My Princess Has Been Reborn: Chapter 15

Chapter 15 – Her prince consort has gone missing

Lu Qipei had no idea what happened afterwards but of course, she was not worried either. After all, no matter how great the duke’s power was, he could not compare with the royal family. Moreover, her little princess wasn’t the type to be willing to take any losses. When she really met with problems, she would naturally ask for protection.

After half a morning, Lu Qipei finished the last question of the imperial examination. When Lu Qipei put down the brush, she could not help but sigh in relief —— she was finally done with the exam! Even though she had not been trapped in a room in the exam centre to answer the questions, even though this was already her second time facing these questions and this time, her answers would not be helping anyone advance in position, nine straight days of exams were enough to tire a person out.

But other than feeling tired, Lu Qipei’s sigh also had another reason: it was time for her to leave. No matter how attached she felt to Qi Yang’s warmth, she could not stay by her side and cause trouble for her!

Thinking of this, she kept the brushes and ink, stacked the test papers up neatly and found a servant in the courtyard to pass them to.

At the same time, Qi Yang had not returned. Although Lu Qipei regretted not being able to bid her farewell in person, in the end, she was not willing to delay any further.

She had a deep understanding of the principle of ‘tomorrow and tomorrow again’[1]. She was also afraid that Qi Yang may continue making excuses for her to stay. Thus, she simply explained to the servants in the courtyard, then took the apricot blossoms Qi Yang had gifted her before leaving with a flick of her sleeves.

Lu Qipei left, her steps light and unrestrained. The imperial bodyguards and servants in the courtyard had received Qi Yang’s instructions and did not think of restraining any of Lu Qipei’s movement. Only, Lu Qipei had not expected nor known that when Qi Yang brought the crown prince back two hours later, upon hearing that she had left, she would be so shocked and panicked…

Qi Yang had already thought out a good plan, since Lu Qipei’s existence could no longer be hidden, she wanted to let her properly appear in front of others!

Thus, she asked the crown prince to personally come visit and praised Lu Qipei endlessly. She had originally wanted to let the crown prince see her talents first but unexpectedly, when she returned, the house was empty —— after not keeping an eye on her prince consort for just a moment, Qi Yang had lost her!

Qi Yang looked at the empty study and immediately felt so anxious that her eyes reddened. The crown prince had seen the answer booklet that had yet to be submitted and felt some admiration for her talent…God knew that before arriving at the courtyard, he felt that his imperial sister was exaggerating or the little girl had been tricked, but after seeing this imperial examination answer booklet, he could be sure that this person really did have the makings of a top scorer.

Now that the person had run off, not only was Qi Yang worried, even the crown prince wanted to find him and persuade him to stay.

Seeing how his little sister was so anxious that she was practically on fire, the crown prince held the answer booklet and took the initiative to speak, “It would be a true pity for a talent of this calibre to be let go. However, Sister, do not worry. I will dispatch the cavalry right now. As long as we keep watch on the city gates, we can find this person.”

If the city gates were guarded, there would be no need to fear that the person could leave the city. As long as the person was still in the capital, there would be no way the cavalry could not find them!

Hearing this, Qi Yang forced a smile. She felt a sense of unease in her heart but in front of the crown prince’s well-meaning intentions, she could only nod and reply, “Thank you and my apologies for the trouble, Brother.”

The crown prince could naturally see the worries in her heart but did not speak more on the matter. He just took out a token of authority and turned to instruct people to pass on the message to the cavalry barracks. When those people had left and there were no more outsiders around, the crown prince waved the answer booklet and asked, “What plans does Sister have for this answer booklet?”

The age gap between the brother and sister was quite big, but in terms of their relationship, it was actually better than the ones the crown prince had with his brothers. The reason was that when Qi Yang was young, she liked to whine[2] and besides the emperor, she also liked to cling to the crown prince. Back then, the crown prince was still young so he often held his little sister and read to her, as well as taught her how to hold a brush. As time went on, not only did the two siblings grow closer, but almost all of Qi Yang’s foundational knowledge was also taught to her by the crown prince step by step…

At this moment, upon hearing the crown prince’s question, Qi Yang steadied her heart and retracted her gaze slightly, asking in reply, “What does Brother think?”

