Chapter 347 The Storm is Coming
Qian Qiyue is a happy person, and there is always laughter wherever she is.
Qian Qingran looked at his sister who was making a fuss with Xue Ru and a few other little girls, then turned to Tang Ning and said, "Father has already gone to see the old Princess Lu about what happened on Qixi night. Life has been tough at the Princess's residence these past few days."
Fu Laiqing gloated over this and said, "I heard that Prince Consort Sun was caught by the royal family and was loaning money at high interest. Princess Leyang almost emptied out half of the Princess's Mansion to suppress this matter. She even had a huge fight with Prince Consort Sun over this."
Tang Ning just curled his lips when he heard this. It was true that Prince Consort Sun had lent money at high interest, and the evidence was handed to Prince Lu's Mansion by Qian Baokun. However, he was not the only one who lent the money at high interest. Princess Leyang also had a share, otherwise she would never be willing to empty the savings of the Princess's Mansion to help Prince Consort Sun settle the matter.
She quarreled with Prince Consort Sun because he had bought out a court prostitute and she was said to be pregnant.
Princess Lu somehow got to know about this and reported it to Princess Leyang. Princess Leyang was furious and went to find the courtesan and killed her with a single sword. Not only did she lose the eight-month-old baby in her belly.
One corpse, two lives.
It is said that Prince Consort Sun was also slapped twice, and blood was seen at the time. It would be more accurate to say that it was a unilateral outburst by Princess Leyang rather than a quarrel between the two.
This matter was kept secret at the Princess's Mansion. Even though outsiders knew that Princess Leyang had been violent towards her husband, they only thought that she was angry that he had lent money at high interest. Tang Ning only learned about it from the secret guards who had sneaked into the Princess's Mansion.
It is said that after the death of the official prostitute, Prince Consort Sun admitted his mistake and apologized, and tried his best to please Princess Leyang before she calmed her anger. But who knows whether Prince Consort Sun had any resentment in his heart because the person he loved died.
Tang Ning didn't mention this matter, but just said: "They dared to harm Sister Yue, so losing some money is a bargain."
Qian Qingran lowered his head and said, "When I came to the temple just now, I saw the carriage from the Princess's Mansion also arrived."
He looked at the petite girl beside him, his eyes fixed on her face. "That Princess Leyang is not someone to be trifled with. Her family just lost most of their wealth. Since she covets the Rongsheng Academy in your hands, I'm afraid she won't let it go if the matter isn't accomplished on Qixi night."
Tang Ning said calmly, "I know, but I can't hide in Cumulus Alley all my life just because of her."
"She's already been taught a lesson by the Qixi incident. With Princess Lu's actions, she should understand that her actions have been exposed, and she will probably restrain herself."
Qian Qingran frowned upon hearing this, thinking that Tang Ning was too naive. Few people in the royal family knew their limits. They were born noble and never understood the sufferings of the world. Moreover, Princess Leyang was overbearing. She dared to plot to make Tang Ning and Qian Qiyue fall into the water just for the sake of the academy, regardless of whether it would implicate the lives of other people by the lake that night.
How could such a person who disregards the lives of others ever be restrained?
Qian Qingran wanted to persuade Tang Ning, but when he met her clear and pure eyes, he couldn't say anything more. The little girl had a simple mind and naturally didn't understand those dark things, let alone the cunningness of human nature.
Never mind, he just needs to be more careful.
After chatting for a while, they went back to their residences to rest late at night. Tang Ning slept in the same bed with Xue Ru, and only got up and walked to the window after seeing that she fell asleep.
"Girl, the identities of the people in the temple have been discovered."
"Has Song Jinxiu arrived?"
"No, but people from the Cui family and the Second Prince's Mansion have come."
Canglang stood outside and lowered his voice, "The one coming from the Cui family is a relative of theirs, surnamed Pei, who works for the Ministry of Works. A senior official from the Second Prince's residence has come, reportedly accompanying the Second Prince's wife's younger sister to pray for blessings, and he's accompanied by over ten guards."
