Reunited

[Host, I think staying with Consort Wen would be pretty nice if you hadn't reunited with the Empress. How great would it be to have a gossip buddy?]

What did Guagua mean by not having reunited with the Empress? Could Jiang Nuan and the Empress be...?

Everyone was puzzled, so they stopped speaking.

Seeing this, Xiao Xiao knew it was her turn to step forward.

She had wanted to acknowledge Jiang Nuan as her daughter long ago, but Jiang Yunsheng wanted to hear Jiang Nuan's thoughts about the other consorts, so she could only hold herself back.

[Wait, no, Host! The Empress knows you're her daughter!]

Guagua had suddenly spotted some gossip and exclaimed in surprise.

Huh? What's going on? How did my beautiful mother suddenly find out? I remember she still didn't know when I died two lifetimes ago!

Jiang Nuan felt rather puzzled.

Guagua thought for a moment and said, [I don't know either. Maybe when she saw you yesterday, the bond between mother and daughter made her sense something was wrong. Since you and the tenth princess were born on the same day, she grew suspicious.

[After you met yesterday, the Empress immediately investigated what happened back then. Once she found out the truth, all the palace maids, eunuchs, and Imperial Physicians involved were put to death.]

Oh, so that's what happened!

Oh, so that's what happened.

The other consorts who had wanted to vie for her understood as well.

At that moment, Xiao Xiao could no longer hold back. Tears spilled down her face as she walked up to Jiang Nuan, sank to one knee, and hugged her.

"My child, my Nuannuan. Your Empress Mother has failed you."

Seeing Xiao Xiao's tear-filled eyes and feeling the warmth of her embrace, Jiang Nuan felt like crying too.

She had thought she was already used to it, already numb. After all, she had always been alone.

Before she knew it, tears were streaming down Jiang Nuan's face.

Watching this, Guagua was already biting a handkerchief and crying inside the System Space.

Boohoo, my host has had such a hard life.

“Ahem.” Jiang Yunsheng gave a light cough and dismissed the other consorts.

So they had just come to deliver resources? Once they were done, they had to leave?

No, they had gotten to watch quite a show. The admission ticket had just been a little expensive.

In a corner no one paid any attention to, Consort Zhen, who had collapsed on the floor, was taken away as well. Her departure was a departure from the world of the living.

After all, once she was charged with plotting against an imperial child, Jiang Yunsheng naturally could not spare her.

As though desperate to make it up to Jiang Nuan immediately, Xiao Xiao had chests of treasures carried over to her, one after another. Even Jiang Yunsheng eyed some of them with envy.

Jiang Nuan held tightly to Xiao Xiao's hand.

Guagua, look. I have a mother now too.

Hearing this, Guagua and Xiao Xiao nearly burst into tears together. Even Jiang Yunsheng felt an ache in his heart.

Jiang Yunsheng took a jade pendant from his belt and handed it to Jiang Nuan.

"This is the token for my private treasury. You may take it there and choose three things."

"Thank you, Imperial Father."

Jiang Nuan happily accepted it. Her little stash had gained another addition.

Hehe, with all this silver, maybe I should just find a hidden paradise and hide there after Great Xia falls?

Jiang Nuan had considered using her abilities to change the ending, but she was only one person. Besides, she had a clear understanding of herself. She could manage ordinary little tricks, but if she really encountered a schemer, she would still be helping them count the money after they sold her.

My Crown Prince brother will be deposed in three years, then locked up in the Prison of Zhao. After that, he'll catch a sudden illness and die miserably in prison. When the time comes, I must find a way to take him and Empress Mother away. Oh, and my Fourth Brother too. How wonderful it would be for the four of us to live happily together.

Hearing this, Jiang Yunsheng's face darkened.

What exactly would the Crown Prince do three years from now to anger him so much that he would depose him outright?

And Jiang Nuan was his daughter. It was one thing for her to plan to flee, but why wouldn't she take him along?

She was even willing to bring the fourth prince. In her heart, did her Imperial Father rank below him?

[Yes, yes! When the time comes, Guagua will tell you all sorts of juicy gossip about people. I guarantee you won't have a single boring day, Host!]

Guagua was delighted that its host still remembered it, so it hurried to demonstrate its usefulness.

But in that case, my little stash doesn't seem big enough. Mother likes clothes made of Shu Brocade, my Crown Prince brother loves fine tea, and my Fourth Brother likes playing chess. He also likes collecting all kinds of chess pieces and boards, so I'll have to prepare more silver.

That scumbag father just gave me a jade pendant. I'll pick the three most expensive things in his treasury. Oh, right, they also have to be things without imperial markings, or they'll be hard to sell.

Jiang Nuan had thoughtfully considered even the matter of the markings.

Jiang Yunsheng's expression grew even darker. He had never imagined that letting Jiang Nuan choose gifts would actually help fund her escape.

If a gentleman's word did not carry the weight of nine cauldrons, he would have wanted to make Jiang Nuan return the jade pendant.

That ungrateful little brat.

Ha. She wanted valuable things without markings, did she? Just wait. He would have someone hide all of them immediately.

Hearing this, Xiao Xiao felt a chill in her heart. The imperial family was the most heartless of all. She had always known that saying, but when she truly faced it, she still felt utterly powerless.

But now that she could hear Nuannuan's thoughts, she could do her best in advance to

prevent these things. Even if she could not prevent them, being prepared would allow her to protect her children better.

In her eyes, no realm or throne mattered more than her children.

[Hehe, you're so clever, Host! Then let's go pick out the gifts now.]

Jiang Nuan also thought it would be better to get them into her hands sooner, so she looked up at Jiang Yunsheng and asked expectantly:

"Imperial Father, I've never seen your private treasury before. May I go now?"

Jiang Yunsheng smiled faintly. "Of course."

"Yay!"

Once he agreed, Jiang Nuan gave a delighted little hop.

Seeing how happy she was, Xiao Xiao shook her head with an amused smile. Oh, well. Her daughter was saving money to take her along when she fled, after all. Surely there was nothing wrong with secretly giving her a little support.

Jiang Nuan was happy all the way there, but once she entered the private treasury, she felt a little disappointed.

Mostly, her expectations had been too high, so seeing the real thing was a bit of a letdown.

Everything particularly valuable bore imperial markings, while the value of the other things fell rather far short of what she had expected.

Um... Guagua, tell me, is the emperor's private treasury really this poor?

Jiang Nuan found it rather hard to believe.

[It probably is. The harvests haven't been very good lately, and there have been natural disasters too. Having even this much is pretty good.]

Guagua thought it over and decided that was probably the case.

In the end, after much picking and choosing, Jiang Nuan selected three things worth about fifty thousand taels of silver altogether.

Seeing Jiang Nuan's disappointed expression, Guagua decided to lend her a hand.

The Great Xia Dynasty had thirty years of history by now, and Jiang Nuan's father was the second emperor of Great Xia.

The previous dynasty had supposedly left behind a treasure hoard, but despite countless people searching for it over the past thirty years, no one had found it.

The previous dynasty's emperor, huh? Let me dig into your gossip, and I'll find out. Hehe.

That bit of digging really did turn something up.

[Host, I have some incredibly good news! I found the previous dynasty's emperor's treasure, hehehe! And you'll never guess where it is!]

What!

"What!"

Two startled cries rang out at the same time!