After a restful night, Zhu Yu woke up early the next morning to find Lu Qing had already gone out, reportedly to the palace to meet the Holy Emperor.
That wasn't surprising. Even if it wasn't to express gratitude for the bestowed marriage, the misunderstanding with the Second Prince Lu Zhang at the wedding banquet the night before certainly warranted reporting to the Holy Emperor, lest delay leads to passive consequences.
Zhu Yu wasn't sure if, according to the customs of Jin Country, a newlywed couple should visit the palace together, but since Lu Qing didn't ask her to accompany him, it seemed unnecessary. She was quite happy to relax alone and wander around the mansion, as the newly appointed head mistress, she needed to familiarize herself with her future living environment.
Very soon, Zhu Yu realized that this large Prince Xiaoyao Mansion was pitifully understaffed, with only four maids in the inner residence handling some cleaning and laundry tasks. Mrs. Zhao, who served in the bridal chamber the previous day, was one of them.
The situation in the front courtyard was similar. Just as Zhu Yu wandered over, she encountered the mansion's steward and learned from them that the Prince Xiaoyao Mansion had only about twenty servants altogether, including cooks, grooms, and the two guards who accompanied Lu Qing.
Since Lu Qing doesn't like being served and prefers to do things himself, the mansion hasn't bought any maidservants; all the household servants, including the steward, were dispatched by the emperor when the mansion was established. In all these years, Lu Qing hasn't added a single servant.
In other words, Prince Xiaoyao Mansion indeed doesn't keep idle people.
In fact, Zhu Yu was quite satisfied with this. She liked the freedom of a large residence with few servants, avoiding the feeling of being constantly under observation with people trailing behind her everywhere.
During the bridal send-off, according to Jin Country's customs, daughters bestowed in marriage to a vassal prince's family could only go alone, without even a personal maid.
This was another minor reason Princess Shuo was unwilling to marry off her legitimate daughter, fearing her daughter would suffer alone without family support.
Zhu Yu, however, didn't mind at all. As a concubine's daughter who was never valued, her maids weren't truly loyal, so bringing them along would just add more eyes watching her.
Originally, she thought that after marriage she'd face a courtyard full of beauties, but unexpectedly, there wasn't even one.
This Prince Xiaoyao seems somewhat different from rumors and not quite as she imagined.
Zhu Yu sat on a stone bench in the backyard garden, basking in the sun, idly lost in thought.
There are many different opinions about Prince Xiaoyao Lu Qing, but they all revolve around the word "carefree."
It's well-known that Jin Country scholars enjoy elegance. Not to mention the nobles, even literati who claim to lead clean lives usually have some singing girls or dancing girls at home to play music and dance for entertainment.
For Lu Qing's courtyard to be so clean, with not even a single young maid, let alone beautiful women, is truly rare.
Last night he didn't mind seeing me dressed as a man and even wanted to buy me more clothes...
Could it be...?
Zhu Yu slightly opened her mouth, sensing she might have stumbled upon an astonishing possibility...
A sudden shadow interrupted her idle thoughts. Zhu Yu instinctively looked up to see Lu Qing's face.
She hurriedly stood up, feeling a bit guilty for running into him while her thoughts were wandering: "Prince, you're back!"
"Hmm." Lu Qing merely glanced at Zhu Yu's inexplicable guilt without questioning further, gesturing for her to sit down while he took a seat on another stone bench, "There are no outsiders in the mansion, you don't need to be overly formal.
I'm not usually at the mansion, so staffing isn't heavy. If you need to add anything, just instruct the steward to handle it."
Zhu Yu quickly shook her head: "No, I much prefer this quietness."
Including the part where you're often away from the mansion...
After a brief exchange, the two fell silent. Zhu Yu didn't want to exert herself making conversation, so she lowered her head, twiddling her dress lace around her fingertips.
"His Majesty heard about last night's incident and is willing to believe in the innocence of Prince Xiaoyao Mansion's people, even asking who I thought might be framing me." After a pause, Lu Qing spoke again in a light tone, "What's your opinion on this matter, my lady?"
Zhu Yu hadn't expected him to suddenly pose such a question, hesitating between honesty and feigning ignorance.
She glanced over to find Lu Qing already looking at her, their eyes meeting, causing her thoughts of feigning ignorance to instantly vanish.
A person's expression, posture, even voice can be cleverly disguised.
But the eyes are difficult to conceal.
Lu Qing's eyes made her realize that pretending ignorance might not be advisable in front of this person.
Furthermore, as Princess Xiaoyao sharing a journey with Lu Qing, initially showing insincerity in front of her husband was clearly inappropriate.
After some consideration, Zhu Yu began to speak, "I know the poisoning wasn't done by the prince, nor by Prince Yi or Duke Yan's doing."
"How can you be certain?"
"The prince wouldn't do such a thing because no one would be foolish enough to poison the royal offspring at their own wedding feast.
Prince Yi wouldn't do such a thing because if he intended to frame the prince, he should at least clean his own hands thoroughly, avoiding touching the wine jug and glasses, and using a truly deadly poison that leaves no room for dispute."
"Although what you say makes sense, Duke Yan accused me of attempting to poison the royal offspring, which you witnessed clearly. Why do you believe he also isn't involved?" Lu Qing raised an eyebrow and asked.
"Perhaps Duke Yan's actions were a rash decision on his part, taking advantage of the unknown poisoning situation to suppress the prince.
If this were Prince Yi or Duke Yan's scheme, then Duke Yan should have welcomed the idea of waking the poisoned guard and uncovering the truth.
If the guard awakened and accused the prince of originally preparing to poison Prince Yi, the prince would have no defense.
But Duke Yan clearly feared the guard waking up, suggesting this wasn't their plan, and they weren't sure who the real mastermind might be.
If the guard awakened and turned the accusation against them, claiming Prince Yi or Duke Yan intended to frame the prince, they'd have no defense instead.
So, Duke Yan's reactions seemed similar to the prince's. Both were unsure who the actual mastermind might be.
As for who the real mastermind is, I'm new here and unfamiliar with Jin Country, so I can't say."
Apparently, Lu Qing was quite satisfied with Zhu Yu's candid response.
"It's fortunate we see eye to eye." He nodded, "It seems His Majesty awarded me a good marriage partner, giving me a wise and extraordinary wife."
"Why, my prince, I'm merely acting on instinct from the unexpected chaos of the night before, without much ability beyond that, and possess no great ambitions, being no different from other women of the inner courtyard," Zhu Yu hurriedly expressed her thoughts cautiously, "Please have modest expectations, lest you be greatly disappointed in the future."
Upon hearing this, Lu Qing stood up, dusted off his robe, and offered no further discussion on the previous topic, glanced up at the sun above: "It's getting hot now, my lady should avoid staying outside too long to prevent heatstroke.
Today, His Majesty specifically instructed me to take you to worship at my ancestors' gravesite in the coming days. I need to prepare some things, so I won't be home often; the mansion's affairs will be managed by you."
After saying this, he left swiftly without any hesitation.
When Zhu Yu returned to her bedroom, Mrs. Zhao from the backyard informed her that Lu Qing went out again.
As for where he went, seeing Mrs. Zhao's embarrassed smile, Zhu Yu sensibly chose not to make things difficult for her by asking further.