Tang Zhuyun: "What good will it do us if it's torn crooked? It just makes us feel bad. We might as well wish him impotence and infertility."
Prince of Jin: "..."
Xiu'er clapped her hands. "Your Majesty is wise! Perhaps you can even sell him the medicine!"
"That's right!"
The Prince of Jin suddenly spoke up, "If you see Zong Heng, stay away from him."
Tang Zhuyun yawned. "Don't worry about that. If he shows up, he'll definitely be entangled by those noble ladies. I won't be able to see him even if I want to."
Zong Heng isn't the only handsome man. Since he's the Crown Princess's own brother, we must clearly distinguish between friend and foe and resolutely prevent him from becoming complacent.
However, in my memory, Zong Heng's face was truly worthy of the people's respect.
Xiu'er said, "Look, look, you might be able to tell at a glance that he has kidney deficiency! He's so old and still unmarried, he might really have a problem."
"I won't treat his problems either," Tang Zhuyun said. "Xiu'er, behave yourself and don't provoke him. Don't think that just because the prince is easy to talk to, everyone else is too."
The Prince of Jin was actually not particular about details and was very tolerant of his subordinates.
He was lenient with Xiu'er because she was his maid and someone Song Jingyang had taken a liking to. He wouldn't fuss over trivial matters.
But someone like Zong Heng, if you just glance at him, he'd unleash his dogs on you, yet he acts like a perfect gentleman in public. It's terrifying to think about.
If you offend him, you might not even know how you died.
Tang Zhuyun continued, "We're not afraid of him if we fight openly and honestly; but when it comes to scheming, we might not be his match."
Zong Heng is the Prince of Prince of Jin's rival; she doesn't want to draw direct criticism onto herself.
The Prince of Jin sneered, "So you do know I'm easy to talk to."
Tang Zhuyun: "... Your Highness, I was trying to persuade Xiu'er, so I was a bit lenient with the standard of being easy to talk to."
Don't you know how much you owe? Please have some self-awareness.
"You'll release water for me? And boiling water, perhaps?"
Tang Zhuyun: "..."
Xiu'er said, "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. You're a widow now, I can't cause you trouble outside, I just come back to vent my frustrations."
Tang Zhuyun nodded. "I know. Don't worry about it. Whether he goes or not is none of our business."
The Prince of Jin was shamefully pleased by these words.
What's the use of a pretty face? Zong Heng isn't selling himself.
What men compete on is their skill and strategy.
Xiu'er returned to the issue of the invitation itself. "If you're not going, shouldn't you come up with a reason?"
She is, after all, the Crown Princess; a higher rank can have far greater influence.
Tang Zhuyun, however, clearly did not take it to heart.
Her lucky charm is still there—she's still a widow!
Especially since Prince of Jin hasn't even been buried yet, his body is still warm; is bullying her an attempt to curry favor with the Emperor?
"Xiu'er, a towering cliff stands firm because it is without desire," Tang Zhuyun patiently taught Xiu'er. "It means we have no desires or wants, so no one can do anything to us. Anyway, we're like broken pots, unafraid of being smashed. We can be smashed however we want, as many times as we want."
Conversely, desires also bring weaknesses. For the crown prince, even if he carefully and cautiously does a thousand good deeds, if he makes just one mistake, he will be criticized by the emperor.
So no matter how you look at it now, it's the Crown Princess who should be cautious, not her, a widow whose husband has died and whose outrageous actions are therefore understandable.
"However," Tang Zhuyun changed the subject, "She came to annoy me, trying to get money out of my pocket, so I can't just let it go."
Xiu'er immediately became excited, her big eyes blinking, "Your Highness, please tell me quickly."
The Prince of Jin also looked at Tang Zhuyun, having no doubt that she had some underhanded tricks up her sleeve.
Sure enough, Tang Zhuyun said, "Have someone write a reply in my name, saying that I am ill because I am worried about money. If it is convenient, please ask the Crown Princess to lend me some money."
Xiu'er: "That's a great idea, I'll go right away."
Tang Zhuyun didn't expect to get the money back; she just wanted to annoy the Crown Princess.
Prince of Jin said, "The Crown Princess is petty and narrow-minded. You should be careful in the future. After all, I can't always take care of things in the inner court."
Tang Zhuyun looked at him. "Now that you're like this, how can you take care of things in the front yard?"
The Prince of Jin was speechless.
"It's alright," Tang Zhuyun said again, "Anyway, you haven't been buried yet, so my identity is still fresh. I'll extort money from anyone who dares to mess with me. Once this opportunity is gone, it'll be gone forever! Let's settle the accounts, then go to sleep."
Prince of Jin: "..."
Persistence pays off. The next day, Zong Heng, whom many noble ladies had been eagerly awaiting and who had almost turned into a giraffe, finally appeared!
Xiu'er stood on the chair, staring in disbelief. "Not only did it not crack, it looks even better now! Isn't that infuriating?"
Song Jingyang cleared his throat.
Xiu'er: "What's wrong?"
Song Jingyang: "... I'm afraid you won't be able to see it, so how about I hold you so you can see it?"
Xiu'er jumped down. "I'm not watching anymore. It'll only boost their morale and diminish our own! Humph!"
"Exactly, exactly," Song Jingyang agreed.
Because of Zong Heng's arrival, the Zong Family's soup kitchen was giving away extra large steamed buns. The soft and fluffy steamed buns attracted a large number of disaster victims to line up, so there were not many people at their side.
Qin Sang smiled and said, "Brother-in- Xiu'er, you have such a good temper."
Xiu'er glared at her. "If you look again, you'll be charged!"
Qin Sang chuckled.
Tang Zhuyun, who rarely had a moment of free time, asked Qin Sang, "Sangsang, you come here every day now, doesn't your mother care about you?"
Qin Sang raised an eyebrow smugly. "It's none of her business."
"Um?"
"I'm a free person now." Qin Sang had become familiar with them and genuinely believed they were just maids serving the princess, so she spoke much more casually.
It turned out that before she even received treatment, she had essentially been abandoned by the madam.
Later, during her treatment, she took the opportunity to find someone to help her and spent three hundred taels of silver to redeem herself.
"This amount of money, in the past, wouldn't have been enough for me to earn for her in one night."
"Doesn't she regret it?" Tang Zhuyun asked, "Did she slap her thighs until they were red?"
"It's no use breaking it; the contract in black and white is still there." Qin Sang smiled, her eyes sparkling with charm, a hint of arrogance mixed with a touch of provocation, her gaze as alluring as a hook.
Xiu'er: "Stop flirting with Tangbao all the time, she can't see clearly."
Tang Zhuyun said that even at such a close distance, she could still see it.
As expected, everyone has their own expertise; she didn't become the top courtesan for nothing.
If my predecessor had learned from Qin Sang earlier, she wouldn't have had trouble getting married.
Seeing Xiu'er deep in thought, Qin Sang smiled and teased her, "Sister Xiu'er, do you want to learn?"
"I don't want to!" Xiu'er said. "I just suddenly remembered, why are there so many courtesans? Isn't Hongfu one? And you are too. Who's more beautiful between you two?"
"Hongfu..." Qin Sang clearly recognized her, "We're different."