Chapter 19

The sudden collapse of the tall building not only stirred up a cloud of yellow dust above the Prince of Lu mansion, but it also seemed to shake the entire Divine Capital City three times.

While others at least pretended to be concerned and sent people to inquire about the news only after leaving the Marquis of Huai’an’s mansion, Lady Pei sent someone out immediately.

It was her own grandson, and both out of affection and duty, the Duke of Zheng’s mansion, as the maternal family, should have expressed their concern first.

After hearing the news, the palace also sent a eunuch to visit.

To everyone’s surprise, the King of Lu, who was always known for his arrogant behavior, was unusually low-key about today’s accident.

He forced himself to meet the envoy from the palace, blaming the incident on the tower being old and dilapidated, then closed his doors to visitors and focused on recuperating.

This shocked many people.

The King of Lu wasn’t the kind of person who would swallow a bitter pill!

Shouldn’t he have made a big fuss about it, causing chaos throughout the Divine Capital ?

Or was it really just an accident, as the Lu Wangfu claimed?

But if that were the case, he should have found the builders and hanged them, why was there no movement at all?

It was truly strange.

The Prince of Lumansion.

The Prince of Lu was currently resting in bed, his face pale and bloodless, only his eyes remained as sharp as ever.

“Did your master know about this disaster when he saw me that day?”

He looked at the middle-aged Taoist sitting on the chair by the bed and asked.

The Taoist said, “Haven’t I already told Your Highness? The image I saw on your face that day was one of certain death.”

The Prince of Lu chuckled, which caused a pain in his internal organs, making him cough. The taste of blood immediately filled his throat: “Master, since you could save me, why didn’t you see it through to the end? Why did you make me suffer this pain and stay in a building destined to collapse?”

The Taoist said calmly, “Your Highness, if you don’t pay a price, how can you overcome this obstacle? At least you’ve saved your life now.”

The Prince of Lu’s face darkened: “Why didn’t you spread the word? Someone dared to attempt to assassinate me in the Divine Capital . I’ll kill his entire family”

The Taoist shrugged and told him, “Then even a god wouldn’t be able to save you.”

The Prince of Lu was incredulous: “I’m a prince!”

The Taoist shook his head: “You will die.”

The King of Lu said, “If I tell my father”

The Taoist still said, “You will die.”

The muscles on the Prince of Lu’s face twitched, and he stared at him with a sinister gaze.

The Taoist got up and left: “If you don’t believe me, I can’t help you.”

“Wait.” The King Lu called out to him.

The Taoist turned around, a hint of amusement in his eyes, looking at him.

The Prince of Lu stared at him and asked, “What do you want from me?”

The Taoist let the amusement spread from his eyes to his face.

He said politely, “I just want to use Your Highness at some point in the future.”

With that, the Taoist bowed slightly, then turned and left.

The Prince of Lu stared at his back with a dark expression, until he saw the door open and close, and the inner chamber returned to peace.

The breath that had been stuck in his chest dissipated, and he relaxed his tense body slightly, feeling a sense of relief.

For the first time in his life, the King of Lu felt fear.

It turned out, he could die too…

The Taoist’s words weren’t enough to sway him, nor could they truly convince him.

However, after the eunuch from the palace briefly greeted him, the Forbidden really didn’t make any statement about today’s incident.

It was as if they had accepted the Prince of Lu’s own explanation, believing it was just an accident.

Why?

The Prince of Lu lay weakly on the bed, his eyes blank as he stared at the canopy above.

He felt like he had walked into a fog, wandering around, lost and helpless.

The sad part was, he didn’t know how he got in, nor did he know how to get out…

The Duke of Yue’s mansion.

Qiao Ling used her chopsticks to pick up a piece of sliced raw fish.

She held it up to the sunlight and saw that it was as thin as paper, with clear veins. A breath of air could make it flutter like a piece of paper, spinning lightly in the air before finally falling to the ground.

She exclaimed in amazement, “Wow!”

Zhang Yuying had already washed her hands and was wiping them with a handkerchief. The maids in the courtyard collected the scraps of the crucian carp and prepared to bury them in the flower bed. Others collected the knives that had been used.

Zhang Yuying said, “I didn’t expect Madam to like this. There should be plenty of river prawns and seafood in the south.”

Qiao Ling said, “I’ve eaten fish, but I’ve never eaten it like this!”

She happily put a chopstick full in her mouth and began to chew, chew, chew.

