On the third day after Yao Youqing's wedding, he left Hucheng under the pretext of visiting his master on behalf of the young lady. The steward of the Prince's Mansion wanted to send several Jingyuan soldiers to accompany and escort him, but he refused and only took two or three servants from the Yao family with him.
The steward assumed he was worried that Yao Yuzhi would be unhappy to see the Jingyuan Army, so he didn't insist. In any case, the prince had given very clear instructions before he left: the princess and the others could do whatever they wanted and just follow the arrangements; they didn't need to worry about anything else.
But Ding Shou refused because he was afraid that the Jingyuan Army would be too vigilant, and those who wanted to get close to him with ulterior motives on the road might not have a chance.
His main purpose in returning to the capital this time was to test the person in the palace and to tell the master about the pills.
If we alert the enemy too early, it might not be good for the master and the princess.
Sure enough, just as he was not far from the capital, and was only four or five days away from arriving, someone secretly sneaked into his room under the cover of night.
The man quietly opened the letter Yao Youqing had written to Yao Yuzhi, quickly read it through, and then searched the room as if looking for any other letters. Finding nothing, he left silently.
After he had been gone for a long time, Ding Shou suddenly opened his eyes, his back already covered in a layer of cold sweat.
Two days later, Yao Youqing's letter to Yao Yuzhi appeared on Wei Chi's desk. He scanned it from beginning to end and asked, "Is that all? Are you sure there's nothing else?"
Liu Fu replied, "No, I have carefully questioned the person who copied this letter, and he confirmed that he copied it word for word without any mistakes. The steward surnamed Ding and the other servants of the Yao family also have no other letters with them, only this one. As for the pills, they have not been found either."
Wei Chi knew Yao Youqing well. If she really knew something, the letters she wrote to Yao Yuzhi would either be very flustered or very neat.
The panic stemmed from the eagerness to tell his father about the matter, while the neatness revealed his deliberate concealment of it, knowing that the letter would be intercepted.
But the content of the letter was very natural, entirely in Yao Youqing's usual tone, with the novelty of arriving in a place she had never been before, and the reassurance that she was doing well to Yao Yuzhi.
"How could she possibly be doing well..."
Wei Chi looked at the letter and murmured to himself.
"The King of Qin and Grand Tutor Yao are sworn enemies, so how could he possibly treat her well? She must have been wronged."
Liu Fu said, "Miss Yao has always been understanding, so naturally she wouldn't write such unpleasant things that would worry Grand Tutor Yao."
Wei Chi's fingers gently stroked the letter paper, as if it were written by Yao Youqing herself.
"Keep an eye on it. I want to see every single letter she writes to Grand Tutor Yao."
"yes."
Liu Fu agreed and bowed before leaving.
Chapter 16 Visit
"How could she possibly be doing well..."
Upon seeing the letter before her, Yao Yuzhi, with tears in her eyes, uttered the same words as Wei Chi.
"The King of Qin and I are sworn enemies, how could he possibly treat her well? Ning'er must have been wronged."
Ding Shou laughed and said, "It's not that she's wronged. The princess is enjoying herself and is doing very well. She even wants to change the garden to look like our Yao family garden. Construction had already started when I left."
Upon hearing this, Yao Yuzhi's expression changed drastically: "No!"
Ding Shou paused for a moment: "Why not? The prince has never been to our residence before, so he can't tell."
Yao Yuzhi's face turned pale. She dismissed everyone else in the room, leaving only Ding Shou inside. After the door closed, she whispered, "He...he came!"
...
News of Yao Yuzhi and Ding Shouguan's private conversation in the room quickly reached the palace. Wei Chi frowned, but relaxed slightly when he learned that Yao Yuzhi had taken the initiative to have someone leave, rather than Ding Shouguan having given the order.
What did they say?
He asked in a deep voice.
Liu Fu replied, "I don't know what was said after the door was closed, but before the door was closed, Steward Ding said that Miss Yao wanted to change the back garden of the Prince Qin's mansion to resemble the Yao family's garden. Then Lord Yao's expression changed drastically, he said no, and had someone go out and close the door."
Wei Chi understood, and his brows relaxed completely.
"I know what they're going to say."
The official announcement at the time stated that Consort Shu followed Emperor Gaozong's will and drank poisoned wine in Xuanjing Palace to be buried alive with him, but the Prince of Qin must have known the real story.
Not only did the King of Qin know this, but he also secretly returned to the capital and, on a cold winter night, quietly sneaked into the Yao residence, nearly killing Yao Yuzhi.
Unfortunately, by the time the late Emperor Wei Feng found out, it was too late. The Prince of Qin had already returned to his fiefdom, and it was no longer possible to detain and execute him on the grounds that he had not been summoned back to the capital. Once he returned to his fiefdom, no one could do anything to the Prince of Qin.
Therefore, the King of Qin had actually visited the Yao residence and likely knew what the Yao residence garden looked like.
If Yao Youqing were to remodel the garden to resemble the Yao residence, the King of Qin would surely be displeased if he recognized it.
Yao Yuzhi was worried that her daughter would anger the King of Qin, so she closed the door and told Ding Shou about it.
Wei Chi guessed correctly; Yao Yuzhi did indeed intend to tell Ding Shou about this matter. However, after he finished speaking, Ding Shou took the opportunity to tell him about what happened to Yao Youqing on her way to Shangchuan.
"I was just thinking about how to talk to you about this privately without the eyes and ears of the household. Luckily, you took the initiative to dismiss the others, otherwise I really wouldn't know how to find a suitable opportunity."
As Ding Shou spoke, he took out a sealed wax pill from his hair bun and pried it open in front of Yao Yuzhi.
