By the hour of You, An Jing finally approached Linghe and Li Wuyu again and said, "That will be all for today, it’s getting dark. You can come again early tomorrow."
Having to come again...
Linghe, who could hardly stand straight even with Li Wuyu’s assistance, nearly burst into tears upon hearing An Jing’s words.
On returning to the inn at Sixteen Town, Linghe was so exhausted she skipped dinner. Due to the aches all over her body, she lay on the inn’s bed whimpering softly, a picture of absolute misery.
Li Wuyu, however, was seated leisurely at the table, sipping tea.
Linghe did want to ask Li Wuyu to massage her legs and shoulders, but after all, Li Wuyu was not her maidservant and moreover, she was the daughter of the Prime Minister. Even though she wasn’t as high in status, Linghe couldn’t treat Li Wuyu like a maidservant, so she had to massage and press on her own aching limbs.
The moment she left the Imperial Capital, Linghe regretted not bringing a maidservant with her.
But the thought of returning to the Duke Mansion to fetch a maidservant only to have her departure made more difficult made her persevere and continue to Hecheng County in search of Xiao Changyi.
Who would have known...
As her body ached terribly, Linghe massaged herself while dwelling on her private thoughts. The more she thought about it, the more aggrieved she felt, her self-control slipping as she blurted out, "Wuyu, Prince Xiao wouldn’t be staying in Hecheng County to farm forever, would he?"
Li Wuyu said, "I don’t know." After a pause, she added, "However, I’ve heard my father say that Prince Xiao will only return if there is a war."
Linghe felt a sting at those words and snapped, "Why didn’t you tell me this before?!"
If he returns only if there is a war, that means he won’t come back if there are no conflicts. But all the neighboring countries have signed non-aggression pacts with Xiyun, so where would the conflict come from?
So is it to say that Xiao Changyi will continue to farm indefinitely!
She wanted to marry Xiao Changyi for the comforts and admiration that came with him, not to share hardships! Sure, she fancied Xiao Changyi, but she fancied even more the power, status, and glory associated with being his wife. If she married him, she would miss out on all of this and merely toil in the fields like a village wife; she’d rather die!
She was a Commandery Princess, for heaven’s sake, not some lowly country woman!
Had she known beforehand about Xiao Changyi’s condition of not returning unless there was a war, she would never have traveled such a great distance to find him!
Li Wuyu’s expression was one of innocence: "Commandery Princess, you never asked me, so naturally, I didn’t think to bring it up."
If it weren’t for a shred of reason reminding her that Li Wuyu was still the daughter of the Prime Minister, she would have wished to slap her like she did with her own maidservant to vent her frustration.
Seeing that Linghe was furiously silent, Li Wuyu continued to drink her tea as if she hadn’t noticed, her carefree demeanor intact.
Her father had said, he couldn’t expect her to behave like a typical lady, but he hoped she wouldn’t make any grave mistakes. As long as she avoided serious blunders, her father, the Prime Minister of Xiyun Kingdom, would be able to protect her.
She really had no rapport with the Commandery Princess, meeting her only when called to join the princesses at the palace, and by chance learned that the princess was planning a secret departure to Hecheng County. Since she had no excuse for a casual outing, she accompanied Linghe under the pretext, leaving a note for her father before departing from home.
Originally, she had planned to part ways with Princess Linghe once out of the Capital City, to roam and play on her own. Unexpectedly, the princess had left home alone, without a single person accompanying her.
To prevent any misfortune befalling the Princess on the road and consequently affecting herself, Li Wuyu had no choice but to accompany Princess Linghe to Hecheng County.