The Prince Consort Is Also Pretending To Be Affectionate Today - Chapter 42

42

The moon hung above the willow tips, its silvery glow veiled by dark, ashen clouds, casting an air of mystery.

Inside the room, wisps of fragrance curled from a gilded octagonal incense burner, the cool, minty scent invigorating and refreshing.

From a distance, Shadow One discreetly observed his master’s expression.

The woman behind the desk set down a thin sheet of paper and picked up her brush again. “Who told you to deliver it?”

“A man… assisting the Prince Consort.” Shadow One replied after a moment’s thought.

Silence lingered for a while.

“If she loves frequenting such places, let her be.”

Her emotionless words dissipated like smoke in the air. Based on Shadow One’s years of experience, he could tell the Princess was likely in a foul mood.

Thus, he stood in place, awaiting her orders.

After a long pause, Shen Zhuwan said nothing, only scribbling on the paper with a soft rustle.

Shadow One’s lips parted slightly. “Then, this subordinate will take his leave.”

No response.

Unable to discern her expression, Shadow One hesitated, unsure whether to stay or go.

“Flower Filled Pavillion, Room 1.” Shen Zhuwan finally spoke, her voice cool and devoid of emotion. “Bring the Prince Consort back.”

Shadow One’s heart tightened. He bowed. “Yes.”

“Jinxi,” Shen Zhuwan called out shortly after Shadow One left, setting down her brush. “Prepare some sobering soup.”

“Yes.”

Jiang Nanyu, who had been waiting on the rooftop for half the night, didn’t see Shen Zhuwan. Instead, she was met by a man with an expression as blank as a statue.

Her eyes widened as she watched him hoist Ji Rongjin over his shoulder like a sack of goods. Unable to stay still, she blocked his path at the door, sizing him up. “Who are you? Do you know the person on your shoulder?”

Shadow One recognized her as the one who had spoken to him from afar earlier. Calmly, he said, “Half an hour ago, you asked me to deliver a letter to the Princess.”

“Oh—” Jiang Nanyu felt a pang of regret. She hadn’t expected the Princess to stay away. Sighing, she waved her hand. “Alright, you can go.”

As Shadow One stepped forward, Jiang Nanyu suddenly called out, “Wait, wait, wait! I just remembered something.”

Shadow One stopped and turned, only to have a chaotic pile of items shoved into his hands.

Looking down, he saw they were pouches and handkerchiefs.

During his confusion, the short “man” in front of him flashed a brilliant smile. “Almost forgot. These are gifts from the girls at the horse track today, meant for Brother Ji. He didn’t want them, but it’s not right for me to keep them either. Please take them back and give them to him when he wakes up.”

Shadow One: “…”

His gaze lingered on the “man” with a subtle look, but he said nothing, merely tucking the items away. “Anything else?”

Jiang Nanyu shook her head, but as he turned to leave, she emphasized again, “Don’t forget, those are gifts from the girls for Brother Ji.”

Shadow One: “Understood.”

If the Prince Consort faces trouble tonight, you’re likely a big reason why.

Jiang Nanyu, blissfully unaware, burst into laughter after Shadow One left.

Perfect. The pouches and handkerchiefs she’d painstakingly embroidered over the past few days finally found a home.

Her laughter faded into a frown, followed by a sigh. Being with someone like the Princess, Old Ji was bound to have a tough time ahead.

In the study.

Shadow One cautiously recounted what had happened while retrieving the Prince Consort, then glanced at the small pile of pouches and handkerchiefs in his hands. “Princess, how should these be handled?”

Shen Zhuwan’s gaze lingered on the pile for a long moment before she looked away, her voice indifferent. “Naturally, send them to the Prince Consort.”

“Yes.”

Shadow One carried the items and swiftly arrived at Ji Rongjin’s quarters.

Candlelight flickered inside, and Shadow One heard noisy voices from within. He spoke briefly with the maid at the door and waited outside for permission to enter.

Soon, the maid signaled him to come in. Shadow One kept his eyes lowered, and as he walked further in, the two voices grew clearer.

“I can’t drink anymore, I don’t want to—”

“Prince Consort, this isn’t wine. It’s sobering soup. Drink a little, and you’ll feel better tonight.”

