Chapter 8: Encounter with the Regent

On the way back, Tang Chuyao’s mood improved greatly. Dujian noticed her young lady’s happiness and was also cheerful.

Her senior sister curiously pulled back the curtain to look at the scenery outside the carriage.

Xiaoyao Valley was over fifty miles away from the capital, nestled in a very serene gorge that resembled a hidden paradise.

Tang Chuyao had already decided that once everything in the capital was settled, she would return to Xiaoyao Valley.

After all, it was the place where she had grown up, and she felt the deepest affection for it, having long regarded Xiaoyao Valley as her home…

Just as she was thinking this, she suddenly heard her senior sister shout, “Stop the carriage!”

Tang Chuyao was a bit puzzled, “What’s wrong, Senior Sister?”

Huang Xiaoyu turned around and looked at Tang Chuyao, saying, “Junior Sister, wait here for a moment; I’ll be right back.”

After saying that, Huang Xiaoyu leaped out of the carriage window, her agile movements allowing her to disappear into the forest in an instant.

“System, what’s happening?”

“Host, three kilometers ahead, someone is attempting to assassinate the regent. The regent’s men are fighting against those assassins.”

The regent?

Tang Chuyao suddenly pictured the regent holding her corpse, and scenes of herself lying in a coffin for the regent to mourn flashed through her mind.

A chill ran down her spine, and she crossed her arms, rubbing her elbows.

“Miss, don’t be afraid.” Seeing Tang Chuyao’s expression, Dujian assumed she was scared and quickly moved to sit beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

Since she lost her mother at a young age, whenever Tang Chuyao was frightened, she would hug herself tightly.

Dujian felt an indescribable pain and pity in her heart.

Tang Chuyao knew Dujian misunderstood her, but she didn’t explain.

At this moment, she was thinking about how to get her senior sister to help the regent when she heard the sound of something slicing through the air.

Then, a figure darted into the carriage; it was her senior sister Huang Xiaoyu.

As soon as Huang Xiaoyu returned to the carriage, she saw the flurry of activity among the servants and narrowed her eyes slightly before quickly regaining her composure. She casually said, “Junior Sister, just a few small bandits ahead; they’ve all been subdued, so there’s no need to worry.”

“Let’s go!” Huang Xiaoyu instructed the driver through the curtain, and the carriage began to move slowly.

“How was it just now?” Tang Chuyao communicated with the system nonchalantly.

“The assassins took poison beforehand, so after the assassination failed, they all committed suicide.”

“Senior sister didn’t take action; the regent’s men dealt with the assassins.”

Tang Chuyao couldn’t help but sigh. Being in a high position came with its own troubles. The regent had been courted by several princes, but he hadn’t aligned himself with any of them.

If Tang Chuyao wasn’t mistaken, the mastermind behind the assassination of the regent was likely Prince Rui.

Prince Rui was narrow-minded, and Tang Chuyao remembered that it was around this time when the regent was implementing new policies.

The new policies had affected the interests of many powerful figures, and among those who suffered the most was Prince Rui and his faction.

Prince Rui had once tried to recruit Gu Qingchen, but unfortunately, Gu Qingchen ignored him completely!

“The one assassinating the regent is Prince Rui!”

The system’s voice confirmed Tang Chuyao’s deduction.

Gu Huaifeng was a man of Prince Rui!

Without the regent’s support, Prince Rui had turned his sights on the General of the National Defense!

So Gu Huaifeng deliberately approached her, marrying her was to gain the support of the General of the National Defense for Prince Rui!

Previously, Prince Rui had indeed become the crown prince, but afterwards, she was locked away in a side courtyard of the Xuanping Marquis’s residence and lost touch with the outside world…

Just now, Gu Qingchen had detected a fleeting presence, but that person had excellent lightness skills and quietly followed, only spotting that person board a carriage.

At that moment, through the lifted curtain, he saw a woman inside, wearing a veil that revealed only her eyes, which sparkled like clear water.

Gu Qingchen was startled; was it a little girl?

Everyone knew the regent was ruthless, with spies all over the Great Qi, making him the most esteemed figure besides the emperor!

But what people didn’t know was that the regent had been searching for a girl for a long time.

The girl had a pair of lively eyes and was a disciple of a friend of his master.

Unfortunately, he didn’t know what had happened to her.

He heard that three years ago, the girl had also left the capital, and he had been searching for her but had no news!

He never expected to encounter her here!

“Yefeng, go check which estate this carriage belongs to.”

“Understood!”

After Tang Chuyao arrived at the Wenyong Bo estate, she took her senior sister and Dujian to her courtyard, Luomei Courtyard.

To her surprise, before she could even enter her courtyard, she ran into her aunt, Mei Xiao’e, at the entrance! Behind her was Tang Chuying.

Mei Xiao’e was the only female head of the Wenyong Bo estate. Although she was just a concubine, she lived more comfortably than the legitimate wife!

She controlled all the expenses and income of the estate.

Speaking of income, Tang Chuyao secretly gritted her teeth!

The entire Wenyong Bo estate had been in decline since her mother married in.

The old marquis had two sons; her scoundrel father, Tang Youze, was the eldest and naturally inherited the marquis title.

However, her scoundrel father held no official position in court, merely having a title with no achievements.

Tang Chuyao’s uncle, Tang You’an, was uneducated and spent his days idling. The back courtyard not only had concubines but also maidservants.

Tang Chuyao also had a married younger aunt, Tang Yushan.

The large Wenyong Bo estate relied on Tang Chuyao’s mother’s dowry to survive!

It was embarrassing to say it out loud!

However, in her previous life, Tang Chuyao had been eager to curry favor with her so-called family and had never dared to mention her mother’s dowry.

When she got married, her scoundrel father and aunt had only given her ten percent of her mother’s dowry!

This time, her scoundrel father and this so-called Wenyong Bo estate had no financial ties with her!

She intended to take back everything that belonged to her!

Tang Chuyao coldly snorted in her heart, but her face showed no emotion.

“Miss is here!” Mei Xiao’e said with a beaming smile.

Seeing the bright eyes of Tang Chuyao, Mei Xiao’e felt an inexplicable tightness in her heart; those eyes were too much like Chi Ran’s!

Thinking of Chi Ran, a flicker of disdain crossed Mei Xiao’e’s eyes!

What if she was the legitimate daughter of the General of the National Defense?

Wasn’t she still a fallen flower?

Now, she was enjoying her husband, basking in her rich dowry, and bullying her daughter!!

“Host, this Aunt Mei is looking down on your mother!”

Tang Chuyao remained calm but was a bit surprised; the system could actually read minds!!

“System, you can read minds?”

“Host, I can’t read minds, but I can interpret human micro-expressions!”

Sometimes, Tang Chuyao didn’t quite understand what the system meant; for example, when the system mentioned “humans,” it should be referring to people, right?

“Micro-expressions?”

“Yes, host, it’s about observing the other person’s facial expressions and subtle movements to judge their thoughts.”

“I was planning to visit the young lady earlier, but there were too many things in the estate, and I couldn’t find the time.”

“I heard from Ying’er that this morning, Moke made the young lady unhappy; that was my oversight!”

“Fortunately, Ying’er taught Moke a lesson in time and vented the young lady’s anger!”

They say you shouldn’t hit someone who is smiling; Tang Chuyao admired Aunt Mei’s acting skills!