28 - Released

Chapter 28 – Released

When Di Jing said the words ‘true face’, it seemed to have a double meaning. However, she did not know whether he was referring to her face or her identity as a girl.

Looking at him, it seemed he already knew that she had purposely made her face look like this.

If that is so, why didn’t he expose her? How did he discover it? Where did she reveal a flaw?

Seeing that she was in deep thoughts, Di Jing did not intend to tell her and let her figure out the rest for herself. However, when he walked past her, he gave her a promise.

“Look for me if you encounter any difficulties. Regardless of whoever it is, I will have my way to deal with it.” After speaking, he brushed past her and walked out of the hall, leaving her alone and stunned on the spot.

Shangguan Yan watched as the tall and stable back view retreated into the distance and the last few words he spoke before he left, echoed and lingered in her ears for a long while.

In a split second, her little indecisive heart was soothed by his words.

This Di Jing really could not be underestimated. Because of his words, she actually spent the entire day trying to guess whether he knew she had used the disguise technique on her face.

As a result, the Ninth Prince and Pan Zeming were completely forgotten and thrown to the back of her mind.

After beating her brains out, she still could not come to a conclusion and also did not dare to ask him rashly because she was afraid he was bluffing.

If she is to go and ask him, isn’t that revealing everything to him?

On the other side, ever since the Ninth Prince knew that ShangguanYan is a woman, he had insomnia. No matter whether it was day or night, he was often lost in thoughts.

Shangguan Yan is a female!

The news shocked him and foolishness started to sprout like a seed in his mind.

Ever since he knew her, he found her to be especially pleasing to his eyes. He would always feel happy with whatever she said, and whenever he meets her, no matter how angry he feels at that time, his anger would disappear. He did not know why but he likes to see her and listen to her speak.

Sometimes when he sees her smile, it would make his heart pound inexplicably. Whenever that happens, he would quickly turn his face away to suppress that inexplicable feeling. He reminded himself that Shangguan Yan is a man and it was not right for him to have such inappropriate thoughts. But after he returned to the palace, his heart would still feel the heat, so he had to hurriedly grab a palace lady-in-waiting* to put out the fire.

(In ancient times, palace ladies-in-waiting had to attend to the Emperor or the royal Princes and serve them in bed when there was a need. They did not have the status of concubines and their duty was to satisfy the wishes of royalty but they would still have a chance to rise in position if the royalty took a fancy to them which was rare.)

He even had the thought that if Shangguan Yan’s sister looks like her, he would just take the sister as his concubine. However, whenever he tried to probe, Shangguan Yan would disagree to let the sister be his concubine. In the end, he gave up because he was afraid Shangguan Yan would be angry with him which in turn would hurt their brotherhood.

Now he knows she is a woman and it is truly a big surprise from God! This also proves why he has always only daydreamed about her. It is all because he already has feelings for her a long time ago.

Since she is a woman, he no longer has any misgivings and can love her openly.

A bold idea even sprouted in his mind…….

She is destined to be his!

He was extremely pleased with this idea and then suddenly thought of that guy surnamed Pan who kept saying that Yan’er is his woman.

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When he heard, he felt so angry! Wait, wait…….they shouldn’t be engaged, right?

Thinking of this, he quickly sent someone to inquire. Soon, the person who went to inquire came back to report that Shangguan Yan was not engaged to anyone. As a precaution, the person also went to the Pan Family to investigate but the people there said that they had never heard of the Pan Family’s Young Master being engaged with any girl.

The Ninth Prince smiled in relief. The beauty did not have a marriage agreement yet and this is the opportunity God gave him!

“Servants, prepare a carriage! This Prince is entering the palace to visit Consort Mother!”

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Finally, Shangguan Yan could return home openly.

Di Jing had announced that she was innocent and released her from prison. She could be herself again without having to hide inside the Yamen to work for Di Jing with her ‘sorrowful-looking ghost’ face anymore.

When she regained her identity, the news that the constable with the ‘sorrowful-looking ghost’ face had been transferred to the southwest was spread inside the Yamen .

She returned to the Shangguan Mansion to reunite with her family. Madam Shangguan hurriedly ordered the maidservant to wait on the Fifth Young Miss while she took her bath and washed away all the unlucky energies. She also took out her best products of scented soap and body cream for her daughter to use.