Tang Ning showed sarcasm when he heard this, so Song Jinxiu has never been stupid, and he is not as innocent as he appears.
While he told her that he regretted his decision and wanted to protect her with all his heart, he also used the Fourth Prince's plot against her to please the Second Prince and pave the way for himself.
He gave Song Shulan to Luo Qilang of the Yongshun Earl's Mansion, and used the Luo family to step on the Fourth Prince's path to come before the Emperor, and then turned around and joined the Second Prince and the Cui family.
Was Song Jinxiu so sure that the Second Prince's men would rescue her, instead of taking the opportunity to confirm the Fourth Prince's plan and sacrifice her, a useless little girl, in order to win over the powerful official Xiao Yan and put the Fourth Prince to death?
Tang Ning sneered: "Where is the Princess's Mansion?"
"Princess Leyang found a male prostitute and secretly brought him into the temple. The Fourth Prince's Mansion has people monitoring the princess's youngest son, Sun Yi."
Tang Ning understood the plans of both sides after a careful thought. Princess Leyang was reluctant to let her son lose his reputation in public, so she didn't dare to let Sun Yi jump into the water like she did on the night of Qixi Festival. She planned to find a male prostitute to ruin her innocence and then make other plans. On the other hand, the Fourth Prince's Mansion wanted to prove that the Princess' Mansion was plotting against her, and then let Sun Yi replace that male prostitute and become her lover.
These people are truly more vicious than each other.
Tang Ning touched the sachet hanging on his waist and said, "Have someone keep an eye on them. Don't worry about anything else. Let them do their thing."
The more exciting tomorrow's events are, the better!
…
After a good night's sleep, Tang Ning and the others woke up early the next morning to find that there were more and more people in the temple.
The few remaining rooms at the back of the temple were all occupied, and occasionally one could hear the sounds of people talking and walking outside the half-moon archway.
When Yuejian and Huawu came back with the vegetarian food, they said that even the temple's dining hall was crowded with people getting and eating, and the head monk in the temple was busy with the evening ceremony, so there were almost no idle people to be seen.
After Tang Ning and his friends had lunch, they went to the main hall. The morning service in the temple had just ended, and the morning lecture would begin in half an hour. Many familiar people had already gathered in the hall.
As Tang Ning and the other two entered, they saw Qian Qiyue waving at them.
"Tang Ning, this way."
Many people in the hall looked towards the door. Tang Ning and the others went in together. Rong Yue greeted and talked to the people she knew, while Tang Ning led Xue Ru to Qian Qiyue's side.
"Sister Yue, why are you here so early?"
"I didn't expect it to be so early. It was my mother who dug me out of bed." Qian Qiyue pouted and leaned against Tang Ning's shoulder, yawning sleepily. "My mother insisted that I come to the morning class, saying that it would show my sincerity. I'm almost dying of sleep."
The sound of the big monk beating the wooden fish was like a hypnotic sound. She almost fell asleep several times, and was woken up by her mother every time.
Xue Ru whispered, "Sister Qian, haven't you eaten yet?"
Qian Qiyue said, "I got up too early and can't eat."
Tang Ning patted her with some pity: "Then you can lean on me and sleep for a while. Anyway, the lecture hasn't started yet."
Qian Qiyue rubbed her shoulder and yawned again, tears streaming down her eyes.
"I do want to sleep, but I don't know if I've overslept. I can't fall asleep right now. You don't know how cruel my mother is. She slapped my arm so hard it's almost swollen. I suspect it's blue..."
Tang Ning and Xue Ru stood on Qian Qiyue's left and right, talking to her in a low voice, and more and more people came into the main hall.
Tang Ning looked up at the faces around her, some familiar and some unfamiliar, and heard Qian Qiyue whispering to her about the identities of those people. Suddenly, she felt a sharp gaze falling on her.
She turned around and saw that Princess Leyang had come in at some point, accompanied by the Fourth Prince's wife and several others.
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