Acting on one's own initiative
"Ah Jin?" When Wei Shu woke up, he found himself in a courtyard, but his memory was still of Jiang Jin being sick and him taking care of her by her bedside. Unconsciously, Wei Shu walked towards the courtyard, as if something was drawing him forward.
The courtyard was desolate, littered with corpses. Wei Shu searched through his memories but found none that matched this courtyard. He could only suppress his unease and push open the door to one of the rooms. Lou Xuan's ashen face appeared before him.
"Princess Zhaoyang?" Wei Shu was immediately puzzled. Even if someone was dissatisfied with Princess Zhaoyang, they wouldn't dare let her die a miserable death. She was His Majesty's most beloved daughter.
"Your Highness!" A familiar voice from outside the door interrupted Wei Shu's thoughts. Jiang Jin, with a white flower in her hair and dressed in coarse linen clothes, rushed to Lou Xuan's bedside, tears streaming down her cheeks onto the bed.
"Ah Jin?" Wei Shu looked at Jiang Jin, who was completely unfamiliar to him. The girl, who was originally in her early twenties, already had gray hair, fine lines had appeared on her tender face, and even her bright eyes had become somewhat cloudy.
Wei Shu wanted to hold her hand and ask her what had happened, but found that her hand passed right through her body.
"My lady, we must hurry, or it will be too late!" Wei Shu saw Jiang Jin being forcibly dragged away from Lou Xuan's bedside by a strange woman. Jiang Jin did not resist, as if everything around her was irrelevant.
That was the first time Wei Shu had seen Jiang Jin with such an expression, as if she had lost her soul. Just as Wei Shu was about to follow, he saw many arrows flying towards the two of them from the sky. Wei Shu tried to rush forward to shield Jiang Jin from some of the arrows, but it was all in vain. The rain of arrows pierced through Wei Shu's body and struck the two people in front of him.
"Ah Jin!" Wei Shu couldn't touch Jiang Jin, he could only watch her collapse before him, her lifeless eyes looking through him at the man at the door.
"I didn't expect to actually lure you out. It seems that Zhao Yang's death was worthwhile. However, she can no longer be called Princess Zhao Yang; she is now just a commoner. Guards, drag these lowly people into the mass grave and let wild dogs eat them."
Wei Shu fainted suddenly upon hearing the voice but not seeing the person. When he awoke, he saw Jiang Jin sleeping peacefully on the bed, her expression serene, without the listlessness and sorrow he had felt in his dream.
"It's good that you're alright." Wei Shu reached out and stroked Jiang Jin's smooth, delicate cheek, which was like a blooming flower, unlike the withered leaves in his dream.
"Wei Shu?" Jiang Jin opened her eyes and saw Wei Shu looking at her with a strange expression. "Did I faint from the pain?"
Jiang Jin quickly touched her head. Seeing Jiang Jin's lively appearance, Wei Shu laughed out loud, "I knocked you out. You didn't want to take the medicine but it was so hard to endure, so it was more direct for me to knock you out."
"That's good too. Whenever my old injury flares up, you can knock me out. That way, I won't feel any pain, and I'll wake up feeling refreshed!" Jiang Jin happily hugged Wei Shu and kept rubbing against his neck.
"Wei Shu, what do you say? I'll have Abei call you, and you just need to knock me out." Jiang Jin seemed to have found the perfect solution and was overjoyed.
"You really don't care about your own health." Wei Shu tapped Jiang Jin's brow. "Why don't you ask Zhao Sun for help?"
"Why make him break his vows? Besides, this isn't something urgent, so I don't need his help." Jiang Jin lay back on the couch, unconcerned. "I haven't had such a peaceful sleep in a long time. If I had known that being knocked out by you would have ended it, why would I have endured this suffering?"
"I had someone cook some porridge and side dishes for you. Although I don't know the cause of your old illness, we can't neglect it." Wei Shu picked up a spoon, carefully blew on it, and fed the porridge to Jiang Jin.
"Whose people did His Majesty send to Beizhou?" Jiang Jin had just swallowed the porridge in his mouth when he suddenly remembered this important matter. These past few days, he had been so preoccupied with personal matters that he had completely forgotten about official business.
"It's still unknown, but he's not from a powerful family." Wei Shu couldn't speculate on the governor's identity, nor did he have concrete evidence.
"Your Excellency is not particularly prominent in the capital, you could even be considered obscure. Will you feel somewhat constrained after being appointed to Beizhou by His Majesty?" Hearing the distrust in Jiang Jin's words, Wei Shu straightened his expression.
"Prefect Qu is a good man, at least in my opinion. His Majesty did not show leniency to Prefect Qu's relatives, punishing them according to the law, but privately showed some leniency. Although Prefect Qu was deceived, he harmed the people, which is unforgivable." Wei Shu blew on the white porridge in his bowl and fed Jiang Jin another spoonful.
"There's fish soup simmering in the kitchen. I had someone catch some fresh from the yard. If you want some, just have Abei fetch it for you. I'm going to the Imperial Guard tonight, so don't wait for me." Wei Shu put down the bowl, carefully wiped the white porridge from Jiang Jin's lips, and then got up and walked to the table.
"By the way, may I inquire about the household's accounts?" Jiang Jin remembered the discussion she had with Abei before she fainted, and wanted to clarify things while Wei Shu was still around.
