Chapter 47: The Contents of the Reply from the Border

Li Ning’an sat there thinking for a long time. Hongxiu wanted to suggest that the princess have a meal, but she didn’t dare speak up.

At this moment, aside from the princess and the old Taoist, only she was in the side hall.

Outside, Xing’e stood guard, watching out for the princess.

Even in the villa, for matters this serious, caution was essential.

Hongxiu fully understood what the old Taoist had said and what the princess had in mind.

Kneeling on the ground, Hongxiu pleaded, “Princess, allow me to do it.”

She was willing to administer the poison to the Emperor on the princess’s behalf.

Li Ning’an knew of Hongxiu’s loyalty, but she absolutely couldn’t let her do it.

If she were caught, there would be no way to save her.

“I have my own plan. You go and take the divine healer to the best courtyard, find a few attendants to serve him, and arrange dinner as well.”

Li Ning’an noticed that it was already late, and she didn’t want the healer to go hungry.

However, she herself couldn’t eat anything. After returning to her residence at the villa, she sat on the soft couch, staring blankly out the window.

Xing’e and Hongxiu stood quietly behind the princess, awaiting her orders.

Xing’e tugged at Hongxiu and whispered, “Didn’t the Young Master Yan send a letter? Maybe we should show it to the princess.”

They couldn’t tell how much the princess truly liked Yan Ziqi, but at least it might lift her spirits a little.

Hongxiu brought the letter over and stood beside the princess. “Princess, this is a letter from Young Master Yan, sent from the border.”

Li Ning’an hadn’t received it yet and had assumed Yan Ziqi had used it for kindling.

When she opened the letter, she expected it to tell her to stop writing or to brush her off with a few lines. Instead, he had written several pages.

He detailed everything, from rescuing Deputy General Ge to the constant trouble caused by Tong Liniang.

As she opened the second letter, she asked Hongxiu, “When the letter arrived, who else saw it?”

Hongxiu replied, “It came from the courier station and was sent to the outer residence.”

Fearing that the princess would want to see it immediately, Hongxiu had kept it with her the whole time.

The princess had already said that if Yan Ziqi replied, everyone needed to know.

Li Ning’an was quite pleased.

She couldn’t forget her status as Yan Ziqi’s concubine.

During her time in the Ministry of Justice’s prison, she hadn’t come away empty-handed.

The prison was full of all sorts of people, and news traveled fast there.

People from all over the world would gossip about anyone’s affairs.

And in the Ministry of Justice, those who broke the law were regularly brought in.

Li Ning’an wasn’t reckless with her connections. For example, a prison warden could run errands for her if paid well.

She could even get intel on the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review.

With this informant in place, she could find out who had been arrested, what crime they had committed, and anything else she needed to know.

The second letter detailed the harsh conditions at the border, which were much worse than in the capital.

The Ministry of Revenue was constantly pleading poverty. Although military pay had been issued, it was always delayed, and Tong Liniang took every opportunity to make things difficult, sending Yan Ziqi to press the Ministry of Revenue for funds.

The third letter had arrived more recently. Yan Ziqi asked her: “Are you well?”

Li Ning’an looked at the three letters in her hand, thinking how unnecessarily wordy Yan Ziqi was, yet he barely said a single meaningful thing.

He began by pointing out Tong Liniang’s troubles, then described the difficulties at the border and the delay in military pay, and finally added a brief concern for her well-being.

Taking the letter, Li Ning’an headed to the study and instructed Hongxiu to prepare ink.

She picked up the brush and wrote: “I’ll help you with the Ministry of Revenue. Yan Lang’s matters are mine too. As for Tong Liniang, just wait and see, I’ll come to seek revenge on your behalf. I’ve written so many letters to you, yet you only sent me these three—your hands must be frozen stiff by now.”

“Do you need me to bring someone from the Imperial Medical Bureau to replace your limbs?”

“What’s the situation with the Second Prince of Beiyue suddenly wanting to come to the capital? Abandoning military tactics for diplomacy?”

This hadn’t happened in her previous life.

Back then, Yan Ziqi had directly defeated Beiyue, forcing them to send a letter of surrender to the capital.

Could it be that her involvement had caused Yan Ziqi to arrive at the border earlier than before?

But with Deputy General Ge already safely returned, why hadn’t war broken out with Beiyue?

Well, a diplomatic battle would be fine.

War meant casualties.

Li Ning’an casually wrote five pages, then sealed them in an envelope and gave it to Hongxiu to send to the courier station.

The station had become quite efficient in delivering letters to the border on behalf of Princess Ning’an.

Li Ning’an woke up early the next morning to visit her father in the palace. Fortunately, he had woken up in the middle of the night. Though he still looked pale, his condition had stabilized.

