An He forced a smile and dared not reply.
It seemed that the emperor was subtly criticizing Lan Miao for being scheming in his words, but An He couldn't detect the slightest hint of displeasure. Instead, the emperor's attitude seemed one of joy.
There was even a touch of delight in it.
Lan Miao's figure had become a distant blue dot, standing in the shadow of the lush green bushes in the distance, gradually disappearing from their sight. The emperor stood with his hands behind his back and stared for a long time, so long that An He thought the emperor was worried.
Today, the emperor had a sudden urge to visit White Horse Temple to enjoy the scenery.
He had intended to come and go secretly without disturbing anyone. However, by sheer coincidence, as they were strolling around, they met this Lady Lan at the round pagoda.
An He cupped his hands and said cautiously,
"Your Majesty, should this humble servant send someone to keep an eye on things? Just in case... there's a dispute among the ladies and something happens?"
The emperor turned his deep gaze towards him.
"What does her business matter to me?"
An He plopped down on his knees.
"It was this humble servant who spoke out of turn."
Only after the emperor's oppressive gaze shifted away from him did An He dare to stand up. He saw the emperor turn around and glance into the pagoda. The countless memorial tablets in the pagoda were like silent tombs, sinking into the darkness.
Emperor Jingxiang thought Lan Miao was extremely interesting. After Lan Miao entered the pagoda, he had been observing her from behind the prayer flags. When he found that she truly had no idea there was someone behind the flags, he felt a twinge of disappointment.
Fortunately, she didn't know. Otherwise, how could he have caught a glimpse of another side of her beneath her cold and gentle exterior?
The emperor lifted his foot, looking disinterested, and was about to leave.
Suddenly, a clear and childish voice came from across the side corridor.
"Sister Shuangxi, I don't think this White Horse Temple should be called White Horse Temple."
"Pfft... Why do you say so, Xue'er?"
The emperor stopped in his tracks, a thoughtful look appearing on his face.
They heard Xue'er on the other side enunciate clearly, word by word.
"Two protective talismans cost one tael of silver. It's so extortionate here. How can it be called White Horse Temple? It might as well be called Black Horse Temple."
That "Sister Shuangxi" seemed to be petrified.
There was no sound for a long time.
The emperor and An He, who were eavesdropping on this side, were also stunned.
An He thought, this Miss Wen is really bold. White Horse Temple is a royal temple. How can one casually change its name like that?
After a while, there came a burst of loud laughter from the other side, and it was obvious that the person was trying hard to hold it in.
"Haha..."
"Xue'er, don't say such things casually, haha... Black Horse Temple... haha."
"But it's true." Xue'er seemed unconvinced and vigorously turned her little head. "I just counted the number of people who came to buy safety talismans in half an hour. Based on this, my mother has to work so hard carving jade, but she still doesn't earn as much silver as this temple does from selling safety talismans in half a day. You tell me, isn't it worthy of being called Black Horse Temple?"
On the other side, the emperor had a look of annoyance on his face. He could almost visualize her earnest expression as she counted on her fingers from afar.
Humph, she's quite good at arithmetic.
Just like him.
An He was so stunned that he didn't know what expression to put on.
"…Xue'er, you can't calculate it like this. The safety talismans are... different. White Horse Temple is a royal temple. Anyway, you can't calculate it like this."
Shuangxi wanted to refute Xue'er, but she couldn't come up with a good reason.
"A royal temple? So the prices are set by the royal family? When I go to the palace, I'm going to ask Yu Jia about this."
Xue'er said seriously.
Shuangxi was startled by her words and quickly grabbed Xue'er. "Oh, my dear Xue'er, don't ask like that. I don't understand, but asking like that is definitely not a good idea."
"Okay then, I'll listen to you..."
Xue'er's cute childish voice gradually faded away.
After listening for a while, the emperor straightened his body, a faint smile playing on his lips.
Both the mother and daughter are little foxes.
Let's see how many more surprises you can bring me after you enter the Elegant Academy.
