Mu Wuxia’s eyes held a complex expression as he gazed at her for a long while before suddenly asking, “Do you want to guide me because of Shen Zaiye, or because of me?”
Continuing to walk forward, Taohua chuckled lightly, “Does Your Highness want to hear the truth?”
“Of course.”
“This servant never engages in unprofitable business,” Taohua said softly. “The reason I chose you is that I believe you’re the one who will ultimately succeed. This has some connection to Shen Zaiye.”
His eyes dimmed slightly as Mu Wuxia lowered his gaze and said, “So that’s how it is.”
He was still just a sixteen-year-old boy. Naturally, no one would truly value him for himself; he still benefited from Shen Zaiye’s influence.
“In this world, those who achieve great things don’t speak of sentiment,” Taohua glanced back at him and said, “Your Highness needn’t feel sad. Mutually beneficial cooperation where everyone gets what they need is simply the way adults survive.”
“This prince doesn’t feel sad,” Mu Wuxia caught up with her and said coolly, “I just think that if people in this world can only be connected by interests, then being human is quite a failure.”
Taohua paused briefly and sighed. This child, with his sense of righteousness and sentiment, was truly unsuited to be entangled in these dirty affairs. What a pity, given his status…
“Was the pillow Sister Jiang gave me also because of Shen Zaiye?” Mu Wuxia suddenly asked as they approached the palace gates.
Taohua raised an eyebrow and shook her head, “Of course not. That pillow was genuinely given so that you could sleep soundly.”
The tension in his face suddenly eased. The Prince of Nan smiled, his eyes bright as he said, “That’s enough then.”
Stunned for a moment, Jiang Taohua hadn’t had time to ponder the meaning of these four words before the Prince of Nan had already strode out of the palace gates without looking back. His dashing figure carried a hint of stubbornness, his robes fluttering as he quickly disappeared.
What a strange child.
Just as she turned to head back to the Eastern Palace, Jiang Taohua unexpectedly encountered two people while passing through the Imperial Garden.
Concubine Lan walked with a frosty expression, her hands poised. Shen Zaiye was beside her, also expressionless. From a distance, the two looked quite compatible, though the atmosphere between them was somewhat odd.
Realizing something was amiss, Taohua quickly knelt by the roadside to pay her respects, keeping her head bowed low in hopes of not being noticed by the Noble Consort.
However, fate had other plans. Lu Zhilan recognized her almost instantly, stopping in shock and looking towards Shen Zaiye.
Shen Zaiye’s face betrayed no emotion as he glanced coldly at the little palace maid, saying nothing.
Concubine Lan paused in bewilderment, then waved for her attendants to withdraw. She walked over and helped Taohua to her feet.
“Why are you here?” she asked.
Taohua’s lips twitched as she lowered her head and said softly, “It’s a long story.”
“In short, she’s simply latched onto the Crown Prince’s coattails and now serves as a palace maid in the Eastern Palace,” Shen Zaiye said coolly. “It seems she’s doing quite well, with the Crown Prince hanging on her every word.”
Lu Zhilan looked at Jiang Taohua in shock, then at Shen Zaiye, and whispered harshly, “Have you all gone mad? Is the palace a place where you can act recklessly? She is…”
“Besides Your Highness, no one in the palace knows her,” Shen Zaiye calmly interrupted. “As long as you don’t say anything, it will be fine.”
“This is preposterous!” As if remembering something, Lu Zhilan trembled with anger and frowned at Shen Zaiye, “It wasn’t enough for you to have me enter the palace, now you’ve abandoned her too? She’s still a princess of Zhao, after all!”
Shen Zaiye frowned, glancing at Jiang Taohua before saying in a low voice, “This was her own decision. I couldn’t stop her even if I wanted to. Instead of blaming me, Your Highness might as well ask this Princess of Zhao what she’s thinking.”
Listening to this conversation, Taohua realized that Xu Yangui hadn’t lied to her. There seemed to be a significant misunderstanding between these two, and Concubine Lan still harbored resentment towards Shen Zaiye.
“Was this your own decision?” Lu Zhilan turned to her, her expression peculiar. “Don’t they teach the Three Obediences and Four Virtues in your Zhao Kingdom?”
“Of course they do, Your Highness,” Taohua smiled, glancing at Shen Zaiye. “Unfortunately, no matter how well this servant learned them, the Prime Minister had no intention of letting me live. That being the case, this servant could only prioritize survival.”
Shock spread across Concubine Lan’s face, and it took her a while to recover. Looking at Shen Zaiye, she said, “I thought his kindness wasn’t exclusive, but his cruelty should have been. I never expected him to treat everyone the same. No wonder he doesn’t have a single woman who truly understands him.”
Shen Zaiye chuckled lightly, “If Your Highness summoned me here today just to lecture me, then I’ll take my leave.”
“Fine, go,” Concubine Lan sneered. “If you don’t want to redress the injustice for Concubine Chu, then leave quickly!”
Shen Zaiye’s body stiffened as he looked up at her, “Does Your Highness have a way?”
Cases involving the inner palace were off-limits to outside officials. Two years had passed, and Shen Zaiye hadn’t found a suitable way to clear Concubine Chu’s name. She was truly innocent; Emperor Mingde had wronged her.
