Chapter 50: Desperate Measures, Stirring Trouble Once More

The distance was too great to hear what they were saying; all that could be seen was Huo Yunhua taking the bundle from Qiu Ning’s hands and handing it over. The palace maid accepted it, showing no kindness in her expression before heading into the courtyard. Huo Yunhua and her maid did not linger, but turned and left at once.

Moreover, she did not take the waterside corridor but, like Wu Tan, chose the longer path along the shore. The lake was open and exposed, with little to obstruct the view. Though Wu Tan was not afraid of provoking her, she had no desire to become entangled, so she hastened a few steps with Xingzi to take shelter beside an ornamental rock.

Xingzi craned her neck to look diagonally across the shore. “Third Miss doesn’t seem to have followed!” she whispered.

It appeared Huo Yunhua had been turned away from Huayang Palace. If Wu Qingqiong had been trailing her, she should have appeared nearby, but now that Huo Yunhua and her maid had already begun to head back, there was still no sign of her.

“As long as she hasn’t crossed paths with Huo Yunhua, nothing major will happen. Come, my brother is still waiting for news from us,” Wu Tan said.

She was about to turn back when Xingzi tugged at her sleeve. “Miss, look…”

Wu Tan turned back, suspicious.

By now, Huo Yunhua had vanished from the imperial road that bordered the outer wall of Huayang Palace. From within the palace gates, an older woman emerged.

At first, there was nothing unusual about this. But after stepping out the palace doors, the woman glanced furtively around, then hurried along the same path Huo Yunhua’s party had just taken outside the wall.

Wu Tan immediately understood and glanced askance at Xingzi, exchanging a knowing look.

The old woman hurried along, and when she reached the end of the wall, she darted into a side alley.

Wu Tan had not intended to meddle in Huo Yunhua’s affairs, but having stumbled upon this, she could not help wanting to see what mischief was afoot. So the two of them remained hidden behind the rockery.

The woman did not stay concealed long. She soon emerged, still casting suspicious glances about, then doubled back the way she had come.

Meanwhile, Huo Yunhua, having assumed the woman had entered the palace, led Qiu Ning out from the alley as if nothing had happened, and continued along the lakeshore.

Wu Tan and Xingzi exchanged another look of silent understanding—this woman was up to her old tricks again.

By this time, Huo Yunhua had rounded a bend and was coming their way. Not wishing to cross her path, Wu Tan drew back to the far side of the rockery to let her pass.

The lakeside was open and empty. Qiu Ning, glancing around and seeing no one, said anxiously, “Isn’t this a bit too risky? Master has just suffered a blow, and the Huo family’s reputation is already in tatters. If anything goes wrong at a time like this, it will only make matters worse.”

Huo Yunhua’s expression was dark and cold. “Precisely because Father’s reputation is damaged, I must accomplish this all the sooner. Did you not see that His Majesty has already appointed a new Grand Tutor for the Crown Prince? He suspects Father’s character, has grown weary of him. For a scholar, once his reputation is destroyed, there is little hope of recovery. Father has fallen; do you understand? It is precisely now, in his ruin, that I must quickly support my third brother, make him my new backing and strength.”

The case against Huo Wenshan had come to nothing, but rumors were rampant, spread spontaneously among the people. No matter how the Huo family leveraged their official connections to unmask the rumor-mongers and restore their name, they found not the slightest clue.

Her father was idling at home, the emperor’s favor lost. For Huo Yunhua, this was not the most terrifying part. The true terror was that Huo Wenshan’s disgrace would fatally harm his own daughter. Empress Jiang had never liked her, and now, with this added stain, Huo Yunhua’s prospects as imperial consort were hanging by a thread.

She had always planned to secure a promising future for Huo Changyu, thinking they could support each other in the long run. But her original plan was far more cautious; this new course was a desperate gamble.

“But today is the emperor’s birthday…” Qiu Ning’s anxiety was plain.

“Silence!” Huo Yunhua snapped, cutting her off.

The two hurried toward the imperial garden. Only when they had gone did Wu Tan and Xingzi emerge from behind the rockery.

Xingzi, her curiosity surpassing even Wu Tan’s, asked, “Miss, what do you think they’re plotting?”

“I don’t know, and it’s none of our concern,” Wu Tan replied. She was far more astute than Huo Yunhua, and just by linking the latter’s movements and the hints in her words, she could more or less guess the nature of the scheme. She glanced thoughtfully back at the distant gates of Huayang Palace, then solemnly warned Xingzi, “Whatever you heard just now, pretend you never did, understand?”

Whoever Huo Yunhua intended to ensnare, whatever she planned, it had nothing to do with Wu Tan—so long as that woman kept her distance.

“I understand!” Xingzi was quick-witted, far more adaptable than Cheng Cheng, and nodded immediately.

Wu Tan led her back the way they had come. As expected, Wu Qinglin was still waiting in the same spot, though Huangfu Shaohua had disappeared.

Huo Yunhua had passed by earlier along this very path, so Wu Qinglin had seen her. Now, seeing only Wu Tan and Xingzi return, he understood. “You didn’t find her?”

“No,” Wu Tan sighed, then tried to reassure him, “It’s all right, as long as she hasn’t run afoul of Huo Yunhua, let her be.”

Wu Qinglin nodded slightly, then glanced at the sky. “The grand banquet tonight will be held in one of the halls. There’s still time—will you stay with me or return to Grandmother?”

“I don’t mind either way… But perhaps I should go back and let Grandmother know. Everyone’s worried that Wu Qingqiong will get into trouble again.”

“Very well.” Wu Qinglin patted her on the back of the head and meant to accompany her partway. As the siblings spoke, they turned two corners, nearing the edge of the imperial garden, when Xingzi’s eyes lit up. She tugged Wu Tan’s sleeve. “Miss, Third Miss is over there!”

Both siblings turned to look.

Ahead, beyond a flowerbed, Wu Qingqiong and Mu Jin were hiding behind a clump of bamboo, craning their necks as if waiting for someone.

It looked as if she was about to stage a “chance encounter.”

Wu Tan and Wu Qinglin glanced at each other, sharing a sense of impending dread. Wu Tan was just about to call out to her, but it was already too late…

— — — Interlude — — —

Huo Yunhua is about to stir up trouble again…

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