However, after reminiscing about Xue'er's "innocent babbling" for a while, the emperor seemed to remember something and turned to An He, who didn't even dare to breathe loudly beside him. "Is Lady Lan's jade workshop doing very poorly? Does she work so hard but still can't earn much silver?"
When it came to this, An He felt more confident.
"Your Majesty, the Jade Treasure Workshop run by Lady Lan is quite well - known in Luojing. Recently, the prices in the workshop have doubled, but there are still more and more customers placing orders. It is presumably because Lady Lan has taken on the business from the Empress Dowager."
"Is she using the Empress Dowager's reputation?"
The emperor's eyes gradually became deeper, and his long - drawn gaze was fixed beyond the green mountains.
"The news was probably spread by Lady Lan herself. It was spread secretly, but all the noble and influential people in Luojing who should know about it do know."
"She's quite smart."
The emperor snorted and commented indifferently. Seemingly losing interest, he lifted his foot and walked towards the corridor on the other side of the round pagoda, the opposite direction from where Xue'er had gone.
——
Hidden among the bushes.
Mrs. You looked at the calm Lan Miao. It seemed that everyone could try to control her, but no one could really succeed. The wrist that Lan Miao had pinched still ached faintly, and the anger in her heart subsided a bit.
"You've plotted against me time and time again..."
"No, that's not what you really care about." Lan Miao was preoccupied with Xue'er, who was still buying safety talismans. She directly interrupted Mrs. You. Her light - colored eyes looked pure, but no one could tell her emotions. "If you want something, please just say it directly."
Mrs. You's angry expression changed. Her eyes rolled, and a greedy look flashed across her face.
"Your jade workshop's business is getting better and better. You've used so much silver to fill the holes in the Marquis's Mansion. Why don't you share some of the profits with our You family? We can make a fortune together."
So that's what it was.
Lan Miao thought Mrs. You was so ridiculous that she actually burst out laughing. After laughing, she said firmly, "No."
"That jade workshop was my dowry. No one has the right to touch it. I'm willing to use it to fill the holes in the Marquis's Mansion, but that's my choice. If you try to get your hands on it again, I'll tell the Marquis and the old lady about what you've done. Stop thinking about it."
Mrs. You's expression froze.
She was so flustered that she almost shouted. "What have I done? Don't talk nonsense. How much do you know?"
Lan Miao was too lazy to argue with her. She wasn't unaware of the disputes in the Marquis's Mansion and the infighting in the second branch. She just never bothered to intervene. But Mrs. You seemed to think she was easy to control and had been causing her trouble recently. Just dealing with the old lady was already exhausting enough. She didn't want Mrs. You to add fuel to the fire.
"I'll act as if I don't know." Lan Miao said word by word, her tone carrying a hint of warning. "Don't scheme against me. I don't want to fight with you either. That's enough."
This meant they should stay out of each other's business.
Mrs. You was both angry and scared in her heart. But she couldn't see through Lan Miao, and she didn't want both of them to end up in a losing situation. So she could only watch as Lan Miao calmly said those words and then turned around to leave.
Lan Miao had only taken a few steps when Mrs. You suddenly asked coldly,
"How did you know there was something wrong with that dress?"
"…"
Lan Miao ignored her and continued walking forward.
She didn't know what was wrong with the dress Mrs. You had sent. She just had an intuition that Mrs. You wasn't being kind - hearted. So she put on the dress bestowed by the Empress Dowager and deliberately added a shawl, which made Mrs. You have the wrong impression and led to the scene where the old lady scolded Mrs. You later.
Actually, wearing the Empress Dowager's dress was a last - resort measure. The old lady must be even more unhappy in her heart, but she couldn't scold Lan Miao because of her dignity.
But since it was impossible to satisfy both of them, she might as well make both of them feel uncomfortable.
Lan Miao sneered inwardly.
Mrs. You watched Lan Miao's departing back. She walked gracefully, exuding more charm and a special kind of tenderness than a young girl.
With such good looks and such scheming, if it weren't for the old lady forcing her to remain a widow, even with Xue'er as a burden, Lan Miao would have lived a good life if she remarried.
Mrs. You was glad -
Lan Miao would never be able to leave the Marquis's Mansion.