"Xiu'er, is that you?"
Tang Zhuyun opened her eyes. Stars swam before them, and her knees burned with pain. Looking at the anxious maid before her, she called out tentatively.
She was a renowned doctor from the twenty-second century. She had just finished two operations after working through the night and had tumbled down the steps on her way to eat at the cafeteria. She had thought it was a spectacularly embarrassing public disaster, but instead she had transmigrated.
A flood of memories that did not belong to her immediately surged into her mind.
Her name was Tang Zhuyun, twenty years old, the daughter of Tang Mingfan, minister of the Court of Judicial Review, and a notoriously lovestruck woman in the capital who was desperate to marry.
Poor Tang Mingfan was a virtuous minister of his generation, with sleeves as clean as the breeze, yet this good-for-nothing daughter had turned his hair gray before its time and dragged his name through the mud.
"Miss, are you all right? You scared me to death," Xiu'er said, still shaken, as she reached out to help her up.
This is bad. I really have transmigrated.
Before she had time to dwell on it, Tang Zhuyun wanted nothing more than to take to her heels.
She had tripped over the threshold and fallen, and an unconscious man was lying on the bed in the room. He was also her target-the Prince of Jin.
The original owner had courted death in her desperation to marry, harassing every one of the capital's four young masters. Not long ago, the Prince of Jin, the emperor's son who had been living among the common people, had been acknowledged by the imperial family, and his handsome, elegant looks had caught the foolish original owner's eye.
Today was the flower-viewing banquet at the Grand Princess Royal's residence, held chiefly to select a consort for the Prince of Jin. Tang Zhuyun had eaten a bear's heart and a leopard's gall, knocked His Highness out, and had now reached the stage of climbing into his bed.
"Go, hurry!" Tang Zhuyun scrambled to her feet and snatched up the pouch discarded on the ground. Seeing some white powder, she even lifted it for a sniff. Then, without another glance at the handsome man on the bed, she tucked the pouch away, grabbed Xiu'er, and ran for the door.
"But, Miss, didn't you... The Prince of Jin is right there!" Xiu'er stared at Tang Zhuyun in a daze.
"When I tell you to go, you go!" Tang Zhuyun said.
There's no time to explain. Run!
"Miss, you're not changing your mind again?" Xiu'er asked uncertainly. "Weren't you going to sleep with the Prince of Jin?"
"Do I have a death wish? If I want to sleep with someone, can't I go find a male courtesan?"
"But the last time you went, they threw you out because you had no money..." Xiu'er said quietly. "Male courtesans cost money."
"Sleeping with a male courtesan costs money. Sleeping with the Prince of Jin costs your life! If you keep nagging, I'll leave on my own."
The original owner must have had water in her brain to think of scheming against an imperial prince. Whether she succeeded or failed, even if she escaped with her life, she would lose half her skin.
Mistress and maid had just hurried into the courtyard when they suddenly heard the door being locked from outside.
"This is bad. Someone's scheming against us," Tang Zhuyun said, immediately realizing something was wrong.
"What do we do?" Xiu'er asked in a panic.
They could not let themselves be caught, no matter what. Today's scheme was aimed either at her or at her father.
Tang Zhuyun glanced at Xiu'er. "Do you want to attach yourself to the Prince of Jin? If that's what you want, I'll help you get your wish."
"I don't, I don't!" Xiu'er was terrified.
Tang Zhuyun glanced at the courtyard wall, then steeled herself. "Come on, we're climbing the wall!"
She told Xiu'er to go first, but Xiu'er refused and crouched on the ground, asking her to step on her shoulders.
Tang Zhuyun gritted her teeth and stepped up.
Xiu'er clenched her teeth and slowly stood.
From her high perch, Tang Zhuyun could see a long way. A group of nobles, led by the Grand Princess Royal, were being brought this way by a maid, and Tang Zhuyun could see the Grand Princess Royal's livid face clearly.
I'm done for. They've caught a turtle in a jar; there's no escape now.
"Put me down!" Tang Zhuyun said through gritted teeth.
However bad things were, she had to struggle to her last breath. She could not surrender without a fight.
A moment later, a maid's voice indeed sounded outside. "It's right here."
