When Qiao Geng arrived, the Prince of Jin was fastening his belt, while Qiao Qiao behind him was still unconscious.
Qiao Geng's face was flushed, his neck was thick, the veins on his forehead were bulging, his eyeballs were bulging, and his eyes were full of red, making him look very intimidating.
He was breathing heavily, his voice trembling uncontrollably. "You, you all..."
The Prince of Jin lowered his eyes. "Uncle, although there were unexpected events, I will take responsibility for my cousin."
Enraged, Qiao Geng raised his fist to strike the Prince of Jin.
Prince of Jin stopped his fist and said calmly, "Uncle, I will not wrong my cousin. I only have one queen, and the position of concubine is vacant... Although she is a concubine, with my protection, my cousin will not suffer."
"Bullshit!" Qiao Geng cursed, forcefully shaking off Prince of Jin's hand, then picked up the teapot on the table and poured it over Qiao Qiao on the bed.
The effects of the medicine had almost worn off, but the herbal tea instantly sobered him up.
She opened her eyes and looked around blankly.
Upon seeing the furious Qiao Geng and the Prince of Jin of Jin calmly buttoning his shirt, Qiao Qiao's first reaction was one of immense joy.
She succeeded?!
Qiao Geng saw a smile on his daughter's face and slapped her across the face with his large, fan-like hand.
He was a military officer, and with a slap delivered with all his might, Qiao Qiao's ears rang, and her face instantly swelled up, burning with pain.
That was one thing, but when Qiao Geng withdrew his hand, he accidentally knocked the blanket off. Qiao Qiao reached out and grabbed the blanket tightly.
The matter has been accomplished, so it doesn't matter if she looks a little disheveled now. She must be careful about her image in front of Prince of Jin and not let all her efforts go to waste.
Thinking this, she looked at Prince of Jin with a pitiful expression. "Cousin, I..."
Qiao Geng's face turned purple; he was clearly furious. He gritted his teeth and said, "How could you be so shameless! Get up! Get dressed and come out!"
After saying that, he looked at the Prince of Jin and said, "You come out with me too!"
Xiu'er, who was secretly watching the commotion from the doorway, quickly shrank back.
Tsk tsk tsk, this anger... Hopefully, it won't affect innocent bystanders.
Now you know how to get angry? What were you doing when you raised your daughter?
If he harms himself, others can't really say anything; but if he's released to bite people indiscriminately and try to steal from others, he shouldn't blame others for being ruthless.
After secretly overhearing the conversation between Prince of Jin and Qiao Geng, she happily went back to inform Tang Zhuyun.
"Qiao Geng was indeed unwilling," Tang Zhuyun said meaningfully.
This confirms that the Prince of Prince of Jin's guess was correct.
If it weren't for the fact that they were siblings, Qiao Geng wouldn't have taken such a forceful approach to "break up" the two of them, even though his daughter had already "lost her innocence."
This is the most reasonable explanation.
Xiu'er asked, "What exactly are you and the Prince planning? I'm completely baffled."
Tang Zhuyun sighed, "You'd find out sooner or later."
This is just the beginning.
The events of that year seem to be covered by a heavy and enormous curtain.
But now, the Prince of Jin has only lifted a corner.
There were some things the Prince of Jin might have been holding back from her; of course, it's also possible that Prince of Jin simply didn't think in that direction at all.
But Tang Zhuyun really wanted to.
She had a strong, almost uncanny, intuition that Xiao Wu was not dead.
Only if Xiao Wu is still alive can Nanny Rong's sudden change be explained.
Aside from her former master Xiao Wu, who else could make her abandon the Zidu she raised from childhood?
The sudden rise Consort De favor reminded her of Wu Zetian's return to the palace from the temple; or rather, it gave her the feeling that "Noble Consort Xi has returned."
There was no talent show, no newcomers entering the palace openly, yet the Emperor's "taste" changed so drastically. The only explanation is probably that Xiao Wu has returned.
However, this speculation was too audacious, lacked any evidence, and involved the Prince of Jin's "deceased mother," which could easily cause offense. Therefore, Tang Zhuyun did not voice it.
However, she had a vague feeling that the Prince of Jin might have had this suspicion as well.
The Emperor's leniency towards the supposed execution of the Prince of Zhenbei's Residence back then was far worse than the flood that swept away the entire city.
If Xiao Wu really has returned, why is she turning her anger towards me?
Are mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law simply incompatible?
If that were the only reason, Tang Zhuyun would be grateful.
She feared that things weren't that simple.
When Prince of Jin came over that evening, he didn't eat anything after entering the room. He immediately took off his clothes, lay down on the bed, and said, "A-Yun, help me with cupping."
Tang Zhuyun agreed, and while preparing things, she talked to him about the two children, without mentioning anything about what happened during the day.
"My sister-in-law said it's my mother's birthday in a few days, and she's going to take me to the Great Xiangguo Temple to burn Linlin. Linlin, why don't you go too?" Tang Zhuyun said. "I wasn't planning on taking Yanran, but she insisted on going after she heard about it."
"Then take them with you." The Prince of Jin didn't think the matter was very serious.
"Bringing her along is fine," Tang Zhuyun said, "But she also wants to bring Cui Xiaoqiu along, which is going too far."
The Great Xiangguo Temple was very lively. Yanran heard that Cui Xiaoqiu had never been there before, so she said she would take him there to see it.
She acted like a big sister in front of Cui Xiaoqiu, but returned home pitifully pleading with Tang Zhuyun for help. "Mother, please help us think of a way to get the Cui Family to release them?"
Tang Zhuyun: "I can't help it."
The Cui Family family doted on Cui Xiaoqiu too much, always thinking he was in poor health, and kept him confined from going out.
How could she possibly bring it up?
Are you suggesting I say, "My daughter invited your son out to play?"
Even in modern times, it's difficult to bring up the topic if the other party's parents are picky, let alone in ancient times.
Tang Zhuyun ruthlessly extinguished Yanran's hopes, but then felt sorry for her and brought it up with Prince of Jin that evening.
Is there any way?
Prince of Jin: "... You spoil Yanran too much."
Tang Zhuyun: "I really had no choice. Forget it, I've already rejected her, so let's not bring it up again."
Children's world is simple, but it becomes complicated when adults are involved.
Especially now, in these turbulent times, let's talk about it later. I'll comfort Yanran tomorrow.
The Prince of Jin then brought up the events of the day, saying, "My uncle told me to forget about today's events and to arrange Qiao Qiao's marriage as soon as I get back."
Whom to marry?
Tang Zhuyun wanted to roll her eyes. Did they think there was a ready-made man waiting for her there?
However, this shows that Qiao Geng wanted to make the Prince of Jin give up.
"Even if our guesses are correct," Tang Zhuyun, having finished preparing, she began cupping the Prince of Jin, "That's something for the previous generation."
If it's going to rain, it's going to rain; if a mother wants to remarry, who can stop her?
Strictly speaking, since Xiao Wu had already been abandoned by the emperor at that time, it wouldn't be considered a moral depravity for her to seek out her childhood sweetheart again and rekindle their old romance.
"We're sisters, so we'll help if we can, but if we can't, like Qiao Qiao, we'll just let her go," Tang Zhuyun said.
After a long silence, Prince of Jin spoke, "I don't care about sisters. What I'm thinking about is, who exactly is the person in Consort De's palace?"