Chapter 59: Purple Jade Whistle

“It was naturally a misunderstanding,” Tang Zhao said, glancing around at the crowd. “I thought it was merely an ordinary conversation, but I never expected it to lead to all of this.” She paused, suppressing a wave of nausea as if she had just swallowed filth, and continued, “It caused a misunderstanding and caused the Miss of the Marquis of Zhongyong to bear a false reputation. It is our fault as a couple.”

She turned to look at Bai Rouyin. “Miss of the Marquis of Zhongyong, we are here to offer you our apologies.”

Gu Ci remained silent for a moment, then followed suit and bowed.

Having been pushed onto a high pedestal by Tang Zhao, Bai Rouyin felt a mixture of rage, grievance, resentment, and fear. She had no choice but to play along. “It is nothing.”

“So that’s how it was. We misunderstood the Miss of the Marquis of Zhongyong and the General of the Cavalry.”

Some people remained stubborn. “You can’t blame us, though. Who could have guessed?”

Indeed, who could have guessed? The ladies, lords, and wives who had spent years navigating the intricacies of the inner courts lamented to themselves: what a dramatic scene of catching an adulterer, only for the whole thing to flip like this!

How could those men and women who were caught in bed or in secret trysts and forced into marriage feel any dignity after seeing this!

The Princess Consort of Xuan made the concluding remarks. “Since the misunderstanding is cleared, let this matter pass.” She cast a sidelong glance at the two individuals with grim expressions and warned, “Consort Han, Fifth Miss Shen, take this as a lesson. In the future, remember to think twice before you speak.”

Consort Han gritted her teeth. “Yes, I have learned my lesson.”

Fifth Miss Shen lowered her head. “Yes.”

Princess Consort Xuan: “Very well. The banquet has been prepared in Nuandong Hall. Let us return.”

The crowd complied and followed the Princess Consort out.

Bai Rouyin lowered her head and pleaded softly, “Mother, I want to go home.”

The Marchioness of Zhongyong said coldly, “If you wish to start more rumors, then go home!”

Bai Rouyin did not dare to be willful again; she was forcibly pulled away by the Marchioness, looking back with every step.

Once Qiu Yu went to wait across the arched bridge, only the couple remained on the island in the middle of the lake. They looked at each other, then immediately averted their eyes, their previously interlaced fingers snapping apart as if struck by electricity.

Tang Zhao acted as if she had touched something disgusting, using a handkerchief to meticulously wipe her hands with lake water.

Gu Ci took a deep breath to suppress his anger, staring intently at Tang Zhao. “How did you know?”

How did she know? Naturally, because the plot warning had appeared on the system interface.

When she was selecting items for the auction in the warehouse, the system had triggered a plot preview without warning.

The general plot was that after meeting Tang Zhao, Bai Rouyin would suffer a mental breakdown from the shock. She would personally design a scenario to be "caught in an affair" in order to achieve her goal of marrying Gu Ci as a concubine. However, things would spiral out of control; to protect Bai Rouyin's reputation, Gu Ci would jump into the lake before being discovered. The cold would cause his poison to flare up, nearly costing him his life.

The task issued by the system was to prevent Gu Ci from jumping into the lake to avoid the flare-up.

Tang Zhao had thought of three plans: first, stop it at the source by not appearing at all to avoid triggering Bai Rouyin's madness; second, pop up during their secret meeting to act as a glaring third wheel; and third, as a last resort, let Gu Ci jump into the lake first, and she would pull him onto a boat halfway.

No matter what, she could not let Gu Ci's poison flare up again. Her life points were precious!

However, man proposes but God disposes. Caught up in the excitement of the drama, and with Consort Han being so formidable, Tang Zhao struggled to find the right moment to intervene for half the day, nearly failing.

Fortunately, she had completed the system's task.

【Ding! The "Save the Cannon Fodder Male Lead" System: Ultimate Mission "Feed the Three Armies" Second Sub-task: "Rewrite the Plot to Avoid Poison Flare-up" completed! Reward: Soybean oil production process has been stored in the space. 100 Life Points have been credited. Total current Life Points: 284.】

Tang Zhao was very satisfied. She looked directly into Gu Ci's eyes and said playfully, “Guess!”

