Chapter 61: Promise

Chapter 61: The Promise

Princess Jiahe was stunned.

She had come to the Wei residence today for two reasons: first, to ascertain the celestial beauty of this rival who had led Wei Mingjin to reject her hand in marriage; second, to assert her authority.

Yet, she never anticipated that before she could even assume her princely demeanor and begin to intimidate, Xin He would already be pleading for her mercy to be released.

This was not how their encounter was supposed to unfold.

As Princess Jiahe stood there, bewildered and full of questions, she said, "Don't rush to kowtow. First, tell me, what exactly is your relationship with Wei Mingjin?"

From the earlier scene, it appeared Xin He was being held captive in the residence by Wei Mingjin.

"My story with Wei Mingjin is a long one."

Today marked Xin He's first meeting with Princess Jiahe. Although Xin He sensed the princess possessed a kind heart, she dared not disclose her past as the elder Master Wei's concubine.

Despite the past circumstances having their complexities, the matter itself was fundamentally unethical.

For one, Princess Jiahe might not accept it, and secondly, if the princess harbored deep affection for Wei Mingjin, revealing this truth might prompt her to eliminate Xin He to safeguard Wei Mingjin's reputation.

So Xin He merely told Princess Jiahe, "I have someone I love. I beg Your Highness to rescue me from this suffering. In the future, I will burn incense and pray daily, asking Buddha to grant all your wishes."

Having spoken, Xin He gazed at Princess Jiahe with pleading eyes.

Princess Jiahe had always been particularly soft-hearted towards beautiful people. Moreover, she felt that helping Xin He would be a win-win situation.

So Princess Jiahe immediately gestured grandly and declared with an air of magnanimity, "In that case, I, the Princess, grant you permission to leave."

No sooner had Princess Jiahe spoken than the lady-in-waiting beside her quickly interjected, "Your Highness, you mustn't…"

"Thank you, Princess, thank you!" Xin He, overwhelmed with joy, was already weeping tears of gratitude to Princess Jiahe.

Princess Jiahe waved her hand. "Alright, you may leave now."

Xin He curtsied to Princess Jiahe once more and was about to depart when she heard the rapid, thudding footsteps approaching from outside.

Xin He’s face paled. She turned to peer through the carved window and saw Wei Mingjin, clad in his official robes, striding in with a severe expression.

Xin He immediately turned back, panicked, and pleaded with Princess Jiahe, "Princess, save me!"

"Stand by my side," Princess Jiahe commanded.

Xin He quickly moved closer.

Soon, Wei Mingjin entered.

After offering a perfunctory bow to Princess Jiahe, he asked in an unfriendly tone, "Might I ask why Your Highness has suddenly intruded upon my residence today?"

Wei Mingjin usually greeted others with a slight smile, but today his face was grim, and Princess Jiahe felt an inexplicable trepidation towards him.

But though she felt nervous, Princess Jiahe showed no sign of fear. "I was bored today and decided to stroll outside the palace grounds. I happened to pass by your residence and thought I’d come in for a cup of tea. As it turned out, you weren’t here, so I…"

Here, Princess Jiahe paused.

She didn't know Xin He's current status in the Wei household, but she promptly assigned her one: "I found myself quite taken with your maid. Since you're back now, I'll let you know—I'm taking this maid with me. I'll send you two better ones later."

"Your Highness may take any other maid from this residence, but not her," Wei Mingjin refused outright.

Princess Jiahe’s rebellious streak flared up instantly. "But I have my heart set on her. Today, I must have her and no one else."

"I said she is not an option!"

The two stood their ground, one sitting and one standing, neither yielding.

The other attendants present wanted to intervene but, seeing both parties in a foul mood, feared saying the wrong thing and adding fuel to the fire, so they all remained silent.

Xin He stood anxiously beside Princess Jiahe, placing all her hopes on the princess.

She thought that since Wei Mingjin was a subject and Princess Jiahe was a royal princess, if the princess insisted on taking her, Wei Mingjin shouldn’t be able to refuse.

But clearly, she had underestimated Wei Mingjin’s shamelessness.

After a moment of stalemate, Wei Mingjin suddenly said with a smile, "Your Highness has a kind heart and wishes to help others, which is not wrong. But I must advise you: before intervening on someone’s behalf, it’s best to first verify their identity. Otherwise, you might inadvertently be used by someone with ulterior motives."

Hearing this, Xin He’s eyelids twitched.

Princess Jiahe frowned. "What do you mean?"

"She is not a maid in my residence but my beloved concubine, formally registered with a concubine contract," Wei Mingjin stated bluntly, revealing Xin He’s identity.

Princess Jiahe whipped her head around to look at Xin He, who was hiding beside her, her face a mix of shock and anger.

She had tried to help her, and yet Xin He had deceived her!

"I never meant to deceive you, Princess. That concubine contract was signed under his deception," Xin He pleaded, tears streaming down her face, seeing Princess Jiahe as her last hope. "I never wanted to be his concubine. Princess, I have someone I love. I beg you to save me."

Princess Jiahe had been furious, but seeing such a beautiful woman crying so pitifully, she couldn’t help but soften.

Besides, she hadn’t forgotten how Xin He had appeared before her earlier with a hairpin pressed against her neck.

Princess Jiahe handed her handkerchief to Xin He and turned back to Wei Mingjin. "Wei Mingjin, since she doesn’t wish to be your concubine and already has someone she loves, why not be magnanimous and let her go?"

Hearing this, Xin He was deeply moved and immediately wanted to kneel before Princess Jiahe.

