Chapter 232

Chapter 232

Back at Spring Mountain Courtyard, Taotao was still sleeping, drooling profusely—a sight too embarrassing to look at.

Xie Run mulled it over, then had someone grind ink and picked up a brush to paint.

Dan Tao asked curiously, "Why is the mistress in such a good mood so early in the morning?"

Xie Run sneered, "I'm going to paint his goofy sleeping face, so later I can show this kid how he tortured his own mother back then!"

Xie Run decided to personally keep a record of Xiao Cong's embarrassing moments.

If her son ever dared to be a bad son, she'd pull out this pile of embarrassing memories and list them one by one!

Dan Tao laughed, "The mistress is a grown woman, yet she still bickers with the little master."

Xie Run was quiet for a long moment before saying, "I'll bicker if I want to!"

She was only halfway through the painting when someone came to report, "Mistress, Concubine Wan asks to see you."

Xie Run's hand stayed steady on the brush, only pausing for a moment as she looked up and asked, "Who did you say wants to see me?"

"Concubine Wan."

Xie Run chuckled lightly, "The prince isn't in my courtyard this time. What does she want coming to see me?"

"Concubine Wan said she has something she wants to talk to you about, mistress."

Xie Run remembered that the nanny Prince Jing had brought back had already taken the Sixth Young Master to the front courtyard to raise him, and she knew exactly why Wan Linlang had come to her courtyard.

Wan Linlang was cunning and extremely patient. Xie Run couldn't guarantee she wouldn't be swayed by her and do something stupid.

So it was better to refuse from the start and give Wan Linlang no chance to get close to her.

She waved her hand and said, "Tell her I'm feeling a bit under the weather and won't see her."

Xie Run added one more instruction, "Even if she has a message she wants to leave, turn it down for me."

"Yes."

Dan Tao was holding up her sleeve to grind ink for Xie Run when the messenger girl left. She asked curiously, "Mistress, is Concubine Wan coming to ask you to put in a good word for her so she can raise the Sixth Young Master?"

Xie Run kept her eyes down on the brush in her hand, writing carefully, "You're underestimating her a little too much."

"She and I aren't related, so why would I put in a good word for her? She's not stupid—she wouldn't come knocking to beg for a favor."

"Then why would Concubine Wan come to see you..."

Xie Run smiled, "When you ask someone for a favor, you've got to offer something that makes them want to help."

"She's probably realized her situation is tough now, and wants to work with me, or maybe latch onto me..." Xie Run smiled again, "Of course, no matter how she spins it, it's all ultimately to get me to help raise the Sixth Young Master."

"Work with you?" Dan Tao found it a bit ridiculous, "Concubine Wan is just a concubine who isn't even favored by the prince. Where does she get the nerve to think she can work with you?!"

Xie Run straightened up and looked seriously at Dan Tao, "You might not believe it, but she really does have that ability."

Dan Tao was stunned for a moment.

Xie Run held the brush and said seriously, "I know she has that ability, and it's exactly because I'm afraid I'll be persuaded by her and fall into her trap that I won't see her."

Xie Run was rational.

But no one in this world can guarantee they'll never be swayed by someone else's persuasion.

As long as the benefit is big enough, even the most rational person can be tempted.

Rather than agonizing and regretting later, Xie Run decided to rule out any chance of making a mistake from the start!

If Wan Linlang wanted to work with her, she'd inevitably offer something tempting.

Her medical skills were already a sharp weapon, and the other thing would likely be the news that the princess was pregnant and would have trouble delivering safely.

After all, only Wan Linlang and Fang Yuaner knew that information.

Right now, the princess has no son, and any of the other concubines' sons could eventually become the heir to Prince Jing's estate.

In the household, Fang Yuaner and Xie Run are both secondary consorts, each with a son.

But Xie Run is currently more favored, and her son is healthy, so her chances seem better—but they only seem that way. Who knows what changes the future might bring?

Once news of the princess's pregnancy spreads, those with sons and those without will all find it hard to rest easy.

At a time like that, if Wan Linlang told Xie Run that even though the princess was pregnant, the child would never be born, how could any normal person not be tempted?

And if Wan Linlang then came up with a plan to help Xie Run get rid of Fang Yuaner, wouldn't the heir position securely fall to Xie Run's son?

Xie Run already knew the script in advance, so this news didn't hold much appeal for her.

But Wan Linlang didn't know that she knew what was going to happen in the future!

After thinking it over, Xie Run chose to lie low and stay safe.

If she really got dragged into the storm of fighting for the heir position and made a big mistake, Prince Jing wouldn't show her a shred of pity!

And to take it a step further—if this is just about the heir now, if Prince Jing one day becomes emperor, wouldn't they be fighting over an even higher position?

If Wan Linlang said she could help Xie Run, would Xie Run be tempted or not?!

If she were tempted, that would be truly disastrous.

Dan Tao said softly, "Mistress, since Concubine Wan has this in mind, she probably won't give up easily. She'll likely come again in the next few days."

"Then I just won't see her! Let her make a scene for the whole household to know if she dares."

Xie Run was determined to lie low, firmly giving herself no chance to be tempted.

Meanwhile, Wan Linlang had hit a wall, yet she remained remarkably composed.

As she left, Sui Yu glanced back at Spring Mountain Courtyard, a hint of envy in her eyes.

"Even though the prince didn't let Secondary Consort Xie move into Orchid Fragrance Court, Spring Mountain Courtyard has been expanded to include the former Clear Bamboo Pavilion where Concubine Li used to live. Its size has probably already surpassed Song Elegance Court where Secondary Consort Fang lives."

"The prince really dotes on Secondary Consort Xie."

Wan Linlang's gaze was calm. Hearing this, she let out a soft laugh, like a ripple spreading across still water, gone in the blink of an eye.

"That's not wrong to say."

"The prince has favored many people, but she's the only one who went from concubine to secondary consort, staying equally unruffled by favor or disgrace the whole time..." Wan Linlang said, "I bet even Fang Yuaner regrets underestimating her by now, doesn't she?"

Wan Linlang, reborn, initially focused solely on Fang Yuaner, set on battling her old rival for another lifetime.

Yet, simply because she came back a step too late, everything had already changed.

At first, she didn't take Xie Run—a person who should've been dead but was somehow still alive—seriously at all.

After all, apart from Fang Yuaner, no one could block her path to the top position, not even the Princess.

But as the days passed, navigating the ups and downs of the Prince's household, Wan Linlang slowly dawned on the truth.

She shouldn't have been so fixated on Fang Yuaner!

While she and Fang Yuaner were caught up in a life-or-death fight, Xie Run had been quietly climbing her way up to the rank of Secondary Consort.

Turning around abruptly, she found that Xie Run had already become a formidable opponent.

"Last time, I deliberately chose to visit when the Prince was staying in her courtyard—first, to request that the Prince allow me to raise the Sixth Young Master, and second... to probe the true character of our Secondary Consort Xie."