"You're hurrying me away the moment you arrive," the Empress said, her face devoid of anger. "I was thinking, since A'ran is here and you are also here, I could tell you about your mother. But judging by your expression, you don't seem keen to listen."
Feng Mo Ran's gaze shifted slightly as he looked at the Empress, a warning in his eyes. The Empress ignored it. "The three of us grew up together. Don't you want to hear some amusing stories about your mother when she was little?"
"If Your Majesty is willing to speak, I would be delighted to listen," Xiao Man smiled gently, like a naive lamb unaware of the world. However, the Empress knew that Xiao Man was no lamb waiting to be slaughtered; on the contrary, she was a wolf in sheep's clothing!
"A'ran, what are your thoughts?" The Empress looked at Feng Mo Ran, her tone gentle, her expression relaxed, carrying a threat only Feng Mo Ran could understand.
Feng Mo Ran patted the seat beside him, gesturing for Xiao Man to sit. "Since Man'er wishes to listen, I am naturally willing to share a story or two."
"It is even better if A'ran is willing to speak," the Empress said slowly. "After all, there are many secrets between you two that I am unaware of."
Feng Mo Ran looked at Xiao Man. "Your mother's personality is like yours; she couldn't stay still. She enjoyed going on incognito tours the most, always saying that only by immersing herself in the lives of the common people could she truly understand their living conditions…"
As night fell and the palace gates were locked, Xiao Man finally emerged from the palace.
Ying Xue waited at the palace entrance and, seeing Xiao Man come out, immediately drove the carriage over. "Mistress."
Xiao Man got into the carriage. "Let's go, back to the manor."
Ying Xue drove the carriage towards the Princess's manor. Inside the carriage, the Eldest Princess hugged her arms, her expression calm. "Did you meet someone from Tantai Palace?"
Xiao Man picked at her fingernails, a careless smile on her lips. "I did. Doesn't the Eldest Princess already know who the master of Tantai Palace is?"
The Eldest Princess lowered her voice. "I am also quite surprised that people from the Feng family are still alive."
"You shouldn't be surprised. After all, the Empress has always kept the position of the Mistress of the Harem vacant," Xiao Man sneered. "You didn't actually think she kept the Empress's position vacant to motivate the men in the harem, did you?"
The Eldest Princess fell silent. The Empress doted on Young Master Ye and had even handed over the authority of the harem to Ye Fei. She had initially thought Ye Fei would become the Imperial Consort, but never did she imagine that the Empress, by keeping the Empress's position vacant, had no intention of giving it to anyone within the harem.
"The Feng family should have been annihilated long ago!"
Xiao Man's expression remained unchanged. "I regret to inform you that the people from Tantai Palace are also acquaintances of mine."
The Eldest Princess looked astonished. "Your acquaintances? You grew up in Yusheng, how could you have acquaintances here?"
"Someone from Tantai Palace, under the alias Feng Tian Lan, became the Imperial Tutor of Yusheng and taught me academics and martial arts from a young age," Xiao Man said with a smile. "He is my esteemed teacher."
The Eldest Princess instinctively leaned back, her body tense. If someone from Tantai Palace was Xiao Man's master, then Xiao Man held an advantage, which would be a great disadvantage to her!
"Why is the Eldest Princess so nervous?"
"What do you want to do?" The Eldest Princess's hand stealthily reached for the dagger hidden at her waist. If Xiao Man intended to harm her, she could at least put up a fight!
Xiao Man leaned against the carriage wall. "I want to avenge my father."
"Didn't the Prince of Qin of Yusheng kill your father?"
"On the surface, yes," Xiao Man said slowly. "But the real culprit was not him, but a woman named Tan Gu."
"Tan Gu?" The Eldest Princess did not release her grip on the dagger. "You mean the Great General Tan Gu, who is already dead?"
"It's her, but it's also uncertain," Xiao Man said slowly. "According to the information I've gathered, Tan Gu is already dead."
"A dead person cannot commit murder. So, Tan Gu didn't kill your father?"
"Did she truly die?" Xiao Man asked slowly. "She covered for my mother and me when we escaped from Blue Moon, was captured, and her body was left in the marketplace. I want to know if she truly died."
"You suspect the Empress killed your father?"
"Even if it wasn't her, she is an accomplice. At the very least, she knows Tan Gu's whereabouts," Xiao Man said slowly. "My goal is not the throne, but revenge. You want the throne, I want the killer of my father. We each get what we want."
The Eldest Princess eyed Xiao Man warily. "How do I know if you speak the truth?"
"The truth or falsehood of it, haven't you inquired to verify?" Xiao Man asked languidly. "My master had an ambiguous relationship with the Empress. How did you find out my news and whereabouts? Have you never considered the reason?"
The Eldest Princess's mind stirred. "You mean, your master betrayed you… No, he was calculating against you from the very beginning!"
The Eldest Princess finally released her hand and sat up straight. "Feng Mo Ran has returned. Given the Emperor Mother's affection for him, he will likely do whatever she says. If you want revenge, it might not be easy."
"The bond between them is not as unbreakable as you think," Xiao Man said softly. "Eldest Princess, sometimes, the more solid a fortress appears, the more fragile it is. A little external force can cause it to collapse."
"You want to use their strength against them!"
"No, Eldest Princess, you are mistaken. It's not that I want to use their strength against them, but rather you want to use a knife to kill!" Xiao Man said softly. "The Fourth Princess is your equal and a constant threat. If you were to target her, you would inevitably gain a reputation for ruthlessness. But if she were to offend the Empress and be killed by the Empress, then things would be different."
The Eldest Princess also wanted to kill the Fourth Princess. However, after years of battling wits and schemes, she had never succeeded. The Fourth Princess was always cautious and extremely cunning, handling matters with impeccable precision. If she were that easily caught, she wouldn't have become her formidable rival!
"Inciting discord between her and the Emperor is not an easy task," the Eldest Princess said slowly. "I have fought her for so many years, yet we have never declared a winner."
"If the opponent were the Empress, then it would be different," Xiao Man chuckled softly. "If the Empress intends to kill someone, it would be difficult to evade."
"The Empress will not kill her to maintain balance."
"That was in the past. Things are different now," Xiao Man took a box of pastries from a hidden compartment in the carriage, picked one, and ate it, offering one to the Eldest Princess.
The Eldest Princess took one but did not eat it. "What's different?"
"Now, there is one more person. Someone who can make the Empress lose control," Xiao Man said as she ate the pastry. "Also, do not eat anything from the Empress's palace."
The Eldest Princess was about to taste the pastry Xiao Man offered, but when she heard Xiao Man's words, she withdrew the pastry from her lips. She feared it might have been tampered with.
"Why can't I eat things from the Empress's palace?"
Xiao Man continued eating. "Why do you think the Empress has not given birth to any children?"
The Eldest Princess swallowed hard. She suddenly felt unwell. After all, the Empress sometimes kept them in the palace for meals, and she, though married, had never had children.