Tang Zhuyun was tidying up her things at the back, so the Emperor didn't see her immediately.
He asked wearily, "Where is she?"
Wang Fu was taken aback, then replied, "Your Majesty, the Princess Consort is here."
After saying that, he gave Tang Zhuyun a wink.
Tang Zhuyun hurriedly stepped forward to pay her respects. Although it felt a little awkward to address him as "Father Emperor," she did so nonetheless.
She couldn't help but wonder, was it "him" or "her"?
If the emperor were conscious during the rescue, he would have sought help from the rescuer, as everyone has a survival instinct.
But she felt that the emperor seemed to be unconscious at that time.
That "he" or "she" is quite intriguing.
"It's Ah -Girl Yun," the Emperor said. "Did you save me again?"
Tang Zhuyun hurriedly replied, "Father, you are blessed by Heaven; A-Yun dare not take credit for it."
The Emperor smiled, his eyes somewhat cloudy, and wearily closed them, saying, "You may leave. I am fine."
"Your Majesty!" Wang Fu couldn't help but exclaim, "Your health is of utmost importance!"
After thinking for a moment, Tang Zhuyun said, "Father, your escape this time... has turned the tide, but you still need to be extra careful. People with heart conditions should take good care of themselves, and more importantly, they should avoid emotional outbursts."
Sigh, even speaking to the Emperor requires careful consideration; she didn't even dare to say she had escaped a calamity.
What she really wanted to say was, "At your age, wouldn't it be better to enjoy your retirement?"
Let the Prince of Jin get tired!
He gets up earlier than the rooster, sleeps later than the dog, and works harder than a donkey. He can do it; he has proven it himself.
He stayed up all night, or even all night without stopping, and the next day he still went to court looking energetic. You have to admire that.
If you wish, you can summon him in right now to deliver the decree; how convenient!
The Emperor asked, "Where is the sixth prince?"
Tang Zhuyun: Oh my god, will my wish come true?
"Reporting to Father Emperor," she said honestly, "I didn't dare let him know. He still thinks my father is ill and is waiting for me outside the palace."
"Did you think your father was sick?"
Wang Fu hurriedly knelt down and begged for forgiveness, saying, "Your Majesty, it was all my own doing..."
After hearing his explanation, the Emperor waved his hand and said, "What crime have you committed? Get up."
Wang Fu raised his hand and wiped it, it was hard to tell if he was wiping away tears or sweat, then he got up.
The Emperor waved his hand and said, "A-Yun, you may step down. Jianbing, you stay."
Tang Zhuyun knew that "Jianbing" was her father's courtesy name. The life-saving charm her father had given her, which she held in her hand, was the letter containing the divorce agreement with Prince of Jin. In that letter, the emperor addressed her father in that way.
Sigh, no matter where she was hurt, her father's embrace was always the warmest place in the end.
Knowing that the Emperor was alright, Tang Zhuyun withdrew with relief.
When he came out, the sun was already high in the sky. Prince of Jin stood with his hands behind his back at the palace gate, looking at him with a smile.
When Tang Zhuyun saw him, she felt her heart fill with joy and whispered, "What kind of monster is this! In broad daylight, Zidu."
The Prince of Jin turned around and saw her extremely short shadow trampled under his feet. He couldn't help but chuckle, and reached out to take her hand. "Naughty girl, let's go home."
The two boarded the carriage one after the other.
The carriage rumbled along, and Tang Zhuyun asked Prince of Jin, "Why didn't you ask me how my father was? Didn't you see I had a 'tail' following me?"
A young eunuch escorted her out; once she returned, she might have to report to the Emperor about the couple's behavior.
Prince of Jin said calmly, "My father isn't that stupid."
Tang Zhuyun: "... You mean, I was just pretending for nothing? The Emperor knows I 'betrayed' him?"
"A-Yun," the Prince of Jin shook his head helplessly, "You only have yourself. You think that a woman's obedience to her husband and the honor of her husband's success are all empty words."
