Chapter 36

Though it was the dead of night, the Lantern Festival’s festive air kept everyone wide awake. The Princess Mansion was ablaze with lights, just like everywhere else.

Tao Chuyi stared around in bewilderment, flailing both hands to break free from Fendie’s embrace. But Fendie held on too tightly—even someone as strong as Tao Chuyi couldn’t wrench away.

“Come with me,” Fendie urged. “The Princess Mansion isn’t safe for you long-term. If they learn your true identity, you’ll be dead.”

Fendie released Tao Chuyi, only to suddenly clamp down on her shoulders.

Tao Chuyi felt afraid. Fendie was acting so strangely.

“I’m not going! I won’t go! I want Sister, not you!”

Seeing Tao Chuyi’s fierce resistance, a look of sorrow crossed Fendie’s face.

“It’s all right. You’re just sick right now. Once you remember everything, you’ll know I’m doing this for your own good.”

At that moment, Xichan returned from outside. Hearing the footsteps, Fendie acted decisively. She pressed an acupoint to put Tao Chuyi to sleep and gently laid her down.

“Miss, this servant has brought hot water,” Xichan announced as she entered the room. But she found Tao Chuyi fast asleep and assumed it was from exhaustion after all the day’s fun.

“Miss, let’s get up and wash first, then change back into your young master outfit before sleeping, all right? You were just begging for tangyuan a moment ago—if you fall asleep now, there won’t be any.”

Xichan coaxed endlessly, but Tao Chuyi wouldn’t wake.

“Miss! Miss, what’s wrong? Don’t scare your servant like this!”

No matter if Xichan called out or shook her, Tao Chuyi remained unresponsive.

Nangong Yunshang returned to her bedroom just in time to witness the scene. She hurried over. Seeing how deeply Tao Chuyi slept, a bad premonition stirred in her heart.

“Prince Consort? Chuyi?”

The unresponsive Tao Chuyi suddenly opened her eyes and scrambled up, throwing herself straight into Nangong Yunshang’s arms.

Finally awake—Nangong Yunshang let out a breath of relief and stroked Tao Chuyi’s head. “What’s the matter?”

Tao Chuyi burrowed desperately into the embrace, filling Nangong Yunshang’s arms completely. Still unsatisfied, she kept nuzzling deeper.

At last, Nangong Yunshang couldn’t take it anymore. She grabbed the back of Tao Chuyi’s collar and hauled her out.

Tao Chuyi pursed her lips, gazing up at her with teary eyes. “Are you going to abandon me? Give me away to someone else? Don’t abandon me—I’ll be good, I promise.”

No one knew what had happened, not even Tao Chuyi herself. Nangong Yunshang held and soothed her for a good long while before calming her down. With Xichan’s help, they removed the makeup and feminine attire, transforming Tao Chuyi back into her young master guise.

“The kitchen has tangyuan ready,” Nangong Yunshang said deliberately, “but I think we should save it for tomorrow. It’s far too late tonight.”

The word “tangyuan” made Tao Chuyi shoot to her feet.

“Tangyuan! I’m coming!”

Tao Chuyi bolted ahead, with Xichan chasing after amid a flurry of chaos like chickens flying and dogs jumping, the whole scene lively and rowdy.

Under Nangong Yunshang’s strict orders not to overindulge, Tao Chuyi only tasted two tangyuan. For good measure, she polished off every last drop of Red Plum Wine in the kitchen. The wine was delicious—sweet and smooth, without a hint of burn, like plum juice.

However, with her low tolerance, Tao Chuyi was drunk the moment she finished. Though the wine lacked bite up front, its aftereffects hit hard. Her head swam, but sleep was the last thing on her mind. She tilted her gaze toward the night sky.

She was going to catch a star!

“Young Master! Get down from there quick!”

“Ow, ow! Prince Consort, please come down! This servant’s life is over!”

