Chapter 59 Princess Taiyi and Yiyun.
After the rain, the sky cleared up and Yiyun hung the poem plaque on the tallow tree.
The wind blew, and the copper bells jingled. She looked up at the bright colors appearing in the treetops, knowing that there was a pair of eyes watching her in the dark. However, she pretended not to know and turned to leave.
The man finally called out to her, "Are you from Luoxi Mountain?"
Yiyun turned around and looked at Gan Jiu who came out from behind the rocks: "Why, don't you think I look like him?"
Gan Jiu's eyes were full of suspicion, and he said to her, "Her Royal Highness the Princess wants to see you."
Yiyun followed Gan Jiu to the princess's mansion.
Born into poverty, her parents perished in an epidemic. She was adopted by the Crimson Cloud Monarch, and from an early age, she traveled extensively with him. Even after settling in Yunjing, she spent her time wandering through the mountains and rivers. Now, standing before the Princess's mansion, she felt as if the towering structure, with its golden tiles and red roofs, was about to collapse upon her, its weight suffocating her.
Gan Jiu saw her dazed and urged, "Don't keep His Highness waiting for you."
Yiyun's sword was confiscated by the guards for safekeeping. When the court lady came to search her, she explained the etiquette for meeting the princess. After this tedious process, Gan Jiu led her through the numerous pavilions and terraces to meet Princess Chun'an in person.
A banquet was set up in the lakeside pavilion. When Princess Chun'an saw her, she couldn't help but be surprised for a moment: "It's you."
Yiyun bowed awkwardly to her, but Princess Chun'an personally came to her aid, placing her at her side. She smiled faintly and said, "I once tried to recruit you, but you ran away overnight. Now that you've walked into the Princess's residence on your own, how can we not say it was fate?"
Yiyun said with embarrassment, "I didn't know it was His Highness at the time, so I apologize for the offense."
"It's okay, it's okay, it's good that you're here." Princess Chun'an seemed very pleased with this coincidence: "Although you come from a humble background, your family background is clean and you have no family background. This makes me feel at ease associating with you."
Yiyun pretended to be joking and asked tentatively, "If I were born in a wealthy family in Yunjing, perhaps I would have met Your Highness earlier."
Princess Chun'an said: "That depends on whose family you are from. Although aristocratic families are rich and noble, most of them are not on good terms with me. If that happens, I'm afraid we'll be old and young, and we'll never be together. This is why I've been hesitant to meet you."
Her words reminded Yiyun of Cong Ying. He felt relieved at her foresight, but at the same time, he secretly sighed for her situation.
Princess Chun'an treated Yiyun like a monarch treating a virtuous hermit, disregarding the formalities of rank and file, and drank and talked with her. Of course, the princess wasn't blindly convinced of her identity; she subtly brought up the poems they had exchanged and the dilemmas they had expressed on their poetry cards, and Yiyun answered them fluently.
These words, Cong Ying had taught her carefully before she came.
Cong Ying had even anticipated the princess's question. "Back at Guikuizhang, I listened to your advice and avoided being held hostage by Xie San. Now, with the written agreement you provided, Wang Si has been essentially convicted. The court's faction of General Wang and the Imperial Court are arguing over his sentencing, and I'm considering whether to add fuel to the fire."
Yiyun asked, "Your Highness, do you want to sentence the General of the Cavalry to death?"
Princess Chun'an nodded. "As long as the General of the Cavalry remains in office, his father, Grand Marshal Wang, will be a figurehead. The people I want to promote can't get promoted, and I won't even have any soldiers to use. If there's an emergency in the future, I can't just borrow the troops under Xie San's command like I did to suppress the bandits at Guikuizhang."
"It's difficult." Yiyun recalled what Cong Ying had taught her and said slowly, "The situation in the northwest is uncertain. The emperor dares not touch the Wang family. Moreover, if he wants to overthrow Wang Zhaoshen, it will also implicate the Prince of Huai. If Your Highness wants to fight two alone, I'm afraid he will suffer a great loss of vitality."
Princess Chun'an said, "If we can overthrow the Wang family and strike a blow against the Xie family, it would be worth it."
Yiyun shook his head and said, "The aristocratic families in the court are not limited to the Wang and Xie families. Even if the two of them were to fall, there are still the Fanyang Lu family, Yingchuan Yu family and others who are eyeing them. Your Highness's strength has not been easy to cultivate, and it should not be wasted in such places. Besides, you can't withstand their relentless attacks."
Princess Chun'an asked, "Does this mean I can only sit there and wait?"
