Mistakenly Treated The Princess As A Concubine - Chapter 21

When Wen Zhuojin came out, it was already the fourth watch of the night.

One hand was pressed against her growling stomach, while the other hand rubbed her temples.

“Miss, would you like something to eat?” Jin Rui, ever diligent, had not yet gone to bed and asked, seeing the worry in Wen Zhuojin’s eyes.

The young lady, who was usually pampered, was now serving others and was not treated well. This made Jin Rui feel somewhat uneasy.

But the young lady seemed content, so Jin Rui, as a servant, couldn’t say anything.

“Yes, I’m starving,” Wen Zhuojin immediately replied.

“Please wait, Miss,” Jin Rui quickly went to the kitchen to warm up food for Wen Zhuojin.

By the time Wen Zhuojin took a sip of water, steaming hot food was brought over.

“Jin Rui, you are the most thoughtful. You worked hard today, staying with me so late. I’ll double your monthly allowance,” Wen Zhuojin said, smiling at the food being served.

“Miss, you’ve worked hard. Please eat while it’s hot,” Jin Rui said, her expression pausing for a moment before she spoke.

Wen Zhuojin didn’t say much more and began to eat.

The lamb soup with wontons was fresh and warm, and Wen Zhuojin had two bowls. Her stomach was finally satisfied.

But her mouth was still hurting, so she inhaled sharply between bites.

“Miss, be careful not to overeat. It’s time to sleep,” Jin Rui said, watching Wen Zhuojin eat a lot with some concern.

“It’s fine, I can’t sleep yet. I’ll go to the incense workshop to check. You should go to sleep soon, just leave someone to guard the night,” Wen Zhuojin replied.

She stood up to leave, and Jin Rui quickly followed her.

“Your lips must be treated, Miss. Don’t delay it any longer,” Jin Rui hurriedly said.

“I know, I’ll apply it now,” Wen Zhuojin said.

The ointment Zheng Qianqin prepared for her wounds didn’t smell very good, but it worked well.

Her mouth hurt a lot, so she had to endure the unpleasant smell for now.

In the incense workshop, Wen Zhuojin applied the ointment to her lips. After working for a while, she noticed it was almost time and stood up to check on Yan Qinglan.

She had exerted herself earlier and was now sleeping soundly.

Wen Zhuojin got closer to sniff and then left, heading back to the Marquis’ residence.

She wasn’t sure what the Marquis’ residence would arrange in the coming days. If they came looking for her and couldn’t find her, and they knew she had climbed the wall to leave, it could cause trouble.

On her way back to the Marquis’ residence, Wen Zhuojin noticed that there were still quite a few officers on the street.

It seemed they hadn’t found what they were looking for yet.

With so many officers around, Wen Zhuojin’s return took much longer than expected.

When Wen Zhuojin reached the outer wall of the Marquis’ residence and was about to climb over, she saw a young servant-like boy.

He was one of her cousin Wu Yuanheng’s attendants.

Wen Zhuojin was somewhat surprised. Since their last meeting, Wu Yuanheng had stopped contacting her. Today, this person came to find her—was something wrong?

“What are you doing here? What’s happened?” Wen Zhuojin asked as she approached.

“Miss, this is from Young Master. He instructed me to give it to you, and told me to remind you to burn it after reading.” The young servant handed Wen Zhuojin a letter.

“Wait a moment. I’ll read it first, and let you know what to reply,” Wen Zhuojin said as she immediately opened the letter.

“The second young master of the Cheng family has poor character and is violent in nature. He has hurt people in the military and was stripped of his official position. If his family comes to propose a marriage, find a way to delay it. Do not engage with him. I’ll find someone to help you reject it.”

The letter contained only a few short lines.

After reading it, Wen Zhuojin felt grateful that Wu Yuanheng still remembered her. She also recalled the true purpose of yesterday’s banquet.

She almost forgot—Madam Hou had brought her there to meet someone for marriage.

Both Madam Hou and her own father were not particular about marriage proposals for her.

Even if the other party had good character, Wen Zhuojin could not agree.

Wen Zhuojin thought for a moment, then took out a charcoal pen and paper from her bag. She quickly wrote a message, folded it, and handed it back to the young servant.

“Tell my cousin to focus on his studies and prepare for the imperial exams. He doesn’t need to worry about me. I’ll handle my own affairs. If I can’t, I’ll ask him for help,” Wen Zhuojin said to the young servant.

