Chapter 335

"I’ll ask again. Do you like her or not?"

"You hesitated. Does that mean you don’t actually dislike her? So, what do you think about the Third Princess?"

"Why do you want to know?" Qin Mazhu grumbled, clearly annoyed by being pressured into answering these questions.

He felt that responding to these inquiries was truly difficult for him. For some reason, he couldn’t say he hated that little princess, but he certainly found her annoying. Therefore, he couldn’t say she was a woman he liked either!

"Brother, I’m not sure if you’re aware, but the Wang Region is currently at odds with the Hu Region because the Hu Region put the Wang Region’s princess in grave danger. This incident might lead to a major war. I don’t know the current situation of the Third Princess. Perhaps... if the Wang Region wants revenge and wants to resolve this with minimal damage, the Hu Region might send the Third Princess there."

"What do you mean? Sending the Third Princess would mean certain death! If she’s not in the Hu Region, there’s no way people would protect her like this!"

Qin Mazhu was shocked to hear this. It was something he hadn’t considered before. As a merchant, he was well aware of the danger the Wang Region’s princess was in, since intelligence was crucial in his trade.

However, the idea of exchanging the Third Princess with the Wang Region, allowing those people to torment her the same way their princess had been... that was something he had never thought of!

"Of course, but it’s not impossible," Yueqian didn’t explain further. She knew that with just this information, her brother would understand everything.

"That’s why I want to ask you again, Brother. How do you feel about the Third Princess? If we delay any longer, she might end up in danger."

Faced with his sister’s reasoning, Qin Mazhu couldn’t say anything more. He felt a deep discomfort in his heart.

"If you don’t feel anything for her, then letting her be sent to the Wang Region would be the best. But if you want to help the Third Princess, you must sacrifice yourself. Honestly, I don’t want you to choose the latter because marriage is not a joke. If you don’t love the Third Princess, having her stay at the Qin manor would only torment her."

"You should know well what it’s like to live somewhere you don’t belong. I don’t want the Third Princess to experience another hell, especially since the Wang Region might not even make this offer. Everything is just hypothetical."

Yueqian smiled, letting her brother ponder by himself. Sometimes, clinging too much to perfection could be dangerous.

She knew her brother had a serious weakness: he saw women as smart, easygoing, and non-annoying. If he weren’t like this, he might already have many women by his side. Unfortunately, he was surrounded by Li Ailing and Qin Yueqian, two women in his family who shared the same temperament. When he met other women, he felt they shouldn’t become part of his family.

But can matters of the heart be decided by reason? She didn’t want her brother to be heartbroken. She had seen from the beginning that he had feelings for the princess, yet he kept hurting her. That’s why... Yueqian wanted to intervene a little.

When she advised the princess, part of her wanted the princess to tone down her "Emperor’s sister" persona. Otherwise, she would only make those around her uncomfortable. However, she hadn’t expected the princess to be too hurt to change herself. The reason was simple: the princess believed that Qin Mazhu didn’t love her.

If she knew that Qin Mazhu actually had feelings for her, just a slight change to avoid making him uncomfortable would suffice! For this reason, Yueqian had the clever servant, Fan Yu, summoned the princess beforehand.

"I... I don’t hate her, it’s just that..." Qin Mazhu felt cornered, admitting to his sister in defeat.

"But...?"

"But she is the Third Princess, favored by the Emperor. Even if I love her and want to marry her, I am just a merchant from a small, immigrant family. It is impossible for marriage between us to happen. Furthermore, whenever she talks about rare and precious items or the things she can do in the palace, I can’t provide those for her. Wouldn’t it be better for her to marry a high-ranking noble who can bring her those things?"

Hearing Qin Mazhu’s words, Yueqian smiled slightly. From start to finish, it seemed her plan had succeeded. Her brother’s feelings were now clear, and it was up to the two of them to take the next steps.

What her brother said was absolutely correct. Marriage wasn’t something that could be easily arranged, was it? One was a princess, and the other a merchant of modest means. If an auspicious event were to occur, the princess would have to take the initiative. Wasn’t she in love with Qin Mazhu? Then she would have to make an effort.

Moreover, her attempts to flaunt her own grandeur had only shown how such behavior could drive people away, making men feel ashamed of not being able to match her. Moving forward, she would need to be more mindful of her words!

Other men, upon hearing of the princess’s fine possessions and power, all desire to had them. However, those weren’t the kind of men who would want to stay by her side until old age! Therefore, if she wanted to present what she had, she should choose a different path, not one of power or grandeur!

"What you said is true. This matter is indeed difficult. Let’s set it aside for now and talk about something else," Yueqian quickly changed the subject, as it was time to let the Third Princess return to the palace.