Since the Shangguan Family is a royal merchant family, they had access to the best beauty products in the Daxing Dynasty. Regardless of whether the products were used for applying, cleaning, or consuming, their daughters were given the best products. Therefore, even though Shangguan Yan had to run around outside very often, she could still keep her skin soft and supple.

And whenever she got hold of good things, Shangguan Yan would not forget the other three sisters. Therefore, the bath and beauty products used by Gong Wuhuan, Hua Qianqian, and Bai Yuxiao were not inferior to the products used by the imperial concubines. Sometimes, the products they used would even surpass those used by the imperial concubines.

While soaking in the big bath-pool, Shangguan Yan let the four maidservants serve her. Perhaps, she was really tired and felt at peace in her family home, she changed back into the little girl who once needed servants to wait on her for everything. With her eyes closed, she enjoyed the considerate and dedicated service of the maids.

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Other than those numerous kinds of flower petals placed inside the bath-pool, there were also chuanxiong, wild ginger, white aconite, Artemisia, Huo Xiang, winter-melon seeds, agarwood, and various other medicinal herbs that were ground into powder for her to soak in.

Her head rested on the jade pillow beside the bath while the maid behind her helped to carefully wash her long hair and massage her scalp as well. Shangguan Yan felt so comfortable that she started to feel drowsy.

She bathed for a total of a sichen before she dried her body and put on a thin soft gauze robe. Stepping barefoot on the pebble-stone pathway that cut through the bamboo forest, she returned to her bedchamber. As soon as she touched the bamboo couch that was laid with a summer sleeping mat, her eyelids felt so heavy that she was unable to open her eyes. She straightaway laid down on the couch and fell asleep, leaving the maidservants to deal with everything.

She slept until the next morning and woke up in good spirits as she had slept very well. Old Master Shangguan ordered the servants to prepare offerings of six animal-sacrifices, fruits, and wine and brought her to the ancestral hall to offer prayers to the ancestors. It was to thank the Shangguan ancestors for their blessings and for letting her return home safely.

It was rare for Shangguan Yan to be an obedient daughter but these few days, she only stayed at home and did not go anywhere. She either accompanied her parents or chat with her sisters. If it was in the past, she would either be visiting her shops, looking through the account books, holding discussions with the shopkeepers and would always be busy investigating cases, rarely staying at home.

During this time, she recalled what Di Jing had said. Actually, she could not keep on pretending like this. Regardless of whether it is her face or her gender, sooner or later, she still has to face others. So using the excuse of staying at home, she took the antidote and a few days later, the rashes on her face gradually disappeared and the swell subsided, restoring her original beautiful appearance.

Since she was released and the news about the transfer of the constable with a ‘sorrowful-looking ghost’ face was also spread, she had regained her status as a secret constable. Di Jing had also said that depending on the circumstances of the case, she would be called back again if anything happens.

She felt very relaxed as she was no longer burdened with responsibilities. No matter how big the world is or how vast is Jianghu , nothing is comparable to one’s home. For Shangguan Yan who had been staying at home these few days, her complexion had also turned radiant.

At this moment, she was resting her head on her mother’s lap as she sighed comfortably. She stretched out her limbs leisurely without showing the restraint expected of a lady. In the inner courtyard, only the mother and daughter including their personal maids were present. She was dressed casually and had only combed a simple bun without hairpins and beads since she never likes to wear too many accessories. The rest of her hair was left hanging down her back.

“You, ah…….you should have been married off earlier, then this wouldn’t have happened.”

Madam Shangguan stroked her daughter’s long hair lovingly.

“Mother is reluctant to marry me off so early.”

She was like a lazy cat with her hair being stroked as she lay on her mother’s lap comfortably. Her voice was soft and lazy and she did not show any intention of getting up at all.

“Mother had thought about this. Although I’m reluctant to marry you off, I’m also reluctant to see you suffer when you’re outside. Since I feel reluctant whichever way, why don’t I make a choice? Mother thinks that it’s better for you to marry than to let you wander around outside. This time, you really gave Mother a fright.”

“This daughter is not filial. This daughter deserves to be beaten.”

Although Shangguan Yan was speaking those words, her body was still lying lazily on her mother’s lap without showing a tinge of sincerity as it was just to coax her mother.