Chapter 96: Fun and Games in the Palace

Tian Mi packed some of the skincare cream, adding a large amount of spiritual spring water to create a special-effect version, which she stored carefully. The rest was bottled in small porcelain jars, ready for sale. She left the remaining batches for Chun Yi to handle, for packaging and storage.

That evening, Qiu Yi returned with news that he had found a suitable place for the book copying house. It was a three-courtyard mansion, and Tian Mi gave him the silver to purchase it. She also wrote a line of text for him to have someone inscribe it on the wall of the copying room:

“A scholar’s responsibility: To establish the heart for Heaven and Earth, to establish the destiny for the people, to carry forward the teachings of the sages, and to open peace for all generations.”

She wanted everyone who copied books there to see it, hoping to inspire more idealistic scholars from humble backgrounds, and fewer like Ruan Donglai.

Next door to the copying room was the book storage room, where all books could be borrowed. One simply had to record the borrowed books and return them when done.

Chun Jiu was busy printing large quantities of books, focusing on the imperial examination materials first, then following up with other books, including those Bai Mucheng had sent.

Huang Yuanying and Xu Yunfei, knowing that Tian Mi had books on imperial examinations, often came by to pick some to read. They happened to see the words Tian Mi had written for Qiu Yi.

The three of them were deeply moved and astonished.

Huang Yuanying asked in disbelief, “Princess, did you write this?”

Tian Mi gave him a playful glance and replied, “Little uncle, do you think I have such great talent? You flatter me!”

Huang Yuanying inquired, “Which great scholar’s words are these?”

Tian Mi sighed, “Ah! I only heard them from Mingyue and Mantianxing, their former master, who has passed away for many years. Otherwise, I would have liked to visit him!”

Huang Yuanying and Xu Yunfei both exclaimed in regret.

Then Tian Mi explained to them about the book copying house, saying that if any aspiring scholars from poor families were facing financial difficulties and had the ambition to study, they could come to copy books and borrow them for free.

Huang Yuanying was deeply moved. “Mi’er, when I was struggling with my studies back then, why didn’t I meet someone as kind  as you? On behalf of them, thank you!”

Tian Mi laughed and said, “It’s no trouble at all! The world I want is one where I can make big money.”

From then on, wherever she went, she would always have a group of devoted fans, both male and female.

They would raise their hands and shout, “Tian Mi is great, Tian Mi is awesome, Tian Mi is my idol!”

Hehehe! Hehehe!

Meanwhile, Bai Mucheng, who was planning something with the crown prince and the crown princess, knew that they were aware of his intentions. He was holding a copy of Divorcing the Scholar’s Wife to show the empress, explaining the details to her and several other palace concubines.

These concubines had all been promoted by the empress.

The crown princess smiled and said, “Now that the evidence is clear, Ruan the scholar has been caught. It’s a great relief!”

Everyone, feeling bored in the palace, was thrilled to hear this piece of gossip, excitedly discussing it.

It was rare to hear such juicy details, and even better—it was true!

“A man is so fickle; once he succeeds, he forgets everything!”

“A real man is like Prince Ding, who marries his wife in difficult times and never betrays her.”

“Yes, yes!”

While they chatted, the second prince entered the palace to seek help from Consort Li.

“Consort Li, help me!”

Consort Li calmly sipped her tea and said, “You’re grown men, yet so unstable?”

The second prince sat down opposite her and glanced around at the servants.

Consort Li dismissed them all with a wave.

“Consort Li, Mi’er is gone!” the second prince said, looking desperate.

Consort Li gave a cold smile. “She’s gone, so what? It’s not a big deal.”

The second prince then said, “Consort Li, now the entire capital is talking about the scholar divorcing his wife. This matter is likely to cause a stir.”

He detailed the situation to her, and her face immediately turned pale.

She had never believed in fate, but at this moment, she felt like it had her by the throat.

“This wretch, when she was alive, she didn’t help at all. Now that she’s dead, she’s still causing us trouble.”

They could only press forward and take things one step at a time, or else it would look like they were guilty of something. That would be a dead giveaway.

