Chapter 231

Chapter 231 Xie Run said, "It seems the Prince's offense isn't too serious. A scolding or two from the Emperor and it'll blow over." Xiaoshu and Dantao exchanged a glance. "Mistress, is that really so?" There had been much gossip outside lately—if even the Emperor was angry enough to reprimand him, how could it not be a serious matter? Xie Run smiled. "That's exactly how it is." Prince Jing made a mistake, and Prince An and his mother were punished... How interesting. Xie Run didn't believe for a moment that Prince An and his mother were punished because Prince An had failed to uncover the true culprit behind the attempt on Noble Consort Chen's life. After all, if they were going to be punished, why now and not earlier? The timing was deeply significant. Xie Run shook her head and smiled. They all underestimated Prince Jing. Everything that had happened during this time was likely well within Prince Jing's expectations. Xie Run was curious—had Prince Jing also anticipated the matter of Noble Consort Rou gifting him a palace maid? Just as Xie Run was about to settle down to sleep, the sound of Taotao's crying came from the next room. Xie Run raised a hand to her forehead. "What's wrong now?" "The young master refuses to sleep. He insists on playing..." Xie Run: "..." This son of hers had too much energy. What one-year-old child spent all day clamoring to go outside and play, refusing to sleep?! Xie Run said, "Can't you two soothe him at all?" Dantao said softly, "Shall I go take a look?" "Go. If you really can't calm him down... I'll go." Xie Run was no doting mother. If pushed too far, she would resort to a spanking. Dantao had been gone for nearly the time it takes to brew a cup of tea. Xie Run didn't hear any crying, and assumed Taotao had finally fallen asleep. She was just about to lie down when she heard a crisp wail. Xie Run: "..." Her head throbbing, she threw off the covers. "Not sleeping at this hour? So full of energy?" Xiaoshu followed behind her. "Mistress, the room is cold. Please put on a coat before you go out!" Wearing only her inner garments, Xie Run walked to the adjoining side room and found her son grinning from ear to ear, not a trace of tears on his face. Xiaoshu caught up and draped a coat over her shoulders, and only then did Xie Run feel the cold. Dantao said helplessly, "He was perfectly fine while I was coaxing him. The moment I put him down in bed, he started crying..." Xie Run gave a light snort. "He's doing it on purpose!" "This little rascal just wants someone to play with him. He knows you two indulge him, and he even knows how to fake-cry!" Taotao rarely cried, but when he did, it was earth-shattering. These throaty wails now were nothing but blatant fake crying! Xie Run stepped forward. "Dantao, Xiaoshu, both of you withdraw. I'll handle him!" Both maids were far too indulgent of Taotao. If they saw Xie Run being stern with him, they'd surely try to intervene. Having dismissed them, Xie Run smiled at Taotao. "I'll play with you for the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, then you go straight to sleep!" "If you don't sleep, I'll spank your bottom!" Taotao stared at Xie Run with big, black-grape-like eyes, opened his mouth and laughed, waving a little toy in his hand. Half an hour later, mother and son were locked in a staring contest. Xie Run's eyelids were drooping from exhaustion, while the little rascal kept laughing, full of energy. Since coming to ancient times, Xie Run had maintained a healthy routine. Apart from the occasional late night "wrestling" with Prince Jing, she almost never stayed up. This time, thanks to her dear son, she pulled an all-nighter. It was only at the second watch that she finally got the little ancestor to sleep. Xie Run collapsed onto the bed and fell asleep the moment her head hit the pillow. But before she could sleep long, she was woken up. She looked outside—dawn had barely broken. Dantao was drawing back the bed curtains. "Mistress, the Prince has returned." Xie Run's mind was slow to process. She merely responded with a vague "Mm." Dantao reminded her, "Mistress, the Prince was ordered by the Emperor to reflect in the palace overnight. The household's ladies are all terribly worried. Now that they've heard the Prince is back, they've likely all headed to Qingsong Courtyard already." "You really should go too." Xie Run took half a second to register what Dantao was saying—she was reminding her to hurry over and see Prince Jing, to make her presence known. And to express her concern for him. Xie Run nodded, her