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"That was the voice of her thoughts."

Xie Heng looked stunned.

But he had weathered enough of life's storms to recover quickly. "How do you know? You're so calm about this. Have you heard her thoughts before?"

Xie Madam told him the whole story, from Xie Ying's search for a husband to Nanny Feng's departure from the Residence.

It took Xie Heng a long moment to absorb it.

"So both those incidents happened because... So Yingying realized in time that the Xu boy was no good thanks to Lan Tang. You should have told me! That Lan Tang had this strange ability, and that she cared so much about this family—you should have told me all of it!"

"And if I had, would you have believed me?! I told your son, and he didn't believe a word. He even told me to see a doctor!"

Xie Madam glared at him. Xie Heng fell silent.

A tale of the supernatural like that? Of course he wouldn't have believed it.

Having put Xie Heng in his place, Xie Madam felt much better. Only then did she ask, "What was Lan Tang thinking about just now? Why were you the only one who heard her?"

If it came down to closeness, surely she was closer to Lan Tang.

Now that they were back to the matter at hand, Xie Heng stopped dwelling on the slight. His expression turned grave. "Lan Tang mentioned Master Xuanxin of Mystic Temple."

"Master Xuanxin?" Now it was Xie Madam's turn to be shocked. "Why him?!"

Xie Heng frowned. "Ever since the Fourth Prince introduced Master Xuanxin to His Majesty, the man has enjoyed his favor. His Majesty hangs on his every word. Xuanxin has interfered in affairs of state several times, and His Majesty listened. Now he even plans to establish a pill-making chamber in the palace to make elixirs for the imperial family. If those elixirs prove successful, His Majesty may become consumed by the pursuit of immortality and grant that Daoist everything he asks. In time, we'll see the calamities of the previous dynasty all over again!"

Xie Madam was startled too.

"Why have you never mentioned this?"

Xie Heng gave a rueful smile. "We ministers haven't found a solution. What good would telling you do, except make you worry?"

After so many years of marriage, they shared each other's burdens. Hearing this, Xie Madam grew deeply troubled.

"What are we to do? Has His Majesty forgotten how that wicked monk brought ruin to the previous dynasty?"

"We've already tried to persuade him. But His Majesty says he is no brutal, benighted ruler like Emperors Huai and Rui. He claims he employs the Daoist only in pursuit of the Way and will keep his ambitions in check. If the ministers continue to object, he says, they're likening him to those two emperors."

"At that, none of the ministers dared say another word."

"His Majesty is... He's..." Xie Madam dared not finish.

"..."

Silence settled over the room. Xie Heng returned to the matter at hand.

"Why would Lan Tang be thinking about Master Xuanxin? From what she said, she seems to suspect that Daoist would disregard other people's lives. Does she know something?"

"Lan Tang went with Xie Zhao and the rest of us to worship at Mystic Temple a few days ago. Come to think of it, she did act strangely there."

Xie Madam told him how Shen Lantang had stopped Yan from drinking the talisman water.

"Oh, and after we returned, she asked me privately about Master Xuanxin and the Pregnancy-Safeguarding Talisman. Could that have been when she began to suspect...?"

"What Pregnancy-Safeguarding Talisman? Tell me about it!"

Xie Madam knew little about the talisman herself, but there was someone in the Residence who kept up with such things. When summoned, that person immediately explained:

"The Pregnancy-Safeguarding Talisman is popular among expectant mothers in Zhaojing. They say that drinking water mixed with the ashes of the burned talisman can steady a pregnancy and keep the child safe."

"Outrageous! What deceitful nonsense! If a scrap of yellow paper could keep mother and child safe, what need would the world have for doctors?!"

Well versed in the classics, Xie Heng naturally had no faith in such harmful claims.

Xie Madam said, "So that's why Lan Tang asked me about it that day."

That daughter-in-law of hers worried about her younger sister, her child, and everyone under heaven—yet never about herself.

Xie Madam felt both moved and reassured. She set those thoughts aside and focused on the matter before them.

"Do you think Lan Tang recognized that Master Xuanxin was a charlatan the moment she saw him? Might she know something?"

Xie Heng's eyes flickered. The same thought had occurred to him.

"We'll need to speak with Lan Tang properly. I only worry she may be wary of us and unwilling to speak freely."

"Don't worry about that. Lan Tang knows how to handle things. Even if she can't tell you the whole truth, she'll find another way to convey what she thinks."

"You do seem to know her well."

Xie Madam merely smiled. After all, she had heard Lan Tang's thoughts twice now.

"Enough. It's late. We'll send for her tomorrow."

"All right."

They left it at that and prepared to wash up and go to bed.

Then Xie Heng suddenly asked, "Is Lan Tang always so blunt in her thoughts?"

The Fourth Prince, the crown prince, political enemies—were those things she could just say?

Xie Madam's brow twitched. Rubbing her temples, she said, "You get used to it."

"..."

The next day, Xie Madam sent someone to fetch Shen Lantang. When Shen Lantang arrived, she was surprised to find her father-in-law there too.

Didn't he usually disappear once he'd finished his daily routine? Why was he still here today?

Whatever she thought, she still bowed properly. "Good morning, Father-in-law. Good morning, Mother-in-law."

Xie Heng studied the woman before him, the very model of a daughter-in-law, then spoke slowly. "My wife tells me you went to Mystic Temple with Xie Zhao and the others a few days ago and met Master Xuanxin. What did you think of him?"

Shen Lantang was instantly on guard. What did I think? Why ask me that? I only went with the family elders to burn incense and pray for blessings. Why would he make a point of asking me?

Unless... Did that charlatan go to my father-in-law afterward to complain about me?

Rankings

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Time-Travel and Rebirth Romance

One True Love

Jiang Ciyu

Mind Reading

Easygoing Life