Chapter 402: Chapter 398: Adopted Daughter

Empress Yuan did not act according to the plan, but still, an incident occurred.

On one hand, she felt uneasy; on the other hand, she was relieved that she hadn’t acted.

As long as there was no evidence tying her to the incident, it would surely fall to her for investigation.

The results of the investigation were entirely within her control.

If she could handle it herself, why let a young girl point fingers?

That was her thought, but the emperor’s reaction was beyond her expectations.

Facing her righteous indignation, the emperor’s expression seemed to darken further. He looked at her coldly, watching until Empress Yuan couldn’t help but say, “Your Majesty?”

“The Crown Princess Consort used to stay at Lizheng Hall for a quarter of an hour before leaving. From July 20th, she changed to staying for half an hour. Why?”

Empress Yuan shivered unexpectedly: “She…”

She just consumed one more plate of dim sum.

“For the past three days, the Crown Princess Consort has stayed at Lizheng Hall for a full half-hour each visit,” the emperor’s voice slowed, each word seemed icy and heavy, “What did you and her discuss?”

What was discussed?

Empress Yuan sat down disconsolately.

Does it matter what was said?

…

“The Crown Princess Consort really knows how to calculate!” through gritted teeth.

Tang Xiaobai smiled graciously: “No, not at all.”

The aftermath of the palace banquet surfaced last night.

The Empress rested quietly due to illness, while the Imperial Concubine temporarily managed the six palaces.

And the accident at the banquet was personally investigated by the emperor’s trusted eunuch.

Therefore, Empress Yuan’s anger and unwillingness were completely expected by Tang Xiaobai.

Although Empress Yuan did not act, anyone close to her was not seen as good in the emperor’s eyes.

Tang Xiaobai couldn’t help but sigh lightly.

She truly was a major antagonist!

“Aren’t you afraid of Zheng Family finding something?”

Tang Xiaobai coughed lightly and said solemnly: “You may not believe me, but the incident at the banquet indeed has nothing to do with me!”

She hadn’t yet reached the level of omnipotence.

Empress Yuan was stunned: “Then who?” she stopped and her expression changed, “Could it be—”

“Since Your Majesty is personally investigating, it’s not our concern anymore,” Tang Xiaobai said.

Although there is no evidence, she felt it was likely Zhen Su who was causing the trouble while crying for help.

If something was important enough, there wouldn’t be just one plan.

Since she had a backup plan, Zhen Su likely did too.

However, now that Zhen Su was protected tightly by the emperor, she couldn’t verify it for a while.

“Your Majesty should rest well now. Even if there are disturbances outside, they won’t easily enter Lizheng Hall.” Empress Yuan, although not of one heart with her, still aligned with the general direction so far.

So when Tang Xiaobai said this, she was actually trying to comfort her, but instead of soothing her, it drew out anger on Empress Yuan’s face.

But just as the anger appeared, Empress Yuan remembered something, suddenly laughed, and her eyes showed schadenfreude —

“Then I shall wait and see the prowess of the Crown Princess Consort!”

Tang Xiaobai: ???

…

Back at the Eastern Palace, Tang Xiaobai immediately summoned Yu Jun to ask, “Has anything unusual happened lately?”

Yu Jun looked puzzled: “Which aspect is the Crown Princess Consort referring to?”

Tang Xiaobai also wanted to know in which aspect the empress felt schadenfreude.

Just as she felt puzzled, she saw Qin Xiao leaning lazily on his saber as if patrolling, stop briefly at the door, then turn his face and smile, “This morning I met Master Tao outside the palace. He asked me to pass on an urgent message to the Crown Princess Consort!”

“What is it?”

Qin Xiao smiled with a hint of amusement: “He said Master Xu has a granddaughter, soon to enter the Capital City.”

Tang Xiaobai: …

…

Xu Lang’s wife and child died long ago, leaving behind two grandchildren.

One grandson, one granddaughter.

The official explanation was that the emperor, grateful for Master Xu’s education of the Crown Prince, wished to extend favor to his descendants.

But the only grandson was to mourn at his grandfather’s grave, so only the granddaughter was summoned to the Capital City.

Such an explanation, no one would believe.

