"Your Majesty, Miss Jinse has left the palace today," the female official reported respectfully.
"She's left the palace? Then tell the people who serve her to come here when she returns," Tang Zhuyun said.
"Yes."
Seeing Tang Zhuyun's grave expression, Nanxing comforted her, "Your Majesty, you don't need to worry too much. After all, Lei Qun has already been arrested, and it will be difficult for them to find a suitable person to impersonate royalty in the short term, so..."
Xiu'er said, "If that's the case, let's kill Lei Qun quickly, lest things get complicated."
Tang Zhuyun: "..."
It seems to make sense.
Nanxing said, "That won't work. Lei Qun knows a lot about the White Lotus Sect and is willing to cooperate; he's still useful while he's alive."
"I find it a bit strange," Tang Zhuyun murmured, "His admiration for his grandmother doesn't seem fake, so why is he..."
How can one feel filial piety when being held hostage?
"It's not surprising. He was referring to his grandmother in the Lei Family," Nanxing said.
Tang Zhuyun suddenly realized.
It turns out she was wrong.
That makes sense.
Emotionally, Lei Qun feels closer to the Lei Family and wants to be a Lei Family more.
However, his identity destined him to be unable to control his own destiny.
This person is actually quite tragic.
"Was his concubine, who assassinated me, also controlled by the White Lotus Sect?" Tang Zhuyun asked.
"Mm." Nanxing nodded.
Tang Zhuyun sighed deeply and said nothing more.
When Emperor Wen returned in the evening, he asked Tang Zhuyun during dinner, "Did the Nanxing come today?"
Tang Zhuyun retorted, "Did you send Nanxing?"
"Um."
"Why did you Nanxing tell me instead of telling me yourself?" Tang Zhuyun said reproachfully as she served him a bowl of soup.
"I'm afraid I'll be too jealous and say something biased."
Tang Zhuyun: "... What nonsense are you talking about?"
Lei Qun's feelings for her were, at best, a friendship.
Emperor Wen snorted, channeling his grief and anger into his appetite, and unknowingly ate an extra bowl of rice.
Tang Zhuyun joked, "Not bad, you have the flair of those eight bowls of rice back in the day."
"Wait!" Emperor Wen said.
Tang Zhuyun stood up. "I'll go take a bath first, so they won't try to take my spot again."
Once I get going, I don't need to sleep.
Emperor Wen, shameless as ever, said, "I'll scrub your back."
If you love scrubbing backs so much, why don't you go to a public bathhouse?
You can even earn two copper coins!
Tang Zhuyun rolled her eyes in anger.
"You go first." She suddenly remembered something, "I knew I'd forgotten something!"
She left the Emperor Wen behind and went to the corridor to ask the female official, "Has Jinse returned?"
The female official said she didn't know and would have to ask.
Tang Zhuyun instructed her, "Go and see for yourself. If she comes back, tell her I invited her to come and talk tomorrow; if she doesn't come back, come and tell me immediately."
Although Jinse belongs to Ren Yingying, she is now by her side and feels responsible for her.
The female official accepted the order and left.
Emperor Wen asked Tang Zhuyun, "What happened to Jinse?"
Could there be a problem with that too?
Did he stir up a hornet's nest in Nanyue?
This is all Qu Nian's fault.
After fighting for so long, we still haven't managed to wipe out Nanyue completely, and now all this trouble is happening again.
Tang Zhuyun said, "No, I just wanted to ask her about Nanyue. She went out today and I don't know when she'll be back."
It's not that he stayed out all night.
Emperor Wen seemed to be deep in thought.
He put down his chopsticks and asked someone to come in and clean up.
After a while, the female official hurried back.
"Your Highness, Miss Jinse has not returned."
Tang Zhuyun's expression changed slightly as she looked at Emperor Wen.
Emperor Wen said in a deep voice, "Send Lu Zhenyan to lead men to search."
"Yes." The female official acknowledged the order and left.
That night, Emperor Wen's wishful thinking failed once again.
Tang Zhuyun worried about Jinse: "She's not reckless; she wouldn't just disappear without saying goodbye. It's my fault for being so careless; why didn't I think of it sooner and have someone ask her!"
If something happens to Jinse, how will she explain it to Ren Yingying?
Emperor Wen said, "Don't worry, Jinse has someone by her side."
"Your people?"
"Um."
Tang Zhuyun was skeptical.
She felt that Emperor Wen was probably just trying to comfort her.
"Ever since I learned that Nanyue was involved in this matter, I have not let my guard down regarding anyone or anything related to Nanyue."
"You also doubt Jinse?"
"If there's something wrong with her, then it's suspicion; if there's nothing wrong with her, then it's protection," Emperor Wen said.
Tang Zhuyun nodded.
The saying "better safe than sorry" is certainly true.
If there's anything wrong with this, it's that the throne itself is wrong.
Even a perfectly healthy person can become mentally ill.
Seeing that she couldn't sleep, Emperor Wen simply got up, had someone bring her a memorial, and handed her a vermilion brush. "Help me read this."
Tang Zhuyun: "..."
If I can't sleep, I can just lie down!
I don't want to work.
The main problem is that these ministers don't know how to speak properly; they just have to spout off their erudition, which makes her, with her short temper, very angry.
"I'll still help you read the greeting memorial," Tang Zhuyun, shirking her responsibilities.
Although these kinds of greetings are verbose, they don't require much thought; they're like casual conversation.
He asked Emperor Wen how his health was and how his appetite was, and the emperor replied, "I'm very well, I eat eight bowls of rice per meal!"
Tang Zhuyun found it amusing to imagine the expressions on the ministers' faces when they received the reply.
Bored with reviewing memorials, Tang Zhuyun chatted with Emperor Wen after a while. "What about Lei Qun?"
"Let's talk about it after the White Lotus Sect is completely eradicated."
After thinking for a moment, Tang Zhuyun said, "I think if Lei Qun is really forced into this situation, then..."
"So what?" Emperor Wen asked with a half-smile.
"Let him be a Lei Family. Hmm, isn't that a bit too soft-hearted?"
"Yes," Emperor Wen replied.
Tang Zhuyun: "..."
Even if it is, you don't have to be so direct.
She ultimately cannot be so callous as to disregard human life.
"... But it's very good," Emperor Wen said.
Tang Zhuyun: "..."
Do you breathe heavily when you speak?
"The Empress is kind-hearted, a blessing to the people," Emperor Wen said. "She is not the ringleader, and having grown up among the common people, she knows their hardships. She does not agree with Dowager Consort Jingyi's actions and does not wish to provoke war."
Lei Qun's kindness was also a way to save himself.
Lei Qun was less arrested and more likely surrendered on his own.
From this perspective, Emperor Wen never intended to take his life.
Ultimately, no one is willing to kill their own kin unless they are driven to the brink.
Tang Zhuyun breathed a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, they shared the same idea.
"But while he may escape the death penalty, he can't escape punishment... He should at least be given a good beating."
Tang Zhuyun:???
"Does he dare say he has absolutely no feelings for you?"
Tang Zhuyun rolled her eyes. "I'm already middle-aged, do you think everyone is like you?"
These words greatly pleased Emperor Wen, who couldn't help but laugh and pull Tang Zhuyun into his arms.
"I like women like you who are past your prime, no matter what you become, that's what I'll like."
Screw that damn memorial!
Emperor Wen reached out and brushed the memorials on the table aside, then pressed Tang Zhuyun down onto the table and leaned down to kiss her.