The young servant quickly responded and took the reply from Wen Zhuojin back to Wu Yuanheng’s residence.

Yesterday, Wu Yuanheng had encountered the second young master of the Cheng family drinking with others. He overheard the man boasting about marrying the second daughter of the Jing’an Marquis, so he casually inquired about the man.

After hearing some rumors about him, Wu Yuanheng couldn’t sleep all night, thinking about how to help Wen Zhuojin deal with this trouble.

Now, Wu Yuanheng was preparing to seek help from others when he saw the young servant returning.

“Cousin, I’m planning to entrust my life to the Heavenly Goddess, and let her make the decision. No one else can decide for me. Rest assured,” the young servant relayed Wen Zhuojin’s message.

Wu Yuanheng was momentarily stunned upon reading Wen Zhuojin’s words.

What did it mean to entrust her life to the Heavenly Goddess?

Although the young servant passed on Wen Zhuojin’s message, Wu Yuanheng still felt uneasy.

Meanwhile, back at the Marquis’ residence, others from the Qinfang Pavilion noticed the injury on Wen Zhuojin’s lips. She could only say it was a small accident.

“Don’t go out again tonight. Look at your lip—it’s swollen and nearly left a scar,” Nanny Jiang said worriedly.

“Nanny, it’s not a scar, is it? I’m so tired. I need to sleep for a while,” Wen Zhuojin yawned carefully, trying not to disturb the injury.

She was really exhausted. Wen Zhuojin took a nap until Nanny Jiang came to wake her up.

“Madam Hou is asking for you to go to Chunhui Pavilion. I bribed the little maid who talks, and she said two matchmakers came this morning, along with a few madams. I guess, after yesterday’s banquet, things were settled, and they’re here to propose today. But why are there so many of them?” Nanny Jiang muttered as she helped Wen Zhuojin up.

Wen Zhuojin was still groggy. She washed her face to feel a bit better.

After washing up, combing her hair, and changing her clothes, some time had passed, and now they were urging her again.

“Nanny, I’ll go take a look first. Don’t worry,” Wen Zhuojin reassured Nanny Jiang as she was urged to hurry. She got into the sedan chair and headed toward Chunhui Pavilion.

At this moment, the situation in the front courtyard was chaotic, with several groups of matchmakers arriving.

Originally, only the engagement with the Cheng family had been confirmed, and it was agreed that the official matchmaker would be invited. But unexpectedly, two official matchmakers showed up today, along with a third-rank titled lady helping another family with their proposal. So, in total, there were three families.

Madam Hou was completely thrown off balance.

Wen Zhuojin had only attended the banquet for a short while yesterday, and now so many families were interested!

This was a problem.

And she couldn’t afford to offend any of them.

The only thing she could do was to turn to the Jing’an Marquis to make the decision, figuring out which family had more to offer to him.

The Jing’an Marquis was aware of the situation but couldn’t openly offend anyone.

He had agreed to what the matchmakers said—that Wen Zhuojin should choose.

But where is there a rule that a daughter can choose for herself?

If he let them choose, he wouldn’t know who to offend, as he couldn’t afford to upset anyone.

Madam Hou had originally thought that she could control Wen Zhuojin through the marriage arrangements and dowry, but now the proposal had turned into a complete mess before even being properly discussed.

Just as Madam Hou was feeling anxious, Wen Zhuojin finally arrived.

Naturally, Wen Zhuojin didn’t directly face the suitors. Instead, Madam Hou called her to another warm chamber to talk.

“Azhuo, today, several families came with proposals. I called you here to ask which one you like. One of them is the third young master of the Huai’an Marquis family, who is eighteen this year…” Madam Hou began introducing the suitors to Wen Zhuojin.

Wen Zhuojin furrowed her brows as she listened.

Yesterday, she had treated those people as potential future clients, being friendly and helping them analyze the incense, letting them try the incense products she had brought, hoping that one day when they wanted to buy incense, they would come to her.

But who would have thought they’d come with marriage proposals!

Well, rejecting one is rejecting one, and rejecting a few is still rejecting.

“Azhuo, look, which one do you think is better?” Madam Hou asked, looking at Wen Zhuojin after speaking.

“Madam, alas, this is not something I can decide. This matter should be decided by Heavenly Goddess,” Wen Zhuojin sighed and said.

“Why should Heavenly Goddess decide?” Madam Hou asked in surprise.

