The Beloved Fake Princess (3)

Having gotten her wish and boarded the carriage, Jiang Xuefu couldn't resist stretching comfortably. She lifted the curtain and propped her face in her hand, swaying with the carriage and nodding her head as she watched the stars in the night sky, which had risen she knew not when.

Just a few moments earlier, the carriage whose occupants had said they wouldn't give her a ride had suddenly caught up and stopped beside her.

The older brother who had given her water had invited her inside, saying that his young master had something to ask her.

The carriage was even more luxurious than it had appeared. The compartment was spacious, its walls lined with soft brocade. A thick, plush carpet covered the floor. Even the seats had been carefully crafted, their edges polished smooth and rounded, with two soft cushions laid on top. Sitting on them, she could barely feel the bumps.

At the far end of the carriage sat a young master, upright and reading a book.

Jiang Xuefu stole a glance up at him. Though the young master was handsome, the scent of medicinal herbs always lingered around him, and his complexion was a few shades paler than most. Could he be a sickly child?

When Jimo Chi saw the grubby little girl step onto the snow-white carpet, a flicker of regret passed through his eyes. It had been made from a Tianshan white fox his father had personally hunted, and there was no other like it in the world.

"Is this jade pendant yours?"

The young master's calm voice sounded in the carriage, bringing Jiang Xuefu back to her senses.

A jade pendant? What jade pendant? I didn't see one in my bundle just now.

"That isn't mine."

Jimo Chi frowned slightly and phrased the question differently. "Is your name Jiang Xuefu? Is your mother's surname Qi and your father's Jiang?"

Qi? Jiang?

Jiang Xuefu gave him a hesitant look. From the two surnames, she guessed that he meant Jiang Xuefu, not her, whose name was written with a different character.

But she didn't know whether he was good or bad, so she silently clutched her bundle tighter and said nothing.

In the end, Mo Yu spoke up from outside. "Little girl, we mean no harm. Our master is an old friend of Madam Jiang."

An old friend?

Jiang Xuefu's clear, grape-like black eyes darted around. She glanced at the exquisite, luxurious carriage around her, then finally nodded under Jimo Chi's searching gaze.

Jimo Chi seemed to have expected it and showed no surprise at her admission. "My father heard what happened to the Jiang Family. He's been sending people to look for you. Since you have nowhere to go now, how about coming back to the Jimo Family with me for the time being?"

"...All right."

That was how it had happened, a coincidence full of incredulity. She had been brought back to the Jimo Residence just like that, on account of a jade pendant hidden in a secret pocket of her bundle that she hadn't even noticed.

The Jimo Residence was the largest residence in Jade City, personally bestowed by the late emperor. Even its plaque bore an inscription in the late emperor's own hand.

After entering the residence, Jiang Xuefu followed the steward along an unknown number of corridors and past an unknown number of courtyards, lakes, gardens, and bamboo groves before finally stopping in front of a courtyard with an exquisite, beautiful two-story building.

It was night, so Jiang Xuefu couldn't see very clearly. She could only make out the bluestones paving the ground and the lanterns lit all around, their hazy glow making the courtyard look like a scene from a painting or a poem. A small pond stood in the center of the courtyard, filled with graceful lotus leaves. Beside it was a small bamboo grove, its shadows rustling in the night breeze as though weaving together a melody of beautiful notes.

Every step revealed another beautiful sight; every step was full of elegance and luxury.

As soon as Jiang Xuefu entered the courtyard, the maids waiting inside all came forward. A great crowd of them knelt on the ground to greet her. At their head was a first-rank maid named Lingling.

"Miss, we have prepared hot water and a meal. Would you like to bathe first or eat first?"

At the Jiang Residence, Jiang Xuefu had only ever had one maid to attend her. She had never seen such a display and was both excited and nervous, terrified of losing face in front of the servants.

So she paused for a while, putting on an air of demure indifference and fully affecting the manner of a noble young lady before slowly speaking. "I'll bathe first."

