Dressed As a Consort in Ancient Times - Chapter 72

“Knock, knock, knock—”*

The door was knocked on, interrupting the heated atmosphere between the two.  

Outside, seeing that it was already almost noon and that the princess had yet to rise for lunch, Chunxi grew worried that she was too sorrowful and had lost track of time. She knocked again.  

“Princess, are you awake?”  

“It’s Chunxi calling me.”  

Jiang Libai pressed down the restless Gu Yun, covered her with a thin blanket, and whispered a warning:  

“You’re someone with one foot already in the coffin. Be careful, don’t slip up.”  

Watching Gu Yun once again turn into that feeble and breathless appearance, Jiang Libai patted her face in satisfaction before getting up.  

But as soon as she got out of bed, her legs went weak, and she almost fell back onto the bedding.  

Fortunately, Gu Yun reacted quickly, catching her slender waist. “What’s wrong?”  

Only now did Jiang Libai realize the soreness and weakness in her body. She lowered her gaze to see her unsteady legs trembling slightly—almost as if… she had overexerted herself.  

She collapsed into Gu Yun’s embrace, looking up at her with a delicate and timid gaze.  

Gu Yun’s hair was messy, her clothes half-open, and her thin lips appeared slightly more swollen than usual. Their moist luster carried a faint pink hue, and with just a slight purse, they exuded an irresistibly seductive charm.  

Those long, narrow eyes were half-lidded, missing their usual calm and deep stillness. Instead, they seemed dazed and innocent…  

Seeing this, Jiang Libai let out a soft hum and bit down on the woman’s neck.  

“Hiss—”  

Gu Yun didn’t know why the princess suddenly bit her, but she didn’t struggle, silently enduring the slight sting on her neck and the undeniable heat that came with it.  

Before long, Jiang Libai lifted her head, her eyes shimmering like ripples on water, reflecting Gu Yun’s slightly furrowed brows.  

“And you still ask what’s wrong!”  

At the mention of this, Jiang Libai felt the urge to bite her again. But seeing the red mark already on her neck, she decided against it.  

Pouting, she huffed, “You kept me up all night. Why do you think I can’t stand properly?!”  

The girl’s eyes and brows still carried traces of the lingering passion from the night before. Her moist eyes, even with a casual glance, seemed to carry an alluring charm, making it almost impossible for Gu Yun to look away.  

Those soft, pink lips were slightly parted, tempting her to lean in…  

Jiang Libai frowned, then reached into the blanket and pinched the soft flesh at Gu Yun’s waist. “Behave!”  

This was too dangerous—Gu Yun’s eyes had been glued to her the entire time!  

Jiang Libai propped herself up against the edge of the bed, struggling to stand. After rubbing her sore waist, she gave Gu Yun another warning:  

“Lie there and keep pretending to be sick. Stop thinking about improper things!”  

Gu Yun lay on her back, fully covered by the blanket, leaving only her head exposed.  

She watched as Jiang Libai patted down her dress, trying hard to maintain an air of calm and dignity, as if nothing had happened the night before.  

That serious demeanor was just like someone who “puts on their pants and denies everything”—a heartless rogue.  

Gu Yun frowned slightly, then bit her lip in feigned shyness.  

“Yes, this humble concubine shall obey the princess’ command~”  

Jiang Libai: “…”  

The woman’s soft voice was like a feather brushing against her heart, sending a tickling sensation through her entire body.  

She turned back to look at the woman lying in bed. Her long eyelashes trembled lightly, casting gentle shadows in her deep eyes, stirring Jiang Libai’s heart into a frantic rhythm.  

“Tonight, I’ll deal with you, you little enchantress!”  

Suppressing the waves of desire rising within her, Jiang Libai pinched the fair and delicate face of the “little enchantress.”  

Hearing this, a radiant light flashed in Gu Yun’s eyes, shining so brightly it was almost pitiful.  

Jiang Libai stared at her for a long moment before barely managing to resist the urge to touch her smooth and tender cheeks again.  

Outside, Chunxi was growing impatient.  

