Chapter 53: A Stolen Scent

By the time dawn broke brightly, a caravan of carriages was slowly driving out of the city gate of Peaceful Ease Prefecture. If one looked closely, a standardized plaque of the Imperial Medicine Hall hung from the corner of each carriage.

The Little Heir of the Jingyuan Marquis Mansion sat in the foremost carriage. At this moment, she was grimacing, pressing her fingers to her forehead and rubbing it relentlessly.

“I clearly didn’t drink that much. Why does my head hurt so much?” Unaccustomed to alcohol, this was her first time experiencing a hangover.

Inside the carriage, Chu Mingxi brewed a cup of honey water on the small table and handed it to her. “Didn’t drink much? Who was the one last night, drunk as a little kitten?”

“Mm?” Wei Qingchen took the teacup and sipped, lifting her face to blink her eyes.

Her expression was so innocent that Chu Mingxi couldn’t resist reaching out to pinch her cheek. When she withdrew her hand, Wei Qingchen clasped it, using an even more innocent tone to say, “You’ll pinch it all out of shape.”

“What should we do then?” Chu Mingxi played along with her antics.

Wei Qingchen caught her other hand too and placed both on her cheeks. “Pinch this side too, to keep it balanced.”

Chu Mingxi smiled. Glancing at her mischievously, she could only comply and gently pinch the other cheek as well.

“Mm…” Wei Qingchen finally let go of her hands. She sighed with relief and leaned back against the carriage wall. A moment later, her brow furrowed again, pressing one hand to her temple.

“Feeling awful, yet still causing trouble.” Chu Mingxi shot her a sidelong glare and handed her the honey water again, watching as she slowly finished it.

“Heir Apparent, Young Mistress.”

The two inside the carriage were still talking when they suddenly heard someone call out from outside.

Wei Qingchen lifted the window curtain. Kang Ze drew his horse close to the carriage wall and said, “The Ten-Li Pavilion is up ahead.”

“Mm.”

Wei Qingchen lowered the curtain and said to Chu Mingxi, “We’ve reached the Ten-Li Pavilion. I’ll get off for a moment to speak with Fifth Brother. You needn’t come down.”

Chu Mingxi nodded and agreed.

The carriage slowly came to a stop. Wei Qingchen jumped down from the carriage shaft. Sure enough, she found Mu Qishao standing inside the pavilion. From inside the carriage, Chu Mingxi offered a polite salute from a distance. Mu Qishao, as before, merely nodded slightly in return.

Before long, Wei Qingchen came back onto the carriage. Mu Qishao and his contingent of guards had already departed first.

The caravan set off again, wheels rumbling.

Chu Mingxi saw that Wei Qingchen was truly suffering from a terrible headache. Seeing as they couldn’t stop to rest in their hurry to return to the capital, she tugged Wei Qingchen down to sit beside her, letting her lean against her lap. She gently raised her hands and began massaging Wei Qingchen’s temples.

“Was it really fine to trip up Governor Wen like that?” Only after they were far away from Peaceful Ease Prefecture did Chu Mingxi voice the doubt in her heart.

Wei Qingchen closed her eyes, enjoying the favor of her beauty, and hummed contentedly. “He might not even have sobered up by now. And even if he has, isn’t Liang Yu still knocked out? He can’t dispatch troops.” That’s right, before they left, they had knocked Commandant Liang Yu unconscious! This was exactly their style—thorough and unrelenting!

A thoughtful look appeared on Chu Mingxi’s face.

Seeing her silence, Wei Qingchen raised a hand and gently stroked her arm. “Don’t worry. Even if Governor Wen can’t guess Fifth Brother’s identity, he already knows who I am. The evidence is now in Fifth Brother’s hands. What else could he do—chase us down and kill us? He wouldn’t dare even if you gave him a hundred times the nerve. If I were him, I’d immediately start sending my household away as soon as I sobered up. Our dynasty doesn’t routinely practice collective punishment. Those irrelevant people will likely all be dealt with leniently.”

She had spoken so much at once, all just to prevent her from worrying. Yet Chu Mingxi’s thoughts inexplicably turned somewhere else.

Serving the sovereign had always been like living with a tiger. And moreover, Wei Qingchen had the added secret of her female identity—that truly made one uneasy.

The carriage fell silent, only the sound of horses’ hooves clattering on the suburban dirt road.

Wei Qingchen, pillowed on her wife’s lap, looked up at her. “What’s the matter?”

Chu Mingxi shook her head. “Nothing.”

Wei Qingchen watched her silently for a moment, then suddenly lifted herself up and pecked her swiftly on the cheek.

“You!” Chu Mingxi covered her face, glaring at her in annoyance.

