Tang Zhuyun nodded and said, "I also think she seems a bit too frightened. But I wonder, could it be that she's not doing well at the Zhou Family's?"
Zhou Xu once said that her father, Zhou Yushan, was not good to his Concubine Yu, and consequently, he was not good to his own daughter as well.
However, the veracity of this statement remains questionable, and for now, this is the only speculation we can make.
Xiu'er said, "That's what I guessed too. But there's one thing that's not quite right..."
"Um?"
"When Zhou Xu came yesterday, I overheard her secretly trying to scare Concubine Yu."
"How did you scare him?"
Tang Zhuyun felt that Zhou Xu was like a suspense novel, arousing people's curiosity but making it impossible to see the whole picture.
She said, 'Auntie, I kidnapped you. My father will doubt your innocence. Wake up! Don't even think about going back!'
Xiu'er perfectly mimicked Zhou Xu's threatening tone in a low voice.
Tang Zhuyun: "... Does Concubine Yu still want to go back?"
"Hmm," Xiu'er said, "Either she's being unreasonable and can't bear to part with him, or she's been threatened by Zhou Yushan or Madam Zhou."
As she spoke, she rubbed her eyes.
Tang Zhuyun said, "We haven't been here long, and what the Prince has to do is not something that can be accomplished overnight. We'll see how things go in the future."
"Hmm." Xiu'er yawned again.
Tang Zhuyun noticed the dark circles under her eyes. "What's wrong? Didn't you sleep well last night? Are you feeling unwell?"
Xiu'er said, "That little monkey kept kicking me last night."
"Just reminding you that you miss his father!" Tang Zhuyun teased.
Unexpectedly, Xiu'er said in a serious tone, "I think so too, so I got up and wrote a letter to Song Jingyang."
Tang Zhuyun: "And then you didn't sleep?"
He only slept for an hour.
Tang Zhuyun: "... You're pregnant, how can you be so willful? Go back and rest."
Xiu'er said, "Actually, I was also touched by something yesterday, and I felt bad."
"What's wrong?"
"Perhaps because of the pregnancy, seeing Zhou Xu reminds me of myself back then."
She wrote a letter to Song Jingyang, telling him, "Without Your Highness, I wouldn't be who I am today. We must remember Your Highness's kindness."
After expressing her true feelings, she quickly wrote, "Don't push yourself too hard."
Never risk your life for the sake of repaying a debt of gratitude; longevity is the most important thing.
Then it's "I miss you".
I'd write for a while, then reflect for a while, then cry for a while, then laugh for a while... and then I'd be too exhausted to sleep.
Tang Zhuyun smiled and said, "Pregnancy does make you more sensitive."
"I know," Xiu'er said. "I saw you crying in front of that tree a couple of days ago, but I didn't say anything, and no one bothered you."
Tang Zhuyun: "..."
I wasn't crying at the tree; I was crying because the big bird hadn't come back and the little bird was chirping from hunger!
When the Prince of Jin returned, he noticed that her eyes were red and asked her what was wrong.
Tang Zhuyun couldn't help but cry again.
Looking back now, I'm really confused.
After hearing her words, Xiu'er rolled her eyes and said, "No wonder I heard the prince ordering people to find a ladder in the middle of the night."
She lives in the next courtyard.
Tang Zhuyun: "Your ears are really good!"
"So you should take it easy tonight too." Xiu'er pouted, "A full stomach doesn't know the hunger of an empty one."
Tang Zhuyun blushed immediately.
Does this person have super hearing? She's really quite restrained...
"The prince went to feed the birds," she quickly changed the subject, "But they wouldn't eat millet. So he had the guards search for insects all night."
Tang Zhuyun still finds this incident amusing.
The guards must have been completely bewildered.
In the dead of night, thinking we had some urgent task, they turned out to send us digging for bugs?
Alright, Your Highness has something to say, we must listen to you.
The Prince of Jin also spoiled her without any limits.
Even children like this deserve to be spoiled rotten...
"The most interesting thing is," Tang Zhuyun continued, "That the guards brought back all sorts of strange insects, but the birds wouldn't eat them."
Xiu'er said, "That's right. What other people eat must be naturally born flying; what they dig up from the ground definitely won't do."
Tang Zhuyun was overjoyed. "I haven't finished yet, listen to me!"
At that time, she was like a completely different person. She felt she had to help those little birds, and she watched Prince of Jin make a mess of things while shedding tears.
Honestly, looking back now, it felt like seeing a mental patient.
"The prince dismissed the guards, comforted me and told me not to worry, and then went to discuss it with Eighth Master," Tang Zhuyun laughed until tears streamed down her face, "And asked Eighth Master for help. In the end, Eighth Master extorted two cans of pine nuts from the prince and actually helped feed him."
Xiu'er: "I wonder why Eighth Master keeps flying up into trees lately!"
Now that time has passed, the chains on Eighth Master's feet have long been removed, and he is now a bird that can tell lewd jokes anytime, anywhere in the entire palace.
But it's also a coward; it's only a bully within its own territory, and it won't even fly out of the palace.
Xiu'er said, "Eighth Master has become a father unexpectedly."
Tang Zhuyun: "Anyway, the point is, we're pregnant, so it's normal to cry and fuss. Don't bottle it up; it'll pass. Okay, okay, go back and catch up on your sleep!"
Xiu'er: "Okay. Then I'll go back and write a letter to Song Jingyang about this... Never mind, let's not mention it, lest he think I'm envious."
She wasn't envious at all; the prince was truly foolish.
"Please don't go out. If you must go out, wait until I wake up and come to keep you company," Xiu'er instructed.
Tang Zhuyun laughed and said, "I know, I know, go back to sleep. I'll stay in the room preparing medicine for the Emperor, I won't go anywhere."
Xiu'er went out, but still felt uneasy, muttering, "I'd better go find Yanran to come and keep Her Majesty company."
But Yanran and Jiaojiao had disappeared, and Xiu'er searched for them in the palace.
They searched high and low but couldn't find it, and they didn't see many servants either.
Xiu'er was so angry that she cursed, "These lazybones really need to be disciplined!"
She went to find it herself, and when she arrived at the outer courtyard, she suddenly saw several guards carrying a roll of mats out, so she called out to them, "What are you doing?"
Upon seeing her, the guard hurriedly said, "Madam Song, please step back and avoid getting tainted by bad luck."
Xiu'er, sensing something, asked, "Is it the one who climbed into bed last night?"
The guard nodded.
"Didn't make it through?" Xiu'er asked, frowning.
The Empress said that if they survived, they would be sold far away, but judging from the current situation, they must be dead.
A hint of unease flickered in the guard's eyes as he lowered his head and said, "Yes, she... she's not fortunate enough."
Xiu'er seemed to understand something from his attitude, and waved her hand, saying, "Since she's not lucky enough, let's take her out and bury her."
The guards quickly agreed, and several men hurriedly carried the mat out.
No sooner had they left than a group of maids and servants came out, their faces all looking rather grim.
Upon seeing Xiu'er, everyone bowed in greeting.
Xiu'er knew in her heart that someone must be intimidating her, and thought to herself that this was the way to go.
Her gaze swept over the crowd, and she said calmly, "In this Prince's mansion, there are no sparrows that fly to the branches. But the chicken that wants to be used as a warning to others will be allowed to do so."