31 Fireworks

◎ Still have the energy to set off fireworks◎

"Your Majesty, the Queen."

"Get up! Go investigate Aunt Fang's case and give me an answer as soon as possible."

Xue Ji asked, "Has the Majesty given any instructions? Who do you suspect?"

Bai Yi also wanted to get over this matter quickly to avoid a big fuss. "That old woman's story was half-truths. I already knew about it before the Crown Princess arrived for the marriage. It's impossible that I don't even know the details of my future daughter-in-law."

"Your Majesty is right." He nodded.

"This is a matter of some concern. You are to take full charge of it. Clear things up and make a decision as soon as possible."

Xue Ji remained silent. He naturally wanted to deal with Nanny Fang, but she was from Rong Country after all, so it was not appropriate for him to act secretly. It would be best if he could get rid of her through Bai Yi.

"Then what are your plans, Aunt Fang?"

Bai Yi naturally wanted to make an example of someone, but her status meant she couldn't speak up, and she felt extremely awkward. "Qianyu said she'd spare her life, so we can investigate her thoroughly and bring her back to Rong State. There's no point in starting a war over her."

Xue Ji nodded, "I understand."

To Nanny Yu Fang, this incident might be a sudden disaster, but it could also be considered a narrow victory for Rong Qianyu.

That day, Xue Ji tenderly recited "The Song of the Yue People" while leaning on her shoulder and came up with a plan for her.

Since the day of the false accusation, Fang Mama has been making good use of it. She plans to proceed step by step and deal with those who have mocked and slandered her one by one.

More than a month later, Rong Qianyu looked extremely pale, almost bloodless. She tiptoed to Fengyi Palace alone without any palace maids.

Bai Yi was quite surprised. Rong Qianyu seemed so well-behaved and filial in her presence, but it seemed as if she had done something wrong that day. She felt extremely embarrassed and had been fidgeting since entering the room, feeling caught in a dilemma.

Bai Yi saw that she seemed to have something to hide, and after several inquiries, she didn't reveal the truth. When asked, she just cried and didn't say anything.

"Your Majesty, please forgive me. Qianyu has hidden something from you."

Her brown eyes looked even brighter and more pitiful when she cried, and the tears rolled around in her eyes but never fell.

Bai Yi called the person over and asked for a long time, "What's wrong? What happened?"

Seeing someone asking, the grievances she had hidden for so long suddenly flooded her heart. She fell to her knees with a plop, tears streaming down her face like spring rain. "Qianyu did go to Tan Liangdi's place to visit Shu'er, but there was another hidden story!"

"Stand up and tell me what's going on."

Rong Qianyu was as cautious as a kitten, and said tentatively, "Qianyu has been drinking pregnancy medicine recently, but she's always feeling uncomfortable. This medicine was specially prepared by the Crown Prince, so there shouldn't be any problem. However, Nanny Fang is taking care of it day and night, and Qianyu is afraid that she might tamper with it and harm the dragon fetus."

"Have you taken his pulse?" Bai Yi asked.

"The imperial physician examined the medicine residue and found that it was indeed mixed with golden bamboo shoots, cuttlefish bones, and longan, all of which are herbs that can disrupt menstruation and replenish blood. Tan Liangdi is somewhat knowledgeable in medicine, and I know everything about her. She felt my pulse and said that I have indeed been taking too much tonic recently, and the accumulation of qi and blood is not smooth, which has caused me to feel weak and sleepy."

Bai Yi was shocked. He had never imagined such a person would appear around him. He also hadn't expected Rongguo to send a man in his sixties as a spy. "You suspect she drugged you. Why?"

Rong Qianyu's face was solemn. "Not only that, I think she wants to get information. She was sent by my stepmother."

She must have been planning to say this for many days. Nanny Fang treated her worse than the palace maids around her. When she was in Rongguo, it was she who helped He Wanrou deal with her. Now she was married into the Great Zhou as a dowry. If you doubt someone, don't employ him. If you employ someone, don't doubt him. It would be inconvenient to have her around. For the sake of the future, she must not keep her around.

"Then do as you say. I will cooperate with you. Don't drink the medicine from today onwards."

