Mu Wanyao hid behind the screen and could clearly feel that Chunhua outside was also very nervous.
She coughed, and Chunhua came back to her senses and asked someone to invite Yan Erlang into the house.
Chunhua had some guesses in her mind, thinking that Yan Shang was looking for her just because of Liu Wenzhi.
Chunhua was in a state of turmoil and pain. She did not dare to tell anyone about her relationship with the King of Jin. She was relieved that the King of Jin did not ask the princess to come and ask for her. However, she did not know how to face Liu Wenji.
She felt that she had betrayed her lover. Although it was not her own will, she became another man's woman without breaking up with Liu Wenji. Compared with this, what was Liu Wenji's fault for just saying something he didn't care about?
At least... he went to Beili, but he didn't sleep with other women and didn't betray her.
Instead, she became the betrayer.
Liu Wenji came to the Princess's Mansion every day to look for Chunhua, but Chunhua no longer had the face to face him. Now Yan Shang came... If she were to intercede for Liu Wenji, how would she feel?
In such torment, Yan Shang knocked on the door and came in, and saw Chunhua standing in the room in a daze.
Both of them calmed down and greeted each other.
Mu Wanyao leaned against the brocade screen inlaid with precious stones and mica, and heard the two of them chatting outside -
Yan Shang was polite: "How have you been these past two days, Your Highness?"
Chunhua: "Your Highness has been attending banquets with the Crown Prince these past two days. Apart from coming back a little late every day, there is nothing else."
Yan Shang whispered: "Since she is not in good health, my lady should persuade her to drink less and not go to banquets so frequently. She should rest more."
Chunhua smiled: "I know, thank you Erlang for your concern for our prince."
Yan Shang coughed awkwardly.
Mu Wan, hiding behind the screen, raised the corners of her lips: Yan Shang used her as a courtesy to build friendship with Chunhua, and she felt it was pretty good.
But let's just forget about his advice to drink less.
First, her alcohol tolerance was beyond his imagination, and second, she had to drink when she attended banquets, and if she wanted to participate in government affairs, she had to attend banquets constantly.
She must take the initiative to fight for it and participate in government affairs.
Because she was just a princess married to a foreign country, her value was only the status of the Li family and the status left by the queen. The prince wanted to use her as a knife and wanted her to kill people. If she didn't go, she would be forced to marry again and use the remaining heat of her status.
Yan Shang can follow the routine and work slowly; if he studies normally, he can become an official, get promoted, and participate in government affairs. But Mu Wanyao has no time. She doesn't show off, so she gets married; if she doesn't want to be a knife or a fish, she will be a fish.
Although she told her uncle that it didn't matter who she married, if she had a choice, she really didn't want to get married now.
She hated getting married, hated being tied to any man, and hated the feeling of lying in any man's bed, inferior to him and powerless.
Mu Wanyao was in a daze, but Yan Shang and Chunhua had indeed talked about Liu Wenzhi.
Chunhua didn't want to listen at first, but Yan Shang's negotiating style, which was neither hurried nor slow, and spoke slowly, was really hard to refuse. She listened to him unknowingly and was convinced by him.
Yan Shang said: "...In short, everyone makes mistakes. Since Brother Liu has not made any mistakes of principle, and he is willing to correct them for you, why don't you give him a chance?"
Chunhua was embarrassed to look down.
Yan Shang noticed that her expression was different from usual, so he observed her carefully. Although Chunhua looked fine on the surface, she was twisting her sleeves unconsciously, round and round. It was obvious that she was extremely anxious.
Yan Shang seemed to be thinking about something, thinking that Liu Wenzhi’s mistake shouldn’t be to this extent, right?
Yan Shang asked: "Madam, if you have any difficulties, please tell me and I will help you find a solution."
Chunhua pursed her lips but shook her head firmly.
She didn't want anyone to know about her miserable state.
Chunhua said softly: "Erlang, if I do something wrong, even though it is not my own will, but it will hurt Liu Lang...what should I do?"
Yan Shang looked down at her and asked after a while, "What kind of mistake is it?"
Chunhua: "I don't want to say."
