"No, no," Huaishang denied first, "What a coincidence! When I went to the pleasure boat to choose, the madam called out more than a dozen girls!"
Even if Tang Zhuyun was indeed on a pleasure boat, it would only be one in ten or so; not to mention, there were actually more than a dozen large pleasure boats on the river at that time, not to mention countless small ones.
If those two happen to meet, isn't the probability about the same as being struck by lightning while walking?
But if it were true, that would be wonderful!
He paid one hundred taels of silver, buy one get one free, and the interest for seven years followed.
However, Huaishang stated that he was a man of principle who understood right and wrong. He was willing to spend one hundred taels of silver on the prince back then, and he could not go against his conscience and let the prince become a father just because of one hundred taels of silver.
Although his heart was truly bleeding, he wouldn't!
Nanny Rong was immediately disappointed—she had gone mad, to have such an absurd idea.
Tang Zhuyun was Tang Mingfan's daughter, no matter how unreliable she was, she couldn't sell herself on a pleasure boat.
Song Jingyang, however, was a man of bold ideas. "What's impossible? Even a thousand-mile marriage is tied by a single thread!"
Suddenly, Nanny Rong thought of a question, "You two, weren't you serving the Prince back then? Who did the Prince date? Were you both blind?"
She was so angry that she started swearing as she spoke.
This concerns the prince's offspring; such a serious matter, yet these two are so confused!
Song Jingyang first distanced himself. "I wasn't there! I went to distract the pursuers, and it took me half a month to find the Prince and Huaishang again! You're absolutely right, Huaishang, are you blind?"
Huaishang: "... Granny, weren't you there at the time...?"
"If I were here, would I be wasting my breath arguing with you two idiots? Hurry up and get to the point!" Nanny Rong was extremely anxious.
One should not entertain certain thoughts, otherwise the more one thinks about them, the more right they seem.
She had been thinking about what Linlin and Prince of Jin looked like, and now she felt that the two were practically identical, the more she thought about it, the more alike they seemed.
Linlin's personality is just like that of Prince of Jin when he was young—both are precocious and intelligent, mature beyond their years... No wonder she likes Linlin so much. Even though she knows his biological father is unknown, she only feels regret and never dislikes him.
If he is the son of the Prince of Jin, then everything becomes clear.
Therefore, he better be, he absolutely must be!
Huaishang touched his nose and said, "Those women all had the same hairstyle, and they all wore white makeup and red lips, looking like they were going to eat people. How could I tell who was who? I just pointed to one at random..."
He pointed to a cheap one.
Song Jingyang slapped him on the shoulder. "You were probably only concerned about the money back then, you didn't care what the woman looked like!"
Huaishang: You know too much. What if you want to kill me to silence me?
Huaishang stammered again, "No, it can't be the Princess Consort's. Because, in that case, even if I don't know her, she would still know me, right?"
Song Jingyang scratched his head. "It seems so."
It feels like I was just disappointed.
"Forget it, forget it," Song Jingyang said, "Let's drink and eat. How did all three of us get so caught up in this one thought?"
Now that he thinks about it carefully, he himself feels that the probability is too small.
He must have caught Xiu'er's influence; he's become easily startled and dares to think of anything.
Nanny Rong: "No one is allowed to drink anymore! This matter cannot be settled!"
Those two idiots can't understand that even if Tang Zhuyun really recognized Huaishang, she would probably feel ashamed of what happened back then and wouldn't dare to admit it.
"I'm asking you about Huaishang," said Nanny Rong, "How did you bring that woman to the Prince's room back then? Did she see the Prince?"
"No, how could I let him see the master? There's no light," Huaishang said. "I'll take her in, tell her to wait, then help the master inside, and I'll stand guard outside."
It must be said, the prince is incredibly vigorous and powerful!
"It matches up! It matches up!" Nanny Rong couldn't hide her excitement. "If that's the case, it's understandable that the Princess doesn't know the Prince."
The incident occurred only 200 li (approximately 100 kilometers) from Jiangzhou, which is only a two-day journey. The timing was such a coincidence... Perhaps it was the girl's spirit protecting her from heaven!
Song Jingyang, now sober, said, "Granny, I was just saying it casually. There's actually no evidence right now... Please don't get agitated."
"If you have no evidence, then go find it. Otherwise, what are you all for?" Nanny Rong stopped eating. "Don't say anything. Let this old woman think about how to handle this matter."
Huaishang was about to cry, "Nanny Rong, please, please don't mention this matter to the Prince, unless the truth is uncovered and the evidence is conclusive."
Because of that incident, he was disliked by the prince for so long!
If we were to tell the prince now that Linlin is his son, and that's true, then so be it. But if he isn't, wouldn't that be adding insult to injury?
Nanny Rong seemed to be deep in thought, and after a long while, she murmured, "Indeed, we can't tell the Prince first."
In the pitch black, with the woman heavily made up and the Prince of Jin suffering from severe heatstroke, it's unlikely he could clearly see what the woman he had a one-night stand with actually looked like; moreover, so many years had passed, he probably wouldn't remember much of her appearance.
She herself is so excited her heart is about to jump out of her chest, let alone the Prince of Jin knowing about this?
If it's a mistake, the prince will be very disappointed.
This was the child she cherished like her own life, and also her master; she couldn't bear to disappoint the prince.
"Huaishang," said Nanny Rong, "Go and test the Princess tomorrow."
Huaishang: "Nanny Rong, if Linlin really is the Prince's child, then my one hundred taels..."
"I'll give you a thousand taels, this old woman will give it to you!" said Nanny Rong.
Song Jingyang muttered, "Don't be so naive, but for a thousand taels of silver, Huaishang would do anything for you, wouldn't he!"
Huaishang: "Go to hell!"
Nanny Rong then said to Song Jingyang, "Aren't you and Xiu'er on good terms? Go and test Xiu'er!"
Song Jingyang was self-aware. "Can I really do this? That girl seems silly, but she's actually very shrewd; I don't want her to get all the information out of me."
Huaishang finally found an opportunity to attack him. "You scoundrel!"
"Eat, eat first." Nanny Rong picked up her chopsticks again, tears glistening in the corners of her eyes. "Eat your fill, then get to work tomorrow!"
A moment later, Xiu'er brought in meat and vegetables, and the three of them seemed to have been unharmed.
But Xiu'er still said, "How come you all acted so differently when I came back after just helping the Princess Consort cook a dish? What fun things are you talking about?"
Song Jingyang lowered her head, Nanny Rong smiled and said, "I'm praising you for being smart and capable, and telling Jingyang to work hard! Here, Granny will give you another red envelope to play with."
Xiu'er declined decisively. "No. You're so old, you need to save money for your retirement. I just won two hundred taels from Song Jingyang yesterday!"
Huaishang's Sorrow: Why is it that when silver is mentioned, no one thinks of him?