Chapter 9: Petty
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Hearing the probing intent behind his words, Pei Heng laughed aloud.
“You came all this way to tell me this because you want me to join you and serve the Crown Prince—to become one of his lackeys?”
Fu Shi had not expected him to be so blunt. He gave a light cough. “If the Eldest Princess marries into the State of Pan, you will have no choice but to return to the Shen family.”
“If you pledge yourself to the Crown Prince and work for him, he will take care of everything concerning the Shen family.”
Pei Heng took a step forward and ran the tip of his tongue along his palate. “I have no interest in getting involved in your sordid affairs.”
“Even without the Eldest Princess as a shield, I am not so desperate that I would become anyone’s lackey.”
With that, he raised his hand and slid his long sword into its sheath. “Vice Minister Fu, you may leave. I will not be accompanying you.”
Watching the man walk away, Fu Shi lowered his head slightly, his entire face sinking into shadow.
…
The following noon, the snow finally stopped.
A blanket of white covered the entire Princess’s Residence.
Burdened by worries, Jiang Ning had not slept a wink the previous night.
Seeing the haggard look on her mistress’s face, Chun Zhi handed her a bowl of bird’s-nest porridge and said, “Your Highness, yesterday I heard the maids in the rear courtyard say that you quarreled with Vice Minister Pei again.”
“In my opinion, Vice Minister Pei simply refuses a toast until he is forced to drink a forfeit.”
“Why don’t I have him sent to the water prison and let them teach him a proper lesson? Once he has suffered enough, he will naturally become obedient to you.”
At that, Jiang Ning was so startled that she coughed. “Perhaps not. He is, after all, one of the men in my household. I cannot treat him too harshly…”
Ridiculous.
The villain was so sinister and vicious—how could she possibly afford to provoke him?
If she sent him to the water prison today, she would not live another three years.
Seeing how strangely her mistress was behaving, Chun Zhi looked puzzled. “Your Highness, when did you become so softhearted? Normally, you would have had him dragged to the water prison and beaten without mercy.”
“Were not the three men in the Princess’s Residence all beaten into submission by you?”
Meeting Chun Zhi’s bewildered gaze, Jiang Ning nearly choked to death on her bird’s-nest porridge. “How many times did I beat them before?”
Chun Zhi counted carefully on her fingers.
“Vice Minister Pei was beaten thirty-eight times, Vice Minister Fu eleven times, and Vice Minister Mu twenty-nine times…”
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Realizing how cruel the former Eldest Princess had been, Jiang Ning felt utterly unwell.
For a moment, she could almost imagine herself being torn apart by five horses…
Sensing that something was wrong with her mistress, Chun Zhi asked softly, “Your Highness, what is the matter?”
Jiang Ning wiped the cold sweat from her brow and brushed it off casually. “Nothing. I just suddenly feel a little cold.”
Hearing that, Chun Zhi hurriedly handed her the warming brazier nearby.
“I will have them burn more charcoal later. You should not go out for the next few days.”
Jiang Ning accepted the brazier and instructed her, “Tonight, have the steward send several extra quilts to the three of them.”
“Also, make sure they receive the finest charcoal and clothing.”
Chun Zhi suppressed her shock and replied cautiously, “Your Highness, the monthly allowance for our Princess’s Residence is not very large. If we send charcoal to all three of your gentlemen, there will be none left for you.”
Her words left Jiang Ning completely stunned.
She was the dignified Eldest Princess, yet she was actually this destitute?!
Was that even reasonable?
After a long silence, Jiang Ning asked in a small voice, “Um… how much is my monthly allowance?”
Chun Zhi lowered her voice. “Have you forgotten? Your monthly allowance is only one hundred taels.”
“That hundred taels must cover your food and clothing for the month, as well as the wages of everyone in the residence.”
“By the end of every month, the Princess’s Residence is always in dire financial straits.”
Jiang Ning rubbed her forehead and waved a hand. “All right, I understand.”
“Just pretend I never said any of that.”
Since she could not curry favor with the three men, she might as well not bother.
She had so little charcoal to begin with—how could there possibly be enough to divide among them?
Those three were grown men with rough, sturdy bodies. It was only right that they endure a little cold.
…
That night, after returning from an errand outside, Pei Heng asked the guards stationed at the entrance—a rare occurrence indeed:
“Did the Eldest Princess come by today?”
The guard shook his head. “No.”
Hearing the unexpected answer, Pei Heng asked again, unwilling to give up.
“Then did she have the steward send anything to me?”
It was so cold today. Surely she would send him some charcoal and clothes.
After all, in previous years, Jiang Ning had always done so to win the favor of the three of them.
The guard shook his head again. “No.”
Pei Heng had not expected Jiang Ning to disregard him so completely. A rare, darkly sinister expression appeared on his face.
“She did not come, and she did not send anything. Surely she at least sent someone to pass along a message!”
The guard clasped his hands and hurriedly said, “The Eldest Princess did indeed send a message.”
Pei Heng raised his brows, a secret delight stirring in his heart.
“What did she say?”
The guard lifted his eyes and enunciated every word. “The Eldest Princess said that the residence is running short of charcoal, so you and the other two gentlemen will have none.”
Pei Heng was so furious that he nearly laughed.
Jiang Ning really was stingy.
Then again, on closer thought, the Princess’s Residence did seem to be perpetually short of money…
The amount of silver Jiang Ning possessed had never exceeded one hundred taels.
After pondering for a long while, Pei Heng said with feigned indifference, “There is still plenty of golden-thread charcoal from the cart my merchant caravan delivered a few days ago.”
“Take some of it and secretly send it to the residence’s storeroom.”
After saying this, he added, “Remember, no one must find out about this.”
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