Seeing this, Zhang Yuying smiled and said, “This is an ancient way of eating. It’s said that in the previous dynasty, someone used slices of perch with fragrant soft flowers, mixed with soy sauce. Because the slices of perch were snow-white and the sauce was golden yellow, the emperor of the previous dynasty named it ‘Golden Minced Jade Sliced Fish’, which became famous throughout the land and has been popular to this day.”

Jinzi, who had been circling around Qiao Ling’s feet, suddenly perked up his ears.

Qiao Ling knew that a guest had arrived when she saw this. She looked towards the entrance and saw the maids draw back the curtains as Fangyi walked in.

“Madam’s wedding dress has been made. I’ll send it over later. You can try it on and see if it fits.”

She mentioned this just in passing, she had something else to say: “The date for entering the palace has been set for three days from now. The wedding will be the second day after that, four days from now. You should be prepared for these two things.”

Outer court ladies, especially those with high ranks, had to enter the palace to pay their respects to the mistress of the palace before their wedding. But since the empress position was vacant, they would have to go see the Empress Dowager—this was something that Madam Jiang had mentioned to Qiao Ling a long time ago.

She nodded in agreement. At this moment, Lady Liang sent someone to summon her.

Fangyi smiled when she heard this, winking playfully at her and whispering, “Madam is actually cold on the outside but warm on the inside.”

Qiao Ling thought the same.

Unexpectedly, when she went there, Lady Liang didn’t mention entering the palace, but brought up another matter.

“Come with me, my mother wants to see you.”

Qiao Ling was surprised: “Ah?!”

She thought, Mother-in-law’s mother, isn’t that the late emperor’s sister, the Elder Princessof Wu’an with the title?

Why would she want to see me out of the blue?

Qiao Ling subconsciously thought that Lady Liang had told the Elder Princessof Wu’an something. She looked up and saw that Lady Liang was also puzzled: “Why would my mother want to see you…”

Her brows furrowed, but she didn’t say much. She had already arranged for someone to prepare the carriage, and now that she saw Qiao Ling, she took her away directly.

Qiao Ling couldn’t ask Lady Liang, so she whispered to Zhang Yuying as they went out, “What kind of person is Princess of Wu’an?”

Zhang Yuying whispered to her, “She’s a very, very powerful person!”

Qiao Ling was actually a bit arrogant and dismissive of those above her. Hearing this, her back straightened a bit.

She thought: If she’s as proud as Mother-in-law, and just as unreasonable, I’ll definitely retort!

Humph!

Lady Liang turned back and glanced at the two of them, frowning: “What are you two whispering about?!”

Qiao Ling quickly said, “Nothing, nothing!” and followed closely behind.

At the beginning of the dynasty, the High Emperor Gaozu bestowed the title of Duke upon the nine most meritorious ministers, allowing their descendants to inherit the title. Among these nine, the first four were the most prominent.

When Qiao Ling had looked at the book Madam Jiang had given her, she felt that the titles of the first four Dukes Zhen, An, Ning, Ding”—were very meaningful. Especially when she learned that the Dukes or their heirs of these four families were each guarding a different region, she found it even more intriguing.

The Duke of Zhenguo was the Nie family in the north, the Duke of Anguo was the Liang family in the west, the Duke of Ningguo was the Yang family in the south, and the Duke of Dingguo was the Zhu family in the east.

The Duke of Yue’s mansion, the Jiang family, was right in the middle of the nine Dukes, the fifth one.

The first four Dukes were all guarding the four frontiers. If the Duke was old, The Prince could take his place. And she just happened to be married into the fifth Duke’s mansion…

Qiao Ling pondered.

This time, they weren’t actually going to the Duke of Angguo’s mansion, but to the Elder Princessof Wu’an’s princess mansion. In terms of regulations, it was even higher than the former.

Qiao Ling followed Lady Liang inside, and it took a lot of effort to get there. They passed through several courtyards before finally meeting the “very, very powerful” Elder Princessof Wu’an, as Zhang Yuying had described.

It was at this moment that Qiao Ling learned that Lady Liang’s name was “Qiying”.

To Qiao Ling’s surprise, the Elder Princessof Wu’an’s attire wasn’t particularly luxurious. This wasn’t to say that her clothes were simple, but rather that dignity and solemnity occupied most of her aura. Looking at her face, she wasn’t very similar to Lady Liang.