Teaching the Crown Prince is meritorious, but not so much that it invokes the emperor’s such pity.

“Pity what? Isn’t there still a brother? Not all the Xu’s are dead yet! Why is he pretending?” Tang Jiaojiao scoffed.

Tang Xiaobai coughed lightly: “Sister, Master Xu is the Crown Prince’s esteemed mentor.”

It’s one thing to curse the emperor, but one must show some respect for the Crown Prince’s teacher’s family.

Tang Jiaojiao scoffed: “Can’t you tell? Your Crown Prince’s mentor’s little granddaughter is here to cause trouble for you!”

Tang Xiaobai smiled.

How could she not see it?

She imagined the plot unfolding the moment she heard the news.

Back in the day, when she attended classes with the young master, she even envisioned the young master being selected by the teacher as a son-in-law.

The Gu Family’s tutor was impossible, but Master Xu’s granddaughter—

Ha!

But faced with the temper of the eldest daughter, Tang Xiaobai still had to argue a bit: “This has nothing to do with Miss Xu, it’s the one in Taiji Palace who enjoys dreaming.”

Tang Jiaojiao glanced sideways at her: “Don’t think too highly of people!”

But one shouldn’t think ill of someone before even meeting them, should they?

Tang Xiaobai murmured internally, but outwardly she was determined: “Sister, rest assured, no one is allowed to plant someone in the Eastern Palace!”

Tang Jiaojiao frowned: “Don’t rush into it, otherwise you’ll end up bearing a bad reputation. That Miss Xu is still in mourning, drag this out and let the Crown Prince handle it when he returns.”

If it’s a matter of romance, Tang Xiaobai wouldn’t bother dealing with it.

But now it was clearly a political issue.

“Upon victorious return, it should be a time of joyous celebration, why let such a small matter spoil it?”

…

When Miss Xu entered the Capital City, it was just after Chongyang Festival, during the refreshing autumn season.

To show importance to the Crown Prince’s mentor’s granddaughter, Tang Xiaobai specifically dispatched Yu Jun to greet her.

When Yu Jun sent back the news, she set aside the half-reviewed documents and leisurely headed toward the neighboring Taiji Palace.

As expected, she saw the emperor’s entourage outside the empress’s hall.

The emperor would not summon a minister’s daughter alone; that was the empress’s duty.

Therefore, he was “incidentally” or “while passing by” visiting the empress, just like when Tang Xiaobai was summoned to the palace as a child.

“Crown Princess Consort wishes to have an audience—”

After reporting in, a female official quickly came out to welcome her.

In such a formal setting, the emperor had no reason not to let the Crown Princess Consort meet the Crown Prince’s mentor’s descendants.

Miss Xu knelt in the center of the grand hall, dressed in plain clothes, her face lowered, looking quiet and gentle.

Tang Xiaobai remembered she was the same age as her, fourteen this year.

“The journey must have been exhausting, right?” Tang Xiaobai asked with concern.

The brother and sister were young and had just completed their grandfather’s funeral, then had to rush over long distances to the Capital City.

The Dog Emperor loves to bully little girls!

Miss Xu dared not complain about fatigue in front of so many nobles. She lowered her head and said softly, “I deeply appreciate the imperial summons, wishing I had wings to fly, so I feel no exhaustion.”

The emperor lowered his eyes, saying indifferently, “A sensible child.”

Tang Xiaobai lowered her head and squeezed her fingers.

Sensible? Comparing who?

When she lowered her head, the emperor glanced over and then said slowly, “Master Xu was the Crown Prince’s enlightened teacher, a teacher for a day, a father for life. Now, Miss Xu has no elder, but a young brother. The Crown Prince should look after them carefully!”

Tang Xiaobai immediately rose to pay respects, saying, “Your Majesty is completely right. A teacher for a day, a father for life. The Crown Prince, being Master Xu’s student, is also Miss Xu’s elder—”

“I wish to adopt Miss Xu as my goddaughter, please grant her the title of Commandery Princess!”

Before the words even fell, the astonished Miss Xu suddenly raised her head, her delicate face filled with amazement.

Tang Xiaobai turned to her with a kind smile.

How wonderful!

No need to give birth or raise, and suddenly have such a grown-up daughter!

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep