Ties of Love, Ruan Wan

When the lotus flowers are in full bloom, there are only a few lotus pods. Occasionally, you can pick some tender lotus pods and eat them along with the lotus heart, and they won't taste bitter.

Everyone had a great time on the water, especially Qiu Shuang and Cui Mo, who had been raised in grand mansions since childhood and had never seen anything like this before.

Qiu Shuang, caught up in the fun, egged Ruan Wan on to sing, saying, "Madam, sing a song to liven things up! It's a rare moment of freedom."

Ruan Wan refused, saying, "You have to sing first, it's a song-for-song exchange. You can't expect me to sing for nothing."

Qiu Shuang quickly waved her hand, "I can't do that, I'm tone-deaf."

Cui Mo quickly waved her hand, "I haven't even learned a decent song, and humming a few lines is hardly worthy of being called elegant."

Li Yuan laughed and said, "My second daughter-in-law does sing a few lines quite often."

Madam Wu, however, was quite poised and said, "I'm just singing some folk tunes to cheer you up, Madam."

Ms. Wu has a high-pitched voice, and when she sings, it is indeed melodious and graceful, somewhat like a dragon boat tune, but it tells the story of a woman on the water who loves a man she admires.

After the song ended, everyone applauded, and Ruan Wan exclaimed, "Truly gentle and lingering, brimming with affection!"

Qiu Shuang smiled and said, "Madam, we've finished singing. It's your turn to sing now."

Ruan Wan deliberately acted arrogantly, saying, "What? Just because she sang alone doesn't mean she represents all of you. That's unfair to me."

"What must it take for Madam to sing? If you insist that I sing before she will, then I don't care whether it offends your ears or makes you look foolish."

Seeing Qiu Shuang's resolute expression, Ruan Wan laughed and said, "You don't need to sing, just peel a scoop of lotus seeds for me."

Cui Mo immediately laughed and said, "That's easy, not just a scoop, but a whole basinful will do."

Ruan Wan cleared her throat. There was a song that was most fitting for this moment.

"Lotus can be picked in Jiangnan, its leaves so lush and green. Fish play among the lotus leaves, fish play to the east of the lotus leaves, fish play to the west of the lotus leaves, fish play to the south of the lotus leaves, fish play to the north of the lotus leaves."

The melodious and lingering song rippled across the lake, and the boat glided across the water, disappearing into the lotus blossoms. In this scene, the song and the scenery blended perfectly together.

Suddenly, Qiu Shuang pointed to the shore not far away and shouted, "Look!"

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw Lou Qianyuan and A Jin, holding the pheasants and ducks they had hunted, waving at each other by the lake.

Ruan Wan smiled as she looked at Lou Qianyuan on the shore. He was dressed in a neat summer shirt, carrying a bow and arrows on his back, and wearing a bamboo hat.

At this moment, they were no different from any other couple. The husband returned from hunting, and the wife picked lotus flowers on the water to sell.

The two lived a simple yet beautiful and happy life.

After two days of fun, Lou Qianyuan went to Uncle Li's door early on the third day to say goodbye.

Uncle Li still wouldn't appear, and didn't say a word. Lou Qianyuan could only say through the door, "Uncle Li, there are still two months until the Mid-Autumn Festival. I will send someone to pick you up then, and we can celebrate the festival together at the mansion."

Lou Qianyuan sighed and got up to go back.

After Lou Qianyuan left, Uncle Li opened the door and stood at the entrance watching the departing carriage.

He also knew that he had no right to blame Lou Qianyuan. The reason Sun Shishi had become like this was also the result of his improper upbringing since childhood.

But why does Lou Qianyuan refuse to marry Sun Shishi no matter what? He would rather marry her and keep her at home, or at least give her a title.

Sun Shishi has no parents. Once she gets married, she will only drift further and further away from her maternal uncle's family, and she will inevitably be left with no one to rely on.

Therefore, the best solution that Uncle Li thought of was to have Sun Shishi marry into the Lou family. She would never leave the Lou family for the rest of her life, and Uncle Li could protect her for the rest of his life.

