Chapter 56: Volume 1, Chapter 56: What Kind of Toxic Chicken Soup Is This

Rong Luoge thought she had misheard and looked at the Crown Prince in astonishment. "What kind of joke is Your Highness making? That is impossible."

Han Xinglan knew it would not be so easy to persuade her, so he spoke unhurriedly, "I know you dislike being constrained. Entering the Dong Gong wouldn't truly mean serving as a Good Lady—it would merely be to fool outsiders. When the day comes that you wish to leave, I will certainly set you free."

Rong Luoge understood—the Crown Prince wanted to make a deal with her.

She would enter the Dong Gong as a Good Lady, keeping the peace in the Eastern Palace's inner quarters for him and preventing anyone with ulterior motives from planting eyes and ears at his side.

And he, in turn, would ensure her safety—at the very least, he would not let Consort Ming and her son lay hands on her.

Rong Luoge's mind was working a bit slowly, and she felt somewhat dizzy, but she still retained a measure of clarity. Looking at the Crown Prince, she said, "Your Highness's idea is not bad, but I am the Former Consort of the Qi Prince. How could I become a Good Lady for Your Highness? His Majesty and Her Ladyship would certainly never agree."

This path would not work.

"If I had a way, would you agree?" Han Xinglan asked, fixing his gaze on Rong Luoge. His lotus-like face, flushed from drink, showed faint traces of pink, and his usually bright, composed eyes carried a hazy look that made him appear endearingly naive.

"Then I need to think about it." Rong Luoge stood up and headed out while she was still not completely drunk.

Sure enough, she should not drink.

Han Xinglan felt slightly regretful, but he did not seize the opportunity to force her agreement. Instead, he smiled and said, "I will see you back."

"That won't be necessary." Rong Luoge walked quite normally, not staggering about like a typical drunk person.

Han Xinglan assumed Rong Luoge was only slightly tipsy and followed her out, but to his surprise, she went straight through the corridor, crossed the flower beds, walked to the wall between the two residences, took a running start, scaled the wall barehanded... and climbed over into the neighboring estate just like that.

Han Xinglan:...

Shi An:...

Han Xinglan pressed a hand to his forehead, then laughed softly. So she really was drunk after all.

Rong Luoge made quite a commotion climbing over the wall, startling Chun Yu and the others. They hurriedly helped their young lady into the house, then spent the better part of an hour forcing sobering soup down her, changing her clothes, and washing her up before she finally settled down.

Rong Luoge's drunkenness had eased by a few degrees. She lay in bed staring blankly at the floral patterns on the canopy, but one glance made the room spin again, so she simply closed her eyes and went to sleep.

Chun Yu listened until her young lady's breathing gradually steadied, then lowered the curtain and quietly slipped out. Outside, Le Ling and the others were waiting, and seeing her emerge, they quickly asked, "Is the eldest young lady all right?"

"She's already asleep, she's fine," Chun Yu said softly. "I'll take the night watch tonight. You all go and rest. Xin Qiao can come relieve me in the morning."

Xin Qiao agreed, and then they heard the usually gentle-tempered Ban Xue say, "How did the young lady come back by climbing over the wall from next door? It was quite frightening."

"I heard the neighbor living next door is a friend of the young lady's. Being able to climb the wall to come home must mean their relationship is very good," Xin Qiao said with a smile.

If the relationship weren't particularly close, who would do something so improper?

Everyone thought this made sense, chatted a while longer, and then dispersed.

Rong Luoge did not sleep very peacefully that night. She had a long dream, bizarre and fantastical, with events from her past life and her current life all mixed together, making her sleep all the heavier.

When she woke the next day, she still felt somewhat listless. She sat propped against a soft pillow with no intention of getting up, and instead found herself thinking about what had happened the day before.

Though she had been drunk, she did not suffer any memory lapses—she remembered yesterday's events with perfect clarity.

Rong Luoge felt troubled. If Consort Ming had not kept targeting her, even wanting to ruin the rest of her life and control her marriage, she truly would not have wanted to seek help from anyone.

A place like the Dong Gong was a fire pit just thinking about it—easy to jump into, but not necessarily easy to climb back out of.

But the current situation was disadvantageous for her. First, she had not yet severed ties with the Protector Duke. Second, even if she did sever ties, as Han Xinglan had said, as long as Consort Ming refused to let her go, losing the status of the legitimate daughter of the Zhen Guo Gong Fu would not be a good thing for her.

Ultimately, she still had no power and no influence—she could only be slaughtered at others' mercy. Even if she maneuvered through the cracks, the slightest misstep would send her plummeting into the abyss.

Just like when she used Ming Yuhua's hand to light a fire under Consort Ming—that kind of thing could only be done once. She couldn't have Ming Yuhua help every single time.

Moreover, since this concerned the internal affairs of the Ming Da Jiangjun Fu, Consort Ming would indeed lose face, but it could not damage her foundation.

In other words, it could only deal physical damage to her, not magical damage.

Sigh, so annoying.

In ancient times, a powerless and influence-less commoner truly had no human rights.

After thinking for ages until her head went balder, Rong Luoge simply got up and went out, changed clothes, had a simple breakfast, and went to sit blankly in the pavilion in the Hou Hua Yuan.

She needed to think this through properly.

The several maids saw that the eldest young lady was troubled and did not dare disturb her. They quietly served tea and refreshments, then withdrew again.

Rong Luoge sat cross-legged in a curule chair, tilting her head to gaze at the koi pond. She held a small bag of fish food in her hand, scattering it absentmindedly now and then, watching the koi swarm over to fight for the feed.

Among so many koi, the ones that fought their way into the inner circle for food were all plump and sturdy, while the thinner, weaker fish could only pick up scraps on the periphery.

The law of the jungle—the same principle held true no matter where it was applied.

Suddenly, she heard light footsteps. These were not the footsteps of her maids. She whipped her head around and saw Han Xinglan stepping inside.

Rong Luoge:...

This was her own home, wasn't it?

Perhaps Rong Luoge's expression was too obvious. Han Xinglan smiled and said, "I climbed over the wall."

Rong Luoge had a terrible headache. She should not have taken the shortcut and climbed the wall yesterday—now this person was following her example.

How did she not know that the always-proper Crown Prince had this side to him?

The morning sunlight was bright but not glaring, and a gentle breeze brushed past her cheeks, pleasant and comfortable. Han Xinglan wore a white robe with gold trim fastened by a jade belt, his bearing elegant and refined—truly a sight to behold.

Han Xinglan sat down on the curule chair beside Rong Luoge, picked up the fish food she had set down, and with his long, fair fingers pinched a few grains and tossed them into the water. Watching the koi leap out of the surface to fight for the food, he chuckled and said, "You see, even the koi in this pond know they must fight to eat. Living well has never been an easy thing."

What kind of toxic chicken soup was this first thing in the morning!

Rong Luoge glanced at Han Xinglan. "My identity is not suited for entering the Dong Gong. Even if I did enter, I fear His Majesty's prejudice against you would only deepen. That would be no good thing for you, and Her Majesty the Empress would certainly never agree."

The Emperor favored Prince Qi, and the Crown Prince's situation was not too favorable. If the Emperor seized this as leverage, it would be no happy matter for Han Xinglan.

"No, you have it exactly backwards. For me, this would actually be a good thing," Han Xinglan said, gazing at Rong Luoge with conviction.