Her guards

Chapter 99 was not without its gains.

There's no need to blame yourself this time since nothing fell on your head.

"Just as Qi De'an said, that boy is heavily guarded and is very cunning, living next to the family of the young lady of the Ding'an Duke's Mansion for cover."

"They dared not alarm the authorities, but they frightened the young ladies of the Ding'an Duke's Mansion, which attracted the attention of the authorities..."

At this point, he looked up and glanced at Wei Cui.

As the carriage swayed gently, Wei Cui's expression shifted between light and shadow.

Master Wei lowered his head again.

"...and the first one to be attracted was A-Jiao."

"Faced with Wei Jiao and the Embroidered Robes, our men suffered too many casualties, and we were afraid that he would discover our identities, so we had no choice but to retreat hastily."

"Then, during their escape, they fell into an ambush by the young prince of the Mo family, and none of them escaped."

With a sob in his voice, Master Wei recounted what had happened, then kowtowed deeply once more.

"Brother, I am useless. I have failed your trust and returned empty-handed."

Silence fell over the carriage once again.

Just as Master Wei Qi was breaking out in a sweat in the dead of winter, Wei Cui finally spoke.

"Have they discovered our identities?" he asked.

Master Wei hurriedly shook his head: "No, the Mo family knows we exist, but for safety we have never revealed our identities. The authorities have also failed to find out who we are. The Imperial Guard, in order to shirk responsibility, has concluded that we are remnants of Sun Shu..."

His face turned pale as he said this.

They knew the attack that night wasn't on Sun Shu's remnants, so they didn't take it seriously, but then...

Wei Jiao then offered to send them back to Longxi.

Then, the remnants of Sun Shu were found in Qin'an City.

This is not the Commander of the Imperial Guards shirking responsibility at all; they have actually found something...

What exactly happened that night?

Are there really any remnants of Sun Shu in Beijing?
Or perhaps the young prince of the Mo family deliberately leaked the whereabouts of Sun Shu's remnants to the authorities in order to clear his identity?

This is also highly likely. Back then, Sun Shu went to great lengths to snatch the young prince from the Qi family, and the two sides had dealt with each other before. It wouldn't be surprising if the young prince knew the whereabouts of Sun Shu's surviving family members.

The changes in Qin'an City today were all due to their negligence. If they had noticed something was wrong earlier, they would never have left the capital, or they would have warned them sooner...

Master Wei's face turned pale. He kowtowed heavily again and again, and then raised his hand to slap himself repeatedly.

"General, I have committed heinous crimes. It is all my fault, all my fault."

Wei Cui waved his hand, indicating, "That's enough."

Master Wei immediately froze, his face red and swollen, tears welling in his eyes, and blood streaming from his nose, looking utterly disheveled as he gazed at Wei Cui.

Wei Cui didn't look at him, but smiled thoughtfully: "This little prince is indeed not simple. If he had been born ten years earlier, the Mo family's empire might not have ended." After saying that, he looked at Seventh Master Wei, "Although we didn't catch the person and lost Qin'an City, this trip was not without its gains."

"And you gained something?" Even Master Wei himself didn't believe it, and looked at Wei Cui without daring to answer.

"They lived near the homes of the young ladies of the Duke of Ding'an's mansion, using it as cover," Wei Cui repeated what Seventh Master Wei had said earlier, "so that the young ladies of the Duke of Ding'an's mansion would be frightened, attracting the attention of the authorities..."

He tapped his fingers on the small table beside him.

"What a coincidence! Do you think this young prince is lucky, or are we just unlucky?"

Without waiting for Wei Qiye's reply, he shook his head.

"I never believe in luck, nor do I believe that anyone is destined to be unlucky. I only believe that human strength can overcome fate."

"This young prince didn't survive by chance. The fact that Miss Ding'an from the Duke's mansion appeared so coincidentally that night must have been part of their plan."

So… Master Wei finally realized: “Then the young prince knows either the young lady from the Duke of Ding’an’s mansion or the young lady from the Liu family who is studying at the Imperial Academy!”

Wei Cui nodded: "So it's not like they've completely disappeared. Checking the people around these young ladies should yield some results."

Master Wei could no longer sit still: "I understand, I'll take care of it right away." With that, he lifted the carriage curtain and jumped out without even asking the carriage to stop.

Wei Cui didn't care whether Seventh Master Wei had fallen outside.

He took a sip of tea, looked at the swaying carriage curtain, and muttered to himself.

"Either they serve me or they are executed by the court."

"Young Prince Mo, this is your fate. You have no other way to go."

……

……

As dawn broke, the winter in Beijing grew colder day by day. It was school day, and the young ladies who accompanied their children to school got up early and entered the Academy of Chinese Studies on time.

Mo Zheng, wrapped in a thick cloak, walked side by side with Liu Chan. Ahead, Yang Hui hurried to catch up with the princesses further ahead, not wanting to look at Mo Zheng and Liu Chan even once more.

