novelaction Chapter 307 Zhou Bai's "Secret Thoughts"
Chapter 307 Zhou Bai's "Secret Thoughts"
Chapter 307 Zhou Bai's "Secret Thoughts"
After hearing this, Xiuyun was still uneasy and even secretly regretted that she shouldn't have come to see Shuer.
She wasn't worried about herself; it wouldn't matter if her past as a courtesan were revealed, but Shu'er absolutely couldn't be implicated, even if she had only stayed in a brothel for a little over ten days when she was ten years old.
Hua Yan extended her warm palm and gently patted her aunt's back, softly comforting her, "Aunt, don't worry. Not to mention that Madam Yun has already erased all traces, that Granny Yu may just think she looks familiar and may not take it to heart."
That being said, Hua Yan has always been cautious.
Her first thought was that it was related to the eldest daughter of the Duke of Qing's mansion, since Granny Yu had served the eldest daughter before she was confined to the slave quarters.
However, given the status of Xiuyun's parents, it seems indeed unreasonable for them to have any interaction with a wet nurse in a Duke's mansion.
Thinking about this, Hua Yan couldn't help but ask about some details from back then.
For example, the neighborhood where Xiuyun rented a place when she came to the capital with her mother, the places she frequented in her daily life, which family members of her father's colleagues she was acquainted with, and whether she had any unavoidable contact with people from the Duke's mansion.
She tried to find clues from the smallest details, and then she only needed to verify them one by one with Granny Yu's movements back then, and she believed that she could find the clues.
Although it was just a glance from Granny Yu that sparked the connection, Xiuyun didn't think Huayan was being nosy. On the contrary, she felt even more at ease with Huayan's cautiousness and meticulousness.
However, after so many years, many memories have become blurred and require some effort to recall.
Hua Yan listened carefully. Since she did not yet know about Granny Yu's past, she was unable to extract any information from these details for the time being, but she decided to keep them in mind for now.
Besides, Xia'er has been by my side for so long, it's time to let her do some things...
On the other side, Green Willow was chatting with Dingxiang, who was actually quite curious about Dingxiang's sudden marriage.
"Before she got married, Miss had always wanted to find me a husband. We were both in Jinan back then, you know that."
Dingxiang rested her chin on her hand and sighed helplessly.
She continued, "Since the Lord returned to the capital, Miss has finally achieved her goal and is paying more and more attention to my marriage. She probably hopes that I can also have a 'home' of my own... I have been by Miss's side since I was seven or eight years old, just like Mengzhu served Consort Chun. I have never thought of leaving Miss."
Later, the young lady went to see the Lady of the Marquis, who told me to choose from several servants. I just randomly pointed to one who looked pleasing to the eye.
"—Huh?" Green Willow was completely astonished!
After a while, Green Willow murmured, "Wasn't it a bit... hasty, Sister Lilac? This is about spending a lifetime together..."
"No, it's not that. I said I wanted to stay by Miss's side forever, and even if we got married in the future, he had to come with me to work for the Zhou family. He didn't refuse, so I felt that he was the one."
Green Willow blinked, thinking to herself: This actually works?!
Then, Green Willow thought of herself, but Dingxiang's method wouldn't work for her. Meng Shu had been planning to let her and Winter Melon leave the palace in two years; there were no other men in the palace, only eunuchs...
"I can't just find someone without connections..." Green Willow shook her head violently, breaking out in a cold sweat from her own fear—a palace maid and an eunuch having an affair could lead to their deaths!
Hua Yan had no idea that Lü Liu had such an absurd idea in order to stay by her side for a long time; otherwise, she would have sent her out of the palace long ago!
As the time approached Shenshi (3-5 PM), Ruizhu arrived at Bilangxuan carrying a lacquer box.
"Her Majesty has gone to Fengyi Palace and is probably already boating on the lake. Therefore, she was unable to come to see Madam Zhou off and specially sent this token to her."
Ruizhu opened the lacquer box and took out a jade pendant engraved with cloud patterns, which was somewhat similar to the Yunshang pendant that Madam Yun had given to Huayan.
