Chapter 39

Solved

"Are you going to tell His Highness willingly or will we need to violently get it out of you?" Changan asks in a threatening tone, making the eunuch kneeling on the floor shakes in fear.

"Changan, when have you become so violent?" Luhan asks as he lean back against the tree behind him, "Have you been hanging out too much with Dahai? Do tell me again how does a gentle person like Yixing deal with such a cynical personal eunuch?"

Changan roll his eyes, "Your Highness, Dahai is not cynical…"

Luhan cuts in, "He'll need to prove otherwise… let us focus back on the problem."

Changan sigh, thinking he deserves more breaks from his work even though he's already been granted the most breaks in the entire imperial palace. He and Luhan was heading to the imperial library when they spotted Yueyin's maids leaving the imperial supplies management department. Changan recognized Xiaobai as a maid from the clothing department that accidentally ran into him awhile ago. He also recognized lady Zhang's personal maid but he does not know either of their names. By the way Luhan stopped in his track and look in their direction, Changan immediately knew what he wanted. He wasted no time rushing into the supplies department and drag the managing eunuch that the two maids had spoken to back to Luhan.

Changan turn his attention back on the shaking eunuch, "Tell us what were Lady Zhang's maids doing at the supplies department?"

"They…they were just passing by…" the kneeling eunuch utter.

"Neither her palace nor Liufei's is that way, you expect me to believe that someone new to the imperial palace like Lady Zhang would send her personal maids to wander about near the supplies department?" Luhan asks as he folds one of the fallen leaves he picked up, not bothering to look towards the eunuch.

"Spill the truth or you'll get beaten then send off to the labor house," Changan prompted him again.

The eunuch's face pale upon hearing of the labor house. The labor house is one of the most feared places in the imperial palace for the servants. Servants of the labor house does all the heavy and dirty manual labor of the imperial palace. They're servants with no ranks and are often treated badly by even their own fellow servants. The eunuch knew that was one of the last places he wants to end up in, especially since he's been a managing eunuch for a few years and has gathered quite a large number of resentments from lower ranking eunuchs. If he were to fall now and loses his ranks, his life is basically over. However, telling the truth is the same as admitting to his wrong doings. The second prince is not the same as the forgiving gentle third prince, but he's also not as ruthless as the crown prince or the sixth prince. This is all the eunuch has to bet on right now.

He plans to crawl over to Luhan but Changan stepped in his way and stopped his advances. He knew he wasn't going to be able to cry and beg so he just spill it out as fast as he could, "Lady Zhang's maids came to request food supplies for their palace but was rejected by us before. They came again today and spoke to me so I approved and promised to deliver them their food supplies."

Luhan narrow his eyes threateningly at the eunuch, "To think the future Princess Consort is being treated this way right inside the imperial palace walls… you all have quite some nerves"

"Please forgive us, Your Highness! We were just following along to please the Empress!"

"Are you implying that it was ordered by Royal Mother?"

The eunuch froze, realizing what he had just said. He quickly shakes his head, "No! No! I did not mean that!"

Luhan frown in disappointment, "How long has it been?"

"It… it has been about a month…or more…" the eunuch shakes harder in fear under Luhan's gaze and immediately spill more, "Lady Zhang has sent her maids several times to request supplies. We were hoping she'll not know her place and end up coming to us in person… and ruining her own reputation…"

Changan shakes his head in disbelief, "You all must be idiots then. The people most worried about Lady Zhang's reputation isn't herself."

Luhan smiles at his personal eunuch, "If only they all have brain like yours, Changan. It's because they don't that they think it's alright to make their future Princess Consort worry about basic necessities like food. Well? She didn't come in person and neither did she end up bribing you?"

"No, Your Highness. Lady Zhang did neither. Her maids came today asking to speak with one of the eunuchs that manage the supplies department. Some lower ranking eunuchs refused them like last few times, but the maids seemed different today and told them that they hope those eunuchs will be able to take responsibilities and then turn to leave. Those eunuchs were worried about their change in attitude and feared that they might get into trouble so they let the maids through to meet with me. They request for their fair share of supplies again and I… I refused them at first. Then they told me that they'll have no choice but to go directly to the Crown Prince to make their requests."

"Oh, that's strange. According to what I know, the Crown Prince hasn't come to visit Lady Zhang once since she arrived. Would she have really depended on him? Wouldn't the Royal Princess be a better choice since they're closer?" Changan questions.

