Chapter 25: Madam Jiang Is Impressive

How did he even end up at this gambling table? Why couldn’t he control himself?

With a sudden jolt, Mu Wuyin felt as though everything around him had become clear. His mind was eerily calm, and in an instant, he knew something was very wrong.

How was he going to get out of this? Who would repay such a massive debt?

Lifting his gaze, he looked around—the space beside him was empty. The young woman was already gone.

“Where’s the person?” His expression darkened as he asked the guard in a low voice.

The guard replied, “Didn’t the young lady just tell you? She went over there to continue looking for her father—and you nodded in agreement.”

Had he nodded? He couldn’t remember at all. Could it be that he had truly gotten so engrossed in the game that he neglected his surroundings?

Standing up to leave, the dealer hastily called out, “Prince Jing, the debts from our gambling house cannot be deferred on credit. We’ll head to your residence shortly to collect, so you better have everything prepared in advance.”

“Outrageous!” Mu Wuyin glared coldly at him. “I’ve long heard that this gambling den schemes for wealth and cares not for lives—it seems it’s true indeed. Even I, a prince, have been swindled out of more than two hundred thousand taels of silver. If it were an ordinary citizen, wouldn’t they truly be driven to their death? I came today for an inspection, thinking that seeing me might make you restrain yourselves, yet I never imagined you’d only grow more brazen! If you want money, have the guts to go to the authorities and demand it!”

With that said, she turned around, wanting to leave.

“Hey! Just because you’re a relative of the royal family doesn’t mean you can get away without paying your debts!” The house was brimming with confidence, completely unfazed by his attempts to intimidate. They immediately had someone step forward to block his way. “Since you don’t want to settle the debt, don’t blame us for not letting you walk out that door. Even if you take this to the authorities, you won’t have a leg to stand on!”

The surrounding crowd buzzed with chatter and exclamations, while Prince Jing was surrounded by a group of thugs, his expression turning extremely grim.

“Go and notify the Kyoto Office,” he whispered to the guard beside him. “Have them send someone over.”

“Yes,” the guard replied, forcing his way out. The people from the gambling den did not stop him and allowed him to leave.

Chaos erupted below as the gamblers scattered in all directions, arguing and making a commotion. Mu Wuyin’s face turned ashen, his eyes still searching everywhere for the figure of that young lady.

Jiang Taohua had already made her way to the second floor, sitting beside Shen Zaixia, and closed the window of the private room.

“Please help me out.” Her face pale, she pleaded, “If we wait for the yamen officials to arrive, this matter will fail. We should hurry and send for Prince Yu. Prince Jing stood him up today; he ought to come and take a look.”

Glancing at her, Shen Zaiye replied, “No need to worry about that. Prince Yu is already on his way.”

“That’s a relief.” Letting out a sigh, Taohua snatched the cup of tea from his hands, took two big gulps, and then collapsed onto the table, panting heavily.

Was it really that exhausting? Shen Zaiye calmly poured himself another cup of tea. “Madam Jiang is truly formidable. With just a few words, you bewitched Prince Jing. He isn’t usually this foolish.”

Rolling her eyes, Jiang Taohua said feebly, “Of course he’s not foolish; not only is he not foolish, but he’s also extremely vigilant. If it weren’t for me disguising myself at all costs and finding an opportunity, it truly would have been impossible.”

“Did you use seduction techniques?”

“Rubbish!”

“…” Shen Zaiji narrowed his eyes. “Such a temper?”

Taohua sighed, propping her head up and looking at him as she said, “It’s not that I have a bad temper. It’s just that I’m still carrying injuries and have persisted for so long—I’m really in pain. When someone is struggling to complete a task, could your tone be a bit gentler? Don’t think that using seductive techniques is something easy. It requires the right time, place, and situation, as well as a great deal of energy. It’s not that simple.”

Not simple? Shen Zaiji pursed his lips. From a distance, she had merely cast a few flirtatious glances. But… seeing her this exhausted, he didn’t say anything more. He got up and prepared to leave.

“Where are you going?” Peach Blossom asked weakly.

“Where else could we go? Naturally, back to the estate.” Stopping in his tracks, Shen Zaiye turned to look at her. “You’ve done all you needed to do. The rest is my business. Let’s go back.”

She nodded. It was true she very much wanted to go back, but…

“Could you give me a hand?”

“Jiang Taohua, don’t push your luck.” He narrowed his eyes in displeasure. “If you can walk, do it yourself. What would it look like if I helped you out?”

Infuriated to the point of laughter, Taohua gritted her teeth and said, “If I could go by myself, I wouldn’t have asked you!”

His face darkened as Shen Zaiye turned around, scooped her up in one swift motion, and shot her a sidelong glance. “Weren’t you just lively and full of energy standing beside Prince Jing? You could pour tea for him and even hold his hand. Now you suddenly have no strength left?”

Leaning her full weight on him, Taohua let out a sigh of relief, her voice growing weaker. “What’s the point of all this sour resentment? As long as the goal is achieved, does it matter how I got there?”

“Women should have a sense of shame.”

“Do I come off as frivolous or have I been involved in any improper affairs?” Taohua trembled with rage. “Watch your words!”

Who was she even doing this for? Even if there was no reward for getting it done, did she have to endure his sarcastic remarks?

Shen Zaiye sneered but didn’t say more, dragging her out of the door. They left the gambling den through the back entrance and boarded the carriage.

Zhanlu personally drove the carriage, reporting quietly, “The Kyoto authorities will only arrive after Prince Yu gets there. Rest assured, Master.”

“Mhm.” After settling the person beside him, Shen Zaiye said, “Hurry back to the residence.”

“Yes.”