The backyard had grown too noisy. Nangong Yunshang stepped out of her room with Yinghong, where she found a crowd of maids and manservants gathered beneath a large tree, all craning their necks upward.

She followed their gazes. Perched on a branch was none other than Tao Chuyi.

“I don’t wanna come down! I wanna see the little birds!”

Tao Chuyi teetered along the branch, making it sway precariously. The people below trembled with every wobble.

Huh? Where were the birds?

Tao Chuyi searched the treetops for ages without spotting a single feather. Undeterred, she kept looking—and even tried to leap straight from the bare branches onto a nearby pine.

“Tao Chuyi! Get down here right now!”

Nangong Yunshang called urgently. Any longer and this child would surely fall to her death.

Hearing the voice, Tao Chuyi steadied herself and peered downward.

“Sister? Sister! Sister…”

Seeing the situation turning dire, Nangong Yunshang had someone fetch a birdcage. She pointed at Little Eight inside.

“The bird’s right here. No need to search anymore.”

Tao Chuyi glanced at Little Eight, then at the barren tree. Indeed, no birds there. Her footing slipped, and she tumbled down with a thud. The maids and manservants rushed forward, forming a human cushion that kept her from injury.

“Chuyi, are you all right? Did you hurt yourself?”

Nangong Yunshang pulled Tao Chuyi to her feet and inspected her from every angle. Confirming no harm done, she began scolding her like a naughty child.

“Do you have any idea how dangerous that was? You’re never doing this again.”

Tao Chuyi’s head throbbed fuzzily; she had no clue what Nangong Yunshang was saying and merely nodded on reflex. Suddenly, she fished a brocade box from her sleeve and, in a flash, pinned its contents atop Nangong Yunshang’s head.

“Pretty! Sister’s the prettiest.”

Nangong Yunshang touched her head—it was the hairpin from the arrow-throwing game.

“All right, I love it. Now come back with me to sleep.”

“Okay! Bedtime!”

The little ancestor was escorted back to her room by the princess, and the servants finally breathed a collective sigh of relief.

This pint-sized terror, spoiled rotten by the Third Princess’s favor, rampaged through the mansion unchecked—demanding taro one moment and refusing lotus root the next.

But Xichan noticed something: the young master no longer wanted Fendie serving up front.

“How did you manage to rile up the young master?” she asked.

The two maids turned in unison toward the figure in the corner. Tao Chuyi was playing with a rattle drum. Spotting their stares, she bared her teeth menacingly.

Fendie lowered her head. “Maybe it was when I tried to get the young master to eat celery. I didn’t realize she hated it.”

That sounded exactly like something Tao Chuyi would do, and Xichan was instantly convinced.

Tao Chuyi ignored them and went back to her game. She had the others make her seven cloth dolls for playing house.

“You’re Little Red, you’re Little Green—you two are enemies, right, enemies. Little Pink is…”

She sneaked a glance at Fendie. “Little Pink’s the bad guy.”

Anyone who tried to take her away from Sister was a bad guy.

Nangong Yunshang entered then, and Tao Chuyi immediately abandoned Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet to pounce on her Fairy Sister.

“Sister, Sister, you’re so slow!”

After all this time, Nangong Yunshang had run out of patience. She simply treated Tao Chuyi like a child who needed indulging.

“Tao Temple Minister will be here soon. We’ll all dine together then—that way, he’ll miss his child a little less.”

“Daddy’s coming?”

Tao Chuyi spun toward the kitchen. “I’ll make something yummy for Daddy!”

Nangong Yunshang yanked her back. “No need—the cooks have it handled. We don’t need you there.”

Heaven forbid she let Tao Chuyi near the kitchen again.

Banned from the kitchen, Tao Chuyi turned her mischief toward Fifteen instead, chasing the dog all over the yard.

Tao Siqing arrived a bit late and offered a toast by way of apology. His delay stemmed from a case that had tied him up that morning. Those Temple Chiefs and Deputies gave him nothing but headaches.

