Tang Zhuyun's first thought was that the Emperor had fallen ill.
--There was no such important matter. It's illogical that the Prince of Jin would come to see her in broad daylight, disregarding their previous "quarrel."
Then she heard Sangsang say impatiently, "Didn't they say I wasn't here?"
"I told him, but the Prince is sitting downstairs, saying he's waiting for you," the maid said, both frightened and aggrieved. "He's sitting there, and no one dares to come in..."
Tang Zhuyun sensed something was amiss. "Which prince?"
Qin Sang said, "Prince of Yong."
Tang Zhuyun: "... He's become obsessed with you?"
Qin Sang smiled wryly and shook her head, "It was just a spur-of-the-moment thing. Your Highness, please sit down first. I have to go and deal with this. Once I'm free to leave, I'll have a maid come up and tell you. You can go now, so you don't run into him and cause trouble."
Tang Zhuyun tugged at her sleeve. "Have you run into trouble?"
Qin Sang smiled and said, "It's no trouble. When you're in business, there are always troublemakers, big and small. Although Prince of Yong is also difficult to deal with, with him around, no one else dares to act recklessly."
Tang Zhuyun: "Just let me know if you need any help."
Qin Sang smiled and nodded, then quickly went to deal with Prince of Yong.
Xiu'er spat and said, "Shameless."
Tang Zhuyun didn't say anything.
Since Qin Sang didn't ask for help, she should be able to handle it.
If it were anything else, she would have taken it on; but when it involved Prince of Yong, she really couldn't guarantee that she could help resolve it.
I'll ask their prince when I get back tonight.
After a while, the maid came up and quietly led Tang Zhuyun downstairs, and they left the shop safely.
Back at the Tang Residence, Xiu'er took Yanran to change her clothes, Linlin finally spoke.
"Mother, I saw Wang Chunqiu."
Tang Zhuyun: "Who?"
This name seemed completely unfamiliar to her.
"Wang Chunqiu, a reclusive physician from the Wang Family of Langya. The Master left him there before to treat my senior brother's illness."
Tang Zhuyun exclaimed in surprise, "So it was him? But didn't he just arrive in the capital not long ago, stay for a few days, and then leave?"
Why did this person come back so soon after leaving? Surely they didn't forget something...
Linlin said, "I also found it a bit strange, which is why I haven't made a fuss. I'll go to the teacher's place tomorrow to see what's going on."
Tang Zhuyun tapped her slender fingers on the table and said, "I don't know if I've been too sensitive lately, but I feel like many things are vaguely connected, but I can't quite put my finger on it."
Is it simply because Hongxiu also comes from the Wang Family of Langya?
But as mentioned before, the Wang Family of Langya has at least several thousand members, if not ten thousand, so they might be completely unrelated.
"But it's also possible," Linlin said calmly, "That they are very close."
Tang Zhuyun: "???"
Yes, why didn't she think of that?
If we forcefully combine these two lines of thought, will we gain new insights?
No.
She couldn't figure it out...
But seeing Linlin's thoughtful expression, Tang Zhuyun reconciled with herself.
It's okay, she's not smart, but her son is!
Let her think about it some more.
That evening, Tang Zhuyun recounted the events of the day to the Prince of Jin in detail.
Under the candlelight, the Prince of Jin was eating, and she was muttering to herself, occasionally adding a bowl of soup to his bowl; the atmosphere was very harmonious.
"I know that Qin Sang has been entangled with someone."
After all, Prince of Yong was someone he needed to keep a close watch on; at least on the surface, Prince of Jin was aware of his movements.
"Qin Sang contacted me."
"Huh?" Tang Zhuyun was stunned.
The Prince of Jin calmly took a bite of the fermented rice ball. "She's a smart woman; she knows she wants to pledge her allegiance to me. This is her pledge of loyalty."
Tang Zhuyun: "... Am I not?"
"Helping you is a favor, not helping is your right," said the Prince of Jin. "The most reliable person is still yourself."
So, Qin Sang plans to approach the Prince of Yong and help the Prince of Jin deliver messages?
"I never expected anything from her," said the Prince of Jin. "Too many people want to get close to me like this. But for your sake, I'll give her this opportunity."
"Oh."
Tang Zhuyun sighed inwardly, knowing that the path of struggle was long and arduous.
Compared to these fighters, she clearly lacked combat experience.
However, she also breathed a sigh of relief.
Helping someone who is clear-headed makes one feel at ease.
The Prince of Jin looked at her with a smile.
"What's wrong?" Tang Zhuyun touched her face and said fiercely, "What are you looking at?"
I thought you would speak up for her.
"I will help if I can, but she has her own solutions. I'll wait and see."
"That's progress."
Tang Zhuyun: "Thank you for the compliment, Your Highness!"
After discussing Sangsang's matter, they moved on to the matter of Wang Chunqiu.
"Wang Chunqiu?" The Prince of Jin paused in his act of picking up food, his brows furrowing slightly.
"What's wrong? Do you know the prince?" Tang Zhuyun immediately perked up when she saw him deep in thought.
She always felt that she had already glimpsed the light of day, but was just one step away from achieving it.
Perhaps if we give her some more clues, she will be able to find her way out of this predicament.
"I vaguely remember hearing this name back when I was in the Xiao Family."
Tang Zhuyun seemed thoughtful. "The Xiao Family? I've heard of them a long time ago..."
But the Prince of Jin had already remembered more.
He said, "I remember now, my mother developed back pain after giving birth to me..."
Tang Zhuyun thought to herself, "Is there anyone who doesn't have back pain after giving birth?"
In late pregnancy, isn't most of the extra 10-20 pounds going up around the waist?
What kind of underlying condition is this?
This shows that even though she had a child out of wedlock, Xiao Wu was still the apple of everyone's eye in the Xiao Family.
"Later, after much searching, we found the renowned physician of the Wang Family and obtained a prescription..."
Tang Zhuyun asked curiously, "Is it Wang Chunqiu?"
"Um."
"Was it cured later?"
"Healed."
Tang Zhuyun: Awesome!
But isn't it very difficult to find Divine Physician Wang?
Is the Xiao Family really that influential?
Prince of Jin said, "I was too young to know about this past period. But I have a vague feeling that it is related to Yanran's biological mother."
The Xiao Family helped the Wang Family raise their lost child, so the Wang Family should naturally reciprocate.
Tang Zhuyun thought, "It seems to make sense?"
"Let Linlin inquire about it tomorrow and see why he returned," Tang Zhuyun said. "Perhaps I can even ask him for advice."
"It's also possible that he's asking you for advice."
Tang Zhuyun laughed loudly.
She liked his inexplicable self-confidence.
After the Prince of Jin finished a bowl of rice, Tang Zhuyun asked, "Would you like another half bowl?"
"Another bowl, please. We have big things to do tonight," said the Prince of Jin, raising an eyebrow with smugness in his eyes.
Tang Zhuyun: Sigh, when did you and Da Shi start having an affair?
Unexpectedly, Prince of Jin, probably to "retaliate" against her for using cupping as a pretense, actually fabricated a whole thing and created a "major incident."