“Mother, what is it this time?” Yingniang asked curiously.
Xu Jinxin put on a mysterious expression. “Well! Mother heard some gossip and wants to go share it with Duoduo!”
The moment Yingniang heard they were going to see Duoduo, she brightened.
“Mother, I want to go too!”
“But Mother, aren’t you supposed to go to the Li residence tomorrow to help prepare the banquet?”
“Shouldn’t you get everything ready today?”
Xu Jinxin slapped her forehead. “Oh dear, thank goodness you reminded me, Yingniang. Otherwise, I would have forgotten!”
“Then we’ll go to Prince Pingyang’s residence after we finish with the banquet at the Li residence tomorrow.”
She had been so focused on sharing the gossip that she had almost forgotten her actual business.
“Mm!” Yingniang nodded.
Xu Jinxin hurried out once more.
She had to arrange the pastries and iced drinks that would be sent to the Li residence the next day.
Early the following morning, Duoduo finished her exercises and returned to her room to change. After having breakfast with her parents, she took her leave.
In the end, Duoduo had failed to talk Xiao Yi out of it, so Yunxiao escorted her to the Li residence.
Xu Jinxin did not receive the message sent by Xiao Yi until that morning.
Duoduo would be accompanying her to the Li residence.
Xu Jinxin was overjoyed.
She immediately arranged for her shop assistants to go ahead to the Li residence while she took Yingniang to Prince Pingyang’s residence.
As soon as Duoduo boarded the carriage, she saw Xu Jinxin and Yingniang.
“Aunt Xu! Sister!”
Delighted to see them, Duoduo ran over, affectionately took Yingniang’s hand, and sat down beside her.
Xu Jinxin watched them with a broad smile as the two girls chattered excitedly about everything they had seen and heard.
Only after their excitement had subsided did she speak.
“Duoduo, what made you decide to go to the Li residence as well?”
Duoduo gave Aunt Xu a radiant smile.
“Aunt Xu, Madam Li invited Mother, but Mother isn’t feeling well, so I’m going to deliver the gift in her place.”
A look of confusion crossed Xu Jinxin’s face.
“What’s wrong with your mother? She was fine a few days ago.”
Duoduo blinked.
“Aunt Xu, Mother just got overheated. She’ll be fine after resting for a while.”
Xu Jinxin did not suspect anything.
The weather really was unbearably hot.
Autumn was almost here, yet the temperature had still not dropped.
If it were not necessary, she would not have wanted to leave the house either.
She had heard Li Jin say that the north was suffering from a severe drought, while the south was beset by flooding.
This year’s circumstances were truly unfavorable.
Could it be that even Heaven was punishing them because of the turmoil in the imperial court?
Xu Jinxin gave a bitter, inward laugh.
She had been here for far too long. She had even begun to believe in these so-called mandates of Heaven!
“Aunt Xu, what’s wrong?” Duoduo asked after catching sight of the expression on Xu Jinxin’s face while speaking with Yingniang.
Xu Jinxin came back to herself and patted Duoduo on the head.
“Duoduo, tell me—when will these natural disasters and man-made calamities finally end?”
At the mention of serious matters, the smile vanished from Duoduo’s face as well.
She looked a little melancholy.
“Yesterday, Father and I discussed this too.”
“Father said that many people have died because of the floods in the south.”
“Many ordinary people have also died because the Xiongnu invaded at the border.”
“If the imperial court continues to be plagued by turmoil, the whole realm will inevitably descend into chaos!”
“Father is very worried too.”
Xu Jinxin blinked.
“Does your father really have no other thoughts?”
Duoduo stared steadily into Xu Jinxin’s eyes for quite some time.
In them, she saw gossip practically bursting to get out.
Duoduo remembered her father’s instructions and hesitated.
Then she decisively shook her head.
“Father said that in times of chaos, it’s difficult to remain uninvolved.”
“But making a move at a time like this would not be wise!”
“If we fail, we might become sinners condemned for generations.”
“And even if we succeed, our claim would lack legitimacy.”
Disappointment flashed in Xu Jinxin’s eyes.
She had thought Prince Pingyang would launch an all-out assault and seize the throne!
She and Li Jin had discussed it privately before.
So what if Prince Pingyang was disabled?
After all, throughout history, every rule had been established by those in power.
As long as he could ascend the throne, would the realm not be his to command?
Xu Jinxin had even urged Li Jin to raise an army and make a bid for power.
With their advanced ideas, they would surely be able to lead the imperial court toward prosperity.
Li Jin had merely laughed helplessly at the suggestion.
“Do you know that the imperial family values bloodline above all else?”
“If I did not possess imperial blood, then I would need a massive force willing to support me wholeheartedly.”
“If I had neither, then even if I took the throne, I would soon be killed under the pretext of ‘clearing the emperor’s side.’”
Xu Jinxin did not believe that Li Jin had no ambitions.
She felt that Li Jin and Prince Pingyang were alike—both exceedingly cautious men.
Men like them were like predators lying in wait in the grass.
They were extraordinarily patient and capable of enduring hardship.
They were also exceptionally frightening.
Because once they struck, it would be a fatal blow.
They would allow themselves only success, never failure!
Seeing that Xu Jinxin had fallen silent, Duoduo turned her head and began whispering to Yingniang.
“Duoduo, Mother had some gossip yesterday. She wanted to come over and tell you about it.”
Yingniang lowered her voice.
Duoduo’s eyes lit up. “Really? What gossip?”
Duoduo had learned the word “gossip” from Xu Jinxin.
She spent every day at home and rarely heard anything interesting.
That was why she loved hearing gossip from Aunt Xu most of all.
“I don’t know either.”
Yingniang had been playing in the rear courtyard yesterday and had no idea what had happened out front.
Hearing the two girls chattering away, Xu Jinxin came back to herself.
Forget it!
Who sat on the throne had nothing to do with her!
Why was she worrying about things that were none of her concern?
The infighting among the princes alone had already made life difficult for the common people.
All she could do was pray that this chaotic era would end as soon as possible.
“What are you two whispering about?” Xu Jinxin asked, patting her daughter on the head.
“Mother, didn’t you have some gossip you wanted to share with the Princess yesterday?” Yingniang reminded her.
At that, Xu Jinxin immediately perked up.
“Duoduo, guess who came to the iced-drink shop yesterday?”
Duoduo looked completely bewildered.
How could she possibly guess which customers had visited the iced-drink shop?
But since Aunt Xu was asking her to guess, it had to be someone she knew.
The people she knew were mostly her classmates from the Imperial Academy.
But none of them would be enough to make Aunt Xu wear such an excited, gossipy expression.
Could it be Great-Grandmother?
Duoduo immediately dismissed the thought.
The Empress Dowager was already advanced in years. She would not make a special trip out of the palace just for a bowl of iced dessert.
She was not a child, after all.
A child?
A glimmer flashed in Duoduo’s eyes.
Could it have been Danyang? Or Anning...
Right, there was also her elder sister, Commandery Princess Funing!
Duoduo glanced at Xu Jinxin’s expression again.
Her face practically had the words “What incredible gossip!” written all over it.
“Come on, ask me!” Xu Jinxin urged.
Duoduo’s eyes rolled mischievously, and she deliberately shook her head.
