Chapter Thirty-Two: The Princess’s Revenge

Bianjing is less than two hundred miles from Xijing. Although Shen Jifeng’s carriage is drawn by fine Dayuan steeds—faster than the average horse—the single journey still takes the better part of a day. This time, laden with five carts of lead ore, the pace was even slower.

Having departed at dawn when the city gates first opened, they had covered a mere fifty miles by the time the sun reached its zenith.

It was late May, and the heat was stifling. The ox carts carrying the lead had been hired by the steward from a transport firm in Bianjing, and they were far slower than the carriage. Every half hour, Shen Jifeng’s carriage would have to wait for them.

Wei Xiao looked at the mounting sun and wiped the sweat from his forehead. "The Princess should not have switched to ox carts just to save a few coins. They are too slow; we will never reach Xijing before dark."

"Slow is fine," Shen Jifeng said, unexpectedly unhurried. "Uncle Ma has already ridden ahead. If he arrives earlier, he can scout the terrain and choose a site. I cannot carry anything on my shoulders or lift anything with my hands, nor can I go down into the mines to work. A day earlier or a day later makes no difference."

Wei Xiao frowned slightly. Her words sounded insincere; there was something suspicious going on.

They traveled another ten miles west. It was nearly noon, and there wasn't a single cloud in the sky. The heat radiating from the gravel road made it difficult to keep one's eyes open, and even the oxen’s hooves were scorching. The drivers refused to go any further, demanding a rest. Shen Jifeng knew that it wasn't just the people who couldn't take it; the animals were near their limit as well.

The party found a shaded grove to rest. The woods provided no relief; even the breeze was heavy with heat. Shen Jifeng leaned against her carriage, closing her eyes to rest, while the five drivers collapsed onto the ground beside their carts, snoring within the quarter-hour.

Wei Xiao, however, vigilantly scanned their surroundings. A cliff stood not far ahead, with woods on both sides—an ideal spot for an ambush. Moreover, the woods were far too quiet; even the cicadas were unnervingly sparse.

Suddenly, a sharp whistle pierced the air. Wei Xiao drew his blade instantly, his keen intuition telling him that someone was closing in. Before long, over a dozen masked men burst from the woods, their blades flashing like snow as they lunged toward the caravan.

The simple-minded drivers had never seen such a display; terrified, they fell to their knees, begging for mercy. "Spare us, heroes! Spare our lives!" Even the oxen, startled, began to bellow and charge about.

Wei Xiao gripped his steel blade, knowing these men were no match for him. Shen Jifeng tapped him gently on the shoulder, signaling him to step back.

"How much money do we need to pay to be spared?"

Among the masked men, one replied, "We are not here for money today, nor do we seek lives. Leave these carts behind, and we will let you go."

Wei Xiao’s pupils constricted. This group was after the lead ore—could it be the Prince of Yan, seeking retaliation? He whispered in Shen Jifeng’s ear, "Do you need me to leave any survivors?"

"No," Shen Jifeng said, blinking. "Don't move; just do as I say."

"The drivers are innocent. Can we let them go first?"

The masked man nodded. "Very well."

The drivers looked at one another, unsure if they should leave. Shen Jifeng urged them, "What are you waiting for? Forget the carts, and the oxen too? Unyoke them and head back the way you came. You can claim the lost transport fees from my estate's steward."

The masked men watched as the drivers quickly unyoked the oxen and fled in a panic along the road they had come.

"Boss, they took the oxen. What do we do?"

"Shut up." The leader had realized the problem too, but remained stubborn. "The cliff edge is only a few steps away; just push the carts over. You’re too lazy for your own good."

Shen Jifeng put on a tearful performance. "Heroes, good men, can we negotiate? These are just a few carts of lead ore, worth at most a few hundred taels of silver. I will give you a thousand taels—leave the carts, how about it?"

The masked man swung his long blade. "Enough nonsense! One more word and you’ll both lose your lives. Get out of here!"

Wei Xiao, seeing that Shen Jifeng was acting, played along. "Princess, let’s go. They have the advantage in numbers; I cannot overcome so many. A wise man does not fight when the odds are against him."

"Yes," Shen Jifeng cried even more pitifully. "Why is Heaven so blind? Without the lead, I might as well be dead."

Wei Xiao looked at her, at a loss for words. Was this acting a bit too much?

Wei Xiao drove the carriage away. Shen Jifeng, as if it weren't enough, grabbed the window frame and shouted at the masked men, "My lead! My lead!"

Once the carriage disappeared, the leader urged, "Quick! Push the carts over the cliff!"

Before long, all five carts of lead ore were sent tumbling over the edge.

"Boss, I was in such a hurry I forgot to check—was it really lead ore?"

The leader was confident. "How could it not be? Didn't you see how heartbroken the Princess was?"

The others chimed in, "That's right! Let's finish and head back. It's too miserable out in this heat. Let’s go listen to music on the river tonight; it’ll be cool and refreshing."

After the masked men left, Shen Jifeng and Wei Xiao emerged from the woods to inspect the cliff edge. The wooden carts lay shattered at the bottom, and as for the contents, they were so thoroughly mixed with the surrounding debris that they were indistinguishable.

"The carts were full of rocks," Wei Xiao stated, not as a question, but a fact.

"Mhm." Shen Jifeng looked as happy as a cat that had stolen a fish. "My little aunt has always been like this; she never lets a slight go unpunished. Since I angered her so much the other day, how could she not retaliate?"

"No wonder Jin Chai didn't follow us today. Was she escorting the real lead with Uncle Ma and Qiu Feng?"

"Exactly." Shen Jifeng tilted her head at Wei Xiao. "Don't blame me for not telling you sooner. The reaction had to be genuine to fool my aunt. You are too wooden; your acting would never have been as good as mine."

Wei Xiao recalled Shen Jifeng's grating performance. "Are you certain you can fool Princess Chengping?"

"I am. Her underlings will return and spin the lie for me; I don't need to worry about it. The more exaggerated my reaction, the happier she will be, and the more likely she is to believe it."

Wei Xiao silently labeled the Princess Chengping he had never met as "stupid." However, she hadn't killed them and had let the drivers go, which meant she had a bottom line—at least she didn't involve the innocent.

Shen Jifeng curled her lip. "Don't think my aunt was showing me mercy. She wants me dead, but she can't kill me herself. With my Imperial Grandfather watching, she wouldn't dare."

Wei Xiao's previous question now had an answer. "So that’s why she let the drivers go?"

"Right." Thanks to countless confrontations in her childhood, she understood her aunt well. "My aunt isn't someone who cares for the common people. Apart from her parents and brothers, everyone else is a lowly subject in her eyes. To her, these commoners are like ants; she doesn't care if they live or die. However, the death of such 'ants' would blow the matter out of proportion and be difficult to clean up. That is why she showed 'mercy'—it certainly wasn't out of the kindness of her own heart."

Without the lead ore and with no evidence, Shen Jifeng could only swallow her pride. But if innocent commoners had died, the Ministry of Justice would have intervened, which would have been self-defeating for the Princess. Princess Chengping had clearly thought this through before giving the order.

Wei Xiao couldn't help but chuckle. A Princess who was arrogant and domineering on the surface, yet secretly adhered to the bottom line set by Emperor Wenchang, knowing exactly what could and could not be done. Indeed, the hearts of those in the royal family were as complex as a honeycomb.