Wei Qingchen pursed her lips, a smile hiding in the corners of her mouth.

“Don’t worry.” She tugged at her hand. “Fifth Brother left men behind. If anything really happens, they can send word by fast horse.”

“I’m not worried. Sit properly, or be careful you don’t knock your teeth out later.” Her eyes swirled as she shot Wei Qingchen a sideways glance.

“Oh.” Wei Qingchen meekly lay back down, once again resting her head on Chu Mingxi’s lap. Chu Mingxi had already withdrawn her hands and stopped massaging her temples. After lying there for a while, Wei Qingchen blinked and said, “Actually… I am a little worried.”

“What are you worried about?” Chu Mingxi leaned against the carriage wall, closing her eyes, too lazy to deal with her.

A blush crept onto Wei Qingchen’s face. Mustering her courage, she leaned in closer to Chu Mingxi, her breath falling on the side of her face. “I’m just worried… You… just give me one kiss, and I’ll be all better.”

The coachman was diligently driving the carriage when suddenly, from within the compartment, came a loud “BANG!”—the sound of something heavy hitting the floor, accompanied by a pained yelp. “Hiss…”

Startled, he hurriedly reined in the horse and turned sideways to call out, “Eldest Young Miss?!”

The Eldest Young Miss behind the door didn’t speak. A moment later, the Heir Apparent’s voice came through: “Drive well. Don’t bump into any stones.”

“Oh.” The coachman acknowledged, raised his horsewhip, and continued on his way. But inwardly he couldn’t help wondering: this main road is very smooth. I didn’t see any stones just now, and there weren’t even any bends…

Inside the carriage, Wei Qingchen had already scrambled back up. Chu Mingxi was tidying the teacups on the small table that had nearly been knocked over, pointedly not looking at her.

Both of their faces were a little red.

Wei Qingchen sat back down on her seat, waiting for her wife to scold her.

But Chu Mingxi ignored her. She shifted posture and sat for another while. Once she saw her wife close her eyes to rest, she slowly edged closer, all the way down until she was back on Chu Mingxi’s lap, nestling her head against it once more.

The corner of Chu Mingxi’s mouth curved up in a tiny smile. She’d never raised a cat, but she inexplicably felt Wei Qingchen was just like a cat: mischievous and clever, occasionally with a little naughty thought, yet knowing how to read expressions. Knowing that she wasn’t truly angry, she would timorously nuzzle back, like an apology, yet also like coaxing.

She pinched Wei Qingchen’s earlobe and said gently, “Take a good rest for a while.”

Wei Qingchen felt reassured. She said “Okay.” After a long while, she tugged Chu Mingxi’s sleeve over, slowly covering her own face with it, breathing in the scent lingering at her cuff.

That night, they rested at a post station. It wasn’t until they got off the carriage that sisters Chu learned the Fifth Prince was also traveling back to the capital on the same route, but he was on horseback and traveling faster than they were.

A post station wasn’t like an inn, and there were only two superior rooms. Mu Qishao naturally took one. For the other one, Wei Qingchen had someone first send in the luggage of the two sisters Chu.

After dinner, they each returned to their rooms. Wei Qingchen escorted the two sisters to their door. Chu Mingyu suddenly gave her a smile. “A little absence makes the heart grow fonder. I won’t compete with you for Elder Sister tonight. You better be good to her.”

As she spoke, she gave her sister a gentle push toward her brother-in-law and even winked playfully.

Caught off guard, Chu Mingxi stumbled and fell right into Wei Qingchen’s arms. Wei Qingchen hurriedly hugged her tight. Just at that moment, Mu Qishao happened to be coming around from the front. Seeing the two of them embracing, he opened his mouth wide in shock, then immediately felt he was being overly provincial. He quickly shut his mouth, silently gave Wei Qingchen a thumbs-up, and flashed an expression of shared understanding.

Wei Qingchen: …Should I explain or not.

The Fifth Prince and the Second Young Miss Chu departed one after the other.

Steadying herself with Wei Qingchen’s hand, Chu Mingxi watched her sister’s departing figure and asked, “Where are you staying tonight?!”

Chu Mingyu waved a hand. “I’ll squeeze in with Song Jia.” Saying this, she left without a backward glance.

The young couple stood in front of the door, looking at each other. It was Chu Mingxi who smiled first, pushed open the door, and walked inside.

As later events proved, both Chu Mingyu and Mu Qishao had overthought things.

Having traveled the entire day, the young couple fell asleep very early that night.

Early the next morning, Chu Mingxi woke first. It was just barely dawn. Sensing Wei Qingchen’s arm draped over her again, she took a deep breath. Deep inside, she was now completely unperturbed.