Yan Shang thought for a moment and then asked, "What degree of error is that?"
Chunhua closed her eyes in embarrassment: "...If Liu Lang knew, he would collapse."
Yan Shang looked solemn, and after a while asked, "Can you solve this problem yourself?"
Chunhua said: "It has been resolved."
Yan Shang stared at her for a moment and repeated, "Can you solve this problem yourself?"
Chunhua was surprised why he repeated it, and she looked at him.
Listen to Yan Shang's voice slow down, as if to deepen her memory: "You have to be very sure, have you really solved this problem?"
Chunhua originally thought that she had solved it, but after Yan Shang asked this, she was not so sure.
Seeing Chunhua's confused and uneasy expression, Yan Shang sighed and said, "I understand. In short, it seems that there is some problem here. I suggest that you really solve this matter thoroughly. Either you face this matter with Brother Liu, or you solve the trouble thoroughly before reconciling with him.
"If you really don't want him to know, then you have to solve it thoroughly. Since my lady doesn't want to tell me, I won't ask her any more questions. But I want to tell you that your master is a princess. Normally, your master's status in the whole Wei Dynasty is high enough, and she should be able to help you solve your problem."
Chunhua was startled and quickly thanked Yanshang.
After saying this, Yan Shang still didn't leave. Chunhua looked at him strangely, seeing that Yan Erlang, who was as bright as the breeze and the moon, actually showed an embarrassed expression.
Chunhua stared at him with interest.
After seeing Yan Shang struggling for a while, he said, "One month has come. I should have given my one-month salary to Your Highness as I promised Your Highness before."
Mu Wanyao, who was hiding at the back and eavesdropping, was just wondering what Chunhua had done. When she heard Yan Shang's words, she suddenly realized: Yes, Yan Shang had promised her to give him his own salary because she rented him the house next door.
Because Mu Wanyao has never been short of money and never takes the house seriously, Mu Wanyao has forgotten about this matter.
But from what Yan Shang said...he doesn't want to give it?
Mu Wan raised her eyebrows, thinking that he was a traitor. But she also secretly reminded herself to remember to tell Chunhua that Yan Shang's monthly salary should be handed over to her for her personal review.
Otherwise, she wouldn't know whether Yan Shang gave her rent or not. She would let him live in her house without thinking and give him monthly wages for the servants in the yard... Even if Princess Danyang is not short of money, she is not stupid, right?
Outside, Chunhua asked Mu Wanyao what was in her mind: "My dear, are you unwilling to pay the rent?"
Yan Shang hurriedly said, "I don't mean that! I'm a little short of money recently, and I'm busy with other things... Please give me ten more days, and I will give you the money."
Chunhua thought about it and felt that it was not a big deal and she could pay for him first, so she nodded.
But she didn't know that Mu Wan was so angry that she stamped her feet. She almost wanted to rush out and push Chun Hua away, pointing at Yan Shang's nose and scolding: Why are you delaying? Why are you delaying?
Chunhua is just too easy to talk to...he doesn't even ask the reason.
Why didn't Chunhua think about it... Maybe Yan Shang used the money to visit a prostitute? This, this... Is playing with women more important than renting money?
At this time, Yan Shang hesitated for a moment and asked Chunhua: "...maid, can you lend me some money?"
Chunhua: “…”
Mu Wan shook: "..."
Chunhua probably finally heard the princess's voice that was about to collapse, so she asked one more question: "My dear, I know that life in Chang'an is not easy, but my prince has even solved your housing problem for you. Even if your monthly salary is not enough, you have other money coming in.
"You are the third place winner in the imperial examination. There must be many families in Chang'an who want to invite you to a banquet and make friends with you. Even if it is just for the sake of face, they will give you money. Why is it that you are still short of money? What do you spend the money on?"
Chunhua said seriously, "Erlang, if you want to live in Chang'an for a long time, you should have a plan. I don't think you are a spendthrift, so why are you so bad at managing money?"
Yan Shang was ashamed of what was said.
He just said, "To be honest, my wife, my third brother is good at managing finances. My family sends money every month, and I am not short of money normally... It's just that I was busy with something recently, so I ran out of money. When I finish this matter, I can get more money.
