Chapter 67: People in the Mansion
Because Princess Gaoguo could not rest in peace after her death, the princess's mansion held memorial services day and night, with constant mourning and music.
The palace was struggling to sustain the music, so they borrowed several musicians from the music troupe to help, and Yu Niang was among them.
The vertical qin she played was quite large and was placed at the end of the band, in a corner behind the mourning hall. When it was noon, it was naturally impossible for everyone to eat in the mourning hall, so they stopped playing and went to the side courtyard to eat.
Only Yu Niang fell behind when she was packing up. When she stood up, she smelled several different wisps of incense smoke wafting from the mourning hall, which made her feel very sleepy. She turned around and huddled in the corner behind the guzheng, half asleep and half awake.
She didn't know how long it had been before a sharp, cold laugh came from the front of the mourning hall, waking her from her daze. Then, she heard a scolding -
"You're just a dog my mother raised. Now that my mother is dead, you should bite someone for her, even if it's just to repay her kindness!"
Yu Niang looked up in astonishment, and looked towards the center of the mourning hall through the silk strings of the guzheng and the low-hanging white curtain.
At some point, there was no one else in the mourning hall, only two figures, a man and a woman, standing in front of the coffin.
The man was tall and slender, with his back to her, so her face could not be seen clearly.
The woman standing opposite him was mocking and resentful, and she spoke without mercy: "At this point, you are not still dreaming of becoming the county lady's husband, are you?"
Yu Niang could naturally tell that the woman was the Princess of Changyi.
As for who would be the county lady's husband...she immediately thought of the group of husband candidates for the Lingling County Lady who were widely talked about in the capital.
After all, Xue Xiyang, the Minister of Music whom all the girls in the music academy admired and longed for, was one of the candidates, and they were all eagerly watching the result.
But she knew that Princess Changyi was notoriously domineering, and that hearing about this would cause her endless troubles. So she didn't dare to look out to see who the young man was. She just hid behind the guzheng with her head shrunk, not daring to breathe.
After a long moment, the man sitting opposite Princess Changyi finally spoke, "Your Highness, you are too impatient. The county lord is required to observe three years of mourning, and the princess also wants me to wait in the palace for an opportunity. Your Highness, please calm down and wait patiently for the outcome."
"Hmph, you're not thinking that since my mother passed away and I'm all alone and helpless, you can just bury the past and take this opportunity to betray our Princess Mansion, right?"
"Why do you say that, Princess? If I had such thoughts, why would I have come to you after the princess's death to offer you advice?"
"Really? Isn't it because the maid exposed your secret meeting with my mother, and you're afraid of being caught, so you come to me to cooperate and try to divert the blame?"
"No matter what the princess thinks, at least we are now united. Before the princess left, she paved the way for you, and now all progress is under our control. We have now discovered that the Princess of Lingling has been disobeying the court and colluding with foreign nations. Princess, do not miss this opportunity. Once you have overthrown the Princess, it will be the day you take control of the Eastern Palace. By then, everything will be settled, and you, the princess, will be fulfilled."
Speaking of this, Xiao Fuyu's voice suddenly became filled with indignation. "What do you mean by perfect and perfect?! Originally, I should have married into the Eastern Palace with great fanfare, a grand ceremony, the envy of all the women in the world! But now... now the Eastern Palace has prepared two carriages and a few eunuchs to take me away. I, the Crown Princess, am treated even less grandly than a Liang Di or Ru Ren. Isn't this going to be laughed at by the whole world?"
"Those who achieve great things do not care about trivial matters. The princess has done everything she can to get this for you. I hope you will not let the princess down. Becoming the Crown Princess as soon as possible is the most important thing."
"Humph, you look like a good dog with all your good intentions. I'm sure my mother would be pleased if she knew about this."
Xiao Fuyu's words were harsh, but he ignored them, his voice still cold and calm: "I am where I am today because of the princess, and I will sacrifice my life to repay her in this life."
As he spoke till here, he heard some noise outside. It seemed that the musicians who were having dinner had returned.
The two stopped talking, and the man reached out and grabbed a black veil hat beside him, put it on, and hurried away.
Yu Niang didn't dare to breathe a word. She waited until Princess Changyi left and everyone came in. She pretended to be still asleep and acted as if nothing had happened here.
"Yu Niang was terrified and asked me if Princess Changyi would seek revenge if she knew she had overheard a conversation she shouldn't have. I reassured her not to worry. Judging from their conversation, Princess Changyi didn't have a close relationship with that man, so she wouldn't go to the trouble of covering up for him. She might even be happy to see the chaos and unrest in the Princess's backyard."
Xue Xiyang said this and looked towards Qiandeng.
Someone in the backyard was secretly colluding with Princess Gao's mansion and was even trying to use the affair between her and Mingjiu to stir up trouble. This matter was naturally no trivial matter.
He had expected the county lady to be shocked and angry, but unexpectedly, her face was calm, and her eyes even had an unexpected clarity: "Thank you, Xue Lecheng, for telling me. You've helped me a lot again."
"There's no need to be polite, County Lady. I've been taken in by you, so naturally I'll always be on your side. Furthermore, the Princess Gao's residence has been causing trouble time and again, and they've framed you, so they're naturally my enemies."
Having common friends can certainly bring people closer together, but having common enemies can make people work together and have a common direction.
Sure enough, Qiandeng's eyes fluctuated slightly as she looked at him, clearly containing something different from before.
Xue Xiyang's slightly upturned peach blossom eyes were filled with tenderness: "County Lady, among those people in the backyard, there are actually people with such wolfish ambitions who intend to murder you. We must not let them go and must investigate thoroughly!"
"I will."
"Then, who do you think this person could be?" Xue Xiyang seized the opportunity and naturally made a accusation. "In my opinion, Meng Lanxi is a big suspect. Why did Yu Niang happen to fall asleep in the palace? Obviously, there was something fishy about the smoke she smelled. It's just that he overestimated the effect of the smoke, which led to his whereabouts being revealed."
Qiandeng pondered and did not answer.
"Yan Penglai is also a possibility. Everyone in the capital knows that Princess Gao is indebted to him. His relationship with the Princess's Mansion is closer than anyone else's, and it cannot be erased.
"Of course, there's also Jin Tang. I heard that he was able to enter the Imperial College thanks to Princess Gao's connections, which is why he qualified as a candidate for the County Lady's husband. If this isn't a great favor, then what is?"
"Don't worry, Master Xue. I know how to handle this matter. Don't worry about me." Seeing him open his sparkling fox eyes but then close them and throw dirty water at someone, Qian Deng could only say, "This matter is of great importance and cannot be handled hastily. I hope Master Xue will be patient."
"Yes, Xiyang is indeed impatient. I'm just... too worried about the county lady, and I hope to share her worries..."
Seeing his always charming eyes filled with sincerity, and his concern for her figure and face, Qian Deng was moved and said softly, "Okay, I understand. Anyway, thank you, Mr. Xue, for your help in this case."
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