"What happened to Hanxiang?" Tang Zhuyun asked, somewhat surprised.
To be honest, she was also quite surprised that Hanxiang saved her last time.
Although Hanxiang injured her, Emperor Wen's investigation proved that she had indeed helped out of kindness, so Tang Zhuyun still had someone give her a generous reward.
"Hanxiang is looking for me," Xiu'er said bluntly, disliking hesitant speech. "She wants to come back to your side."
Tang Zhuyun: "..."
Inappropriate.
There are indeed many prodigal sons who return to the world, but she has other options, so why take the risk?
Tang Zhuyun thanked Hanxiang for saving her, but this did not mean that she wanted Hanxiang back.
Once feelings start, they're hard to end completely.
"I refused her," Xiu'er said. "I told her to live a good life. But I'm afraid that if she begs you for help, you'll soften your heart."
Tang Zhuyun smiled and said, "I wasn't being soft-hearted. I just thought you were going to speak up for her, and I was thinking of how to refuse you!"
Xiu'er breathed a sigh of relief.
Then, she said softly, "Your Majesty, it's not that I'm being petty, but this matter is just too coincidental."
How did it happen that Hanxiang happened to witness Lei Qun's concubine plotting to harm the Empress?
"We'd rather be a petty person than not be careful."
Tang Zhuyun smiled and nodded.
She thought so too, so she bestowed many rewards upon Hanxiang, but when she met Hanxiang's eager gaze, she still refused.
"I spoke with Nanxing," Xiu'er said. "Nanxing should also try to persuade her to give up this idea."
As the two were talking, a palace maid came to announce that Meng Yulan had arrived with Little Tangyuan.
Tang Zhuyun looked up and saw that the person had already arrived at the door. She quickly stood up and said with a smile, "Sister-in-law is here."
Meng Yulan smiled and nodded, leading Little Tangyuan in, and together they bowed to Tang Zhuyun according to custom.
Guagua was very excited when he saw Little Tangyuan coming over, "Sister Yuan!"
Wuji: Sigh, my nemesis is here again.
Little Tangyuan is kind-hearted and a bit careless, but she's approachable, fair, and a good older sister to the children.
Wuji always relied on his cleverness to bully Wuxian and boss Wuji.
Little Tangyuan couldn't stand it, so without saying a word, she grabbed him by the collar and threw him aside to reflect on his actions, preventing him from speaking.
Under her innate superhuman strength, Wuji utterly powerless to resist.
Therefore, Wuji regarded her as his number one nemesis.
Wuxian remained expressionless.
Apart from Guagua, there was no one he was willing to talk to.
Wuji reached out and touched the sword at Little Tangyuan's waist.
That's right. Little Tangyuan practices martial arts and uses a sword. Emperor Wen also favors her and specially ordered a sword to be forged according to her figure, which was given to her on the Dragon Boat Festival this year, which is also Little Tangyuan's birthday.
Little Tangyuan practices swordsmanship every day, making her father, Tang Baixin, both proud and anxious.
I'm proud of my daughter's excellence, but I'm also anxious about whether she'll be able to get married if she continues down this path.
Which man would dare to marry her?!
What could he do when the emperor doted on him and kept showering him with gifts?
Little Tangyuan smiled and patted Wuji's head, "A pat is fine, but you can't draw your sword. Don't hurt yourself."
Wuji nodded repeatedly, his mouth practically watering as he looked at the jewel-encrusted sword.
Little Tangyuan joined her younger siblings in their play.
A palace maid brought over an embroidered stool, Meng Yulan sat down next to Tang Zhuyun.
"Sister-in-law, what brings you here?"
Upon closer inspection, Tang Zhuyun belatedly noticed that Meng Yulan had many bloodshot eyes and looked somewhat haggard.
It wasn't so obvious because she had applied a thick layer of foundation.
Upon seeing this, Tang Zhuyun's heart skipped a beat.
Meng Yulan had not been able to get pregnant again, and when she finally did, she miscarried twice.
What's worse, Tang Zhuyun examined the couple's pulses and found nothing wrong.
But they just don't have children.
Little Tangyuan is already eight years old. She has been with Tang Baixin for nine years, but they still haven't had a son.
The impact of this incident on Meng Yulan was unimaginable.
She was once mentally confused and depressed, and even had the idea of having a child through surrogacy.
--Taking a concubine is out of the question, but we'll remove the mother and keep the son, so that the Tang Family line can continue.
The Tang Family has been too good to her. If she were to cause the Tang Family line to end, wouldn't that be repaying kindness with enmity?
However, when she brought it up, both Tang Mingfan and Tang Baixin objected.
Tang Zhuyun also disagreed.
Tang Baixin leave and accompanied her to Chengde for a month to relax. She felt much better and gave up the idea.
But she felt increasingly grateful to the Tang Family.
Meng Yulan said, "Do you remember what I said before, about wanting to find someone to have a child for your older brother?"
Tang Zhuyun immediately became anxious upon hearing this. "Sister-in-law, what's wrong with you!"
Why are you making such a silly mistake again!
Xiu'er added, "Why don't you enjoy your good life instead of worrying about these trivial things? What if you bring a wolf into your house and your husband becomes someone else's? Where will you go to cry then? Letting someone else sleep with your man, abuse your daughter, and spend your money—isn't that a loss?"
She couldn't even think about it; just thinking about it made her blood pressure spike, and she felt like she wanted to fight someone!
Meng Yulan was deeply moved.
--They are all single-mindedly devoted to themselves.
"After Her Majesty reprimanded me, I scolded myself. I was just grasping at straws in my desperation, and I was confused for a moment. I will never do that again," she said slowly, her smile gradually turning cold.
But the tree may wish to be still, but the wind will not cease.
She has already decided that if she cannot have a child before the age of thirty-five, she will adopt one from a charity.
However, some people think differently.
Seeing that the emperor's brother-in-law was being given more and more important positions, some people began to get restless.
"What? Someone sent a woman to my brother?" Tang Zhuyun's fists clenched instantly.
Are these women just bored all day, staring at their husbands' lower bodies?
Seeing that she was angry, Meng Yulan quickly said, "This is nothing unusual, it's nothing serious."
Having enjoyed unique love comes with additional pressure, but these are nothing to Meng Yulan.
As long as she's not upset, no one can do anything to her.
"Exactly," Xiu'er said, "They have too many daughters and it's too much for them to handle. You can keep them at your mansion and go help with the cooking!"
Wasn't it supposed to be enslaved or treated like a servant?
Starting a fire is a good job!
Don't like doing it?
Go do the laundry!
Still don't like it?
The chamber pots and toilets in the mansion are now yours.
Don't ask Xiu'er how she knows; the answer is simple: practice makes perfect.
Sending a woman along, isn't she your daughter? Who do you think you are! You're not sincere; sending your daughter? Fine, she can be a servant girl for now.
Xiu'er used this trick to keep the Earl's mansion quiet Jingjing.
Meng Yulan lowered her eyes and said calmly, "None of that matters. What I didn't expect was that someone would actually send Jiang Shuyue to your older brother."
Tang Zhuyun blinked, searching her memory for a long time, but still couldn't remember who Jiang Shuyue was.
She looked at Xiu'er, who also shook her head blankly.
Meng Yulan said, "Jiang Shuyue, the eldest daughter of Jiang Beihan and Yingxue, is fourteen years old this year."
Tang Zhuyun: "..."
Even the most brilliant screenwriter couldn't come up with a plot like this!