"But my wife taught me this. I will pay attention to this aspect in the future."
Chunhua agreed to lend him the money.
Mu Wanyao, who was eavesdropping behind the screen, was so angry that he wanted to vomit blood:...Why didn’t you ask him what he was busy with?
Is it a prostitute?
Mu Wanyao was trying to maintain her dignity as a princess and didn't rush out to question Yan Shang. But she was really pissed off by Yan Shang and Chun Hua - it would have been fine if only one of them had a good temper, but two people with good tempers got together.
-----
After Chunhua sent Yanshang out, she came back and saw Muwanyao.
Mu Wanyao changed back into her own gorgeous dress and sat down to drink tea to calm herself down.
The princess was just sitting on the beauty couch, her dress dragging on the ground, her face full of frost. As she drank cup after cup of tea, the maid serving beside her winked at Chunhua, indicating that the princess was unhappy and not to be provoked.
Chunhua came over bravely. Muwan glanced at her and suddenly asked, "Did someone in a high position and power sleep with you?"
Chunhua was shocked, his face turned pale, and he fell to his knees.
She stammered: "How, how did Your Highness know..."
Mu Wan curled her lips and said, "Only someone like Yan Shang who doesn't care about love can't see your problem with that expression. If he can't see it, can't I see it?"
Chunhua knelt on the ground, her whole body weak, her lips trembling, she wanted to beg the princess, but she didn't know where to start...
Mu Wanyao looked at her like this, speechless for a long while, and said: "What are you afraid of? Just like Yan Er said, I am a princess after all. You are just a maid, not a fairy, who would provoke me for you?
"Get up. Have fun however you want. No one can take you away from me."
She didn't even bother to ask who the man who slept with Chunhua was.
Because there are only a few of them around.
No matter what, Mu Wanyao is still a princess. Chunhua is just a maid after all, and she doesn't want to cause trouble for the princess.
However, Chunhua didn't understand. In fact, although Mu Wanyao was not living a happy life in Chang'an, there were only a few people who could make her unhappy... Unless Chunhua was favored by her father, no one could force her to do so if Mu Wanyao didn't want to.
As for Mu Wanyao's father... Mu Wanyao thought maliciously, I heard that the emperor is suffering from hysteria now, how could he have the mood to go out of the palace to sleep with women?
But thinking of her father, Mu Wanyao realized that she hadn't been to the palace to pay respects for several days. She sorted out her feelings and decided to go to the palace to show her filial piety to the emperor.
It's just a face-saving trick.
But the princes and princesses must not forget this face-saving effort.
When Ye Muwanyao suddenly came to the palace to pay her respects to the emperor, the emperor was surprised.
The emperor now lives alone in the huge palace and does not summon anyone. Perhaps because of his poor health, he does not want the women in the harem to serve him.
The emperor had been lonely for a long time. When the young girl came to the palace to have dinner with him, he was so happy that he ate half an extra bowl of soup and asked his personal eunuch to express his gratitude to the princess.
When the eunuch escorted Mu Wanyao out of the palace, the emperor ate more because of his excitement, and couldn't help but chattering with the princess: "Since the death of the first and the second, your majesty has been in poor health. Your majesty has no energy, and at the beginning he stared at the portraits of the first and the second all day in a daze... Fortunately, your highness has returned to Chang'an now, and you should go to the palace more often to accompany your majesty."
Mu Wanyao couldn't help herself and said, "Didn't the queen mother torture him and die because she lost a move in chess? And why is he so happy to see me? Didn't he always hope that I would die of old age in Wuman and never come back?"
The eunuch was stunned for a moment, then stared at Princess Danyang.
The eunuch whispered, "Your Highness seems to be blaming His Majesty? Among the princes and princesses now, His Majesty actually likes you the most..."
Mu Wan shook her head and said stiffly, "Anyway, he and the Queen Mother only loved my second brother. They were very sad when my second brother died. None of them would be sorry for me marrying to Wuman."
The eunuch explained to the emperor: "That's because..."
