Tang Nian felt a mix of emotions.
When the topic came up, Jingyao became more talkative.
Without Tang Nian asking any further questions, she blurted out everything she knew.
"Senior is the last snow fox. Even the Fox King treats her with utmost respect. However, after this incident, she did not try to keep her. But I heard that the Fox King is also searching for Senior's whereabouts."
"Has something happened to the Fox King?"
A shadow fell over Tang Nian's heart; this was the first thought that crossed her mind.
"I don't know." Jing Yao shook her head. She was well protected by her elders and never paid attention to these things. "My father and mother never talked to me about this. They only heard about it from the foxes in the clan when they went to fetch spring water that day."
Did you tell her?
"No, the senior doesn't want anyone to know his whereabouts, and my mother has repeatedly told me not to tell anyone. However, I did talk to the senior about this, and he said he would go there in a few days."
As Jingyao spoke, she picked up a strand of Tang Nian's thin, black hair and gently fastened it with a silver hairpin, letting it fall like colorful clouds at her temples.
Her fine black hair shimmered like the scales of a black dragon, highlighting Tang Nian's fair face like twinkling stars on an autumn night.
"Miss, how is it?"
Tang Nian yawned widely, feeling a slight pain in her scalp from being pulled, and raised her hand to scratch her head before lowering it again.
"Let's go to the palace."
Besides the princess, there was one more thing she needed to confirm.
Thinking that Minghuan might come looking for her when he woke up, she left a note on the table.
Everyone in the palace was busy with today's important event, and with the princess's maidservant by her side, Tang Nian arrived at the inner palace without alerting anyone.
The inner palace was unusually quiet, perhaps because of what happened yesterday; not a single palace servant could be seen.
Tang Nian sat in the sedan chair, swaying back and forth, and drowsiness gradually crept into her heart.
Finally, the sedan chair slowly came to a stop at the princess's residence.
It must be said that, regardless of whether the late emperor was putting on an act for others or was truly sincere, he treated Chu Roujia extremely well.
They could even transform the Eastern Palace into a princess's residence and bestow it upon Princess Huaining.
"Greetings, Princess."
"No need for formalities." Chu Roujia seemed unaffected, beckoning Tang Nian to sit next to her. "I won't be a princess anymore soon."
"What?" Tang Nian's mind hadn't processed it yet.
Seeing Tang Nian sit down, Chu Roujia stood up, picked up the teacup with both hands, knelt on the ground, and loudly proclaimed, "Master, please accept my bow."
This completely dispelled Tang Nian's drowsiness.
"Wait, wait a minute. I don't think I ever promised you I'd be your master."
Tang Nian was so taken aback by this turn of events that she stammered and her eyes darted around.
"Master, if you don't agree, I won't get up!"
Tang Nian sighed, trying to dissuade her by invoking the words of her two elders: "Would His Majesty and the Empress Dowager agree?"
This is no small matter.
Chu Roujia's biological mother died in childbirth, so these two were the only ones who could make decisions for her.
Chu Roujia nodded vigorously: "My brother has already agreed to my request, and he has even allowed me to go with you and Lord Lou."
"What!" Tang Nian stood up abruptly.
"Don't worry, I won't cause you any trouble. An Yi and the others will take care of me."
"Since that's the case, I agree. But you don't need to call me Master. Just call me Sister Tang like Minghuan does."
Tang Nian took a deep breath, took the teacup, and took a sip.
"Lou Mu is leaving too?"
Chu Roujia sat back down in her chair: "Master, Sister Tang, you don't know?"
Tang Nian shook her head; it seemed they had to set off earlier.
"Lord Lou said that Great Chu will face a once-in-a-century disaster, and he wants to do his part for Great Chu. As a princess, I naturally cannot be confined to the small palace."
Upon hearing this, Tang Nian remained silent for a moment: "What disaster?"
Without thinking, Chu Roujia blurted out, "Mars guarding the heart, this is a phrase used by Lord Lou and my brother the emperor. Does Sister Tang know what it means?"
"When the Lord dies, the world collapses."
Tang Nian immediately realized that Mars guarding the heart signifies ominous signs such as thieves, illness, loss, famine, and war.
