"Seize her! Twenty slaps to her face to teach her what it means to respect her mistress," Madam Lin commanded. As soon as her voice fell, two maids behind her rushed forward, intending to grab Wu Caiwei.
"I will discipline her properly in the future. I beg Mother to show mercy and let her off," Lin Ziyou, seeing the situation escalating, pleaded again.
"I am not a servant of your Lin household. Miss already returned my deed of sale to me. You cannot dispose of me as you please," Wu Caiwei stood still. Seeing the two maids reach out to grab her, she turned and slipped towards the door.
The two gatekeepers hurried to help. Wu Caiwei kicked each of them, sending them tumbling to the ground. She then quickly ran into the courtyard.
Madam Lin, seeing this, trembled with rage. "Insubordinate! Truly insubordinate!"
Originally, Wu Caiwei planned to climb over the wall and escape. After a moment's thought, she stopped and looked at Madam Lin with a half-smile. "After I leave, please do not vent your anger on my miss. It might interest you to know that I am to become the future princess consort of Dali. If Madam does not believe me, she can wait and see."
Without looking at their expressions, she then ran swiftly in front of them. With a leap, she landed on the wall. She glanced back at Lin Ziyou. "While I am away, Miss must live well. We will eventually meet again."
Lin Ziyou nodded sadly. She truly could not bear to part with Dong'er.
That night, Wu Caiwei found an inn to stay. At dawn, she went to find A Muyun.
Upon hearing of her predicament, A Muyun asked her to wait in the inn and immediately went to the palace. After much effort, he finally waited until the Emperor finished his morning court and eagerly sought an audience.
When the Emperor heard that the Prince of Dali had been waiting for so long, he assumed he had something important to discuss and quickly summoned him.
Upon meeting the Emperor, A Muyun knelt on the ground, saying with some joy, "This humble subject has finally found the maiden who captured my heart. However, her status is somewhat low; she was formerly a maidservant in the Lin family. I implore Your Majesty to bestow upon us a marriage decree."
The Emperor frowned. Her status was indeed too low. If he bestowed such a consort upon him, would the King and Queen of Dali have any objections?
"Do you not wish to reconsider? The Celestial Dynasty has many women. Whatever type you fancy, I will send people to find one matching that description. There will surely be one to satisfy you. It is not that I am unwilling to fulfill your wish, but her status is simply too low. In our Celestial Dynasty, such a situation would be met with ridicule," the Emperor said earnestly.
"But I only love her. I do not care about her status. I beg Your Majesty to grant my request," A Muyun said, kowtowing heavily.
"Have you thought it through? Marriage is a matter of a lifetime and cannot be taken lightly. I fear you will regret it." This was the first time the Emperor had encountered someone who prioritized love above all else. Only someone like him, occupied with romance day in and day out, would he feel at ease with ascending the throne of Dali. After all, no ruler likes ambitious individuals.
"If I cannot marry her, I will regret it for the rest of my life. In this life and this world, I will have no regrets," A Muyun said, looking at him with profound sincerity, as if about to swear an oath.
"Since that is the case, I shall help you achieve your desire. I will grant her the title of Princess, so that your statuses may be more befitting," the Emperor said after some thought.
"Thank you, Your Majesty," A Muyun said, genuinely happy this time.
When the imperial decree reached the Lin family, they were utterly bewildered.
To be honest, when Wu Caiwei told Madam Lin yesterday that she was about to become the future princess consort of Dali, Madam Lin refused to believe it. To her, it was a pipe dream. She had heard that Dong'er was found by Lin Ziyou as a child and had been with her ever since, never leaving. How could she be connected to Dali?
Even when the imperial decree was placed on the table, they were still confused. They quickly summoned Lin Ziyou to ask her what was going on.
Lin Ziyou was also in a daze. If not for Dong'er's words the previous night before she left, she would have thought the imperial decree had been sent to the wrong place.
Seeing that she could not get a clear answer, Madam Lin quickly sent people out to inquire if there were any rumors on the streets.
Soon, they learned the truth: the Prince of Dali had entered the capital the previous day and had seen Dong'er on the street. He fell in love at first sight and thus requested the Emperor to bestow a marriage decree.
Old Master Lin felt this was not the whole truth. For them, marrying someone of equal status was crucial. As the future heir of Dali, his marriage would have been the result of extensive consideration. He did not believe it would be so hasty. Furthermore, marrying a maidservant from their Lin family seemed like a clear insult. He did not believe the Emperor was so foolish. Moreover, rumors on the street indicated that the Prince of Dali was very satisfied with this marriage. What was the truth? He believed only the parties involved knew.
However, the immediate priority was to find Wu Caiwei. After all, since the imperial decree had been issued to their Lin household, she might eventually marry from the Lin family. This was the Emperor showing them respect, and they could not afford to falter.
Wu Caiwei received confirmation and walked boldly down the street. With the entire Lin family mobilized and making an extraordinary effort, they soon discovered her whereabouts.
When the Lin family's steward appeared before Wu Caiwei, she showed no surprise. She looked at him with a half-smile. "Steward, to what do I owe the honor of this visit?"
"My dear little ancestor, everyone is frantic searching for you. Please come back with me quickly." Although Wu Caiwei's attitude was not good, the situation had changed. The steward replied respectfully.
"When I left, Madam made a great fuss and intended to beat me to death. If I return now upon your arrival, wouldn't it mean I have lost all face?" Wu Caiwei said calmly, picking at her fingernails.
"Does Princess mean?" the steward asked uncertainly.
"Have Old Master Lin and Madam personally come to invite me. Otherwise, I will stay here," Wu Caiwei stated her demand directly without concealment.
Upon hearing this, the steward quickly returned to report the matter to the Old Master and Madam.
Madam Lin immediately exploded with anger. "She does not think that just because the Emperor bestowed the title of Princess upon her, she is actually a Princess, does she? To put it plainly, she is still just a maidservant of the Lin family. The Lin family raised her for so many years, and now that she has flown to a high perch, she begins to trample on us. Has she not looked in the mirror to see how much she weighs?"
Old Master Lin was also very angry. But as the saying goes, "One must bow to the circumstances." Regardless of anything else, she was now a Princess personally bestowed by the Emperor. He and Madam would have to bow to her. She might even become the future Queen of Dali. He sighed helplessly.
Irritated, he said, "All this talk is useless. We should focus on how to coax her back."