Chapter 174: Unraveling the Mystery

Chapter 174: Unraveling the Mystery

The dim sky at dawn barely revealed a hint of daylight. Palace servants bustled about, moving luggage and checking carriages, while a team with water buckets went ahead to sprinkle water on the official road to settle the dust.

Princess Huai Qing, dressed in the light purple brocade skirt prepared the day before by Xia Chan, bid farewell to the Second Princess and headed towards her own quarters.

Her face was taut, but she appeared calm. This morning, upon seeing the leftover wax drippings on the candleholder, she realized that Xia Chan hadn’t followed her orders.

The palace maids in the courtyard were busy moving Princess Huai Qing's belongings outside, and Xia Chan followed her into the main room to kneel and confess her initiative, "I acted on my own accord, please punish me, Your Highness."

Princess Huai Qing turned to look at her and suddenly asked, "Did the Countess of Gui Ren escape or is she dead?"

Without her assistance, it was impossible for the Countess of Gui Ren to change the Emperor's heart overnight.

Without waiting for Xia Chan’s response, she continued, "Xia Chan, do you really think I would be so impulsive? You believed what I told the Countess of Gui Ren yesterday?"

Xia Chan, startled, asked, "Your Highness, what do you mean?"

Could it be that the Princess didn’t actually intend to feign illness to create an opportunity for the Countess of Gui Ren?

Princess Huai Qing idly played with her braided hair, touching the pearl-adorned hairpin, and spoke softly, "Her sudden 'illness' and escape from the mansion clearly indicated the Emperor's intent to eliminate her. In his haste to depart, the search for her was either left to a small squad of Jinwu Guards or handed over to the officials of Xiurong County. If it's the former, she has no escape; if the latter, she still has a slim chance of survival. But I needed her alive, so I couldn't gamble on the Emperor's decision."

"So, Your Highness, what you said to her yesterday..." Xia Chan, although misjudging the Princess's intentions and potentially ruining her master's plans, felt a surge of relief, realizing the Princess saw things clearly.

"Of course, it was a lie. I only intended to save her. As for the rest, we’ll wait a few years... until then," Huai Qing said dismissively, "But with her urgency, how could she stay calm without my assurances?"

"Then why did you intentionally kick off the covers at the Second Princess’s place yesterday?" Xia Chan voiced her remaining doubt.

Princess Huai Qing glanced at her and smiled, "Xia Chan, I'm just an unestablished Princess; how could I arrange a new identity and route for her overnight? Of course, we needed to delay a few days until Liu's confirmation. Besides, with a new identity, she wouldn’t be so hasty and would cooperate to sneak out quietly."

"But if you hide her in the courtyard and the Emperor discovers..." Xia Chan couldn’t help but worry about the consequences.

"Every action has its risks. If you do nothing, how can you achieve your goal? Besides, what does that have to do with me?" Princess Huai Qing smirked, "Did you forget? Since leaving the palace, I let Yi Shunyi manage this house. If something goes wrong, the Emperor would likely believe it’s Yi Shunyi, once at odds with the Empress Dowager, causing trouble, right?"

No... If the Emperor investigates thoroughly, he will surely know who acted, but you’ve set up a scapegoat, and the Emperor, considering father-daughter relations, will naturally not embarrass you...

Xia Chan thought so but remained silent.

She had already defied Princess Huai Qing's orders, and the Princess must have foreseen this outcome but chose not to speak of it. What point was there in her saying it now?

Besides, now that the Countess of Gui Ren is dead, these considerations are moot.

Xia Chan said, "Your Highness, the Countess of Gui Ren died last night. Though I don’t know the details, I heard a eunuch disposed of a burnt female corpse, rumored to be a mad maid from the Sui family."

"A mad maid?" Princess Huai Qing murmured, then suddenly laughed, "So she escaped using the Sui family's young master and died here as a maid of the Sui family. That means the real Sui family maid has become the Countess of Gui Ren?"

"It seems so," Xia Chan cautiously added, "Your Highness, I’ve ruined your plans, please punish me."

Princess Huai Qing’s smile faded as she stared at Xia Chan, kneeling on the ground, for a long while before saying, "The matter of the Countess of Gui Ren is trivial. I know Xia Chan did it for my good. Before the execution, Mother specifically told me not to bear a grudge against you. I’ve always remembered that. However, you did act on your own, so I’ll deduct your salary for one year as a lesson."

For Xia Chan, this punishment was relatively mild, but a chill ran through her. The Princess had known all along...

Indeed, of all those close to the former master, only she had survived, and among the many families of the Wang clan, only her family was spared. Even if the Princess never said it, how could she not have guessed?

Xia Chan respectfully bowed and said, "This servant accepts the punishment."

By the time of Chen hour, the southern tour procession set off once again.

Due to the Sui family maid's offense against the Emperor, an imperial edict and a squad of Jinwu Guards were left behind. Sui County Magistrate was demoted to a commoner, his family exiled to Qiongzhou with no chance of pardon. Meanwhile, the Deputy Magistrate temporarily took over his duties, awaiting further orders from the Ministry of Personnel.

As for the "Countess of Gui Ren" who remained properly in the Song residence, whether she continued her life as a countess or met an untimely demise depended on her behavior.

In the palace, the Empress seemed unaware of the events in Xiurong County. Holding Huayang, she perused a thick stack of papers and asked with a smile, "What kind of companion does Huayang prefer? Choose one, and Mother will summon them to the palace for you to meet."

Huayang, seemingly disinterested, counted on her fingers, "Five, six, seven, eight, nine... Four more months until Father returns for my birthday banquet, then I’ll choose!"

Seated nearby, Xiao Lang suddenly said, "Father wrote in his last letter to Mother that he might not return until October, not September. Sister, you should choose now!"

Empress Jiang laughed, appreciating her son's attempt to tease his sister. The Emperor only mentioned returning by September or October, not that he definitely couldn't return by September.

Hua Yang was unaware of her brother's ill intentions and burst into tears, sobbing, "Daddy is mean! Hua Yang doesn't want to like Daddy anymore!"

Jiang Hui placed Hua Yang in Xiao Lang's arms, telling her son, "Nian, you made her cry, so you must comfort her. Mother will go check on Wan Song's rice dumpling preparation."