Chapter 41: She Needs Many Things Too

This was the first direct confrontation between Yun Qiange and Murong Xi (previous encounters while masked did not count), and it ended with Yun Qiange sustaining an injury.

Petty! Stingy!

This was Yun Qiange’s second impression of Murong Xi. Despite being draped in gold and jade, he was practically miserly to a fault.

Ever since that incident, the entire Princess’s Manor had been shrouded in a heavy, stifling atmosphere. Some whispered that Master Xi had regained favor, as he had actually moved back into the manor from the outside.

Others claimed that Master Haoyu had fallen out of favor, noting that the Princess had not visited his courtyard for many days.

Still others speculated that after the recent quarrel between Master Xi and the Princess, she had lost interest in all the gentlemen in the manor, choosing instead to seek pleasure in brothels every night, indulging in endless revelry.

The night air was cool; it was already four in the morning. The young woman straightened her completed fashion design sketches. Dieyi brought over a bowl of bird's nest porridge and said, "It is late, Princess. Please get some rest."

The woman stretched her back. "Mhm. Where is Xiangcao?"

"Replying to the Princess, Xiangcao has already gone to make arrangements at Guixiang Pavilion."

"Very well, let us be off, then."

"Princess, are we going there again?" Dieyi bit her lip. She could no longer bear the gossip of the servants in the manor, who claimed the Princess was licentious and spent her nights drowning in debauchery at brothels. Only she and Xiangcao knew that the Princess went there to attend to serious business.

"Not go? How could I not go? After all the effort it took to finally build a rapport with Wang Liang, do you want me to let all my hard work go to waste?"

"No, no, that’s not it!" Dieyi waved her hands frantically, then added with a pained expression, "If the Princess’s husbands knew she spent every night staying at a brothel, how heartbroken they would be."

She wanted the Princess to live well; after all, the Princess had been very kind to her, and she truly wished for the Princess to find happiness.

"My... husbands?" A faint, bitter smile touched the corner of Yun Qiange’s mouth. Wanqi Haoyu had approached her only because of her status as the Emperor’s sister, harboring ulterior motives from the start.

As for Shangguan Ning, her predecessor had killed his father; he likely wished for nothing more than to kill her in return.

And Murong Xi—though she did not know what agreement he had made with her predecessor, he undeniably despised her. In short, none of her three husbands were free of malicious intent.

Why should she care? She could barely protect herself and had no time to consider anything else. She waved her hand dismissively. "They never held me in their hearts to begin with; a twisted melon is never sweet. Besides, the Empress has decreed that I must uncover the cause of the Princess’s death within three months to clear my name. If I fail to find the truth and appease Prince Li’s wrath this time, my head will be on the chopping block. Do you want me to lose my head? Furthermore, the Empress stated that if I fail, not only I, but you and everyone in this manor will be executed. Tell me, is the opinion of those three husbands more important, or are our lives?"

Dieyi nodded immediately, her eyes shining. Of course, the Princess’s life was more important. "But the Princess is truly amazing—you can draw, investigate cases, and conduct business. It seems that nothing in this world is difficult in your eyes."

Yun Qiange let out a helpless, quiet laugh at the naive girl. "I possess many skills, but I also have many needs. I need money to provide myself with a life of comfort and luxury. I need power, not just the empty title of a Princess without real authority. I need internal energy and lightness skills. Only by possessing strength can one survive in this society and avoid being bullied by others."