Advice
After the divination was completed, Xiao Wan'er saw that the maid sent by Princess Taiping was still waiting beside her. She simply asked, "Will you allow me to go with you to the Princess's residence to visit the Princess?"
The maid naturally agreed.
The carriage drove into the princess's mansion. Led by her maid, Xiao Wan'er went straight to the room where Princess Taiping was. As soon as she entered, she was shocked by Princess Taiping's condition.
The usually plump Princess Taiping had lost a lot of weight, her usually broad forehead and wide chin now making her bony figure stand out. Her face was pale and haggard, with dark circles under her eyes and pale lips. She lay weakly on the bed.
"How did the princess become like this?" Xiao Wan'er walked quickly forward, squatted beside the bed, and reached out to hold her wrist.
The spirit followed the spiritual energy and wandered through Princess Taiping's body. Soon Xiao Wan'er knew the reason why Princess Taiping fell ill.
"Princess, you can't do this. Don't you want to avenge Sister Shangguan yourself?"
As Xiao Wan'er spoke, she took out a pill and placed it in Princess Taiping's hand. Princess Taiping sat up with difficulty and swallowed the pill. The gentle medicinal power nourished her body, and she soon felt a little more energetic.
"Of course I want to avenge Sister Shangguan, but Li San is now the crown prince. How can I succeed immediately even if I do?"
She was filled with resentment and her words were full of gritted teeth.
"Princess, please wait for me for a moment."
As soon as Xiao Wan'er finished her words, she was no longer in Princess Taiping's room. She disappeared, climbed over the wall of the princess's residence, and then flashed to an official's residence. Although it was her first time in this house, she felt as familiar as if she had returned home, and she quickly found her destination.
The newly-minted Duke of Xu was playing with his concubine when he suddenly felt tired. He sent her away and lay down on the couch to rest. Soon he fell asleep.
In his dream, he heard a faint female voice calling his name. Turning back, he saw Shangguan Wan'er standing behind him, covered in blood. Her entire body was covered in blood, except for her face, which was a pale, colorless color. Her eyes were bulging, and her skin had the cadaveric spots that only appear after a period of death.
"Give me back my life—" She staggered and walked stiffly towards the murderer who killed her, raising her hand to grab his neck.
A huge panic spread in Liu Youqiu's heart. He wanted to wake up but couldn't.
"Don't come over here," he stepped back, but many hands suddenly appeared on the ground and grabbed his ankles tightly. "Don't come over here, the prince asked me to do this. If you want to kill him, go and kill him!"
Outside the dream, Xiao Wan'er looked at his dream and sneered with disdain.
"Even the dignified Duke Xu is no more than this."
She performed a spell, and Liu Youqiu, in his dream, was overwhelmed by even greater terror. He suddenly opened his eyes, and then, staring intently, died. Xiao Wan'er closed his eyes and simultaneously snatched out his soul, grasping it in her hand.
After finishing what she needed to do, she quietly left Duke Xu's mansion. Half a minute later, the concubine who had been kicked out knocked on the door for a long time but received no response, so she pushed the door open and found the body.
"Ah! Master!" A terrified scream came from the main house.
When Xiao Wan'er returned to Princess Taiping's mansion, Princess Taiping was still sitting against the wall. She walked straight into the room where Princess Taiping was and placed the soul of Duke Xu in front of Princess Taiping.
"Princess, what do you think this is?"
"Liu Youqiu?" Princess Taiping was stunned. "What happened?"
"Princess," Xiao Wan'er reported with a smile, "This is the spirit of Duke Xu. He has just been assassinated by me."
Princess Taiping was shocked that an official appointed by the imperial court was killed just like that.
"Are you crazy? Do you know how serious a crime it is to assassinate an imperial official?"
"Princess, don't worry," Xiao Wan'er said nonchalantly, "They can't tell how Liu Youqiu died."
Liu Youqiu's soul stayed in front of Princess Taiping for a long time, and gradually got rid of his confused state and regained consciousness.
He realized he was dead, jumped up, pointed at Xiao Wan'er's nose and cursed: "Xiao Wan'er, you assassinated an official of the imperial court, you deserve to die!"
Xiao Wan'er was not afraid at all: "Master Liu died suddenly of an illness after playing with his concubine. What does this have to do with me?"
After saying this, she connected directly with Liu Youqiu's consciousness and then returned her spirit to Duke Xu's mansion. The mansion was now in chaos. Madam Liu had summoned several coroners, and the results all concluded that the victim had died of an acute illness. Furious, Madam Liu had her concubine tied up and intended to be killed and buried with her. The servants hurriedly prepared for the funeral, missing something here and there.
Liu Youqiu became even angrier, pointing at Xiao Wan'er and calling her "you" for a long time without knowing what to say.
Xiao Wan'er was ready to let him go.
"Alright, Master Liu, you've seen enough, and your life has been repaid. You can now be reincarnated."
After saying that, she waved her hand gently, and a black door appeared in the house. After Xiao Wan'er threw Liu Youqiu's soul in, the black door disappeared.
Princess Taiping was stunned by Xiao Wan'er's actions. She didn't come back to her senses until Xiao Wan'er called her several times.
"Princess, now that Sister Shangguan's killer is dead, we should discuss your future path," Xiao Wan'er said bluntly. "Although Liu Youqiu has been publicly accused of dying of an acute illness after indulging in excessive sexual activity, as the Crown Prince's trusted confidant, it's impossible for him not to suspect you and me. Even if the investigation proves fruitless, he will most likely target you."
