Chapter 913: The class can't go on, what a pity

Murong Jin grabbed Si Yu's wrist tightly, and Si Yu almost cried out from the force.

"Missing?" she said in a low voice, "When did it disappear?"

Si Yu replied, "This morning when I went to check, it was still there; but when I went again just now, it was gone."

Murong Jin released his hand and stared blankly in the direction of the makeup case.

She suddenly smiled, but that smile was like a raindrop falling on the water's surface, vanishing instantly.

"Finally." she murmured, "Finally willing to attend to this palace."

Si Yu fell to her knees with a "thud", looked up at her master, and felt waves of chill in her heart.

Murong Jin's expression was dazed, his face ashen and dull, his eye sockets sunken.

Si Yu advised, "Your Highness, you've hardly eaten anything these past few days."

"People are worn out, the complexion is poor, if His Majesty were to come..."

"His Majesty?" Murong Jin interrupted her, "How would he come?"

"He's probably investigating how this palace harmed his precious crown prince; why would he come to see this palace?"

She slowly rose, walked to the cradle, and lowered her head to look at the sleeping son.

Xiao Che's tiny hand was clenched into a fist beside the pillow, sleeping very soundly.

"This palace has no one to rely on; only this person."

Si Yu's face paled a bit: "But Your Highness, we don't even know who this person is! What if... what if he intends to harm you?"

"Harm this palace?" Murong Jin turned to look at her, a thin sheen of moisture in his eyes, "Si Yu, what does this palace have that would be worth harming?"

Si Yu opened her mouth but couldn't utter a word.

"Che'er is still in swaddling clothes." Murong Jin's voice grew hoarse, "This palace has no support in the deep inner courts, with no one trustworthy to entrust."

"Only this person; his words are always true, he has never deceived this palace!"

"Your Highness!" Si Yu grew more alarmed listening, "You still have His Majesty!"

"His Majesty?" Murong Jin gave a bitter laugh, "Since the crown prince was attacked, His Majesty has never once come to Phoenix Etiquette Palace."

"If he suspects, why not come and ask this palace? If he asked, this palace could still explain, but he doesn't even ask a single question!"

She paused, closed her eyes: "If he doesn't ask, it means he has already decided that this palace did it."

"Your Highness!" Si Yu crawled forward and clung to her legs, "Don't think like that; if you told His Majesty..."

"What say?" Murong Jin opened his eyes to look at her, the moisture in his eyes finally spilling over, silently sliding down her cheeks.

"Say that this palace already knows the mastermind behind Che'er's poisoning is the crown prince?"

Si Yu choked up.

Murong Jin wiped the tears from her face, her voice trembling: "This palace knelt before him, asking him to make the Seventh Prince the crown prince, thinking that would protect Che'er."

"But in the blink of an eye, at the investiture ceremony, this palace became the chief culprit in the crown prince's assassination; what could this palace say?"

Si Yu burst into tears.

Murong Jin bent down to help Si Yu up: "This palace doesn't care who this person is, but he is now this palace's sole hope."

"Si Yu," she fixed her gaze on Si Yu's eyes, "if this palace is deposed, are you afraid?"

Si Yu shook her head desperately, tears flying onto Murong Jin's hand: "Not afraid! If His Majesty truly sends this palace to the Leng Gong, this servant will accompany this palace there!"

Murong Jin looked at her for a long while, gently patted her shoulder, then lowered her head to stare blankly at the exquisite pattern on the cradle.

"Si Yu, for Che'er's sake, this palace absolutely cannot go to the Leng Gong!"

At the same moment.

The carriage of Ning Prince's Mansion stopped at the gate of Song Residence.

Tuan Tuan clung to the window to look out, and her little mouth immediately pouted.

"Second Uncle," she turned her head, looking pitifully at Xiao Er, "Can we not go?"

