The Sinful Woman's Golden Branch: The Jade-Faced Yama is Actually Me (Part Twelve)...
They left Beijing in high spirits, but within a few days, everyone was exhausted from the long journey.
Upon arriving in Dengzhou, the group was like wolves eyeing meat, eager to settle down and catch their breath.
Unexpectedly, the entourage of the Prefect of Dengzhou tried to strike up a conversation, but Cui Xiaoyu immediately rebuked them coldly: "Didn't you see that the princess is in mourning? How dare you hold such a lavish banquet?"
The governor of Dengzhou was taken aback, only then noticing that each member of the princess's entourage wore something plain.
He asked nervously, "This humble servant is being presumptuous. May I ask which of the princess's relatives has passed away?"
Cui Xiaoyu's expression softened, revealing a hint of sadness: "It's Old Madam Chai."
Prefect of Dengzhou: ...
Who is Madam Chai?
Seeing his confusion, Cui Xiaoyu explained, "Madam Chai is an elder of the princess's husband's family. The princess's husband's family was implicated in a rebellion and the entire family was implicated. The princess was kind-hearted and, out of consideration for past relationships, spared the women of the Chai family."
"Now that the princess has been conferred her title, I originally did not want to disturb the Chai family. However, the old lady of the Chai family, grateful for the princess's great kindness, sold her ancestral property and gave it to the princess, insisting on accompanying her."
"The princess would not accept money from orphans and widows to support themselves, but since the Chai family was so sincere, we couldn't bear to refuse, so we took them with us on our journey."
"Unexpectedly, Madam Chai was eighty-six years old and too old to withstand the bumpy ride on the road, and unfortunately passed away."
“The princess was deeply grieved and observed three months of mourning for Madam Chai to express her grief.”
She saved her husband's family and even performed filial piety for his elderly mother, which perfectly matched the definition of filial piety in this era. The group immediately praised her.
The Prefect of Dengzhou was deeply moved: "I never imagined that the princess was so loyal and righteous. Madam Chai can die without regrets because the princess showed her filial piety!"
Cui Xiaoyu nodded in agreement, raised her sleeve, pretended to wipe away her tears, and then looked at the group of people.
"Although the princess will now be in charge of all affairs in Dengzhou, she is new to the area and does not want to start a major conflict."
"Given the recent loss, there's no need for a lavish banquet. Just make sure the princess's entourage is settled."
"Besides, the princess is a noblewoman in the capital, of golden branches and jade leaves. How could she possibly meet with you uncouth people directly?"
"Call the women in your household here. The princess does not receive male guests."
The governor of Dengzhou and his entourage were taken aback for a moment, then nodded in agreement. When they looked at each other, they could see the smiles in each other's eyes.
They had been increasingly tormented by the news that Dengzhou was to be converted into a princess's fiefdom. Now that the princess was still maintaining the strict separation of men and women and wouldn't even see any men, what was there to be afraid of?
Because of the empress above them, although they despise women, they are also afraid of princesses who resemble their mothers and are ruthless.
Upon meeting her, half of their concerns were dispelled. What was the purpose of sending such a delicate and pampered young lady here?
He breathed a huge sigh of relief; his wariness of the princess had turned into welcome.
Having such a hilarious lord is truly a blessing for Dengzhou!
...
Ji Siyin, who was looked down upon by everyone, plopped down in a chair and no longer complained about Ye Xiqing's laziness. She hadn't expected that traveling could be so tiring!
She leaned back in the large chair of the military governor's mansion without any formality. As the newly appointed princess, there was no mansion worthy of her status for her to live in. There was no time to build a new one, so the military governor's mansion was converted into a princess mansion and presented to her.
Exhausted and hungry, Ji Siyin said with displeasure, "Am I really going to observe mourning for that old woman?"
Very good, she has gone from being a respected matriarch of her husband's family to an old lady.
Ye Xiqing was pushed in by Zhao Yingying in a wheelchair and remained in the wheelchair.
