They are all concubines, so of course they choose the future emperor.

Just when Commander Zhu wanted to ask further questions, Prince Jing spoke again.

"It's getting late. The palace banquet doesn't wait for anyone. I'll leave first."

After saying this, he didn't give Commander Zhu a chance to react, and strode away with Cui Yan and the children.

Cui Yan followed Prince Jing all the way. What happened just now made her feel confused, but now was not a good time to ask, so she could only endure it for the time being.

He endured this until the end of the palace banquet.

At the banquet, the emperor drank too much and asked Prince Jing to stay in the palace.

Cui Yan originally wanted to ask on the way back, but now it was no longer possible.

She returned to the palace with her three children.

After returning to Nianyun Pavilion, she tossed and turned and couldn't fall asleep, with countless guesses popping up in her mind.

She wanted to find someone to talk to, but the maidservant around her didn't understand the situation outside and couldn't analyze it clearly.

Just like that, she kept her eyes open and watched the sky change from pitch black to dark blue and then to pale white.

Its daybreak.

Cui Yan sat up, took a deep breath, rubbed her face, and called the maid.

"Pack up and follow me to Wutong Courtyard."

The maid was a little hesitant.

"Madame Jiang has just gotten up at this time, right? Why don't you go later? Besides, I haven't paid my respects to the princess yet!"

Cui Yan waved her hand.

"The princess is ill. You can pay your respects later."

The maid wanted to persuade her again, but when she saw the bad expression on her master's face, she shut her mouth in time and stopped persuading her. She helped Cui Yan change her clothes and wash up, and then she went out.

There was already a hint of coolness in the morning in mid-August.

Cui Yan walked quickly and when she arrived at Wutong Courtyard, the gate had just opened.

The maid who opened the door was surprised to see her.

"Mrs. Side?"

Cui Yan waved her hand, exempting her from the formalities, and asked, "Is your aunt awake yet?"

"My aunt just woke up and is in the room!"

The little maid still knelt down and bowed, then turned around and ran into the house to report.

When Jiang Wanyue heard that Cui Yan had come, she was surprised, but she immediately guessed the reason.

"Mi'er, please ask the lady to sit in the front hall for a while; Xing'er, ask the kitchen to prepare an extra breakfast, which will be served in the front hall today; Xiuchun, help me change my clothes."

Several maids went about their business as instructed.

Jiang Wanyue changed her clothes, combed her hair into a simple bun, and inserted only a pearl hairpin, then held Xiuchun's hand and walked forward.

As soon as she walked into the flower hall, she saw Cui Yan fidgeting and looking around.

"Sister Cui."

She smiled and walked forward to say hello.

When Cui Yan saw her, he suddenly didn't know how to start talking. All the questions in his heart were stuck in his throat and he couldn't say them.

Jiang Wanyue pretended not to see it and took her hand and sat down at the eight-immortals table in the next room.

"Sis, you came so early, I guess you haven't had breakfast yet? Why don't you eat with me? I haven't had a good appetite these days, and eating alone always feels tasteless."

Cui Yan blinked, as if he had just regained his composure.

"Okay, I'll dine with you."

The maids came in to serve the meal and then left, leaving only Xiuchun and Cui Yan's maids to serve their masters.

The breakfast was simple for two people. One of them had a poor appetite to begin with, and the other was preoccupied, so they both only ate a few bites before putting down their chopsticks.

Jiang Wanyue took Cui Yan to the inner room at the back.

All the maids retreated, and even Cui Yan's maid was pulled out of the door by Xiuchun.

They were the only two people left in the room.

Jiang Wanyue then spoke: "Sister, are you worried about something?"

Cui Yan had calmed down a lot by now. Hearing this, he took a deep breath.

"My sister has always been smart. I came to her just to ask her to help me with some advice."

"Sister, just say it. I will never tell anyone about our conversation."

Jiang Wanyue assured.

Cui Yan said thoughtfully, "Yesterday, I accompanied the prince to the palace for a banquet. At the palace gate, I met General Zhu, the commander of the imperial guards. The prince and General Zhu talked for a while, and I always felt that something was wrong."

She thought about it and recounted the conversation she had heard last night.

Jiang Wanyue listened quietly, with a gleam in her eyes.

She was not surprised that Prince Jing knew about this.

Because she was the one who asked her father to tell Prince Jing.

Butler Cao left Beijing for Zhu Zhiwen's hometown, which her father could not hide, so Jiang Wanyue simply told her father her guess.

It's better for her father to come forward than for her to do it herself. It won't attract too much attention and can save a lot of trouble.

But Jiang Wanyue didn’t expect that Prince Jing would directly bring Cui Yan to see Zhu Zhiwen... How could this be called a test!

Shouldn't the plan be to let Zhu Zhiwen "accidentally" meet Cui Yan, and then have others remind him indirectly, so that he would remember Cui Yan's identity himself and then take the initiative to come to her?

She raised her hand to her forehead and sighed softly.

Seeing her expression, Cui Yan suddenly became nervous.

"What did you think of, sister?"

Jiang Wanyue quickly put down her hand.

"Don't worry, sister, this is a good thing!"

Cui Yan was stunned: "What good thing could it be?"

She had been thinking about all sorts of things the whole night yesterday, and the most likely scenario she could think of was that the prince wanted to use her to seduce General Zhu.

But on second thought, I felt that the prince would not do that.

But other than that, she couldn't think of any other reason.

If she wasn't so worried, she wouldn't have come to find Jiang Wanyue so early in the morning.

Jiang Wanyue patted the back of Cui Yan's hand gently and spoke in a gentle voice.

"Sister, have you ever thought that General Zhu might know you?"

Cui Yan widened his eyes in surprise.

"How is that possible? I've never seen him before!"

Jiang Wanyue pursed her lips and said seriously.

"Didn't my sister tell me that you and your brother were separated from your family when you were young, and ended up stranded at the border? This General Zhu is about the same age as my sister's parents, so maybe he's an old acquaintance of my family?"

Jiang Wanyue did not directly say that Zhu Zhiwen might be Cui Yan's father.

First of all, this is too arbitrary, and we don’t know how Zhu Zhiwen will handle this matter.

Secondly... I don’t know if Cui Yan can accept this news all at once, so I’d better tell her slowly!

Tell her little by little and let her adapt slowly.

Just as Jiang Wanyue expected, although Cui Yan was surprised, she could still accept it.

She frowned, thinking carefully about the possibility.

Jiang Wanyue reminded again.

"Sister, when your brother was alive, did he ever mention the family situation? For example, besides you and your siblings, were there any other brothers and sisters in the family?"

Cui Yan shook her head slowly.

"I got sick when I was young, and I don't remember anything from my childhood. I only remember my brother saying that my mother died of illness and my father didn't want us anymore. As for other brothers and sisters, I don't think there were any."

When she said this, she looked a little lonely, with a hint of nervousness and fear in her eyes.

Jiang Wanyue's heart moved.

"Is there some misunderstanding? You don't have any brothers or sisters, which shows that your father doesn't have any concubines or anything like that. Let alone you, your elder sister, at least your elder brother is the only male in the family, right? No matter what, he wouldn't abandon his only son!"

"These days, no matter whether a family is rich or poor, commoner or official, incense is extremely important."