The Third Princess, having overheard the entire conversation between the siblings, had eyes red with emotion. Initially, her tears were from thinking she had to let go of Qin Mazhu. But now, her tears were from feeling even more deeply for him.

He didn’t despise her, but rather, he saw himself as too lowly to marry her!

How could a woman not be moved by hearing such words from the man she loved? She had wanted to tell him outright that she would handle everything herself, but she feared that doing so might make Qin Mazhu feel worse. Thus, she left silently, not letting him know she had heard every word he said!

The story of the princess in love with the young merchant came to an end. Yueqian spent quite some time with her family before they returned home, by which time it was already evening.

It seemed there was nothing to worry about regarding her family. Both were content, even though they hadn’t yet become prominent figures in the Hu Region. Nevertheless, the past year’s beginnings were not so bad.

Today was her first real break. Apart from chatting about random topics with her brother and mother, there was nothing else to do. As usual, good times flew by quickly. The next morning arrived, and the royal physician sent someone to summon her to the palace once again.

"Please, this way," the eunuch who came to lead Yueqian gestured towards the palace called "Palace of the Bodhisattva."

It seemed many people were going inside. From what her son Xihao had told her, Yueqian knew this palace belonged to the Third Prince, who had an unstable mind. Originally, this room was for royal family members to pray. However, when the Third Prince became deranged, the Emperor gave him this prayer residence. Unfortunately, it hadn’t yielded any positive results. Nevertheless, the Third Prince had been living there for many years.

As previously mentioned, she had managed to dispel the malevolent spirits that had been following Prince Three. Therefore, it was not surprising that his condition had improved. Yet, others didn’t share this belief!

Now, the Third Prince, who had always faced misfortunes, was another prince of the Emperor. Once the Emperor learned of his recovery, he bestowed many gifts to compensate for the lack of solutions in the past and visited him for two consecutive days. Consequently, people in the palace, keenly aware of these developments, realized whom they needed to curry favor with the most, leading to the large crowd here.

"Representative Ma," Yueqian greeted a familiar face first. Seeing that she had met Representative Ma, the eunuch left them to converse while he continued to welcome other arrivals.

The beautiful woman furrowed her brow as she watched the eunuch depart. Hadn’t she been summoned to help with something? Why were they merely inviting her in? Moreover, why were more people being welcomed? Already, hundreds had gathered here.

"What happened? Didn’t we hear that the Third Prince had recovered? Why are we being summoned again?"

"Sigh, this is Concubine Wang’s wish. When the Third Prince’s mother passed away, Concubine Wang took him in. But at that time, the Third Prince had mental issues, and Concubine Wang couldn’t take proper care of him. Now that he has recovered, Concubine Wang wants to invite everyone to celebrate his recovery."

Representative Ma spoke as if talking about something trivial, and Yueqian felt the same.

What is this about inviting everyone to celebrate the Third Prince’s recovery? Isn’t this just a way to showcase herself as a good mother? Now that he has shown potential to compete for the throne, she appears and invites numerous guests to celebrate. It seems more like an attempt to rally allies than anything else.

This action is not only foolishly short-sighted but also seems like she is pushing the Third Prince towards an early demise!

How do you think the other princes’ factions will react to this? As if they want to tell those people to quickly come and slaughter the still weak rivals?

"Oh, have the physicians arrived? And this must be the son of Royal Physician Mu? The one who helped care for my son? Please, come inside. The Third Prince is still not fully recovered and will need your assistance in his care."

Concubine Wang emerged, looking extremely pleased, accompanied by three other concubines who appeared less than delighted, their faces showing envy.

The more displeased the other concubines appeared, the more satisfied Concubine Wang became. To be ahead of the other concubines was a significant step. It increased her chances of becoming the Empress Dowager, while the others might be sent to a nunnery. Meanwhile, she could remain in the palace as the Empress Dowager! What could be better?

"Physician, you must take better care of the Third Prince this time. We don’t want a repeat of the previous incident where he fell ill as soon as he became Concubine Wang’s son. If that happens again, it would be a serious matter."

One of the concubines remarked pointedly, making a jab at Concubine Wang. She implied that Concubine Wang had merely been lucky to take over the prince’s care by chance. Had it been one of them without children, they too could have ascended similarly.

Previously, whenever the Third Prince was mentioned, Concubine Wang had a look of embarrassment and annoyance. She had to take responsibility for all of his actions. If he broke anything, it was Concubine Wang who had to pay for it. Thus, she constantly cursed and wished for the boy’s death.

The other concubines had grown tired of hearing Concubine Wang speak ill of the Third Prince.

No one expected that once he recovered, she would show such love and concern!

"His Majesty has arrived!" Upon hearing this announcement from the eunuch, Concubine Wang’s face lit up immediately.Including this visit, it meant that the Emperor had visited the Third Prince three times in a row!