The Hostage Girl - Chapter 164
Chapter 164
Before Bai Qian could speak, Dou Siwu stepped in front of her and shouted anxiously, “Mother!”
However, Madam Dou didn’t even glance at her son.
Instead, she helped Yan’er, who had fallen to the ground, and asked with concern, “Are you alright? Are you hurt?”
Yan’er seemed to have been hit quite hard, tears streaming down her face, but she forced herself to appear strong and said, “Auntie, please don’t be angry. I’m sure she didn’t mean to bump into me…”
Her words carried a deeper meaning, subtly implying that she was indeed knocked down by Bai Qian while also portraying herself as considerate and understanding.
In any other situation, Bai Qian would have ignored such petty behavior and might have even kicked the girl to show her what a real intentional hit felt like.
However, Bai Qian had heard from Dou Siwu earlier that his mother was ill and couldn’t handle stress.
She didn’t want to risk causing Madam Dou’s death with a single kick, leaving Dou Siwu motherless.
So, she simply turned her head, refusing to look at the delicate little cousin, and decided to swallow her anger and head back to the palace.
But Jiang Xiurun couldn’t stand to see Bai Qian being wronged, especially since Madam Dou didn’t seem inclined to let the matter go.
So, she walked over, frowned, and tugged at Bai Qian’s sleeve, then said, “General Bai, why is one of the pearls on your sleeve missing?”
Bai Qian thought to herself: Didn’t you just pull it off and stuff it into your pouch?
But the tacit understanding between the master and servant was well-practiced, so she feigned ignorance and said, “That’s strange, it was there just a moment ago. How could it be gone now?”
Hearing this, Jiang Xiurun turned to Yan’er with a stern face and asked, “Miss, have you seen the pearl from my general’s sleeve? That pearl is precious, a gift from His Majesty. If it’s lost, wouldn’t that be an offense to the Emperor?”
Madam Dou immediately grew anxious and said, “She was the one who bumped into Yan’er! How can you turn around and accuse Yan’er of taking something?”
Jiang Xiurun, with a calm demeanor, smiled and said, “If this young lady accidentally brushed against General Bai and caused the pearl to fall, as long as it’s returned, there’s no harm done. As long as it’s not damaged, we can have a servant sew it back on later.”
Her words were polite and generous, but they might as well have carved the word “thief” on the little cousin’s face.
Madam Dou hadn’t expected the Empress of Bo to be so shameless, slandering someone without evidence.
In her anger, she was about to point at Jiang Xiurun.
But before she could make a scene, Jiang Xiurun turned to a fellow official from the Ministry of Justice and asked with a serious expression, “As an honored guest from Bo, and with my general being of high status, what is the punishment for someone who offends an envoy of the great Qi while walking?”
The official, understanding the situation, promptly replied, “For a minor offense, twenty lashes. For a serious offense, imprisonment or exile… and if theft is involved, the punishments are compounded.”
Madam Dou was now at a loss for words.
She knew that the Empress of Bo was highly regarded by the Emperor.
The incident with Yan’er being bumped into was originally a trivial matter, but if the Empress of Bo insisted on taking it to the Ministry of Justice, Yan’er would surely be the one to suffer.
Thus, Madam Dou had no choice but to swallow her pride and say, “Since it was an accident, Yan’er wouldn’t have seen the pearl. It must have fallen somewhere. General Bai, please look for it yourself.”
Jiang Xiurun, not wanting to escalate the situation further out of respect for her fellow official, simply smiled and said, “It’s said that Madam Dou is reasonable, and indeed, the reputation is well-deserved. Since it was an accident, there’s no need for apologies. I’ll send someone to search for the pearl.”
With that, she left with Bai Qian in tow.
Dou Siwu wanted to follow, but Madam Dou grabbed him firmly and said angrily, “Where do you think you’re going? Are you trying to make me die of anger right here on this floor?”
The young general knew his mother well enough to understand that she was indeed capable of being angered to death, so he obediently stayed behind, standing by the window and watching Bai Qian and the others walk away down the street.
After leaving the restaurant, Jiang Xiurun felt the need to comfort Bai Qian.
But Bai Qian seemed quite composed and instead reassured Jiang Xiurun, “Don’t worry, my lady. Such petty tricks don’t bother me. That cousin is just small-minded and can’t rise above trivial matters. Even if Dou Siwu is pressured by his mother to marry her, he’ll never truly be happy with her.”
Jiang Xiurun was surprised by Bai Qian’s calm attitude and couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy for her fellow official.
At that moment, the crowd in the street began moving toward the city gate.
Jiang Xiurun overheard someone saying that the imperial lanterns, specially released for the people to celebrate, were out, and there would also be a palace performance.
Palace performances were usually reserved for the Emperor and his consorts, with only a few high-ranking officials or close ministers occasionally invited to watch.
On this special day, the Emperor of Qi had made an exception and sent the palace troupe to perform for the common people.