But when they were going out, Chu Mingxi kicked her out to ride on horseback with the Fifth Prince. Wei Qingchen thought it was because of the stolen kiss the previous day. Having no way to “redress the grievance,” she simply went with the flow.

Chu Mingyu then slipped over from her own carriage to sit with her sister. They sometimes admired the scenery, sometimes listened to her sister recount tales from the medical classics about healing the sick and saving lives.

The journey back to the capital continued roughly like this. Until more than half a month later, the carriages and horses entered the capital.

Passing through Joyful Peace District, the two groups parted ways on the main bluestone avenue. Chu Mingxi sent someone to deliver a letter of safe return to the Jingyuan Marquis Mansion and to inform her mother-in-law that she would first escort her younger sister home. Wei Qingchen, together with Mu Qishao, returned to the palace to report on their mission.

The Mingcheng Emperor knew they were returning today and met with them in the Imperial Study.

The two imperial cousins knelt together, paying their respects to the emperor.

The Emperor sat behind the wide Purple Sandalwood Desk, watching them for a long while, before finally asking in a baffled tone, “How have the two of you gotten so dark?”

At the time, the Emperor had no idea. Even though they were both sun-darkened together, by winter, Wei Qingchen would always manage to turn fair again. Whereas his son seemed to have fallen into a vat of mud. No matter how he washed, he retained a unique souvenir of that summer.

…Truly, an undeserved calamity.

At that moment, both were choked by this heart-piercing question.

Thankfully, the Mingcheng Emperor didn’t actually want them to answer. Having asked, he waved a hand and said, “Rise. Now tell me, what happened?”

“Yes.” Mu Qishao replied, “Some time ago, by Imperial Father’s decree, your son and Qingchen secretly investigated the matter of the Eldest Imperial Brother’s grave illness in Chen Prefecture. We are honored to have fulfilled our mission and confirmed that this matter is indeed connected to the tribute goods from Peaceful Ease Prefecture. However, the related circumstances likely extend far beyond this. Wen Minxu, Governor of Peaceful Ease Prefecture, audaciously stole from the public good, instructing his chief recorder to forge documents. In reality, he colluded with merchants, amassing private profits at public expense. For instance, regarding the stockpiled grain within Peaceful Ease Prefecture: according to our dynasty’s statutes, during winter each year, the grain reserves should be sold at low prices, while new rice is purchased to replace the old, ensuring the granaries always hold fresh grain. Yet, Wen Minxu only replaced the old rice every two or even three years, causing the grain in the warehouses to rot, while selling it at an extremely low price to the poor for food.”

As he spoke, he received the account book Wei Qingchen handed him and presented it on the imperial desk. “Every year, Peaceful Ease Prefecture requests huge sums from the imperial court at the market price for new rice. In truth, more than half of this silver went straight into Governor Wen Minxu’s pockets. And this is just one of countless examples of his embezzlement.”

The Mingcheng Emperor flipped a page of the account book, and his son continued, “Besides the stockpiled grain within the prefecture, he frequently substituted inferior goods for the items meant as tribute to the imperial court, bribing the procuring agents with heavy profits to cover it up. These substandard goods were usually distributed to lower-ranking palace maids and eunuchs for use. This time, however, they somehow happened to be sent to the Eastern Palace. The Eldest Imperial Brother was already ill. After using these unclean items, it triggered his later severe illness.”

Silence reigned in the Imperial Study, broken only by the sound of the Mingcheng Emperor occasionally flipping the account book pages. After a long while, the Emperor set down the book, his expression unreadable.

On the other side of the desk, both his son and nephew kept their heads bowed, as if finding something fascinating on the floor. The Mingcheng Emperor rapped his knuckles on the desk. Mu Qishao and Wei Qingchen bowed their heads even lower.

When Wei Qingchen returned to the Jingyuan Marquis Mansion, Chu Mingxi had already arrived and was talking in the Grand Princess’s room. Wei Qingchen entered to pay her respects to her mother. Catching sight of her wife, a smile immediately bloomed on her face.

The Grand Princess indicated she couldn’t bear to watch and waved them away, telling them to leave quickly.

Back in their own courtyard, both felt much more at ease. Wei Qingchen looked at her wife, pleasantly surprised. “You came back already?”

Chu Mingxi was seated at her dressing table, removing a hairpin. “What else?”

Wei Qingchen stepped forward, taking that golden hairpin from her hand, and casually said, “I thought you would stay there and share a meal with Mother-in-law.”

“Then shall I go back now?” Chu Mingxi glanced back, a half-smile playing at her lips as she looked sideways at her.