"Miss, the second young lady visits every day. Why don't you see her?" Qiu Tong asked as she helped Xiao Man grind ink.
Xiao Man practiced calligraphy at a leisurely pace. She was not ill, but in the eyes of outsiders, she was. Even if it was just for show, she had to see it through.
"The time is not right."
Qiu Tong was puzzled. Did seeing someone require timing?
"What timing?"
"Go and brew me a cup of ginseng tea," Xiao Man said, unwilling to explain further. She sent Qiu Tong out to brew tea and had Yin Zhu come in to grind ink.
Yin Zhu had always disliked small talk. She quietly ground ink by the side. If Xiao Man didn't ask, she would never answer voluntarily. This was also why Nangong Yu rarely noticed Xiao Man's existence.
"Anything new recently?" Xiao Man asked without looking up.
"Nothing new in the manor, but there's something new outside the manor," Yin Zhu's voice sounded very gentle. "A young lady has recently moved into Prince Qin's manor. She's as beautiful as a celestial being. Everyone is guessing if Prince Qin is going to take a concubine."
Xiao Man smiled, "It seems my husband list needs to be updated again."
"Miss guessed correctly. Your husband list has been updated. Currently, Minister Wen ranks first, becoming the most popular candidate for a husband," Yin Zhu chimed in with a smile.
Xiao Man picked up her brush and dipped it in ink, "This has needlessly tarnished Mo Han's reputation."
"Aren't you angry?" Yin Zhu inquired. From her observations, her young lady was interested in Prince Qin, but perhaps she just didn't realize it yet because she was a late bloomer.
"Why should I be angry?" Su Dan Novel Network
"A woman suddenly moved into Prince Qin's manor," Yin Zhu's grinding hand paused for a moment before continuing, "Your relationship with Prince Qin is quite intimate."
"I already knew about this."
"So Prince Qin had already informed Miss." Yin Zhu understood. No wonder Miss didn't care. It turned out Prince Qin had informed her long ago. But Prince Qin placed such a beautiful girl in the manor, creating an opportunity for misconduct. Wouldn't Miss worry about them crossing the line?"
Xiao Man finished the last stroke and carefully examined the calligraphy on the rice paper. Not bad. The brushstrokes were powerful, penetrating the paper. Excellent calligraphy. The drama in the imperial capital was becoming more and more exciting.
Qiu Tong brought in the freshly brewed ginseng tea, "Miss, have some tea."
Xiao Man put down her brush, took the tea, and drank it while admiring her own calligraphy. Qiu Tong didn't know much about calligraphy, but she felt that the character her young lady wrote was different from her usual handwriting.
"Miss, your calligraphy is really beautiful, different from how you usually write."
"Oh, how is it beautiful?"
"It seems to be full of power."
Prince Qin had sent a message. Xi Yue came in to report. Seeing the master and servants admiring calligraphy and paintings, she handed the received message to Xiao Man with both hands.
Xiao Man took it and beckoned to Xi Yue, "Xi Yue, come here and see how your young lady's calligraphy is."
Xi Yue walked over, her gaze fell on the calligraphy Xiao Man had written, and her expression was shocked. She quickly stepped forward to examine it carefully. The more she looked, the more shocked she became. She couldn't help but look at Xiao Man, "Did Miss write this?"
"Of course, Miss wrote it. We saw Miss write it with our own eyes."
Xi Yue did not hide her shock at all, because Xiao Man's calligraphy was very similar to Prince Qin's. Even she couldn't tell the difference easily. It was as if Prince Qin had written it.
A thought flashed through Xi Yue's mind. It seemed that Miss cared very much about the rumors outside and was dissatisfied with His Highness. Xi Yue looked at the calligraphy again. It was full of murderous intent and sharp edges. She felt that Prince Qin would be in trouble. Should she remind His Highness?
This thought flashed through Xi Yue's mind and was immediately dismissed. She was now Xiao Man's maid. Even if she learned that her young lady was going to deal with her former master, she could only pretend not to know. Your Highness, good luck!
"Xi Yue, you haven't said how Miss's calligraphy is yet."
Xi Yue gave a thumbs up, "Very good, it can completely pass for real."
"What do you mean pass for real? What Miss writes is the best!" Qiu Tong rolled her eyes. What was Xi Yue saying? What their young lady wrote was the real thing!
Yin Zhu, being sharp-witted, immediately understood. She looked at the rice paper again. Xi Yue said it could pass for real. Did the calligraphy Xiao Man wrote look exactly like Prince Qin's?
Xiao Man smiled gently. After imitating for so long, she had finally achieved some success. Nangong Yu was busy accompanying his beauty, Nangong Yi had returned to his former dissolute life, Wen Mohan was busy with important court affairs, and her father was also extremely busy. She, on the other hand, had a rare moment of leisure.
Xiao Man held her teacup and lay down on the recliner in the room. Qiu Tong quickly brought a thin blanket to cover Xiao Man. The maids, fearing they would disturb Xiao Man's rest, immediately went out, leaving Xiao Man alone in the study.
"Did you find out?" Xiao Man asked softly. She had people investigating Consort De and the Empress Dowager, but there had been no news. Now, there was finally some news.
"Reporting to Master, the Empress Dowager once had a daughter who died young. Everyone in the palace knew. If she were still alive, she would be about the same age as Consort De. Consort De's identity has no problems; she is indeed the daughter of the Jin family."
"Are there no other connections between these two?"
"This... we found a message that is not entirely clear," the secret guard whispered. "It is rumored that the Empress Dowager has been living outside for many years and kept many male consorts. The head of the Jin family was once one of her admirers."
Xiao Man sat up straight, "The head of the Jin family was the Empress Dowager's male consort?"
"It's just a rumor. The rumor also says that the eldest son of the Jin family is the illegitimate son of the Empress Dowager and the head of the Jin family."
Xiao Man's lips curved slightly, "You don't need to worry about this matter anymore. Someone is already investigating, and it will be more effective than us investigating."
"Master, the Jin family has always been strict and controls the Ministry of Revenue. It is not easy to get information from the Jin family. Even if the younger generation of the Jin family is at odds, they are very united when it comes to important matters."
"The unity of the Jin family is only on the surface," Xiao Man said to the secret guard, "Sometimes the scariest thing is not the external enemy, but the people around you. Do you know why?"
"Because the people around you know all your secrets?"
"That's only one reason. If the people around you are of one mind with you, it doesn't matter if they know your secrets. What's to fear is doing something wrong and hiding it from the people around you. In that case, those around you will become a sharp knife, with the blade pointing at themselves." Xiao Man said slowly. Many people wanted to remove the Jin family from the position of Minister of Revenue, but none succeeded. Unexpectedly, the Empress Dowager's unintentional actions made Xiao Man suspicious. If the Empress Dowager knew, she would surely regret detaining Xiao Man in the palace.
"Does Master mean to start with Madam Jin?"
"Clever. I have a plan for this. Also, I have a task for you to do. I want the Moon-Watching Tower to cease to exist from this day forward."