Chapter 135

Chapter 135

"I know what kind of person I am, I wouldn't dare say such things."

"Shufei Li has always kept to herself and rarely spoke, and Wan Shi is even less likely than me... Shiqie An couldn't have said such a thing either."

Then it had to be Fang Yuaner.

Xie Run listened, feeling a pang of discomfort.

Fang Yuaner's soul was that of a modern person; normally, she wouldn't have said something like that.

Unless... she'd already been worn down by her surroundings.

Xie Run couldn't help but chuckle at herself.

She wasn't much better than Fang Yuaner.

She jabbed the needle around aimlessly.

Shiqie Lu couldn't stand watching Xie Run's embroidery and quietly gave her a pointer.

"That stitch is wrong. If you keep going, the hat will be lopsided!"

Xie Run looked sheepish. "Sister Lu's needlework is pretty good?"

Shiqie Lu said frankly, "Back when I was with Shiqie An, I never had enough clothes or food. I had to do everything myself, so I picked up the skill naturally."

Xie Run said, "Perfect. Then Sister Lu should come by Spring Mountain Courtyard often from now on and give me a few pointers."

Shiqie Lu's eyes lit up. "I'd love that."

Xie Run was favored, and now she had a son to boot.

If Shiqie Lu visited a few more times, her own life would get much easier.

It wasn't that Shiqie Lu hadn't wanted to visit before, but the business between her and Shiqie An needed time to blow over.

Otherwise, her visits would just stir up gossip about Xie Run.

She'd always been tactful and wouldn't do anything to annoy Xie Run.

It just so happened that Shiqie An had recently failed to properly raise her twin children, and the spotlight shifted, so Shiqie Lu finally dared to come out and mingle.

Shiqie Lu asked curiously, "I wonder what the new Shiqie Fang and Shiqie Lian are like in temperament?"

Xie Run said with amusement, "Shiqie Lian is one thing, but Shiqie Fang is a veteran of the manor. Why would you say that?"

Shiqie Lu smiled faintly. "I knew the old Fangse, but I don't know the new Shiqie Fang."

Everyone had originally thought Shufei Yun elevated Fangse to solidify her own standing.

But just a few days after Fangse became Shiqie Fang, Shufei Yun suddenly died of illness.

That made the reason for Fangse's rise look highly suspicious.

Mind you, Shufei Yun had originally intended to elevate a maid named Fang Cao, but in the end, it was Fangse who ended up serving Prince Jing.

People outside said Prince Jing chose Fangse himself.

But the women of the household didn't see it that way.

They instead figured Fangse had pulled some trick to seduce Prince Jing.

Taking it further, they couldn't help but wonder if Fangse had betrayed Shufei Yun.

Otherwise, how could it be such a coincidence?

Some rumors, the more they spread, the more they seemed like fact.

Now everyone in the courtyard was saying Fangse was a second Shiqie Lu, climbing up by betraying her mistress.

They even said Fangse was crueler than Shiqie Lu, stepping on Shufei Yun's life to climb up.

Yet Fangse herself didn't deny it, as if she'd accepted it.

So of course gossip was flying all over the place now, right?

Xie Run could guess the real story behind Shufei Yun's death, but she wasn't quite sure what was going on with Fangse.

Could Fangse really have sold out Shufei Yun to become Prince Jing's concubine?

After mulling it over, Xie Run figured she might as well just ask Prince Jing directly.

She sighed. "With one Shufei gone from the manor, the ones below have a chance to move up. I'm afraid things are going to get lively again."

Shiqie Lu had severe uterine cold and had stirred up so much ugliness that she'd already earned Prince Jing's disgust.

She was dead set on living out her days as a mere concubine.

Hearing this, she adopted a leisurely, spectator-like air.

"Indeed. I just hope we don't get another Shiqie Han. The manor can't withstand such turmoil again."

As they chatted and laughed, it was already time for the midday meal.

No sooner had Shiqie Lu left than Prince Jing arrived.

He looked at the child first, as usual.

Babies grew quickly; in no time, the little one had become plump and fair, smiling at everyone and revealing the dimples on his cheeks.

