The light and shadows on Yueli Terrace were dim, and the lights in the house were bright. Xiao Yan and Tang Ning sat side by side beside the horizontal railing.
The lake was rippling under the waterside pavilion. After Jinyun and Canglang entered the house at the same time, Canglang couldn't help but glance at the little girl in the house. He saw her leaning against the table in a rather casual manner.
Seeing them come in, she hurriedly wanted to get up, but her supervisor reached out and grabbed the corner of the table first, and only let go after the girl dodged.
Canglang placed the food on the table, lowered his head and reflected silently.
He was indeed blind a few days ago.
He actually wanted to match the girl with the boy from the Fu family...
It must be because of the protection of his parents who had died long ago, that he was not beaten to death by the governor.
Tang Ning didn't notice Cang Lang's complicated feelings. He stood up and asked anxiously, "Commander Jin, how is the situation at Prince Cheng's Mansion? Is my aunt okay?"
"Don't worry, girl. The princess is fine."
Tang Ning heaved a sigh of relief when he heard that, and then he heard Jin Yun continue: "It's just that the old concubine in Prince Cheng's mansion is not feeling well."
"Is she really sick?" Tang Ning was surprised.
Jinyun nodded, "She is indeed ill, and she is very ill. She has not been feeling well since she came to Jiyun Lane. Today, she suddenly coughed up blood. The imperial physician Sun who stayed in the palace to take care of her is now helpless. He said that if it weren't for Madam Qin's acupuncture, the old concubine of the Prince Cheng's Palace might not survive the night."
He paused here:
"Lingyin said that Madam Qin was in the palace taking care of the Grand Empress Dowager and it was difficult for her to get away. The Crown Prince of the Cheng Palace was quite dissatisfied. He also said that the old concubine was seriously ill, and he wanted to take Madam Qin out of the palace for acupuncture before sending her back to the palace..."
Xiao Yan's originally cold expression was suddenly filled with frost.
"What the hell is he?"
He didn't know whether he was talking about Xie Yin or the Queen Mother of Prince Cheng's Mansion.
Jinyun's eyes also turned cold for a moment: "Princess Cheng also taught me this way."
Tang Ning actually didn't have a very deep impression of the old concubine in Prince Cheng's mansion. The concubine disliked neither her aunt nor her.
Although she had been in and out of Prince Cheng's Palace many times before and occasionally stayed overnight there, she had very little time to spend with the old concubine. On the few times they met, she always had a stern face and was very difficult to get along with. She was too lazy to even show the minimum of warmth on the surface.
The old empress dowager was seriously ill, but it didn't concern her much. The only thing Tang Ning was worried about was Princess Cheng.
"What about my aunt? She's not feeling well. Would the palace let her go to take care of her?"
"That's not the case. After the princess returned, except for that confused Prince Xie, all the masters and servants in Prince Cheng's mansion were very enthusiastic about her. Prince Cheng felt sorry for the princess because she was pregnant, so he didn't let her take care of her. Instead, he personally took care of the old concubine."
Xiao Yan immediately grasped the key point: "How did Prince Cheng know that the princess was pregnant?"
Tang Ning also looked up. Her aunt had clearly said that she would not tell Prince Cheng about this matter after she returned.
Jinyun said, "It was Nanny Jiang who said that. After Nanny Jiang accompanied the princess back to the palace, she kept persuading the princess to make peace with Prince Cheng. She had never met Prince Cheng in private, but she met a kitchen servant in the backyard of the palace. The servant went to see Prince Cheng in the name of delivering medicine to the concubine."
The news that Lingyin sent back was only a few sentences, but just a few sentences were enough to prove that Nanny Jiang was not clean.
After hearing this, Tang Ning's face changed: "I'm going to pick up my aunt!"
She hurriedly tried to walk out, but Xiao Yan grabbed her wrist.
"Brother..." Tang Ning turned around anxiously.
Xiao Yan didn't let her go: "Have you forgotten what I told you? No matter what happens, you must not act without a plan. Even in the most dangerous times, there is always a chance to survive."
"Sometimes being too impulsive is the beginning of failure. Don't lose your composure because of a panic. Only when you calm down first can you calmly deal with any situation."
"But Auntie..."
"As long as Ayane is here, the princess won't be in any harm's way."
