The Prince of Jin led Tang Zhuyun to a pavilion in the garden.
The pavilion stood high atop an artificial hill, commanding a view of the surroundings. Anyone trying to eavesdrop would be spotted at once.
The Prince of Jin said, "Do you feel more at ease talking here?"
Hypocrite.
Tang Zhuyun said coolly, "I'm afraid Your Highness is the one who's worried. What does a person with a reputation as ruined as mine have to fear?"
The Prince of Jin didn't trade barbs with her. He went straight to the point. "What do you think about your eldest brother's situation?"
"What can I think? I'll open my eyes wide and see who's a man and who's a dog." Tang Zhuyun sneered. "Your Highness's time is precious, so let's get straight to the point."
She strongly suspected that the Prince of Jin had dug this pit for her eldest brother to achieve some secret, unspeakable end.
As for what he wanted, it was surely connected to that position. He was simply using threats and inducements against her father and brothers.
"Your medical skills are good. Help me save someone. As long as she's all right, your eldest brother will be fine."
He was actually after me?
That was a little strange. She had only shown her medical skills that one time by the river, and he had already set his sights on her?
But her eldest brother's embezzlement should have happened long before that.
So the Prince of Jin must have changed the terms of the exchange on a whim.
"First tell me how you'll help my eldest brother. After all, the seals used to withdraw the silver really do belong to him."
The Prince of Jin stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his tall, imposing back to her.
"I command the Golden Scale Guard and have the authority to act at my discretion."
Tang Zhuyun was startled. The Golden Scale Guard? Weren't they the emperor's personal guards?
No one dared offend the Golden Scale Guard, because no one knew how they might inform on them to the emperor.
They were also a highly mysterious guard force. She hadn't expected the emperor to entrust them to the Prince of Jin.
Perhaps there was doubt in Tang Zhuyun's eyes, for the Prince of Jin gave his sleeve a flick. A gold token fell into his hand, and he held it out to her.
Tang Zhuyun looked at the gold token and saw four characters on it. She couldn't help thinking, Brother, who are you trying to fool?
"Your Highness, you may have misunderstood," she said, looking at the Prince of Jin with cold dignity. "I can't read, but I can count. There are four characters here. Please tell me, how many characters are in 'Golden Scale Guard'?"
The Prince of Jin said expressionlessly, "Read more books, and stop believing that nonsense about a woman's virtue lying in her lack of talent. This says, 'As if the emperor were present.'"
Tang Zhuyun said, "...Are you fooling me?"
"What do you think?"
No, the Prince of Jin couldn't use this to fool people. If word got out, it would be a capital crime.
Tang Zhuyun kept her knees perfectly straight and pretended she hadn't seen it. "Those who don't know aren't guilty, and whether it's real or fake has nothing to do with me. Where were we?"
"I can say that I was investigating the Ministry of Personnel and had your eldest brother working as my inside man."
An undercover agent? A decoy? Whatever it was, it would explain things nicely.
As soon as the Golden Scale Guard were brought up, no one would dare object.
Tang Zhuyun's mind raced. If all he wanted was for her to save someone, the bargain wasn't a bad one.
No, there was a loophole.
"You'll use this to threaten me into serving you forever, won't you?" Tang Zhuyun said.
"No, because someone will soon trace this back to your eldest brother. It won't wait forever," the Prince of Jin said coldly.
Tang Zhuyun breathed a sigh of relief.
Perhaps she could give it a try?
Bargaining with a tiger for its skin kept her mind constantly taut; she didn't dare relax in the slightest.
"Start treating her now. You have one month to cure her," the Prince of Jin said. "In a month, the embezzled silver will still have to be repaid. If you meet my demands, I'll pay it for you. If you don't, then he really did embezzle it, and it has nothing to do with me."
A threat, such a naked threat!
He looked like a decent human being, but never did a decent thing!
"I want to see your daughter before I say anything more," Tang Zhuyun said, lifting her chin.
He wasn't the only one who could see into people's hearts. She was just as good!
It had only taken her a moment's thought to guess that he was doing this for his daughter.
"Fine. Follow me."
The Prince of Jin had long legs and walked quickly. Tang Zhuyun's short little legs had to run and run to keep up behind him, all the while cursing the Prince of Jin bloody in her heart.
But the path down from the pavilion sloped downhill. In a moment of inattention, she tripped and fell spectacularly forward with the speed of lightning.
Only one thought flashed through Tang Zhuyun's mind. I'm done for. I'm going to damn well transmigrate again!
She had thought she'd merely transmigrated before, but now it looked like she was a quick transmigrator!
But she hadn't settled this matter yet. She couldn't die with her eyes closed!
No, she couldn't die. She was afraid of dying.
As Tang Zhuyun fell, she realized she seemed likely to land right on the Prince of Jin. She desperately hoped he would turn around and play the hero saving the beauty.
Even if she fell into his arms, happened to brush his lips, and then locked eyes with him in that nauseating way, she would accept it.
But the Prince of Jin was cold, heartless, and unreasonable. He clearly heard her startled cry, yet he didn't even look back, just like a dead man.
Tang Zhuyun thought, You're only a supporting male character, and cannon fodder at that.
Flailing her arms, she fell to the ground behind the Prince of Jin. In her panic, she seemed to grab hold of something that broke her fall a little, but she still landed so hard that tears shot from her eyes.
Fortunately, she wasn't dead.
But what was with the close-up of that strong, muscular calf before her eyes?
She could even see the hair on it. This was her first time examining a man's leg hair up close, and it really was quite coarse. She wanted to shave it off for him.
Belatedly, Tang Zhuyun realized she was clutching a piece of cloth... no, to be precise, she had pulled off the Prince of Jin's pants, and was now under his robe studying his leg hair.
Aaahhh... She might as well transmigrate again. Tang Zhuyun was going mad.
She had stripped off the Prince of Jin's pants. She had accomplished a daring feat that even her predecessor hadn't managed.
Tang Zhuyun didn't dare imagine the look on the Prince of Jin's face. She lay on the ground and played dead.
Then she heard the Prince of Jin speak through gritted teeth. "Give me back my pants!"
Tang Zhuyun was quite sure that the Prince of Jin wanted to bite a chunk out of her right now.
She hung her head low and stared at the grass, reaching under herself to pull out his pants with some difficulty and hold them over her head. "Hehe, Your Highness, even the grass at your residence is different from the grass elsewhere. I need to take a good look at it."
Just then, the lackey arrived and shouted angrily, "Tang Zhuyun, you shameless woman! You actually, you actually..."
"Shut up and get back!" the Prince of Jin said furiously.
Tang Zhuyun stared at the roots of the grass. Lackey, may I ask how you've lived this long?
With that lack of perception, it's not just a wisp of good fortune rising from your ancestral graves that's kept you alive this long. Your family's graves must be billowing thick smoke.
Jumping out at a time like this, are you asking to die?
Song Jingyang thought, I'll defend my prince's honor to the death. Begone, green hat!
After who knew how long, Tang Zhuyun heard the Prince of Jin say, "How much longer are you going to lie there?"
Tang Zhuyun got up, dusted herself off, and pretended nothing had happened as she marched down the hillside with her head held high.
She had only looked at his legs. What did she have to feel guilty about?
The Prince of Jin led her onward with a livid face until they came to a secluded, tranquil courtyard.