Chapter 155 was not an accident, but a deliberate act.
"His Majesty also said that Princess Zhaoning had not behaved like a princess, and punished her by striking her palms with a ruler twenty times, confining her to her quarters for seven days, and deducting half a year's monthly allowance."
The eunuch smiled and said to Li Nanke.
Li Nanke silently imagined Princess Zhaoning crying her eyes out after being slapped on the hand, and felt extremely pleased.
She managed to suppress her smile as she knelt down with her parents to express their gratitude to the emperor.
After the eunuch left, he instructed Zisu to lead people to move all the gifts to Li Nanke's courtyard.
"You take your people and count everything out one by one, and register it, especially the gold and silver jewelry and fabrics. These will be kept for Ke'er in the future."
Song Yi felt that these things were earned by her daughter at the cost of her life, and no one should touch them.
Song Yi was going to distribute porridge outside the city, and Li Mu accompanied her today.
The couple were terrified by what happened yesterday and refused to let Li Nanke go again.
Li Nanke's face fell.
"What happened yesterday was truly an accident. Princess Zhaoning will definitely not go today, and no one will clash with me."
Besides, Master Huang assigned me homework; how can I take notes if I don't?
Li Mu patted his chest.
"Leave it to your father. Tell me what you need to remember, and I promise I'll remember it all for you."
"Ke'er, you stay home and keep Grandma company, and take good care of yourself."
Seeing that he couldn't go against his parents' wishes, Li Nanke had no choice but to agree.
After her parents left, she saw Zisu busy taking inventory, so she asked Zilan to accompany her to Zhiguan Hall to have Huang Sheng take a class.
Huang Sheng looked at her hands, which were wrapped up like a rice dumpling, and patted her head.
"Your arm injury only healed a few days ago, and now your hand is injured again. Why do you always have so many misfortunes, little girl?"
"Oh dear, Master, you've messed up my hair."
Li Nanke muttered as he dodged Huang Sheng's hand, then raised his hand and waved it.
"The injury on my arm was caused by human intervention, while the injury on my hand was an accident."
"Accident?"
Huang Sheng raised an eyebrow. "Tell me about what happened yesterday."
Li Nanke recounted the events of yesterday in detail.
Huang Sheng touched his injured left eye and listened intently.
He interrupted her abruptly when she mentioned that a stray cat had suddenly pounced on Princess Zhaoning.
You mean a stray cat suddenly appeared?
Li Nanke nodded. "Is something wrong?"
Huang Sheng glared with his one eye.
"Of course not. Think about it, that's a refugee camp. These refugees escaped from the floods in the nearby county."
Their fields and grain crops were flooded, leaving them with no food. They relied solely on the government and officials' families to provide porridge, but they were certainly not getting enough to eat.
When people are hungry, they will eat anything—fish from the river, snakes from the forest, field mice—anything edible will be caught and eaten.
"If the field mice are all gone, how can there be wild cats?"
Li Nanke's heart skipped a beat.
"So Master thinks it wasn't an accident, but something done by someone?"
Huang Sheng nodded with absolute certainty.
"It was definitely man-made."
"If it was done by someone, who put the cat in there? Who did that person want to harm? The princess or me?"
Huang Sheng was also unable to answer her on this point.
Seeing her wrinkled little face, Huang Sheng raised his hand and rubbed her head.
"If we find out who this person is, we'll know who she's trying to harm."
Li Nanke's face fell.
“A whole day has passed. Even if there is any evidence on the riverbank, with so many people yesterday, it’s probably all trampled and there’s nothing left to find.”
"Then start paying attention to the people and things around you from now on, and be careful to guard against them."
Huang Sheng offered a suggestion, then continued, "Alright, that's enough for now. Let's get started with the lesson..."
After the morning classes, Huang Sheng, as usual, assigned her homework.
Li Nanke didn't return to his own courtyard; instead, he went directly to the main courtyard to have dinner with his grandmother, Madam He.
He has been resting in bed these days.
To avoid upsetting Madam He with the news of her falling into the Bian River yesterday, Li Mu and Song Yi ordered everyone to keep quiet and not tell Madam He.
So when Madam He asked Li Nanke how she got the wound on her hand, she smiled and stuck out her tongue, saying that she had accidentally fallen by the Bian River.
Mrs. He felt very sorry for her and told her not to get the dressing wet and to change it promptly.
Li Nanke agreed to each one.
“I understand, Grandmother. It’s still early, I’ll recite Buddhist scriptures for you.”
“Okay, Grandma’s eyesight is failing. If you are willing to read, Grandma’s eyes can rest.”
He was a Buddhist, but due to poor health, he could not prostrate himself before the Buddha for long periods of time, so he developed the habit of reading Buddhist scriptures every day.
A Buddhist scripture is often placed by the bedside.
Li Nanke had just read one page when Madam Sun entered.
"Ke'er's here too. Is your hand injury any better?"
Li Nanke smiled and said, "I'm much better. Thank you for your concern, Auntie. Why didn't you go to distribute porridge with Mother today?"
Mrs. Sun smiled.
"My second aunt wasn't feeling well today, so she didn't go. But she just had lunch and came to see your grandmother."
She sat down beside her and chatted casually with Mrs. He for a few minutes.
As if suddenly remembering something, she looked at Li Nanke.
Why haven't you been wearing the sachet that the Left Prime Minister's wife gave you yesterday?
Li Nanke's eyes darted around.
"Oh, that sachet? I think I accidentally dropped it by the river. Why did you suddenly remember that sachet, Auntie?"
"Did it fall?"
Madam Sun frowned slightly, then smiled and said, "Oh, I think that sachet is quite pretty, so I'd like to borrow it and embroider one for Youyou too."
"That's a pity. There are so many people by the river. I wonder who picked them up."
"It's alright, Auntie, let's embroider another pattern."
After exchanging a few more casual words, Mrs. Sun got up and left.
Li Nanke frowned as he watched her retreating figure.
My second aunt suddenly came to ask about the sachet. Something's strange, definitely strange!
She read two pages of scripture, but Madam He, unable to bear the exhaustion, fell asleep.
Li Nanke then returned to his own courtyard.
Zisu was leading the maids in counting the palace's rewards.
She then called Zilan over.
"Sister Zilan, didn't the palace give out some snacks? Why don't you take some and send them to Sister Chunlan in Second Aunt's courtyard to have a taste?"
Remember not to let Second Aunt see this, and talk to Chunlan more often to see if Second Aunt has shown any unusual behavior lately.
Zilan chuckled.
"I understand. As for gathering information, leave it to me."
Zilan was clever and lively, and had a quick tongue. She went to the second house and returned in less than an hour.
"I found out that two days before the porridge distribution, the second young mistress received a visiting card and went out."
It was her aunt who arranged to meet her at Wangxiang Tower, but the second young mistress didn't bring Chunlan that day, so she didn't know what the second young mistress and her aunt talked about.
Li Nanke's heart sank.
Second Aunt and Song Hui met privately.
It seems Master Huang was right; yesterday's events were not an accident, but rather deliberate!
The target wasn't Princess Zhaoning, but her!
at the same time.
Prince Xuan's residence.
Gui Liu looked at the sachet that Shen Cong handed over with a look of disgust.
"Why are you still using such a girlish sachet? It's so effeminate!"
Shen Cong glanced at him and tossed the sachet at him.
"Humans have eyes not just for recognizing herbs."
Gui Liu scoffed, took the sachet, turned it inside out, and sniffed it.
His expression immediately changed.
"This sachet..."
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