Naturally, the citizens were eager to see what kind of plays the Emperor and his consorts enjoyed, and a large crowd quickly gathered.
Jiang Xiurun followed the crowd to the city gate, where a tall stage had been set up, surrounded by spectators.
She had to stay at a distance, but the stage was high enough that she could still see from afar.
After waiting for a while, the troupe leader came on stage and announced that the Emperor, in the spirit of sharing joy with the people, had specially arranged for the palace troupe to perform for them.
Once the leader left, the palace performance began.
The first actor to appear was dressed in Bo-style clothing, embroidered with gold thread and peonies, looking incredibly luxurious.
At first glance, it resembled the ceremonial dress Jiang Xiurun had worn when she entered Luo’an.
Jiang Xiurun was slightly surprised and continued watching.
The actor’s attendant held a tray with garlic bulbs on it.
It turned out the play was about the Empress of Bo traveling a long distance to Qi and saving the people from a plague.
The scenes on stage resonated deeply with the citizens of Luo’an, though the script was naturally exaggerated in some parts.
For example, when the Empress was on her way to Bo, she encountered bandits who weren’t interested in gold but demanded sacred fruits.
The Empress’s female general bravely fought them off.
Another scene depicted a river crossing where a giant turtle spirit tried to capsize the boat to devour the sacred fruits and attain immortality.
The Empress cleverly ordered her men to throw drugged buns into the river, tricking the turtle into thinking they were the sacred fruits.
After the turtle fell asleep, the female general dove into the river to kill it.
Jiang Xiurun could have enjoyed watching any other fantastical story, but seeing herself portrayed in such an absurd manner made her suspect that the script had been written by some poor, unimaginative scholar.
Unable to hold back, she whispered to Bai Qian beside her, criticizing the absurdity of the script.
She pointed out that if they could drug the turtle, why not just poison it instead of letting it wake up during the fight and cause a commotion in the water.
But before she could say much, the people around her shushed her.
Since Jiang Xiurun was dressed as a man and it was dark, no one recognized her as the empress.
The crowd simply thought she was a troublemaker, nitpicking during such a good performance, and they hissed at her, telling her to be quiet or leave.
Jiang Xiurun, however, was also curious to see how the play would unfold, so she kept her mouth shut and watched as her on-stage self continued to battle the turtle and protect the sacred fruits.
When the play reached the part where the empress entered the capital and personally brewed medicinal soup for the people, working tirelessly day and night to save Luo’an, many in the audience were moved to tears.
Cries of “Long live the Empress!” echoed through the crowd.
Finally, an actor dressed as a eunuch held up an imperial decree and announced, “The Emperor, grateful for the Empress of Bo’s noble act of saving the people of Qi, has decreed that she shall be welcomed as his Empress.”
The crowd erupted in cheers, fully embracing the Empress of Bo and wishing she would stay in Qi forever, urging the Emperor to issue the decree to marry her.
By this point, Jiang Xiurun was at a loss for words.
Even the palace troupe wouldn’t dare to perform something so bold without permission, let alone bring an imperial decree into the play!
Unless they had Feng Liwu’s approval, they wouldn’t dare to do such a thing.
In any case, this play left a lasting impression on the citizens: the Empress of Bo had endured countless hardships, fought bandits, battled a turtle, and overcome a plague, all to come to Luo’an and marry their Emperor.
Even Bai Qian was impressed, remarking that Dou Siwu’s tactics paled in comparison to his master’s.
She herself had made a brief appearance in the play and had already won the hearts of many, with people praising the Empress’s female general for her bravery.
At that moment, a messenger from the palace quietly approached Jiang Xiurun, saying that he had been sent by the Emperor to invite the Empress to the palace for sweet dumplings.
Jiang Xiurun was indeed hungry from walking, but after watching the play, she was also somewhat angered by Feng Liwu’s presumptuousness.
She stepped out of the crowd and boarded the palace carriage, heading straight into the palace.
The palace banquet for the Lantern Festival was held on the highest pavilion in the palace, offering a view of the city’s lantern-lit streets.
As Jiang Xiurun stepped out of the carriage, several consorts who had just returned from admiring the lanterns in the rear garden passed by.
Among them, Concubine Tian, upon seeing Jiang Xiurun dressed as a man, was filled with jealousy.
She had initially thought that a pair of fox siblings had bewitched the Crown Prince, but now she realized that the male and female foxes were actually the same person.
It seemed the Crown Prince had grown tired of the usual and was now enjoying the thrill of switching between male and female forms with his former playmate!
Behind the fuming Concubine Tian, Tian Jing’er, who had accompanied her as a concubine, looked at the former Young Master Jiang with red-rimmed eyes, her face filled with sorrow.
It was as if she had lost a long-cherished lover.
However, Jiang Xiurun didn’t notice any of this.
She simply strode up the steps in her tall wooden clogs, exuding an air of nonchalance.
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The consorts are going to be spitting nails. Thank you for the updates!!