Chapter 183: The King of Fraud
The light and shadows on Yueli Terrace were dim, and the lights in the house were bright. Xiao Yan and Tang Ning sat side by side beside the railing.
The lake was rippling under the pavilion. After Jinyun and Canglang entered the house at the same time, Canglang couldn't help but glance at the little girl in the house. He saw her leaning against the table in a rather casual manner.
Seeing them come in, she hurriedly wanted to get up, but her supervisor reached out and grabbed the corner of the table first, and only let go after the girl moved away.
Canglang placed the food on the table, lowered his head and reflected silently.
He really went blind a few days ago.
He actually wanted to match the girl with the boy from the Fu family...
It must be the coffin of his deceased parents that protected him from being beaten to death by the governor.
Tang Ning didn't notice Cang Lang's complicated feelings. He stood up and asked anxiously, "Commander Jin, how is things going at Prince Cheng's Mansion? Is my aunt okay?"
"Don't worry, young lady. The princess is fine."
Tang Ning heaved a sigh of relief when he heard that, and then he heard Jin Yun continue, "It's just that the old concubine in Prince Cheng's mansion is not feeling well."
"Is she really sick?" Tang Ning was surprised.
Jinyun nodded. "She is indeed ill, and very ill. She hasn't been feeling well since the princess came to Jiyun Lane, and today she suddenly coughed up blood. Doctor Sun, who was previously in the palace to look after her, is now unable to help. He said that without Madam Qin's acupuncture, the old concubine in Prince Cheng's mansion might not survive the night."
He paused here:
"Ayane said that Madam Qin is in the palace taking care of the Grand Empress Dowager and can't get away. The Crown Prince of Prince Cheng is quite dissatisfied. He also said that the old concubine is seriously ill and wants to take Madam Qin out of the palace for acupuncture before sending her back to the palace..."
Xiao Yan's originally cold expression was suddenly filled with frost.
"What the hell is he?"
He didn't know whether he was talking about Xie Yin or the Queen Mother of Prince Cheng's Mansion.
Jinyun's eyes also flashed coldly for a moment: "Princess Cheng also taught me the same lesson."
Tang Ning actually didn't have a very deep impression of the old concubine in Prince Cheng's Mansion. The concubine disliked neither her aunt nor her.
Although she had been in and out of Prince Cheng's Mansion many times before and occasionally stayed overnight there, she had very little time to spend with the old concubine. On the few times they met, she always had a stern face and was very difficult to get along with. She was too lazy to even show the most basic warmth on the surface.
The old concubine was seriously ill, but it didn’t concern her much. Tang Ning was only worried about Princess Cheng.
"What about my aunt? She's not feeling well. Wouldn't the palace ask her to take care of her?"
"That's not the case. After the princess returned, except for that confused Prince Xie, all the masters and servants in Prince Cheng's mansion were extremely enthusiastic about her. Prince Cheng felt sorry for the princess because she was pregnant, so he didn't let her take care of her. Instead, he personally took care of the old concubine."
Xiao Yan immediately grasped the key point: "How did Prince Cheng know that the princess was pregnant?"
Tang Ning also looked up. Her aunt had clearly said that she would not tell Prince Cheng about this matter after she returned.
Jinyun said, "It was Nanny Jiang who said that. After Nanny Jiang accompanied the princess back to the palace, she has been persuading the princess to reconcile with Prince Cheng. She has never met Prince Cheng in private, but she did meet a kitchen servant in the backyard of the palace. That person then went to see Prince Cheng under the pretext of delivering medicine to the princess dowager."
The news that Ayane sent back was only a few sentences, but even just a few sentences were enough to prove that Nanny Jiang was not clean.
Tang Ning's face changed after hearing this: "I'm going to pick up my aunt!"
She hurriedly tried to walk out, but Xiao Yan grabbed her wrist.
"Brother..." Tang Ning turned around anxiously.
Xiao Yan didn't let her go. "Have you forgotten what I told you? No matter what happens, never act rashly without a plan. Even in the most dangerous times, there is always a chance of survival."
"Sometimes being too impulsive is the beginning of failure. Don't let panic get you in the wrong place. Only when you calm down can you handle any situation with composure."
"But Auntie..."
"As long as Ayane is here, the princess won't be harmed."