Nangong Yunshang curved her lips in a smile. “May I ask what sort of case?”

“A night watchman found a body in a narrow alley this morning.”

The corpse was unrecognizable, but the autopsy confirmed it was a woman dressed like a maid from some wealthy household. Clear strangulation marks on her neck indicated death by suffocation.

Tao Chuyi looked up from her rice bowl, grains stuck to both cheeks.

“A c-corpse!”

Nangong Yunshang patted her head. “Eat your rice.”

“Oh.”

Tao Chuyi dove back into her bowl.

“People dying even during the New Year festivities?” Yinghong exclaimed in surprise.

Tao Siqing shrugged it off as routine. “Deaths happen any time. While we’re enjoying family bliss here, someone out there might be suffering right now.”

Chatting idly, Nangong Yunshang asked offhandedly, “Were you able to identify the victim’s household?”

“By noon, someone claimed her. She was a maid from Jurén Wu’s family in the western city.”

Tao Chuyi popped up again. “Jurén Wu? Hairpin!”

Tao Siqing sensed something off. “Chuyi, you’ve heard of Jurén Wu?”

“Fifteen, hairpin, Young Master Wu, dotes on wife.”

Tao Chuyi gestured wildly as she spoke. “Wife can’t move.”

“Right—his household does have a bedridden, paralyzed wife,” Tao Siqing confirmed, astonished. “So on the fifteenth, you saw Jurén Wu buying a hairpin for his wife?”

Tao Chuyi nodded, then glanced at Nangong Yunshang and pointed at the hairpin on her head. “I got one for Sister too.”

Nangong Yunshang chuckled. “You won yours.”

“Close enough.” Tao Chuyi sat up straight, as if to say, “See how awesome I am?”

Three days had passed since the Lantern Festival, and the time of death aligned precisely with that night.

Tao Siqing frowned. “The maid died in an alley beside a tavern in the eastern city. No clear reason for a maid to be out there in the dead of night—it might not even be the murder site, just a body dump. This official plans to visit the Wu household shortly.”

“I’m going too!”

Tao Chuyi volunteered eagerly. When Tao Siqing didn’t respond, she grabbed her father’s sleeve and shook it, nearly rattling him apart.

“Fine, fine—you can come.”

Helpless, Tao Siqing agreed.

Nangong Yunshang set down her chopsticks and looked up. “This Princess will accompany you.”

Tao Siqing hesitated. “Your Highness’s noble personage shouldn’t…”

“No need for concern, Temple Minister. This Princess knows her limits.”

Nangong Yunshang forwent her princess robes, instead donning the formal attire of a female Dali Temple official—roughly equivalent to a Temple Chief position. She trailed behind Tao Siqing and Tao Chuyi, blending seamlessly into the Wu Mansion.

The residence of Jurén Wu was not particularly opulent, but it carried an air of refined elegance, hinting at the tastes of a scholar steeped in poetry and ink.

“Greetings, Lord Tao!”

Jurén Wu observed every courtesy. After ushering them inside, he began discussing the deceased—the maid Xiaoxi.

Reading between the lines, it was clear that Xiaoxi had a lover who was fond of drink, and her appearance near the tavern late at night had likely been a clandestine meeting with her paramour.

“And who might this be?”

Everyone’s gazes converged on Tao Chuyi. She showed no fear, instead lifting her head high with pride.

“I am the Prince Consort.”

Jurén Wu realized belatedly and hurried to bow. “So you are the young master of the Tao Family, the current Prince Consort. My apologies for the oversight.”

Having asserted her dominance, Tao Chuyi quietly asked the person behind her, “Sister, was I great?”

Nangong Yunshang gave her a nudge to keep her from turning around. “Great. Chuyi was the greatest.”

A smile curved at the corners of Tao Chuyi’s lips, but she suddenly suppressed it just before it could widen.

Sister had said that grinning too broadly would make her look like a little fool.

She was a clever one, after all.