The three of them, master and servant, supported each other and stumbled along, finally catching up with Helan Ruo, who had already climbed the mountain.
Tang Ning stared intently at the man in front of her who had sworn brotherhood with her, noticing that he hadn't turned around to look at her even once, and her eyes lowered slightly.
The perceptive Chun Tan immediately noticed Tang Ning's unusual behavior, and the sadness in her heart almost overwhelmed her. However, at this moment, saying too much would only make things worse.
The hand that supported Tang Ning's arm could only exert a little force, as if she wanted to give Tang Ning unlimited support and courage through this action.
If only... if only they hadn't come today...
Judging from the woman's somewhat strange appearance and behavior, coupled with the young master's anxious demeanor, Chun Tan knew that their visit today was a complete misstep.
If things really escalate, they'll be the ones in the wrong, and we might actually have no choice but to send this woman to the front lines.
But it's only been a little over a month since Miss Ming and the young master got married. Isn't that a bit too fast?
Just thinking that Tang Ning had only been married into the Duke's mansion for a month made Chun Tan feel sad and regretful.
If she had known this would happen, she should have tried everything to dissuade her from coming over as soon as the young lady had the idea.
It's too late to say anything now.
Tang Ning was unaware of Chun Tan's thoughts, and even if she had, she would probably have just smiled knowingly.
If she really wanted to come, Chun Tan couldn't stop her no matter how hard she tried.
Well, she came to this house partly to see this Miss Ji Muqing, but partly to ensure her own safety.
After all, if she simply stayed in the Duke's mansion, subject to Situ Yin's every move, and was then forced to enter the palace, it would always seem like something was missing. But now that she had met Ji Muqing, and Helan Ruo, who valued Ji Muqing so much, even if she left later, it would be with the intention of sacrificing herself for him…
Whether Helan Ruo needs her help or not is not something she needs to consider.
All she needed to know was that her decision to leave would deal a critical blow to Helan Ruo.
He Lanruo may not admit it, but he may still be brainwashing himself about her importance to him. In reality, he clearly regards Tang Ning and Ji Muqing as his white moonlight and cinnabar mole in his heart. He is indecisive and hesitant.
Since he won't choose, Tang Ning will choose for him. She doesn't have the time to play pretend games with him.
Thinking of this, Tang Ning saw that He Lanruo's figure had already reached the halfway point of the mountain. After taking a deep breath, she quickened her pace.
In the end, they arrived at the mountaintop one after the other.
"Ah, madam, look!"
Having just reached the summit and caught her breath, Tang Ning immediately heard Chun Mian beside her point to the right front and exclaim in disbelief.
Following the direction of her raised finger, Tang Ning immediately saw Ji Muqing sitting on a tree branch on the mountaintop, swinging her legs with an innocent expression.
Heaven knows, that tree was planted on the edge of a cliff, and right now, Ji Muqing was standing on a cliff hundreds of meters high.
But she still looked completely oblivious.
Tang Ning had to admit that this woman was very hardworking.
Compared to her, Qin Qianqian is simply pathetic.
Of course, it would have been even better if the veins on the back of her hand holding the branch weren't so prominent, completely revealing her true intention that she was just acting.
However, it was more than enough to deal with Helan Ruo.
Right now, Helan Ruo was standing under the tree, watching Ji Muqing swinging her legs up there. Her face was already deathly pale with fright, so she had no mind to notice Ji Muqing's little weakness. She directly told her in a trembling voice to come down quickly.
As he spoke, he even tried to climb the tree.
But as soon as he started climbing, Ji Muqing, who was on the tree, grabbed a branch and stood up from the trunk. Whether it was by accident or intentional, one of her embroidered shoes fell off.
He fell to the edge of the cliff, bounced twice, and then rolled off the edge.
The rustling sound made both the people in the tree and the people below change their expressions.
Tang Ning also noticed that Ji Muqing's calves trembled slightly, and the knuckles of his fingers, which were gripping the tree branch, turned white from the force.
