Princess Shou Jia

Xiao Jinyi began looking for excuses to see Shen Shixu in the future. Shen Shixu said frankly, "Don't worry, that definitely won't happen. Honestly, I'm pretty happy that I'm the first person you think of when you run into trouble."

Delighted, Xiao Jinyi refilled Shen Shixu's wine cup. "You're so good to me, and I have no way to repay you. All I can do is treat you to fine wine and food."

Once they had eaten and drunk their fill, the silent palace maids from earlier came in and cleared the leftovers from the table.

Xiao Jinyi ordered tea, and a young eunuch entered carrying two steaming cups. "Your Highness, Lord Shen, please have some tea."

"Shixu, try this. It's premium Big Red Robe tea. My imperial uncle sent someone to deliver it while he was roaming the martial world. This tea falls somewhere between green tea and black tea. The leaves are a lustrous greenish brown, and when steeped in hot water, the tea turns a bright orange-yellow, with red and green mingling in the leaves. It has a rich flavor and a faint orchid fragrance that lingers beautifully. You should like it."

Shen Shixu had barely taken two sips when Bai He hurried in. "Your Highness, Princess Shou Jia is here."

Now that Xiao Jinyi had a way to handle his aunt, he was no longer afraid of her. He told Bai He to bring her in at once. "Then hurry and invite the princess in. Also, tell the imperial kitchen to send over two more pastries, and bring a cup of black tea for my aunt."

After Bai He bowed and withdrew, a gentle-looking woman entered, dressed in a pomegranate-red, floor-length gown patterned with mist-veiled plum blossoms, her hair arranged in a drifting-cloud bun. She was fair-skinned and beautiful, but melancholy lingered in her eyes. The cloud brocade handkerchief in her hands had been twisted out of shape. She came in clutching it and looked at Xiao Jinyi, hesitating to speak.

Seeing her like this, Xiao Jinyi feared she might burst into tears at any moment and hurried to offer her a seat. "Aunt Shou Jia, please sit. I know why you're here. It isn't that I refuse to help you, but there really is nothing I can do.

"Liang Junda committed a grave crime this time. If he had embezzled some other funds, there might have been room to maneuver. But he stole money allocated to disaster relief. Because of him, hundreds of common people were killed or injured, and thousands lost their homes.

"If we let him go, how could we answer to all those people who suffered because of him?"

"I... I can make it up to them little by little." Princess Shou Jia thought this was an excellent idea and continued, "I can look after them, give them money, arrange places for them to live, and provide food and drink.

"I'll compensate them for their losses. Wouldn't that be enough to spare Junda's life?"

Watching Princess Shou Jia, Shen Shixu pressed a hand to his forehead, his head aching. He felt his earlier assessment of her had been far too mild. This was no mere love-addled brain. This was love cancer, the evolved form of a love-addled brain.

"Princess Shou Jia, you say you'll make it up to the people who were harmed. How exactly do you intend to do that?

"Some lost their loved ones. Some even lost their own lives, and others will be disabled for the rest of their lives. What can you give them to make up for that? Can you bring their loved ones back? Can you restore them to life? Can you give them sound limbs again?"

Shen Shixu's words left Princess Shou Jia speechless. In the end, she pressed her handkerchief to her eyes and began to cry. "I know I can't make it up to them, but I can't just watch Junda die!"

The sound of her crying immediately gave Xiao Jinyi a headache. Shen Shixu did not want to listen to her pitiful sobbing either. After a moment's thought, he decided to try another approach.

"Princess, seeing how heartbroken you are over Liang Junda, you must love him deeply. But love doesn't mean indulging him in everything or endlessly cleaning up his messes.

"You've spoiled him this way. You bear some responsibility for how he ended up."

Princess Shou Jia was so stunned that she even forgot to cry. Clutching her handkerchief against her chest, she looked at Shen Shixu with reddened eyes. "Was I the one who made him become like this?"

Thinking that he had to tear things down before he could rebuild them, Shen Shixu gritted his teeth and nodded. "Of course. If you hadn't kept covering for him, teaching him that you would save him no matter how terrible a mistake he made, he wouldn't have committed such a grave crime.

"But I don't think he would blame you. Though I've never met Liang Junda, seeing how much you love him, I'm sure he must love you very much too.

"To keep you from getting hurt, he should take responsibility himself. So, to make sure his good intentions don't go to waste, please stop making things difficult for yourself, His Highness, and the Empress Dowager."

Shen Shixu's words began to move Princess Shou Jia. In her eyes, Liang Junda truly loved her more than his own life, so it made perfect sense that he would take responsibility for her sake.

Even so, she was still in anguish. Seeing that she had quieted down, Shen Shixu continued, "We know how deeply you love each other. Although we can't save Liang Junda, we can still let you see him one last time."

At these words, Princess Shou Jia smiled through her tears and looked at Shen Shixu and Xiao Jinyi in delighted surprise. "Can I really see Junda again?"

Shen Shixu gave Xiao Jinyi a meaningful look. Xiao Jinyi was still absorbed in how Shen Shixu had just hoodwinked Princess Shou Jia, inwardly admiring his silver tongue. He had left Xiao Jinyi's aunt utterly dazed, making her forget why she had come in the first place.

Caught off guard by Shen Shixu's signal, he almost forgot what Shen Shixu had told him earlier. Fortunately, he was not too slow-witted and quickly remembered.

"Aunt, I'll arrange for the two of you to meet tomorrow evening. Go home and prepare. I'll come to your residence personally to pick you up tomorrow evening."

Princess Shou Jia happily agreed. "Yes, yes, of course. I'll wait for you at my residence."

Once Princess Shou Jia had left, Xiao Jinyi called Bai He in. "Go to the Ministry of Justice prison with Mo Yu and put the Truth-Telling Gu my imperial uncle gave me into Liang Junda. Remember, you must do it secretly. Don't let anyone discover it. After I take Princess Shou Jia to see him tomorrow, retrieve it for me."

At the mention of the Truth-Telling Gu, Bai He understood what his prince and Lord Shen intended to do. Only Princess Shou Jia was foolish enough to believe Liang Junda truly loved her more than his own life. Anyone else with a functioning brain and working eyes knew that Liang Junda was merely using her.

"Yes. I'll see to it at once."

Xiao Jinyi nodded in satisfaction. He had originally planned to use torture to force Liang Junda to tell the truth, but on further thought, that seemed somewhat risky.

Mentioning his imperial uncle over tea had reminded him of the gu insect his uncle had given him years ago. Once it entered someone's body, its host had no choice but to speak the truth.

If the host said anything he did not sincerely mean, he would suffer pain like ten thousand insects gnawing at his heart. Even a man made of iron could not endure it, much less a greedy, disloyal scoundrel like Liang Junda.

Just as Xiao Jinyi was feeling pleased with himself, Shen Shixu placed both hands on his shoulders and slowly leaned closer, his eyes sparkling.