The Princess Wei Yang (106+)

Chapter 129 - Jealousy Turns Into Insanity - Part 1

"Mother is in good spirits." Li Wei Yang casually walked over with a smile on her face.

Jiang Yue Lan's heart gave a start, her face quickly bore a smile. "I just came with your Fourth Sister to see Third Shaoye." Recently many groups of people have been visiting this courtyard so it shouldn't seem too weird or out-of-the-ordinary.

Li Wei Yang gave Li Min De a glance, saw that he was breathing very heavily, and faintly knitted her brow. Raising her voice, she said, "Are there people outside?"

Servant girls immediately came inside, watching Li Wei Yang with fear. "Third Xiaojie."

"Mother accidentally knocked over her tea cup, clear it away well, be careful not to cut your hands." Li Wei Yang indifferently said. Jiang Yue Lan's complexion became even whiter.

The servant girls immediately began to clear the dregs. Jiang Yue Lan's face slightly regained her composure, and she said, smiling, "I should be going." Then, "Third Shaoye, I'll come see you another day." Saying this, she walked out.

Li Wei Yang said mildly, "Mother, I'll see you out."

Li Chang Xiao who was outside had just entered when she saw Jiang Yue Lan and Li Wei Yang walking out one after the other and involuntarily showed surprise. Jiang Yue Lan softly said, "Your Third Brother isn't well and is resting. Let's come back another day."

Li Chang Xiao, at a loss, blankly followed the two ladies out. But when Jiang Yue Lan turned towards the garden, she guessed that the two wanted to have a chat and said smiling, "I've been outside for a long time and will head back first. Third Sister, you can accompany Mother."

Li Wei Yang nodded, her eyes watching Li Chang Xiao's departing figure. Her head then turned towards Jiang Yue Lan saying, "Did Mother want to say something to me?"

Jian Yue Lan sighed. The servant girl beside her brought her a chair. Jiang Yue Lan felt the chair's handrail, letting out a pensive expression. "It's been a while since I've entered the family, but I've never had a heartfelt talk with you."

Li Wei Yang couldn't help a small smile. Jiang Yue Lan was from the Jiang family after all, her innate competitiveness hadn't disappeared for a single day. In the two years since she's arrived in the Li family, she had played not a small number of ploys in secret but had not once openly made herself an enemy, always hiding behind Li Chang Le. Is she finally stepping out in the open? But hasn't she realized that even though she has the status of stepmother, strength is what matters in the Li family? How highly does she think of herself?

"What advice does Mother wish to give?"

"Listen to yourself. With your status today, although I am the official wife, even I have to yield a bit to you. I had nothing to do and just wanted a chat with you. Why be so aggressive, keeping others at arm's length?" Jiang Yue Lan's whole face showed a look of suffering.

"Of course Wei Yang didn't mean it like that, it's just Grandmother has handed me a lot of tasks and I really don't dare stop—" Li Wei Yang's expression was calm and did not play along with Jian Yue Lan's "talk".

Jiang Yue Lan suddenly smiled, carefully sizing up Li Wei Yang and said, "Other tasks? Like taking care of Third Shaoye?"

Jiang Yue Lan meant it casually, but to Li Wei Yang's ears, there was a hidden meaning to them. She smiled slightly, her gaze gracefully fixed on the other party, "Third Furen entrusted me with Min De before she died. Moreover, his wounds this time were partly because of me. Therefore, there's nothing with me looking after him. Why, does Mother have an issue with it?"

Jiang Yue Lan, hearing this, unexpectedly fell silent, an inexplicable ache rising up in her heart.

Why, why did all the best things belong to Li Wei Yang? What did she lack compared to her? Why did she have to be married off at a young age to a man old enough to be her father, and also have to cautiously ingratiate herself with everyone else? Why couldn't she follow her own heart and be with a man that she liked instead of being controlled by others?!

Li Wei Yang watched Jiang Yue Lan. A ray of sunlight illuminated her body, her clothes were bright and magnificent, her beautiful eyebrows were gently raised, her every action faintly noble. It seemed as though no matter what time you saw her, she would always look this beautiful and gentle. She suddenly thought of what Jiang Yue Lan just said and her eyes flashed with a hint of a smirk..

Jiang Yue Lan was utterly sophisticated and seasoned, no matter how strong her inner turmoil, her face stayed calm and composed. "Wei Yang, you don't need to read so much into it. As your mother, I don't want you to go down the wrong path and wanted to give you a reminder. I didn't mean anything else. Since I've come here, I've slowly realized how close you two are. Your sibling relationship has always been good and since this incident, it's gotten even better, this is a fact." Jiang Yue Lan suddenly changed her tone and lightly said, "But you are quickly nearing marriageable age and always staying with him is getting inappropriate. Even if others don't talk about it, they'll still think it's suspicious, and if such rumours ever got out, how bad that would be."

