People from the palace?
Lin Qingwan thought for a moment and then made up her mind.
Mu Xue worried, "Could it be that the news of your survival has leaked out?"
Lin Qingwan said, "Whether I live or die, not many people care. They may not be looking for me; perhaps they are following the Crown Prince."
Mu Xue was clearly only concerned with things related to Lin Qingwan, and didn't react much when she heard about the Crown Prince.
This made Qiu Hong's twitching eyelids quite noticeable.
"Who is so bold as to follow the Crown Prince?" Mu Xue asked purely out of curiosity.
Lin Qingwan stared at Qiu Hong, "How would I know about things in the palace? Luckily, Qiu Hong was observant and recognized the fabric of that person's clothes, otherwise we would have been discovered without even realizing it."
Qiu Hong lowered her eyelashes, her fingers slightly gripping the sides of her skirt. "Miss has escaped death, and I don't want her to be in danger again."
Lin Qingwan remained silent. Qiu Hong was very clever and had helped her many times in the Prime Minister's residence. However, she had always regarded Qiu Hong as her mother and avoided her in many matters, never considering that Qiu Hong's presence by her mother's side might have been arranged by someone else.
It may have been a coincidence that Cheng Min heard Lin Shi's words back then, but it's hard to say that it was a coincidence that she leaked the information to the Crown Prince.
However, none of the "crown prince's men" have appeared to this day.
Lin Qingwan believed that Zhao Cong had protected the person back then.
Qiu Hong's palms were slightly sweaty, and her cheeks were taut.
Only Mu Xue remained oblivious to the strange atmosphere in the room, pondering, "Miss, could it be His Majesty?"
Lin Qingwan snapped out of her reverie, softening the sharpness in her gaze, and chuckled lightly, "You forgot, someone gave me a pair of birds during the New Year."
Mu Xue suddenly realized, "It's that Consort Su!"
Lin Qingwan asked Qiu Hong, "You've been with your mother for a long time, do you know what the background of this Consort Su is?"
Qiu Hong knew she was clever, but she never expected that just based on a palace dress, she would so quickly determine that Qiu Hong was the Crown Prince's person and posed no threat to her.
Qiu Hong had thought about how to explain herself if she was discovered, but now it seems she had worried too much.
Her tense body slowly relaxed. "Consort Su's father was once a general in the Binzhou garrison. When the Crown Prince attacked the Xiongnu, many veteran generals did not think highly of him. Only General Su mobilized all the men in Binzhou to join the army and paid out of his own pocket to raise enough military rations and warhorses."
"The Crown Prince has achieved a resounding victory in his first battle. Generals from all over the country have come to congratulate him, but the Crown Prince only drinks with General Su."
"Later, General Su fought many victories with the Crown Prince, but unfortunately he was old and, after being injured, he caught a fever from being caught in the rain and did not survive."
"General Su had only one daughter, Su Yun, and on his deathbed, he entrusted her to the Crown Prince."
"The young prince was initially taken care of by Consort Su. At that time, many people thought that Consort Su was the young prince's birth mother and regarded Consort Su as the crown prince's mistress."
"Later, when the Crown Prince returned to the capital, everyone realized that Consort Su was not favored, and the young prince did not call her mother."
Seeing that Lin Qingwan had no expression on her face, Qiu Hong continued, "However, the Crown Prince has not been close to women for many years. Consort Su is the only one with a formal title, and everyone in the Eastern Palace treats her with the respect due to a mistress."
Lin Qingwan pressed her finger to her lower lip, pondered for a moment, and said, "That is indeed a unique advantage."
"But the way she sent the bird last time..." There was a hint of disdain in her eyes, "...was a bit lousy."
Qiu Hong almost burst out laughing. "Consort Su is quite pretty, but she always thinks the Crown Prince treats her differently, so she often does things that make him angry."