“You are the master of the Wei family, of course you can, but I don’t want you to interfere.” Wei Shu stood by the table and looked at Jiang Jin’s somewhat disappointed eyes as he explained, “You have to be on duty and manage the dowry shop. If the Wei family distracts you any further, I’m afraid your old ailment will get worse.”
"I will have the steward report to you every quarter. You can let those around you see the account books, but you must take care of your health." Wei Shu put on his outer robe and looked at Jiang Jin sitting on the couch, her expression gentle and her eyes tender.
"Ah Jin, I suddenly don't really want to go to the army anymore." Jiang Jin suddenly became interested, got off the bed, and hooked her arm around Wei Shu's neck. "What does my lord want to learn?"
"What are you thinking about, Ah Jin?" Wei Shu kissed Jiang Jin's forehead. "Put on your shoes and socks, be careful not to catch a chill."
"Okay, go quickly!" Jiang Jin sat on the stool, watching Wei Shu's back. She hadn't even realized when A Bei arrived.
“Madam,” Ah Jin placed a food box in front of Jiang Jin, “the clothing store said we should meet at 1-3 PM.”
"Understood." Jiang Jin composed herself and looked at Abei. "During my absence, did anything happen to the Crown Prince and the Third Prince?"
"There are plenty of big and small matters, but ever since the Fifth Prince entered the court, the two of them seem to have fallen silent. They haven't even held their usual impeachments anymore." Abei opened the food box and sighed as he looked at her thoughtful expression.
"Madam, why trouble yourself with this? It's just a daily clash between the Crown Prince and the Third Prince; His Highness is used to it. Only you are still so worried." As he spoke, Abei placed several dishes from the box in front of Jiang Jin.
"I'm afraid of overlooking anything. Small things reveal big things; if the details aren't handled well, the whole thing can be lost." For some reason, Jiang Jin was unusually wary of these princes.
"Alright, prepare some water for my bath." Jiang Jin tasted a few bites of the lightly seasoned dishes and then put down her chopsticks.
"Madam, won't you eat more?" Abei asked, looking at the dishes that Jiang Jin hadn't touched. "Is it because these dishes don't suit Madam's taste? Then I'll have the kitchen make a few more different ones."
"No, I just don't have an appetite. Besides, I drank quite a bit of porridge just now. Take these dishes and share them." Jiang Jin touched her hair and looked at A Bei, instructing, "No medicinal bath."
"Yes, Madam." Ah Bei put away the bowls and dishes, handed the food box to the maid below, and personally prepared bathing supplies for Jiang Jin.
"Sister Abei, why bother making you do it yourself? We can do it." The maid watched Abei personally tidying Jiang Jin's clothes, fearing she might be sold off at any moment.
"I've served Madam for a long time, and I know her likes and dislikes quite well. It's better if I bathe her myself." Ah Bei wouldn't let anyone in the manor interfere with Jiang Jin's food and clothing. Jiang Jin wasn't often in the manor anyway, and now that she was back, she naturally had to fulfill her duties as a maid.
“Sister Abei is naturally special in Madam’s heart. She knows what Madam likes and dislikes. We would like to ask Sister Abei for some guidance, for fear of upsetting Madam and harming her health.” The lead maid stuffed a string of copper coins into Abei’s palm.
"Is it any of your business to inquire about the Madam's likes and dislikes?" Abei squinted at the maids in front of him, and calmly returned the copper coins. "The Madam is not a cruel person. As long as you do your job well, you will not be scolded."
"Sister, aren't we afraid that if we're stupid and do something wrong, we'll be kicked out?" The young maid couldn't contain herself and revealed the purpose of their trip.
“My lady isn’t cruel. As long as it’s not something serious, a few scoldings will pass. But if any of you dare to betray your mistress, it won’t be as simple as being sold off.” Abei warned the maids. This wasn’t the Jiang residence, and they weren’t familiar with the people around them, so they naturally had to be on their guard.
"Sister is right, we would never dare to betray the Wei family or the Madam." The head maid, seeing she couldn't get anything out of Abei, was about to leave when she turned back and met Jiang Jin's ambiguous smile.
"So you care about me that much? What are you doing all over the greenhouse with your hands full? I remember you were supposed to be on duty tonight, weren't you outside guarding the outside? Were you gossiping inside?" Jiang Jin casually pointed and grabbed a maid who had neglected her post.
"Abei, take them down to receive their punishment." Jiang Jin waved her hand, and everyone filed out, leaving only Jiang Jin in the entire greenhouse. Enveloped in the warm water, Jiang Jin finally felt a little more relaxed.
"Madam." Ah Bei's voice reached Jiang Jin's ears.
"Come in, is there something urgent?" Jiang Jin never liked having someone serve her outside while she was bathing, so unless it was something important, Abei wouldn't disturb her.
"My lady, Lady Zhai is waiting for you inside," Abei quickly whispered in Jiang Jin's ear.
"Why is she here?" Jiang Jin paused, her fingers still wet with water, then picked up a piece of cotton cloth from the side.
"It was because I saw that your condition was quite serious this time that I took the liberty of inviting Lady Zhai. Only after the general left did I allow Lady Zhai to come in."
"Fine, I'll go see her. Otherwise, I'll get scolded again. Don't act on your own next time, or I won't let you off easily." Although Jiang Jin wasn't angry, she wouldn't let Abei act on his own. If he did something irreversible next time, it would be too late.
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