Kill the Chicken to Warn the Monkeys

No sooner had his voice sounded than he appeared.

After entering through the moon gate, Fulin bowed to Su Luoqian, then saw Nanny Liu being held on her knees in the courtyard.

He asked instinctively, "Your Highness, what is this...?"

Su Luoqian raised a hand slightly, and Zelan immediately stepped forward to take the congratulatory gift from Fulin.

She gave Fulin a slight curtsy and thanked Her Imperial Highness the Grand Princess for the gift.

Only then did she answer, "You've come at just the right time, Eunuch Fulin. Sorry to trouble you, but please see that Nanny Liu serves her punishment of kneeling for an hour."

"This..."

Fulin hesitated. "If this old servant may be so bold as to ask, what has Nanny Liu done?"

"She failed to respect the distinction between superior and subordinate and offended her mistress." Su Luoqian swept her gaze across the courtyard. Including the guards, maids, and servants, quite a few people were there, some kneeling and others standing.

Her lips suddenly curved into a smile, and she said softly, "Eunuch Fulin, with so many people watching in this courtyard, it isn't easy for me to be the mistress of this household."

To the others, the words "mistress of this household" were a warning to make them recognize who their mistress was.

Fulin was a shrewd old hand; how could he not understand what Su Luoqian meant? He lowered his eyes. "This old servant understands."

Su Luoqian nodded slightly. "Then sorry for the trouble, Eunuch Fulin."

"Mother's birthday celebration can't wait. Remember to send someone to inform the prince."

"Yes."

Having said her piece, Su Luoqian led Zelan away at a graceful pace.

Fulin watched her pass through the moon gate and turn into the corridor before turning back and waving a hand at the servants in the courtyard. "Disperse, all of you."

Nanny Liu sneered and was about to get up when the guard beside her forced her down again. She turned and shouted angrily, "You...!"

Fulin came to her side and said in a low voice, "Why did you have to come looking for trouble with the princess consort so early in the morning?"

"Now she's killing the chicken to warn the monkeys. Even I can't save you."

Nanny Liu snorted through her nostrils, panting with anger. "You old thing, so now your elbow bends outward, does it?"

Fulin's expression changed slightly. "You'd better learn to tell who's master and who's servant, who belongs inside and who doesn't. Besides, the prince himself asked His Majesty to grant the marriage, and the princess consort was properly wed and brought through the doors in an eight-bearer bridal sedan. Who are you expressing your displeasure with by saying such things?"

In the two months since the princess consort had married into the household, how many times had he told her to make less trouble?

Did she still think this was the old Prince Cheng'an's residence, with no mistress of the house?

Those words truly frightened Nanny Liu. Her eyes went wide, and though she still refused to accept it, she said nothing more.

Seeing this, Fulin shook out his sleeves, turned, and left.

In front of Prince Cheng'an's residence, a canopied carriage rolled slowly forward.

Inside the spacious carriage, a fine, thin blanket covered the cushioned couch. Su Luoqian had barely sat down when she heard Zelan grumble.

"This Nanny Liu is getting more and more outrageous. Does she really think she's the mistress of the prince's residence?"

Su Luoqian smiled and pinched her cheek. "Don't worry. Sooner or later, she'll have a bitter taste of it."

Zelan said indignantly, "All she has to rely on is having looked after Prince Cheng'an for a few days when he was little, yet she actually wants to climb over the princess consort's head."

Su Luoqian chuckled. "Eunuch Fulin, on the other hand, knows which way the wind blows."

Nanny Liu was said to have been Lu Jingsi's wet nurse, but in fact Her Imperial Highness the Grand Princess had personally cared for him most of the time when he was young. Later, when he was a little older, he had even entered the palace to begin his studies alongside the crown prince.

It was known throughout the realm that the reigning emperor was close to his only full elder sister. Lu Jingsi had been cherished by his maternal uncle since childhood, and that had never changed, even now.

Whenever he entered the palace, Fulin accompanied him.

Come to think of it, Fulin had spent far more time with Lu Jingsi than Nanny Liu had.

When Lu Jingsi grew a little older, he followed Prince Consort Lu to train in the army camp. Later still, he went to the Northern Frontier to fight on the battlefield.

When he returned to court in triumph more than four years ago, His Majesty bestowed on Lu Jingsi the title of Prince Cheng'an and established a residence for him outside the palace.

Fulin and Nanny Liu followed him from the Grand Princess's residence to Prince Cheng'an's residence.