voice listless. "Help me dress." After getting out of bed, she went to the next room to check on Taotao, who was sleeping sprawled out, looking utterly content. Xie Run gritted her teeth. "You little rascal!" If he weren't her own flesh and blood, she would absolutely shake him awake and make him get up early with her! Who gave him permission to sleep so soundly?! Xie Run groggily did her makeup and hurried to Qingsong Courtyard. As Dantao had said, nearly all the women of the household who could come were already there, all asking after Prince Jing with worried expressions. Xie Run arrived late and caught a lukewarm remark from Consort Hua: "Sister Xie slept well?" Xie Run glanced at Consort Hua. "Consort Hua has no dark circles under her eyes at all. Looks like you slept quite well yourself?" Hua Yu immediately looked up and instinctively explained, "This concubine stayed up half the night worrying about the Prince. How could I have slept well?" "The lack of dark circles is only because my skin is fair—they just don't show!" She was afraid that if she explained too slowly, Prince Jing might misunderstand her. But when she looked up and saw the dark circles under Xie Run's eyes, she didn't dare say another word. When doing Xie Run's makeup that morning, Dantao and Xiaoshu had been deliberate—not only did they avoid covering up her eye circles with powder, they'd even made the shadows under her eyes more prominent. Because Xie Run's skin was as fair as porcelain, the dark smudges showed through clearly, making the bags under her eyes visible. She looked as though she had truly stayed up the entire night. In the rear courtyard, Fang Yuan'er and Consort Jiang were both under house arrest, leaving only Consort Hua, who lacked any sense of propriety, daring to make a snide remark at Xie Run. Everyone else sat quietly in their places, not daring to speak. Prince Jing, catching a sudden glimpse of Xie Run's weary, dark-circled eyes, was also quite surprised, his emotions subtly stirred. He spoke up to soothe Xie Run: "I caused you worry last night. You've always been composed, rarely so flustered and anxious..." Looking at Xie Run's exhausted face, Prince Jing felt a rare surge of pity. Xie Run curved her lips into a faint smile and explained softly: "...It was Taotao being restless last night. I stayed up a while to coax him to sleep." Prince Jing wore an expression of understanding. "If that's the case, it must have been trying for you." Xie Run: "..." A rather beautiful misunderstanding. Consort Hua watched Xie Run from the side, twisting her handkerchief in grievance. She had stayed up half the night herself, but her face simply didn't show it—what could she do about that?! Prince Jing responded to each of them with a few words, then dismissed them one by one, afraid that too many people lingering in Qingsong Courtyard would disturb the Princess Consort. Xie Run took the opportunity to go check on the Princess Consort, feeling that her complexion had worsened compared to the past two days. With an ectopic pregnancy, the longer it lasted, the more dangerous it became. After offering a few words of advice, Xie Run returned to Chunshan Courtyard. On the way, Chunjuan hurriedly passed along news: "Master, as soon as the Prince returned, he had the maidservant's corpse placed in a coffin and sent to Prince An's residence." Xie Run was startled. "Sent to Prince An's residence?!" Could it be that the child in the maidservant's belly belonged to Prince An? And that Prince An was also the one who had sent someone to kill her?! If so, that would explain everything. Prince An had slept with Noble Consort Rou's maidservant, and the maidservant had become pregnant, only to be bestowed upon Prince Jing by coincidence. Prince Jing naturally could never accept such a cuckold's shame. If he investigated and the trail led back to Prince An, it would be a ready-made handle against him. Thus Prince An struck first, killing the maidservant and sending people to spread rumors, splashing all the dirty water onto Prince Jing! For these three days, Prince Jing had let the outside world speculate freely, only making his move to expose the truth yesterday. Xie Run murmured softly: "No wonder the Prince knew what he was doing—he had her corpse preserved from the very start, saving it for today." It seemed that the Emperor's sudden rebuke of Prince An and the demotion of rank for Consort Jing were all because of this. The so-called failure to find the culprit who harmed Noble Consort Chen had been nothing but an excuse from beginning to end.