She always claimed that she was just concerned about Li Wei Yang, and if it weren't for that phrase just then, Li Wei Yang might have believed she had some good intentions. But now... she would never seriously consider the words of a woman with sinister intentions. Even if it was improper, so what? Who would dare say anything about it to Li Wei Yang's face? Among all the powerful families and great clans, which one didn't have a skeleton in their closet? If anyone did come to her seeking their disgrace, Li Wei Yang wouldn't mind sending two slaps their way.

The relationship between her and Min De was pure and innocent, completely aboveboard, and never had any illicit incidents, what was there to be scared of?

Li Wei Yang thought this far, merely smiled a cold smile, and said, "Mother is overly worried. In this household, no one other than Mother would think such."

This was certainly true. Whether it was Lao Furen or Li Xiao Ran, they all believed that Li Wei Yang took especially good care of Li Min De because of Third Furen. Moreover, they have been together since they were little and grew up together. It was natural that they would be closer to each other than with others. There was nothing to comment on. However, in Jiang Yue Lan's eyes, probably because she herself had ulterior motives, there was something perverse about it.

"I know you're not very receptive to these words, but as a young lady, you need to check your behaviour a bit more. I once heard that because the Xiaojie of the Imperial Censor Cheng's family was close to her cousin, it created much malicious gossip and she had no choice but to become a nun. Wei Yang, you've become Xianzhu, you have excellent prospects, you should keep this in mind!" Jiang Yue Lan looked as though she were so flurried she couldn't breathe.

Li Wei Yang looked at Jiang Yue Lan. According to the information she gathered, Jiang Yue Lan hadn't been ruthless since birth; on the contrary, she was actually just an ordinary young miss. Even though her family environment was a bit complex, forcing her to constantly watch her words, her character was fundamentally different from the former Da Furen that she had followed. At least her hands weren't bloody. So even though she was secretly spying for the Jiang family and sending them information, Li Wei Yang thought she was doing it out of self-preservation. But as things stood now, Li Wei Yang realized she was still a bit too merciful. The opposition that had lent their aid to the Jiang family once or twice and hadn't been found out, has finally gotten greedy.

"Mother, since you have the time to worry about me, you should go and find a doctor." Li Wei Yang said, smiling slightly.

Jiang Yue Lan froze, looking at her suspiciously.

"You've been married for so long but you still haven't bore father a son or daughter. Grandmother is not pleased. She even told me today about giving father more concubines to avoid a situation where father's only heir is frail."

The rules of great successive dynasties are: the official wife's position cannot be shaken, but taking concubines is perfectly right and proper. Li Lao Furen visited Marquis Dongchang's residence just yesterday, saw there were an impressive number of Dong family's concubines, and that their appearances were even more extraordinary. Each and every one was an uncommon beauty, validating the old saying: Marry a wife, marry virtuously. Receive a concubine, receive colour. The entire Marquis Dongchang's residence had many wives and concubines creating many branches full of leaves. Numerous young children were running here, running there. Returning home to see her own family, the children were all grown up leaving just one smiling little milk baby that didn't even have a playmate. It truly was very depressing. Lao Furen sighed a long sigh, and discussed with Li Wei Yang if there should be more concubines.

Traditionally, such a topic wouldn't be discussed with the Li family's Third Xiaojie, but Li Lao Furen didn't trust anyone else aside from her. Li Wei Yang also agreed with Li Lao Furen, and so the decision was made that very morning to give Li Xiao Ran a few pure concubines with good family backgrounds. But for Jiang Yue Lan, it was nothing less than a bolt from the blue. She suddenly realized that the opponent was completely aware of everything she had done and this was her retaliation. Moreover, this retaliation was open and aboveboard, a kill without spilling blood.

Li Wei Yang indeed knew what a person's weakness was. Jiang Yue Lan originally wanted to tell her, under the guise of a warning, I have taken hold of your weakness so you better restrain yourself a bit. But then Li Wei Yang gave her a slap from a place unseen, warning her to watch her steps and to be careful of traps.

Perhaps it was because they had talked for too long, the air was a little heavy and Jiang Yue Lan's face was a little flushed. She couldn't help but say furiously, "Li Wei Yang, don't be so difficult!"

