Li Ruowei also came over to talk to us. She smiles much more now than when she was in the capital. Meng Anshi really takes very good care of her. Xie Yuancheng likes to cause trouble, and now he deserves to be called out by the teacher.
Lu Fengjun delivered a secret document from the imperial court. This was a copy he made; the originals were burned immediately after being reviewed, so as not to leave any trace.
"The Empress has already begun to make moves. Although the power behind her has diminished, her ambition remains."
Lu Fengjun gave a brief explanation and then left. He couldn't stay in the manor for too long. When Xie Yuancheng was in a good mood, he would secretly take me out to drink with them at night, and we would only return after about two hours.
Li Ruowei had the steward see him out, and I carefully examined the letter. "Why hasn't the Crown Prince made a move?"
“The Empress’s actions are his actions; the Crown Prince is just too greedy.” Li Ruowei sighed and led me into the room, saying, “Actually, he wasn’t like this before.”
One night when he came home late, I checked his clothes and found something that the Empress had deliberately left inside. At the time, I didn't think much of it, since I didn't like him anyway.
His personality changed after that. Although the Crown Prince wasn't very prominent before, his reputation was quite different from what was rumored. Your meetings and conflicts were minor; at the time, we all wanted him dead.
Looking back now, he was also used. The Empress had a young son who died very young, two years younger than Li Zhaole. If he were alive now, he would be almost eighteen years old.
"Eighteen years old?" I suddenly thought of the Tenth Prince, Li Yi. "Sister, have you heard of the Tenth Prince, Li Yi?"
"The Tenth Prince? There isn't much information about him in the palace. All that's known is that he's out practicing Buddhism. Many people are saying that his mother made a mistake, so he has to leave the palace to practice Buddhism."
"Why hasn't the tenth prince been granted a title? He's already eighteen."
"His title of prince was taken by Yu'er, but he was quite happy about it. Last time, Yuan Cheng sent a message saying that the tenth prince really enjoyed playing with Yu'er."
"That's not right. I'm in the manor too, so why haven't I seen him playing with Yu'er?"
"You were all out at the time, and it was Lord Ji who sent him the letter by flying."
"That's outrageous!" I slammed my hand on the table. "Dad's so biased! I'm the daughter, and he didn't even tell me!"
“Yuancheng was also worried that you would be thinking about Yu’er the whole way, and you also have Xizhi and Suling to take care of. He couldn’t manage to look after them all by himself.”
"Alright, but how come the Tenth Prince and Yu'er are getting along so well? They've never even met before."
“Actually,” Li Ruowei hesitated, “there is another version in the palace, which says that the tenth prince is the son of Consort Ji, and the emperor sent him out of the palace because he was worried that the tenth prince would be harmed.”
"What!" I thought I had misheard, so I asked Li Ruowei to repeat herself: "Is this...is this possible? Didn't they say that Consort Ji had no sons?"
"Yes, that's how it seems on the surface. I know your relationship, so I'm just telling you my guess. Sister-in-law, don't overthink it. Yuan Cheng and the others will be back after the Ninefold City Gate is checked and everything is in order. We can ask them then."
"This is so illogical. If she had a son, why wouldn't she have given any hint?"
"It's not that I'm not revealing it, it's just that you don't know it yet." Li Ruo's smile was particularly irritating; she and Xie Yuancheng were indeed siblings.
Their methods of raising children are different from ordinary people. Last time, Li Ruowei told me that she felt sorry for little girls who were begging for food, but she didn't know that her sympathy would harm her own daughter. So now she is only good to her family.
I feel the same way. Although I'm not as good at teaching children as you are, I still know right from wrong after going through these things. It's just that I feel sorry for those who were dragged down.
There are countless pitiful people, and after so many incidents, it's hard to tell who's truly pitiful and who's faking it. However, being young has a drawback: being impatient for quick success makes it easy to slip up.
We talked for a while longer and then parted ways. There were still three little ones outside to take care of, so this matter was temporarily put on hold. Li Ruowei must have studied with them for a long time; her letter was only a few words long.
I still can't understand their letters. Although I know some Qimen Dunjia techniques, I haven't tried them. Xie Yuancheng has said several times that he would take me out to try them, but I never have the time.
That night, I had just finished putting Xizhi to sleep when I was about to go back. Su Ling and Yan'er are incredibly close now; they even sleep together, and are closer than Xizhi.
But they were also kind to Xizhi. Yan'er even specifically told him that his younger brother should sleep alone and not with his older and younger sisters. Although I think they are still young and don't need to be so strict, we should still respect the children's wishes.
The lanterns in front swayed wildly in the wind. As Bizhu drew closer to me, I sensed that tonight was going to be unsettling. Even the guards came over with their swords, and suddenly some men in black appeared above them.
I dodged the attacks of the two men and pulled Bizhu to the side. Just as I looked up, I saw Sister Ling and Li Ruowei being attacked by them. When did Li Ruowei learn kung fu? I told Bizhu to hide, and subconsciously touched my waist.
"My Phantom Sword is in the room. Who are they, daring to launch a night raid?"
"They must be hiding in the city, Madam. You shouldn't go out. We're unarmed, let the young lady and the others handle it."
"No!" Seeing that there were more and more people in the mansion, and that Li Ruowei and Sister Ling didn't have to lift a finger, I went out.
"Sister, isn't this place supposed to be an impregnable fortress? How could these people have broken in?" I'm starting to have my doubts.
"Sister-in-law, if Yuancheng knew you said that, be careful you might have something else on you."
As soon as Li Ruowei said it, my face turned red. Sigh, Xie Yuancheng is such a troublemaker. Who did he tell that Li Ruowei actually knows?
"Stop!" Dozens of arrows shot from the sky, striking the spot where the man in black stood. Seriously? They launched a night raid, and they have the nerve to tell us to stop? Do they think the Marquis's mansion is their home?
"Stop!" Li Ruowei threw away the cigarette in her hand, and the bow and arrows stopped immediately: "We should know each other, otherwise you wouldn't be able to enter the city."
"Yes." When they pulled down their veils, I realized it was Cailu and Changze. They must have had nothing better to do at night, so they came to the Marquis's mansion to launch a sneak attack.
"You arrived this afternoon and launched a sneak attack tonight. It doesn't make sense at all. Especially since the Crown Prince is the son-in-law of the Western Regions. If word gets out, won't we become a laughing stock?"
"Please don't be angry, ladies. We just came to test the defenses of the Marquis's mansion. We didn't think too much about it."
I wanted to roll my eyes. Changze must have nothing better to do than bring Cailu to the Marquis's mansion in the middle of the night, dressed in black. Cailu's eyes were full of resentment; the way I looked at her made it seem like I had done something to wrong her.
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