"It's alright, you already know quite a lot."
Xiao Pang was indeed not dead; he was even brought back to the capital by the Prince of Jin.
But why have someone watch over him and deny him freedom?
Fortunately, Yanran was young and did not suspect anything, otherwise she would not know how to explain it to her.
Nanxing said, "Your Highness, why don't I go and ask Huaishang?"
Can Huaishang tell you?
"He can't beat this servant girl."
Tang Zhuyun: What a pitiful man.
"No need," she waved her hand. "If I wanted to know, I wouldn't need to go through all that trouble."
Nanxing realized what was happening and said, "Yes, you can just ask the Prince."
"Forget it, I won't ask," Tang Zhuyun said. "If he won't tell me, then he'll have to clean up the mess himself."
He respects his right to privacy, but please tidy up your own things.
Nanxing said, "The Huaishang dire straits."
The Prince of Jin must have instructed him to keep a close eye on Xiao Pang, yet such a blunder occurred...
Tang Zhuyun, however, had already put the matter out of her mind and had no intention of discussing it further. Instead, she went to chew on her pen and think of a better remedy for Xiyou.
After Linlin returned, Yanran excitedly told him that she had become the assassination target.
That night, Linlin forced herself to stay awake until Yanran fell asleep, then secretly asked Tang Zhuyun, "Mother, that person, is he Yanran's...?"
Since Sister Yuan was born, Linlin seemed to have sensed something and privately changed how she addressed Tang Zhuyun.
He was a cautious child, and even though he knew Yanran was asleep, he spoke vaguely.
"Yes," Tang Zhuyun said. "I don't know anything more. If you still want to know after the Prince returns, you can ask him."
"Mom, are you angry?"
Linlin used a tone of certainty.
Tang Zhuyun: "No."
How could that be?
She's such a person who clearly distinguishes between public and private matters, how could she expect the Prince of Jin to tell her everything?
She doesn't care to know!
Linlin tugged at her arm. "Father isn't telling you, he definitely doesn't want you to worry."
Tang Zhuyun pouted.
As expected, the son resembles the father; thankfully, she has Yanran.
The next day, after Linlin went out, she quietly called over an inconspicuous guard and handed him a piece of paper, "Give this to the Prince."
Tang Zhuyun was unaware that her own son was already tipping off Prince of Jin, urging him to admit his mistake.
"You've learned the rules so well, there shouldn't be any major mistakes," Meng Yulan. "But once you enter the palace, anything can happen, so do less and say less, and learn to conceal your shortcomings."
Tang Zhuyun nodded, indicating that she would play the fool once she arrived.
Compared to being caught red-handed and punished, cowardice is nothing.
Before they knew it, it was the sixth day of the sixth lunar month. Tang Zhuyun dressed in new clothes and wore a headdress that weighed about two pounds. She followed Meng Yulan into the palace step by step.
She looked away from everyone, her gaze calm, but in reality, she kept repeating in her heart, "One who is without desire is invincible"—something Tang Mingfan always said.
The two followed behind the young eunuch toward the Empress's Weiyang Palace. There were also noble Noble Lady from other families nearby, along with eunuchs leading the way.
Everyone held their breath, and the only sound was the clatter of footsteps on the blue bricks; no one dared to whisper.
Tang Zhuyun: Sigh, living in a place like this, doesn't it cause depression?
After passing through several gates, the view suddenly opened up, revealing a vast expanse of lake and verdant distant mountains, as well as solemn buildings with roof ornaments faintly visible on the soaring eaves.
Perhaps because Tang Zhuyun glanced at the lake, the young eunuch, as if he had eyes in the back of his head, whispered, "This is Mingze Lake. Sometimes, the Emperor and Empress also take pleasure boats on the lake."
Whether it was Tang Zhuyun's petty mind or not, alarm bells were ringing in her mind.
--If the Empress and her entourage are to board the pleasure boat in a little while, she will have to be extra careful.
Although she hadn't seen the Empress much, the Prince of Jin and the Crown Prince were at odds, so the Empress wouldn't like her.
Those were practically class enemies.
But she guessed wrong.
She overestimated the Queen's patience.
The Empress didn't even have time to see her before she had already set up an ambush.
Walking under the willows by the lake, Tang Zhuyun had just thought to herself, "A cool breeze is blowing," when she suddenly heard a "plop."
Okay, someone has fallen into the water.
Even such a tall white marble railing can't keep out the light?
The enthusiasm for diving must be so high that it's impossible to stop them.
However, from her close-up perspective, this person was clearly not a professional swimmer; the splash was huge, like frying fish, and it sprayed water all over her face.
Yes, it's that close.
A true gossip expert, this time getting a close-up look at the drama unfolding before our eyes.
The young eunuch cried out in a panic, "Help! Someone has fallen into the water! Help!"
But as soon as the words were spoken, no one came to the rescue. Only the group of eunuchs who had led the way arrived at the railing, and at the same time, all the Noble Lady ladies stopped in their tracks, their eyes turning to the lake.
The person who fell into the water was a young woman in a pink dress, who was splashing around in the water like a lotus flower floating up and down.
Tang Zhuyun: "Sister-in-law, don't look. The faces of the drowned are horrifying."
Meng Yulan cleared her throat.
Perhaps because he was too panicked and had no one to turn to for help, the young eunuch turned his gaze to Tang Zhuyun: "Your Highness, I've heard you can swim, what do you think..."
Tang Zhuyun feigned surprise. "Who told you that? It's a rumor, pure rumor."
She's a complete landlubber, a purebred one.
The young eunuch stammered, "No, didn't they say that the Prince specially prepared a wooden pool in the palace for you to swim in?"
Tang Zhuyun: @#￥%...
Good news doesn't travel far, but bad news travels fast.
Most importantly, she hasn't even washed her face once, and summer is almost over; why bring this up again?
What a terrible thing that scoundrel did!
I'll settle the score with him later.
"That wooden slab in the Prince's mansion," Tang Zhuyun said with a straight face, "Was used for washing Yanran's feet."
The young eunuch was dumbfounded.
How can they lie so blatantly?
That's a huge wooden basin, are you going to use it to wash your feet, or to wash your child's feet?
Tang Zhuyun kindly reminded him, "Father-in-law, there's no use in you watching me. I would like to help, but I'm afraid that if I go into the water, you won't know who to save."
The young eunuch was filled with bitterness.
Isn't this person kind-hearted and hailed as a living bodhisattva by disaster victims?
How could she stand by and watch someone drown right in front of her?
Tang Zhuyun: "It's not that I'm kicking someone when they're down, but with such a grand occasion today, why aren't there a few old women who can swim waiting by the lake?"
Meng Yulan chimed in, "Nobody expected that someone would fall into the water from such a high railing. Maybe it's just fate."
He brought this on himself; he deserved to die.
If you want to be the Empress's lackey and curry favor with her, then you have to bear the consequences yourself!
"A-Yun, let's go," Meng Yulan said. "The guards might come soon, so be careful not to offend them. I've been to this palace a few times; I can take you to the Weiyang Palace."
Tang Zhuyun: "Okay!"
The two women, along with Lüzhu Nanxing, continued walking forward leisurely, completely ignoring the various complicated gazes behind them.
(I'm late, but I'll still arrive, so I'm punished by having to update an extra chapter tomorrow!)