"Thank you, my lady."

Bai Yi told Xue Ji all of this. Although she had planned it for her, she still felt a sense of accomplishment when she heard these things spoken by someone else.

He smiled without saying anything, his mind filled with the shy cuddling of the two of them that day. "This really was the Crown Princess's plan. I didn't expect there would be such a move."

"This kid has changed a lot since last time."

Xue Ji said without warning, "Your Majesty knows that in the deep palace, if you don't change, you will only wait for death." Then he added, "Leave this matter to me, Your Majesty. Don't worry, I will handle it properly. I will take my leave."

The sun rises and the moon sets, and I can’t remember how many days have passed. Rong Qianyu has been pretending to be decadent for many days.

"Empress, Empress, wake up." Rong Pan called her, hoping that she could go out for a walk. For so many days, she had been doing nothing but eating and sleeping, without washing or tying her hair, and she even rarely spoke.

"Is there any noise outside?" She turned over and tucked the quilt again.

Rong Pan closed the door, tiptoed close to her ear and replied, "It's been six or seven days, and there's been no movement."

After saying this, Rong Qianyu threw back the quilt and sat up suddenly. "Why are all of them so calm? The quieter they are, the more suspicious it is. Where is Yujie?"

"She is young, she should..."

"Everyone needs to be more cautious. If you hesitate when you should make a decision, you will suffer the consequences. Nanny Fang couldn't have appeared out of nowhere. She must have been assisted by someone inside."

Rong Pan couldn't hold it in any longer, "We've been putting on a complete show. Our food and clothing supplies have been much less recently."

"Everyone in the palace is like this, they just change with the wind. I'm really tired of it. I have to pretend to be crazy and stupid every day. It's also tiring. I wonder when Xue Ji will be able to find out the truth."

Rong Qianyu's temperament has indeed become much calmer than it was half a year ago, and she knows how to deal with people better. Rong Pan can also feel it, but it is really too hard to grow up in such a difficult way, to be on guard against this and calculate that in order to survive.

"Master Xue went to the palace a few days ago. I don't know when the prince will return."

"It's just as well that he doesn't come back. It would make things more complicated if he got involved."

"Fireworks, Madam, there are fireworks over there."

"What fireworks?"

"The southwest location is over there!"

Suddenly, the night sky above my head exploded with colorful flowers, blooming in the black sky for a moment.

"What kind of day are you setting off fireworks on? I'm fine, why do I have to watch fireworks?"

"Was this placed by Lord Xue?" Rong Pan smiled happily, as if he had seen a life-saving straw.

"Silly girl, how would I know? Just take a look."

Under the embellishment of the night sky, the fireworks that bloomed instantly were exceptionally beautiful and brilliant. Rong Qianyu looked at the sky full of fireworks and felt a little comforted in her heart.

We haven't been in touch for so long, I don't know what he's been doing. He seems so serious, I didn't expect him to do such a thing.

A large firework exploded above my head, and colorful sparks scattered sparsely in all directions, then disappeared. Then another firework bloomed in the air, and the fireworks crackled, it was so lively.

For some reason, Rong Qianyu felt unusually calm even though she was in deep trouble.

"Xue Ji, Xue Ji, you have to get to the bottom of this matter quickly. You even thought of setting off fireworks. It was just a ploy. I'm ashamed you could come up with that."

The glitz fades, the fireworks cool down, the flowers bloom in the morning wither in an instant, and the surroundings return to loneliness and darkness again.

"Please, sir."

"You all should leave. Let me talk to her alone."

After everything was settled, Xue Ji went to Zhaoyu to visit Nanny Fang. She was lying alone on a straw mat in the dark, with her hair loose and some wounds on her body. Without the embellishment of pearl hairpins and jewelry, she looked even older.

"Are you all right, old man? You've been beaten with thirty sticks, and this prison is so cold and gloomy. It must be hard to bear."

Her eyes were used to the darkness, and suddenly the lights shone into them, making them glare. She tried to cover them with her hands, but then she realized her hands were already in chains. "Who sent you, the Queen, or Rong Qianyu?"