But before her knees could bend, her wrist was suddenly seized. Before she could react, she was pulled into Wei Mingjin’s embrace.

"Your Highness may not know this, but my beloved concubine and I were once very much in love. It’s only recently, after returning to our hometown to pay respects to our ancestors, that she was misled and became like this. I believe that, given time, she will come to her senses."

"But…" Princess Jiahe wanted to say more, but the lady-in-waiting behind her spoke first.

"Your Highness, since she is Wei Mingjin’s concubine, this is a matter of his household. It’s best left for him to resolve," the lady-in-waiting reminded.

Though Princess Jiahe’s heart was reluctant, there was nothing she could do.

If Xin He were an ordinary maid, she could have used her status to pressure Wei Mingjin into handing her over. But as Wei Mingjin’s formally registered concubine, and with Princess Jiahe being an unmarried princess, her influence didn’t extend into the inner affairs of an official’s household.

Yet, seeing the plea in Xin He’s eyes, Princess Jiahe couldn’t bring herself to remain indifferent.

Just as she was about to leave, Princess Jiahe turned back and raised her chin at Wei Mingjin. "I’d like to speak with her alone. Surely that’s acceptable?"

This request wasn’t unreasonable, and Wei Mingjin couldn’t refuse. He had no choice but to release Xin He and step outside.

"Princess, save me," Xin He pleaded, kneeling once more before Princess Jiahe.

She had no one else in the capital to turn to. Aside from this kind-hearted princess who, upon their first meeting, was willing to speak up for her, she had no one else to ask for help.

"Ah, ah, ah, don’t kneel, and don’t cry," Princess Jiahe said, unable to bear seeing such a beauty in tears. She clumsily used her handkerchief to wipe Xin He’s tears while comforting her. "I can’t take you with me today, but don’t worry. Since I promised to let you leave, I will keep my word. I’ll go back and devise a plan to rescue you."

Xin He had originally lost all hope, but upon hearing Princess Jiahe's words, a flicker of hope sparked inside her.

She tightly clutched Princess Jiahe's sleeve, her expression urgent as she asked, "Do you really mean that, Your Highness?"

"Of course I mean it. I, the Princess, always keep my word."

Given Princess Jiahe's status, if she truly had no intention of helping, there would be no need for her to deceive her now.

"If Your Highness can get me out of this nightmare, for the rest of my life, I am willing to serve you faithfully—I’d work like an ox or horse for you." After saying this, Xin He kowtowed deeply to Princess Jiahe once more.

Princess Jiahe hurriedly helped her up and spent some time comforting Xin He before finally leaving with her attendants.

As soon as Princess Jiahe departed, Wei Mingjin entered.

Seeing Xin He sitting in the armchair, bowing her head and wiping away tears, a vein throbbed at Wei Mingjin’s temple. In the end, he suppressed his anger and simply turned to issue an order: "Someone, take her back."

Soon, Ming Xia entered from outside.

Now that Princess Jiahe had left, Xin He didn’t want to stay any longer and left together with Ming Xia.

Shortly after Xin He departed, Chi Yan, who had been away on an errand, returned.

Wei Mingjin directly instructed him: "Hand your duties over to Wuying. From now on, you and Feng Mo will take turns guarding the main residence."

Chi Yan immediately acknowledged the order.

It was only the end of the morning, still during duty hours. Wei Mingjin couldn’t stay home long. After giving his orders, he hurried back to the Hanlin Academy right away.

In the heat of summer, after rushing back and forth, by the time Wei Mingjin returned to the Hanlin Academy, his official robes were already drenched with sweat.

A colleague, seeing his condition, handed over his folding fan: "Here, Wei Mingjin, fan yourself with this."

"Thank you," Wei Mingjin replied politely.

Though Wei Mingjin was exceptionally talented, he never flaunted his abilities. He always acted humble in front of his colleagues. Coupled with his good people skills, although he had only recently joined the Hanlin Academy, he got along extremely well with everyone there.

Earlier that day, when a servant from the Wei family came to inform Wei Mingjin that Princess Jiahe had visited his residence, several colleagues who shared the same office with him had overheard.

Now, seeing the usually composed and refined Wei Mingjin in such a disheveled state, his colleagues couldn’t help but cast sympathetic glances his way.

Although Princess Jiahe was highly favored by the emperor, marrying a princess would mean spending the rest of his life confined to the inner quarters of the princess’s residence, living by her whims.

If he were a man of little talent, it might not matter—at least after marrying the princess, he would be considered royalty and lack for nothing for the rest of his life.

But for someone like Wei Mingjin, who had been personally selected by the emperor as the top scholar, forcing him to marry a princess and abandon his political career was no different from clipping his wings.

Wei Mingjin naturally noticed his colleagues’ gazes, but he simply sat behind his desk, looking exhausted and resigned.

Just as a colleague was about to offer him some words of comfort, footsteps suddenly sounded outside the door.

Soon, a young eunuch entered and announced, "His Majesty summons Wei Mingjin. Please come with me at once, Wei Mingjin."

"Yes," Wei Mingjin said. He grabbed his official hat and put it on, and followed the eunuch to an audience with the emperor.

While Wei Mingjin was meeting the emperor, a dust-covered man in brown clothes stood at the city gate. As he looked up at the two characters "Jing Cheng" (Capital City) on the city wall, he finally broke into a relieved smile.

This man was none other than Bai Xu, the man Wei Mingjin had previously tried to kill but found out had escaped.