“No, I’m tired. I want to bathe and sleep…”

Shadow One quietly approached the bed, where he saw a helpless Dongmei and a Prince Consort clutching the quilt, refusing to let go.

With a glance, he noticed the glint of tears in the youth’s eyes, as if she’d just been crying.

Without a ripple of emotion, he set down the pile of items, spoke briefly to Dongmei, and turned to leave.

Walking through the Princess’s estate, Shadow One gazed at the hazy moonlight above, inexplicably reminded of the youth who had stood on the bridge for so long that day. Lost in thought, he ran into Shadow Two. He paused. “Ah…”

The woman passed him without expression, and Shadow One’s words faltered.

After a moment, he glanced at her retreating figure, then turned toward the Princess’s study.

“The Prince Consort refused the sobering soup?” The woman’s brow furrowed slightly, and then, as if realizing something, her eyes flickered toward Shadow One.

Shadow One’s gaze wavered, and he lowered his head.

“This Princess understands.” Shen Zhuwan said, her voice cooler. “In the future, just do what you’re supposed to do.”

“Yes.”

In her drunken haze, Ji Rongjin heard voices buzzing around her like flies, chanting, “Dalang, take your medicine, Dalang, take your medicine.” She insisted she couldn’t drink anymore, but the flies wouldn’t relent.

So she buried her head in the quilt, covering her ears tightly. Finally, the noise quieted down.

Though the voices faded, another sound grew louder—a buzzing in her head like thousands of needles piercing her eardrums, making her head throb and her stomach churn.

She shook her head hard, trying to silence it.

As she struggled, the sounds outside the quilt vanished in an instant, replaced by a steady chorus of “Princess.”

Miraculously, the moment she heard that word, her muddled mind cleared for a brief second, as if a gong had rung beside her ear, dispelling the annoying buzz and sending her heart racing.

She opened her eyes, lips pursed, her attention fixed on the sounds outside.

Shen Zhuwan gazed at the girl hiding her head in the quilt, half her body exposed. Her eyes shifted to Dongmei.

Dongmei understood and approached the bed. “Prince Consort, the Princess is here.”

The girl under the quilt didn’t move. Dongmei gently patted her, but there was still no response.

“Princess,” Dongmei said helplessly, returning to Shen Zhuwan. “The Prince Consort seems to be asleep.”

Shen Zhuwan glanced at the girl’s tensed legs and looked away. “If that’s the case, this Princess will leave.”

At that, the girl under the quilt finally stirred.

She wriggled, pulling the quilt back to reveal a dark, messy head of hair.

Shen Zhuwan’s eyes flickered. She took the bowl of soup from Dongmei and approached the bed. “If the Prince Consort isn’t asleep, drink this sobering soup.”

After a moment.

The girl slowly turned over and sat up, but kept her eyes lowered, refusing to look at her. “I won’t drink it.”

After a pause, she added, “I can’t drink anymore.”

Perhaps drunken emotions surfaced easily, for Shen Zhuwan noticed the girl’s lips pouting in defiance, tinged with a hint of petulance.

Her gaze swept over the few excited faces in the room, and she said calmly, “You may all leave.”

The excited expressions turned to disappointment, and Dongmei led the others out reluctantly.

The room fell silent again.

Ji Rongjin’s hand, hidden in her sleeve, tightly gripped a small piece of fabric. Angrily, she thought that no matter what Shen Zhuwan did today, she wouldn’t forgive her.

Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw the woman’s white skirt sway toward her. Her grip on her sleeve tightened instinctively.

A faint fragrance wafted over as the woman sat beside her.

Ji Rongjin’s body stiffened further.

The clinking of the spoon stirring the soup filled the air, and a faint sour scent reached her nose.

Ji Rongjin stared at the spoon held near her lips, then looked up in a daze to find Shen Zhuwan watching her, red lips parting slightly. “Drink.”

Her mouth moved faster than her mind, touching the spoon. By the time she realized what she’d done, the sour, spicy soup had already slid down her throat into her stomach.

The first spoonful made Ji Rongjin freeze, but she quickly recovered, thinking that even this wouldn’t make her forgive Shen Zhuwan.

The second spoonful made her lower her eyes, her heart beating sluggishly.

The third spoonful brought the sourness to her eyes, and she couldn’t help but choke softly.

