Did he live by the sea? He sure was sticking his nose far and wide!
Her own father and brother hadn't said anything about her marriage yet, so what the hell did it have to do with the Prince of Jin?
The Prince of Jin hadn't expected Chang Zhi to say it out loud either. Looking a little awkward, he said to Tang Zhuyun, "Another bowl of soup."
Tang Zhuyun ignored him and went inside to eat with the two children.
As the Prince of Jin was leaving, she stopped him. "I have something to say to you!"
Chang Zhi said, "All right, all right, I'll go first. Take your time talking. Speaking of which, I still haven't figured out when you two hooked up."
Scram! Hurry up and scram!
This time, Tang Zhuyun and the Prince of Jin shot him equally fierce looks.
"What we have is fake!" Tang Zhuyun said to the Prince of Jin.
He had better stop putting on airs with her in the future.
"Since it's fake, there's even less reason to avoid arousing suspicion," the Prince of Jin said coolly.
Having sent Tang Zhuyun's arguments scattering like falling blossoms in a stream today, he felt quite pleased.
"Fine, you win!" Tang Zhuyun felt that arguing depended on how well one performed, and she was off her game today. She admitted defeat! She would fight again another day!
The Prince of Jin curled his lips. "There is one thing that's real. The Prince of Jin's Residence has household rules, and it also has a mama to teach them."
With that, he walked away without waiting for Tang Zhuyun to speak.
Tang Zhuyun: Laxatives! Where are my laxatives? Next time, I'll just slip him croton seeds and see if he doesn't shit himself to death!
A good person like her was held back by talking too much.
Just give him croton seeds: strike hard and say little!
The Prince of Jin was in a very good mood when he left the Tang residence, but his good mood lasted less than three seconds before someone stopped him.
He narrowed his eyes at Ruan Anruo, his bearing icy and his gaze deep and gloomy. A closer look revealed nothing but chill.
Ruan Anruo couldn't help shivering.
She had a bellyful of nasty things to say about Tang Zhuyun, but now they all stuck in her throat. She couldn't get a single word out.
Terrified, her legs gave way and she dropped to her knees. "Your Highness, I, I..."
The Prince of Jin looked down and glanced at her. Ruan Anruo trembled all over, unable to say another word.
The Prince of Jin didn't stop for her and strode away.
"Your Highness!" Ruan Anruo had finally seized this opportunity and naturally refused to let it slip. She summoned all her strength and called out.
The Prince of Jin turned back. "Hmm?"
The courage Ruan Anruo had struggled to muster drained away in an instant under his icy stare, and she slumped helplessly to the ground.
Xiu'er said excitedly to Tang Zhuyun, "Miss, Miss! I just went out to fetch water. Do you know what I saw?"
Tang Zhuyun was getting ready for her afternoon nap. She had just reviewed the "battle" from earlier and felt that she had performed terribly. It was so discouraging.
When it came to arguing, winning on the spot was what felt good. If you went over it afterward, the more you thought about it, the more cheated you felt.
So when she heard Xiu'er's pumped-up voice, she asked weakly from where she reclined on the couch, "Did you find some silver?"
"I'm even happier than if I'd found silver!" Xiu'er said.
"Then did you find gold?"
"Miss, you've got money on the brain!" Xiu'er said. "I just saw Ruan Anruo get put in her place by the Prince of Jin!"
"How did she get put in her place?" Tang Zhuyun finally showed a little interest.
Her two "mortal enemies" had faced off, and she would be happy no matter which one came out worse.
Xiu'er animatedly recounted what had happened, adding plenty of embellishments. "You should have seen it! Ruan Anruo couldn't say a single word in front of His Highness. I think she was so scared she nearly wet her pants!"
"Oh." Tang Zhuyun lost interest. That hadn't done her any real harm, had it?
Xiu'er, however, was still savoring the moment. "His Highness is amazing! Miss, you really do have a good eye! Once you marry into the prince's residence, let's see who dares bully you!"
"I bet the Prince of Jin would dare."
Xiu'er: "..."
Tang Zhuyun snorted. "If he's so capable, let him go to the battlefield and scare off an army of thousands. What kind of skill is it to scare a woman? Hmph!"
Although she was secretly pleased too, if anyone expected her to say something nice about the Prince of Jin, they could dream on!
Two days later, Tang Zhuyun was practicing boxing in the courtyard with Xiu'er and the two children. Aside from Linlin, who was extremely serious, the three females were laughing so hard they could barely stand up straight.
Tang Zhuyun said, "All right, all right, stop fooling around. Xiu'er, take this seriously. If something happens to your miss in the future, I'll be counting on you to protect me!"
Xiu'er's face fell. Her hands and feet wouldn't coordinate, and she was having a terrible time learning.
So when she heard a knock at the door, she immediately jumped up as though she had found a savior. "Miss, I'll get the door!"
Soon, Xiu'er's puzzled voice came from behind the screen wall. "Old Madam, who are you looking for?"
"Is this Tang Mingfan's home?"
Tang Zhuyun had been fixing Yanran's hair. When she heard the voice, which suddenly seemed unfamiliar yet was actually extraordinarily familiar, she nearly dropped the red hair tie in her hand.
How did this old witch get to the capital?!
That was right-it was Madam Song, the grandmother who had abused the original owner of this body since childhood!
Madam Song hadn't come alone. She had brought Song Cui'er, a grandniece from her natal family, with her.
Come to think of it, the old witch was quite something. Without a word to anyone, she had brought a girl along, and the two of them had actually made the long journey to the capital just like that.
Madam Song entered with Song Cui'er supporting her. When she saw Tang Zhuyun, displeasure appeared on her face. "Still the same fool you always were. You don't even know to bow and greet someone when you see them. Don't you recognize your own grandmother anymore?"
She was nearly sixty, lean and wiry, with high cheekbones. One look at her showed how mean and sharp-tongued she was.
Song Cui'er looked sixteen or seventeen. She stood there timidly, her clothes and trousers somewhat ill-fitting, nearly exposing her wrists and ankles. Yet her eyes darted around as she looked everywhere, far from well-behaved.
Heaven must have thought Tang Zhuyun had too much time on her hands, so it had sent her two choice specimens to practice on.
Tang Zhuyun folded her arms. "My grandmother is in the countryside. You wretched old woman, how dare you impersonate my grandmother? Xiu'er, why haven't you gone to report her to the authorities?!"