"These are the pills that His Majesty gave to the Princess Consort when he came to say goodbye on the eve of her departure from the capital."
Just from those one sentence, Yao Yuzhi was stunned, her face showing shock.
The pills Wei Chi gave to Yao Youqing were for her to take on the road. How did Ding Shou manage to bring them back from so far away, and in such a discreet way?
Without him needing to say anything more, he had already guessed that something was wrong.
When Ding Shou explained everything, Yao Yuzhi's face turned deathly pale.
He gripped the corner of the table tightly with one hand, stood up abruptly as if to shout, but the words he was about to utter were swallowed back down his throat.
Don't shout, don't shout... otherwise people outside will hear.
Yao Yuzhi's knees buckled, and she collapsed to the ground, her forehead pressed against the floor, tears splashing onto the floor. She pounded her fists with her hands, but dared not make a sound, and each time she was about to hit the ground, she would stop herself.
"I have served the court my whole life! I entered officialdom at the age of sixteen and have been in office for decades... I have never dared to slack off for a moment... Is this the result I have received?"
His wife and children were already dead, and his only daughter had been sacrificed by the late emperor and married off to Shangchuan.
He understood the late emperor's intention, and even though he was so angry that he fainted, he couldn't bring himself to refuse.
But now the emperor he serves, the child he watched grow up, the student he personally taught, is trying to poison his daughter, his only daughter!
Yao Yuzhi roared inwardly, her whole body trembling, the veins on her forehead bulging from excessive endurance, and the bloodshot eyes almost overflowing.
Ding Shou couldn't help but shed tears. He reached out to help him up without wiping them away, and whispered, "Master, Master, you mustn't get hurt! Miss is counting on you!"
Yao Yuzhi understood perfectly well. Just as she was about to faint, she bit her tongue hard to clear her mind.
If he had fainted while closing the door and talking to Ding Shou, Wei Chi might have guessed what they were talking about, and he certainly wouldn't have allowed him to live.
With his death, Ning'er will be heartbroken, and Wei Chi might become even more ruthless in trying to get rid of her.
Yao Yuzhi stood up slowly, trembling, wiped away the tears in her eyes, and sat down in a chair to calm her breathing.
He couldn't stay alone in the room with Ding Shou for too long, otherwise it would arouse suspicion.
"Go back today. Don't mention the pills to Miss. Just let her... let her stay like this, knowing nothing."
Knowing this will only increase your worries and won't do you any good.
As a father, he failed to recognize His Majesty's true colors and should have stopped their interactions earlier.
He failed to find her a good marriage and watched helplessly as she married the King of Qin.
Now... he can only try his best not to cause her any trouble, and not let her worry about him from thousands of miles away.
Ding Shou understood, composed himself, opened the door, and turned to bow to Yao Yuzhi.
Yao Yuzhi nodded, waved to him with a worried expression, and said in a voice that everyone could hear, "Go quickly, and whatever you do, don't let the princess turn the palace garden into something like ours."
Ding Shou agreed and hurriedly left with the same group of people who had come with him, without lingering at the Yao residence for even a moment longer.
The servants of the Yao family were confused, but Wei Chi in the palace felt that this was only natural.
According to reports from Shangchuan, the King of Qin left Hucheng on the second day after his wedding. Ding Shou will definitely make Yao Youqing stop and change the garden back before he returns.
He didn't take it seriously, simply having someone keep an eye on him, completely unaware that Yao Yuzhi had already learned of his actions.
...
On the same day that Ding Shou arrived in the capital, another person also arrived in Hucheng.
The man sat in the carriage, lifted the curtain, and looked at the large characters "Qin Wang Mansion," a smile gradually spreading across his lips.
She has already sent a visiting card in, and she expects someone to come and greet her soon.
Although it was somewhat impolite to visit so abruptly, she believed that the prince would not turn her away.
A moment later, someone came out with her visiting card and said, "Miss Ji, the Princess invites you in. This way."
Ji Yunwan's smile froze: "Your Highness?"
“Yes,” the man said, “The prince has left on business and is not in the manor. It is estimated that he will not be back for another month or so. Now, the princess is in charge of all matters in the manor.”
"I just handed over your visiting card, and the Princess said she would like you to come in."
Ji Yunwan's fingers, which were resting on the car window, tightened. All the anticipation and joy in her heart vanished.
She came to see the King of Qin, not the Queen of Qin.
Being welcomed in by someone sent by the prince is completely different from being welcomed in by someone sent by the princess.
Ji Yunwan didn't want to go at the time, but she had already sent a visiting card, and it would be impolite not to go if she was invited, and the purpose would be too obvious.
Moreover, the servant's words, "Nowadays, the Princess Consort makes all the decisions in the mansion," really stung her ears.
Didn't they say that the prince didn't like that woman at all? Why would he treat her like a princess and even let her be the mistress of the palace?
Ji Yunwan smiled and nodded to the person: "Then I will go and see the Princess."
The other person paused for a moment, then chuckled and led the way without saying much, only turning their head away and pursing their lips where she couldn't see.
What does "Then I'll go see the princess" mean?
You arrived without even giving any notice, and the princess was already being kind enough to see you, yet you acted as if you were condescending to see her.
The man outwardly welcomed the person in with respect, but inwardly he was cursing.
Ji Yunwan's carriage entered through a side gate and drove for a while before stopping.
She got out of the car and entered the inner courtyard with Panxiang. The guide here was someone else, not the same person from the front courtyard.
After walking for a while, she realized that something was wrong with the palace. There were craftsmen and laborers everywhere, and there were signs of construction everywhere she went. Although it was mostly completed, it was clear that it was not yet finished.