Mu Wan was getting annoyed, so she interrupted, "Okay, I know. It's because of a political choice. He wants to pacify the world and avoid wars on the border, and my mother wants to stabilize the Li family's position in Chang'an... I already know! Since father is not in good health, you should go back and serve him, and don't come out to see me off."
She spoke in an aggressive tone, and at first her face was just cold, but later her chest heaved with grievance.
Mu Wan looked away, only the servants were behind her, no one was around her. When she looked up again, she saw the stars shining brightly and the palace deep and deep. She was in it, so lost, not knowing where to go.
Mu Wan showed a somewhat bewildered expression, and when she came to her senses, she looked at the eunuch next to her. The eunuch felt sad when he saw the empty expression on the princess's face, but he couldn't say much.
The affection of the imperial family is never a family matter, but a national matter. Princess Danyang was just unlucky, she was just the chess piece that was sacrificed...
The eunuch stood on the steps and watched the princess get on the sedan chair and go out of the palace under the illumination of rows of bright red lanterns.
And it was unknown how long it would take for the princess to remember to go to the palace to see His Majesty again.
-----
Mu Wanyao's temper came and went quickly. She was a little unhappy in the palace, but it only lasted for one night, and she forgot about it the next day, still following the prince freely.
The relationship between the Crown Prince and the King of Qin is very interesting. On the one hand, the power behind the King of Qin is strong, and should be able to suppress the Crown Prince; but the Crown Prince is more thoughtful, and even if the number of noble families supporting the Crown Prince is not as large as that of the King of Qin, the Crown Prince currently has a clear advantage over the King of Qin.
On this day, Mu Wanyao and several ministers were going to discuss government affairs. According to custom, they would either meet at the princess's residence or a minister's house, or go directly to Beili.
Mu Wanyao changed into men's clothes and was ready to go to Beili with everyone. But halfway through riding, several men suddenly decided to go to Xishi.
They carefully persuaded the princess: "Recently, I heard that there are several beautiful Hu women in the wine shop in the West Market. You can watch dancing and singing without paying. I heard that when you sit in the hall and drink, every time you buy a jar of wine, a Hu woman will come to serve you... Of course, Your Highness will definitely not care about any Hu women. But Your Highness has probably never seen one, why not go and see it together?"
As Mu Wanyao listened to their words, she suddenly remembered that people next door said Yan Shang often went to Xishi recently, and she kept wondering in her heart what he was doing there.
Mu Wanyao nodded with a thought in her mind: "Then let's go to the West Market. I also want to see how charming and charming the Hu girl is that has fascinated you so much."
The men were embarrassed.
Fortunately, the people of Wei were open-minded, and they were only embarrassed for a moment before they started discussing enthusiastically, and Mu Wanyao did not show an attitude of being bored and not wanting to listen. The princess's tactfulness made the ministers feel much more relaxed.
After all, it's always inconvenient to work with a girl... If this girl could be more relaxed, everyone would feel more at ease.
Mu Wanyao went to a tavern with them to see those beautiful Hu women. Perhaps because she was there, the men simply admired her. But Mu Wanyao soon found it boring. She only blushed when the Hu women danced with their breasts and abdomens exposed, and she thought it was nothing special.
The dance they perform is just passionate and unrestrained, there's nothing difficult about it actually.
There are no difficult moves at all.
Just twist your waist and lift your legs...Mu Wan can do it by herself.
Mu Wanyao saw that the group of men were very happy, but she was bored. After drinking two glasses of wine, she got up and left.
Mu Wan walked to the counter downstairs and asked the maid who was also dressed in men's clothes to pass on a few words. Then she followed the shop owner to the backyard.
Mu Wanyao then asked the store owner: "My maid said that your store has hosted Yan Shang before? Is it really him? You didn't make a mistake?"
The shopkeeper smiled apologetically, "This girl looks just as your maid described. There is no way I could have mistaken her. A handsome man would attract attention. If he came to my shop often, even if he was doing nothing, everyone would still pay more attention to him. How could I have mistaken her?"
Mu Wan shook her head.
The maid behind her gave the shopkeeper a silver ingot.
When the shopkeeper was surprised and wanted to hide the silver, Mu Wan smiled and said, "But is he here alone?"
