nucmednet Chapter 234 The Entanglement Between Yunzhou and the Second Princess
Chapter 234 The Entanglement Between Yunzhou and the Second Princess
Yu Lin looked unwell.
He smiled bitterly as he recalled what happened back then.
"You still remember Murong Yan, right?"
Tang Minzhi was taken aback. How could she not remember? The Second Princess, Murong Yan, was the most beautiful among all the princesses, and she also had a good temper and was the most popular among the princes and princesses.
Yu Lin's sudden mention of the Second Princess gave Tang Minzhi a bad feeling: "Could it be related to the Second Princess?"
There is no other explanation besides this.
Yu Lin was already handsome, and the reminiscence in his eyes at this moment made him appear even more affectionate.
"Of course it's related, very related. If it weren't for Murong Yan, I wouldn't have had to flee to Meizhou back then. Now that we're talking about this, it's not good for Gu Ying. By the way, Gu Ying married the Crown Prince the same year Murong Yan got married, right?"
Yu Lin was not quite sure of the exact time, hence the question.
Tang Minzhi felt that there were many things involved, and nodded, saying, "It was three years ago, that's right. The Second Princess got married at the end of the year, and Miss Gu married His Highness the Crown Prince a month after the Second Princess's marriage."
Yu Lin thought for a moment, then asked very seriously, "What is the relationship between Gu Ying and the Crown Prince?"
Tang Minzhi was a little taken aback, but then she guessed the connection and exclaimed, "Could it be that your departure from the capital back then... had something to do with Miss Gu?"
Gu Ying is Gu Huan's older sister. Like Yu Lin, she is only twenty years old this year. Tang Minzhi has met her a few times. When she was a classmate of Gu Huan, Gu Ying took care of her like a younger brother, so she has a good impression of Gu Ying.
Upon seeing the expression on his face, Yu Lin knew that he had misunderstood and explained, "It's not what you think. Let me put it this way: Gu Ying and I were both victims of what happened back then. The culprit was none other than Murong Yan."
After saying this, he sighed, "That's why I say the more beautiful something is, the more poisonous it is, especially women. They will stop at nothing and even harm others to get what they want."
This is clearly referring to the second princess.
Tang Minzhi was still somewhat incredulous; this was so different from the impression the Second Princess had given him. His close friend had been murdered and had been away from the capital for six years—it was actually the Second Princess's doing!
Back then, he secretly envied Yunzhou for winning the Second Princess's favor...
Now it seems that things aren't as wonderful as he thought.
Thinking of something, Tang Minzhi's expression changed slightly. She hesitated to speak, but ultimately wanted to confirm, so she lowered her voice and asked, "Yunzhou, did something happen between you and Miss back then...?"
"Yes and no."
After considering for a moment, Yu Lin decided to go all out: "Fine, it won't hurt to tell you, since you won't reveal it anyway. Back then, the Second Princess drugged me, but by some twist of fate, Gu Ying stumbled upon it. Although nothing happened in the end, the Empress was furious and the Second Princess was confined to her quarters for a year. I was also sent back to Meizhou."
No wonder the Second Princess was absent from several palace banquets after Yu Lin left.
Tang Minzhi found it hard to believe that the Second Princess would do such a thing, but the facts were undeniable, so he had no choice but to believe it. Back then, everyone said that the Second Princess and Yu Lin were a perfect match, but he knew that Yu Lin didn't actually like the Second Princess.
"Then why have you suddenly come back?"
"My aunt asked me to come."
Yu Lin didn't seem very willing; he never hid his emotions in front of Tang Minzhi.
Knowing it wasn't appropriate for Tang Minzhi to ask the reason, she changed the subject: "So where are you living now?"
"West of the city."
Yu Lin only gave a general description and did not provide a specific address.
He did return this time because of the Empress's wishes. He was somewhat resistant to it. Although he had no objection to how the Empress handled things back then, he still harbored some resentment in his heart.
The second princess was clearly at fault, yet she ruined his future because of her. When he returned several years later, he had lost all desire to strive for advancement.
Seeing his worldly-wise appearance, Tang Minzhi suddenly asked a question: "Yunzhou, have you gotten married yet?"
Caught completely off guard, Yu Lin glanced at him, finding it somewhat amusing.
"They just had their coming-of-age ceremony; marriage is still a long way off."
In ancient times, people usually received their courtesy name from their elders after they came of age. However, Yu Lin had his courtesy name when he was only fourteen years old, bestowed upon him by Emperor Mo Yao, which shows how glorious he was in his youth.
Tang Minzhi felt very sorry for him.
Seeing his expression, Yu Lin smiled.
"Don't look at me like that. I'm not that pitiful. Looking back now, I realize I was young and naive. But it's not all bad. At least I'm much more comfortable now than before."
"As long as you're comfortable."
Tang Minzhi didn't know what to say, so she casually glanced out the window, and that glance froze her gaze.
"what happened?"
Seeing that he was staring blankly, Yu Lin became curious and got up to look outside.
Tang Minzhi quickly looked away, her expression slightly strange: "It's nothing! I thought I saw someone I knew, but upon closer inspection I realized it wasn't!"
This obvious anomaly could not escape the notice of the shrewd Yu Lin. He did not believe Tang Minzhi's explanation and leaned out the window to look out. Sure enough, he saw a familiar figure on the street.
