The incident involving the Crown Prince at Yongfu Village has come to light, and the details about the assassin are more or less sorted out.
"When an assassin enters a normal household, they would certainly report it to the authorities. Those living in that area are all nobles, so it should have caused quite a stir. But this time, the assassin was silent—it's highly likely it involves the Crown Prince, and the matter has been temporarily suppressed. Yesterday at dusk, Prince Jin entered the Crown Prince Mansion, and it should be related to the assassin," said Gu Ling.
Zhou Xun nodded in agreement, "Yesterday, County Magistrate Zheng of Wannian County came to visit and also hinted that it might be related to Yongfu Village."
"Since it concerns that person, we are not in a position to intervene," the Gu Family listened quietly until now before gently saying.
"But now, it seems not up to one's wishes," Zhou Xun sighed.
Gu Ling's expression changed, "Did Zheng Mei visit yesterday for this matter as well?"
"What? Wasn't he here to apologize?" Tang Jiaojiao seemed displeased.
Zhou Xun smiled and said, "The assassin from that day came out from Yongfu Village, disappeared at the Duke Yan Mansion, and the Zhenzhou Imperial Academy is not far from the Duke Yan Mansion. How could the one in the palace not pay attention? Even now, the news of the Crown Prince being attacked is still suppressed!"
Prince Changshan in Zhenzhou was on good terms with Emperor Hui Zhao. After Emperor Hui Zhao's death, the relationship between Zhenzhou and the Capital City became delicate.
This time, the assassin is connected to both Yongfu Village and the Zhenzhou Imperial Academy; anyone would associate it with Prince Changshan.
So, why did Prince Changshan send people to probe the Crown Prince Mansion?
Assassinate?
Or rescue?
The young Crown Prince has been sick for so many years, how could the Emperor allow an accident to happen?
So—
"What has it got to do with me?" Tang Xiaobai asked.
How did it become her big business?
Zhou Xun was about to speak—
"Madam! Mr. Zhou!" A servant hurriedly shouted, "The Palace Messenger has arrived to summon the Second Miss to the palace!"
...
The carriage sped swiftly, carrying the nine-year-old legitimate second daughter of the Duke Yan Mansion towards the Forbidden Palace.
Gu Ling immediately mounted his horse and reassured the Gu Family as he looked back, "Sister, don't worry, I'll wait at the palace gate for Xiaobai."
The Gu Family nodded.
After Gu Ling left, she stood for a while longer before gently murmuring, "Go inside now..."
Sitting down in the inner hall, Tang Jiaojiao said, "Mother, don't worry. It's not Xiaobai's first time going to the palace, she used to—" Her sentence halted suddenly; she somehow couldn't recall the previous times her sister had entered the palace.
"In the past, we always accompanied her, but this time she's alone..." The Gu Family softly spoke, maintaining a calm tone, but a slight worry could be sensed in her words.
It's not only about being alone or accompanied by another person.
The Palace Messenger claimed that "the Empress heard the Second Miss Tang was innocently startled and is very concerned," but since when does concern warrant further disturbance? And to summon only Tang Xiaobai, even when Tang Jiaojiao requested to accompany her citing "her sister's young age," was refused, clearly looking to inquire about the assassin given Tang Xiaobai's youth.
"If we're innocent, then clear is clear; the Empress won't make things difficult for a child," Tang Jiaojiao consoled.
"Clear may not always clear itself," Zhou Xun responded, standing before the eaves of the door, "The speaker may be unintentional, but the listener may have ulterior motives."
Prince Changshan holds troops in the Northeast, and the Duke Yan holds troops in the Northwest. This incident with the assassin at the Crown Prince Mansion involves both, so the Emperor likely hasn't slept well these past two nights.
It wasn't a legitimately obtained throne, so the more insecure they feel, the more suspicious they become.
Interpreting an ordinary statement in an unusual way isn't impossible.
The Gu Family smiled softly and said, "If they were to suspect, they would have had suspicions long ago; what Xiaobai says is all the same."
Zhou Xun responded with a smile.
