After listening to her explain the whole story, Qin Li snorted and said, "Although I'm reluctant to admit that Prince of Jin is powerful, he's not someone to be fooled. He probably already knows most of what you've found out."
Madam Qin said, "Whether he knows or not, I have to give an explanation to the Princess Consort, after all, this was caused by your rash visit."
Qin Li objected. "What could I possibly cause? They're clearly using this to put on a show for others!"
Using him and then turning around and beating him up—is there any justice in this world?
At the Tang Family, Xiu'er was also discussing this matter with Tang Zhuyun.
"Your Majesty, everyone used to say how powerful the Golden Scale Guard were, but now I see they're just so-so."
It's so embarrassing that Madam Qin could find out the truth even in the backyard, yet Prince of Jin couldn't.
Tang Zhuyun took a sip of tea and said, "Just because the Prince doesn't say doesn't mean he hasn't found out."
Xiu'er: "This servant thinks you are just blindly worshipping me."
"No, he should know," Tang Zhuyun said firmly.
How so?
"Intuition."
Xiu'er: "..."
"Why don't you ask them?" she asked again after a while.
Tang Zhuyun: "If he won't tell me, why should I ask? If I'm not mistaken, that maid was probably quite close to Nanny Rong before."
"I don't think so," Xiu'er said. "Isn't it too obvious? Even if I were to harm you, I wouldn't go to someone I know well."
The more unexpected the move, the easier it is to clear one's name.
"You're right, it's too obvious." Tang Zhuyun's mind was gradually forming a guess. "So, Nanny Rong did it on purpose."
The strange thing about this matter is that although Nanny Rong could have done it more meticulously, she still managed to reveal many flaws.
"Intentional? Is she stupid!"
"She's not stupid; sometimes, it's just that things can't be perfect in every way," Tang Zhuyun said.
"Then, have you spoken to the Prince?"
"Not at the moment," Tang Zhuyun said.
"Why not say so? Three cobblers with their wits combined are as good as one Zhuge Liang. Wouldn't it be better to discuss it together?"
"He must have thought of that, otherwise he wouldn't have sent Nanny Rong away."
Moreover, the truth may be too embarrassing.
Even the closest couples have their own feelings and emotions that they can't easily share with outsiders.
Tang Zhuyun only hoped that if the truth was really that dramatic, Prince of Jin would suffer less harm.
"A-Yun."
Meng Yulan has arrived.
Tang Zhuyun stood up and said with a smile, "Sister-in-law, I'm here!"
She thought Meng Yulan wanted to talk to her about Madam Qin, but she didn't expect the latter to come to ask her to enter the palace.
"Consort De said she wants to see Sister Yuan and asked me to bring her into the palace," Meng Yulan said. "She also mentioned that she's heard about your quarrel with Prince of Jin and wants you to come to the palace to try and persuade you."
Tang Zhuyun felt a chill run down her spine, sensing that the visitor was up to no good.
Especially considering Consort De's unexpected return to favor...
Perhaps she was overthinking things, but she kept recalling how, back when Empress Wang and Consort Shu Xiao were locked in a fierce power struggle, they had let a wolf into their house...
Don't go!
"I'm not going!"
The two women, aunt and sister-in-law, spoke almost simultaneously.
Seeing that she was clear-headed, Meng Yulan breathed a sigh of relief.
She smiled and said, "We've got the same idea. I'll help you ask for leave; I'll just say you..."
"I'm pregnant," Tang Zhuyun said.
Meng Yulan was taken aback, then exclaimed with delight, "Really?"
Tang Zhuyun: "... Of course it's fake."
Meng Yulan: "... You little rascal, how can you joke about this? This is a royal heir."
Tang Zhuyun said, "I'm afraid they'll always try to get me into the palace."
"They?"
"Even if it wasn't Consort De, it could have been someone else," Tang Zhuyun said, trying to cover it up. "Anyway, these are turbulent times, I just need to be careful. It's just a fake pregnancy, I can handle it."