Lu Jingsi kept his distance from women and disliked having maids and serving girls attend him at close quarters. Thus, for a long time, Nanny Liu had been the only female servant in Prince Cheng'an's residence.

When Su Luoqian first married into the household, Fulin had not shown her much kindness either. But seeing how poised, courteous, and proper she was in dealing with people and matters, and how she kept everything in the residence in perfect order, he changed his opinion of her.

Hearing Su Luoqian's words, Zelan gave a soft huff, as though sharing in the praise. "Of course. Who wouldn't like my young mistress?"

Su Luoqian turned her lovely eyes slightly toward her, and only then did Zelan realize she had misspoken.

"I forgot to change how I address you again."

Su Luoqian tapped her on the forehead. "Honestly, you. Without Peilan beside you to remind you, you'll have to be more careful in the residence."

At the mention of Peilan, the carriage suddenly fell somewhat quiet.

Su Luoqian blinked away the aching sting in her eyes and asked, "Did you manage to find out anything yesterday?"

Zelan shook her head. "No. Chengying's mouth is like a clam shell that can't be pried open."

Su Luoqian leaned her slender waist back against a round cushion and lowered her eyes in thought.

There had been aphrodisiac incense in the guest room at the villa, which meant her earlier guess had been right.

But why had Lu Jingsi appeared there?

From her admittedly limited understanding of him, Lu Jingsi truly was not the kind of man to indulge in wine and women. Otherwise, he could not have quelled the turmoil in the Northern Frontier and then taken charge of the Prison Administration after returning to Yujing.

The Prison Administration?

Su Luoqian's eyes lit up.

Could it be that Lu Jingsi had gone there to investigate a case too?

Then why had he reacted that way when she asked about Peilan's case before?

As the carriage moved along, the jeweled ornaments dangling from her hair swayed gently, catching the sunlight that filtered through the curtains and casting shimmering light across Su Luoqian's lovely pink cheeks.

They looked all the more fair and enchanting.

As she pondered, the sounds outside the carriage grew livelier.

Zelan lifted the curtain slightly and peered out. "Your Highness, we're back at the Su residence!"

No sooner had she spoken than Su Luoqian heard a familiar voice call out, "Master, madam, the young... the princess consort is back! The princess consort is back..."

The voice grew fainter and fainter. Presumably, it was the steward, Uncle Wang, who had been greeting and seeing off guests at the gate, rushing into the residence to inform her father and mother.

Su Luoqian lowered her eyes, a sweet smile spreading across her lips, and stepped out of the carriage with Zelan's support.

The Su family had become imperial merchants, and their daughter had married Prince Cheng'an and become a princess consort. These days, there were plenty of people eager to cultivate connections with them.

Today was the birthday of the Su family's mistress, Cui Anlan. The entrance to the Su residence was as busy as a marketplace, with people coming and going in a lively bustle.

Quite a few neighbors had also gathered to watch.

When they saw the Princess Consort of Cheng'an step gracefully down from the carriage, everyone bowed and kowtowed. "Greetings, Your Highness."

Su Luoqian wore splendid robes and fine garments, with jeweled and gold ornaments swaying in her hair. Peach-faced and rosy-cheeked, she had a graceful figure, and lotuses seemed to bloom beneath her every step.

Quite a few people murmured that, in the two months and more since the Su family's young lady had married into the prince's residence, she had grown even more captivating and refined in their care.

As soon as Su Luoqian stepped out of the carriage, she saw her parents already at the entrance to the residence. Lifting her skirt, she hurried forward a few steps. "Father, Mother!"

Seeing her approach, Cui Anlan brushed back her sleeves and her husband, Su Liangzhuo, lifted his robes, and they were about to kowtow in greeting. "Greetings, Your High—"

"Father, Mother, your daughter wouldn't dare accept such a grand greeting."

Su Luoqian helped them both up.

Although the Su family were imperial merchants, they held no official posts or noble titles, and Su Luoqian had married Prince Cheng'an. By rank and status, Su Liangzhuo and Cui Anlan ought to pay their respects to her, but Su Luoqian naturally could not bear to see it.

Su Liangzhuo and Cui Anlan rose with indulgent smiles. Remembering how she had just hurried over with her skirt lifted, they could not help reminding her, "Now that you're married, you should be more dignified."

Su Luoqian pressed her lips together in a smile, her eyes curving into crescents. "I was just so happy to see you both."

Su Liangzhuo looked toward the carriage behind her and asked in puzzlement, "Where is the prince?"