“It’s like this, Madam, take a look at this. This is the invitation I received from Jing and Immortal Sister yesterday. It’s an invitation to the Incense Competition held by Heavenly Xuan Palace, where many of the Immortal Masters from Heavenly Xuan Palace will be in attendance. If I perform well, I could be accepted as a registered disciple and from then on serve Heavenly Goddess. As for marriage, it naturally needs to be decided by Heavenly Goddess.” Wen Zhuojin took out an invitation and said.

Madam Hou carefully looked at the invitation, her expression changing slightly.

This was just an invitation; how could it guarantee that she would serve Heavenly Goddess in the future?

“If I am not chosen, then fine. But if I am chosen, my lifelong marriage will naturally be decided by Heavenly Goddess. Everything should wait until the Incense Competition is over. If a decision is made beforehand, it would be disrespectful to Heavenly Goddess,” Wen Zhuojin said, looking serious and very devout.

In reality, she was making full use of that vague and ethereal concept of the Immortal.

“That’s indeed the case. Well, I’ll return and tell those people,” Madam Hou could only say.

“Thank you, Madam, for helping me navigate this,” Wen Zhuojin said with a smile.

Madam Hou left with a complicated expression.

With Wen Zhuojin’s deep interest in the art of incense, how much of an impact could she possibly make at the Incense Competition held by Heavenly Xuan Palace?

Countless people participated every year; could she truly catch the eye of the Immortal Masters through this?

Madam Hou wasn’t sure and didn’t dare to offend.

After all, Wen Zhuojin had managed to form a close connection with Jing and Immortal Sister yesterday.

After Madam Hou left, Wen Zhuojin didn’t stay in the warm room any longer.

She returned to Qinfang Pavilion and explained the situation to Nanny Jiang and the others.

Currently, many people believe in Heavenly Goddess, but there are few unmarried women who enter Heavenly Xuan Palace to become female disciples.

This is because Heavenly Xuan Palace has strict requirements, and once you join, your marriage will be decided by Heavenly Xuan Palace, meaning Heavenly Goddess will decide.

The only way to secure this position, apart from donating enough incense money, is to participate in the Incense Competition and become a registered disciple.

“May Heavenly Goddess bless, Miss, you must pass this trial,” Nanny Jiang, who was devoted to Heavenly Goddess, said, both excited and worried.

In Nanny Jiang’s view, having Heavenly Goddess decide the marriage is more reliable than having Madam Hou and others decide.

She worried that Wen Zhuojin might not pass the trial at the Incense Competition and wanted to pray more to the statue of Heavenly Goddess.

Seeing Nanny Jiang so devout, Wen Zhuojin didn’t want to disturb her.

As for the outcome of the Incense Competition, Wen Zhuojin wasn’t entirely sure.

When it came to the incense materials, Wen Zhuojin wasn’t afraid.

It was just that she wasn’t sure about the preferences of the other female disciples participating. Yesterday, she had learned a bit from Jing and Immortal Sister, but she still didn’t know if the incense she made would match their tastes.

Regardless, she had to prepare properly.

Wen Zhuojin had breakfast at Qinfang Pavilion, looked at her incense notes for a while, and when no one arrived, she changed clothes and went out to Wujiao Alley.

Wujiao Alley had many incense materials, and the incense-making room there was spacious.

Moreover, Yan Qinglan was there.

She wasn’t sure when Yan Qinglan’s addiction might act up, so she had to keep an eye on her.

By the time Wen Zhuojin arrived at the house, Yan Qinglan had already woken up.

Dressed in her nightwear and leaning against the headboard, Yan Qinglan’s damp eyes lacked focus, giving her a somewhat confused and uneasy look.

Seeing her in this state, Wen Zhuojin inexplicably had a mischievous thought.

She wanted to tease her.

“She hasn’t eaten breakfast yet, and I don’t know what’s wrong,” Jin Rui said to Wen Zhuojin.

Wen Zhuojin told Jin Rui to go down first, and she brought the hot porridge over.

“Why aren’t you eating? Are you afraid I’ll poison you? I’ll feed you now, and if you don’t open your mouth, I’ll bite you instead. I always keep my word,” Wen Zhuojin said, deliberately speaking in a somewhat fierce tone as she approached Yan Qinglan.

Upon hearing Wen Zhuojin’s voice, Yan Qinglan immediately felt warmth by her lips and the fragrance of rice.

Yan Qinglan paused for a moment, then parted her lips, allowing the spoon to deliver the porridge into her mouth.