Chapter 21 News of the Uninvited Guest

Chapter 21 News of the Uninvited Guest

The next morning, the sunlight was sparse.

In a secluded side courtyard of the Regent's Palace, a man and a mouse were squatting in a corner, conducting a serious "post-war reassessment."

Tang Li held a small twig in her hand, drawing circles on the ground, looking utterly dejected.

"Zhao Cai, do you think there's any justice left in this world?"

"We dug the pit all night long, our claws were worn out, and what happened? That Zhou Bapi just said, 'Whoever finds it gets a share,' and swallowed all our gold ingots!"

Tang Li grew angrier as she spoke, angrily stabbing the ground: "Those were a full eighteen gold ingots! If they were roast chickens, they could bury you! If they were pork knuckles, they could fill this whole yard!"

The large, gray-furred rat "Zhao Cai" squatting opposite her was enthusiastically munching on a peanut.

Upon hearing the words "roast chicken," it stopped what it was doing, blinked its beady green eyes, and uttered a comforting (but perfunctory) thought:

[Squeak! Don't be angry, don't be angry! Your Majesty, out with the old, in with the new!]

【Fine, I can go check the east warehouse again tonight? I can smell something there too!】

"Go again?" Tang Li rolled her eyes. "Going again would just be working for that capitalist for free! I've figured it out, the biggest bandit in this Prince's mansion is Pei Yunjing!"

Although the imperial meal last night was indeed delicious, Tang Li's heart was bleeding at the thought that it had cost her all her savings.

Just as the man and the mouse were sighing and lamenting in front of the corner of the wall.

"Knock knock".

There was a knock on the courtyard gate.

Zhao Cai reacted extremely quickly. With a "squeak!" it snatched up a peanut and darted into the burrow, leaving Tang Li with only a nimble gray bottom.

Tang Li tossed aside the small twig in her hand, dusted off her hands, and adopted her usual timid expression:

"Come in."

The door was pushed open, and a messenger from the front courtyard of the Prince's mansion came in.

After the incidents of "the bumblebee stinging the old lady" and "the crow droppings on the concubine" a few days ago, the servants in the mansion are now more wary of this seemingly weak new princess.

The servant bowed respectfully and presented a gold-embossed visiting card with both hands:

"Your Highness, the gatekeeper just received a visiting card. It's from... the residence of Minister Tang."

The Tang family?

Tang Li's previously nonchalant gaze froze instantly.

She reached out and took the visiting card, which reeked of vulgarity and effeminacy. Her fingertips traced the bright red character "棠" (Tang), and a hint of coldness flashed in her eyes.

"Who said they're coming?" she asked casually.

The servant bowed his head and replied, "It is Madam Wang, the mistress of the Tang family, and Miss Tang Wan. They said they heard that the Princess Consort has been in the mansion for several days and they are very concerned about her, so they will come to the mansion tomorrow to visit her."

visit?

Tang Li looked at those two hypocritical words and a mocking sneer curled at the corner of her mouth.

The original owner's memories came flooding back like a tidal wave.

In that so-called "family," she was a transparent illegitimate daughter, even less than a servant.

In the dead of winter, her stepmother, Wang, made her kneel in the snow wearing only a thin layer of clothing and recite "Admonitions for Women," euphemistically calling it "tempering her character."

At every banquet, her elder sister Tang Wan always wore bright and beautiful brocade, while she could only pick up her sister's old clothes that she didn't want, and was ridiculed for being "poor and shabby".

This substitute marriage is pushing her even deeper into a pit of fire.

The entire capital knew that the Regent was bloodthirsty and that marrying into the family would mean certain death.

Lady Wang withheld all of her dowry, and Tang Wan gloated, saying to her, "Little sister is so lucky. That's the position of the Regent's Consort. I can't even dream of it."

If you were so envious, why didn't you marry him back then?

Now, she has been in the mansion for seven days.

Logically, by this time she should have been devoured by the tiger, leaving not even a bone fragment, or tortured beyond recognition by the mad prince.

But strangely, the Prince's mansion was peaceful, and there were even rumors that "the Princess Consort is quite favored by the Prince" (although it was false).

Now, the Tang family members couldn't sit still any longer.

"You miss me?"

Tang Li slammed the visiting card shut and tossed it onto the stone table, her eyes full of mockery.

"They probably came to see if I'm dead or not."

Aside from confirming her death and casually receiving any compensation the Prince's mansion might offer, Tang Li knew her arrogant elder sister all too well.

Tang Wan always thought highly of herself and wanted to marry the Crown Prince and become his concubine.

Although Regent Pei Yunjing had a terrifying reputation, he was recognized as the most handsome man in the Great Sheng Dynasty and held immense power.

Hearing that the prince wasn't dead or completely insane, Tang Wan's restless heart is probably stirring again.

They wanted to see if they could climb onto this higher branch by stepping on the corpse of this illegitimate daughter.

"princess?"

Seeing that Tang Li remained silent for a long time and her face was frighteningly gloomy, the servant cautiously asked, "The prince said that this matter is entirely up to the princess. If you are not feeling well and do not wish to see her, you may simply decline."

After all, the prince hates strangers coming to his residence, especially relatives who are looking for trouble.

"See."

Tang Li snapped out of her daze, and her clear, doe-like eyes now gleamed with the excited light of a hunter spotting his prey.

How could she not see him?

They've practically offered their faces for her to slap, so how can she not give them a good slap in return for all the suffering the original owner endured?

How can we repay her for the humiliation she suffered under Pei Yunjing these past few days?

"Go and tell them," Tang Li straightened her slightly wrinkled sleeves and smiled gently and harmlessly, "that I have been in the manor for many days and I miss my mother and sister very much."

"Tomorrow, I will be waiting for your arrival at my residence."

"Yes." The servant acknowledged the order and withdrew, feeling a chill run down his spine from the princess's smile just now.

The courtyard returned to silence.

Tangli picked up the small twig again and gently tapped the ground.

【Squeak?】

Zhao Cai poked its head out.

"Zhao Cai, tell the brothers that we're taking a day off tomorrow and don't need to dig any more holes."

Tang Li squinted at the pale sun on the horizon, her voice light and cheerful:

"Tomorrow we won't make money, we'll... trap them and beat them."