Li Wei Yang only said, as if thinking out loud, "The Counsellor's family has a Xiaojie — Mother has probably never met her — named Zhu Yu whose beauty is outstanding and brimming over with talent, a piece played on the pipa reaches the gods' domain. Unfortunately she fell seriously ill two years ago and her fiance's family broke the engagement. Her marriage plans have been delayed for this reason as well. Lao Furen has met with Zhu Furen a few times and because of their acquaintance, Zhu Furen recently came to visit. First, she and Zhu Lao Furen hadn't met for some time and sorely missed each other. Second, Zhu Xiaojie passed the age of becoming a concubine, Zhu Furen wanted to... Mother please don't take offense, Father is an official of the highest rank, most are those that want to climb up the social ladder."

Jiang Yue Lan's complexion went from red to white, she nearly lost control of the composed look on her face. If they wanted to take a concubine, they could take a concubine. The Counsellor was an official of the 6th rank, which was not that much lower than her own background, and if she gave birth to a son first — this sort of concubine was a matriarch's worst nightmare! Li Wei Yang was truly ruthless!

Li Wei Yang didn't look at her expression, just said, smiling, "Grandmother actually asked me for my opinion. I said to wait and see a while. If it is the daughter of a rich and powerful family, there is no harm in complying, and if average, then choose one that is of similar social status. Our family is not one where just anyone can come into, after all."

Saying this, Li Wei Yang finally earnestly asked, "But Grandmother insisted on having this Zhu Xiaojie pay a visit, what does Mother think about this?"

"It's not impossible to have her pay a visit, but your maternal grandmother just passed away and there's much going on in the Capital this autumn. There's lots of trivial matters. If we want to receive guests, I'm afraid we would become too busy. Let's delay this discussion for a later date." Jiang Yue Lan's tone was a little stiff and she seemed breathless. She then added, "As for Lao Furen, I'll go talk to her." Saying this, she quickly left in the direction of He Xiang Courtyard.

Li Wei Yang watched her back, a cold smile on her lips. People, for the sake of survival, would be able to do anything. Jiang Yue Lan completely understood that if she wanted to gain a firm foothold, she must not let a woman with a higher status than her enter the residence.

Back in the room, Li Min De wanted to sit up but had a throbbing pain in his chest. He miserably coughed, a coughing fit so heart-rending that a trickle of blood came out of the corner of his mouth.

"What are you doing..." Li Wei Yang had just returned when she suddenly heard his coughs, and couldn't help but quickly enter. Supporting him, she said, "If you want anything, order the servants to do it!"

"It's fine!" Li Min De exerted great effort to suppress the itchiness in his throat and turned to Li Wei Yang, smiling, "I've only suffered a minor wound, it's fine."

Li Wei Yang was still worried. "You're still saying you're fine. You have no idea how scary that day was..." She suddenly couldn't continue on and creased her brows, "Jiang Hua's arrow, sooner or later I'll have to return it to him."

Li Min De had been mostly sleeping for the past few days and now was more worried about the outcome of the banquet. He couldn't help but ask, "What weakness did the Jiang family get a hold of to be able to force the Fifth Prince to rashly rebel?"

Li Wei Yang made sure he was settled in a good spot before sitting beside the bed, and in a soft voice, explained, "Tuoba Rui once took charge of repairing a canal, do you remember?"

Li Min De frowned and softly said, "Huanan Canal?"

"Yes, Tuoba Rui was responsible for repairing the Huanan Canal. For about 3 years, he commanded more than ten thousand conscripted labourers. With tens of thousands of funds at his disposal, he made a lot of moves; not only did he falsify his expense reports, he decreased the labour force, to the extent that he buried alive six officials that conspired to secretly report him. But that isn't the worst. What was even more dire is that someone discovered him in the Hecheng armoury. Think about it, a prince secretly collecting weapons and gathering manpower, what else could it be other than a rebellion? When the Jiang family heard about it, they were ecstatic and immediately sent men to Hecheng. Unfortunately, Tuoba Rui's men stole the initiative and destroyed the armoury and with it, the evidence. It seemed like a dead-end. But Jiang Hua came up with an idea. He sent someone to spread a rumour that there was a survivor of the armoury who was now hiding in the Crown Prince's mansion. They also wrote a memorial to the Emperor to report Tuoba Rui but then sent someone to secretly inform Tuoba Rui. With this, Tuoba Rui thought the rumour was true and quickly decided to strike first. He truly went all out, he sent all the dark guards that he had gathered to assassinate the Crown Prince with the intent of letting them die there."

"Truly a hopeless fool." Li Min De slowly said, coughing lightly.

Li Wei Yang heaved a sigh and said, "Actually, he even sent a letter to Tuoba Yu, inviting him to collaborate together. If he could get Duke Luo to deploy troops to his aid, once he took the throne, he would split the land in half following the river for Tuoba Yu to rule."

