Chapter 50: What is your relationship?

“I should go.”

Yue Tang stood up, watching the members of the Du family peeking and prowling around the entrance of the corridor.

She had stayed here long enough to see A-Li.

The words had rolled over Yan Bei's tongue time and again before he finally spat them out in a different guise: "A-Li misses you so much; can you really bear to abandon him and leave?"

Now that the poison had been administered, there should be no problem with her returning to the Prince's mansion to live with him, right?

"In what capacity would I accompany him?"

Yan Bei was speechless.

Yue Tang turned her head to look at A-Li playing outside the door: "The fact that he is still in this world is already the greatest gift Heaven has given me.

"I am very satisfied with the present.

"To possess him before I am capable of protecting him would inevitably bring him harm.

"I cannot be greedy."

She turned back: "You will have to work harder; take good care of him."

Yan Bei said, "Even so, he is also my son."

Having said that, he saw Yue Tang stepping toward the door and, unwilling to let go, stepped forward to ask, "Then where are you going? To the Scholar's Estate?"

"Of course." Yue Tang paused under the doorway, "I came here in the capacity of the Scholar's Wife; do you expect me to change my identity halfway through before leaving?"

A shadow of gloom crossed Yan Bei's face.

The words "Scholar's Wife" felt awkward no matter how he heard them.

"That man surnamed Xu is not of good character. Even if you need a cover, why not choose someone better?"

"The person behind the Du family is currently trying to win over Xu He; I have my own reasons for seeking him out."

Seeing that she had already crossed the threshold, Yan Bei followed her: "Then how long do you intend to stay at the Xu residence?"

"How should I know?"

Yan Bei grew even more displeased.

Yue Tang walked to A-Li's side. Seeing that the Du family members in the corridor had been blocked by the mansion's guards, she knelt down and took A-Li's small hand

"Mother has some business to attend to. In a couple of days, Grandpa Hua will come to keep you company. A-Li must listen to Grandpa Hua and eat well, alright?"

A-Li reached out to hug her neck and whispered softly in her ear, "Mother Ruyi is with Ruyi every day. Why can't A-Li's mother be with A-Li?"

Yue Tang held him tight: "Of course she will be. But someone bullied A-Li in the past, and now Mother has to go and drive him away.

"That way, Mother can be with A-Li forever."

After speaking, she took a golden lock from her pouch and unfastened a golden chain from her neck, threading it through to hang around his neck.

"If A-Li misses Mother, just talk to this golden lock, and Mother will be able to hear you."

A-Li picked up the golden lock to look at it, then nodded heavily.

Suppressing her tears, Yue Tang stood up, pulled Lan Qin along, and walked out the door.

A-Li called out from behind, "Mother, come back quickly! Grandpa Gao and I are waiting to eat the braised goose he made with you..."

Yue Tang did not stop until she had walked well past the corridor.

By now, the guests had likely all headed to the banquet hall, leaving the garden quiet and deserted.

Lan Qin handed her a handkerchief to wipe her tears: "We must not leave the young Prince out for too long. Please instruct me on the next step, Princess."

Yue Tang gazed at the empty courtyard for a long time before taking a deep breath: "There is no need to worry about Yan Bei. We should return to the Xu residence.

"With the ready-made cover of being the Scholar's Wife, many things can be accomplished."

Lan Qin thought for a moment: "Did you truly administer poison to the Prince of Jingyang?"

"It was Yangrong Pills," Yue Tang glanced at her.

Lan Qin smiled.

Then she added, "When you left the table earlier, it didn't cause much of a stir. However, the Prince's abnormality will surely arouse suspicion from many.

"Furthermore, the Du family just saw you heading toward the Pavilion. If we don't prepare an explanation for the public, dealing with Xu He alone will be difficult."

"Do not fear, I know what I am doing."

Yue Tang took the mirror Lan Qin offered, tidied her makeup, adjusted her collar, and then the two of them walked toward the banquet hall.

Naturally, Xu He did not know where Yue Tang had gone, but following the scene at the tea banquet and seeing that she and Yan Bei were the only ones missing from the hall, he couldn't help but have some suspicions.

Sitting among the crowd, he appeared exceptionally silent.

He, who had been the subject of gossip today because his former wife had shown up at his door, now found that no one dared to disturb him.

Additionally, Du Minghuan had originally intended to introduce him to everyone as his adopted son, but due to the Prince of Jingyang's loss of composure, he seemed to sense the underlying shifting tides and chose to overlook the matter, leaving Xu He's table unusually quiet.

At the birthday banquet, men and women were seated separately. When Yue Tang arrived, Xu He merely cast a distant glance at her through the curtain before withdrawing his gaze.

...

After seeing Yue Tang off, Yan Bei returned to his room. He sat in the chair she had occupied for a while, inspected the teacup she had poisoned, and finally picked up the incense burner she had splashed with water and handed it to Gao An.

"Take this back for someone to examine.

"And then," he paused, "A-Li cannot always be without a mother.

"From now on, you all think of a way to allow her to enter the Prince's mansion legitimately.

"Even if it is inconvenient for her to live here openly for now, she must be able to come and go as she pleases with proper standing."

Only after Gao An had left did he make his way to the banquet hall.

After the banquet.

When Yue Tang returned to the Xu residence by carriage, Xu He had already arrived. The Xu family servants were unloading the carriage in the front courtyard.

Hua Lin was waiting for her behind the screen wall: "You went straight to Qingyun Pavilion upon your return. Did something happen? Can you handle it? Do you want me to prepare a few doses of medicine for him?"

Yue Tang smiled: "There is no need to waste them on him. Pack your medical chest properly; I will have a task for you when I come out later."

Hua Lin tucked his hands into his sleeves and went to the back room.

Entering the house, Yue Tang indeed saw Xu He standing in the main room of Qingyun Pavilion with his back to the door.

Yue Tang knocked on the doorframe. He turned around, his gloomy gaze scanning her up and down.

"You disappeared for so long just now. Where did you go?"

"Was I not going to gather information for the Scholar?" Yue Tang said composedly, "Is the Scholar looking for me?"

Xu He gritted his teeth: "What is your relationship with the Prince of Jingyang? Why did he act so out of character the moment he saw you?"

Yue Tang looked at him and suddenly laughed.

He glared: "What are you laughing at?"

"If you want to know my relationship with the Prince of Jingyang, why don't you go ask him?"

Xu He was choked for words.

"The reason you don't ask him is because you don't dare. Since you don't dare, why bother prying so much?

"Now you come to interrogate me—aren't you afraid that I might go and lodge a complaint, leaving you to face the consequences?"

Xu He froze, then his face darkened: "Don't push your luck.

"Speak. What is your true background? What are your intentions in approaching me?"

"Regardless of my intentions, it is not easy for you to drive me away now." Yue Tang rose indifferently, "Because you cannot afford to offend the Du family, and you certainly cannot afford to offend the Prince of Jingyang.

"Since you know I am acquainted with the Prince, why not get along with me?

"Have you suddenly decided you no longer want wealth, honor, and power?"

(End of Chapter)