After traveling for such a long time, even the princess, with her robust physique and skill in both literature and martial arts, couldn't withstand it, let alone Ye Xiqing's paper-thin body.
These days, the only difference between her and Old Madam Chai is that she is not dead.
Along the way, she suffered from motion sickness, menstrual cramps, acclimatization problems, sudden illness for unknown reasons, loss of appetite, and bitter medicine—she went through it all. Now, she's only one female lead's halo away from dying, so it's natural that she can't feel any good feelings towards Ji Siyin.
She smiled gently and said, "Princess, you are so generous. You didn't take a single penny from the Chai family when our great cause was still unfulfilled. Now that the old lady has passed away, what's the big deal about observing mourning for her?"
Ji Siyin:...
Why do I have to ruminate on this matter so many times?
In fact, Ji Siyin had initially acted generously, refusing to take a single penny, but after Ye Xiqing spoke, she immediately regretted it.
What is she thinking? They've practically offered themselves up, how can she refuse them all? She could at least take half!
Ji Siyin was already regretting it, but Ye Xiqing kept talking, which annoyed her. She retorted, "So what? I'm just being a benevolent ruler. If you don't want it, you don't want it. What do you know, you little girl from a humble family?"
Oh, so it's the demeanor of a benevolent ruler. My apologies for my lack of respect. Well then, since Madam Chai has passed away, you should observe mourning for her.
Ji Siyin immediately flew into a rage. What a joke! She was already being kind by burying her, let alone making her observe mourning. Who did she think she was?
If her mom finds out about this, won't she be furious?
Ye Xiqing shrugged. "So you want to leave empty-handed, with neither wealth nor fame?"
He saved lives, gave away his money, and did all the practical things, but in the end, besides gaining a reputation for being love-struck and upsetting his own mother, he didn't get any benefits.
Couldn't you do some hype? After all, you're skilled in both literature and martial arts. How did historical male emperors and filial sons manage to generate hype? Can't you learn from them?
Ji Siyin:...
And so, Ji Siyin actually began wearing mourning clothes, though not completely, it was still quite unpleasant.
Already in a bad mood, Ji Siyin was about to fly into a rage when Ye Xiqing dared to speak sarcastically to her.
But when his gaze fell upon Ye Xiqing's eyes, which shone with a light that resembled will-o'-the-wisps, he swallowed his words.
You can get angry with a good person, but what can you say to someone who seems to have just crawled out of a coffin and could lie down again at any moment?
In fact, once a princess is granted a title, she can travel along the official road. Even if she brings many elderly, weak, women, and children with her, she shouldn't be traveling so slowly.
But Ye Xiqing was so frightening that Ji Siyin was worried she would die several times, so she ordered the march to be slowed down and the group to stop and adjust its condition whenever they reached a place.
Even so, one of the old ladies, Madam Chai, still died. There's nothing we can do about it; that's just how things are in this era.
Ye Xiqing had endured a lot of suffering along the way, but there was one advantage: no one dared to disobey her anymore.
In fact, as a transmigrator, even though he possesses the original owner's memories, it's still easy for him to be exposed in front of his biological mother.
But Ye Xiqing had been sick the moment she opened her eyes all along the way. Her own mother was afraid she would die, so how could she have the chance to tell if she was really sick or not? And it's impossible for two people to be born with the same illness.
Even after she recovered from her illness, she became unusually cold, gloomy, eccentric, temperamental, and easily angered, but no one told her that she seemed to have changed.
Because now everyone thinks that she is already very strong to still be able to live in this world, and we shouldn't ask for too much!
Even the unruly "daughter of two emperors" had to back down in front of Ye Xiqing. After all, if you don't back down, she might not be able to catch her breath and die!
He forced himself to swallow his anger and ordered his men to serve him the meal. Even though he wasn't going to the banquet, he still had to eat.
Because it is a partial mourning period, the mourning period does not need to be as strict as the full mourning period, but one cannot drink meat or eat meat; one can only eat vegetarian meat such as chicken, duck, fish, and goose.