Bathing here was different from bathing at the Jiang Residence, too. First, she had to wash herself with clean water, then cleanse her body with something called soap, said to have been presented as tribute by the Western Regions. Only then did she soak in the bath. The bath wasn't filled with plain water, either, but with sheep's milk scattered with a layer of freshly picked petals. It smelled delightful, and her skin was smooth and soft afterward.

Someone stood beside the tub to massage her, and snacks and storybooks had been set out in case she grew bored. She could simply order someone to read to her whenever she wished.

The meal was even more lavish. Eight dishes and three soups had been served for Jiang Xuefu alone, not counting the other side dishes, drinks, and so on. Many of the foods were things she had only heard of and never seen, but now she got to eat them all at once.

Only when everything was over and she was lying in bed did Jiang Xuefu slowly recover from the succession of shocks that evening.

Compared with the Jimo Family, the Jiang Family could practically be called penniless. In fact, the Jiang Family wasn't even qualified to be compared with them.

It seemed she had been right to come here.

Early the next morning, Jimo Cheng sent someone specifically to summon the little girl to the dining hall to have breakfast with him.

Jimo Cheng was Jimo Chi's father, the General Who Guards the Nation stationed at the border by the imperial court. Some years ago, the late emperor had personally granted him the title of Duke Who Guards the Nation, and he commanded an army of five hundred thousand.

At the table, Jimo Cheng looked at the well-behaved, pretty Jiang Xuefu. Tears nearly welled up in the eyes of the ever-stalwart man, and a look of remembrance involuntarily appeared in them.

Jingshu, your daughter is just as beautiful as you were.

I'll protect her as she grows up and treat her like my own daughter. I hope you know this in the underworld and can go on to be reincarnated without worry. Don't be born into an imperial family in your next life.

"Uncle Jimo," Jiang Xuefu said. He had been staring at her, his gaze seeming to look through her as he remembered someone. Recalling the old friend Mo Yu had mentioned, Jiang Xuefu couldn't help asking, "Are you thinking of my mother?"

Jimo Cheng came back to his senses and smiled a little awkwardly. His rough, broad hand stroked the girl's soft hair, and his hearty smile held a trace of indulgence and affection. "Yes. Your mother and I grew up together. It's a pity we hadn't seen each other in almost ten years, I suppose. I never imagined she was right there in Wang City, so close to me."

"When we parted that year, I thought we'd have another chance to meet someday. I never imagined that in less than ten years, we'd already be separated by life and death."

As he spoke, the man couldn't help sinking back into his memories.

Jimo Cheng, Qi Jingshu, and the current emperor, Qi Yuan, had all grown up together. Qi Jingshu was Qi Yuan's elder sister, born to the same mother. Sadly, their birth mother, Consort De, had fallen ill and died when Qi Yuan was five. From then on, the siblings had no one to rely on in the imperial harem and grew up treated as though they were invisible.

After Qi Yuan grew up, the Jimo Family's support gave him the ability to contend for the throne, and the crown prince of the time regarded him as a thorn in his eye.

As it happened, Xiongnu envoys from the Western Regions had come to seek peace, so the crown prince found a way to have Qi Jingshu sent to marry into the Xiongnu and cement good relations between the two nations.

The Xiongnu king at the time was an old man in his sixties with many children and grandchildren, and he abused women. Rumor had it that women who entered the Xiongnu king's tent had only one chance in ten of surviving. Naturally, Qi Jingshu was unwilling to accept such a marriage, but the emperor's will was hard to defy, and the marriage alliance was settled.

Jimo Cheng and Qi Yuan couldn't bear to watch her go to her death, so they devised a plan to disguise themselves as Xiongnu and seize the bride when the wedding procession left Dachang and handed her over to the Xiongnu.

However, they had underestimated the number of men the Xiongnu had brought to receive the bride. Brave as Jimo Cheng was, he gradually lost strength as the enemy attacked him in waves.

Amid the chaos of the battle, Qi Yuan grabbed Qi Jingshu's hand and told her to run first, deep into the forest, and under no circumstances let the Xiongnu capture her again!

Qi Jingshu ran deep into the forest just like that, and from then on, there was no word of her.

Qi Yuan's struggle with the crown prince continued until last year, when he finally won the contest for the throne and ascended as emperor.