Ch 285: She wept, her tears like rain falling on pear blossoms.
Those who didn’t know the truth might have thought that Prince Gong’s Residence was bullying people.
Otherwise, Wang Zhang would have already taken the silver and sent her away.
Seeing how delicate she was, and with common people outside the residence watching, Wang Zhang couldn’t use harsh methods, and thus helplessly came to ask Princess Consort Su Wanyan for instructions.
“…” Su Wanyan looked at the map on the table, pondering for a few seconds before raising her head: “Then let her in.”
Since she couldn’t avoid it, she might as well use this opportunity to probe her.
Su Wanyan had Qiuye put away the map on the table, and temporarily put the books aside.
Just as Huangye finished brewing the tea, Xiaobu brought the person in.
“This humble woman, Yun Yi, greets Princess Consort.”
Yun Yi looked frail and weak, her eyes red and swollen, her face still bearing tear stains. She held two full bags of silver, offering them with a curtsy: “Princess Consort, these… are the silver coins Your Highness gave me that day. I have never used them. I hope Your Highness will investigate clearly.”
Her voice was still choked with sobs.
When she gave her the silver, Su Wanyan considered the long journey and the high probability of encountering local ruffians along the way. So she gave her extra silver coins so Yun Yi could hire a few bodyguards to ensure her safety on the way back to Weng City.
This was something Qiuye had been specifically instructed to do when giving her the silver.
Considering that her family might have other brothers and sisters, or that she might not have a livelihood in Weng City, she gave her an extra sum of money, hoping she could use it to find something to do.
For Su Wanyan, money couldn’t buy true feelings, but sometimes it could really solve many problems. Considering she was only a thirteen or fourteen-year-old girl, having more money on hand was never a bad thing.
Of course, if her money was scammed or squandered, that would be her own bad luck.
She couldn’t possibly feed her directly.
She had considered all aspects, but never expected that after saying she was leaving the Capital City, she would become Princess Fengyao’s maid and return to the Capital City.
This was what Su Wanyan couldn’t accept the most. It wasn’t the displeasure of being betrayed, but the unpleasant feeling of being made a fool of.
Su Wanyan forced a smile, not rushing to take back the silver, nor asking her to rise, and asked: “I heard you were crying your eyes out at the gate. What exactly happened? Are you reluctant to return the silver, or did someone from my Prince Gong’s Residence bully you?”
Yun Yi shook her head repeatedly, her expression even more pitiful: “This humble woman is only heartbroken.”
Su Wanyan’s brows moved slightly: “Heartbroken?”
As she spoke, Yun Yi sobbed softly again, tears falling like there was no end.
She said: “Your Highness, I have known the Prince since I was young. Since the Prince returned to the Capital from Weng City, I have been constantly thinking about him. I also heard that the Prince was seriously injured when he returned to the Capital, and I was even more worried. I thought that if I could ever come to the Capital, I would definitely come to see the Prince.”
“This has been going on for five or six years. When I came to the Capital, I originally thought that the Prince was safe and sound, but unexpectedly… last night the Prince said that he was not doing well.”
At this point, tears fell again in streams: “Thinking about how the Prince has not been doing well all these years, I feel heartbroken.”
“…” Yu Nanqing said he wasn’t doing well, because he wanted her to return the money.
She, however, felt pity for him.
Su Wanyan didn’t know what to say for a moment, so she only waved her hand: “You may rise.”
She looked at Qiuye, who understood and, after Yun Yi got up, stepped forward to take back the two bags of silver she was holding.
“Sit.” Su Wanyan gestured.
Yun Yi lowered her eyes, looking pitiable, and curtsied: “Thank you, Princess Consort.”
After she sat down, Huangye also brewed tea for her.
Su Wanyan then asked: “Miss Yun Yi, how many people were originally in your family? Did… they all pass away?”
Bringing up other people’s sadness wasn’t good, so she softened her tone, carefully choosing her words.
Yun Yi nodded: “My family originally had seven people. Besides my parents, I had three elder sisters and a younger brother. They were all… during the fall of Weng City.”
At this point, she started sobbing again.
“…” Su Wanyan was helpless and gestured to Qiuye.
Qiuye stepped forward and handed her a handkerchief.
Yun Yi took it with red eyes: “Thank you, Princess Consort.”
“They were all killed by the people of Donghai during the fall of Weng City?” To confirm, Su Wanyan asked again.
Yun Yi nodded while wiping her tears: “Yes.”
“Do you still remember the situation that day?”
“I will never forget it.”
“If that’s the case, why did you turn around and become a servant for Donghai?” Su Wanyan asked.
This was what she wanted to know most.
Yun Yi covered her face and cried: “Your Highness doesn’t know, if it wasn’t absolutely necessary, I wouldn’t have done this.”
“Oh?” Su Wanyan shifted slightly: “Tell me.”
In a posture ready to listen.
Yun Yi sniffled, looking pitiful and said: “I met Princess Fengyao by chance. At first, she only said that she was traveling to Great Jin with her father. Weng City is a border city, and there are often Donghai merchants coming and going, so I believed her.”
“After becoming acquainted with Princess Fengyao, she asked about my background. Learning that I had been thinking about the Prince for a long time, she said she would take me to the Capital. I thought, since I had no relatives in Weng City, and nothing to tie me down, I might as well go with Princess Fengyao, maybe I could really see the Prince.”
“When I saw the Prince in the Capital, I was so happy. Seeing the Prince safe and sound, my wish was fulfilled. Thinking that the Prince didn’t want to see me, I thought I should return to Weng City.”
“But on second thought, I had no relatives in Weng City. Even if I went back, I would be alone. While I was confused, Princess Fengyao said that I might as well follow her, as she would stay in the Capital for a while. I had nowhere to go, so I agreed.”
She looked up at Su Wanyan with red eyes: “I didn’t know she was the seventeenth princess of Donghai. It was only after leaving the city with her to meet the Second Prince of Donghai that I found out. If I had known earlier, I would never have become Princess Fengyao’s maid.”
“Princess Consort… how could my heart not be tormented?”
Su Wanyan narrowed her eyes, meaning that when she left the Capital City with Fengyao, she didn’t know that Fengyao was a princess of Donghai?
Su Wanyan didn’t know why she was entangled in this, she felt that Yun Yi gave her a strong sense of contradiction.
Her expression while with Fengyao didn’t look like she was forced at all, yet now she was crying her eyes out in front of her.
Moreover, she wasn’t crying because of the pain of remembering the death of her family, but because… she felt sorry for Yu Nanqing?
Every word she said showed that she was very worried about Yu Nanqing, and that she had come to rely on Yu Nanqing.
Because Yu Nanqing didn’t accept her, she stayed with Fengyao.
Her helplessness didn’t seem to be caused by something painful or heartbreaking, but because she couldn’t stay with Yu Nanqing, and that’s why she was so sad. In this way, her behavior was a bit like… whining without being sick.