She said, “Cry it out and then find the Empress!”

The inner palace affairs were all under the Empress’s control.

When the mother and son arrived at the Empress’s palace, the atmosphere inside was lively and animated.

“Yes! Although this Ruan scholar is no good, at least he still cared for his children. He didn’t go as far as to kill them. If he didn’t have any children, he probably would have killed them without hesitation!”

“Yes! Yes!”

At this moment, Nurse Ran entered and reported, “Your Majesty, Consort Li and the second prince are here to seek an audience!”

Consort Li didn’t usually come to the Empress’s palace unless it was for a formal greeting, so her arrival with the second prince probably meant something significant was happening.

The Empress smiled faintly and said, “Let them in, it’s a good time for everyone to chat.”

Consort Li sat down in a position farther back. As a consort, she wasn’t as favored as Consort Li.

When Consort Li and her son entered, they no longer carried the same arrogance they once had. Instead, they looked visibly sad.

The second prince immediately knelt down and cried out, “Mother, Mi’er is gone!”

This statement caused an immediate silence to fall over the room, with everyone’s eyes filled with shock and fear.

Even Consort Li, who had been wiping her tears, was caught off guard by the others’ expressions, unable to hide her own sorrow.

It was then that she noticed the book Divorcing the Scholar’s Wife on the Empress’s desk.

She felt as if her legs had turned to jelly.

The Empress’s face grew cold as she said, “The palace knows. They will send someone to handle it right away. Hong Rui, go see if the Emperor has any free time.”

Meanwhile, Tian Mi returned to her courtyard to find her two little treasures crawling happily on the carpet, which brought her joy.

Chun Er and Chun San didn’t want to let the babies crawl, but Tian Mi insisted they play on their own as long as they were safe.

“It’s getting colder. Even though there’s a carpet on the floor, it’s still cold!”

Tian Mi picked up little Tian Mi and kissed the baby’s round face.

“Two! Two!”

The little one happily bounced up and down!

Indeed, the weather was growing colder. In a few days, they would be moving into Prince Ding’s residence. Bai Mucheng had been either out or coming to her residence daily, and she didn’t know if the arrangements for Prince Ding’s residence were ready yet.

Men! So careless and unreliable!

Tian Mi played with the babies for a while, completely unaware of how the scandal about the scholar divorcing his wife was causing an uproar outside!

She was thinking that the winter here was still cold, and if the children were to play freely, she would need to set up a kang bed. Although she had access to everything for the four seasons, her maternal grandparents hadn’t had the same comforts. She didn’t want to expose herself, so she planned to make a large kang bed and plant vegetables for winter food.

But even after Tian Mi went to bed, Bai Mucheng still hadn’t returned. She began to worry.

Could something have happened to him?

It was indeed a big day. If this was a trap laid by Jia Fu, Bai Mucheng should have been prepared. Why was he so busy until so late?

Tian Mi tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Habits were such a powerful thing; once you got used to someone’s presence, when they weren’t there, you felt unsettled.

She decided to get up and copy some of the Strange Talks instead, since she couldn’t sleep anyway.

As usual, she made herself a cup of spiritual spring honey lemon water, feeling good about her victory that day. She wondered how Jia Fu would respond.

No matter what they did, she wasn’t afraid! Hmph!

By the time Bai Mucheng finished his work, it was already late, so he didn’t want to disturb Tian Mi. After washing up at Prince Ding’s residence, he still found it cold and dull. It was much warmer and more comfortable in Tian Mi’s courtyard.

He leaped through the window and found Tian Mi still reading at her desk. He picked her up and sat her on his lap.

“My little fairy, why are you still awake?”

Tian Mi draped her hands around his neck and smiled, “Tonight, the silk sheets are cold, waiting for my big brother to warm my bed!”

Bai Mucheng laughed, holding the little enchantress in his arms, so bright and real.

He leaned in to kiss her, but she dodged.

Tian Mi was still concerned about the situation outside and asked, “How is the situation with the scandal today?”