Xiao Er lifted the carriage curtain, lifted her out of the carriage, gently set her on the ground, squatted to tidy her small clothes, and said, "Miss, you promised Mister Song that day."

"We're already at the door; how could we not go in?"

Tuan Tuan lowered her head and kicked the small stone on the ground, not uttering a sound.

Xiao Er couldn't help but want to laugh at seeing her like that.

Whenever Miss comes to class, it's always like this.

Standing at the doorway, hesitating, she wished she could tread a pit into the threshold.

"Miss," Xiao Er, suppressing a laugh, took her little hand, "Let's go."

"When you finish studying, Second Uncle will take you to Fortune Luck Teahouse to see Brother Lu, all right?"

Tuan Tuan's eyes brightened for a moment, then dimmed again.

She heaved a deep, long sigh, as if she were seventy or eighty years old.

Xiao Er finally couldn't hold back his laughter, scooped her up in one arm, strode to the door, and knocked on the bronze ring.

With a "creak", the door opened.

Tuan Tuan immediately clung tightly to Xiao Er's neck, burying her face in his shoulder, presenting the appearance of "I've come, but I just don't want to go."

The servants, long accustomed to this, bowed and smiled: "Your servant has seen the Princess and General Xiao."

"Please come in, both of you; the Young Master and Miss are in the rear courtyard."

Xiao Er carried Tuan Tuan, following the servants through the corridor, and before even stepping into the rear courtyard, heard a clear reading voice.

Listening closely, it was precisely the "Three Character Classic".

Tuan Tuan pursed her lips, wondering how she could ever escape this wherever she went.

Song Shujun sat upright on the stone bench, holding a volume in her hands.

Song Zhulin squatted to one side, the "Three Character Classic" placed nearby, gripping a branch in hand, drawing something on the ground while murmuring, "At the beginning of humanity..."

On the stone table sat several plates of delicate pastries, a pot of tea, and underneath lay a newly made paper kite.

Xiao Er bowed and said, "Miss Song, Young Master Song, sorry for the disturbance."

Seeing Tuan Tuan, Song Zhulin jumped up with a "scuff", threw the branch in his hand to the ground, and ran over to her: "Tuan Tuan! Are you coming to class? Grandfather isn't here!"

"Not here?" Tuan Tuan's little head shot up, no longer needing Xiao Er to hold her, she slid to the ground herself: "Really?"

"Of course!"

Song Shujun put down her scroll, rose, and gave Xiao Er a salute: "General Xiao, good."

She looked at Tuan Tuan: "This morning someone came to deliver a visitation note; grandfather took one look and left, and hasn't returned since."

"Tuan Tuan, you came to class today, didn't you tell him?"

Tuan Tuan's eyes rolled about, her face full of innocence: "Nope!"

She walked to the stone stool, sat up, and her little legs began to swing.

Xiao Tuanzi let out a long sigh, face full of regret: "Ah, I didn't expect the teacher to be absent, class can't happen, what a pity."

Song Shujun raised her hand, covered her mouth with a handkerchief, and after a while collected her smile, then nodded solemnly: "Yes, truly a pity."

She paused, looked at her younger brother frantically tugging his sleeve beside her, shook her head with a smile: "Since grandfather isn't here, you two go play."

"Sister is so nice!" Tuan Tuan jumped down from the stone stool, grabbed Song Zhulin's hand, and ran off.

The two little hands held hands as they ran toward the garden.

"Tuan Tuan! I've raised crickets—they're fierce! I've never lost a cricket fight."

"Really? I want to see!"

Song Shujun watched the two dash off faster than rabbits, then sat back on the stone stool: "General Xiao, please sit and have a cup of tea."

Xiao Er felt ill at ease; whenever Miss Song came to listen to the lesson, he would see her in and then wait outside.

He hadn't expected things to turn out this way; he gave an "uh" and sat down stiffly.

The next morning, Si Yu gently moved the cosmetic box aside, her whole body shuddered, and a slip of paper lay quietly there.