Xiao Yan saw that Song Tangning's face had turned pale. He could feel her fear as he held her wrist, but he still did not let go. He just looked up at the little girl and stretched out his hand to pull her back to his side.
He sat silently on the couch, like a piece of jade from a mountain, calm and unobtrusive, but he held the little girl's hand without moving, just waiting for her to calm down.
Tang Ning stood for a moment before the impulse subsided.
When Xiao Yan noticed that her breathing had stabilized, he slowed down his voice and continued.
"Madam Jiang, there's something wrong. You've noticed this all along. Since you've already asked Lingyin and the others to protect the princess, and Gu Helian has also brought people to stay near Prince Cheng's mansion, what are you still worried about?"
"I……"
"Have you ever thought about what would happen if you went to Prince Cheng's Mansion just now?"
Tang Ning pursed her lips tightly. If she went, her aunt's trip would be in vain, and there would be no evidence from Nanny Jiang, and it would also alert the enemy.
Seeing that she seemed to have figured it out, Xiao Yan took the little girl to sit beside him and patiently guided her.
"Do you remember who delivered the message that Princess Cheng sent to Zuozhou? If Nanny Jiang really betrayed the princess, Prince Cheng would have known about her contact with Gu Helian, and he wouldn't have let him find out about the Song family's dirty deeds."
"Also, when you were staying at Prince Cheng's mansion, and even later when you arrived at Jiyun Lane, Nanny Jiang stayed by Princess Cheng's side almost every day. She even accompanied you when you went to Jingzhao Prefecture to look for Song Shulan's identity documents. If she truly had ulterior motives, your earlier schemes with Princess Cheng would have been completely exposed. How could you have caught the Song family and Prince Cheng off guard?"
Tang Ning was stunned when he heard this: "But the news from the palace..."
Is it fake?
Xiao Yan seemed to see through her confusion and said calmly, "There's definitely nothing wrong with the news. The problem lies with Nanny Jiang. She's certainly not so clean, but she might not have lost her master-servant relationship with the princess. I heard she was the princess's wet nurse and took care of her for decades."
Tang Ning nodded. "Grandmother passed away early, and Grandfather was busy with court affairs. For a long time, my mother and aunt stayed with Nanny Jiang. Later, when my mother got married, Nanny Jiang stayed to take care of my aunt. She didn't go with her to the Prince Cheng's Mansion until my aunt got married."
She heard from her aunt about Nanny Jiang, who was originally someone close to Old Madam Rong. After Old Madam Rong died of illness a few years after giving birth to Princess Cheng, it had been Nanny Jiang who had been taking care of her aunt and her mother.
Nanny Jiang had never been married and had no children. She took care of my aunt as if she were her own child. My aunt also treated her like a half-mother and always called her Grandma.
"She is the person closest to my aunt. I really don't understand why she would betray her."
"Sometimes betrayal may not be intentional." Xiao Yan said.
Tang Ning tilted his head, feeling confused for a moment.
Xiao Yan released her hand and said slowly, "The reason why human nature is so complex is that good and evil are just a thought away. Some people don't necessarily have evil intentions when they do evil things. It's just that once something starts, even if you know it's wrong, you have no choice but to keep going."
Tang Ning seemed to be lost in thought.
Xiao Yan said, "And since we know there's something fishy about Nanny Jiang, and Prince Cheng's mansion is indeed not clean, then it won't be difficult to trick Prince Cheng into revealing his true identity."
Tang Ning quickly sat up straight: "Really?"
"real."
The little girl's eyes widened when she heard that. She sat on the jade and sandalwood couch, her hands on her knees, her back straight, and said, "Brother, teach me."
Xiao Yan chuckled at her well-behaved appearance. He picked up the long chopsticks with gold threads and placed some food on the bowl in front of her. "Let's eat first."
"Brother!"
Tang Ning was anxious, how could she have the mind to eat!
Xiao Yan ignored her annoyance and simply leaned back, his long sleeves falling to his sides as he lazily tapped the edge of his bowl. "Eat."
He's already very skinny, how much flesh is left if he gets even hungrier? It hurts to hold him.
Seeing the little girl's dissatisfaction, he coaxed her gently: "Eat quickly, and I'll teach you after you finish eating."
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