The Crown Prince frowned slightly, lost in thought.
Shi Minglang was flustered, looking around nervously, wishing he could disappear on the spot. He didn't want his mother to see him in such a sorry state.
But he was still badly injured and couldn't move. He could only desperately contort his facial features, trying to put on a relaxed smile.
The Crown Prince watched him struggling while unable to move and pinched the bridge of his nose speechlessly. "Stop smiling. It looks worse than crying."
Just then, footsteps and a hearty laugh came from outside. "I rushed all the way, but still arrived a day late. I missed reuniting with Minglang on New Year's Eve. Is His Highness the Crown Prince here too? Will I be disturbing if I come in now?"
Little An quickly opened the door and greeted with a smile. "Please come in, Lady Shi!"
A woman in her forties walked in and first bowed to the Crown Prince.
She was taller and stouter than ordinary women, with a square face, round eyes, and bold and angular features. There was a heroic air between her eyebrows, making her look imposing and awe - inspiring even without getting angry.
The Crown Prince helped her up personally. "Lady Shi, there's no need for such formalities. You're my elder. How could I let an elder bow to me during the New Year?"
On such an occasion, the Crown Prince didn't put on airs.
Lady Shi smiled, and there was a touch of kindness in her eyes.
Then her gaze shifted and she saw Shi Minglang lying on the couch, covering himself with the quilt. A sharp look flashed in her eyes, and her face darkened.
"The Crown Prince is here, yet you're still in bed. What kind of propriety is this?"
She shouted angrily and stepped forward, then suddenly pulled the quilt off.
"Mother..." Shi Minglang had no way to hide his injuries anymore.
He twitched the corners of his mouth, trying to say something light - hearted to downplay his injuries.
Lady Shi's eyes were filled with shock. It seemed she remembered something. Her lips trembled, and her face turned paler by the second.
"I'm fine, Mother. They're just skin injuries. I'll recover in a few days. Look, I'm still alive and well."
Lady Shi's gaze carefully scanned every bandage on his body. Her fingertips trembled slightly when they touched the areas soaked with blood.
After a long while, she forced back the tears in her eyes, gently stroked her son's face, and said in a trembling voice, "As long as you're alive, that's all that matters!"
The Crown Prince looked ashamed. "Shi Minglang was injured for my sake."
"Was it the killers sent by the Princess Royal, right?"
Lady Shi's eyes were cold. She was calmer and more self - composed than they had imagined. "That scoundrel Cheng Yong came to our house and insulted your uncle. He even threatened that if your uncle didn't sentence Young Master Wen to death, he would come after you and make me taste what it's like to lose my beloved son!"
Dark clouds seemed to roll on the Crown Prince's face. He gritted his back teeth. "The Cheng family has become so arrogant. Does the Princess Royal really think she can cover the sky with one hand and do whatever she wants?"
The Cheng family's threat to the Shi family was actually an insult to the Crown Prince.
Shi Jinglu, the Minister of the Supreme Court, was promoted by the Crown Prince. Shi Minglang had been his reading companion for ten years.
Even his appointment as the Prefect of Yunzhou was recommended by the Crown Prince to the Emperor.
Shi Minglang also helped the Crown Prince uproot the Yue family and kill the old matriarch of the Yue family.
The Princess Royal harbored a grudge and this was a deliberate act of revenge.
"When did this happen?" Shi Minglang asked through gritted teeth.
His mother had never mentioned this in her letters. She always reported the good news but not the bad. And there was always one indispensable part in each letter - urging him to find a wife and start a family.
"More than twenty days ago." Lady Shi said casually. "Have we in the Shi family offended few powerful and noble families? We've never been afraid!"
Shi Minglang felt a warm current in his heart. Was his mother worried about his safety?
After Cheng Yong came to their house, she set off for Yunzhou.
"Mother, don't worry about me. I'm now—"
Lady Shi gave him a glare, looking somewhat disappointed. "Who's worried about your safety? I'm worried about your marriage!"
Shi Minglang finally managed to put on a happy smile, but Lady Shi's words made it disappear instantly.
"The most important thing for me to come here this time is to visit the Chu family and meet your aunt. Her daughter should be sixteen or seventeen this year, right? Old Lady Chu is wise and sagacious. The girls from the Chu family won't be bad. I'll go and propose marriage for you myself, even if it means losing face. What's that expression on your face? Are you constipated?"
Every word from Lady Shi felt like a stab in his heart.
The expression on his face must be uglier than crying.
The Crown Prince had to awkwardly try to ease the embarrassment. "Lady Shi, Shi Minglang had hinted his intention to me before and asked me to propose marriage for him. I agreed, but then—"
Lady Shi only heard the first half and was overjoyed. "You've expressed your feelings to the girl from the Chu family?"
Shi Minglang's mouth twitched stiffly. "We even exchanged tokens of love."
Lady Shi's smile grew wider.
"—Then I returned the token."
"The girl didn't take a fancy to you?" Lady Shi's face fell instantly.
Shi Minglang opened his mouth but didn't make a sound.
The Crown Prince felt the atmosphere becoming oppressive and forced a laugh. "Well, Shi Minglang, you'd better explain the whole thing to your mother properly. I still have something to do, so I'll leave first."
He hadn't walked far when he heard a loud slap and Lady Shi's angry scolding.
"Do you think our Shi family can't even protect a daughter - in - law? Shi Minglang, your father and your uncle are both real men. How could our Shi family give birth to a coward like you?"
Little An swallowed nervously and couldn't help touching his own face. "Lady Shi is so scary."
Even the Princess Royal might seem a bit weaker in front of her imposing manner!
The Crown Prince smiled. "She became a widow at a young age and supported the whole family. She had to raise her younger brother - in - law, educate her son, and fight against the hostility of the noble families. How could she be a weak woman?"
...
"Miss, this is the best I can do."
Yinglan held the nightgown in front of Song Wanchu.
Every wrinkle on the nightgown had been ironed out. The two torn parts had been sewn up with fine stitches, and it was almost impossible to tell that it had been mended.
Most of the bloodstains had been washed away. Only the darkest bloodstain on the chest left a faint mark, like a few pink petals had fallen on it.
"It's already very good." Song Wanchu was pleasantly surprised.
She rewarded Yinglan with a gold ingot.
Taking the nightgown, she came to Bingtongyuan next to Meiyingxuan.
Zhou Sheng and Zhou Yan were just coming out of the house. When they saw her, they bowed and shouted in unison, "Madam!"
They had always refused to change their address. Since Song Wanchu and Liang Yuzhou reconciled, they had become even more confident in calling her Madam.
Song Wanchu didn't want to bother correcting them.
Seeing that they were both carrying parcels and luggage, she casually asked, "Are you going out?"
Liang Yuzhou was really something. He didn't even give these two brothers a holiday during the New Year.
Zhou Yan looked a bit flustered.
Zhou Sheng said, "There are undercurrents surging in the capital. Our master sent us back to the capital first. We need to find out some situations to clear the way for our master and the Crown Prince."
Song Wanchu noticed Zhou Yan's momentary fluster. She vaguely sensed something.
Liang Yuzhou's eyes were still blind, and he really needed someone by his side. But at this time, he sent both of them away. It seemed that something big had happened in the capital.