The Eldest Daughter Reborn: She Provoked the Obsessive Crown Prince and Couldn't Escape

Seeing that Fu Luan didn't speak, Tao Su continued, "She also loved reading storybooks when she first moved here."

"However, they only watch talented men and beautiful women, and they don't shy away from us servants."

"It seems that her 'taste' changed after that old geezer came by."

“Every night when I’m trying to sleep, there are strange noises…”

Fu Luan and Fu Ling exchanged a smile—it wasn't hard to imagine what this "strange sound" referred to;

It's just that Taosu, being inexperienced in such matters, finds it "strange."

Fu Luan opened the bundle, took out the storybooks again, and carefully flipped through them, a slight smile playing on his lips.

These storybooks all tell tales of forbidden love between noble ladies and servants.

Rather than "feelings," these are more stories of servants' unrequited love for noble ladies, and their eventual forced possession of them.

The later the series progressed, the more explicit the content became, and the accompanying erotic illustrations also started to incorporate color, moving beyond just black and white.

If it were in her previous life, Fu Luan would never have been able to understand how her younger sister, who blushed when she saw stories about men and women in history books, could like these things.

Having endured a lifetime of hardship, she has now seen through Fu Zhengzheng's true colors.

No, it should be said that Fu Zhengzheng's nature is like this, probably inherited from her birth mother.

She must have fallen asleep every night with these storybooks under her pillow, imagining her beloved Fu Yuan as those beastly servants.

She herself was one of those women in storybooks who, though unwilling, were repeatedly abused physically and emotionally by their servants, yet whose husbands, upon learning of their tragic past, still cherished them as before…

"Grandma, someone from the Court of Imperial Sacrifices has come to deliver a message. They are waiting for you in the front hall, and the Third Young Master is currently accompanying you."

"Miss, go quickly!" Fu Luan pondered for a moment, and only when a maid outside announced her arrival did she come back to her senses.

"Take these things back with you, but don't let her find out you've touched them."

"You will continue to keep an eye on her for me. Report any of her movements to me privately."

"You did very well today." Fu Luan's eyes held a hint of appreciation.

Tao Su laughed and said, "Don't worry, Grandma, she won't find out! She has twenty or thirty of these storybooks!"

"This servant merely picked out a few books for you to look at. Among all her 'stock,' these are considered quite conservative..."

"Hua Luo!" Fu Luan gestured for Hua Luo to give him a reward, then went to the front hall. The person who came was Tang Wanqing, the Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices.

"Hmph, what a small world!" Fu Luan deliberately strode over, letting the golden hairpin on her head jingle as it swayed.

"Fu..." Tang Wanqing frowned, clearly extremely dissatisfied with the clattering of Fu Luan's hair ornaments, and unsure how to address Fu Luan.

Previously in Zhaoyang Palace, in order to prevent the emperor from bestowing the title of County Lady upon Fu Luan, he inadvertently referred to her as "Miss Fu";

But after thinking it over, he realized that Fu Luan was a married woman, and even though she was only sixteen, it was obviously inappropriate to call her "girl".

But calling her "Grandma Fu" according to common custom made me feel inferior;

"Young Master Tang, you can just call me 'Fu Luan'." Fu Luan bowed to Tang Wanqing and her third brother.

She smiled and chatted, showing absolutely no sign of dissatisfaction with Tang Wanqing.

Seeing that her secret had been exposed, Tang Wanqing felt embarrassed.

"The investiture ceremony for the county magistrate will be on the third day of next month, an auspicious day!" Tang Wanqing said this, her ears turning red.

Just as Fu Che was about to hint to his sister to give a reward, Fu Luan was in no hurry. She rolled her eyes and gave Tang Wanqing another slight bow.

Fu Luan smiled and said, "When someone comes to announce good news, they usually say some auspicious words. Why, Young Master Tang, don't you have a few words of congratulations for me?"

"Forgive my bluntness, but it's really inappropriate for a married woman to refer to herself as 'Miss'." Tang Wanqing tried to suppress her discomfort when she heard Fu Luan refer to herself as 'Miss'.

But the slight furrowing of his brows did not escape Fu Luan's notice, even though it was only a fleeting moment.

Fu Luan sneered, "Since that's the case, I, this abandoned woman, thank you for your advice, Young Master Tang..."

"I am preoccupied with worldly affairs at home, so I will not keep you any longer, Tang Shaoqing! See you out!"

"I didn't mean to..." Tang Wanqing wanted to explain when she saw that Fu Luan had misunderstood; but since the host had already given the order to leave, how could she stay?

Wan Qing could only offer a perfunctory bow and leave the Marquis of Chang'an's residence.

"Quickly see Lord Tang off, and remember to give him some money as a reward! Knowing his nature, he certainly won't accept it; just say it's for the servants to have some tea."

"Go quickly!" Fu Che hurriedly sent the chief secretary of the Marquis's residence to see Tang Shaoqing off, while he stayed behind to comfort his sister.

“Ah Luan, sigh… no wonder you’re angry. Tang Shaoqing is a bit too direct. But he meant no harm…” Fu Che was interrupted by Fu Luan before he could finish speaking.

"Oh, so 'no malice' is used to belittle your sister; if there were malice, wouldn't it be to put me to death?"

“So what if I said I was ‘Miss Fu’? If he thinks married women are unlucky, then he shouldn’t come to our house. Who asked him to come?” Fu Luan spat.

Fu Che turned his younger sister's shoulder and said gently, "Good sister, don't be angry, don't be angry..."

"You weren't angry before I said anything, but you get so angry when I tried to advise you. You're just trying to upset him..."

"Are you still angry with me? Let your brother say it, it's not that I'm taking his side..."

Fu Che continued to persuade him as he walked;

Fu Luan then realized that such trivial matters as relaying messages and making announcements could be handled by the low-ranking officials and clerks of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and there was no need for the Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices to personally come to the door.

As for why Tang Wanqing personally came to visit today, that remains unknown.

Fu Luan pondered for a long time, but still couldn't figure it out after lunch, so she simply put it aside and stopped thinking about it.

"What are you muttering to yourself?" She couldn't help but ask curiously when she saw Hua Luo muttering to herself while wiping the windowsill.

Hua Luo continued with her work, but turned to Fu Luan and smiled, "This servant is laughing at that peach cake... she has no sense of propriety."

“Last night we were interrogating the thief in the garden, there was such a big group of people there, and she came to talk to the young lady about the second young lady.”

"Don't you even consider that such filth could be unearthed in public? Especially with the young master present..."

"When I gave her the reward money, I also gave her a few words of reprimand..."

"You didn't insult her, did you?" The previous words were fine; but upon hearing this, Fu Luan asked anxiously.

"No, no! She was chosen by the mistress, so I wouldn't dare to scold her!" Hua Luo quickly replied.

Since following Fu Luan, she had never seen Fu Luan so anxious and flustered.

Although she couldn't understand what was so important about the peach cake, Hua Luo was glad that she hadn't made things difficult for her since Fu Luan took her seriously.

Fu Luan was relieved. "That's good. She's young and hasn't served her master for very long."

"Take it slow! As long as nothing bad happens, we're still here.

As night fell, Fu Luan did not go to sleep, but instead quietly led people to Fu Zhengzheng's courtyard.

“Grandma, listen, it’s that sound, it happens almost every night…” Tao Su whispered.