The Gu Family sighed again, "It's just a pity for my Xiaobai, being so suddenly summoned to the palace, I don't know if she's frightened. If only there was someone in the palace to look after her..."
Since it's a summons from the Empress, with the Emperor's shadow behind it, even if the Duke Yan Mansion has concubines who are on good terms with the imperial harem, they can't intervene in this matter.
The only one who could potentially intervene would be Empress Dowager Wang.
But when has that Empress Dowager ever taken her eyes off the Young Crown Prince?
...
"Please, Empress Dowager, look after her—" The frail and weak youth in the brocade robe rose and waved for the eunuch holding the medicinal soup to come forward, his gaze calm, "The young girl is naive; she's just innocently involved."
The image of the girl's bright, innocent eyes appeared in his mind.
Perhaps not so naive, she was quite clever when dealing with the officials of Wannian County the other day.
But this matter isn't simple after all—
He raised the medicine bowl to his nose, sniffed it, then placed it back on the eunuch's tray, "Did you increase the dosage?"
"Yes, it's doubled," answered an older man with white hair standing by the side.
"With this dosage, how much time do I have left?"
"No more than three years."
The youth's eyes darkened slightly.
Time was running out for him, and he had to arrange everything before the Emperor's set "death deadline" so that he could leave the Capital City.
If this time the Emperor noticed the existence of Ding Shiqi, he wouldn't be able to go to the Duke Yan Mansion anymore, and the plans previously set would end prematurely.
The fact that this little girl regarded him as a benefactor was sure to attract the Emperor's attention to him—
...
Qin Xiao absolutely cannot catch the Emperor's attention!
—This was the first principle Tang Xiaobai established on her way to the palace.
If she had known before that the assassin was tied to such a wide network, she wouldn't have mentioned Qin Xiao even if beaten to death.
By now, she's already disclosed everything both appropriate and inappropriate in front of the County Government people, so how was she supposed to turn the tide and extricate Little Qin from this situation?
Following the Palace Messenger, Tang Xiaobai walked with her head down, contemplating this issue all along the way.
The Palace Messenger couldn't help but glance back at her.
Why was the Second Miss Tang so quiet and well-behaved today? In the past—
Huh? What was she like in the past?
Just as the Palace Messenger was about to recall, with a blink of an eye, they had already reached the Lizheng Hall of the Empress.
"The second daughter of Duke Yan accepts the summons," the announcement echoed, pulling Tang Xiaobai's thoughts back.
She looked up, seeing the hall's entrance towering high, open and deep like a giant cave.
A red-robed attendant holding a horsetail whisk emerged, smiling broadly to guide her inside.
Tang Xiaobai quickly glanced around and noticed someone seated on the main dais, realizing it was the current Empress Yuan.
"Kneel," the attendant announced loudly.
Tang Xiaobai plopped down to her knees with a "thump."
In the silent hall, the sound of her knee hitting the ground was particularly clear.
Before she set off, Tang Xiaobai had worried about etiquette matters. Fortunately, there were attendants to guide her all the way, so the issue wasn't too big.
Guidance aside, her actions were slightly imperfect.
For instance, this kneel lacked controlled force and ended up rather awkward.
Just as Tang Xiaobai's heart was pounding in anxiety, a sudden burst of laughter came from the front.
"Little Bai, come here by my side," a warm female voice called out with a hint of laughter.
Tang Xiaobai hesitated for a moment.
Although Tang Jiaojiao had mentioned before that Empress Yuan was kind by nature and liked her, she always thought that was just to comfort her.
Could there really be such a gentle Empress?
Empress Yuan, seeing her kneeling without moving, gently smiled and signaled a palace maid to come over and assist her.
As she got up and walked forward, Tang Xiaobai finally got a clear look at this Empress.
In a deep purple robe adorned with noble patterns, sitting properly on a cushion on a low couch, with a splendid peony embroidered screen behind her, she was grandly beautiful, yet kind and amiable, making Tang Xiaobai feel subconsciously at ease at first sight.
Just then, her eyes caught a glimpse of the screen, and she suddenly froze—