The shopkeeper looked at Mu Wanyao and said, "What is the relationship between the girl and him? Sorry, even if the girl gave generous money, we should not disclose the whereabouts of the customer."
Mu Wan said casually, "I am his lover."
The maids and guards following behind the princess all looked at her: "..."
Seeing Mu Wanyao lie absentmindedly without changing his expression, the people behind him were very impressed: "I suspected that he seduced other women behind my back, so I came to check."
The shopkeeper was stunned, then stared at Mu Wan for a long time, and then he understood a little. He laughed: "Madam, you are overthinking, right? With your looks, who would go out with other women behind your back?"
Mu Wanyao gave a perfunctory smile, but the smile did not reach her eyes, and her eyes were still fixed on the shopkeeper.
Seeing that the girl was extremely stubborn and insisted on getting to the bottom of the matter, the shopkeeper was in a dilemma for a long time. Finally, after Mu Wan asked someone to give her another ingot of silver, the shopkeeper gave in.
He whispered, "Madam, please follow me."
-----
In the evening, the West Market would soon close. Mu Wanyao followed the shopkeepers in the West Market and saw that many shops had closed their stalls and were beginning to close.
The shopkeeper led Mu Wan into a shop and called out, "Han Laoqi, there are customers!"
A loud voice rang out from the shop: "What customers? What are you going to do when the shop is almost closing? If you want to buy a horse or hire someone, come early on a weekday!"
Mu Wanyao was stunned. She was so elegant and graceful, even wearing ordinary men's clothes could not hide her beauty. She was totally unsuitable for this dark shop. Standing here, she saw the smoke and traces of burns everywhere... Mu Wanyao stood here for a while and felt that the dirty smoke was blowing on her.
She stepped back somewhat unbearably, standing at the door unwilling to go in, feeling a little dazed.
She began to hesitate: "...Yan Er came here to find a woman? Impossible..."
Yan Shang doesn't seem like the kind of person who would be so unconcerned.
The shopkeeper who led Muwan over was about to explain when the curtain of the shop was lifted and a burly man with a scar on his face walked out. He walked out like a mountain, cursing and showing impatience on his face, as if he was muttering that the shop was about to close, so why were there still customers?
However, when the man looked up, he saw someone standing at the door of the shop.
The girl was wearing men's clothes, but she shone like a pearl.
The man's face suddenly became much better, and he lowered his voice, fearing to scare such a beautiful woman: "Madam, what are you doing here? I'm afraid there is nothing here that you want."
Mu Wanyao asked, "Who are you all?"
The shop owner who led the way explained, "This is the largest place in the entire West Market to sell horses and do business. Many Hu merchants and Hu people come here to do business. Whether it's hiring someone to kill someone, or delivering goods and grain, as long as the money is enough, there are people here to take the job."
Mu Wan shook her head. At this point, she already knew that what Yan Shang did in Xishi probably had nothing to do with women.
She had nothing to be unwilling to say: "I want to know why Yan Shang is looking for you here."
The person behind her held up a box of silver ingots, which were so valuable that it made people's eyes dazzled.
This girl is so generous, so there is nothing that cannot be discussed. The man as tall as a mountain led Mu Wanyao in and took her to meet several men with equally burly figures.
He said briefly, "There's nothing to hide. It's just business. I know the Yan Er the girl mentioned. He has been discussing a business deal with us recently. The money he offers is enough, and we brothers are just being selected by him. Once he picks the right person, we brothers will set off naturally."
My heart beats like thunder in the evening.
Her palms were sweating from pinching herself.
She listened to this person talking, about setting off, running away... She stood there stiffly, with a vague answer in her heart.
The answer was beating in her heart, ready to move.
She felt that she had guessed what Yan Shang was going to do.
Mu Wanyao's mumbling and the answer given by the other party, the different voices of men and women mixed together: "...Find someone to go to Wuman."
-----
"Bang."
Fang Tong, who was following behind the princess, dropped the wooden box full of silver ingots to the ground with a trembling hand. Everyone in the room looked over and stared at the silver rolling on the ground. Fang Tong stood there for a long time, looking at Mu Wanyao.