She knocked on the door again. “Princess?”  

Just as she was about to assume that the princess had been consumed by grief and was ready to follow the prince consort in death, the door creaked open.  

Jiang Libai’s face was calm, devoid of the uncontrollable sorrow from the previous day. But to Chunxi and Qin’er, it looked as if she had lost herself in grief.  

“Princess… breakfast is ready. You should eat something.”  

Chunxi was afraid that the seventh princess would become so dejected that she’d follow the prince consort in death…  

Jiang Libai actually did feel hungry at this moment.  

After all, after such a long night of exertion, Gu Yun must be hungry too.  

She waved at the servant girls carrying washbasins down the steps. “I will wash up first, then have breakfast.”  

Hearing that the princess was willing to eat, Chunxi was overjoyed and quickly called the maids to attend to her.  

“Bring breakfast to my room later.”  

Understanding that the princess likely didn’t want to leave the prince consort’s side, Chunxi nodded. “Yes, I will send Qin’er to inform the kitchen.”  

Qin’er silently left the courtyard.  

—

Inside the hall, Jiang Libai dismissed the others and slowly started her meal.  

“Has there been any conclusion regarding the poisoning of the Prince Consort?”

A whole night had passed—surely there should be some findings by now?  

She was curious to see what conclusion the Ministry of Justice would reach.  

As expected, Chunxi leaned in and spoke in a low voice.  

“According to the joint investigation by the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review, the one who poisoned the Prince Consort was a Yun country spy disguised as a food servant.”  

“Yun country spies?!”

Jiang Libai found this hard to believe.  

“How could it be Yun country spies?”

She suddenly recalled the arson case in the capital a few days ago. Could it be that the Yun country people were involved in that as well???  

Chunxi understood the Princess’ concerns.  

“Before dawn today, the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review officially cleared the Prince Consort of all suspicion in the arson case.”

Jiang Libai’s expression turned cold as Chunxi continued,  

“The officials claimed they had been deceived by Yun country’s schemes and that it was indeed Jin country spies, hiding in the capital through the Prince Consort, who set the fires…”

Once they found the real culprit, the Ministry of Justice and Court of Judicial Review, quickly pinpointed the hideout of the Yun country spies.  

But based on the information leaked from the Ministry of Justice, it seemed they hadn’t caught all of them—several had escaped.  

However, the ones they did capture were enough to clear the Prince Consort’s name.  

As for the previously arrested Jin country spies, after enduring brutal torture, they finally confessed—they had been bribed by Yun country to take the blame for the arson.  

And when officials traced the source of the bribe money, they confirmed that it had indeed flowed into Jin country, proving their confession true.  

This meant that Yun country spies deliberately set fire to the capital to create chaos, then bribed a few struggling Jin country spies, giving them a fortune to send back to their families in exchange for taking the blame—dragging Gu Yun down with them…  

Hearing this, Jiang Libai felt something was off.  

“When exactly did those Yun country spies infiltrate the capital?”

She still recalled that ever since that scoundrel Jiang Shen had colluded with the Kingdom of Yun, her father, the Emperor, had issued a decree to guard the borders with utmost vigilance, forbidding unidentified individuals from Yun from clandestinely entering Yu.  

As for the capital, the soldiers at the city gate were also instructed to conduct thorough inspections of foreigners, and any irregularities were to result in immediate repatriation.  

Thus, Jiang Libai was quite astonished; could it be that those individuals from Yun had been lurking in the capital for quite some time? Had they concealed themselves solely to ignite a fire in the capital, only to shift the blame onto the Jin Kingdom and drag Gu Yun into the fray?!  

How utterly… bizarre!  

“This humble servant is not entirely certain…” Chunxi had only inquired about the most critical matters and had overlooked such trivialities.  

After conveying the other details she had gathered, she took her leave from the hall at the Seventh Princess’s gesture.  

Outside the door, the sunlight was momentarily barred, and Jiang Libai waited a moment longer before picking up her bowl and placing several of Gu Yun’s favorite dishes within.  