Hearing the question in response, the crown prince suddenly chuckled and waved an attendant over. He passed on the answer booklet in his hand, “Have someone send this to the examination centre and seal up the name just like the other candidates’ test papers. Do not let anyone know that this has anything to do with me.”

The attendant acknowledged the order and respectfully took the answer booklet before leaving in a rush.

Qi Yang did not find this unexpected, after all, she had been personally taught by the crown prince. The two siblings’ thoughts were often in sync with the other’s. If she could think of using the imperial examination’s power to help Lu Qipei make a name for herself, after seeing this answer booklet, how could the crown prince not think of the same thing?

Anyway, that test paper didn’t even have a name written on it. If the paper didn’t enter the rankings, nobody would ask. Once on the rankings, it would be mentioned —— no matter what, the head examiner could not hide the appearance of this additional answer booklet, especially with everyone watching. This matter would then be passed on to the emperor.

When the time came, Qi Yang would take the initiative to claim responsibility, believing that even if the emperor got angry at her for lacking awareness of the gravity of her actions, she would meet with nothing more than a few harsh words.

This sort of fearlessness borne out of knowing that one has a strong backing, had some inexplicable similarities with Zhang Zhen who had just met with disaster this morning…

However, regarding these things, it was best for everyone to not say it out loud. The crown prince did not speak too much on the matter either, except, seeing how Qi Yang’s mental state was still not good, he finally said, “Throughout the journey here, I have continuously heard you praising this person. In regards to that Lu Qipei, it’s not as simple as Sister admiring a talent, is it?”

Facing the crown prince, Qi Yang was very calm. Her eyes shone as bright as the stars, “That person is my prince consort!”
　　

---

The lengthy nine days of the imperial examination had finally come to an end. Some people were joyful while others were anxious. Outside the exam centre, one could see all the different states of the human condition.

However, as compared to the examinees outside the exam centre who were wailing to the heavens because they had trashed the exam, not being able to finish the exam and even possibly never getting the chance to have an official career again was more difficult to accept —— like the inside of the Lu mansion at this moment that was filled with a depressive atmosphere.

Lu Qicheng was half-leaning on the bed. He had become very thin and weak. There was gauze on his face but his forehead revealed a sinister nature that used to be well-hidden. He raised a hand and toppled the herbal medicine that the servant was just bringing over, “Scram! What use do these medicines have? My face is the one that’s injured and my leg is the one that’s broken, what’s the point of all these fraud doctors giving me calming medication?!”

The toppled medicine burned the servant’s hand, turning it red, yet the servant did not dare to utter even half a complaint. The servant could only reply weakly, “Young Lord, please calm down. Doctor Sun[3] said that your leg injury will not be a hindrance, it can recover after half a year of rest…”

As she spoke, a ceramic pillow[4] was flung over. The servant’s whole body trembled in fear as he watched, not daring to dodge it.

Fortunately, these few days, Lu Qicheng had been so tormented by the pain of his injuries that his eyesight and strength had weakened. The ceramic pillow was tossed out but it was an inaccurate throw. The pillow missed the servant by quite a distance and shattered behind him with a ‘peng’ sound. The rebounded shards hit his legs and it still hurt a bit.

Seeing the furious Lu Qicheng, the servant did not dare to carry on speaking, but did not dare to leave without permission either. He could only lower his head and clean up the mess scattered all over the floor.

Qi Bo walked in at this moment. He glanced at the mess all over the room and his grey brows could not help but crease. However, thinking of the condition of Lu Qicheng’s injuries, in the end, he did not say anything other than, “The young lord should rest well for his injuries.”