Is it fear?
Hmm, that's no fun.
Tang Ning raised an eyebrow in her mind.
After all, her current actions, in the eyes of Helan Ruo, whose heart was filled with worry and fear, naturally left no room for suspicion.
What about later?
Helan Ruo is not a fool; on the contrary, she is quite intelligent.
Once he calms down and reflects on it, he will immediately discover all the flaws in Ji Muqing's actions today, and then it will truly be a good show.
Thinking this to herself, Tang Ning suddenly tightened her grip on Chunmian and Chuntan's fingers, which were supporting her arm.
"Jiaojiao, please come down, okay? I'm begging you, please be good and come down."
He Lanruo's voice softened even more under the tree.
At this, Ji Muqing, who was in the tree, subconsciously looked up at Tang Ning and the other two standing to the side, and her eyes immediately reddened. "I don't want to, Jiaojiao... Jiaojiao is not a mistress who can be seen in public, she didn't come from a brothel, and she is not shameless, right, Zichu?"
Yo-jok.
They've even learned to tattle!
Isn't your brain working perfectly fine right now?
He almost completely repeated all the words Chunmian used to curse. Impressive!
Upon hearing these words, Tang Ning had no reaction yet, but Chun Mian's face suddenly turned pale. When He Lan Ruo turned her head in disbelief, she happened to see it.
Subconsciously, he shook his head slightly, somewhat unwilling to believe it. But at that moment, Ji Muqing on the tree continued, "Also, Zichu, Jiaojiao didn't lie, right? You did say you would marry me, and that you would only marry me, that you would treat me well for the rest of your life, and that no matter what, you would only ever have me in your heart, right?"
Ji Muqing looked at Helan Ruo with anticipation.
Seeing her expectant look, even if Tang Ning weren't standing behind him, He Lanruo wouldn't have been able to say those words. Perhaps he shouldn't lie to her anymore...
"Actually... these were just things we said as kids, just for fun. Now that we're all grown up, how can you..."
Before Helan Ruo could finish speaking, she immediately saw tears streaming down Ji Muqing's face from the tree. Ji Muqing's gaze towards Helan Ruo even held a hint of unfamiliarity. "What do you mean, 'just kidding'? If you said 'forever,' it meant forever. You've changed your mind, haven't you?"
As she spoke, she suddenly took a deep breath, "No matter what, Zichu will never change his mind. You...you're definitely not Brother Zichu. I've got the wrong person. I'm leaving. I'm going to find the real Brother Zichu..."
Before she could finish speaking, she recklessly lifted one of her feet.
Upon realizing the situation was dire, Helan Ruo immediately shouted, "Jiaojiao, no!"
Ji Muqing turned a deaf ear.
"Yes, you're not lying. I promised you I would marry you, and I would only marry you. In this lifetime, no matter what kind of people I meet or what changes occur, there will always only be you in my heart, and there will never be anyone else."
Left with no other choice, Helan Ruo could only coax her like this.
Upon hearing this, Ji Muqing suddenly turned her head, her face still wet with tears, but she immediately revealed a bright smile.
Meanwhile, Tang Ning's face turned completely pale.
Standing beside her, even the usually smooth and easygoing Chun Tan showed an extremely angry expression. She wasn't even afraid of affecting Tang Ning's reputation anymore. She was only thinking that if her young lady really got a divorce, she might have a better life in the future.
It's one thing for a concubine to be a regular mistress, but for the young master to have a woman like this by his side, given how much he cares about her, the young lady is likely to suffer heartbreak in the future.
Yes, even Chun Tan herself didn't realize that when He Lanruo chased after Ji Muqing without hesitation in the direction he might have left, completely ignoring Tang Ning who was following behind him, she had already changed her address for Tang Ning from Madam to Miss in her heart.
Meanwhile, Ji Muqing, who had already stopped crying and started laughing, was still pushing her luck, saying that she was about to jump down and that He Lanruo should catch her like she had done before.
