wish
As Madam Liu watched Jiang Yan walk further and further away, she opened her mouth as if to call her to stop, but Liu Ruyan spoke up at that moment.
"Mom, look at her! Her tail's practically wagging in the air!!"
"Yan'er, she is, after all, a concubine of Prince Duan. Your mother still needs her to find you a good marriage. You must not continue to speak rudely."
"Mother, do you blame your child? Because of this bastard child?"
"Yan'er, don't be anxious, calm down. Let me tell you something."
Madam Liu leaned close to Liu Ruyan's left ear.
"Master, why are you walking so fast? It's hot, look at you, you're covered in sweat." Huang Ying was also sweating profusely.
Jiang Yan casually wiped away his sweat with his right hand: "Of course, we can't let them get away with this."
"...Taking advantage? Who wants to take advantage of you, Master?"
"Alright, let's not talk about this for now. Where is the Prince?"
Huang Ying was even more puzzled: "The prince is in the main hall. He should be discussing matters with the master."
Jiang Yan suddenly stopped: "He's not a prince. He's Zhang Qin!"
"Guard Zhang? What about the Prince?"
Jiang Yan was speechless: "That's why I asked you where the prince is."
"...How could Zhang Qin be a prince? The prince should be in his bedroom!"
Go find him!
Huang Ying: "Master, can you tell the difference between the Prince and Guard Zhang?"
"You can't tell the difference?"
"...To be honest, Your Highness, I have never seen the Prince, and I have only seen Guard Zhang's back."
"So all those things you said before about the prince... were they false?"
“This servant would not dare to deceive my master. I learned those things from other servants. But they are absolutely true.”
"Whether it's true or false, the most important thing now is to confirm where the prince is."
Led by Huang Ying, Jiang Yan went to find the person they thought was Shangguan Zeyu.
"It's so quiet, it doesn't look like anyone's here! Are you sure you're not mistaken?" Jiang Yan hid behind a large pine tree in the yard, staring intently at the tightly closed door in front of her.
“My lord, there is absolutely no mistake. I even came to report to the prince yesterday.”
"Why is there no one serving them? Are they asleep?" Jiang Yan hesitated, but finally decided to sneak in and take a look.
Huang Ying was worried that Shangguan Zeyu would punish her, so she insisted on not letting her in, but how could she stop Jiang Yan?
Jiang Yan sneaked up to the door like a thief, and with a gentle push, the door opened.
Without the slightest hesitation, she went inside and thoughtfully closed the door behind her.
The room was dimly lit, but she could tell at a glance that Shangguan Zeyu was not sitting there, so she turned her gaze to the bed with the bed curtains.
It's so dark inside, he's definitely still asleep. What a lazy person!
Thinking to herself, Jiang Yan took small, quick steps and slowly approached the bed.
When she reached the bedside, she held her breath and listened carefully inside the bed curtains. It was quiet and there wasn't a sound. She guessed that Shangguan Zeyu must be sleeping soundly, so she didn't hesitate and prepared to lift the bed curtains.
At that critical moment, suddenly, someone placed his hand on her right shoulder, which startled her so much that she screamed and jumped up.
"What's wrong, Consort?"
Hearing that it was a fake Shangguan Zeyu's voice, Jiang Yan was annoyed and punched his chest four or five times before she calmed down a little.
"Are you crazy? You'll scare people to death!!"
"A mental illness? What kind of illness is that?" Shangguan Zeyu asked curiously, not at all like he was joking.
Jiang Yan ignored him, rolled her eyes, took a deep breath, and then prepared to pull back the bed curtains.
Shangguan Zeyu stepped ahead of her and lifted the bed curtains: "What do you want to see? Look."
The bed was empty, no one was there, and the blankets were neatly folded and placed to one side.
Is Shangguan Zeyu not here?
Where did he go?
"My concubine, what are you thinking about?"
Jiang Yan couldn't hold back any longer and said sharply, "Can you stop calling me 'concubine' all the time? I'm not your concubine, Guard Zhang!!! Aren't you afraid your prince will punish you for calling me that?"
She then pondered the whereabouts of the Shangguan Zeyu she believed to be the real one.
"Are you worried about me?" Shangguan Zeyu's voice was soft and gentle, so soft that it made one's bones feel weak.
Why would Shangguan Zeyu keep Zhang Qin by his side?
Is it because he's good at seducing people?
Damn it, does he think he's so powerful just because I don't show my strength?
"Guard Zhang!!! Zhang Qin, can't you have any self-awareness? Can't you stop being so stupid? I'm not worried about you, I'm worried about myself! I don't want to be called a promiscuous person, and I don't want to be drowned in a pig cage!!!" He ran out in a fit of anger.
Seeing her rush out, Huang Ying hurriedly ran up from behind the big pine tree: "Master, what happened?"
"Hmph! I've run into an idiot!!!"