The white porcelain spoon paused.

Shen Zhuwan quietly observed the girl’s reddened eyes and the tears at their corners, her gaze tinged with a faint helplessness.

The next second, those wet, dark eyes suddenly met hers, a thin layer of tears shimmering within. “I tried to push her away, but I was too shocked and too slow.”

“I didn’t know you’d see. If I had, I wouldn’t have let her do that.”

Ji Rongjin looked away awkwardly and continued, “I waited for you for so long and bought you so many fun things, but you didn’t come.”

The night deepened, the world silent.

In the quiet room, only the girl’s soft sniffles and her aggrieved, choked words could be heard.

She was truly heartbroken.

Especially when her grievances went unanswered for so long, the tears pooling in her eyes finally broke free, rolling down her cheeks in a cold trail.

Her heart ached with bitterness and embarrassment. She thought she shouldn’t have said those things. They only made her seem petty, clinging to a trivial slight, and proved nothing else.

Shen Zhuwan might already be annoyed with her.

She pursed her lips, about to wipe her tears and feign sleepiness to send her away, when she heard the soft clink of the porcelain bowl being set on the wooden table.

Her wrist, poised to wipe her tears, was caught by the woman. Ji Rongjin turned, tears blurring her vision.

A white shadow entered her sight, and the next moment, a handkerchief carrying a cool fragrance gently brushed her cheek. She squinted instinctively, then opened her eyes to see the woman’s serene gaze fixed on her.

Her reflection shone clearly in those eyes, as if, at that moment, she was the only one in Shen Zhuwan’s world.

Her gaze drifted unconsciously to the woman’s slightly parted lips.

“My failure to keep the appointment was my fault. I’ve caused the Prince Consort to feel wronged.”

The fragile emotional walls she’d built crumbled effortlessly under those gentle words and actions. She’d resolved not to cry anymore, but those words unleashed a flood of warm, bitter tears.

Ji Rongjin hurriedly turned away, wiping her tears messily with her sleeve.

Shen Zhuwan withdrew her hand, looking at the girl’s pale profile. “This Princess had people watch you. Has the Prince Consort ever resented me for it?”

Resentment? Ji Rongjin might have felt some, but more than that, it was the pain of not being trusted.

She nodded, then shook her head, and finally, with her eyes lowered and tears clinging to her long lashes, she said, “I don’t know.”

Shen Zhuwan gazed at the teardrop, silent for a long moment before saying softly, “At first, this Princess didn’t trust the Prince Consort. Later, I only wanted him to keep you safe.”

What was this? An explanation?

In those few words, Ji Rongjin’s emotions swung from calm to a low point and back again, then beyond calm.

Part of her felt spineless—Shen Zhuwan’s mere half-explanation was enough to ease her pain. Yet another part of her thought that if Shen Zhuwan truly didn’t trust her at all, she wouldn’t have said this.

In the end, Ji Rongjin suspected it was about the contract.

Just as she was about to speak, a finger appeared before her lashes, gently brushing against them.

She looked up, stunned, as Shen Zhuwan calmly withdrew her hand, discreetly wiping away the tear. “Does the Prince Consort trust this Princess?”

Her expression was unchanged, but Ji Rongjin, startled by the gesture, looked up in a daze.

Shen Zhuwan’s fingers, hidden in her sleeve, pressed lightly against the damp spot on her fingertip. Her gaze deepened as she looked at the bewildered girl.

Like a wronged puppy, those wet, dark eyes were soft and confused, still shimmering with tears from crying earlier.

She looked pitiful, yet it made one want to make her cry again.

Ji Rongjin sensed something off in the atmosphere. Shen Zhuwan’s gaze made her uneasy, and she avoided it, replying, “I trust the Princess. Please rest assured, during the contract period, I will not break my word.”

The room fell silent for a moment. Ji Rongjin thought she heard a faint sigh from the woman before her, but it was so brief and soft she wondered if she’d imagined it.

She looked up, startled, and met Shen Zhuwan’s enigmatic gaze.

“Does the Prince Consort think this Princess is worried about you breaking the contract?”

Before the Princess arrived:

Little Ji: Resolute Little Ji will ignore the Princess.

After the Princess arrived:

Little Ji: Sobbing Do you know how awful you were? (Rambles on)