Yu Ge's brow twitched, and her lips trembled.
"Sister, I never thought… you would become so crass."
'What a perfect, delicate flower, trembling in the wind.'
'But really, there was no need for all that.'
Shen Lang glanced up, her expression nonchalant. "If you can't afford it, just say so. Blaming others for your own poverty… my dear sister, you've really mastered a fine art."
'Two can play at that passive-aggressive game.'
Yu Ge bit her lip, her face growing pale. With a show of integrity, she said, "I always keep my word. How many silver taels is this? I will buy it for you, sister."
The attendant immediately bowed with a smile. "This is a Luminous Pearl from the Western Regions—the only one in the entire Capital City. But the price isn't too steep. Just three thousand taels of silver. What do you say?"
At those words, Yu Ge almost stumbled. Her already pale face went even whiter, as if it had been dusted with another layer of rice powder. One wouldn't dare get too close, for fear of getting it all over their clothes.
"…Three thousand taels?"
'Is this a robbery?'
Panic flared in Yu Ge's heart.
'I shouldn't have been so impulsive. Now I'm in a real mess.'
Her personal maid, Bai Ruo, immediately burst out in fury, "Prime Minister's Wife, what is the meaning of this! Are you intentionally trying to humiliate my lady? My lady is the future Empress! She will not be bullied by the likes of you!"
Yu Ge quickly stopped her. "Ruoruo, watch your tongue."
Shen Lang watched the drama unfold with a mischievous glint in her eyes.
"If she is indeed the future Empress, how could she be unable to afford such a paltry sum?"
Bai Ruo was clever, though, and immediately shot back, "We won't fall for your trick!"
Shen Lang decided to play the role of the wicked supporting character to the hilt. A lazy smile touched the corners of her eyes as she raised an eyebrow. "…Oh? But this Luminous Pearl… as your sister, I've taken quite a liking to it. My dear sister wouldn't have the heart to let me down… would she?"
As she watched Yu Ge struggle to keep her expression from turning sour, Shen Lang was practically dying of laughter on the inside.
"Sister, as the future mother of the nation, I must set a good example for the people. Such extravagance… I fear it would be impossible to silence the gossip of the people…"
'Right. Keep spouting that nonsense.'
Shen Lang smiled faintly. "Very well. I won't trouble you over this Luminous Pearl, then."
Yu Ge had just breathed a sigh of relief when she heard the devastating beauty say with a lilting laugh, waving her white jade round fan, "You know, that pair of golden earrings with Dongzhu is quite lovely too."
Yu Ge: "…"
'Teasing the heroine is just the best feeling.'
While Shen Lang was reveling in her own delight, she had no idea that the atmosphere in the Imperial Study Room was stretched as taut as a violin string.
The relationship between Jiang Yu and Qing Mei had always been quite good; they didn't have the usual conflicts between a ruler and his prime minister. After all, the one truly in power was the current Empress Dowager. At this stage, the Prime Minister's power was, in essence, a counterbalance to the power wielded by the Empress Dowager.
However, the atmosphere today was unusually tense.
Jiang Yu's slender, well-defined fingers gently picked up a lavender porcelain cup. He took a slow sip, his voice as clear as a bell. "I heard a rumor that you secretly married yesterday, my dear minister. I refused to believe it, but seeing you now, I suspect the rumor is true."
Qing Mei lowered his gaze. "…She is just an ordinary woman. It was not worth a grand affair."
'As he said it, he knew he was putting his neck on the line.'
'Some "rumor"… Spying is spying. Why must a ruler be so sanctimonious about it with his minister?'
Qing Mei couldn't help but smile.
"What do you find so amusing, my dear minister?" Jiang Yu paused, a flash of coldness crossing his features.
He truly did not yet know the identity of the woman his young and promising Prime Minister had married. He could find out easily enough if he investigated, of course. However, he needed this dear minister of his to be forthcoming, not to hide things from his emperor.
"I am simply amazed by how well-informed Your Majesty is. I only took a wife yesterday, and Your Majesty already knows today." Qing Mei's expression was gentle, his long lashes lowered to hide the emotion in his eyes. "My wife is an illegitimate daughter from the Chen Prince Mansion. Due to her lowly birth, she is hardly presentable, so out of shame, I dared not inform Your Majesty. I beg Your Majesty to forgive my transgression."
"Of course, I do not blame you." The look in Jiang Yu's eyes softened, and his thin, crimson lips curved into a slight smile. "I was simply unaware that the Chen Prince Mansion… had an additional illegitimate daughter?"
An Imperial Edict had long since been proclaimed, announcing the betrothal of Prince Chen's eldest daughter as the new Empress.
Only after the edict was issued did Jiang Yu learn that Prince Chen had another daughter, one who was utterly invisible in daily life.
But since the Prime Minister had married that illegitimate daughter of Prince Chen, the legitimate, eldest daughter must still be safe at home, awaiting her marriage.
Jiang Yu's heart settled slightly. 'Prince Chen wouldn't dare be so bold as to pull a swap.'
Qing Mei nodded. "My wife's mother was of low birth. She was naturally timid and disliked attention. Therefore, the world knows only of Prince Chen's eldest daughter, not his other one."
He then added, "And I wish Your Majesty… an early success in winning the beauty's hand."
If Shen Lang were here, she would have clapped him on the shoulder and invited him to join the Academy of Single Thespians.
The frost in Jiang Yu's expression melted instantly. He raised an eyebrow and smiled. "I appreciate the sentiment, my dear minister."
Despite the young Emperor's clear, sincere smile, the tall and elegant Qing Mei's expression remained unchanged.
'It was just that deep down, he felt a faint, bleak sense of regret.'
'Tsk.'
'The more tender his smile is now, the deeper his disappointment and rage will be when the day comes.'
'What will happen then, I wonder?'
Qing Mei lowered his gaze, a sudden smile spreading across his lips, as gentle as a spring breeze.
'No. When the time comes, nothing will happen at all.'
'Because before that day arrives, I will take that beautiful troublemaker and leave this place. We'll go far, far away, to a place where no one knows us, and there we will raise a family and live out our days in peace.'
'As for the mess left behind in the Capital City… it can sort itself out.'
*
*
[System: Heroine's Anguish Index has increased. Current level: 30%.]
Hearing the cold, mechanical voice in her head, Shen Lang raised an eyebrow, a flicker of surprise crossing her delicate features.
"This is all it takes to make the heroine suffer?"
[System: The Host is advised not to question the System's judgment.]
Shen Lang cast a lazy glance at Yu Ge. Suddenly, she found this heroine rather adorable.
'Getting worked up over something like this… Her IQ must be rock bottom. How cute.'
Yu Ge caught the sudden flash of pity in Shen Lang's bewitching eyes, and a strange feeling crept into her heart. "Sister, can't you let your sister off the hook just this once? If… If I buy these earrings for you, I'll have to dip into my dowry to afford them…"
Shen Lang paused.
'I almost forgot.'
'Because my dear sister is about to enter the Imperial Palace, and the dowry for the mother of the nation can't be too shabby. A magnificent procession is the bare minimum.'
'And so… they just took the dowry of the legitimate eldest daughter to make up for it.'
'As for me, the legitimate eldest daughter, my wedding had to be low-key, so my dowry was a measly two chests.'
'A dowry is not to be touched before the wedding, especially not one belonging to the future mother of the nation.'
Yu Ge thought saying this would scare her sister into relenting. She never expected Shen Lang's lips to curve into a bewitching smile as she replied, "Whether you touch your dowry is your business. Since you made the boast, I must naturally give you the chance to save face."