The carriage started moving, inevitably bumpy along the way. Jiang Taohua’s face turned pale, barely able to hide it even with makeup: “Can you slow down a little?”

“No,” Shen Zaie said expressionlessly. “The faster you leave here, the more secure you’ll be.”

“Then… put me down, I’ll walk back myself.”

Are you kidding? Shen Zaiye shot her an impatient glance: “You have a carriage but you won’t ride…”

Before he could finish, her appearance startled him. Looking down, the pink lotus skirt was stained with a patch of blood at the waist, and she was so pale she looked as if she were about to faint at any moment.

“Stop the carriage!”

The carriage lurched to a sudden halt. Peach Blossom lost her grip and tumbled forward, but Shen Zaiye swiftly caught her, his voice low and stern. “Are you crazy or something? If your wound splits open, can’t you at least say something?”

Peach Blossom opened her mouth to speak, but dizziness overwhelmed her, leaving her with no strength left to argue. She simply leaned against his chest, feigning lifelessness.

“Zhanlu, take the official road. We need to get back smoothly.”

“Yes.”

Without a moment’s hesitation, he lifted her garments to examine the wound. It had likely torn open many times—the white bandage was stained with dried blood in some places, fresh blood in others.

Still alive like this? Is this person some kind of monster?

Removing the white cloth and setting it aside, Shen Zaiye glanced at the gruesome wound on her. He pursed his lips, and finally, a trace of emotion flickered in his eyes.

Qingtai followed her mistress all the way, but ultimately couldn’t keep up with the carriage and had to run back on her own. By the time she reached the Spring Contending Pavilion, her mistress’s wound had already been cleaned and re-bandaged.

“Take good care of her,” the Prime Minister said calmly, looking at her as he gave the order. “When your mistress wakes up, tell her that if she wants to die, she can simply go to the storeroom and find a fine dagger to slit her throat. If she doesn’t want to die, then she should stay quiet and not stir up any more trouble.”

Green Moss was taken aback, then grew a bit indignant. “Master’s actions today were all because—”

“A servant girl shouldn’t speak so much.”

Rudely cutting her off, Shen Zaiye strode out. “The wound was her own doing. Even if she were to die from it, she wouldn’t claim that gold.”

What kind of person is this! Green Moss glared angrily, watching Shen Zaiye stride away, silently cursing him to stumble on his way out!

The room was scented with calming incense, and Jiang Taohua slept soundly, though her face remained pale. The physician’s assistant had prepared the medicine and entered the room, carefully feeding her small sips. Turning to Qingtai, she said, “The pharmacy has sent over high-quality angelica root and donkey-hide gelatin. Please have a careful maid prepare it, and give it to Madam later.”

“Okay.” Moss nodded, then hurried out to give the orders.

The maid, who had been watching outside the Spring Rivalry Pavilion, hurried back to Soft Jade Pavilion and relayed everything she had witnessed to Lady Meng.

Meng Zhenzhen listened with a shadowy glint in her eyes, tilting her head slightly. “So you’re saying that Jiang Shi went out today and returned with the master, and she also had a relapse of her old illness?”

“Yes,” the maid whispered. “The master seemed very worried; he personally carried her back.”

“Where did she go?”

“This servant doesn’t know. I heard others say that today the master allowed her to go out and wander around the capital.”

Rubbing the handkerchief, Meng Zhenzhen said unhappily, “Most likely, she’s just pretending to be ill to gain the master’s sympathy. If she isn’t well, why would she go out?”

“This maid thinks so too,” the little maid chimed in. “What do you plan to do? Should we secretly teach her a lesson or two?”

“Let’s not be hasty for now.” Meng Zhenzhen raised her hand to stop her. “First, send someone to find out exactly why she went out. That way, we’ll have something solid to say.”

“Yes.”

After sleeping for four hours, Peach Blossom was awake for a quarter of an hour. Moss had originally intended to ask if she was hungry, but what she heard whispered close to her ear was: “Go outside and chat with the maids in the courtyard. Tell them that you went out with me today and saw a lot of the sights in the capital of the Great Wei Kingdom, and that you were very happy.”

Angry and amused at the same time, Moss choked up, “Can’t you worry a little less?”

Shaking her head, Peach Blossom closed her eyes.

Helpless, Moss had to pull herself together and went out as her mistress instructed, joining the maids brewing medicine and chatting with them.

“Where did you accompany our lady today, sister?” the young maid in the courtyard asked curiously.

With a light laugh, Qing Tai replied, “We’ve been wandering the streets for quite a while now, and have seen most of the capital. The capital of Wei is truly magnificent.”

“Indeed, sister, if you have the time, you should take a good look around. Our Wei State is much more prosperous than the Zhao State.” The little maid smiled, fanning herself as she spoke. “But isn’t it a coincidence that the master has returned just in time with the young master?”

“We met by chance on the road—it’s fate, I suppose.” Glancing at the young maid who had spoken, Qingtai reached out and took the fan from her hand. “Let me take over. You should go have dinner now.”

“Thank you, sister.” The young maid stood up and happily called out to the others in the courtyard to go eat. Qingtai opened the medicine pot, inspected it for a long time, and then continued to brew the medicine.

Her master was right. If she ever stopped using her mind, she truly would meet her end quickly. The inner courtyard of the prime minister’s residence was in no way inferior to the imperial palace of the Zhao Kingdom.

In the study.

Shen Zaiye listened to the servant’s report, a slight curve forming on his lips. “With Prince Yu gone, the situation was bound to escalate—we expected this. Tomorrow, we’ll wait for them to stir up trouble in the imperial study. Zhanlu, prepare the inkstone. We must also draft a memorial.”