“This subordinate understands.” Wu Ling bowed to acknowledge the order before he turned to leave.
Su Xi-er looked like she was in deep thought. Du Rin is the only one who is afraid of the Western Region King arriving in Beimin. It would mean the end of her pretend princess act, and her plans of revenge along with it.
“Xi-er, she wouldn’t be able to lord over anyone if you had hardened your heart.” The meaning behind Pei Qianhao’s words were clear as he calmly spoke
A slight frown appeared on Su Xi-er, but it disappeared quickly as she said, “Since Du Rin is working with Situ Li, let’s get rid of both of them.” This would be the most efficient way. She then said, “A-Jing, I’ll make a trip to the posthouse.”
Pei Qianhao nodded and instructed the guards to prepare a horse carriage for Su Xi-er.
At this very moment, the corner of Du Rin’s lips were curling up as she read the contents of a letter. It stated that Du Ling’s entourage had been ambushed, scattering the group and making it so that the person in question was gravely injured, his whereabouts unknown. Lighting a candle, she burnt the letter to a crisp.
Although we didn’t kill Du Ling, it will take some time for him to recover from his injuries. That is especially the case without any access to medical attention in the wilderness; if we’re lucky, he may just die along the way.
But what if he’s lucky enough to survive? That won’t do. I have to inform Situ Li about this as soon as possible, and get him to secretly look into this.
Du Rin left the main courtyard and was making her way to her room when a guard reported, “Your Highness, Princess Consort Hao is here to visit.”
Du Rin’s brows creased. What great timing. It wouldn’t do to reject her either.
She nodded at the guard as she had no choice but to play along. “Bring her in.”
The guard bowed and escorted Su Xi-er into the main hall of the posthouse shortly after.
“Go get us some snacks and a pot of tea.” Du Rin instructed the guard before she turned to Su Xi-er with a smile. “Princess Consort Hao, we haven’t met for a while. What brings you here today?”
Su Xi-er replied politely, “You’ve been in Beimin for quite a while now. I’ve even heard the commoners discussing amongst themselves that the imperial princess refuses to leave not because she enjoys the scenery, but because she enjoys seeing a person.”
“This Princess enjoys both the scenery and the people, but I never cared much for the petty gossip of the commoners. Is Princess Consort Hao shooing me back to the Western Region now?”
“No, I hope you can stay in Beimin for a while longer; after all, your older brother, Du Ling, is coming.” Su Xi-er watched Du Rin to measure her reaction.
Du Rin remained rather placid, her tone rising in slight surprise. “Oh? I didn’t think that my older brother would be coming over too. He’d been too busy with court affairs to accompany this Princess here before, but since he’s coming now, I should go welcome him.”
“You don’t need to welcome him; he was attacked on his way here, and his whereabouts are unknown. Aren’t you worried for him?”
Du Rin stared at her wide-eyed. “Whereabouts unknown? How did that happen? This won’t do. This Princess will send some men to search for him.”
“The Prince Hao Residence has already sent our men. I’m paying you a visit today so that we can go look for him together.” Su Xi-er stood up and walked to Du Rin.
Du Rin laughed as she looked up at Su Xi-er. “We’re aware of each other’s real identities. Do you think I’ll let Du Ling meet you?”
