Chapter 26.1: She became a rich little lady (1)

At this point in time, Tang He had already put away his feather fan and chose to maintain a respectful and cautious countenance. Although he took a seat as instructed, his demeanor was as if he was ready to stand up and speak or confess at any given moment.

On the other hand, Xie Qiu Yan, who also sat down as instructed and also had the same respectful and cautious countenance, had a kind of carefree and relaxed demeanor, as if he had been granted amnesty.

Although Fu Zhang Xi had returned to Xi Shan Manor the previous night, he did not plan to meet anyone immediately. Instead, he used the time to sort through his scattered memories. He needed to confirm who he could trust at the moment before instructing his hidden guards to call Tang He and Xie Qiu Yan over. As these two people also held prominent identities and were very eye-catching, Fu Zhang Xi chose to meet them at night.

After the two parties took their seats, Fu Zhang Xi looked at Tang He and said, “You should be able to guess that the reason why I’m only seeing you now is because I’ve encountered an unexpected situation.”

Tang He nodded tentatively, feeling a little apprehensive but did not dare to ask too many questions.

Only Xie Qiu Yan had a bewildered expression on his face.

After a moment of contemplation, Fu Zhang Xi decided to divulge to them his loss of memory. There was a limitation to how much he recalled and those close to him would immediately be able to pick up on discrepancies through his words and actions. It was better to be frank and inform those he trusted so that they could help with his cover-up.

Moreover, both Tang He and Xie Qiu Yan were with him when he went to the fiefdom. At that time, the climate at the border was harsh and cold, and there were occasional attacks from the northern barbarians. It was not an ideal place to be. Those who could accompany him through such harsh times and stayed by his side till now were his confidants and could be trusted.

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Although he was cursing Xie Qiu Yan in his heart, Tang He did not dare to act carelessly under Fu Zhang Xi’s gaze.

Tang He could only reply honestly, “When we arrived at the Capital, we did not manage to meet up with Your Highness, so we pretended that Your Highness was ill and had to stay outside the Imperial City to recuperate.

“But of course, if we just used that excuse, we wouldn’t be able to fool those in the Palace or the officials of the imperial court.” After a slight pause, he secretly stole a glance at Fu Zhang Xi before continuing, “So, I secretly sent someone to the Palace in advance, claiming to have received Your Highness’ orders to discuss the matter of welcoming you back with the cabinet and the Empress Dowager, and requested the Emperor to personally leave the Palace to welcome Your Highness, His Majesty’s imperial uncle, into the Imperial City. As to be expected, Empress Dowager did not allow it, saying that it would harm His Majesty and she rejected our proposal. Naturally, causing the matter of Your Highness’ entry into the Imperial City to be delayed.”

Upon hearing this, even Fu Zhang Xi had to say, “Such a good idea, what a bold move.”

Tang He humbly replied, “Your Highness has overpraised me.”

Fu Zhang Xi’s lips curled slightly, “Did you think that was a compliment?”

Tang He, “…”

Fu Zhang Xi stated flatly, “I’m afraid now, both inside and outside the court, everyone only sees me as an ambitious and treacherous person. Furthermore, the proposal is already rejected by the Empress Dowager. If I were to return to the Imperial City now, others would perceive me to be guilty and submissive to the Empress Dowager. However, dragging out the matter of my return is not a solution either.” 

Tang He did not know what else to say.

Finally, Fu Zhang Xi spoke up, “Prepare my brush and paper. I’ll write a letter to Prime Minister Sun.”

Tang He carefully observed Fu Zhang Xi’s expression before he mustered his courage to ask, “Your Highness, do you still remember Prime Minister Sun?”

Fu Zhang Xi glanced at Tang He expressionlessly, “One just needs to go out to the streets and ask any random person, and you can easily find out that the current prime minister’s surname is Sun. Moreover, when I left the Imperial City for my fiefdom, Sun Qi Chang was already part of the imperial cabinet, so naturally I know who Prime Minister Sun is.”