Luhan smiles, he now understood Zhang Yueyin's intention. Seems she had solved her own problem and he didn't need to step in to help at all. Seeing her maids coming out of the supplies department earlier made him suspicious that she might be facing some predicaments. After all, not even ranked maids or eunuchs have to send their own people to the supplies department to request supplies. Liufei hasn't been throwing any kind of fuss lately so it's no doubt she has no idea what's happening. Though both him and Yixing respected Zhang Yueyin’s father and would love to befriend her, but since they'll become her brother in-law it's inappropriate for them to even approach her palace.

"You had the nerves to do that to the future Princess Consort, I don't imagine the mention of the Crown Prince shook you up that much to the point of agreeing to their request so quickly?" Luhan asks.

The eunuch drip cold sweats as he feels his doom drawing closer, "As… as you've guessed, Your Highness. I refused them again… but then they… they whisper to me that…"

"What did they say?" Changan pressed.

"That records are used for the purpose of tracking supplies to prevent theft and mismanagement; therefore, any forgery or false entries attempt are heavily punishable crimes…" the eunuch trails off.

Luhan let out an amused laugh then told the eunuch, "Alright, I've heard enough. You may leave. However, be warned that if the supplies department makes trouble for Lady Zhang again, you'll all not be let off so easily the next time."

Both Changan and the kneeling eunuch look to Luhan in surprised. Before Changan could question, the kneeling eunuch quickly bow to Luhan, thanking for sparing him and then ran off. Luhan raised an amused eyebrow at the questioning look that's still on Changan's face. "If he's innocent that phrase won't have any effect on him. However, if he's not then he knows what that meant. Aren't you already aware that most servants at the managing level are involved in some heavy briberies? Lady Zhang might not have concrete evidence of it but those eunuchs will be scare at just the thoughts of having the records properly check."

Changan shakes his head, "I understood that part, but should we just let him off like that?"

"It wasn't just him. There are many in on it. We can't possibly punish one without ending up pulling up the whole servant bribery network in the palace. It's too troublesome to sort that out and also there's Royal Mother's reputation and the royal family's reputation to protect."

Changan nodded in understanding "Your Highness, what about the part about the Crown Prince?"

Luhan explains as he continues on his way to the imperial library, "I don't think she's actually going to be dependent on the Crown Prince by what she has instructed her maids to say. She knows that those servants are acting this way to be in good light with Royal Mother. They know she won't go to Royal Father for help because he's too busy and also because it'll make Royal Mother look bad, which in turn makes Royal Mother dislike her even more. Lady Zhang is friends with Xiaofei, so she doesn't want to drag Xiaofei into an unfavorable position making her stuck between Royal Mother and herself. Though my Royal Brother does not meet with her which seems to be making the other servants look down on her more, but she's still his fiancé in name. I'm guessing that she's thinking the least he could do for her is to let her use his name and position to scare those servants and get some proper food. Even if he does hear of it later, it's such a trivial matter to him that he wouldn't have minded. Either way, Lady Zhang solved her own problem. I could only help to make sure it won't happen again in the future. I cannot be too open about supporting or helping Lady Zhang because it would only make her situation worse. Royal Mother is already very against her because of the betrothal, so if I add myself to the picture it would only enrage her more." He let out a sigh, "How embarrassing it is that she's yet to marry into the royal family but already has to start seeing the ugliness of it. I wonder if she's starting to regret her decision that day."

---

Yixing stepped through the gates of the Zhang residence. He's saddened that the once familiar warm, harmonious and joyful atmosphere of this residence is no longer present. He had not wish to visit this place so soon after his laoshi's funeral, but he had promised to be of help so he must carry out his visits to make the fake betrothal more believable in the eyes of others.

Madame Lin came rushing out to greet him once she heard of his arrival, "Greetings, Your Highness. Please forgive us for not welcoming you properly."

"It's alright. It's my own fault for coming unannounced." Yixing is familiar with Madame Lin from his last visits to the Zhang residence. The woman seems to have aged quite a bit since he last saw her. She was a kind person who always help him to sneak in and out of the Zhang residence unnoticed when he came by to visit his laoshi. The servants in the Zhang residence seems to have a deep respect and love towards their masters. They all share this warmth and bond that can never be achieved in a place like the imperial palace. Yixing did noticed that Madame Lin was a bit different compare to the other servants in the residence. Perhaps it's because she was the personal servant of Weimin's late wife, or maybe because she's the residence's manager, but she and Weimin had seem more like close friends than they are servant and master.