Yu Lin smiled knowingly, a slight smirk playing on his lips.
"So the acquaintance you were talking about is her."
Tang Minzhi blushed, wanting to deny it, but felt there was no need to, otherwise Yunzhou would definitely accuse him of trying to cover something up.
Seeing the people on the street heading towards Zui Jinzhao not far away, Yu Lin reached out and patted Tang Minzhi on the shoulder, lecturing her in the tone of someone with experience: "Don't blame me for not warning you, the prettier the woman, the less you should touch her, she's poisonous. Besides, this one's already in someone else's pocket, can't you have some self-respect?"
Tang Minzhi pulled the person in through the window: "Don't talk nonsense."
Seeing that his expression wasn't just one of embarrassment and annoyance, Yu Lin stopped teasing him. He poured himself a cup of tea, held it in his hand, and shook it without drinking it. Tang Minzhi was getting dizzy watching him, and sighed, "Stop shaking it. I have something to do. I'll treat you to a celebration after the results are released tomorrow."
"Are you really that confident you'll make the list?"
"Well, even if he's not the top scholar, he should at least be the second-best."
"..."
-
Zui Jinzhao Restaurant.
Su Mowan and Yinshuang came directly from the painting pavilion. Actually, Tang Minzhi and Yu Lin had just left the painting pavilion when Su Mowan went in, asked about the recent situation, and after learning that Shangguan Qingqi had come and left her a message, Su Mowan left the painting pavilion and headed to Zui Jinzhao.
Manager Liu relayed Shangguan Qingqi's words to her without missing a single one, but it was destined that she couldn't go because she had other activities tonight.
She didn't know why Shangguan Qingqi had asked her to go to the Wan Hua Lou. She could just ask him next time she saw him.
Su Mo came to Zui Jin Zhao late at night mainly to tell Manager Qin that a candidate had been chosen to take over Zui Jin Zhao.
This person wasn't the distant relative that Manager Liu had mentioned before; rather, Murong Jing had Steward Luo arrange for someone to be brought in. She hadn't asked him for it herself, and she didn't know how Murong Jing knew about it.
The person can start work tomorrow, so Su Mo came to tell Manager Qin that she wanted him to mentor them.
It was past noon, and there were only a few customers in the restaurant.
When Manager Qin had a free moment, Su Mowan didn't go to a private room this time. Instead, she found a seat in the main hall and briefly explained the matter.
Manager Qin nodded in agreement, then asked in confusion, "Didn't you say that Manager Liu's relative was coming?"
"Since you're here, the restaurant's business is getting better and better. It's true that one person can't handle it all. It's easier if there are two people."
Manager Qin's old face fell: "Why don't I get this treatment?"
Su Mowan laughed heartily.
"Don't worry, once we get to Jiangnan, you'll have someone to help you, so you won't have to do everything by yourself."
"That's great! That's great!"
Manager Qin was just joking, but who knew it was true, and he immediately burst into laughter.
After Su Mowan finished explaining the matter, she was about to return home when she noticed that the guests at the next table had strange expressions and were whispering among themselves. Su Mowan didn't even need to listen carefully to hear most of what was going on.
Yinshuang could naturally hear it as well.
A hint of doubt and surprise flashed across her face.
Before the guests over there could finish their discussion, Su Mowan felt there was no need to listen any longer, so she said goodbye to Manager Qin.
Once outside the restaurant, the streets were almost deserted.
Yinshuang spoke up with relief: "Minister Song is quite capable, managing to resolve this matter so well."
The guests at that table were just discussing what happened last night.
Prefect Li Junmo was corrupt and perverted the law, ruling on several wrongful convictions. Yesterday, while a prisoner was being led to the execution ground, he was shot through the heart by a seeker of revenge. Several names of wrongful deaths were also found on his body. The Ministry of Justice is now reopening the cases involving the people on the list.
This is what Su Mowan concluded from the discussions of those people.
"It's not necessarily all Song Chuwen's doing. Do you remember Chi Xuan who also appeared in the woods last night? He's from the Xiaoyao Sect. The Xiaoyao Sect is very good at gathering intelligence, so that list was probably added by him later."
Su Mowan made a casual guess.
Regardless, there are no problems with Qingcheng now. The 'prison break' has turned into a 'revenge' operation. Song Chuwen must have put in a lot of effort, and I wonder if he helped out of respect for Brother Mobai.
"By the way, are you coming with me tonight?"
Su Mowan asked Yinshuang.
She actually wanted to go alone, but thinking that Murong Jing might not agree, she asked Yinshuang.
Yinshuang said, "This servant will go with you, so that Your Highness can rest assured."
Although she would hardly be of any help if she went along, the prince would feel more at ease having someone with him.
Su Mowan didn't refute, only smiled. What could Murong Jing possibly be worried about? It was just a short trip down a cliff, she wasn't stupid, she would definitely tie a rope around her waist first to be on the safe side.
As the two walked to the street corner, they almost bumped into someone walking in the opposite direction.
Su Mowan stopped, about to see who was so blind as to walk on the street. She and Yinshuang had been talking all the way here, and this person still bumped into her!
Upon looking at it, he was stunned, and then frowned.
"It's you?"
The man crossed his arms and looked her up and down. "You still remember me? I've been waiting for you here."