The door opened, and the people who had come crowding around the Grand Princess Royal saw Tang Zhuyun sitting on a stone stool in the courtyard, idly waving a round fan. A maid stood behind her, and mistress and maid looked perfectly at ease, as though they were resting there.
Tang Zhuyun acted calm and composed, but inside she was panicking like crazy.
She feigned surprise, then rose and curtsied. "What's going on? Everyone's here? The princess's residence is so big that I lost my way, so I brought my maid here to rest for a while... Is this a forbidden area where we're not allowed to stay? If so, I'm sorry. Xiu'er, let's go!"
Oil the soles and slip away first.
"Stop!" the Grand Princess Royal barked. "With those shifty, thievish eyes, what kind of behavior is this?"
Hey, why is she insulting me? Who's a thief? What did I steal?
I didn't even touch your dear nephew. He's lying perfectly fine inside right now!
Of course, Tang Zhuyun could only say those words to herself.
Her gaze now fell on the woman beside the Grand Princess Royal.
The woman looked fifteen or sixteen. She wore a moon-white jacket with a subtle woven pattern and full-length sleeves, with jade pendants and a pouch hanging from her waist. Beneath it was a pomegranate-red skirt, from whose hem peeked the pearl-studded tips of her shoes. Her dark hair was like ink, and she had bright eyes and white teeth, looking dignified and beautiful.
Her name was Ruan Anruo, the daughter of Ruan Xingzhi, deputy minister of the Court of Judicial Review. She had always been on "good terms" with Tang Zhuyun.
Ruan Anruo feigned surprise. "Zhuyun, what's going on? Why are you here?"
Tang Zhuyun briefly recalled the things Ruan Anruo had done and knew she was a white lotus in full bloom. Most likely, she had also instigated and engineered today's mess.
Ruan Anruo was proud and arrogant, believing herself better than Tang Zhuyun in every way, yet her father was still ranked below Tang Zhuyun's father. So she had constantly egged Tang Zhuyun on to do absurd things, hoping she would make a fool of herself-and preferably drag Tang Mingfan down with her and force him to resign!
If she's got the ability, she should come at her with drawn blades and leveled spears. What's the point of bullying a dimwit?
Anger flared in Tang Zhuyun, and she said sarcastically, "Anruo, didn't you say you'd stay with me all day? Why did you leave me behind again?"
Ruan Anruo blushed. "I only went to pay my respects to the Grand Princess Royal, and when I turned around, you were gone... Zhuyun, have you seen the Prince of Jin? No one can find him anywhere."
Heh, what a true friend, so eager to stick a couple of knives in me.
Tang Zhuyun said, "Who is the Prince of Jin? How come I've never heard of this prince?"
"But you clearly said before that you wanted to, to follow the Prince of Jin... Zhuyun'er, stop fooling around. His Highness is of exalted status..." Ruan Anruo said. "If this gets out of hand, Lord Tang will be put in a difficult position too. Just admit it now, and Her Highness the Grand Princess Royal will let you off lightly."
Tsk, tsk, I'm so touched that tears and snot are streaming down my face.
Tang Zhuyun had made up her mind to deny it to the end. They had not caught her in bed with him, and as long as she insisted she had not known the Prince of Jin was here, who could convict her?
So she smiled without mirth and said, "Anruo, since you keep mentioning the Prince of Jin and are so close to him, you must know where he is."
"I'm not. Zhuyun, you can't say things like that." Ruan Anruo's eyes reddened.
"Enough, all of you!" The Grand Princess Royal was not known for her good temper. She swept a glance over them and said sternly, "Go inside and see if the Prince of Jin is there!"
"Aunt, I am here."
A low, magnetic voice rang out, striking Tang Zhuyun's ears like thunder. Wasn't that the Prince of Jin, whom she had drugged into unconsciousness?
That fellow was only pretending?
Oh, right. It seems he really was.
She had not thought about it carefully earlier, but now that she did, she realized she really had been deceived.
"Your Highness, why are you here with Zhuyun?" Ruan Anruo exclaimed.
"Must you dump that chamber pot of shit on His Highness's head?" A man who looked like a guard stepped out from behind the Prince of Jin.
The "chamber pot of shit," however, breathed a sigh of relief. The Prince of Jin had a guard with him, and she had a maid; however one looked at it, it was not a secret tryst.