As she spoke, she leaped down from the tree like a fluttering butterfly, and was caught in Helan Ruo's arms.
If it weren't for her status, Tang Ning would have liked to give a thumbs up to the extremely beautiful scene in front of her.
Just as Helan Ruo had coaxed Ji Muqing down, she turned around and saw Tang Ning, whose face was almost transparently pale, staring intently at her.
The two stared at each other for an unknown amount of time before Tang Ning slowly lowered her head and said in a faint voice, "It's getting late, we should go back. Chunmian, Chuntan, let's go..."
With that, she didn't look at Helan Ruo in front of her again, and turned to walk down the mountain.
Upon seeing her turn around, a sudden, inexplicable panic gripped Helan Ruo's heart. He immediately put Ji Muqing down and hurriedly called out to her.
"Tang Ning!"
It was Helan Ruo's voice that seemed to have triggered some unknown switch.
A group of masked men in black immediately jumped out, and without even saying a word, they raised their swords and thrust them at the people in the arena.
During the stabbing, a lazy voice echoed in the minds of these people, and that was—
[Be careful of the prettiest one among them. If you hurt her, none of you will need to come back. As for the rest, it doesn't matter, as long as someone gets injured.]
Upon seeing these people, he only thought it was his good second uncle, Helan Ruo, who was angry that his parents hadn't taken him to the disaster relief, so he vented his anger on him. Even though Ji Muqing was right next to him and Tang Ning was several feet away from him.
His first reaction was to rush to Tang Ning's side without hesitation.
Just when the group of men in black were having trouble dealing with Tang Ning, He Lanruo, who was not afraid of death, immediately pounced on her. They were overjoyed, thinking that they could kill her.
Thinking this, the group of people immediately swung their swords at Helan Ruo without hesitation.
Upon seeing this, Tang Ning immediately widened her eyes in horror, and then heard a woman's scream suddenly rang out.
"Zichu, be careful!"
Ji Muqing, who appeared out of nowhere, pushed He Lanruo away as well, who had just pushed Tang Ning away.
Helan Ruo suddenly turned her head and immediately saw Ji Muqing, who had pushed her away, being slashed from behind by a man in black. Blood spurted from his shoulder, instantly staining Helan Ruo's eyes red.
Because Tang Ning fell very close to Ji Muqing, he immediately went forward to help her up the moment he saw her injured. However, before Tang Ning could even reach out, she was suddenly pushed away by a strong force and fell heavily to the ground. At the same time, her palm scraped against the gravel ground, and blood instantly seeped from her palm.
Upon seeing her bleeding, before anyone else noticed, the men in black who were the first to notice immediately began to tremble uncontrollably.
This...this has nothing to do with them!
They didn't do it. They didn't touch a single hair on her head from beginning to end!
Furthermore, with some people already injured and their mission accomplished, the masked men in black, fearing that staying any longer would incur their wrath, each found a bad excuse or someone was there and vanished without a trace.
Meanwhile, Tang Ning, who had been pushed to the ground, stared blankly at her bleeding, burning palm. Turning around, she saw He Lanruo pick up the pale-faced Ji Muqing from the ground and carry her down the mountain without looking back.
"It'll be alright, Jiaojiao, you'll be alright. I... I'll take you to see a doctor right now. It'll be alright, it'll be alright..."
He Lanruo kept saying this as she ran.
Tang Ning glanced at the few negligible drops of blood Ji Muqing had spilled on the ground, then at Ji Muqing, who was pretending to be unconscious with his eyes closed.
Ji Muqing, who is only nine years old and wears a special armor vest when she goes out, will definitely be fine. She only has a one-finger-long cut on her shoulder.
Thinking of this, she looked down at her palm again.
As for whether Helan Ruo is alright, she couldn't guarantee that...
She hadn't originally intended to use such a drastic method, but since she was already unhappy, the person who upset her couldn't be too happy either.
