Consort Fang gave Xiao Yun a meaningful look, but he completely missed it.
After hearing Wang Qingyao speak, he glanced coldly at Yun Zhu and said, "It's not difficult to investigate. Just find out which maids and wet nurses accompanied the Old Consort and the Princess that day, and who was the coachman. Once these people are found, we can then investigate further to see who was gossiping in front of Mother."
Yun Zhu shivered and lowered her head deeply, trying to make herself as inconspicuous as possible.
Consort Fang was almost suffocated with frustration.
What kind of mother-in-law was as wronged as she was?
What was meant to be a reprimand had turned into an inquiry about who had reported it!
She couldn't even ask about her daughter-in-law's affairs?
Consort Fang's face turned a shade of liver-red, but she couldn't lose her temper.
She had to protect Yun Zhu.
"Hehe," she chuckled awkwardly a few times. "A'yun, you're too serious. Always investigating people, others will say our Ding'an Prince's manor is harsh and unkind."
Wang Qingyao looked at Xiao Yun and, following Consort Fang's lead, said with a smile, "Exactly, why investigate people all the time? Our Ding'an Prince's manor is the most benevolent. Let's just let this matter go, shall we?"
Xiao Yun's face contorted, looking as if he intended to pursue the matter to the end, but out of consideration for Wang Qingyao, he had to drop it, a conflicted expression on his face.
"I won't pursue it this time," he said reluctantly. "If there's a next time, I will definitely pursue it to the end. I'll have them beaten first, then sold out of the manor! See who dares to gossip about their masters behind their backs!"
Xiao Yun displayed the full might of a prince.
Yun Zhu shivered again.
Wang Qingyao suppressed a smile and bid farewell to Consort Fang.
Consort Fang was eager for them to leave. Once they were out of the courtyard and out of sight, she couldn't hold back any longer and smashed a teacup violently onto the ground.
Yun Zhu quickly knelt down.
"Your Highness, it's all my fault. I caused you to suffer."
"It has nothing to do with you," Consort Fang was furious. For so many years, she had been reciting Buddhist scriptures and her temper had long since smoothed out. She hadn't expected that shortly after her son's marriage, she would lose control.
"You may rise. They say a son forgets his mother after marrying a wife. My good son!" While Consort Fang was angry, she also felt a touch of sadness.
Yun Zhu's face showed a look of grief. She hugged Consort Fang's leg and said sadly, "Your Highness, please don't take it to heart. It's not worth getting angry and harming your health. His Highness has always been a filial child since he was young. The reason for this today is entirely due to the Princess instigating him. If Your Highness must blame someone, blame the Princess, but please don't resent His Highness. He is the one you carried for ten months!"
Consort Fang gave a bitter smile. "He is my son, of course, I won't resent him. I'm just feeling upset, Yun Zhu, I'm upset!"
Consort Fang sighed and shed tears.
Yun Zhu hugged her with concern. "Your Highness..."
The mistress and servant wept together.
On the other side, as soon as Wang Qingyao and Xiao Yun left Jingwu Courtyard, they couldn't help but exchange smiles. Wang Qingyao said, "I didn't realize you were so good at scaring people."
Xiao Yun said with a smile, "I wasn't scaring anyone, I was telling the truth."
"I saw Mother looking quite sad. You are her own son, yet you always defend me. Will she think you've forgotten your mother after marrying a wife?"
Xiao Yun held her hand. "A wife is a wife, and a mother is a mother. The duties of these two are inherently different and shouldn't be compared. I've always thought that 'forgetting one's mother after marrying a wife' is a contradictory statement."
Wang Qingyao looked at him with admiration. She hadn't expected him to have such progressive thoughts.
"That Yun Zhu is quite good at stirring up trouble. I wonder what I did to offend her? Logically, I am the mistress of the manor. If she doesn't try to curry favor with me, she should at least not be constantly slandering me to Mother. She's so annoying."
"I'll find an excuse to drive her out of the manor someday," Xiao Yun said slyly.
Wang Qingyao smiled and didn't object this time. "Alright, I'm just afraid Mother will be sad."
"Even if she's sad, we can't keep such a troublemaker around. My mother is just too easily swayed. One moment she thinks one thing is reasonable, the next she thinks another is. Unfortunately, she only has Yun Zhu by her side now, and it's likely Yun Zhu makes most of the decisions."
"It would be best if Mother could know that Yun Zhu is a bad person..."
"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."
They walked hand in hand for a while, and Wang Qingyao said again, "Later, you should go and appease Mother. Didn't you say she's easily swayed? If you say a few nice words, she won't be angry anymore. And you can also explain the matter with Madam Tian. After all, I am her daughter-in-law, and it's normal for her to care about my affairs."
"The problem is how to tell her. Should I say that Grand Tutor Wei set a trap, and Madam Tian fell for it, thinking you wanted to kill Tian Yu?"
Wang Qingyao glared at him playfully. "Just make up an excuse. Hmm..." She tilted her head and pondered for a moment. "Let's say Madam Tian has gone mad, hahaha..."
She didn't finish before she started laughing herself.
Xiao Yun also laughed for a while, his gaze lingering softly on her face. "I have thought of an excuse. Let's say Madam Tian wanted you to beg me to bring Tian Yu back to Duanjing..."
"That's a good idea!" Wang Qingyao gave him a thumbs-up.
"Of course, who do you think thought of it? Although I'm not good at business, I'm always spot on with these clever tricks."
Well, he was still holding onto the ridicule he received from Xiao Mo at the high-level meeting!