Chapter Eighteen: Establishing Authority

  After seeing off wave after wave of visitors, Mu Yan and I were exhausted.

  Looking at the mountain of gifts, I feel both excited and helpless. Excited because it's the first time I've seen so many valuable treasures, but helpless because everything received today will eventually have to be returned. And based on my years of experience watching palace dramas, gifts from love rivals can't be used, who knows what they might put inside, maybe some adulterer's love letter or a poisonous abortion drug, in short, it's better to be cautious.

  At this time, Wang's aunt had already bandaged the wound on her hand and was directing us to move these gifts to the warehouse in an orderly manner. Although I and Moon were Mo Yan's accompanying maids and not her subordinates, who made her the housekeeper aunt? This young lady respects the elderly and can only obey her instructions. She is also very capable and quickly cleaned up the chaotic scene that had just occurred, tidying everything up, and it was already noon.

  Mu Yan gathered all the slaves together, and they knelt down in the courtyard, waiting for their master to speak.

  The first person Mu Yan asked was naturally the prestigious Wang Pozi. She said, "Auntie Wang, I just entered the palace and need you to remind me of the rules."

  "Young master has favored me greatly, it's my good fortune to serve you in the Lingbo Hall, I will definitely attend to you with all my heart."

  That old woman is indeed worldly-wise and also a master of flattery.

  "Thanks, Aunt Wang. It's just...” Mu Yan helped Aunt Wang up from her knees, a worried look on his face as he spoke with some difficulty.

  Wang Pozi heard Mu Yan's words pause and asked, "I don't know what orders the young master has?"

  Mu Yan looked at Wang Aunt, the worry on her face deepened, and she sighed, saying, "Not to hide from you, Wang Aunt, Man Ya and Yue Er have been serving me since childhood. Although we are master and servant, in reality they are no different from sisters. They've been spoiled by me every day, and I don't know the rules either. I'm not willing to punish them, so if there's any offense in the future, please forgive them, Wang Aunt."

  Wang Pozi listened to this and her face remained icy cold, but she forced out a few points of smile and nodded in response, "Yes, yes."

  She must have understood that Mu Yan was giving her face and establishing his authority. As I and Yu'er are her close attendants, if she were to make things difficult for us again, it would be equivalent to not giving Mu Yan face. Her aunt, the queen, is no ordinary person, surely she understands the underlying meaning.

  Mu Yan smiled and pulled me and Yue'er over, saying "You two girls still haven't thanked Aunt Wang."

  I bowed to Wang Pozi with Yue'er and said, "Thank you, Auntie."

  The old woman helped us up and turned her face to look at me, although she was smiling, her complexion was indeed not good.

  "Regardless of the old woman's feelings, Mu Yan spoke up and said, 'The two of them have been serving me for a long time and know my temperament. They are still better at handling matters close to me, so please arrange it, aunt.'"

  "Yes, yes, yes." Wang Pozi replied with a bow of her head.

  Seeing this, Mu Yan was quite satisfied, and with a smile at me, he turned to the crowd and said, "I don't ask for much, I just hope you are all loyal. If there is any duplicity, then don't blame me for not being considerate of our master-servant relationship."

  Moyan indeed lived up to her reputation as a former young mistress, speaking with an air of authority without raising her voice. Although she wore a gentle expression, people couldn't help but feel a little intimidated by her words. The crowd nodded in response, some bowing their heads or humming in agreement.

  "Very well, since that's the case, I'll have to trouble you all to take care of things from now on." Turning his head to look at me and Yuè ér, he said, "Go ahead, you two take a look at those rewards and see if there's anything you like. Take them out and share them with everyone."

  Everyone heard that there was a reward and immediately became spirited, forgetting the tense atmosphere just now. They thanked for the reward, got up and surrounded me and Yue'er, going with us to choose the rewards. Only that Wang woman, still had a deadpan expression, thanked for the reward and left directly, not paying attention to us at all.

  I watched her leave with her back to me, and for a moment I was lost in thought.

  Xiao Rongzi, who was standing beside me, was quite clever and walked up to me, smiling and saying, "Sister, don't mind her. That Wang Ayi has always been like this. In the past, she was the wet nurse of the Sixth Prince, and she got very arrogant. I don't know what happened, but she was punished and demoted to be a housekeeper. She still acts as if she's superior, thinking she's still the same person from back then. But now the Sixth Prince is already grown up and married, so why would he still need her as his wet nurse?"

  "Sixth prince? Wet nurse?" I looked at Xiaorongzi with a puzzled face.

  He saw that I had doubts, and his gossiping interest became even stronger. He cleared his throat and said, "Yes, she's just a has-been wet nurse. Nowadays, isn't she still one of us servants? Does she think she's the mistress? Doesn't she see her own status? Sister, don't you think...?"

  I turned back to look at Xiaorongzi, who was speaking ill of others with great eloquence, and said with a sarcastic tone, "Xiaorongzi, I really can't tell, you still like gossiping so much, if you were to wear two buns on your head, you would be no different from that long-tongued woman."

  Xiao Rongzi was choked by me and lost his words, his face turned pale, and he smiled foolishly, saying "Sister is really good at joking..." After finishing speaking, he quietly retreated and went to Yue'er's place to receive the reward.

  Who has the mood to chat with him, although I dislike this dead-faced Wang aunt, but people like Xiao Rongzi who speak right and wrong are even more annoying. Today he can talk about Wang's right and wrong with me, but it's hard to guarantee that he won't tell others about my right and wrong tomorrow. Cherish life, it's better to stay away from this kind of two-faced person.

  But what is the status of the sixth prince in the palace? What kind of person is this proud princess? What story is hidden behind her back? A woman in her prime, why does she seem to be going through menopause-like anxiety and irritability? Everything is a mystery, but one thing is certain: Princess Wang has a story.

  I've heard that people are strange creatures because they often become the kind of person they dislike the most. This saying is true, I dislike Xiang Rongzi's gossiping, but at the same time, I'm also someone who likes to hear about gossip and rumors. I tried hard to hold back my curiosity and didn't go ask Xiang Rongzi, but couldn't help discussing it with Mu Yan. I described in vivid detail what I had just heard from Xiang Rongzi, and Mu Yan was equally curious.

  "I asked, 'Do you know who the Sixth Prince is?'"

  "The sixth prince?" Mu Yan furrowed her brow, thinking for a moment, as if she had some leads, and then relaxed her expression, saying, "I remember seeing him on my sister's wedding day, and afterwards I think I saw him a few times at the Crown Prince's residence. However, the impression wasn't very deep, he seemed like a quiet and easy-going person, and it seems like I've never heard him speak before, so the impression isn't very deep."

  "Oh, which princess is he from?" I asked.

  "This, it seems like she has already passed away. Recalling the day I saw the Sixth Prince's attire, it seemed a bit shabby and didn't match his status as a prince at all. I guess she should be a woman of relatively low social status. Her family probably isn't a prominent or noble one, otherwise how could that prince have been so down on his luck."

  A fallen prince? Isn't this story a bit cliché? According to the melodrama script, as a transmigrated female lead, I should be paired with such an awkwardly situated man, but he's still in his youth and not even of age yet.

  Although Umanya himself is only 15 or 16 years old, they can be called peers, but I am already 23 years old. For underage boys, I have no interest at all. Moreover, a sister-brother relationship with a difference of nearly ten years, this picture can't be broadcast, right? Putting an older soul in a young body is really a kind of torture.

  He patted me heavily on the shoulder and said, "Hey, what are you doing? Daydreaming?"

  How could I tell her such an outrageous idea, so I mumbled something and said, "What? I was just thinking, poor Sixth Prince! I feel sorry for him!"

  "What's wrong?" Mu Yan asked curiously.

  "What a pity..."

  What should I say, Zhou Muyan isn't a delicate and weak young lady from a rich family? How did she suddenly turn into a problem girl at this moment? Curiosity kills. What a pity? What am I supposed to be sorry about? I don't know what I'm sorry about, just said it casually.

  "What a pity that he didn't have the support of his uncle and grandfather later on, or else he could have contended for the throne!" I tried to speak reasonably, but instead I was met with even greater doubts.

  "The throne? Fighting for the throne? You say he'll fight for the throne? Hasn't the Emperor already appointed a crown prince? What chance does he have?" Mu Yan asked me several questions in one breath.

  "Uh..." I racked my brain for an answer.

  "This, the world will always have unexpected events. The crown prince is your brother-in-law, you naturally hope he ascends to the throne, but nothing in life is absolute. As long as the new emperor has not yet ascended to the throne, everything can change. You haven't heard of the nine sons contending for the throne?"

  "What is the nine sons seizing the throne? I've only heard of the dragon giving birth to nine sons, each with different abilities. Do they want to fight for the position of Dragon King?" Mu Yan asked with a puzzled expression.

  "Huh? So they don't know about the Nine Sons' Rebellion. It seems that this country didn't exist during the Qing dynasty, at least not after Emperor Yongzheng's time. How am I supposed to explain the Nine Sons' Rebellion to her? My history knowledge isn't great, and I only knew about this major historical event from reading Qian Cai's works. Never mind, ignorance is bliss, I don't want to ruin Mu Yan's understanding. Since she said it was a Dragon King story, let's just go with that."

  "I replied casually, 'Yes, yes, yes, how did you know? Who will be the Dragon King is a serious matter, concerning all the people in the world, and there has been no election result yet.'"

  Mo Yan's face was full of surprise, and he said seriously, "Huh, it's really like that. Who becomes the Dragon King is indeed a matter of great importance to the world, and it's worth careful consideration. Unfortunately, they are gods, not ordinary people. If this happened in our country, we wouldn't have to worry about it. The eldest son would inherit the throne, as ordained by heaven."

  It was originally here, still retaining the tradition of the eldest son succeeding to the throne. I really want to ask Mu Yan if she has heard of Li Shimin's story, killing his brothers and taking the throne, but thinking twice, if I said it, it would definitely bring up a lot of questions from her. Historical stories are not clear in my memory, so it's better to keep quiet and avoid trouble.

  On the second day in the palace, we spent our time gossiping about the royal family's affairs, feeling sorry for the Sixth Prince's fate and curious about the Queen Mother's experiences. The people in the imperial palace seemed ordinary at first glance, but it turned out that they all had their own stories to tell.