"lady!"
"Miss!"
When Chunmian and Chuntan saw Tang Ning sitting on the ground and not getting up for a long time, they thought she had fallen somewhere. They rushed to her side in a panic and began to examine her closely. When they saw Tang Ning's broken palm, tears immediately fell from their eyes.
"What happened to the young master...?"
Chunmian couldn't continue speaking before she could finish her sentence.
"It's alright, let's go back first."
Tang Ning said this in a calm voice, and then, supported by Chun Mian and Chun Tan, slowly walked down the mountain.
Meanwhile, Helan Ruo had already carried Ji Muqing to the city gate. To prevent people from seeing her, she even made a veil for her from somewhere.
Almost as soon as the veil was put on, Ji Muqing, who had been pretending to be unconscious, immediately curled up the corners of his mouth. He thought this Tang Ning was so powerful, but it seems she is nothing special. He has been led by the nose by her from head to toe. In the end, Tang Ning's act of taking a knife for Zi Chu with her golden silk armor made him completely forget about his wife.
Since her opponent was so easily defeated, Ji Muqing was confident that, given time, she would definitely win He Lanruo's heart completely.
Ji Muqing was determined to win.
It's a pity that one shouldn't be too complacent.
No sooner had Helan Ruo carried Ji Muqing to the entrance of Huichun Hall, the largest pharmacy in the city, than a clumsy young apprentice rushed out and bumped into Helan Ruo, who was carrying Ji Muqing. The apprentice even ripped off the veil on Ji Muqing's head while grabbing and pulling wildly.
In an instant, Ji Muqing's face appeared at the entrance of Huichuntang.
Not only that, but it was also witnessed by several young ladies who had previously been at odds with Ji Muqing, who were walking out of a nearby clothing store chatting and laughing.
"Ah! It's Mu Qing!"
One of the women, who had the best eyesight, immediately covered her mouth with one hand and pointed at Ji Muqing with the other, exclaiming in surprise.
Her shouting would have been better if she hadn't called out; it immediately drew everyone's attention.
Then it wasn't just them; several imperial censors drinking on the second floor of a restaurant opposite Huichuntang, and even a few spoiled young masters from several households who happened to pass by, all saw everything clearly.
Coincidentally, almost everyone among them knew Ji Muqing. Even those who didn't know him were all wide-eyed with disbelief when their companions told them about Ji Muqing's identity.
How could Ji Muqing, who is already the Imperial Concubine Chen in the palace, suddenly appear here, and be with Helan Ruo, with whom she had a past intimate rumor? What's worse, she was being held in Helan Ruo's arms.
Then, amidst Ji Muqing's screams, Helan Ruo immediately put a veil on her and hurried away. However, the story of Helan Ruo and Ji Muqing cuckolding the current emperor from head to toe was still widely spread by those with ulterior motives.
By the time Tang Ning returned to the Duke's mansion, she had already noticed the strange looks she was getting from the servants.
This shows just how thoughtful this person was.
After returning to her room, Tang Ning dismissed Chun Mian and Chun Tan, wanting to be alone with them, when this scheming person suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
"You now..."
Before Situ Yin could finish speaking, he immediately noticed Tang Ning's injured hand. He swiftly stepped forward, stood in front of Tang Ning, and took her hand.
"You're injured? How did you get injured out of nowhere?"
They've already given the orders... Looks like someone wants to lose their head.
Situ Yin's eyes sharpened.
Unexpectedly, his question only made things worse, as Tang Ning's tears immediately fell like large beads from a broken string.
Her crying left Situ Yin completely at a loss.
"Why are you crying? The injury is on your palm, it won't leave a scar. I'll have someone send you a few bottles of the best wound medicine in a little while, I guarantee it will be completely healed in two days. Do you think crying will make the injury heal immediately?"
Situ Yin frowned and gave a straightforward answer.
No matter how clumsily he tried to comfort her, Tang Ning could only cry.