She wanted to use this incident to send a warning and to verify her suspicions.
Meng Yulan pondered for a moment, "Alright. It's right that you didn't go to the palace. Recently, Consort De been acting very strangely. I won't take Sister Yuan with me either; I'll just say she caught a cold."
Even if it means "cursing" her own daughter, she would never risk her life with Little Tangyuan.
"Good."
Meng Yulan returned from the palace in the afternoon, but didn't find anything special. She brought back a large number of gifts from Consort De, saying that Tang Zhuyun should rest assured and take care of her pregnancy.
Tang Zhuyun told Xiu'er to accept the gift.
"Mother, are you really having a little sister in your belly?" Yanran happily.
Tang Zhuyun: "... It's not very stable. Less than three months is insufficient."
I didn't dare tell her the truth, afraid she wouldn't be able to keep up the act.
Yanran: "Great, great! I'm going back to prepare a gift for my sister!"
After saying that, she skipped and hopped out.
Tang Zhuyun was in a bind; how was she going to cover up this lie?
Xiu'er hummed and said, "You can still get pregnant now, it's only a month or two off, she won't know anyway. Why don't you get pregnant in the next few days? I'll go throw away your medicine."
Tang Zhuyun: "Why are you so agitated?"
"You'll have to give birth sooner or later, so of course you should do it sooner. I've been watching closely, and you have no intention of divorcing the Prince, so it's better to have the child sooner rather than later."
Tang Zhuyun: "..."
"I can't talk to you anymore, I have things to do."
Xiu'er seemed to suddenly remember something and rushed out.
Tang Zhuyun rolled her eyes.
She needs to be more careful and pay more attention when taking contraceptives, lest that vigorous maid, Xiu'er, secretly switch her medicine.
The idea that having many children brings many blessings is something even someone as refined and unconventional as Xiu'er cannot escape.
The Prince of Jin had not come for two days, Huaishang said that he had gone to the outskirts of the capital.
Now, when Tang Zhuyun mentions the outskirts of Beijing, she can only think of Nanny Rong.
"The prince said he'll come over on the evening of the fourth day."
Oh, you're back for your birthday.
Tang Zhuyun prepared a table full of dishes and waited for Prince of Jin until late at night.
Xiu'er yawned and said, "This servant won't stay with you any longer. The gift for the Prince is on the bedside table. Please don't peek!"
Tang Zhuyun had a bad feeling. "It wasn't collected from Sangsang, was it?"
Xiu'er: "Of course not, I made it myself."
Did she personally make a gift for the Prince of Jin?
After Xiu'er left, Tang Zhuyun immediately went to the bedside and opened the brocade box.
Then, she took out a piece of red gauze.
Could it be what she's thinking?
Shy.
Xiu'er poked her head in from outside the door. "Your Highness, please try it on. If it doesn't fit, it'll do. You'll only wear it once anyway."
Good clothes often don't last a single night, let alone this light gauze that carries such a heavy burden!
Tang Zhuyun blushed to her ears and hastily stuffed the light gauze inside. "Take it away, take it away, keep it for your wedding night with Song Jingyang, wear it yourself!"
Xiu'er ran off with a grin.
The Prince of Jin returned late at night, travel-worn, but a hot meal and water instantly swept away his fatigue.
When he came out of the shower and saw Tang Zhuyun, his mind went blank.
All reason vanished.
They only want to be beasts, not human.
Xiu'er's gift was rated by the Prince of Jin as the best in all years.
He demonstrated his liking through his actions, and the result was --
The bed collapsed!
It wasn't their own bed that collapsed, but their father-in-law's bed.
Tang Zhuyun lay on the "cushion," looking at the collapsed bed around her, wanting to die and also wanting to drag Prince of Jin, the instigator, down with her.
If she says she's too heavy and broke the bed tomorrow, will anyone believe her?