Xiao Yan saw that Song Tangning's face was turning pale. He could feel her fear as he held her wrist, but he still did not let go. He just looked up at the little girl and stretched out his hand to pull her back to his side.
He sat silently on the couch, like a piece of jade from a mountain, calm and unobtrusive, but he held the little girl's hand without moving, just waiting for her to calm down.
Tang Ning stood for a moment, and the impulse just now subsided.
When Xiao Yan noticed that her breathing had stabilized, he slowed down his voice and continued.
"Madame Jiang has a problem. You have noticed this early on. Since you have asked Lingyin and the others to protect the princess, and Gu Helian has also brought people to stay near Prince Cheng's mansion, what are you still worried about?"
"I..."
"Have you ever thought about what would happen if you went to Prince Cheng's Mansion just now?"
Tang Ning pursed her lips tightly. If she went, her aunt's trip would be in vain, Nanny Jiang would have no evidence, and it would alert the enemy.
Seeing that she seemed to have figured it out, Xiao Yan took the little girl to sit beside him and patiently guided her.
"Do you remember who sent the message to Zuozhou when Princess Cheng sent someone to deliver it? If Nanny Jiang really betrayed the princess, Prince Cheng would not have been unaware of the princess's contact with Gu Helian, and he would not have let him find out about the dirty deeds of the Song family."
"Also, when you were staying in Prince Cheng's mansion, and even when you later arrived at Jiyun Lane, Nanny Jiang stayed by Princess Cheng's side almost every day. She even went with you to Jingzhao Prefecture to look for Song Shulan's identity document. If she really had ulterior motives, your previous plots with Princess Cheng would have been exposed long ago. How could you have caught the Song family and Prince Cheng off guard?"
Tang Ning was a little stunned when he heard this: "But the news from the palace..."
Is it fake?
Xiao Yan seemed to see through her doubts and said calmly, "There is definitely nothing wrong with the news. The problem is Nanny Jiang. She is indeed not so clean, but she may not have no master-servant relationship with the princess. I heard that she was the princess's wet nurse and took care of her for decades?"
Tang Ning nodded: "Grandmother passed away early, and grandpa was busy with court affairs. For a long time, my mother and aunt stayed with Nanny Jiang. Later, my mother got married, and Nanny Jiang stayed to take care of my aunt. She didn't go with her to the Prince Cheng's Mansion until my aunt got married."
She heard from her aunt about Nanny Jiang, who said that she was originally someone close to Old Madam Rong. After Old Madam Rong died of illness a few years after giving birth to Princess Chen, it had been Nanny Jiang who had been taking care of her aunt and mother.
Nanny Jiang had never been married and had no children. She took care of my aunt as if she were her own child. My aunt also treated her like a half-mother and always called her Grandma.
"She is the closest person to my aunt. I really don't understand why she would betray her aunt?"
"Sometimes betrayal may not be intentional." Xiao Yan said.
Tang Ning tilted his head, confused for a moment.
Xiao Yan let go of her hand and said slowly: "The reason why human nature is complicated is that good and evil are only a thought away. Some people do evil things without necessarily harboring evil intentions. It's just that once something starts, even if you know it's wrong, you can only bite the bullet and keep going."
Tang Ning seemed to be thinking about something.
Xiao Yan said: "And since we know that Nanny Jiang has problems, and Prince Cheng's mansion is indeed not clean, it will not be difficult to trick Prince Cheng into revealing his true colors."
Tang Ning quickly sat up straight: "Really?"
"real."
The little girl's eyes widened when she heard that. She sat on the jade and sandalwood couch with her hands on her knees and her back straight. "Brother, teach me."
Xiao Yan chuckled at her well-behaved appearance, picked up the long chopsticks with gold threads on the top, picked up some dishes and placed them on the bowl in front of her: "Eat first."
"Brother!"
Tang Ning was anxious, how could she have the mind to eat!
Xiao Yan ignored her anger and leaned back, his long sleeves falling to his sides as he tapped the edge of the bowl lazily, "Eat."
He was already very skinny, how much flesh would he have left if he was even hungrier? It hurt to hold him.
Seeing the little girl's dissatisfaction, he coaxed her gently: "Eat quickly, and I'll teach you after you finish eating."