"How difficult is that?" Princess Taiping said proudly, "Since I was able to push my two brothers to the throne, I can naturally pull Li San down."
After hearing this, Xiao Wan'er shook her head in her heart.
"As a descendant of the Li family, has Princess never thought about striving for that position?"
As she spoke, she pointed her finger upwards, which made Princess Taiping's expression change.
"presumptuous!"
Xiao Wan'er changed her sitting position and rested her hand on her chin.
"Princess, are you unwilling or afraid?"
Princess Taiping continued to speak righteously: "I am already the Princess Taiping who protects the country, enjoying a fief of ten thousand households. I am truly second only to the emperor and above everyone else. I will never be a traitor like that!"
"Princess, how much fief does the current prince have?" Xiao Wan'er asked Princess Taiping.
"Wan Hu." Princess Taiping answered without hesitation.
"Oh," Xiao Wan'er scratched her chin seriously. "So, the princess has made so many contributions to the Tang Dynasty, but in the end, she's only as good as an ordinary prince. And those ordinary princesses, let alone princes, are not even as good as county princes or heirs to the throne. Is this what it means to be second only to the emperor?"
No one could accept the sudden removal of their fig leaf, and Princess Taiping was no exception. But before she could react, Xiao Wan'er continued to question her.
"It's known that the princess and the crown prince are bound to be enemies. Between your sister and your son, who do you think His Majesty will support? Even if the princess truly supports another prince to ascend the throne, how can you be sure that he won't target the princess after he ascends the throne? Is the princess unaware of Guantao during the Han Dynasty?"
Princess Taiping looked pale and remained silent.
"Since ancient times, emperors have always been intolerant of powerful ministers, let alone women holding great power. If you want to break this situation, there is only one way, and that is the path taken by Her Majesty Wu Zetian. Princess, you have already missed the best opportunity, so don't miss your last one."
After Xiao Wan'er finished speaking, she stood up, bowed, and left, leaving Princess Taiping alone to think.
The next morning, during the court session, news of Duke Xu's death reached the emperor. Because his death was so disgraceful, the emperor did not posthumously honor him with many honors.
After the court session, the prince indeed called Xiao Wan'er.
At that time, Xiao Wan'er was in a conspicuous position. When the prince called her, the ministers around him secretly watched, but did not dare to really get close to him.
The prince lowered his voice and asked, "Deputy Commander Xiao, do you have anything to say about Duke Xu's death?"
Xiao Wan'er feigned ignorance. "Duke Xu passed away suddenly in his prime, and from such an illness. I am deeply sorry. I hope his family can quickly recover from this tragedy."
The prince had already guessed that Xiao Wan'er was involved in this matter, but he had no evidence and could only endure it.
"Yes, what happened to Duke Xu is truly regrettable. I will advise my father and take measures to reduce the occurrence of such incidents. If necessary, I hope Deputy Commander Xiao can cooperate."
His voice was not loud, and the ministers did not dare to get close, so they could not hear what he was saying. They could only judge from his gentle attitude that the two were probably chatting.
Xiao Wan'er was also very amiable: "Your Highness is right. If Your Majesty orders me to do so, I will certainly do my best."
The prince left in a very amicable manner. Xiao Wan'er bowed respectfully until his figure disappeared before she stood up and left.
That night, Xiao Wan'er received an imperial edict asking her to write some basic health-preserving and fitness methods for His Majesty to distribute to court officials for study.
"This is really..." Xiao Wan'er was speechless.
Xiao Wan'er simply retreated until she finished writing the Dharma, then went to Daming Palace to personally hand it over to the emperor. After leaving Daming Palace, she went straight to the restaurant in the city to buy cherry biluo.
The last time she went to the restaurant, Shangguan Wan'er was with her, but this time she was alone.
Carrying the food box to the door, Xiao Wan'er met Princess Taiping's trusted maid.
"Master Xiao, we meet again." This maid was the one Princess Taiping had sent to mourn Shangguan Wan'er. "My princess asks you to come."
"Okay, wait a moment, girl."
After Xiao Wan'er had saved the cherry biro, she followed the maid to Princess Taiping's residence. This time, the maid took her straight to the study, where Princess Taiping was writing.
After not seeing her for a few days, Princess Taiping had adjusted herself and no longer looked as haggard as she did that day. Her face, which had become thinner due to grief, had become round again.
"I am very relieved to see the princess recover." Xiao Wan'er bowed.
"You're here," Princess Taiping raised her head and handed her a piece of calligraphy. "I heard that the Crown Prince spoke to you at the court meeting the day after Duke Xu's death?"
"That's true," Xiao Wan'er replied. "He suspected I was responsible for Liu Youqiu's death, but he had no evidence."
"My nephew is the most hypocritical," Princess Taiping finished writing and threw away the pen. "Take a look at how this poem is written."
Xiao Wan'er scratched her head in embarrassment.
"I am a mere soldier, unintelligible to poetry and prose."
"I intend to order Zhang Shuo to compile Shangguan Wan'er's poems. She was a brilliant writer throughout her life, and she deserves to leave something behind," Princess Taiping paused, then added, "If what you said the other day can truly bring down Li San, I'll give it a try."
On the paper on the table with the ink still wet was Shangguan Wan'er's five-character regulated verse.
"The dense leaves are being pruned, and the new flowers are gradually opening. Although climbing the branches is not wrong, who knows if the buds are empty. The flowers have bloomed since spring, and they are not willing to shed them in autumn. I wonder what the peach and plum blossoms are like, how can they be so chaotic with each other?"
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