Boy: "Mother?"
He looked Yanran up and down, then shook his head. "You don't look like one of our family members."
This clearly indicates that Yanran is not Tang Zhuyun's biological daughter.
Although Yanran knew it, being told that in public still made her eyes red with anger.
If she weren't outmatched, she probably would have already come over and punched this annoying boy.
Tang Zhuyun said in a deep voice, "Young General, if you have any further questions, you can come to the Tang Residence or the Prince of Jin's Residence to find me in the future."
They've already attracted too much attention, and Tang Zhuyun doesn't want to become the center of attention.
The boy gripped the silver spear in one hand and scratched his head with the other. "Alright then. You—"
He looked at Nanxing: "Is it a man or a woman?"
Nanxing ignored her and followed Tang Zhuyun downstairs, leaving the bewildered boy behind.
The boy suddenly realized what was happening, hurriedly left the teahouse, mounted his horse, and rode away.
Tang Zhuyun felt a weight on her heart after the boy's antics, and quickly returned home after buying her things.
She called out Tang Baixin, who was with Meng Yulan, and told him what had just happened.
Tang Baixin himself, "Little General? Who do you resemble? Father used to only say that you and Mother look alike... Could you be from Mother's family? But that person is being too hasty in recognizing relatives based solely on appearance..."
"I know, he's obviously a reckless fool," Tang Zhuyun said. "I've already sent the guards from the Prince's mansion to investigate his background. We'll talk about it after they've finished investigating. Brother, should we tell Father about this?"
"Father should be in the palace now. General Xue Shanting is returning to the capital today, and the Prince and Father will probably come back from the palace together."
"Oh."
"Don't overthink it," Tang Baixin to himself. "Even if there really is family, acknowledge them if you want; if it's too outrageous, then forget it. Your sister-in-law and I are still alive, so you don't need to worry about us."
"Um."
As for Prince of Jin, it was already evening when he came out of the palace. He walked with Tang Mingfan, and the two talked as they walked.
Everyone assumed the two were discussing important court matters, and out of respect for the Prince of Jin's imposing presence, no one dared to get too close.
But in reality, the father-in-law and son-in-law's relationship is like this:
Tang Mingfan stroked his goatee and said, "I wonder if Sister Yuan will cry. I remember when Baixin was little, she would cry and fuss, so I wrote a poem and posted it everywhere: 'Heavenly spirits, earthly spirits, there is a night-crying child in my house. Passing gentlemen, read this three times, and he will sleep soundly until dawn...'"
The Prince of Jin was not interested in this at all. Especially when he thought about how Great Zhou Meng Yulan had gone through, keeping the whole family up all night, and in the end, giving birth to such an ugly little monkey, he felt that there was no room for excessive compassion.
He was more concerned about what to eat for dinner.
"I wonder if A-Yun has rested well. What's for dinner tonight?"
Tang Mingfan laughed and said, "No need to guess, it's definitely good food."
Song Jingyang waited anxiously at the palace gate, and rushed to greet the two when they came out.
The Prince of Jin, seeing his expression, knew something was wrong and asked in a deep voice, "What is it?"
"Your Highness, Lord Tang, a guard has brought a message saying that Her Highness was bumped into while going out today."
The Prince of Jin's expression changed instantly. This was outrageous!
How is Her Majesty now?
Tang Mingfan also looked anxious. "How did we get bumped into?"
"They say a Daoist priest was performing rituals on the road..."
Prince of Jin's heart sank to the bottom, his voice almost trembling. "Tell me, how is the Princess Consort now? Is she alright?"
Song Jingyang was startled by his appearance and quickly said, "It's alright, it's alright, Nanxing is here, Her Majesty is fine at home now."
Only then did the Prince of Jin feel his heart begin to beat again.
No matter what the process was like, no matter how shocking it was, he didn't care, as long as she was alright.
"Father-in-law, I'll go back and check on A-Yun first."
Before they could react, the Prince of Jin had already taken three steps at a time to his precious horse, mounted it, squeezed its flanks with his legs, gripped the reins tightly, and with a shout of "Giddy up!" sped away like lightning, quickly disappearing from sight.
"Your Highness!" Song Jingyang shouted, then looked at Tang Mingfan, "Lord Tang, didn't I explain myself clearly? I think I said, is Her Majesty alright?"
Tang Mingfan stroked his goatee, his eyes full of smiles—what could make him happier than his daughter being valued?
"Concern leads to confusion, this is good, this is good."
Prince of Jin panicked upon hearing the name of the Daoist priest, thinking that Tang Zhuyun had "revealed her true form" or had been frightened. Although she was alright now, he believed the process must have been terrifying, so he could only be completely at ease once he saw her safe and sound.
Yanran was sitting on the doorstep, munching on a peach and Linlin for Prince of Jin rush back like a whirlwind, looking hurried. She asked in bewilderment, "Father, what's wrong?"
Where is your mother?
Cooking in the kitchen...
After being so frightened, how can you even cook!
The Prince of Jin hurried into the kitchen.
Tang Zhuyun was making soup for Meng Yulan when she saw Prince of Jin rush in. She widened her eyes in surprise. "Your Highness?"
The Prince of Jin was drenched in sweat; his clothes were soaked through and clung to his body, outlining the contours of his chest muscles...
Wow, her breasts are huge. Compared to him, she's probably a busty bastard...
"You," the Prince of Jin felt an urge to pull her into his arms, his expression tense, "Are you alright?"
Tang Zhuyun: "Me? I'm fine!"
She was humming a little tune while simmering chicken soup, what could possibly be wrong?
"Your Highness, what has happened?"
"Daoist priest..."
"Oh," Tang Zhuyun suddenly realized, "You mean when I spoke up for the Daoist priest? Did I cause you any trouble?"
"Speak up for the Daoist priest?" The Prince of Jin was completely baffled.
It wasn't the Daoist priest who subdued her, so how did it turn into her helping the Daoist priest?
Is she really that skilled in magic?
Xiu'er said, "Your Highness, you wouldn't be jealous of a Daoist priest, would you? That Daoist priest is even older than you, and he hardly has any teeth left!"
Please, be more ambitious and confident, okay?
Tang Zhuyun: No way, is the Prince of Jin jealous of this?
The Prince of Jin lifted her wrist, and after revealing the string of Buddhist prayer beads on it, he took a deep breath.
Thankfully, she was wearing Buddhist prayer beads.
He now regrets that he should have sent Song Jingyang back to tell Tang Zhuyun not to go out when he encountered the Daoist priest performing a ritual on the road.
Xiu'er: "Your Highness, please don't pull or tug at me like that!"
What a startled look! Turns out they were waiting here, trying to take advantage of us!
Pah! Shameless!
Prince of Jin wished he could nail that string of Buddhist prayer beads to Tang Zhuyun's wrist. "No matter what happens in the future, you must never let go of those prayer beads, understand?"
"Okay." Tang Zhuyun wanted to roll her eyes. "Why don't you let go?"
The Prince of Jin then realized that he was still holding her wrist, and somewhat awkwardly let go, turning his head away.
"Your Highness," Tang Zhuyun asked, "Do you know Old General Xue?"
"I met him at the palace today. What? That Daoist priest is from the Xue Family?"
"The Daoist priest isn't from the Xue Family, but there's something strange about the Xue Family..."