Xue Ji stood straight in silk clothes. A few beams of light passed through the narrow window of Zhaoyu and shone into the cell. Nanny Fang was in the dark, while he was in the light. At this moment, he seemed to be such a proud and self-respecting person, but what was the difference between him and this treacherous old woman?

"Of course it's the Queen. Isn't the Crown Princess under house arrest?"

Nanny Fang took a few steps forward with difficulty. "Two months ago, she came to your place and stayed for a long time. Since then, all kinds of rare treasures have been coming to you!"

She sneered, as if she had discovered some huge secret.

Xue Ji was used to lying. "Stop lying. Don't try to quibble now. Where's the evidence?"

She opened her legs and stared at her with a shuddering look. After a moment, she burst into laughter. "I'm just ashamed of not having any evidence. You're so bold, you eunuch who can't even stand up to the public. Bah!!!"

"Are you seeking death?"

"Are you planning to kill me?"

"The Crown Princess said she would spare your life. Since you came to the Great Zhou with the marriage, why do you still have to listen to the Queen? If the Crown Princess is favored, won't you have a good life too?"

Xue Ji could only recount the story verbatim, but if it were her, she would have been torn apart by a thousand mad dogs. Rong Qianyu had always wanted to spare her life, so she had indulged her time and again, leading to the point where she now had to strike back.

"Everyone serves their own master. I was originally sent by the Empress to be by her side. This girl has been pretending to be stupid since she was a child. At that time, her will was finally broken, and I was about to catch her making a mistake, but you insisted on interfering. She just came back exactly as she was. Later, you two even fooled around together!"

Xue Ji neither admitted nor denied these things, his attitude was very ambiguous. He ordered the cell to be opened, allowing his own light to be immersed in darkness. "She is indeed good at playing dumb, so you have been deceived for so long."

"What's the meaning?"

"Look for yourself." Then he threw down a prescription.

"There are longan, cuttlefish bones, and golden bamboo shoots in the medicinal residue. How is this possible? That's the prince, the prince!"

It is exactly the prescription for Rong Qianyu's pregnancy medicine.

"What prince? Would a prince drug his wife? Didn't you see her drink it yourself?"

"Yes, I saw her drink it with my own eyes..." This prescription almost broke her last line of defense. She looked at the prescription in disbelief, "She added something, she added it herself!"

"How long has she been drinking?"

"It's been almost two months since the day the Queen returned."

"Yes, you taught her that. You taught her such a cruel method!"

This time, he went to so much trouble to prevent her from revealing her true intentions and thus avoid having to do it himself. After hearing this, Nanny Fang felt very unhappy. She didn't understand why the princess, who used to be so well-behaved and easy to manipulate, had become so unrecognizable recently.

Xue Ji only said half of it, but there was still another half. Although the prince had made her drink the medicine every day to humiliate her, he really had no intention of harming her. These medicines were all for Tan Liangdi to regulate her body. Because they were mixed with the prince's medicine, he couldn't find out whether they were true or not. He could only suffer in silence if he had any complaints.

"Do I have to go to such great lengths to deal with you?"

"She had already set up the plan, but how could she..."

"How would she know? Do you remember who went to rescue her?"

"Tan Liangdi, did she say that?"

"I can't imagine such a method of withholding power, this long and delicate, that I can't imagine," Xue Ji said proudly. This was why he couldn't publicize it, or else everyone in the capital would know that the Crown Princess had killed three birds with one stone, playing the role of a nanny. "You're pushing her too hard. She's smart and quick to see things. It would be easy for her to deal with you. Do you really think she's stupid and easy to bully?"

She couldn't calm down, feeling dizzy and her head spinning. "Did they plan this all along? They set up a trap, just waiting for me to fall into it, to catch me in the trap?"

"You're the one who's anxious about this. I've gone out of my way to get to know He Wanrou. What kind of slut is she, a lowly person who can't even stand up to the public? Or is she a servant who follows his master, willing to work for her because they share the same ideals?"

"How can you say anything about the Queen!?"

"You poisoned the late queen, leaving two dead, and then succeeded yourself. You think everyone else is deaf and blind, and doesn't care about worldly affairs. How dare she speak to me? You should just go on your way and stop asking nonsense. Killing you will dirty my knife."