Emperor Mingde saw the concern on Ning’an’s face and already knew about what had happened the previous day.

“You child, everyone must face death one day. As a princess of the Great Qi, you cannot act recklessly.”

Emperor Mingde knew that Ning’an was filial, but Ning Zhao was still too young to protect his elder sister. Her two older brothers had already passed away one after the other. The Empress, as the mother of the nation, could not meddle in state affairs.

There were few places left where Ning’an could be truly protected.

Even he, the emperor, couldn’t stop Ning’an from going to the Ministry of Justice’s prison.

Emperor Mingde motioned for Ning’an to come closer. After looking her over from head to toe, he nodded with satisfaction.

“At least you haven’t lost any weight. It seems you didn’t suffer much in the Ministry of Justice.”

Li Ning’an smiled sweetly, knowing that her father was about to attend court, so she stepped aside on her own.

“When you’re free, Father, come with me to the hot springs villa. It’s a wonderful place, and I really like it.”

Li Ning’an had a sudden inspiration, finding a way for the divine healer to meet her father.

“Alright, it’s cold in the winter, and soaking in the hot springs is a good way to relax.”

Emperor Mingde agreed to Ning’an’s request and didn’t delay any longer. He left for the Xuanzheng Hall, followed by Eunuch Yan Su.

Civil and military officials stood outside the hall. When the doors opened, they all moved to their designated places.

Fu Minglang, who had recently been promoted to Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, was among them.

He stood just behind the Minister of Revenue, with his head slightly lowered, as Eunuch Yan Su announced, “His Majesty has arrived.”

Fu Minglang bowed along with the others. After the bow, they stood up and listened to Eunuch Yan Su again: “Those with matters to report, step forward. If not, the court is dismissed.”

Seeing that no one stepped forward, Emperor Mingde signaled to Yan Su with a nod.

Yan Su proclaimed, “Court is dismissed.”

Grand Preceptor Wen and several senior officials were summoned by the Emperor to the back hall for discussions. Fu Minglang followed the Minister of Revenue out of the palace to the Ministry of Revenue’s office.

The Minister of Revenue thought highly of Fu Minglang and hoped that he would eventually take over his position.

However, Grand Preceptor Wen also had his eye on Fu Minglang and was considering transferring him to the Secretariat.

The Emperor had long wanted to appoint Grand Preceptor Wen as Prime Minister, but the Grand Preceptor had declined multiple times, leaving the position vacant.

Grand Preceptor Wen had once been very fond of Shui Mingxi, but after what happened to that child, it was unclear when he would recover. Still, there were a few valued disciples by Grand Preceptor Wen’s side.

The Minister of Revenue couldn’t help but ponder which of them Grand Preceptor Wen intended to promote.

“Minglang, you seem to have been paying quite a bit of attention to Princess Ning’an lately.”

The Minister of Revenue descended the 99 palace steps, casually chatting with Fu Minglang.

Not long ago, Princess Ning’an had brought Fu Minglang some pastries at the Ministry of Revenue’s office. The minister didn’t concern himself with young people’s romantic affairs—so long as it didn’t interfere with official duties.

Besides, the Emperor and Empress didn’t mind Princess Ning’an’s actions, so he had no reason to be bothered by it.

In fact, ever since Princess Ning’an started showing interest, the staff at the Ministry of Revenue had been working more diligently.

The Minister himself had even had the privilege of tasting one of the princess’s pastries.

“You know, the Princess’s culinary skills rival those of the imperial chefs.”

Having sampled many palace delicacies, the Minister of Revenue genuinely thought Princess Ning’an’s pastries were better than the chefs’.

Fu Minglang, unsure how to respond, refrained from commenting.

“There’s nothing between the Princess and me,” Fu Minglang said.

The Minister of Revenue waved it off, “I’m not accusing you of anything.”

Princess Ning’an’s heart now seemed fully devoted to Young Master Yan. But that man was too reckless and not faithful enough.

His actions were bold and outrageous—enough to scare anyone.

Even Lord Ji, the old imperial censor, who was so advanced in age, had been the target of Princess Ning’an’s impetuousness. She had learned some horse-riding and archery at the Imperial Academy, but to dare to draw a sword from the imperial guard and thrust it at Lord Ji—such audacity!

The Minister of Revenue shuddered just hearing about it.

“This Princess Ning’an is still a child. You’d do well to focus more on your career,” the Minister advised.

The Minister of Revenue didn’t want such a promising young man to be drawn further into Princess Ning’an’s web.

Fu Minglang’s interest in the princess only proved that her tactics worked. Making a man jealous was more effective than feeding him pastries.

Fu Minglang wanted to explain that his concern for the Princess stemmed from his grandmother’s request, nothing more.