Glancing at him, Concubine Lan scoffed, “If I didn’t have a way, how could I keep the busy Prime Minister here? His Majesty has already mentioned Concubine Chu to me. We just need to find the right opportunity to reopen the case.”
The Crown Prince’s words had an effect. For the first time in so long, the Emperor had doubts about Concubine Chu’s death. If this knot could be untied, wouldn’t it naturally lead to better treatment for the Prince of Nan?
“If the two of you need to discuss important matters, this servant doesn’t need to stay, right?” Taohua said with a smile. “The Crown Prince is waiting for this servant to return to the Eastern Palace.”
Shen Zaiye chuckled lightly, “It seems you’re indeed quite skilled at serving others.”
Taohua looked up at him but remained silent.
Lu Zhilan was taken aback by this exchange and frowned, “Since when did the Prime Minister learn to speak so hurtfully? Weren’t you always known for your eloquence?”
“Eloquence is for use with people,” Shen Zaiye said with a low laugh. “For other things, there’s no need to waste so much effort.”
My, how sharp-tongued he is. Jiang Taohua scoffed lightly but kept her head down without speaking.
Looking at these two, Concubine Lan frowned, “It doesn’t matter if you two want to argue, but in the current situation, only cooperation between the three of us can make things happen. Don’t say I didn’t warn you – Taohua is crucial right now. If you offend her and things go wrong, don’t blame others.”
“What does Your Highness want her to do?” Shen Zaiye asked coolly. “Seduce the Crown Prince to help support the Prince of Nan?”
“There’s no need for the Prime Minister to remind me,” Taohua finally found an opportunity to speak. “This servant has already done so, otherwise the Crown Prince wouldn’t have spoken well of the Prince of Nan before His Majesty.”
Shen Zaiye’s eyes darkened as he stepped forward, forcing her to take half a step back. “You seem quite experienced in these matters?”
“After all, I grew up learning the art of seduction,” Taohua looked up at him with a smile. “You know that women from Zhao are all dirty, so what’s there to be surprised about?”
“Jiang Taohua!” Shen Zaiye narrowed his eyes. “Saying such things too often won’t do you any good.”
“As if you’d show me any mercy if I didn’t say these things, Prime Minister,” she grinned, her eyes full of mockery. “You’d better calm down and listen to Noble Consort’s arrangements. Don’t ruin the grand plan!”
The scene before her seemed like a flurry of swords and blades, leaving Concubine Lan dumbfounded.
It was the first time she had seen a woman dare to argue so fiercely with Shen Zaiye, and stranger still, Shen Zaiye didn’t seem to be winning the argument! It was truly bizarre – hadn’t he always disliked arguing with women before?
“Wait, both of you,” Lu Zhilan stepped forward to intervene between the two, frowning. “What’s there to argue about?”
Since their goals were aligned, and Jiang Taohua was doing good work, what exactly was Shen Zaiye angry about?
Both of them gradually calmed down. Shen Zaiye lowered his eyes and said, “There’s nothing to argue about. Let’s continue discussing the future arrangements.”
Jiang Taohua smiled, “Please instruct us, and this servant will follow accordingly.”
Concubine Lan gave the two an odd look, then led them to a pavilion in the Imperial Garden where they whispered for a while. Shen Zaiye listened with a stern face and said coolly, “Except for some issues with the Eastern Palace, everything else is well in hand.”
Taohua rolled her eyes, “If the Prime Minister has so little faith in this servant, why not find someone else to do it?”
“Are you threatening me?” Shen Zaiye sneered. “Do you think you’re so important now that you’ve entered the Eastern Palace? You haven’t even tasted the methods of the palace yet, and you dare to boast. Don’t end up dead somewhere without even knowing it.”
“Thank you for your concern, Prime Minister,” Taohua said. “This servant will surely die before you do.”
Slightly taken aback, Shen Zaiye was about to frown when he heard her next words, “After all, this servant isn’t a tortoise and can’t live that long.”
Shen Zaiye: “…”
Was she implying that he was a tortoise?
“Oh, what are you two doing!” Lu Zhilan was truly at a loss whether to laugh or cry. “Can’t you talk properly? How come you can’t say two sentences without being at each other’s throats? Did you have a grudge in your past life?”
“Most likely we did,” Taohua’s eyes reddened slightly as she looked at Shen Zaiye. “In my past life, I must have set off fireworks and danced on his family’s ancestral graves. Otherwise, how could I have such a great debt in this life?”
Shen Zaiye opened his mouth, his gaze falling on her face. After a brief pause, he surprisingly didn’t retort.
Concubine Lan sighed, “All right, if you both think this arrangement is fine, then let’s leave it at that. We can’t stay together for too long, so go and do what you need to do. For the sake of this matter, let’s all put aside our prejudices for now and look out for each other.”
The world had truly become strange. She was the one with the most peculiar temper, the one who needed the most persuasion. Yet when faced with these two rivals, she unconsciously took on the role of mediator. It showed just how odd these two were – like fire and ice, completely unable to blend.
Jiang Taohua stood up, smiling as she bowed, “Then this servant will take her leave first.”
Shen Zaiye also rose and said, “This minister takes his leave.”
Concubine Lan nodded, watching as the two turned simultaneously, one going left, the other right, walking away without looking back.
It was the first time she had seen Shen Zaiye so directly express his dislike for someone, and also the first time she had seen someone dare to argue with him face to face. What exactly had happened between these two?
(End of Chapter)