Seeing that she was going to keep crying, Situ Yin stood there for a long time with a stiff face before suddenly walking up to her and roughly pulling Tang Ning, who was sitting on the stool, into his arms. At the same time, his hand involuntarily stroked her back, then stroked it again.
Because his hands were so unruly, he pulled Tang Ning's hair more than once.
Completely unprepared for his move, Tang Ning was pulled into his arms, the faint scent of ambergris lingering around her nose. For a moment, she even forgot to cry.
Seeing that she had really been coaxed to stop, Situ Yin was immediately satisfied, while continuing to pull Tang Ning's hair.
Just as Tang Ning was about to be torn bald by this giant "brat," the person in front of her twitched his ears and then immediately disappeared from her sight.
No sooner had he disappeared than Chunmian appeared at the door, panting heavily.
"Madam, something terrible has happened! Rumors are circulating outside that the young master... he's been imprisoned!"
Upon hearing Chunmian's words, Tang Ning suddenly stood up and stumbled after Chunmian.
As soon as they stepped out of the courtyard, they immediately heard the old lady and the second branch of the family wailing and crying, cursing Helan Ruo as a troublemaker and trying their best to distance themselves from the situation.
Hearing their cries, Tang Ning realized that when He Lanruo appeared at the entrance of Huichun Hall carrying Ji Muqing, Ji Muqing's face had been accidentally seen. It was also at this moment that Tang Ning learned that the Jiaojiao He Lanruo mentioned was actually the legendary granddaughter of Prime Minister Ji, the Imperial Concubine Chen in the palace.
Not only were the concubines of the imperial harem discovered appearing on the streets of the capital, but they were also seen embracing and kissing foreign officials in public, making the emperor feel utterly cuckolded.
Upon witnessing this scene, the imperial censors could not wait any longer. Despite it being evening, they immediately went to the palace to impeach Helan Ruo, Prime Minister Ji, Princess Qingping, and others.
Throughout history, censors have been the most stubborn group of people; they don't care whether Princess Qingping is favored or not.
They belong to the group of people who seize any opportunity that comes their way.
People are pointing fingers at Situ Yin, saying his concubine is having an affair with his nephew. Even though it was his scheme, if he could tolerate it, he wouldn't be an emperor, he'd be a cuckold.
After immediately dispatching his guards to capture Helan Ruo and Ji Muqing, he came to find Tang Ning, wanting to share this "good news" with her. However, Tang Ning's crying disrupted his entire rhythm, and in the end, he didn't say a word. Tang Ning eventually learned about the news from someone else.
At this time, all the forces in the capital were already in an uproar over this news, just like the Duke's mansion.
While cursing Ji Muqing as a spendthrift, the women at the Prime Minister's residence were also afraid of being implicated. The women who had previously been at odds with Ji Muqing were so excited that they didn't want to go home. At the Prince Jian's residence, Wei Jing wanted to rush to the Duke's residence immediately, but was persuaded by the Princess Jian with reason and emotion. Qin Qianqian was so happy that she ate two extra bowls of rice that night, and was so full that she could hardly walk.
As for the General's Mansion, Madam Qin's eyes immediately turned red. Why was her Ningning so unfortunate?
At roughly the same time, Tang Ning, who had gone to the prison to see He Lanruo, returned to her room with a worried look on her face and saw a table full of wound medicine.
Startled, she immediately sent Chun Tan and Chun Mian away before tentatively approaching. There she saw two large characters left on the wound medicine—
Heal your hands!
Treating hands? With so much medicine, even if you applied it all over your body, it would take ten days to half a month, right?
Tang Ning twitched her lips.
At the same time, Situ Yin looked at the Imperial Pharmacy, which he had emptied, and then glanced disdainfully at the group of imperial physicians beside him who were trembling and could no longer squeeze out a single bottle of wound medicine.
Why am I surrounded by such useless people?
When will Tang Ning finally be able to enter the palace?
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