Uncle Li had no children of his own, but he truly raised Sun Shishi as his own daughter.

Therefore, Uncle Li could not accept that Lou Qianyuan would rather drive Sun Shishi to her death than marry her.

After returning to the capital, Ruan Wan and Lou Qianyuan planned to take a good rest. They had been exposed to the sun and had been going up and down mountains and rivers for the past few days, and their bodies were sore all over.

As soon as they arrived home, Lan Yu came to report, "Young Master, Madam, while you were away, a major event occurred in the capital."

Lou Qianyuan was somewhat dismissive. The biggest issue right now was the conflict between the Eastern Yi and the Great Xia. What could be bigger than that?

Lan Yu continued, "The nanny that Her Majesty the Empress sent to serve the Seventh Princess was poisoned and died right before the Seventh Princess's eyes. The Seventh Princess fainted on the spot from fright."

Lou Qianyuan and Ruan Wan exchanged a glance. There must be something fishy going on. If someone were to poison Linglong at this critical moment, it would damage the diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Lou Qianyuan immediately got out of bed and said to Ruan Wan, "I'll go to Changfeng's place first."

Ruan Wan felt that something was very wrong. How could someone as ruthless as Linglong be so frightened into fainting by a dead person?

Perhaps it was because she became a mother that she developed a softer side and gradually became afraid.

Secondly, why did this matter spread throughout the entire capital, even reaching the inner courtyard of the Lou family, who were not fond of inquiring about other things?

It feels like someone did it on purpose. The person who was able to get into the Prince's mansion and poison him must be no ordinary person.

It is possible that the person who poisoned the man and the one who killed Duomuhe were accomplices, and their goal was to instigate a war between the Xia and the Dongyi.

That means it might not have been done by the Dongyi or Miao people, but most likely by people from the Chu state or the Xia state itself.

No one else could possibly reach into the Seventh Prince's residence.

Ruan Wan asked Lan Yu, "Do you know the details? How exactly was that old woman poisoned to death?"

Lan Yu replied, "I heard that the poison was originally put into the princess's medicine for preventing miscarriage. The princess felt it was too hot and didn't drink it. Later, the princess asked the nanny to taste it to see if it was still hot. The nanny only took a small sip, and she bled from all seven orifices and died on the spot."

Ruan Wan nodded, dismissed Lan Yu, and lay down on the bed, pondering what Lan Yu had just said.

The details leaked here are far too numerous. How could something like this, happening inside a prince's residence, be spread in such a meticulous and formal manner?

If such a major event were to occur in the royal family, the news would definitely be suppressed immediately; it wouldn't be spread all over the place.

Either someone within the Prince's mansion instructed them to do this, since Xia Changfeng has no reason to do so, could it be Linglong?

So what was Linglong's purpose in doing this?

Ruan Wan really couldn't understand why these royal power struggles always revolved around the word "power."

Ruan Wan was having a terrible headache when the door opened, and Lou Qianyuan came back and lay down on the bed.

Ruan Wan asked, "Weren't you going to the Seventh Prince's residence? Why are you back so soon?"

"Changfeng went to the palace, and Linglong is still recuperating, so I came back first."

"Any progress on the case? Who poisoned it? Have they caught the culprit?"

Lou Qianyuan breathed a sigh of relief. "I thought it was someone who sabotaged diplomatic relations between the two countries, but I didn't expect it to be Linglong's maid, Bingqing."

Ruan Wan had heard Lou Qianyuan mention that Bingqing was originally Linglong's dowry maid, but later she was favored by Xia Changfeng and promoted to concubine.

"Why would Bingqing do this? No matter what, she'll only ever be a concubine. Even if Linglong dies, she'll marry another noblewoman and become a princess, or at the very least, Rong Yufen will take her place. What does it have to do with her?"

"I don't know the reasons behind this, but the remaining poison was found in Bingqing's room, and she confessed and accepted the punishment, so the matter is settled."

This is too hasty. The only ones who died in the whole affair were the palace maid and Bingqing. It seems reasonable that one life was exchanged for another, but it is strange in every way.