Not just Prince Jing—few who saw Taotao could help but adore him.

Though he was born a month later than the Third Young Master and the Fourth Young Master, with good food and care, he was now even plumper than both.

Prince Jing was delighted just looking at Taotao.

He happily played with him for a good while before going to see Xie Run.

After some pleasantries, Prince Jing said, "I will be leaving the capital soon."

Xie Run was slightly taken aback, seeming a little surprised. "So soon?"

She glanced outside. "Taotao hasn't even reached his first month yet."

Her tone was full of reluctance.

"I'm afraid there's no time to wait." Prince Jing patted Xie Run's hand. "I've chosen a courtesy name for Taotao. Come take a look."

As he spoke, he unfolded a note.

Xie Run glanced down and said, "Cong? That's a great name!"

"Xiao Cong? Your Highness truly has a knack for naming!" Xie Run blurted out in praise.

The Third and Fourth Young Masters had also been given names at their one-month celebrations.

The Third Young Master was named Qiong, and the Fourth Young Master was named Rui.

Xie Run figured her son's name, Cong, wasn't out of place.

Prince Jing tucked the note into Xie Run's hand and said, "While I'm away from the estate, just take good care of Taotao."

"No matter what happens, don't panic—just wait for me to come back and handle it."

Xie Run nodded and said softly, "With the Princess Consort in charge, I'm not worried about anything. I'll just stay home and wait for Your Highness to return."

As she spoke, Xie Run looked calm and composed.

Prince Jing was very pleased.

After leaving Chunshan Court, Prince Jing headed to Qingsong Court.

He gave the Princess Consort a separate set of instructions.

Naturally, what he told her was different from what he'd said to Xie Run.

After getting everything in order, Prince Jing went to the palace early the next morning to see the Emperor.

Whatever Prince Jing said to the Emperor, the Emperor immediately issued an edict ordering him to go to Yunzhou for disaster relief.

Chunjuan came back from gathering intel and hurriedly told Xie Run, "I'd just finished getting the news when the main gate was closed!"

The main gate of the residence had always been opened and closed only on Prince Jing's or the Princess Consort's orders.

Xie Run had been playing with Taotao when she heard this and asked, "Did something big happen?"

Chunjuan quickly passed on what she'd found out.

"The Emperor issued an edict ordering His Highness to leave right away for Yunzhou to handle disaster relief."

"Now everyone in and out of the palace is saying that His Highness, after falling out with Prince Su, didn't want to stay in the capital anymore and specifically asked for the edict to leave."

During the falling-out with Prince Su, Prince Su's residence had frequently sent invitations, clearly trying to offer a way to patch things up.

If Prince Jing had taken that out, the two sides could have reconciled.

But Prince Jing wouldn't budge.

Prince Su, for his part, was willing to come over and put on a big show of apologizing to win himself some good PR.

But he was afraid Prince Jing's stubbornness might make him reject the gesture.

If that happened, Prince Su would really lose face.

So one refused to back down, and the other wouldn't swallow his pride—the two brothers stayed stuck in a stalemate.

Chunjuan added, "There's also talk that His Highness pissed off the Emperor and got banished to Yunzhou."

"Disaster relief usually takes a lot of preparation, but the Emperor ordered an immediate departure without giving any money or supplies—sending His Highness off empty-handed?"

At the thought of this, Chunjuan's face fell with worry.

"Luckily, the Princess Consort had already prepared the supplies His Highness would need for the trip. Now that he's got them, he didn't even come back to the residence—he went straight to Yunzhou."

Xie Run thought to herself that this edict was probably requested by Prince Jing himself.

In a few more days, the Eighth Prince would run into trouble.

When that dragged in Prince Su and the Empress, when else would Prince Jing run if not now?

It was just that the timing was too perfect.

Xie Run was now sure that either Fang Yuaner or Wan Linlang—or maybe both—had used the "prophecy" persona.

Finding out the truth was simple.

All she had to do was wait for Prince Jing to come back victorious and see who came out ahead in the inner court.