In front of Qi Bo, Lu Qicheng was more restrained but there was still irritation brewing in his eyes. He asked, “Qi Bo, has the investigation found out the truth?”

Qi Bo waved a hand to dismiss the servant. His face then grew serious as he answered, “No. There was nothing wrong with the carriage. There was nothing wrong with the horse that pulled the carriage either. The driver and young servant have been interrogated until now but even after bringing their wife and children into it, there still hasn’t been any information gained from them.”

Perhaps the horse getting startled on that day was Lu Qicheng’s own bad luck? But nobody dared to believe such a verdict.

Of course, Lu Qicheng did not believe it either. He laughed coldly and suddenly pulled off the gauze on his face. The gauze was soaked with fresh blood. For some reason, the wound that was supposed to have healed had not seen any improvements even after a few days had already passed. In fact, it looked even worse. Lu Qicheng said, “Qi Bo, don’t tell me that the wound on my face is a normal one and that my injuries were all a coincidence. If not for someone’s interference, if not for someone’s interference…”

As he spoke and spoke, Lu Qicheng’s eyes reddened. His explosive fury rushed up but deep inside, he was terrified —— it wasn’t because he especially cherished his looks but rather because his looks had too great an impact on his destiny in the future.

His face had been harmed so he could not participate in the imperial examination. In the government, the road was smoother for those with good looks. Those with poor looks, on the other hand, did not even have hope for promotion. Looking at even higher ranks, other than the founding emperor of a dynasty, there had never been a person with such physical flaws who sat on the imperial throne —— a facial flaw was considered the same as being crippled, it would not be accepted by the masses!

He only had an additional scar on his face but his road to the top had been completely destroyed. This was not any less terrifying than becoming lame.

Qi Bo obviously understood all this. The majority of the plans of many years had been ruined. He was silent. He could see the panic slowly surfacing in Lu Qicheng’s eyes but in the end, he still suggested, “Young Lord, how about you go to the frontier after your recovery.”

Only civil officials cared about their appearances. Military officers having a scar on their face was not a big deal, only, this path was evidently not easy to walk.

Upon hearing this, Lu Qicheng’s face twisted for a split second —— he already had half a face with fine features and another half that was frightfully hideous, appearing a bit terrifying. Going down this path would cause it to become even more terrifying —— so he muttered, “It’s no use, no use…”

Qi Bo did not know how he should persuade him but privately, Doctor Sun had already made it clear to him that Lu Qicheng’s face was bound to be scarred, and this horrifying scar would not be light! He seemed to have fallen into someone’s scheme, but what could they do if they could not find out any more details about it?

The atmosphere in the room was low-spirited. When Qi Bo blinked, he saw that there was someone outside the door waving at him.

Finally, he saw Lu Qicheng, with insanity flashing in his eyes, stepping out. Then Qi Bo could somewhat hear a few pieces of words coming from outside, such as ‘still in the capital’, ‘found’ and so on…

Notes:
[1] ‘the principle of ‘tomorrow and tomorrow again’’: From a poem, 明日歌 (song of tomorrow) basically meaning to appreciate each day and not procrastinate. It was written by a poet in the Ming Dynasty. (Here’s the poem, translation taken from Xu Yuanchong: Tomorrow and tomorrow again // O how many tomorrows then? // If we wait always for another day, // In vain our life will pass away. // Make no delay in doing anything, // Or you’ll grow old when autumn comes after spring! // If you watch water flow eastwards at dawn, // And see at dusk the sun go down, // Even a hundred years old, you can’t be free from sorrow. // Why don’t you listen to my Song of Tomorrow?)

[2] ‘whine’: similar to aegyo in korean, acting cute

[3] ‘Doctor Sun’: not pronounced ‘sun’ like the one in the sky but more like ‘sw-uh-n’, a surname (孙)

[4] ‘ceramic pillow’: in Ancient China, it was common to use ceramic pillows. They were often used to cool down the bed in the summer. They had motifs and symbols on them, carrying auspicious meanings. Picture