Yiyun replied, "It's not that you're waiting in vain. Your Highness wants to spread rumors to the Lu and Yu families, saying that the Emperor intends to promote them to take over the Wang family. This way, they won't want the Wang family to be safe. Although the strategy of sowing discord is simple, it has always been the most effective."
After hearing this, Princess Chun'an swayed the wine in her cup and fell into deep thought.
Yiyun added, "The princess' most important task right now isn't to fight anyone personally, but to strengthen her foundation and enhance her influence. I heard that the princess wants to open a girls' school next to the Imperial College?"
Princess Chun'an smiled and said, "I didn't expect that you, who lives in the mountains, not only know the factions in the court, but also know my movements."
Yiyun said, "Because women's education is also something I care about. To be honest, I have something to ask for your help today because I am happy to see Feng Yan."
"Tell me about it."
"My master's wife, the Lady of the Crimson Clouds, has traveled extensively and adopted many homeless girls. They practiced Taoism and studied Buddhist scriptures with her, and are all intelligent and kind. Unfortunately, they have nowhere to go. If we leave them with ordinary families, we're afraid they'll be sold to bandits. Since Your Highness wishes to open a girls' school, I'd like to ask Your Highness to accept them as his students. Just as you did in Xuzhou, they will surely be loyal to Your Highness."
"If Your Highness lacks a Confucian teacher to teach them, I know a few talented and knowledgeable friends."
After saying that, he took out a list that had been written long ago from his sleeve. The princess took it and unfolded it. She saw that there were only a few people on the list. The first one was named Xue Luwei, who sounded familiar.
She accepted the list and said to Yiyun, "What you are talking about is just to relieve my worries, so it can't be considered a request. I agree, and you can think of another thing."
Yiyun: “Ah?”
Seeing her stunned look, Princess Chun'an smiled and said, "You have given me good advice. If I should give you something, you can suggest it yourself. I will not be stingy."
Yiyun was silent for a long time after hearing this, then suddenly stood up from his seat, walked to the front of Princess Chun'an, knelt down and bowed deeply.
She said, "I do not wish to abandon the mountains and enter the court. I still wish to return to Xuandu Temple to live, so that I can exchange letters with Your Highness in the future. Please grant me your permission."
The smile in Princess Chun'an's eyes faded a little: "Is it that I have done something wrong that makes you feel unworthy of being your advisor?"
Yiyun said: "I am a lazy person by nature, so it is difficult for me to serve the powerful."
She rested her forehead on the stone floor of the pavilion, which was carved with intricate patterns and was spotless, and felt the aftereffects of the palace wine rising up in waves.
She didn't like the palace wine. It tasted sweet and mellow at first, but the strength of the wine was like a needle hidden in cotton. It was slowly intoxicating, making people lose control without knowing it. It was very insidious, unlike the refreshing and spicy wine in the market.
The coolness of the stone slabs kept her head somewhat clear, but her body, kneeling on the ground, began to sway from side to side.
Suddenly, she caught a whiff of a rich, elegant fragrance, and out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of the corner of a bright red silk dress. She worried the princess would blame her, but she condescended to help her. "I'm your close friend, and since I don't look down on you for your humble attire, why do you look down on me for my wealth and status? Get up, the ground is cold."
Yiyun stood up shakily: "Then from now on we...we..."
Princess Chun'an said, "As you wish, I will continue to communicate with you through writing, and I will not restrict you at all."
"Thank you, Princess!" Yiyun bowed deeply to her, his head slightly hot: "If Princess really doesn't care about my identity, actually, actually..."
She wanted to say that although Congying was the daughter of the Jiang family and the wife of the Xie family, she wholeheartedly hoped for the best for the princess and hoped to assist her.
But she remembered Cong Ying's advice before leaving: "I know that Senior Sister is outspoken, but this matter concerns the future of these girls. You and I must put our grievances aside. I hope Senior Sister will speak and act with caution and not take risks."
So Yiyun finally swallowed his words and said with a wry smile: "Actually... I am very grateful to the princess."
"You are drunk," Princess Chun'an sighed, "I will ask someone to take you to rest."
Yiyun followed the attendant out of the pavilion and into a courtyard. Someone washed her hands and face, then helped her rest on a couch as soft as a cloud. Yiyun had never lain in such a comfortable place before. Warmed by the lingering orchid fragrance, she fell asleep as soon as her eyelids closed.
The female attendant reported her performance to the princess. The princess was still drinking alone in the pavilion. Gan Jiu stepped forward and massaged her shoulders.
