Chapter 83: Volume 1, Chapter 83: A Giant Pot Falls from the Sky

Rong Luoge looked at Rong Xin with a bewildered expression — this was called not treating her well?

After a moment's thought, she understood what Rong Xin meant. After she entered the Dong Gong, although Han Xinglan shared her bed night after night, nothing had happened between them, so Rong Xin and the others probably thought the Crown Prince was using her as a shield.

This was a misunderstanding, but Rong Luoge couldn't explain it, so she hurriedly changed the subject.

This giant pot falling from the sky — the Crown Prince had it rough too.

Returning from the Virtuous Consort's place, Rong Luoge naturally couldn't go straight back to the Dong Gong; she still had to go to the Empress to take her leave.

She hadn't expected the Empress to also bring up the matter of having children with her. Rong Luoge was quite flustered — what was going on today, why was everyone so fixated on having children?

The Empress saw that Rong Luoge's expression didn't seem to care much, and spoke with some displeasure, "Since you have already entered the Dong Gong, naturally you must put the Crown Prince first in all things. The matter of heirs is of the utmost importance — no matter what, you must do your best regarding the imperial eldest grandson."

The Empress didn't know about the deal between Rong Luoge and the Crown Prince. She wondered whether Rong Luoge's lack of concern about having children was related to Prince Qi?

How could Rong Luoge know that the Empress's thoughts had already wandered a hundred and eight thousand miles away, but she knew she couldn't clash head-on with the Empress, so she replied respectfully, "This concubine will certainly do her best."

Anyway, the Empress couldn't see what they did in the Dong Gong — it was just a verbal promise.

Emerging from Fengyi Palace, Rong Luoge faintly sensed that the atmosphere in the Hou Gong was not quite right. The Empress was so insistent on the matter of the imperial eldest grandson — it was likely related to Consort Ming's side.

Plus Ling Yuying had also warned her. She had never imagined that entering the Dong Gong would also bring the problem of being pressured to produce a child.

After returning to the Dong Gong, before Rong Luoge could even catch her breath, He Huai came to see her.

Rong Luoge's eyes lit up — it seemed the matter from last time had leads. She immediately had him brought in.

"Greetings to the Good Lady." He Huai stepped forward and bowed.

"Rise, He Huai. Is the matter accomplished?" Rong Luoge asked.

He Huai nodded. "The place where Di Yue Nu currently lives only has five or six people serving. Replacing one of them isn't easy, but I had the family of a young maid beside Di Yue Nu forcibly redeem her."

Rong Luoge's eyes lit up. "That's a way. Under heavy coin, the young maid's parents would naturally be willing, but it must not arouse Di Yue Nu's suspicion."

"It didn't. The young maid's biological father owed a massive debt at a gambling den — over a thousand taels of silver. Di Yue Nu certainly wouldn't pay it off for him, and a young maid wasn't worth that price in her eyes."

"So you spent a thousand taels of silver to buy this young maid?"

He Huai nodded. "This was the safest method. With this young maid in our hands, we might be able to learn more about Di Yue Nu's affairs. With one fewer person over there, Di Yue Nu was cautious and didn't rush to add anyone, but I will keep watching. As soon as they add someone, we can plant our person inside."

Rong Luoge nodded slightly. "That's good. We absolutely cannot relax regarding Di Yue Nu — make sure to watch closely. Have you gotten anything out of that young maid?"

"I learned a few things. The young maid said Di Yue Nu has been meeting frequently with someone named Hu Dachuan. Every time they meet, she sends everyone away, so she didn't know what they discussed."

"Who is this Hu Dachuan?"

"He is the leader of the Qiongchuan merchant caravan this time."

Rong Luoge wasn't surprised to hear this. Ever since the Qiongchuan caravan entered the capital, she had sensed restlessness from Di Yue Nu's side. Combined with the matter of the seal, it was still hard to say whether the relationship between the two was a partnership or a subordinate one.

"Waiting like this isn't a solution — we still need to lure the snake out of its hole." Rong Luoge looked at He Huai. "Go see whether the Qiongchuan caravan is buying anything in large quantities besides selling. If so, try to establish contact with them."

He Huai nodded. "A caravan traveling thousands of miles back and forth certainly won't return empty-handed. I will go handle this matter now."

The two discussed in detail how to deploy and plan things, and as they talked, unexpectedly Han Xinglan returned.

He Huai immediately rose and bowed.

Han Xinglan walked in slowly, glanced at He Huai, and sat down beside Rong Luoge before saying, "Sit." Then he turned his head and asked, "Did I interrupt your discussion?"

Rong Luoge shook her head. "No, Your Highness came at just the right time. He Huai and I were discussing the Qiongchuan caravan. We plan to lure the snake out of its hole — otherwise, just waiting for them to make a move, who knows how long we'd have to wait."

Han Xinglan hadn't expected Rong Luoge to be so proactive now, and fell briefly silent.

Of course Rong Luoge was anxious. She wanted to resolve the matter quickly now, so that once she was free of the threat from Di Yue Nu and the others, she could leave the Dong Gong and regain her freedom.

She hadn't felt the urgency before because there was no pressure to produce a child. Now that it had fallen on her head, she found it very awkward.

Besides, she wasn't going to be anyone's concubine. Being a Good Lady was just a stopgap measure. Now that the Empress was pressuring her to have a child, she could only hurry and vacate the position so Han Xinglan could marry a Crown Princess.

Therefore, Rong Luoge naturally couldn't wait as calmly as before for Di Yue Nu and the others to make their move — she didn't have that much time anymore.

Han Xinglan glanced at Rong Luoge again, his long eyelashes lowering slightly, veiling his dark eyes. A moment later he raised his head again and looked at Rong Luoge, saying, "The matter you asked me to investigate has some leads."

"Really?" Rong Luoge was overjoyed — this was truly good news. "If we can find where they're hiding things, we'll have the upper hand."

He Huai's eyes also lit up hearing this. This matter was being handled by Jing Chu, and just last night Jing Chu had said there wasn't much progress. He hadn't expected good news today.

"Based on the information obtained so far, they may be hiding things in a Buddhist temple. The specifics still need further investigation."

"A Buddhist temple? Which one?"

There were quite a few Buddhist temples in the capital — even counting on both hands, you couldn't count them all.

"Dadongshan Si," Han Xinglan said.

"Dadongshan Si? That's a bit remote. But precisely because it's remote and has few worshippers, hiding things there makes sense. I just wonder whether the head monk at the temple knows the truth?" Rong Luoge asked. This point was also very important.

If they were in collusion, this matter would be rather tricky.

"Still investigating," Han Xinglan said.

He Huai suddenly spoke up at this point, "Why don't I go investigate a bit?"

Rong Luoge looked at He Huai, thought for a moment, and shook her head. "This matter is being investigated by His Highness and Jing Chu's side, so don't show your face. Focus on handling the caravan matter first."

He Huai nodded. Since there was nothing else, he rose and took his leave.

After he left, Han Xinglan looked at Rong Luoge. "Would you like to go to Dadongshan Si and take a look?"