself! He even bought some for the princess to take back!"
"If you don't believe me, ask the neighbors. Didn't the Prince come here a few days ago? Didn't he buy a lot of snacks before he left?"
He spoke with such conviction that he almost spat on Ji Yunwan's face.
Ji Yunwan's face turned from pale to ashen, and she murmured softly, "Impossible..."
"Why not?"
The shopkeeper grew increasingly agitated and decided to stand on the street corner: "Everyone, come and judge this! This young lady says the prince doesn't like my pastries! And she insists I take this sign down? Why should I? I've had it hanging here for so long and no one has bothered to stop me, not even the prince and princess have asked me to take it down, so why should she ask me to?"
Neighbors gathered around, and many more were passersby who came to watch the spectacle.
Among them was the woman who had met Wei Hong at the shop entrance. After hearing the whole story, she stepped forward and said, "Old Li didn't lie. The prince really loves his pastries. I happened to run into the prince when I came to buy some that day, and he said it himself!"
When Cui Hao spoke that day, Wei Hong did not deny it. Not denying it was the same as admitting it, and admitting it was no different from saying it himself. It was the same for the people.
After the woman finished speaking, someone else chimed in, "That's right, I saw it too, the prince bought several bags of pastries!"
"That's right!" the shopkeeper said. "His Highness knows that the Princess Consort loves to eat this, so he specially bought extra for her to take back with her!"
"I even secretly slipped two extra pieces in there!"
The shopkeeper said the last sentence very quietly, so that only he could hear it.
Amidst the din of voices, Ji Yunwan's face turned deathly pale. Pan Xiang nudged her several times before she reacted, stiffly turning her head around.
"Miss, let's leave here! There are getting too many people!"
A large crowd gathered at the entrance, chattering amongst themselves in a chaotic and noisy atmosphere.
"Who is this guy? Why is he meddling so much?"
"You must be from out of town? I've never seen you before."
"She looks like a vixen; she's definitely no good!"
Various voices crowded into Ji Yunwan's ears, filling her head completely, while at the same time, the doorman's repeated arguing and mockery echoed in her ears.
Knowing full well that she was the second young lady of the Ji family, why did they dare to treat her like this?
Even if the prince doesn't see her now, he will eventually see her. Aren't they afraid she'll complain?
Or do they know it's useless for her to complain? Because... because the prince simply doesn't care about her?
If she cared, why wouldn't she remind them not to neglect her?
If he cared, Shangchuan was his fiefdom, and Hucheng was so close to Lintong, so why didn't he send someone to find her?
Even if she was reserved and didn't leave her address, if he wanted to find out, wouldn't he be able to?
She finally realized the various things she had overlooked, and a chill ran through her. She didn't even know how she got into the carriage. When she came to her senses, she was already outside the gates of Hu City, far away from there...
In an inn on the border of Shangchuan, Cui Hao briefly explained their plan to Yao Youqing.
"I see!"
After listening, Yao Youqing said, "We will sell some rare treasures, antiques and paintings at low prices under the pretext that we are on the run and do not have enough cash. When those bandits hear the news, they will know that we have a lot of treasures and then they will come to steal them."
"Once they take the bait, we'll follow them and wipe them all out!"
The young woman made an accurate summary.
Cui Hao smiled and nodded: "Yes."
After saying that, he asked again, "Is the princess afraid?"
Yao Youqing shook her head, then nodded slightly: "A little, but don't worry, I won't desert my post."
Although his voice was soft, his tone was firm, and his slightly immature face showed a solemn expression.
Cui Hao smiled again and said that this time she would address Wei Hong as brother and sister.
"Although those bandits have never seen the prince, they know his age very well. In addition, the late emperor's bestowal of a marriage upon the prince has already been announced to the world. It's possible that they have also found out your approximate age, Your Highness."
"If you appear together as a couple, they might be more cautious and not take the bait."
"Therefore, Your Highness will need to make a slight change of appearance this time to look older. As for Your Highness,..."
He looked at Yao Youqing: "That's fine."
She looks like a young girl, and there's not much that can be changed. Moreover, if the changes are too drastic, the princess will have to adjust her own behavior accordingly.
She is simple-minded and not good at these things, which makes it easy for others to see through her.
After he finished speaking, Yao Youqing paused for a moment for some reason, then turned to look at Wei Hong, and finally nodded: "Okay."
Seeing that she had no objections, Cui Hao had the treasures that he planned to "sell" brought in, so that she could take a look and remember some of them, lest the bandits be wary and she be clueless about her own possessions when they questioned her.
Yao Youqing walked over and carefully wrote it down in her mind. When she saw one of the pastoral pictures, her gaze suddenly stopped.
"This... won't work."
She said.
"...Why not?"
Cui Hao asked.
Yao Youqing looked troubled, glancing at him and then at Wei Hong, remaining silent for a long time.
Cui Hao understood and led his men out.