"Seems like his advisors have been bought." Li Min De said insightfully.

Li Wei Yang smiled. In her series of confrontations against Jiang Hua, she's given Jiang Hua enough could-be-truths, could-be-lies to analyze to give him a headache; in return, she's received numerous half true, half false news, causing her to constantly think deeply in the past few days. Deeply hidden amidst the 17 questions he had given her was the situation that had happened at that time.

Even though the Fifth Prince rebelled, Noble Consort Mei's family was well-established and strong with many members doing good deeds. The plan to force the Emperor off the throne wasn't completely stupid either. Originally, a dozen or so suicidal soldiers who were expert martial artists under the command of Tuoba Rui would be planted in the imperial guards using a fake edict. They would wait for an opportunity to kill the deputy commander, unite with their allies within the imperial guards, and capture the thirty thousand imperial guards to let the Fifth Prince take control of them. After taking control, Marquis Nanyang and his three sons would personally lead the imperial guards and the soldiers who have been stationed in the Capital for many years to attack Chao Yang Men. At the same time, they would send assassins to the Crown Prince's residence, assassinate the Crown Prince and Tuoba Zhen, and thoroughly eliminate their political opponents. If these three steps were carried out successfully, the Fifth Prince would, under the name of eliminating evil, lead armed forces into the city. Marquis Nanyang's son-in-law, Shi Guang, would lead his personal guards and one-third of the imperial guards to eliminate hostile forces outside of the palace, preventing political opponents from attacking from outside in. The Fifth Prince would enter the palace and use the Crown Prince's head to force the Emperor to abdicate and give him the throne. When all the dust settled, even with the seventh prince's help, the Fifth Prince would already have the Emperor's edict and would officially be enthroned. With the power to move the entire empire's troops, there was no need to fear anyone anymore.

All of this was a beautiful dream, but what happened in reality was cruel. The Fifth Prince knew very well that he hadn't prepared enough yet, but if he let the Emperor believe the Crown Prince's report, his only path would lead to the gallows. So he thoughtlessly struck first, not expecting to fall into someone else's trap. Originally, the Crown Prince didn't have reliable proof on hand, but now he had conclusive evidence. First, Tuoba Rui was captured by the commander of the imperial guards before he succeeded, then there were all the assassins that had entered his residence were to be executed, and after that, Marquis Nanyang was beheaded before the battle. All could be described in 4 syllables: utter defeat.

To knock down enemies, the Crown Prince naturally spared no effort. In a few days, the Ministry of Justice had collected an enormous amount of proof. Someone discovered that the eunuch that was beside the Emperor excelled in martial arts and acted suspiciously, often doing underhanded deeds for the Fifth Prince. Before the rebellion, he would even sneak out of the palace to meet with the Fifth Prince. The two of them would meet in a secret room and discuss for half a day, conspiring to kill the Emperor at the critical moment if he wasn't willing to abdicate. Furthermore, several secret letters were found in Tuoba Rui's study, the contents of which all pertaining to the rebellion. How to take control of the imperial guard, how to get in contact with Marquis Nanyang's former subordinates, when to execute the plan, etc. Every step, every stroke laid out in detail. The Emperor was incredibly enraged and of course ordered the beheading of the Fifth Prince and Marquis Nanyang's entire family. Even the family of Marquis Yongning was exiled even though they were not involved. Of course, the arrogant and overbearing consort to the Fifth Prince, only a few months after marrying into the family, was also executed at the same time and became the laughing stock of the entire country.

The one who benefited from this the most, other than the Crown Prince that eliminated his political opponents, was the Jiang family. During the turmoil, Jiang Xu "happened" to be at the Capital discussing official business when he heard of the Fifth Prince's uprising. He immediately called all who could be called to enter the palace to "rescue the king". If it weren't for him, the Emperor would have been assassinated by the men the Fifth Prince had arranged for. Like this, the Jiang family once again became heroes, moreover, heroes that exterminated traitors.

Li Wei Yang had to admire Jiang Hua's ability. Regaining the Emperor's trust isn't something that could be done overnight, and yet he did it that quickly. Of course, Jiang Hai's death cast a giant shadow over the achievement, the Jiang family didn't even have time to be happy before falling into gloom.

Li Min De gently smiled, saying, "Since we've let him perform a heroic rescue, haven't all our efforts gone to a complete waste?" Indeed, if Jiang Xu regained His Majesty's favor, the matter that occurred during the mourning of his parent would be overlooked.

Li Wei Yang smiled at him. "Who said they could be pleased with themselves? I've already sent news out."

"Oh? What news?"

