In the end, Pei Ji could not care less about the truth.
“Your Highness, no matter what happened, you must not misunderstand me.”
As long as she did not misunderstand him, that was enough. As for Xie Wangze, that guy who dared to sneak her back to the Chen State and drag her into trouble, Pei Ji did not give a damn.
He had felt guilty toward Xie Wangze before, but now he was seething with resentment.
Before the Chu Emperor left, he had said he would personally interrogate Xie Wangze. He should hurry up and do it—ideally, the kind of weird interrogation where he took a fancy to Xie Wangze.
He should not be the only one suffering that kind of disgust.
Best of all, Your Highness would misunderstand that Xie Wangze liked men and was a pair with the Chu Emperor.
“Your Highness, you only need to know that I, Pei Ji, am a red-blooded man—a perfectly normal man.”
After thinking for a moment, he leaned close to Chu Yunge and whispered, “A man who likes women… and I’m not inferior to anyone.”
He finally understood what she meant back then when she said Li Guangi liked women.
Without the Chu Emperor, where would Li Guangi’s advantage have come from?
Chu Yunge felt Pei Ji’s breath tickling her ear. She scratched her ear and stepped back.
“Speak when you speak. Stay away from me.”
Pei Ji’s gaze fell on Chu Yunge’s ear, and he found he could not look away.
This girl’s ear… how was it so pretty?
Small and delicate, now a bit red from her scratching, like pink jade carving, paired with pearl earrings that seemed to glow.
And so clean, unlike a man’s which was dirty…
“What are you spacing out for?”
Chu Yunge’s voice snapped Pei Ji out of his thoughts. He jerked back half a step, his Adam’s apple bobbing rapidly.
“Nothing.”
He had not been thinking about biting her ear.
It was all the Chu Emperor’s fault for influencing him, disgusting him so much that now he found girls attractive everywhere—even wanting to bite their ears.
Pei Ji raised his hands and slapped his own face. Once done, under Chu Yunge’s puzzled gaze, he spoke up.
“Your Highness, the whole Heavenly Prosperity City is now buzzing with rumors that Xie Wangze and I are fighting over you.”
They said it was because of their deep bond and loyalty that they were competing for the princess.
When he heard this rumor again after a night had passed, it felt completely different—even pretty good.
In any case, rumors with the princess were a hundred times better than rumors with the Chu Emperor!
The only thing he minded was that the common folk had no idea another man had lain in her bed last night.
And another man had lain in his bed too—that person even had a face identical to Chu Yunge’s…
No, he could not think back on it. Too terrifying.
He had not minded before, but last night, seeing the Chu Emperor lying beside him—with a face just like the princess’s—he felt it was nothing like her anywhere, and it made him deeply uncomfortable.
After sending off the Chu Emperor today, he immediately had the bedding washed.
He had wanted to throw it away, but fearing the Chu Emperor would find out, he held back and just had it washed and stored.
Stored in a corner, never to see the light of day again.
Chu Yunge had no idea about Pei Ji’s pent-up frustration. She waved him off dismissively at his complaint.
“Didn’t you know this might happen when you made that bet yesterday? Go away. This princess has no time to play with you.”
Pei Ji felt stifled seeing how she knew the Chu Emperor had designs on him yet acted like it was none of her business.
Hearing her last words, he could not help asking, “Are you going to find Master Qingchen? He’s tangled up with a maid.”
She was truly busy. If not for His Majesty showing up last night, she would not have cared whether he was outside or not—who knew how far she would have gone with Li Guangi.
And now she was off to find Qingchen again.
“A maid?” Chu Yunge raised a brow.
Pei Ji: “…Yes, but Master Qingchen was just trying to help everyone.”
Pei Ji truly had no intention of sowing discord; he had just blurted it out. He had been so lost and helpless that he suddenly wanted to seek out Qingchen too, only realizing upon seeing him that how could he ask for help with such a problem?
In his hesitation, he saw the maid approach Qingchen, snapping him back to reality.
Thinking back now, what he had stumbled upon seemed to be the maid’s confession scene. She had said she thought she would be special, thanked him for his kindness, but said no need—since it was not him, marrying anyone was the same. Her parents favored him, so she would marry him; she could not be unfilial, after all.
He was agonizing over whether to tell the truth if Chu Yunge asked, but she showed no interest in pursuing it. She nodded indifferently, leaving Pei Ji to question life itself as she headed to the study.
She needed to start building her own forces soon, but having people meant knowing how to manage them—with proper rules in place.
Management and assessments could not be overlooked; the unfit had to be eliminated.
She knew how to use people flexibly, but rules still had to be followed for ease of management.
Moreover, these were just the beginning; there would be more in the future. She needed not only guards but long-term preparations.
She jotted down a simple plan and regulations. Once she had a rough idea in mind, Maid A arrived and knelt outside the study.
“This servant greets Your Highness.”
Chu Yunge was about to speak when Du Ruo arrived with Qingchen.
“Your Highness, Master Qingchen is here.” Du Ruo’s face was full of flattery toward her, but full of crisis toward Maid A.
“Your Highness.” Qingchen had buried the matter of her closeness with Li Guangi deep in his heart and had calmed down by now. His face showed no abnormality.
“You’ve come.” Chu Yunge was checking for oversights and casually said, “Talking to that maid for so long?”
Qingchen paused, then hurriedly explained, “Your Highness, I’ve made it clear to her. This monk is one who has left the secular world and can only disappoint her affections. I’ll try to communicate with her family to prevent a forced marriage and help her find a good match instead. I made it very clear: this monk and her have no chance at all.”
Chu Yunge finished checking and found no oversights. Hearing this, she let out an “oh”: “And what was the maid’s reaction?”
Qingchen paused again, recalling and repeating the maid’s words:
“She said she had thought she would be special. She thanked this monk for his kindness but said no need. If it was not this monk, marrying anyone was the same. Since her parents favored him, she would marry him—she could not be greatly unfilial, after all.”
After explaining, Qingchen stated his position: “Your Highness, please do not misunderstand. The little girl is young and was merely dazzled by this monk’s appearance. Do not blame her; she did not pester further.”
Chu Yunge raised a brow: “The little girl has good taste. Master Qingchen is indeed excellent.”
As said, Qingchen really was a good person, patiently helping everyone—not just being patient with the previous princess, but with others too.
Qingchen glanced at Chu Yunge. Under the dappled light filtering through the window, he could not quite make out her expression or gauge her attitude.
He had faced such confessions countless times and rejected them countless times.
But such a confession happening in the Princess Mansion felt off.
Chu Yunge saw Qingchen’s tension: “To outsiders, you’re still this princess’s face. For them to dare provoke you, they have some nerve. But since you’re speaking for her, this princess will give you that face.”
Chu Yunge smiled: “I’ll spare their lives, but the people? This princess won’t keep them. All who have explicitly confessed their intentions will be sold off.”
The Princess Mansion’s servants had been purged once before, but it was not enough; more cleaning was needed.
“You there.” Chu Yunge looked toward Maid A, still kneeling outside: “You handle this matter.”
It was a good chance to see if this one was usable, if she had the ability.
“Yes.” Maid A asked no questions, accepted directly, and left without sparing a glance at Qingchen, who looked like he wanted to say something.