Qiao Ling thought, looking at this, Mother-in-law looks more like her father, the Duke of Angguo.

A tabby cat, seemingly quite old, was squatting on the table where the Princess of Wu’an was having tea served. Its tail hung loosely, and its round eyes calmly watched Qiao Ling.

Qiao Ling couldn’t help but say, “Mother-in-law also has a tabby cat, but hers has a white patch around its neck…”

The Elder Princessof Wu’an said, “That’s its child.”

She was over sixty years old, her hair was almost completely white, and there was no smile on her face. Her tone was still gentle, though. After answering, she spoke to Lady Liang for a few words, then dismissed her: “I’ll have a few words with my granddaughter-in-law alone.”

Lady Liang was slightly uneasy and subconsciously turned to look at Qiao Ling.

The Elder Princessof Wu’an saw this and said, “What are you afraid of? Do you think I’ll eat her?”

Lady Liang thought to herself, Mother, be careful! My daughter-in-law is very crazy when she loses her temper. Don’t provoke her for no reason, if you push her too far, she’ll dare to do anything to anyone…

She went out with Zhang Yuying and the other maids, worried.

The Elder Princessof Wu’an started chatting with Qiao Ling about ordinary things: “How are you settling in at the Jiang family, Miss Qiao?”

Qiao Ling nodded a bit stiffly: “Replying to Your Highness, I’m settling in well. Everyone is very kind to me.”

The Elder Princessof Wu’an nodded and asked, “How is Qiying treating you?”

Qiao Ling quickly said, “Replying to Your Highness, Mother-in-law is also very kind to me, like a real daughter!”

The tabby cat’s tail swayed gently.

The Elder Princessof Wu’an also showed a subtle smile: “But the rumors I’ve heard outside are different.”

Qiao Ling sighed: “Your Highness, how can you believe rumors!”

The Elder Princessof Wu’an shook her head slightly: “I know my daughter.”

She sighed softly, then said, “Qiying is a bit clumsy but clever, a bit spoiled, but she’s not a bad person. Before, there wasn’t anyone in the Jiang family who could talk to her. You can talk to her, it’s a good thing for her.”

Qiao Ling said earnestly, “Your Highness, Mother-in-law is really good to me, and I will treat her well too!”

The Elder Princessof Wu’an smiled, her gaze shifting to the side. A maid came over with a tray holding a wooden box inlaid with pearls and jade: “When you first arrived in the Divine Capital , Qiying wronged you. This is my way of making it up to you, take it.”

Seeing her sincere tone, Qiao Ling hesitated for a moment before accepting it.

When she opened it, her eyes widened slightly. It looked a bit like the tabby cat: “Grandmother~ There’s a set of really beautiful jewelry in here~ and a stack of silver notes!”

The Elder Princessof Wu’an said, “Take it.”

Qiao Ling: “But Grandmother~ This is too much!”

The Elder Princessof Wu’an smiled, stood up, and walked towards the inner chamber: “Go back.”

The tabby cat glanced at Qiao Ling, nimbly jumped off the table, and followed her.

Qiao Ling held the box, her eyes dazed, her feet unsteady, and she went out smiling.

Lady Liang frowned, waiting anxiously in the courtyard. When she saw her come out, she subconsciously wanted to go forward, but then she thought better of it and stopped, waiting for her to approach with a stern face.

Qiao Ling held the box tightly, went up to her, and said with a dazed smile, “Mother-in-law~ I admit I was a bit rude to you before!”

Lady Liang: “…”

Lady Liang hesitated, her lips moving a few times before finally lifting her chin and saying coldly, “Let’s go!”

Qiao Ling followed closely behind, then solemnly told Zhang Yuying, who was also a bit confused, “Yuying, you’re not allowed to say bad things about my Grandmother anymore. She’s the most kind and gentle Grandmother in the whole world!”

After saying that, she felt that the last two words were too harsh, so she quickly added in a sweet voice, “The most kind and gentle Grandmother in the whole world~”

Zhang Yuying: “…”

Lady Liang heard this and couldn’t help but turn her head back, asking in confusion, “What did my mother tell you?”

Qiao Ling, still dazed, held the box with one hand and pulled Lady Liang’s sleeve with the other, her voice cheerful: “Mother-in-law, Mother-in-law When are we going to see Grandmother next?!”

Liang Batian was startled at first, then angered: “She’s my mother, what does it have to do with you? Don’t be so familiar!”