Looking at the forced smile on her face, he wonders how terribly she must have missed her two masters who had left her. The sadness in her eyes made him wonder if it weren't for the two Zhang young misses, would Madame Lin had followed her masters to the other world. "I should be the one apologizing for troubling you all. It's just I happened to have some free time and thought I should drop by to visit."

Madame Lin smile kindly at him and he can't help but felt it's so familiar, but he can't remember where he must have felt this before. He quickly pushes the thought out of his head when she spoke up, "It's always our pleasure to receive your visits. I hope you've been well after…" she trailed off, still unable to voice the reality of it all.

Yixing offered a kind smile in return, "I've been well. Keeping myself busy has been helpful. Since the announcement of the betrothal, I've not had the opportunity to properly and officially introduce myself to the Second Young Miss Zhang. Is she here today? How has she been?"

Madame Lin's smile slowly disappear and she looks down in sadness, "The Second Young Miss is here, but… I wonder if she's in a proper enough state to meet with you, Your Highness."

"Is she not well? Shall I have an imperial physician summoned here? Last I saw of her in the palace, her health had seemed well. Did something happen?" Yixing questions.

Madame Lin shakes her head, tears welling up in her eyes. "She had been trying to tough it out for everyone's sake… she had been like a ball of energy, cheering everyone up and trying to keep the residence running as smoothly as it had before. She was excited after receiving the Eldest Young Miss' invitation to the palace," Madame Lin's tears roll down her cheeks, "I'm not sure what happened but after that day, it's as if she has lost all her light. She roams lifelessly throughout the residence. Crying herself to sleep in her father's and sister's room. When no one's looking she sneaks out at night and come home drunk. Then dived herself into learning and practicing all the things she had hated to do before. No one knows what to do or how to approach her with questions without breaking down whatever left that's keeping her functioning."

Even he was so heart broken after Weimin's passing, the two daughters' hearts must still be in pieces and have yet to start mending themselves. However, he wondered what could possibly have happened that day for the sudden change in Zhang Meiyin's behavior.

"Since she's here, may I see her? After all, it'll not be good for her reputation if I were to leave so soon for my visit."

Madame Lin wiped her tears and nodded. She then led Yixing to the garden's entrance. Once they're close enough, he can hear the sound of a guzheng - it wasn't exactly a pleasing guzheng sound.

"She has been at it for several hours now…" Madame Lin says.

Yixing enter the garden and approach Meiyin. "Second Young Miss Zhang, if you keep going like that, you'll ruin your fingers and the guzheng," he says to get her attention. She just ignores him and continue to play. Yixing can sense that Madame Lin wants to come over and reprimand Meiyin for her rudeness towards royalty, so he quickly looks in her direction to signal her that it's alright and not to approach. "That is a very nice guzheng. Does it perhaps belong to Lady Zhang? Would she not be saddened if you ruin her precious guzheng?" he asks.

At the mention of Yueyin's sadness, Meiyin stops. "How do you know it belongs to my sister?" she asks without looking up at him.

"Well… your skills don’t quite match with the guzheng, and Lady Zhang's reputation with the guzheng has spread far since the Flower Viewing event."

Meiyin frowns, "So I need to practice harder." She was about to continue but Yixing quickly places his hand on the guzheng strings, preventing her from playing. "Take your hand off," she demanded.

"Please excuse my rudeness," he said then grab her hand and pull her up off the chair, then drag her over to the table in the pavilion. Meiyin was too surprised and didn't have the time to display much resistant before she was forced onto a seat in the pavilion. She tries to stand up but he push her down again by her shoulders. She was about to let him have a piece of her mind but the words got stuck in when she looks up and saw the sadness in his eyes.

"Even if you were to become the perfect daughter that you think he wants now, do you think he'll come back?" Yixing asks.

His question shocks her because she hadn't realized that's what she has been doing. What exactly has she been trying to accomplish? Is this not the correct way to face her problems? She looks towards the guzheng then down at her own hands. She just felt so powerless for not being able to help her sister or her father when they needed her.  She was just deluding herself by thinking that if she had not been so rebellious and had been a more competent daughter and sister, her father wouldn't have left and her sister wouldn't have to suffer. But it's too late now. Nothing will come out of it and time will not turn back even if she forces herself to change.

"What would you know about it…" she mumbled and Yixing was expecting for her to start crying, but she didn't.

Yixing once again believe that Madame Lin is the most capable and reliable maid in the world, because she came over with bandages right when they needed it. He gently takes Meiyin's hands and wrap bandages over her bleeding fingers.