While they were still warm, she hastened into the inner chamber.  

“Get up, breakfast is ready.”  

She sat at the edge of the bed and handed the bowl to Gu Yun, who had already sat up. “Make do with this.”  

The fragrant aroma of the food wafted from the bowl, arousing Gu Yun’s appetite intensely.  

Having gone a long time without a proper meal, she quickly finished every bite.  

Jiang Libai blinked, silently observing as Gu Yun polished off the contents of the bowl in a matter of moments, her heart swelling with an unquantifiable ache.  

Upon receiving the empty bowl, she noted that not a single grain of rice remained.  

“Shall I fetch you another bowl?”  

Gu Yun, licking her lips, shook her head, “Eight parts full is enough; any more would be too much.”  

Jiang Libai set down the dishes and reseated herself at the edge of the bed.  

Noticing a grain of rice still sticking to Gu Yun’s chin, she naturally reached out to remove it.  

“Chunxi just mentioned that the person who poisoned you has been apprehended.” 

“It was someone from the Kingdom of Yun.”  

At this point, Jiang Libai couldn’t help but smirk slightly, “What a coincidence; now that you’ve been poisoned, your suspicion has been cleared.”  

“The arsonist from a few days ago has also been identified; they were not those so-called citizens of Jin…”  

In the gentle sunlight, Jiang Libai slowly recounted the events unfolding outside.  

—

Within just a single night, a multitude of situations had undergone dramatic transformations.  

The people of Yun had instigated turmoil within the capital, trying to frame the Jin Kingdom, and this news soon spread throughout the court.  

The Seventh Prince Consort’s suspicion was all but lifted; instead, he had become the victim, and after the court’s session, the Emperor of Yu decreed numerous rewards in his favor.  

Yet in the eyes of others, the Seventh Prince Consort was nearly at death’s door; regardless of the reparations offered, his life could not be salvaged.  

Consequently, the Emperor also issued a command to the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review, to hasten the pursuit of the escaped individuals from Yun, ensuring that everyone who wronged the Seventh Prince Consort be brought to justice.  

—

After two or three days of investigation, clues finally began to surface.  

The Seventh Prince Consort, who had been hanging by a thread, seemed to receive divine intervention, for he started to improve.  

However, this news was closely guarded by the Seventh Princess’s household; aside from those within the palace, only those in close attendance to Jiang Libai and Gu Yun were aware.  

On this day, a light rain fell, and the dusk mingled with the enveloping humidity, locked outside the confines of the room.  

In the quiet inner chamber, Jiang Libai and Gu Yun were engaged in playful antics with the wailing little Xingxing.  

“She cries so often; she must resemble you.” Gu Yun remarked, once more wiping away the small pearls of tears emerging on Xingxing’s face, smiling at Jiang Libai.  

This comment provoked Jiang Libai’s indignation: “I do not cry! She clearly takes after you!”  

At her words, Gu Yun raised an eyebrow, her tongue grazing her parched lips, “Yet every time you can’t withstand it, you end up crying and begging for mercy…”  

Before she could finish, Jiang Libai hastily covered her mouth.  

“What nonsense are you spouting in front of Xingxing?!”  

The young woman’s face had already taken on a suspicious blush, her gaze flitting about but failing to meet Gu Yun’s amused eyes.  

Gu Yun gently grasped her delicate hand, pressing a soft kiss to it, her tone exceedingly tender: “Now tell me, does Xingxing’s propensity to cry come from you or from me?”  

Seeing Gu Yun persistently cling to the topic, Jiang Libai bit her lip and playfully kicked her: “Do not speak nonsense again! Or I shall bite you!”  

This mock show of menace, full of mock ferocity, struck Gu Yun as undeniably adorable.  

“Yes, yes, I shall cease; I won’t provoke the princess.”  

Gu Yun feigned weakness, and Jiang Libai was satisfied, “That’s more like it.”  

Meanwhile, Xingxing, feeling neglected as her mothers frolicked about, had long ceased her tears, her eyes glistening with unshed pearls as she fixed her gaze unwaveringly upon them.