Everyone else believes it and does it too.
The Emperor would naturally think the same way about Tang Zhuyun.
Tang Zhuyun was taken aback. "Then why didn't you go in today?"
She had mistakenly thought that the Prince of Jin was praising his intelligence to avoid suspicion.
"Some things, even if everyone understands them implicitly, should be left to save face for each other, even if it's just self-deception."
Tang Zhuyun was speechless.
Okay, her thought process is definitely straightforward.
"Is Father alright?"
How did you know?
"If something were wrong, would you still be able to joke with me so easily?" Prince of Jin asked.
Tang Zhuyun: "Hmm, it's nothing. I wonder who she's angry with. Is it the Crown Prince?"
The Prince of Jin said, "I haven't heard of it."
Tang Zhuyun was somewhat disappointed. "Oh."
How could it not be? This is so disappointing.
The Prince of Jin said, "I originally planned to take you to visit your maternal uncle today, but Father is not well, so let's postpone it to another day."
Tang Zhuyun nodded. "Then after we finish eating, shall we go to the Great Xiangguo Temple?"
Whether she was overthinking it or not, she had a vague feeling that Nanny Rong's departure without saying goodbye and her stay at the Great Xiangguo Temple seemed to indicate that she had some kind of grudge against her.
Regardless, she is now a princess.
As an old servant of the Prince's mansion, shouldn't one at least greet Nanny Rong when entering or leaving?
She may not mind, but Nanny Rong shouldn't have broken the rules.
Tang Zhuyun didn't necessarily want to hold a grudge, but since they were all people that Prince of Jin cared about, it would be best to clear up any misunderstandings as soon as possible, so as not to put Prince of Jin in a difficult position.
Of course, it's not her fault, and she won't change.
The Prince of Jin said, "Very well, go and pray for my father's well-being."
Tang Zhuyun chuckled and said, "That's what I think too."
"We're of one mind." The Prince of Jin grasped her hand, and the two smiled at each other.
"There's something I've never quite understood," Tang Zhuyun said, tilting her head.
Tell me about it.
"My father said that the Emperor gave you the Golden Scale Guard so that you would be far away from that position, is that right?"
The Prince of Jin's expression changed slightly, but he quickly regained his composure and said calmly, "Yes."
"But I don't understand, aren't the Golden Scale Guard all under the Emperor's control?"
Could it be that giving it to the Prince of Jin was not because he favored him?
The Prince of Jin laughed, "Fool, who do you think controls the Golden Scale Guard now?"
"Isn't it you?"
"No, it's Father. I am merely the knife in Father's hand."
Tang Zhuyun understood immediately.
He's just a scapegoat.
"Just like all the commanders of the Golden Scale Guard, none of them had a good ending," Prince of Jin said calmly. "In the end, they had to take the blame for everything. Now, I'm just like them."
Tang Zhuyun was furious. "Isn't the Emperor setting you up like this?"
"It's not that serious," said the Prince of Jin. "But if you think the common people speak of me like this, and that they're afraid to even mention me, do I still have a chance?"
Tang Zhuyun seemed to understand something.
"So all this time, you've been fearless and Zidu, simply going with the flow and becoming the kind of person the Emperor wants you to be?"
"Intelligent." The Prince of Jin nodded, his gaze devoid of sorrow or joy.
Piercing a thousand arrows is nothing new to me.
Tang Zhuyun suddenly felt sad and remained silent for a long time.
"No!" she said.
The Prince of Jin was slightly surprised. "A-Yun, what's wrong?"
"You can't bully people like this!" Tang Zhuyun said, "If he won't give it to us, we'll take it!"
She didn't care whether the Prince of Jin became emperor or not, and she didn't even want him to be emperor.
However, Tang Zhuyun would not accept that his final fate was merely to become a discarded knife.
On what grounds?
She really wanted to be an empress.