Although Jiang Yan kept telling herself not to provoke Zhang Qin or make him angry, she still couldn't hold back when it came to specific matters.
She must have angered Zhang Qin this time. He'll probably hold a grudge and seek revenge.
Sigh, why couldn't she just be more patient?
She's never been one to argue.
Not long after Jiang Yan left, the real Zhang Qin quietly emerged from a corner of the courtyard. He looked around, and seeing nothing amiss, quickly went inside.
"Your Highness."
"How's the investigation going?"
"Your Highness, it is exactly as you know it."
"To explain in detail."
"Your Highness, everyone in the Liu household, from the nannies to the grooms, speaks highly of the Consort. They say she is a well-educated, gentle, and refined person. She never takes her anger out on the servants and rarely scolds them."
How is your relationship with your parents?
"The three nannies who have been in the Liu family the longest said that the relationship between the concubine and Madam Liu, as well as the second young lady of the Liu family, is rather strained, and the relationship with Master Liu is not close either."
"How so?"
"The current Madam of the Liu family was promoted from a concubine. The original Madam Liu was the mother of a secondary concubine. However, the other servants were unaware of this."
Shangguan Zeyu suddenly stopped sipping his tea, raising an eyebrow slightly: "Oh, so he's a man who favors his concubine over his wife! No wonder!!"
"Please give your orders, Your Highness."
Shangguan Zeyu sighed softly, and began to tap the table rhythmically with his right hand. After a moment, he said.
"Do it the same way as before."
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Also, how is Prince Su doing?"
"Your Highness, there has been no action taken in the past few days."
"Okay, send someone to keep a close eye on it, and report immediately if anything happens."
"Yes, Your Highness."
As evening fell, Jiang Yan woke up from a nap and was feeding the fish when Madam Liu came to see her again with her beloved daughter, Liu Ruyan.
"Mother, are you here to feed the fish?" Jiang Yan didn't pretend to see her until Madam Liu walked up to her.
"Ruyi, look at this koi fish. It's grown so much since you were here. It makes me so happy."
Jiang Yan couldn't guess whether she was alluding to something, and replied according to his own understanding.
"Yes, they're all fat and round, you can tell they just eat and sleep all the time."
The koi in that pond, whether white, black, red, or both yellow and red, were all very fat and had nothing to do with fish except for their appearance.
Liu Ruyan objected, "How can you talk like that? What do you mean by making veiled accusations?"
Jiang Yan was speechless. She glanced at her, huffing and puffing as if she were about to fight, and ignored her.
Madam Liu smoothed things over with a smile: "Ruyi, although I am not your biological mother, I have treated you well. Now that you have married into the Prince's mansion and are favored by Prince Duan... I was thinking, could you perhaps ask Prince Duan for a favor and find a good marriage for your younger sister, Ruyan?"
Well... First of all, I don't want to get involved, and more importantly, I don't have the ability to do it!
I am not favored by Prince Duan. I have only met him a few times. How could he possibly do me this favor?
Just as she was struggling to find the right answer, she looked up and inadvertently saw "Zhang Qin" walking towards her.
Hmph, Zhang Qin, you've arrived just in time. Weren't you pretending to be your prince? Fine, you can handle Shangguan Zeyu's affairs.
"Mother, it would be better if you personally inquired about this matter with the Prince." With that, she gestured to Madam Liu that Shangguan Zeyu had arrived.
Madam Liu looked somewhat fearful and nervous.
The pain subsided slightly when Shangguan Zeyu approached.
"Greetings, Your Highness."
"Madam Liu, there's no need for such formalities. We're all family."
"Thank you, Your Highness."
Jiang Yan watched Shangguan Zeyu with amusement.
Shangguan Zeyu's eyes held a hint of amusement, and Madam Liu pressed on, "Your Highness, this old servant has a favor to ask of you."
Jiang Yan couldn't help but laugh.
Shangguan Zeyu subconsciously looked at her. Seeing her smiling, the deep meaning in his eyes instantly reached its peak.
"Please speak, Madam Liu."
Madam Liu pulled Liu Ruyan, who was standing behind her and blushed with embarrassment as soon as she saw Shangguan Zeyu, to her face.
"Your Highness, this old servant dares not lie. My daughter is of marriageable age, and I beg Your Highness to help her find a good match. This old servant thanks Your Highness in advance." As she spoke, Madam Liu actually tried to kneel down to Shangguan Zeyu.
Jiang Yan was genuinely quite surprised.
It's truly heartbreaking that a mother, especially a wealthy matriarch, would abandon all dignity for the sake of her child!
Shangguan Zeyu stopped Madam Liu from kneeling before him, and glanced at Liu Ruyan: "I wonder if your daughter has someone she likes?"
Madam Liu: "No, it's entirely up to Your Highness."
Shangguan Zeyu looked at Jiang Yan.
Jiang Yan was still feeling guilty about the plight of parents, but he smiled slightly and said, "My dear consort, what do you think?"
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