Chapter 1461: Chapter 1437: Do Not Take the Initiative to Confess (Additional Chapter for the Book Friend “Hu Lai Lai” as a Reward)
“Drinking plain water is the best, boiled water left to cool, drinking it warm is so comfortable, and water is tasteless.”
The Crown Princess seemed thoughtful, “Is there really no colorless and tasteless poison in this world?”
“As far as I know, there isn’t,” Manbao said, “From what I know, all poisons in this world have color or taste, at least one of the two. Like that poisonous stone, I don’t know if it has a taste, but it definitely has a color.”
Prince: …
At this point, he found it completely impossible to sleep, nor did he want to sleep. After enduring the two sets of acupuncture, he got up and shooed Manbao away.
Manbao hummed a couple of times, then turned and left.
The palace had packed all the flowers and plants she and Mingda dug up today onto a cart for her, after all, they were gifts from the Princess to her, properly acknowledged by the Emperor, so the palace wouldn’t dare to hold them back.
Moreover, Zhou Man’s status in the palace nowadays could barely be considered quite favorable.
Manbao happily transported all these things back home and then started organizing them in the garden. For the extras, having dug up several, she kept one for recording and planted the rest into pits in the garden.
When Madam Tang arrived, she had already finished cataloging what needed to be cataloged and was happily digging pits.
Ms. Meng led Madam Tang inside and was about to make tea for her, which greatly surprised Manbao, “Madam Tang, what brings you here?”
Madam Tang looked toward the few pots of peony trees placed in the garden, most of the flower branches had been cut, leaving only a few unopened buds.
But even just from the buds, she could tell that the color and shape of the flowers must be very good.
Madam Tang reached out to touch the buds, they felt very nice, showing no signs of abnormality.
She tilted her head towards Manbao and asked, “Looking at such good peony flowers, how could they turn out like that after a year?”
Manbao slightly widened her eyes in astonishment, “Madam’s information is really fast, we just left the palace and you already know?”
Madam Tang squinted, “What palace? What does this have to do with the palace?”
Manbao: “… Weren’t you here because you heard about the crooked peonies in Princess Changyu’s garden?”
Madam Tang: “…”
She gritted her teeth, “Last year in Yizhou, I bought a white peony, and you even gave me one.”
Manbao: …
She instantly felt guilty, whispering, “The journey from Yizhou to the capital is long, why did you go through so much trouble to bring the peony back?”
Madam Tang glanced at her, then turned and sat down in the pavilion.
Manbao quickly went to cleanse her hands and sat across from Madam Tang.
Ms. Meng served the tea and withdrew, while Madam Tang’s maid stood at a distance.
Manbao fawningly offered tea to Madam Tang, saying, “The white peonies sold in Yizhou City were intentionally priced low by me, precisely for this reason.”
Madam Tang frowned and asked, “You knew the flowers would grow like that?”
Manbao shook her head, “I didn’t know how they would grow, but I knew they would find it hard to maintain their appearance from the previous year.”
Madam Tang couldn’t help asking, “Who did you buy these flowers from?”
Manbao evasively replied, “From a florist, he enjoys researching all kinds of strange plants.”
Madam Tang hesitated, “Then what about my orchids…”
“Your orchids are absolutely fine,” on this point, Manbao could guarantee with a pat on her chest, she said, “If you fail to care for them, it surely is not the flowers’ problem.”
Madam Tang irritably said, “So it’s my fault then?”
Manbao chuckled and carefully tugged at her sleeve, “Madam Tang, can you not tell others about this matter?”
“Even if I don’t speak of it, do you think others wouldn’t know?” Madam Tang said, “From what you’re implying, such peonies have appeared in the palace, good luck keeping it a secret for long.”
She sighed, “Luckily, you sold many pots last year. If every pot grew crooked it wouldn’t be surprising, but if only a couple did, appearing in the palace, just wait and see.”
If someone with intentions made it a divine warning of sorts, it could be catastrophic.
Manbao hadn’t considered so much when she sold them, she pouted, “At the time, I was just focusing on fleecing the Prince of Yizhou’s house and making money, I didn’t think much further.”
Madam Tang blinked, “Fleece the Prince of Yizhou’s house?”
It wasn’t until Manbao mentioned it that she recalled most of those products had indeed been sold to the Prince of Yizhou’s house and at a high price too…
Madam Tang’s gaze on Manbao became more profound, “You have quite the scheme.”
However, at that moment, Madam Tang had already figured out her response strategy, but looking at Manbao, she said nothing; the situation hadn’t yet reached that point, and she wasn’t going to speak prematurely.
After discussing the most pressing matter, Madam Tang asked, “Do you have any renowned varieties of peonies? Preferably ones with an unusual petal color.”
Manbao inquired, “Aren’t you concerned they will transform?”
“What’s to be concerned about, sell them to me for a cheaper price, let me show them off, and after they have been admired, I could still pin them onto my hair for a day, then dig out the plants and burn them if needed.” Madam Tang paused, asking, “By the way, what should I do with the peony at my house now? It can’t be trimmed, nor easily eradicated, it’s quite tough.”
Manbao found the plant intriguing, immediately offering, “Then why don’t you bring it over, let me see if I can kill it.”
But after glancing at the excited Manbao, Madam Tang felt she didn’t look like someone intending to destroy it.
So she said, “Forget it, I’ll keep taking care of it myself.”
She, too, was curious to see how it would eventually grow.
Manbao felt a bit disappointed.
The directions of mutation between peonies and chrysanthemums were completely different; most of the chrysanthemums given back by the Crown Princess died directly, and the still-living ones looked normal enough that no differences could currently be observed.
She actually wanted to see what they would ultimately become, but now owning a pot herself, she’d have to wait until next year to see any results.
Madam Tang then took her leave, telling Manbao on the way out, “As long as others don’t ask, you shouldn’t voluntarily admit things regarding the peonies.”
She added, “Right now, the Princess Consort of Yizhou probably doesn’t even remember that you sold the flowers.”
Manbao nodded repeatedly, which is why she hadn’t mentioned anything while in the palace today.
After seeing Madam Tang off, Manbao sat waiting for Bai Shan and the others to return. It turned out that Bai Shan came back very late today; the household had already finished dinner when he and Bai Erlang rode back on horses, with Daji escorting them from behind.
He tied the three horses in the stable, Bai Shan and Bai Erlang then ran to the backyard, while Manbao asked, “Why are you so late today?”
Bai Shan raised his hand to gulp a cup of tea first, then looked at her and said, “Did you know something happened in the court today?”
Manbao asked, “What happened?”
Bai Shan enunciated, “The Crown Prince and His Majesty have submitted self-reflection letters.”
Yet Manbao replied, “Isn’t it normal for the Crown Prince to be writing a self-reflection letter at this time?”
Although the pregnancy of the Crown Princess was not publicly announced, both the Crown Prince and the Emperor knew about it. Given his currently composed mindset and planning for the future, what was odd about that?
“Do you know what the Crown Prince wrote in the self-reflection letter?”