He saw that the princess' eyes were filled with tears and her eyes were shining.
Mu Wanyao said this, and even Fang Tong guessed what Yan Shang was going to do -
He sent people to Wuman to gather information.
Wuman is so far away from Chang'an, so he has to spend a lot of money to hire people to go there.
The man in the shop said, "He arranged for several of us brothers to go to Wuman and stay there for at least half a year, so that we could find out the current situation of Wuman and Nanman... Because we have Hu people here, we are safer than the people of Wei. So he only asked Hu people to take this job."
The people in the shop were puzzled and asked, "Is Yan Erlang a high-ranking official in the imperial court? Why is he asking about Wuman?"
The people in the shop looked at Mu Wanyao and asked anxiously, "My lady, is the Wei Dynasty going to fight with the Wuman again? Don't we have a princess to marry? We already have a princess to marry, so why do we still have to fight?"
Another person said, "You are out of date! I heard that Wuman seems to be in chaos, and the princess we married has returned... Maybe the war is going on because of the princess's return."
The people in the shop became more and more frightened as they talked.
Fang Tong scolded: "Don't make wild guesses! The court doesn't want to go to war, just do your business well."
Mu Wanyao seemed not to have heard what they said. Her face was as white as snow and her eyelashes were drooping like feathers. She was in a daze for a long while, then suddenly turned around and ran out. She rode on her horse and left here without hesitation.
"drive--"
-----
Mu Wanyao first rode to the Hongwen Pavilion in the imperial city, but it was already closed. She turned her horse around and went straight back to her own princess's residence.
When the horse reached the alley, she jumped off the horse. The horse was held by the gatekeeper of the princess's mansion. Mu Wan shook her head and looked at the door opposite: "Is Yan Shang back?"
The people in the princess's mansion quickly replied: "We just saw Yan Erlang coming back. Your Highness wants to see him? I asked someone to invite him over. Your Highness, hey, Your Highness..."
When Mu Wanyao heard that Yan Shang was still there, she took a step forward and climbed the stairs opposite.
Strictly speaking, everything in the mansion where Yan Shang lived was arranged by Mu Wanyao. But after Mu Wanyao rented out the house, she never cared about it once and never set foot here.
Mu Wanyao barged in directly, causing the servants in the yard to jump. Fortunately, many of them had occasionally seen the princess when they went to the princess's mansion, so no one dared to block her way.
But not daring to stop the princess is one thing, and not allowing the princess to recklessly run around is another.
A servant quickly caught up with the princess and said anxiously, "Your Highness, are you looking for Erlang? Why don't you wait in the main hall for a while, and I will go and get Erlang..."
Mu Wan shook: "Get out of the way!"
Servant: "Your Highness! Your Highness! You can't barge in like this, it's not good..."
However, no one could disobey the princess.
The servants shut up and watched Mu Wanyao directly push open the door of Yan Erlang's room and walk in. The servants opened their mouths to speak, but they could only look at the princess with disappointment and didn't give them the chance to speak...
Mu Wan walked into the room, took a quick look around, and saw a figure behind the screen.
She went behind the screen and said, "Yan Shang, why are you asking about Wu Man? That's my business. Who told you to meddle in other people's business..."
She stopped talking at once.
Because the person she saw was standing in the house, he turned around when he heard her voice and immediately covered his clothes in panic.
However, he had just finished bathing and was only wearing a singlet, with his long hair hanging down, and the dampness left a mark on his thin shirt. He reached out to cover it, but it didn't cover anything...
At dusk, I saw a piece of snow light, flowing moonlight, and dripping water. It turned out that the young man, who was elegant and gentle, could also be so beautiful.
She was instantly speechless.
He looked into Yan Shang's eyes.
Looked at each other.
Both of their faces turned red instantly, but Mu Wan looked at him stupidly and didn't even know to turn his back.
Yan Shang's slender fingers holding the belt trembled slightly. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes and then opened them again: "...Close the door first."
Mu Wanyao's face flushed, and he hurriedly stepped out of the screen and closed the door obediently: "Oh."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
