Grand Tutor Lu knew this princess was sincere and had a close personal relationship with the Queen of New Xia. He hadn’t expected to stir up Princess Hanyue’s dissatisfaction, and merely grumbled: “The Queen may be considerate of the Princess, but she should also pity our restless worries. Look, so many people have entrusted me to find out the truth—how could this old man not risk his old bones?”

This man, having reached an advanced age, had become as stubborn as a child. Princess Hanyue, now in an excellent mood, gently coaxed him for quite some time.

Finally, Grand Tutor Lu’s anger subsided slightly. After taking a few sips of tea, he raised his head to look inside the pavilion: “By the way, where is the young master? This official requests to see him.” Though Princess Hanyue’s smiling face was sufficient proof that the Queen of New Xia had not deceived the Yao people and had indeed found Miao Hansheng, he had come all this way and still wanted to see with his own eyes.

“He was just fed and I’m not sure if he’s asleep yet.” Princess Hanyue stood up nonetheless. “Please follow me, Grand Tutor.”

The two walked toward the inner pavilion.

The Jintang Hall was not large in area. Passing through the front hall, they reached the quarters where Princess Hanyue and her son resided. Though the space was small, it exuded elegance throughout.

Entering the young prince’s room, Grand Tutor Lu indeed saw a brocade bed with lowered gauze curtains blocking the view. They could only see a small figure lying on the bed inside.

Princess Hanyue took a few steps forward, ducked into the gauze curtains, looked in for a moment, and smiled: “Playing secretly instead of sleeping again? Perfect timing, someone wants to see you.” She picked up the child, walked out from behind the curtains, and presented him to Grand Tutor Lu, saying, “See, still plump and fair, isn’t he?”

When Grand Tutor Lu saw the “child” she was holding, his pupils suddenly contracted, and he exclaimed in shock: “This—this…”

Though his body was ordinarily robust, he couldn’t help taking two steps back.

What Princess Hanyue held in her arms was not Miao Hansheng at all! Although its form resembled that of a two-year-old child and it had four limbs, its body was covered in fine fur, and behind it trailed a long tail…

It was a monkey!

At that moment, Princess Hanyue even wiggled the monkey’s paw as if it were a child’s hand, saying to Grand Tutor Lu: “Come, say ‘Grand Tutor,’ someone has come from far away to see you.”

The monkey, with its sunken face and puffed cheeks, grinned at him and let out a shrill “Eeeee!” The sound was so piercing that even Grand Tutor Lu, who was somewhat hard of hearing, found it jarring. Yet Princess Hanyue praised it: “Oh, what clear and proper pronunciation!”

Grand Tutor Lu stared in disbelief: “This is… the young master?”

“What’s wrong?” Princess Hanyue asked in surprise. “You saw him just two months ago. Has the little one’s appearance changed so much?”

She was treating a monkey as her son! Grand Tutor Lu, having seen much in his lifetime, thought to himself that Princess Hanyue must have gone mad from excessive grief. He turned to the maidservant standing nearby: “What about you? What do you see when you look at the young master?”

The maidservant replied with a smile: “The young master eats and sleeps well. He’s even gained a little weight since two months ago.”

The monkey was indeed quite plump, certainly heavier than the real Miao Hansheng. Grand Tutor Lu, having taught countless people throughout his life, still could judge people. At this moment, he could see the genuine joy in the maidservant’s eyes. Though there was an element of flattery, she didn’t seem to be lying.

This master and servant, no—could it be that everyone in Jintang Hall was treating the monkey as Miao Hansheng without finding anything inappropriate about it?

Grand Tutor Lu unconsciously followed Princess Hanyue as she walked out, watching as she put the monkey down on the ground. The monkey ran wildly around the room, chattering incessantly, while she watched with loving eyes, frequently reminding it: “Slowly, slowly, don’t hurt yourself!”

Grand Tutor Lu felt this was the most ridiculous thing in the world, yet he couldn’t laugh.

Looking at the attendants standing around, it took him quite some time to squeeze a few words from his throat, his voice parched: “I—I need to go to…”

Nature’s call was understandable, and Princess Hanyue naturally had an attendant guide him.

The privy was about a hundred paces from the main hall. When Grand Tutor Lu reached the garden and saw that no one was around, he grabbed the attendant, raised his walking stick, and sternly said: “Tell me what you see when you look at the young master! Speak the truth, not half a word of deception, or this old man will bash your brains out!”

Though in his twilight years, with his hair and beard standing on end, he still resembled an aging lion. Especially since the head of his walking stick was reinforced with a bit of fine metal—though it might not necessarily cause brains to splatter if it struck one’s forehead, it would certainly cause a bloody wound.

The attendant was so frightened that he froze, stammering: “The young master just—just looks like the young master, with round eyes, a prominent nose, and—and he’s gotten a bit plumper.”

Grand Tutor Lu asked through gritted teeth: “Not a monkey?”

“Monkey? What monkey?” The attendant was bewildered.

“Is he a human or a monkey? Did you see clearly?”

The attendant suddenly came to his senses and shook his head like a rattling drum: “No, no, how could he be a monkey?” Even if the Grand Tutor’s eyesight was failing, he shouldn’t be so absurd as to mistake a child for an animal!

Grand Tutor Lu stood rooted to the spot, at a loss for words. So everyone here truly believed that what Princess Hanyue held in her arms was the Yao Kingdom’s princely grandson, Miao Hansheng?

The early spring cold was biting, and the evening wind swirled through the small garden, making a howling sound that resembled the monkey’s mournful cry.

The surrounding shadows loomed large as if concealing countless ghosts sneering at him. Grand Tutor Lu suddenly felt a chill and couldn’t help shuddering.

Walking back to Jintang Hall, Grand Tutor Lu still appeared dazed. Suddenly remembering something, he asked Princess Hanyue: “By the way, how was the young master rescued? Were the kidnappers caught?”

Princess Hanyue shook her head repeatedly: “We nearly turned Yinzi City upside down looking for him. It turned out that the little one had been taken outside the city, somehow fell into the river, and was found by someone from Tian’an Town. They kept him for quite a few days—that town is sixty li from Yinzi City.”

“Fell into the river?” Grand Tutor Lu murmured. “Such a small child—falling into a river is extremely dangerous!”

“Indeed!” Princess Hanyue still showed signs of lingering fear. “Thankfully, he was finally found and brought back unharmed, without so much as an extra sneeze. Unfortunately, when An’an sent people to search upstream along the river, they couldn’t catch those bandits.”

Grand Tutor Lu looked at the monkey in her arms. It was plump and robust—not truly an infant—surely it wouldn’t get sick even if it fell into water ten times?

He remained silent for a while before taking his leave.

Near the entrance, Grand Tutor Lu still couldn’t help asking: “Has the child been well-behaved these past few days? Have you examined him carefully for anything unusual?”

Being repeatedly told that something was wrong with her child would anger any mother. Having accompanied “Miao Hansheng” this far, Princess Hanyue was growing impatient. Out of respect for Grand Tutor Lu’s seniority and age, she suppressed her anger and said: “He’s been very good. I will take good care of him.” What was this old man’s purpose in coming here, saying so many strange things, and then leaving?

Grand Tutor Lu knew she was obstinately blind to the truth. Even if he revealed the truth, she wouldn’t believe him and would instead think he was senile. So the words on the tip of his tongue turned into a long sigh as he turned to leave.

By now, the moon had risen to the center of the sky, and the path outside Jintang Hall was pitch black, with only a few palace lanterns swaying in the wind.