Looking at Ji Siyin's unruly child being forced to go to school, Ye Xiqing calmly said, "You can order some meat in my name, and just say it's for me to eat."
Ji Siyin's eyes lit up, and she was about to agree, but she stopped herself just as she was about to speak.
"Forget it, it's not that much longer. I've endured it for so long, there's no need to give people something to say at the last minute. Eating vegetarian for a few days won't kill me!"
Ye Xiqing immediately clapped her hands and praised, "Wow, the princess is truly resolute and trustworthy. She is willing to sacrifice herself for the sake of great things. She will surely achieve great things in the future."
Ji Siyin:...
"Are you speaking sincerely, or are you mocking me?"
Ye Xiqing gave a standard smile: "How could that be? What are you saying, Your Highness? When have I ever been sarcastic towards you? Of course, I meant it."
Ji Siyin:...
It looks even more like it now!
But Ji Siyin thought about it several times and didn't think there was anything ironic about her. In this matter, she was just very tough, very trustworthy, and very selfless!
Although Ye Xiqing is always being sarcastic and sarcastic, she can't stay like that forever. This is a compliment!
Fortunately, she has some discernment and can speak reasonably from time to time. Otherwise, if she were to truly anger her one day, she would definitely punish her!
After being praised, Ji Siyin was in a good mood and was finally able to eat properly.
Besides the usual chicken, duck, fish and goose, a visit to Dengzhou naturally includes plenty of local seafood.
Even if the post horse runs the fastest in Kyoto, it can never get the freshest seafood that's just been caught from the sea.
Ji Siyin tasted the oysters that were offered and immediately nodded in satisfaction: "The taste is not bad, would you like some?"
Ye Xiqing smiled and said, "Let's talk about it after I've recovered."
Otherwise, who knows if she might have a seafood allergy and be sent away immediately?
So even though she sat at the same table as the princess, surrounded by a table full of exquisite dishes, Ye Xiqing could only eat her own unique small meal.
After witnessing how fragile Ye Xiqing's body was, Ji Siyin assigned her his own physician.
After examination by professionals, it was determined that drug treatment was not suitable, because in the medical system at that time, there was a saying that the weak could not tolerate tonics and the frail could not withstand medicine.
The best approach is to first regulate the body through dietary supplements, meaning you can't eat just anything, as that feels even more harmful than medicinal supplements.
Ye Xiqing experienced the feeling of eating like going to work and decided that once she felt better, she would immediately forget about her roots.
After dinner, I took another nap. Without the usual turbulence of the past few days, only a stable bed made me feel like I was back to normal life.
When she opened her eyes, as expected, Ji Siyin had been waiting for her for quite some time.
Although everyone was tired along the way, Ji Siyin, like Fu Yunzhen from the previous world, had superhuman stamina. In fact, because she had practiced martial arts, archery, horsemanship, and hunting since childhood, she was even better than Fu Yunzhen.
She spent most of the journey on horseback, complaining that they were walking too slowly, and would run around and play for a while. She acted as if nothing had happened the next day.
Upon arriving in Dengzhou, he took a short nap and regained his strength. Now that he was better, he naturally wanted to do what he wanted. The fact that he patiently waited for Ye Xiqing to finish her afternoon nap was already extremely considerate.
Upon seeing Ye Xiqing wake up, he immediately ran over excitedly, his face full of anticipation, and said, "We've arrived at our fiefdom, shouldn't we begin our great undertaking?"
Ye Xiqing struggled to get up; she had slept so soundly that her whole body ached.
Shaking off the confusion in her mind, she propped herself up and leaned against the tatami: "Hasn't it already started?"
"Oh? You just summoned the local officials and asked their female relatives to come over."
Ye Xiqing looked at Ji Siyin listlessly. She was already in a bad mood because she had overslept, and seeing her boss as soon as she opened her eyes made her even angrier.
We can't drive her away; we have to talk to her.
She looked at Ji Siyin with a sinister gaze, her eyes practically blazing with ghostly fire.
"Isn't this the most important thing?"
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