"How determined are you to become my Princess Consort?"
Out of nowhere, Qin Wujing asked that question. Xiao Ruyi, who was sipping the hot tea a servant had just brought her, nearly choked in surprise.
Xiao Ruyi calmly set down her teacup before replying, "Your Highness, wasn't what I just did enough to prove my sincerity?"
"Something that trivial?" Qin Wujing retorted, leaving Xiao Ruyi staring at him in shock.
The man in front of her truly had no heart. Xiao Ruyi had been willing to put herself in harm's way to protect him, yet he dismissed it so casually.
"Fine. I don't mind if Your Highness considers that a trivial matter. But surely you could still feel the sincerity behind it, couldn't you?" Xiao Ruyi said.
"No."
"You're awful!" Xiao Ruyi furrowed her brows deeply. She was genuinely annoyed. Qin Wujing was far too fond of throwing cutting remarks at her, steadily wearing down what little patience she had left.
"Sinjie." Qin Wujing turned and called to Gu Sinjie, who was standing behind him.
Gu Sinjie stepped forward and placed a thick, heavy ledger on the table where Xiao Ruyi and Qin Wujing were talking.
Xiao Ruyi stared at the thick ledger curiously, then quickly asked, "What is this, Your Highness?"
"The financial ledger of the Qin Prince's Residence. The residence's income and expenditures are recorded here, including the revenue and capital for His Highness's weapons business." Gu Sinjie answered on Qin Wujing's behalf.
Xiao Ruyi raised her left eyebrow. Why was that man showing her a ledger like this?
"You said you wanted to become a Princess Consort? Then manage the assets of the Qin Prince's Residence properly," Qin Wujing said, making Xiao Ruyi's eyes widen again.
Manage the assets of the Qin Prince's Residence? Heavens! Had she already earned Qin Wujing's recognition?
"Prove your sincerity by taking care of a minor matter like this," Qin Wujing continued, causing Xiao Ruyi's assumption that she had successfully gained his trust to shatter completely.
Ah... So this was only one step in the process, not the final result. Xiao Ruyi had misunderstood.
Xiao Ruyi nodded, then picked up the financial ledger of the Qin Prince's Residence. "I understand. Don't worry, Your Highness. I'll make the Qin Prince's Residence shine!"
That was what Xiao Ruyi had said after receiving the Qin Prince's Residence's financial ledger that morning. Now, after returning to her quarters and examining it line by line, Xiao Ruyi fell silent.
How could she not? The finances of the Qin Prince's Residence were completely unstable—there was a massive hole in them. Qin Wujing should never have allowed this to happen.
Funds from the Imperial Palace continued to flow in, with nothing missing or lacking. However, the Qin Prince's Residence's revenue from its weapons business was a problem. Every month, the Qin Prince's Residence invested five hundred gold taels, yet how could only three hundred gold taels return to its coffers? Wasn't that a huge loss?
Qin Wujing's weapons shop, Chuan Wuqi, was quite busy and had plenty of customers. It made no sense for the Qin Prince's Residence to receive only a meager profit from its weapon sales.
Xiao Ruyi took a deep breath, closed the financial ledger, and glanced at Madam Su.
"Madam Su."
"This servant is here, Your Highness."
"Tell His Highness that I want to borrow someone who is quick-witted, honest, and responsible," Xiao Ruyi said.
Madam Su nodded when she heard this. "Yes, Your Highness."
Xiao Ruyi smiled faintly. The rats bleeding the Qin Prince's Residence dry had to be exterminated immediately.
It wasn't long before the person Qin Wujing lent her arrived with Madam Su.
"Your Highness." Madam Su called to Xiao Ruyi, making the woman turn and look at a tall woman dressed entirely in black. This woman clearly wasn't lacking in martial arts skill or experience; Xiao Ruyi could sense it from her aura.
"Greetings, Your Highness. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Yui. I am His Highness's subordinate and serve as his shadow guard." Yui introduced herself with a bow.