The news was deliberately leaked. How could a princess allow a nanny to test medicine, especially since the nanny herself had prepared the medicine?

Ruan Wan felt increasingly uneasy; there must be some hidden story behind this.

At this moment, in the Seventh Prince's residence, Linglong was not resting in her room; she was standing in front of Bingqing's corpse, heavily pregnant.

Bingqing lay on the ground, bleeding from all seven orifices, lifeless. Beside her lay a small blue-and-white porcelain bottle, from which a dark brown liquid was oozing.

Linglong looked at Bingqing's corpse with disdain in her eyes and sneered, "You little brat, you managed to get rid of Granny Zhou before you died. It wasn't a waste of all the years I raised you."

Linglong reached out her hand, and Yujie immediately stepped forward to help her up. Linglong smiled and said, "Yujie, this is what happens to disloyal people. You must take this as a warning."

Yu Jie nodded respectfully, "This servant will always be the princess's servant, and will always be loyal to the princess."

"I only sent you to work outside the palace because I trusted you. If it weren't for that slut seducing His Highness and me being pregnant, I wouldn't have summoned you here. Have you dealt with the person who spread the rumors this time?"

Yu Jie replied, "Not a single one was left; they were all dealt with quietly."

Linglong nodded in satisfaction.

In the Empress's palace, the gates were tightly closed, and those around her were dismissed.

"Mother, why did you poison Linglong to death? She was your daughter-in-law, and she was carrying your grandson!"

Compared to Xia Changfeng's uncontrollable rage, the Empress remained calm and composed, sitting gracefully on her phoenix couch.

The Empress said coldly, "I did not send Granny Zhou to kill her; I merely instructed her to put an abortifacient in her medicine."

Xia Changfeng looked at his mother in disbelief. "Why would you harm my offspring? Didn't you want a grandson the most?"

The Empress's gaze lingered on Xia Changfeng for a moment, then she laughed self-deprecatingly, "How could you be so foolish? How could you possibly covet the throne?"

Xia Changfeng was somewhat confused by the sudden scolding; what did it have to do with his succession to the throne?

"The heir of Great Xia can only be of Great Xia blood, and cannot have blood from other countries. Your father made you marry Linglong to test you, and you so easily let Linglong carry your child. Otherwise, I wouldn't have risked having Granny Zhou abort the child."

Xia Changfeng had never thought of this before, and he looked at the Empress in astonishment.

The Empress continued, "Why did Qian Yuan's brother die on the battlefield? And why did Qian Yuan abandon martial arts for literature? It was all so that you could cut off the military power behind you. Why did your father send Xia Ziru to deal with the Zhang family personally? It was so that he could personally eliminate the military power behind them. His Majesty tolerated the Zhang family's treason, precisely to create a balance of power for you both. Don't think that just because you handled the previous disaster well and won the support of the people, you have the throne firmly in your grasp."

Hearing this, Xia Changfeng was already sweating profusely, and his legs were trembling.

The empress, however, wanted to shatter all the illusions in front of him so that he could see reality clearly.

"Linglong poisoned me, then framed her maid, and even had the maid make the whole city aware of it—this is a warning to me."

The Empress sneered, "If it weren't for you, spitefully favoring that maid, that female physician from outside the palace wouldn't have been summoned to the manor, and Granny Zhou would have succeeded long ago."

Xia Changfeng was a little confused, so he found a chair and sat down to support himself.

"The Emperor ordered Xia Ziru to cut off his own arm and dealt with the Zhang family. You will naturally be included then. I will not interfere with your decision. If you truly desire the throne, go back and think it over carefully."

Xia Changfeng was unaware that he had walked out of the palace gate and returned home. Just as he reached the door, a servant came to report that Lou Qianyuan had just been there.

He suddenly remembered that he had previously asked Lou Qianyuan to inherit his uncle's mantle, and that he had also married Rong Yufen, all for the sake of the Rong family's military power.

He had always thought that his father's tacit approval of his actions was an admission that he was the future heir, but it turned out that it was all just a test.

Looking back on the mistakes he had made in the past, Xia Changfeng was filled with remorse, but it was too late for regrets now.