Ren Yingying: "I was just saying, what if! You can't be too careful around people, you know?"
Tang Zhuyun did not refute her, but she knew in her heart that her strong reaction was largely due to the fear deep in her heart.
She was truly afraid that one day father and son would turn against each other.
Regardless of the outcome, the Prince of Jin will be hurt.
Born into royalty, he enjoyed immense wealth and privilege, yet he was deprived of the normal affection between father and son.
Tang Zhuyun had mixed feelings and didn't say anything more, lowering her head to continue fiddling with her medicinal herbs.
"Chicken, chicken..." Wuxian suddenly shouted impatiently.
"Wuxian, say it again!" Xiu'er said excitedly.
Wuji and Guagua could already babble, but Wuxian remained silent.
Therefore, Xiu'er always suspected that Wuxian was mute.
To my surprise, the chicks chirped when I saw them today.
Yanran, that chicken you sent was a wonderful gift!
Tang Zhuyun belatedly realized that it was Wuxian who spoke, and she was overjoyed.
While everyone else was busy celebrating, Wuxian filled with despair.
He tried to chase after the chicken, but he was too slow and couldn't catch up. He could only watch helplessly as a pile of chicken droppings came out of the chick's rear end and dripped onto the giant orangutan's felt.
Wuxian angrily lay down.
He noticed the chicken's rear end looked different just now!
These foolish adults didn't even notice.
He was very angry.
No, he had to escape. He couldn't stay on this filthy gorilla blanket; it was disgusting!
Then everyone saw him struggling and clumsily climbing, at a snail's pace, and they couldn't help but laugh.
Wuji and Guagua, as if deliberately trying to annoy him, scurried back and forth between his sides.
Wuxian: I'm not envious, really.
Tang Zhuyun came over and hugged him, her face beaming with smiles, and nuzzled his little face with her nose, saying, "Do Wuxian anymore."
Wuxian: My mother smells strangely of medicine, I find it repulsive.
Unfortunately, he couldn't speak yet, and no one cared about his feelings.
Soon, the news that the third young master of the Prince's mansion had finally spoken, and that he had even said "chicken" twice, spread far and wide, causing great joy and becoming a momentous event for the Prince's mansion.
Wuxian: Geniuses are always tormented by loneliness.
I never imagined that I could become famous at a young age with just the two words "chicken, chicken".
The Prince of Jin breathed a sigh of relief.
Although he thought his son was perfect in every way, he always felt that Wuxian was somewhat different from normal children.
Now that it's confirmed he's not mute, I feel a little relieved.
Tang Zhuyun was never worried about Wuxian's IQ, but she was worried about his EQ.
But then he thought that even if the worst happened, Linlin and Yanran would definitely take care of him, so he made peace with himself.
"When do you plan to lead your troops into battle?" Tang Zhuyun asked the Prince of Jin while weighing the medicinal powder with a small golden scale.
Around the Dragon Boat Festival.
"When will you be back? A rough estimate is fine."
"It could take more than a year, or as little as a few months."
"A few months is such a short time?" Tang Zhuyun found it a bit unbelievable.
She had been instilled with the idea that wars are protracted, that preparations for a campaign take months or even years, and that she would be back in just a few months?
The Prince of Jin laughed and said, "What, don't you want me to come back sooner?"
Tang Zhuyun pouted, "I hope you won't leave."
The Prince of Jin pulled her to sit on his lap and gently instructed her, "... I have entrusted the affairs of the border town to Qu Nian. You can leave the matters outside to him. Keep an eye on Ren Yingying and don't let her cause trouble. That will be a great help to Qu Nian."
Tang Zhuyun: "..."
It feels like I've sold my best friend to the big bad wolf.
"Don't panic if something happens, I'm here for you; I'll be back as soon as possible."
He gave her a word of advice, and Tang Zhuyun nodded.
As the two finished talking and were preparing to wash up and go to bed, a maidservant hurriedly reported from outside.
"Your Highness, something has happened outside. They want you to come and take a look."
Tang Zhuyun's heart jumped into her throat.
At times like these, I have a feeling nothing good is coming.
Knowing her worry, the Prince of Jin squeezed her hand and asked in a deep voice, "What did you say?"
The maid said, "I didn't hear clearly either, but I vaguely heard it sounded like it was about spies..."
Tang Zhuyun breathed a sigh of relief.
The Prince of Jin said, "It's nothing. They must have caught a spy, probably an important one. They want me to go check on him. You should get some sleep; I'll sleep in the outer study when I get back."
"No, come back to sleep."
"Okay, then don't wait for me, you go to sleep first."
"Um."
The Prince of Jin dressed and hurriedly went out.
Tang Zhuyun tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep.
When the Prince of Jin went out of the second gate, he saw his trusted confidant pacing anxiously back and forth at the entrance.
Upon seeing him emerge, his trusted aide rushed forward and reported, "Your Highness, chaos! Chaos! Everything is in complete disarray!"
"What's in chaos?" the Prince of Jin asked in a deep voice.
It turns out that Wu Zhenhai had been in charge of the spy work all along.
Previously, following the instructions of the Prince of Jin, he had devised a plan to "cooperate" with the Northern Yi.
On the surface, he was the one who captured spies, but in reality, he was still one; it was just that the Northern Yi thought he had been turned by them.
Tonight, Wu Zhenhai led his men to the largest inn in the border town to capture the spy, but unexpectedly, Wu Guang publicly identified him as the spy.
The Prince of Jin frowned upon hearing this. "Are you saying that Wu Guang betrayed Wu Zhenhai?"
The confidant nodded.
The Prince of Jin angrily retorted, "Useless thing!"
He can't even see his own close subordinates clearly; what a fool.
The confidant whispered, "Wu Guang also said that Wu Zhenhai was in love with Mingzhu, which Wu Zhenhai denied. Wu Guang then accused him of being a spy, leaving Wu Zhenhai speechless in front of everyone, so things are getting a bit tricky..."
"What did he say that left Wu Zhenhai speechless?" Prince of Jin asked as he walked out.
He said Wu Zhenhai didn't return home all night on the fifteenth, and he didn't bring anyone with him; he went to meet with spies from the Northern Yi.
"Fifteen?" Prince of Jin's brows furrowed so deeply they looked like they could trap a fly. "Wu Zhenhai didn't explain where he went?"
No, I didn't say that.
Actually, Wu Zhenhai went to look for Mingzhu that day.
But Wu Guang suddenly launched an attack in front of so many people, and he couldn't say anything.
He has already completely ruined Zhou Xu's reputation; he can't afford to ruin Mingzhu's reputation as well.
He was ignorant before, but he can no longer be fearless.
Wu Guang must have harbored resentment towards me, or perhaps he was ambitious and wanted to replace me and put me to death.
He first claimed to have an ambiguous relationship with Mingzhu, then accused himself of colluding with the enemy, and even chose a time he couldn't explain... All of this was meticulously planned.
Even if the Prince of Jin were to defend him and say that he had not colluded with the enemy, some people would probably think that the Prince of Jin was showing favoritism, and would even suspect his relationship with Mingzhu.
Wu Guang's move was nothing short of a vicious scheme.
What could the Prince of Jin do?
Of course, the plan was to have Wu Zhenhai imprisoned as a spy treason.
"Sister-in-law, Wu Zhenhai was with me that day." Mingzhu went to find Tang Zhuyun.
That day, Wu Zhenhai drank too much and refused to leave.
She didn't dare look Tang Zhuyun in the eye, but she didn't regret saying it.
That's how it is. She didn't intend to hide it, nor did she want her older brother to misjudge the situation.