Ruizhu said respectfully, "Madam Zhou, this jade pendant can be used to mobilize any business of the Tang family. Her Majesty said that Madam Zhou might need it when she goes to the Jianghuai region."
Xiuyun dared not accept it and repeatedly waved her hand in refusal.
Hua Yan reached out and took the jade pendant from Rui Zhu's hand, placing it into Xiu Yun's hand, and gently advised, "This is a token of Her Majesty's goodwill, Aunt, please accept it. Have your uncle carry it with him, just in case."
Having many debts is not a problem, since the Tang family has already shown them many favors, so there's no need to worry about this one. In some ways, Hua Yan is similar to Zhou Bai, for example, they are both shameless.
Zhou Bai, in Yingzhou Hall, nervously accompanied the Emperor to lunch.
During this time, he felt both comforted and uneasy, with deep worries buried in his heart.
Meng Shu, his niece, is outstanding in both appearance and talent. In his heart, she is the best and naturally deserves the love of the best men in the world. However, if she were to become a "favored concubine," that would be a different story.
The greater the favor bestowed upon her, the more worried Zhou Bai became, especially since his niece was also a "selected concubine" of the Tang family.
The Emperor has grand ambitions and is not a lustful man; his favor towards Meng Shu seems somewhat inexplicable.
Zhou Bai was a thoughtful man. His first thought was whether the Emperor intended to harm Meng Shu and Consort Chun. He then went even further, wondering if the Emperor might also be wary of the Marquis of Lin'an's residence...
Zhou Bai barely tasted his lunch, but he forced himself to stay awake and listened to the Emperor recount the case involving the Li family of Zhao County and the Grand Canal. He then met with a member of the Imperial Guard.
A young guard codenamed Dragon Thirteen, still wearing a black mask even in the June weather.
Zhou Bai felt stifled by the heat and even considered handing him the milk tea on the table beside him to cool him down...
Foreign officials are not allowed to enter the inner palace without permission, even within the temporary palace.
After this matter was settled, Jingming led the way, guiding Zhou Bai to Zhuohui Hall.
Hua Yan had already received a message from a palace attendant, and at almost the same moment, she also left Bilangxuan with Xiuyun.
Jingming remained standing guard outside the hall, never leaving. When Zhou Bai saw his niece, he still had to kneel and kowtow. Hua Yan was about to stop him, but Zhou Bai's gaze stopped her...
"Your Majesty, I kowtow and wish you good health and a long and blessed life."
Hua Yan's eyes welled up slightly. She stepped forward to support him, her voice a little hoarse: "Uncle, there's no need for such formalities. It's rare for us uncle and nephew to meet, so there's no need to be reserved."
Jingming was somewhat perfunctory in his job. Anyone would feel uncomfortable being in charge of such a blatant "surveillance," especially since he had just received a generous gift.
He then chatted with Green Willow, who understood perfectly and diligently fanned Jingming with a fan. Little Nianzi was even more impressive, almost giving Jingming a shoulder and leg massage in public.
So, as they chatted idly, they unknowingly drifted further and further away from Zhuo Huitang...
Inside the hall, seeing that Jingming was not watching, Zhou Bai told Hua Yan about his worries.
Hua Yan said, "The Emperor may have such thoughts, but Uncle, rest assured, no matter who it is, they will never be able to separate me and Consort Chun. Since Madam Yun trusted me, I will never let her down."
"Uncle, you have completed the task assigned by the Emperor during your trip out of the capital. You will serve in this post for three years. After your term is over, you should resign."
Zhou Bai was about to advise her to always be mindful of her boundaries when he suddenly heard the last sentence and couldn't help but exclaim "Ah!"
"Although I entered the palace, I never had any other thoughts. My uncle is devoted to nature and far away from the court. He should live for himself and for Sister Xiuyun, and doesn't need to plan for Shuer."
After resigning from my official post, I no longer need to have any contact with the Marquis of Lin'an's residence...
Zhou Bai: "......"
Hearing his niece's words, he felt inexplicably guilty. He did not have any intention of using the Marquis of Lin'an's mansion to seize the empress's position.
He did want a high position, but not for his own benefit. If Shu'er ever wanted to... he would be her helper.