Xiao Ruyi nodded, then smiled. "All right, Yui. It's nice to meet you."
"By His Highness's order, I will fulfill all of Your Highness's requests," Yui said.
Xiao Ruyi nodded in satisfaction. She hadn't expected Qin Wujing to send her someone of such high caliber.
"I have a task for you, Yui," Xiao Ruyi said, prompting Yui to quickly kneel before her.
"You must know His Highness's weapons shop, Chuan Wuqi. Something is wrong with the way its money is being managed. The Qin Prince's Residence has been suffering unreasonable losses every month. I want you to investigate Han Hutou. He's the person in charge of this business, isn't he?" Xiao Ruyi gave the order clearly so Yui could understand it easily.
"That's correct, Your Highness. This subordinate is ready to carry out your order," Yui replied firmly.
Xiao Ruyi smiled in satisfaction. "Then you may go."
"Yes, Your Highness. This subordinate will take her leave." Yui bowed even deeper toward Xiao Ruyi.
Whoosh!
In the blink of an eye, Yui had disappeared from Xiao Ruyi and Madam Su's sight.
Xiao Ruyi glanced toward the window. The sky had already begun to turn golden.
"Madam Su, what does His Highness usually do in the afternoon?" Xiao Ruyi asked.
"To answer Your Highness, His Highness usually does nothing because the pain in his legs flares up more often in the afternoon." Madam Su's expression turned sorrowful as she said this.
Xiao Ruyi nodded, then rose from her chair and left her desk as she said, "Madam Su, please prepare some massage oil. I'm going to massage His Highness's legs."
Madam Su was stunned when she heard this, then nodded quickly. "Yes, Your Highness!" Her lips spread into a broad smile.
When Xiao Ruyi arrived at Qin Wujing's quarters, she immediately entered his room. Usually, the guards would try to stop her whenever she entered without permission—though they had still failed to hold her back that morning—but now, they didn't try to stop her at all.
Xiao Ruyi merely shrugged, unwilling to dwell on it.
"Your Highness, Ruyi has come to visit." Xiao Ruyi dipped into a slight bow, then straightened. Her eyes fell on Qin Wujing, who was sitting on the bed, complete with the bed canopy that always surrounded it.
Xiao Ruyi could faintly see that Qin Wujing was struggling to endure the pain in his legs. The corners of his brows were drawn tightly together.
"Your Highness, this Princess Consort has brought you some massage oil. May I—" Before Xiao Ruyi could finish, Qin Wujing cut her off.
"Get out."
Xiao Ruyi frowned. Though secretly annoyed, she did her best to keep her tone even.
"But Your Highness, your legs need to be massaged. It will reduce the pain," Xiao Ruyi coaxed.
"What if I still refuse?" Qin Wujing stubbornly rejected Xiao Ruyi's good intentions.
"Then I'll force you. This is for your health and comfort, Your Highness," Xiao Ruyi shot back.
Xiao Ruyi saw Qin Wujing's left hand reach for the cup on his bedside table. But perhaps a sudden, agonizing pulse of pain shot through his legs, because Qin Wujing reflexively squeezed the cup with tremendous force.
Crash!
The cup shattered, its fragments falling to the floor along with Qin Wujing's fresh blood. When she saw this, Xiao Ruyi hurried to Qin Wujing's side and roughly swept aside his bed canopy.
"Your Highness, your hand is bleeding!"
Qin Wujing was startled. He wasn't shocked by the broken cup, but by Xiao Ruyi's cry and her anxious expression. Xiao Ruyi carefully removed the shards from Qin Wujing's hand, then took out the medicine chest and bandaged his wound.
"Your arm hasn't healed yet, and now your palm needs to be bandaged too. If you'd allowed me to massage your legs from the beginning, this wouldn't have happened," Xiao Ruyi chattered, genuine worry written across her face.
Meanwhile, Qin Wujing said nothing as he watched Xiao Ruyi continue to nag him. It had been a very long time since anyone had looked at him with such concern.