Gu Ci's words were suddenly stuck in his throat, and he couldn't stop coughing.

Tang Zhao watched him with a smile for a long while. Once he stopped, the two of them returned to the banquet together.

Everyone ate, drank, and played, tacitly moving past the incident on the lake island.

After the banquet ended, Tang Zhao returned to Bidan Courtyard and rolled around on her beloved large bed. “Don't call me tomorrow. I want to sleep until I wake up naturally!”

“Miss sleeps until the sun is high every single day,” Nanny Song thought that her lady was perfect in every way except for her love of sleeping in. “Fortunately, the Master is gentle and the Princess Consort is kind. If it were your husband's family, they would never tolerate such laziness.”

*Tsk.* Tang Zhao stuck out her tongue.

Qiu Yu had been holding it in the whole way and could no longer restrain herself. “Miss, that Bai Rouyin is so shameless! Seducing the Master in broad daylight, practically begging to be his concubine! Why didn't you give her a few hard slaps to teach her how to behave?”

Tang Zhao said calmly, “Would you break a jade vase just to kill a mouse?”

“Of course not!” Qiu Yu said. “A mouse is such a filthy thing. Forget breaking a jade vase; even touching a servant like me would be considered dirty!”

After saying this, Qiu Yu had an epiphany. “Miss is right! Bai Rouyin is the mouse, and the Master is the jade vase!”

The hand knocking on the door paused.

Tang Zhao nodded, thinking the girl was quite teachable. She rarely spoke such heartfelt words. “I don't wish to contend with her, partly because it's unnecessary, and partly because I pity her.”

“I do not kill Bo Ren, yet Bo Ren dies because of me. Marrying Gu Ci to bring good luck was not my wish, but it was because of this matter that Bai Rouyin lost her mind and acted this way.”

“Neither I, Gu Ci, nor Bai Rouyin are in the wrong. One can only blame fate.”

Wait, one could also blame Emperor Kangzhi for his blindness in arranging the marriage, blame Gu Ci for being incompetent and getting poisoned, and blame that damn "Save the Cannon Fodder Male Lead" system.

System: *Heh, why don't you blame yourself for being brainless and getting stabbed to death by your enemy?*

Tang Zhao gritted her teeth and continued, “Resolving today's matter was merely a small effort for me, but if it hadn't been resolved, it would have been a catastrophe for Bai Rouyin.”

Although being brainless didn't deserve sympathy, it was better to lend a hand if possible.

“Besides, those two sisters from the Duke of Wei's manor are already troublesome enough; I don't want to add another one.”

One that would be even more nauseating.

“You won't be adding one,” Gu Ci said as he pushed the door open.

Tang Zhao accused him, “A grand General of the Cavalry, actually eavesdropping on people.”

Gu Ci did not argue. He pulled something from his robe and tossed it to her.

Tang Zhao reached out to catch it; it felt cold to the touch.

“This is?”

“A purple jade whistle.”

Tang Zhao was incredulous. “For me?” Wasn't it supposed to be for Bai Rouyin?

Gu Ci gave a grunt of affirmation. “In the future, if there is danger or if you need assistance, blow this whistle, and secret guards will arrive.”

He paused, the rest of his words remaining unsaid.

Tang Zhao asked curiously, “How many?”

Gu Ci: “As long as you can afford to maintain them, even ten thousand troops will suffice.”

Tang Zhao gave a sheepish laugh; in that case, forget it.

Gu Ci endured it for a moment but finally couldn't help but say, “In the future, when you are out, do not say those things again!”

Tang Zhao asked knowingly, “Which things?”

Gu Ci shot her a glance and turned to leave.

Tang Zhao teased Gu Ci, feeling happy in her heart. She looked at the purple jade whistle and liked it more and more. She cherished it so much that she was afraid of losing it, yet afraid of it falling off if she wore it. Eventually, she nagged Gu Ci into drilling a hole in the end of the whistle so she could thread a red string through it and wear it around her neck.

Tang Zhao: *Much more secure.*

Zhao Zhao (touching the large red string around her neck): *Sorry, I'm used to being from a village.*

March has arrived, let's go!

(End of Chapter)