After hearing what the female official said, Gan Jiu said with some dissatisfaction, "We asked her to accompany His Highness, but she got drunk first. She really doesn't know the rules at all. I will definitely send someone to teach her a lesson."
The princess smiled when she heard this and said to Gan Jiu, "No need to teach it. This is a wild bird in the mountains and forests. It won't sing in a cage."
Gan Jiu said, "I think she is just a vulgar country woman. Anyway, anyone who doesn't want to serve the princess is either dishonest or blind!"
Princess Chun'an was thinking something else: "This woman from Luoxi Mountain despises power and nobility, yet she's very knowledgeable about court affairs. Although she only spoke a few words today, her meticulous thinking is no less than that of the staff I've cultivated vigorously. She's truly a very strange person."
Gan Jiu immediately became alert: "Your Highness suspects she is a fake?"
Princess Chun'an shook her head. "The details all match up. Besides, I think she's very straightforward and doesn't seem like someone with ulterior motives."
Gan Jiu asked with a hint of anticipation, "Then Your Highness doesn't like her?"
Princess Chun'an smiled and said, "No, I like it very much."
Yiyun's straightforward personality and clean background were both very much to the princess's liking. Even if she wasn't from Luoxi Mountain, Princess Chun'an would still be willing to make friends with her, but...
Princess Chun'an took out a poem card from her sleeve. On it were the words of the man from Luoxiang Mountain who advised her not to feed the tiger with her own body. Every word was like a pearl of jade, which struck a chord with her heart, clearing up her confusion and making her feel at ease.
But she had mistakenly believed that Luoxiangshan was a gentleman strategist with sharp wisdom and great ambitions.
It was hard to say whether it was a feeling of loss or something else, but Princess Chun'an sighed inwardly and instructed Gan Jiu, "Tell someone to prepare a hundred taels of gold. When Yiyun sobers up, send her out of the palace. Also, send someone to check on the Confucian teachers on the list."
The girls' school made rapid progress.
Princess Chun'an sent guards to bring down the marriageable-age girls from Xuandu Temple and temporarily settled them in a newly built academy next to the Imperial College. In addition to them, Princess Chun'an also took in other girls who were abducted by mountain bandits and sent female officials to examine their qualifications, intending to divide them into civil and military subjects and teach them according to their aptitude.
When Yiyun told Congying about this, Congying was so happy that she wanted to drink some wine to celebrate with her: "I'll use tea instead of wine, three cups for you, Senior Sister!"
Yiyun now gets nervous when she sees craft beer and waves her hands repeatedly: "No, no, no, I'm quitting too."
Congying was very surprised by this. Yiyun was too embarrassed to admit that he was drunk in the princess's house. He mumbled a few words and turned around to take out a simple cloth bag and opened it. There was fifty taels of gold inside, shining brightly and very tempting.
She said, "This is the reward given by the princess. Can we each take half?"
Cong Ying quickly wrapped the bag back up and stuffed it back into her pocket, whispering, "Don't show off your wealth in my house; it's hard to protect against thieves. I don't have any money to spend right now, so take it all and buy some clothes and quilts for the girls to go to school. Yunjing is not like the mountains; there are many places to spend money."
Yiyun said, "The Princess's Mansion has taken care of all the expenses."
Cong Ying thought for a moment and said, "Although the princess doesn't act out of vanity, her advisors should promote her reputation, and you and I should always think about repaying them. I heard that Senior Sister has some connections in the martial arts world. How about I compose a few lotus flowers and give them, along with the fifty taels of gold, to the elders of all religions and ask them to sing them beyond Yunjing?"
Yiyun now respected her very much and obeyed her every word: "Of course, no problem. This will also help to build a good reputation for the girls' school. After all, there are also homeless orphans and talented monks outside of Yunjing."
Cong Ying smiled and nodded, then thought of something else and asked casually, "By the way, Senior Sister, does this new girls' school have a name?"
"Yes, yes, it was chosen by the princess herself, it's called something... something Yi..." Yiyun has been too busy with things recently and even forgot the name of the girls' school. He bit his hand and thought hard for a while.
Cong Ying gently shook the tea in the cup and said in a gentle tone, "But is your name Taiyi?"
"Right!" Yiyun slapped his head, "Just call her Taiyi! When the princess chose this name, I even flattered her by saying 'Taiyi' means 'Dayi Palace Chui Enlu'. How could I forget the flattery I've already given her?"
Cong Ying was in no mood to tease her.
The naming happened yesterday, but the strange dream happened ten days ago. Is this half-mirror given by the Lord of the Crimson Cloud Crown reflecting the past life or the future?
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