Lin Qingwan couldn't quite put her finger on what was wrong with Zhao Cong's two visits, and sincerely said, "Does the Crown Prince need to be provoked if he's unhappy?"
*
The Eastern Palace.
After finishing his official duties, Zhao Cong thought of Feng'er, only to find out that he had already gone to the Imperial Academy.
Zhao Cong was taken aback. "He went there by himself?"
Cang Ying's eyes lit up with joy. "The young prince didn't sleep in today; he went after breakfast."
Zhao Cong was not quite used to it. "What will you be teaching today, sir?"
Cang Ying told him everything, “It’s no different from usual.”
That's why Zhao Cong felt something was amiss.
In the morning, he sent Shen Xu to the Imperial Academy again to confirm that no new students had arrived, and the teachers had not brought any pretty maids; everything was exactly the same as usual.
Zhao Cong clicked his tongue and said, "Hey, that's strange."
After school in the afternoon, Zhao Cong prepared Feng'er's favorite food in the side hall. As soon as Feng'er entered, he dropped his books and rushed into Zhao Cong's arms, "Daddy!"
Zhao Cong's heart softened. "I heard you were exceptionally well-behaved today, and even the teacher praised you."
Feng'er rubbed against him like a puppy, sniffing his scent.
Zhao Cong felt a tickle on his neck from the hair. "What are you doing?"
"Smell my father."
Zhao Cong was puzzled, "When did you develop such a strange quirk?"
Feng'er didn't speak. Not satisfied with just smelling his outer robe, she used her two little hands to untie his belt.
The last person to offend him like this was Lin Qingwan!
"Nonsense!" Zhao Cong grabbed the little hands that were messing around on his body. "Eat your food."
Feng'er's expression was flat, even a little disappointed. "Oh, Daddy doesn't smell good today."
Zhao Cong: "..."
It's not food, so what's the point of talking about whether it's fragrant or not?
Zhao Cong noticed that he wasn't eating with his usual appetite, nor was he crying or making a fuss. He seemed as gloomy as a cloudy day, which made people feel depressed.
After leaving the side hall, Zhao Cong asked Cang Ying, "What's wrong with a little child smelling your scent?"
Cang Ying: "This servant only knows that when a child wants to nurse, he will climb onto his mother to smell the milk."
Zhao Cong's face stiffened, and he subconsciously glanced at his chest before coldly saying, "Nonsense!"
Cang Ying shuddered. "This servant deserves to die."
He didn't see Feng'er's reaction to Zhao Cong, and therefore didn't know why the Crown Prince was angry.
After returning home, Zhao Cong lost interest in reading the memorials. He would occasionally glance down at his chest, thinking to himself, "Tsk, I don't have any milk for my son to drink."
No, a baby this big doesn't need milk!
How about we send some milk over?
So, before going to bed, Feng'er happily received a bowl of steaming hot milk.
Youlan Palace.
"Milk?" Su Yun rolled her eyes. "All you do is torment the Crown Prince all day long. Why would you drink milk for no reason? Aren't you afraid of being too full to sleep?"
Cui'er knew she was upset and comforted her, "It's just a child, Consort, don't be upset."
"He's not even the Crown Prince's biological son, so I don't know why the Crown Prince likes him so much."
"He'd rather spend time with a child than look at me more."
Su Yun had been by Zhao Cong's side for five years, and had gained both a title and a position, but she felt desolate every night and sometimes couldn't even sleep.
She was a young woman who longed to be loved, to be loved by the Crown Prince.
Even without love, it is good to fulfill one's duty of service.
Cui'er didn't know how to comfort her, so she changed the subject, "Consort, there are indeed people living in the small courtyard in the east of the city, but the girl is a stranger."
Su Yun's heart tightened; the thing she feared most had happened.
A girl whose face I don't recognize?
"Is the Crown Prince keeping another woman there?"
Cui'er shook her head, "It's not certain yet."
Su Yun said coldly, "Useless!"
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