Shh, it's me!
Hearing the voice, Li Tiao glanced at the person holding her and shook off their hand: "What are you doing? Are you deliberately blocking me here?"
The person pulling Li Tiao was Yun Hui. She shook her head and said, "I came here with Master, who would have thought we'd run into you."
It was clear that Yun Hui wanted to marry into a wealthy and powerful family, and Li Tiao didn't mind helping her achieve that. She said, "I'm by the lake. Go find me. You can spend some quality time alone with me..."
"Not only is the master here."
Following Yun Hui's words and gaze, Li Tiao looked over and indeed saw not only the Fourth Prince, but also another person whose face she couldn't see and who she couldn't recognize.
“It’s the Thirteenth Prince,” Yunhui said proactively.
"Oh." Li Tiao replied listlessly.
“I came out with the master. After he came out of your room, he went to the place where Liu Mama was imprisoned, and then came to the lakeside. If I’m not mistaken, the master should have come to see the thirteenth prince. It was just a coincidence that we met.”
Yunhui's explanation still left Li Tiao uninterested: "It's common knowledge in the palace that Your Highness and the Thirteenth Prince have the best relationship. Is there a problem with the two princes meeting in the Imperial Garden?"
"Why say things here when you could say them yourself, Prince?"
Li Tiao had already taken a few steps forward when she heard Yun Hui's words, and she slowed down, thinking about what Yun Hui had just said, "You said that Master went to see Granny Liu again?"
"I knew you were smart." Yunhui smiled. "Don't you want to know what's going on with Granny Liu? Li Tiao, we're in this together now, I think you agree, right?"
Li Tiao stared at Yun Hui for a long time.
Indeed, Li Tiao had been trying to confirm whether Yun Hui was the Yun Hui she knew, because she was afraid. Now that she was sure, the Fourth Prince had interfered, and the two of them hadn't even figured out the important thing yet. If the secret was exposed... it would be troublesome.
“Granny Liu was the maid who accompanied you to the Li family. Does she know anything about the Li family?” Yun Hui was very calm, no longer showing the fragility she had shown in front of Consort De. “The reason we two entered the Li residence was to replace the Li family’s original daughter in the imperial concubine selection. Now the Li family has achieved its goal.”
But are we safe now?
It's not safe, but it's even more terrifying. If people find out that Li Tiao was a substitute bride, that would be a crime of deceiving the emperor.
Li Tiao is just trying to avoid dying, that's why she's causing all sorts of trouble.
However, Li Yao also had her own judgment: "But the Li family is not stupid. Since they let Liu Mama come to the palace with me, then Liu Mama should be trustworthy. After all, if things are exposed and I lose my life, the Li family will also be executed."
Furthermore, if I'm not mistaken, Granny Liu is one of the Eighth Prince's people. The Eighth Prince asked me to be a spy, so how could he let Granny Liu sell me out?
Yunhui said, "The Li family thinks she's reliable, but is Granny Liu really reliable? What if she can't handle the Fourth Prince?"
Li Tiao took a deep breath. It really was true. What if she couldn't take it anymore?
The Fourth Prince's previous probing seemed like he was teasing her about being jealous, but his unfathomable demeanor still makes Li Tiao feel uneasy when she thinks about it now.
So Li Tiao was persuaded, and she and Yun Hui quietly went to where the Fourth Prince and the Thirteenth Prince were talking and hid behind the artificial hill to eavesdrop.
"Fourth Brother, are you really planning to let that Granny Liu go?"
"Why not release her? She's one of Lao Ba's people. It would be easy to kill her directly, but if she dies, Lao Ba will definitely find someone else to put by my side. Rather than spending time figuring out who Lao Ba's people are later, it's better to keep Granny Liu around. At least we'll know whether she's simply passing messages to Lao Ba in the Prince's quarters, or if there are other people in the Prince's quarters she's passing messages to for Lao Ba."
Upon hearing this, Li Tiao felt a sense of relief, realizing that the Fourth Prince was still unaware that she was the Eighth Prince's spy.
"Let's go." Yun Hui tugged at Li Tiao, indicating that it was about time.
The footsteps faded into the distance, and the Fourth Prince and the Thirteenth Prince emerged from behind the artificial hill.
"Fourth Brother, you are truly a prophet."
The Fourth Prince sneered: "The fact that two people who look alike appeared beside me at the same time is suspicious in itself."
Li Tiao and Yun Hui naturally had no idea that what they had just heard was something the Fourth Prince had deliberately told them to know.
"What exactly do you mean?" After walking a distance, Li Tiao asked Yun Hui, "What's wrong with what the Thirteenth Prince and the Fourth Prince said?"
“Granny Liu is one of the Eighth Prince’s people,” Yunhui said.
Li Tiao was annoyed by Yun Hui's pretentious attitude. She said, "Yes, what does that have to do with me? You know why I entered the Li family. Do you think I can choose who my dowry maid is?"
“You can’t choose, but you can’t say these things directly to the Fourth Prince. Let me ask you, your nanny is the Eighth Prince’s person, so what about you? Won’t the Fourth Prince become suspicious? Don’t you have any plans?”
Li Tiao certainly had her own plans, but she wouldn't tell Yun Hui. After all, they weren't really good friends, and Li Tiao disliked the shrewdness hidden in Yun Hui's seemingly caring eyes.
Although she may seem a bit silly, Li Tiao is not stupid; she knows who can be trusted and who cannot.
Yun Hui asked, "I remember when we were both at the Li residence, the reason you became my maid was because you didn't want to participate in the imperial concubine selection. Now? Have you entered the palace and come to like it here?"
Li Tiao narrowed her eyes.
When she first transmigrated, she was found by the Li family and raised there to learn the manners of a Manchu woman, all in order to one day replace the real Miss Li who had eloped from the Li family long ago.
After learning about this, Li Tiao did not hide her desire not to enter the palace from Yun Hui.
But the result was ironic: those who didn't want to enter the palace did, while those who did were abandoned by the Li family.
However, Yunhui, who was abandoned by the Li family, was also remarkable. She entered the palace on her own and became the Fourth Prince's woman.
"Do you like the Fourth Prince?" Li Tiao asked after a long and complicated thought.
Although Yunhui didn't speak, her shy and timid demeanor said it all. She continued to say to Li Tiao, "Instead of being implicated because of Granny Liu's matter, you should try to leave here now."
Although Yunhui's method was exactly what Li Tiao had been thinking about, would she be able to rely on Yunhui's help?
Li Tiao hesitated.
"Why are you helping me like this?" Although Li Tiao and Yun Hui had a so-called master-servant relationship, they were not close and could not be considered friends.
"If I help you, I naturally hope you can help me with something in return. Let's consider it an exchange, where we each get what we want. Wouldn't that be a win-win situation?" Yun Hui's tone was gentle, but her words were full of calculation and scheming.
However, Li Tiao thought that Yun Hui's lack of concealment of her scheming was a form of honesty.
"What do you want me to help you with?" Li Tiao didn't say whether it was cooperating with Yun Hui. She needed to know what Yun Hui was planning to do first, otherwise she wouldn't be foolish enough to cooperate with Yun Hui.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