The Chu emperor was tyrannical and incompetent. Even during his lifetime, strange phenomena frequently occurred in the Chu Kingdom. She had already noticed something amiss when she was collecting merits in various cities. This time, she released many ghosts and monsters, which were scattered throughout the Chu Kingdom.
But she didn't know how to explain it to Chu Roujia, after all, he was her father.
“It’s because of Father…” Chu Roujia’s mood dipped slightly when she heard this, but she raised her head again, her eyes filled with determination. “Since it was Father who caused this disaster, it is even more our responsibility to end it.”
Looking at the spirited Chu Roujia, Tang Nian couldn't bring herself to say anything discouraging, so she changed the subject.
"Does the princess know which shop delivered the medicinal herbs to the late emperor?"
“The Song family pharmacy in Nanyu City.” Without hesitation, Chu Roujia beckoned to her maid, “Bai Shao, go and fetch those letters.”
"Yes, Princess."
Tang Nian touched her chin.
She was very familiar with the name Song's Pharmacy.
Song's Pharmacy has shops all over the Great Chu. I heard that its owner single-handedly opened the soon-to-be-closed pharmacy throughout the Great Chu. She also bought medicinal herbs from Song's Pharmacy a few times during her training.
Bai Shao brought a large knife-shaped letter from the inner palace and placed it on the table.
"These are all correspondence between the Song family's pharmacy and my father."
Tang Nian raised an eyebrow slightly. Princess Huaining was exactly as rumored: courageous, meticulous, and decisive.
"Princess, is there anything in this palace that you don't know?" Tang Nian said, opening a letter.
"Sister Tang, you don't need to call me Princess, just call me Roujia." Chu Roujia said calmly, "These are just basic means of survival in the palace."
She lost her mother at birth and was adopted by the Empress. As a woman, she was rarely affected by the palace intrigues.
But she also knew very well that if she could not achieve something, she would eventually be used by her father as a pawn to stabilize his throne and the Great Chu.
She worked hard for it, but could only watch helplessly as her father walked into the abyss.
She did not want to travel as Princess Huaining. Because of the Chu Emperor's favor, the people avoided using her title. Her first step in leaving the palace was to abandon her title.
"Okay." Tang Nian didn't like this kind of flattery; her attention was now focused on the letters.
“My father started cooperating with the Song family pharmacy a long time ago. The letters here can be traced back to fifteen years ago. The letters only contain the simplest business information. I also sent people to investigate, but they found nothing.”
After hearing this, Tang Nian put down the letter in her hand and pondered for a moment: "Roujia, get ready, we'll set off today."
"Aren't we waiting for Lord Lou?"
"No need to wait." Tang Nian's expression remained unchanged. "If you want to see your brother's coronation ceremony, we'll leave after it's over."
Chu Roujia did not reply, but said softly, "An Yi, go arrange a carriage."
"yes."
Tang Nian felt a sudden movement in the air, followed by a dark figure leaving the hall.
Tang Nian didn't ask any further questions. She stood up and asked, "How is the Empress Dowager's health?"
"Grandmother is well."
Chu Roujia smiled and said that her grandmother was to blame for what her father had done. Last night, she went to the temple with the monks of Jinshan Temple to atone for her father's sins.
Tang Nian was relieved and returned to her residence, where she saw Ming Huan waiting at the door, having already packed his things.
"Minghuan, where are the medicines I brought back from the clan?"
Ming Huan stepped forward, but before he could speak, Tang Nian cut to the chase.
"It's here."
With Minghuan helping to organize things, Tang Nian's things were no longer a problem to be misplaced.
Tang Nian asked Ming Huan to wait a moment longer, then returned to her room, wrote a letter, and gave it to Jing Yao along with the medicine for her injuries.
"Jingyao, give these to Lou Mu when he comes back."
"Miss, are you really not going to wait any longer?" Jingyao asked, clutching the envelope and medicine, her eyes filled with reluctance.
"It's not like we'll never see each other again."
Tang Nian smiled and comforted him, saying that as long as her symbiotic contract with Lou Mu remained intact, they would always meet again.
However, she still doesn't know how to face him.
She turned to look at Ming Huan and took the oil-paper umbrella from his hand: "We should go."
"Sister Tang, where are we going?" Ming Huan asked, adjusting the bag on his shoulder.
"Nanyu City, Song Family Pharmacy".
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com