Although three days had passed, Yang Hui still felt the pain in her hands whenever she saw the two of them. As they entered the school, the sounds of the accompanying young ladies greeting the princesses echoed throughout the classroom.

Princess Heisei went straight to her seat.

But Princess Wuyang stopped, turned around and stood in front of Mo Zheng, who had just entered.

"Ah Luo." She grabbed Mo Zheng's hand tightly. "Is your hand alright?"

The attention of the female companions who had been scattered throughout the room instantly focused on them.

In the capital, no secret can be kept. The day the palace maids left the Duke of Ding'an's mansion, the news spread throughout the inner quarters of powerful and wealthy families in less than half a day: the young ladies of the Duke of Ding'an's mansion had been punished by the emperor again.

This time, instead of teaching rules, they were hitting each other's hands with a ruler.

"It's all because of me that you got punished."

Princess Wuyang held Mo Zheng's hand, her eyes reddening as she spoke.

She did this, of course, because her mother had repeatedly urged and pressured her to show concern for the tutor.

The concern was feigned, but the redness in her eyes was not.

Although she wasn't beaten, her father's harsh reprimand that day made her cry for several days.

She then looked at her attendant and lowered her voice.

"A-Luo, don't resent His Majesty. It's just that some people can't stand to see us doing well."

All of this is because...

Princess Wuyang glared resentfully at Princess Heisei, who was surrounded and laughing with other young ladies-in-waiting.

……

.......
Jiang Rui looked away and gently shook her head.

"I knew they were going to be punished." A young lady next to her whispered, "Princess Heisei clearly said not to ask the chief minister anymore, but Yang something, A Luo still thought she was being clever."

Jiang Rui looked back again and saw that Princess Wuyang was still indignantly whispering to her attendant, her gaze undisguisedly fixed on Princess Heping, while the attendant kept his head down and remained silent.

“As Princess Wuyang’s tutor, it’s understandable that she would help Princess Wuyang,” she said softly.

This attendant's daily routine was indeed very obsequious to Princess Wuyang.

Although she disliked this approach, she could understand it. Unlike that Liu Chan, who failed to curry favor with Princess Heicheng and had no chance to become a tutor to the other two princesses, she had a grudge against Yang Hui, so she targeted the other two young ladies of the Yang family...

We've gone off on a tangent. She really is a vengeful person. That's not good. Yunxiao doesn't like her like that. What Yunxiao likes is her kind heart.

Jiang Rui pursed her lips and pulled herself out of her thoughts.

"...But now that she has been punished by His Majesty, she cannot be dissatisfied anymore, otherwise she would not only be disobeying Princess Heisei, but disobeying His Majesty."

"At this point, she should immediately stop Princess Wuyang from speaking and repeatedly affirm that His Majesty's reprimand was correct."

She glanced at the page again, and the young lady named Yang Luo was actually nodding to Princess Wuyang with a grateful expression.

Princess Wuyang made no attempt to hide her joy at having gained another ally against the common enemy.

A princess may harbor resentment towards another princess, and they may argue and quarrel, but what right does a subject's daughter, and not even a true noblewoman, have to harbor resentment towards a princess?

That will only lead to a worse outcome.

"I heard her mother died a long time ago, and she grew up in a small town with no one to discipline her. How would she know these things?" her companion whispered. "Don't pay any attention to her. She won't stay here for long."

He pressed his head down at this point.

"Is there really an exam at the end of the month? I heard that if you don't do well, you'll be kicked out..."

Jiang Rui withdrew her gaze and stopped looking at the Yang family's young lady. She smiled and said, "You're good at studying, what are you afraid of?"

The young lady laughed and said, "You're not as good at studying as Sister Jiang." Then she chuckled again, "But there's really nothing to be afraid of, there are those people behind us."

For example, Liu Chan, Yang Hui, and those two young ladies from the Yang family.

Princess Wuyang's entrance caused whispers and discussions in the school, with countless eyes turning to the princesses and their tutors.

Princess Heisei found it amusing.

So what if Princess Wuyang makes others think that she is the one who complained, leading to their punishment by the Emperor?

Could this ruin her character?
This clearly demonstrates her upright character.

As for making others afraid of her...

As the eldest daughter of the emperor and empress, and the most beloved princess, shouldn't others respect her?

Wu Yang was inherently stupid, while Consort Li was quite clever. How could Consort Li panic when she saw Wu Yang being reprimanded by her father? Did she fail to properly teach her daughter how to behave? How could she allow her to engage in such ridiculous and provocative behavior?
We'll see if this young lady of the Yang family learns a lesson and becomes wiser, or continues to be foolish.

"The instructor is here."

As the palace women announced the arrival of the instructors, the noise in the classroom instantly subsided.

(End of this chapter)