"Thank you, Your Highness," Meiyin said as she watches him bandage her fingers. "Please don't tell my sister that I've ruined her guzheng with my blood."

He smiles as he moves onto the next finger, "Don't worry. It's not appropriate for me to approach her anyways."

"You…" she hesitated. "You were quite close with my father," it was more of a statement than a question from her.

He nodded but kept silent. After all, he wasn't sure how much of his relationship with Weimin can be reveal to the Zhang sisters. He finished bandaging the last finger then sit down in his own seat across from her. Since he didn't elaborate on the relationship, she decided not to push. At least it confirmed that he had a good reason to help her with this fake engagement. Without it, this residence would have fallen under one of the Zhang clan's elders and she would have to leave her own home. She held up her hands and examined his work.

"You're unexpectedly good at first aid for a royal prince," she commented and Madame Lin nudge her to mind her manners.

Yixing smiles, "The proficiency came from having many careless, stubborn and prideful siblings."

She looks at him for awhile then suddenly asks, "Are you always this forward with girls?"

Madame Lin's eyes widen in shock and Yixing was just speechless. It took him a couple of seconds to recover before he could reply, a bit fluster "N… No. It's just that I have a little sister and I guess this was all just habitual reflex. Second Young Miss Zhang, please forgive my rudeness. I had not meant to disrespect you."

"Don't apologize. I hadn't meant anything by it," she reassured him. "May I call you by your name?" she asks.

"Second Young Miss! You are being rude to His Highness!" Madame Lin reprimanded her.

Yixing quickly spoke up to stop Madame Lin "No, it's alright. Second Young Miss Zhang and I are betrothed. It's appropriate for us to call each other by our names." He then looks at Meiyin, "You can call me Yixing."

"Then you can call me Meiyin," she told him then turn to Madame Lin and ask for teas and snacks to be serve to the prince. After Madame Lin left the garden, Meiyin let out a sigh. "Thank you for playing along. I've been stressing her out enough as it is. If she learns that the betrothal is fake, I think she'll faint."

Yixing nodded to acknowledge her thanks then fix his gaze on her. "What is it?" she asks.

"Are you feeling better now?" he asks.

She looks down and shakes her head, "I don't know if I ever will… become better."

"Just do what you do best and be however you like to be. It's what your father would have wanted of you."

"Thank you."

---

Jihao was heading to the Zhang residence. Now that his cousins are betrothed to the royal princes, his mother wants him to make up and get along with his cousins. Today, she forced him to bring gifts to his cousins' house. He was quite reluctant until she threatens to decrease his allowances. He knows that his cousins have risen and will become phoenixes, but he didn't see what does it all has to do with him. He doesn’t understand why his mother wants to kiss up to them now when she clearly sided with him in hating them before.

Since he wasn't happy about having to go to his cousins' house, he chose to walk there instead of using his family's carriage. It certainly took much longer but he had an enjoyable walk. Jihao finally made it to the street that the residence is on, but hadn't expect to see the third royal prince and his guards entering the Zhang residence from afar. For a royal prince to actually come by to visit, it seems this betrothal with the royal family is serious. He felt that it's probably best to not enter when the third prince is present, since he can't be sure what Meiyin would rile him up to say in front of the prince to get him in trouble. He decided to drop by a tea house nearby and wait until after the third prince leave.

It was a good while until Jihao saw the third prince exiting the Zhang residence. He was about to get up from his chair and exit the balcony when his eyes caught sight of Qin Chunhua on the street. She and her personal maid was standing by a handkerchief stall on the street, looking towards the Zhang residence. The stall wasn't too far from the tea house so he leans over the balcony and was about to call out to her, but stops himself when he noticed how angry she looked upon seeing the third royal prince leaving from the Zhang residence.

He wonders if she was jealous of his cousins. Jihao smiles to himself. He thinks he can finally see the benefits of having his cousins betrothed to the royal princes. Qin Chunhua is just like any other girls in the empire, always fawning and wanting to be with the royal princes. Noble sons like Jihao does get girls but it's usually not the girls at the same level as the ones the royal princes would get. If the royal princes are around, noble sons like himself are nonexistent in those girls' eyes. However, now that some of the royal princes are basically taken. He'll now have a higher chance with Qin Chunhua, the number one celestial fairy of the capital city. Perhaps he will give his best blessings to his cousins' betrothal to the royal princes after all.

Author's Notes:

Double Updates! since it's been a while.