Li Wei Yang's eyes gleamed and there seemed to be a flame burning in her eyes. "The news is, at the time the Emperor was doing fine in the palace when the eunuch at his side suddenly attacked him. Just in time, General Jiang entered the palace and saved the Emperor. The Emperor had been so scared he wet his pants, trembling under the Emperor's throne. If it weren't for General Jiang's dedication to his service, entering the palace to rescue him, the Emperor would have lost his life — This news has already spread all over the country, when the Emperor hears this, how do you think he'll respond?"

Li Min De was dumbfounded, then laughed, before all of a sudden coughing even more severely. Li Wei Yang promptly patted his back. "Are you alright? Who told you to take pleasure in other people's misfortune, be more careful."

Li Min De hid his smile. It seems like just as always, he was the single elegant and beautiful young master in the midst of this murky world, ignoring his abnormally pale complexion, of course. Li Wei Yang looked at him and suddenly understood a bit why Jiang Yue Lan was like that. Ah, beauties, no matter if they were men or women, you couldn't resist them. Moreover, a single smile from him could obliterate a woman's ability to think. And this beauty wasn't from his skin, but an inner charm that shone outward that caused people to helplessly get caught up in his smile.

This was probably a magic that only Li Min De wielded. At least, Li Wei Yang hadn't met anyone else who could do the same. Jiang Yue Lan was the companion of a man who was old enough to be her father. Not only was it lonely but also something she 100% did not wish for. Then before her suddenly appeared a young man so pretty that the surrounding world greyed out in comparison, plus, his attraction negated resistance. It was a problem.

Li Min De softly said, "Yes, the more the rumor makes the Emperor seem like a coward, the more it makes Jiang Xu seem brilliant and divine, and once it reaches the Emperor's ears, the more he'll be angry. He'll naturally think that while Jiang Xu did save him, he also took this opportunity to spread the rumors, hoping for more rewards. The avaricious and insatiable snake trying to swallow an elephant. Not only will Jiang Xu not be awarded for his meritorious service, he'll actually have a serious offense."

Li Wei Yang smiled, saying, "Exactly so." Not only would there be rumors, but she wanted ballads to be made and sung across the land. As for how to get it to the Emperor's ears, she had plenty of ways. It was important to know that rumors and such were the most effective at rousing suspicions. Most of all, the Emperor was naturally prone to suspicion, he might at first have complete confidence in the Jiang Xu that arose in the time when he was most vulnerable, but once he heard of the rumor going around outside, upon thinking of the Jiang family, he'd feel a sense of humiliation at being spied upon. Li Wei Yang took hold of this and blew it up, easily blotting out the contribution the Jiang family had long been counting on. This would undoubtedly be a huge blow to the Jiang family. If Jiang Hua learned about it, he'd need to lie down for a month again.

Li Min De shook his head, saying, "No, we still need to be careful, they won't give up easily. Tuoba Zhen especially."

Li Wei Yang saw that his complexion had gained more red, but it was a sickly red, and involuntarily placed her hand against his forehead. Only then, she discovered that his high fever hadn't retreated and she couldn't help saying, "You have such a high fever, what are you worrying about these silly things for? Quickly lie down." Saying this, she instructed a servant girl to fetch a basin of water and personally gently washed his face, neck, and palms. She felt that his face was scorching hot yet his hands were cold, and couldn't help but be even more worried.

Li Min De lay down but looked at her with the world's clearest expression in his eyes. At last he smiled faintly. "No matter what happens, you have to tell me everything, don't bear it all yourself. You'll get tired."

For some reason, when Li Wei Yang heard this very common phrase, her eyes suddenly misted over.

At the time, she had only rescued him on a whim. No, perhaps she had another reason to. Over the years, they'd experienced many life and death situations together. He was always by her side. Now, he was critically ill and injured, and yet when he talked to her, his expression was soft and gentle. A youth that she looked after had become a warm, relaxing, safe harbor for her soul. No, perhaps now he was taking care of her, at every moment of the day.

This sort of predestined affinity, who could have predicted it?

He held her hand to his chest and softly said, "You're here, don't leave."

He sounded like a child and Li Wei Yang's heart was a little moved. At some unknown point in time, Li Min De started to have a strong presence that made others fear him. The servant girls should have flocked to him like ducks due to his good looks, but there wasn't a single one who genuinely got along with him. Every time she visited his courtyard, she found everyone was fearful and respectful. Did this mean that Li Min De acted a different way in front of others? If so, how did he act?

She was very curious and wanted to know, but she was even more curious about something else. "Jiang Yue Lan likes you."

-----------------------*****------------------------Translator: AliceEditor: Erica