Tang He quickly lowered his head and apologized, “This subject is slow-witted.”

As he spoke, he gave a meaningful glance at Xie Qiu Yan, who had stayed silent beside him.

Xie Qiu Yan was completely mystified. His expression practically asking, ‘Why are you looking at me?’

Tang He waved his feather fan and said in a haughty manner, “Hurry up and prepare paper and brush for His Highness. I need to explain the current situation to His Highness and help him sort out those information. You’re currently the only one with nothing to do, you can’t even run a small errand?”

“Are you that dense?”

Xie Qiu Yan, “…”

Dammit! He really wanted to strangle the one surnamed Tang to death right now!

****

The next morning, before dawn, Father Zhen got up to prepare to go to the imperial court. The couple had a good relationship and always slept and woke up together. Pei-Shi would choose to personally help Father Zhen dress in his court attire instead of calling the maidservants in.

After washing up, the couple had breakfast together. The carriage outside was already prepared, so Pei-Shi instructed someone to prepare a lantern and personally accompanied Father Zhen out. Father Zhen did not sleep well last night because of the conversation with Pei-Shi, and now he was feeling a little worried. He held his wife’s hand and reminded her, “Be meticulous in dealing with Mother and Ting’er’s matters.”

Pei-Shi gave him a light nudge and replied, “I know. Now hurry up and go, it will not reflect well on you if you’re late for court.” 

Father Zhen sighed before entering the carriage to depart for the imperial court.

Pei-Shi watched her husband leave and her face displayed some weariness. She then took her maidservants back to the main courtyard and had her trusted servant, Nanny Bai, bring over the lists she had prepared a few days prior. She checked through the lists once more and gathered the items to be sent to Old Madame Zhen and Zhen Ting Yun later.

Thinking about the greeting gift that Zhen Ting Yun asked about yesterday, Pei-Shi pondered for a moment before pointing to the list that was intended for Zhen Ting Yun as she instructed, “Yesterday, Master said that he wanted to give a box of gems to Ting’er. Add another two more boxes of pearls… Whether it’s for making jewelry or hair accessories, these are all suitable and well-liked by young girls around her age.”

After all, Zhen Ting Yun was her own daughter, so Pei-Shi was generous.

After finally sorting out everything, Pei-Shi believed that the young girl with such a fail-looking body would need more time to recuperate from the arduous journey to the Capital. She would most likely want to sleep a little longer today. So Pei-Shi decided to stay in the main courtyard for a while longer before making her way over.

Unexpectedly, when she arrived, Zhen Ting Yun had already eaten her breakfast and was seated in front of the desk, completely absorbed in practicing her penmanship.

Pei-Shi witnessed this and inevitably could not stop her thoughts from wandering. She thought to herself, ‘It’s not surprising considering Old Madame Zhen’s personality. How can she allow anyone to sleep in? My daughter must have gotten used to getting up early. But is she really working hard on her calligraphy or is she just putting on an act?’

Although such thought circulated in her mind, Pei-Shi still plastered a smile on her face and walked forward, taking care not to call for anyone. She softly made her way over and stood beside Zhen Ting Yun, watching her practice her penmanship.

Zhen Ting Yun wanted to ignore the approaching person as she did not like to be disturbed when she was practicing calligraphy or studying. Even Old Madame Zhen would not disturb her during those times. But now Pei-Shi was standing beside her, and although she was quiet, her presence could not be ignored. Zhen Ting Yun could not blatantly ignore her, so she stopped writing and smiled at Pei-Shi, “Mother, please wait a moment. I’ll have someone bring water to wash my hands first.”

Liu Shun was well acquainted with Zhen Ting Yun’s habits, so she quickly brought water over.

Zhen Ting Yun quickly cleaned her hands, wiped them dry with a towel, and applied some moisturizing cream. Then she supported Pei-Shi to a chair before asking with a smile, “Mother, why have you come?”