Shun Zi was the first to awake. He was suddenly knocked out and found that there were several more people in the room now. He was a little confused.
But seeing his master was also there, he felt at ease.
Shun Zi got up, massaged his sore neck, gestured that he would go outside to take a look, then left.
Mo Xiuyan and Mo Yuance needed to recuperate. The yard they rented now only had two rooms. Fortunately the beds were big enough that two people lying on them did not feel crowded.
As for Lan Er and Yu Er, after they woke up, Madam Ninth would ask them some questions. If they really had nowhere to go, she would bring them together to the northwest.
The family had already found so many sons alive. This news could not be kept secret even if they wanted to. Besides that, there was nothing else to worry about being leaked out, so there was no need to be concerned that these two would divulge secrets.
Lan Er and Yu Er were both healthy. They woke up faster than the Mo brothers.
Seeing the two gradually wake up, He Zhiran took the initiative to walk up to them.
Lan Er reacted the fastest. Realizing the environment was not right, she immediately stood up, completely ignoring He Zhiran. She started scanning the entire room.
"The princess, where is the princess?"
Yu Er also got up and asked suspiciously, "Where is this place?"
He Zhiran knew they were not feeling well at the moment, so she softened her tone a lot when speaking.
"You've left the residence of the Crown Prince."
Upon hearing this, Lan Er turned around and ran outside.
"I'm going back. The princess is still lying there alone."
He Zhiran blocked the door: "The Fourth Princess is gone. Do you think the Crown Prince will spare you if you go back?"
Lan Er stubbornly said, "We don't need anyone to spare us. We just want to be with the princess."
At this point, He Zhiran could no longer describe whether these two were loyal or ignorant.
She helplessly advised, "It's obvious that the Fourth Princess was killed by the Prince of Southern Borderlands. Don't you want to avenge her?"
"Take revenge?" Lan Er let out a self-deprecating laugh. "How can we two weak women avenge the princess?"
"You can send a message to Emperor Shunwu that his daughter has died. Would he really remain indifferent?" He Zhiran was trying her best to dissuade them from thoughts of suicide.
Even if she couldn't make them change their minds, she wouldn't force it. After all, she had done what she could.
Unexpectedly, her words not only failed to make Lan Er change her mind, but also made the disappointed expression on her face grow heavier.
"After the princess was taken to that place by the Prince of Southern Borderlands, we tried many times to send letters to the imperial capital, but it was like throwing a rock into the sea."
He Zhiran raised her eyebrows in surprise: "Could it be that your letters did not make it out?"
Lan Er shook her head: "More than a dozen letters. I don't believe not a single one made it to His Majesty."
He Zhiran was even more puzzled: "Could it be that Emperor Shunwu does not care about his own daughter's life and death?"
By now, Lan Er no longer had any need to conceal things.
"We grew up with the princess in the palace since childhood, and have long seen through the cold-bloodedness and ruthlessness of the imperial family.
A daughter married off to consolidate the country, who would care about her life and death?"
"What about the Empress then?" He Zhiran was increasingly confused.
Lan Er sneered coldly: "The Empress's mind is all on Prince Heng. And we heard recently that Prince Heng has gone missing. Where would she have any thought to care about the princess's suffering?"
He Zhiran...
Alright!
It was because she had lived in the harmonious Mo family circle for too long that she had forgotten the lack of kinship in the imperial family.
"Even if Emperor Shunwu is unwilling to seek justice for the Fourth Princess, would the next emperor also turn a blind eye?"
The next emperor?
Lan Er had not thought that far.
Now that He Zhiran had brought it up, she had to think deeply about it.
The only two princes with the most hope of inheriting the throne in Da Shun were Prince Heng and Prince Qi.
Now Prince Heng's whereabouts were unknown. The only one left was Prince Qi.
Since childhood, Prince Heng had been instilled by the Empress that there was only the throne in his eyes. He had no kinship with his sister born of the same mother. In fact, he had always resented the Fourth Princess for being a girl and unable to help him compete for the throne.
Prince Qi was different. He was gentle and courteous since childhood and extremely respectful to his sister the Fourth Princess.
He would even help the Fourth Princess when she suffered grievances.
If Prince Qi ascended the throne, would he help the princess seek justice?
Thinking of this, Lan Er seemed to see a glimmer of hope.
"But I don't know when Prince Qi will succeed to the throne."
Hearing her say this, He Zhiran knew her persuasion was working.
"There is a saying, it's never too late to take revenge even after ten years. Moreover, Da Shun and the Southern Borderlands are often at war. Who knows, maybe someday, the Southern Borderlands will be completely conquered by Da Shun. By then, when you make offerings to the princess, you can tell her this news, won't that comfort her spirit in heaven?"
The more Lan Er listened, the more reasonable she felt it was. If she died, the princess's suffering in the residence of the Prince of Southern Borderlands would never see the light of day. She had to live well and look for opportunities to burn incense and tell the princess that her great vengeance had been reported.
"Madam Ninth, thank you for reminding me. Lan Er is willing to serve by your side. I only want to wait for the day the Prince of Southern Borderlands falls, and then tell the princess this news. Then Lan Er will have no regrets in this life."
As Lan Er spoke, she had already knelt down before He Zhiran.
Yu Er was obviously someone without much independent thought. She basically felt whatever Lan Er said made sense.
Therefore, after Lan Er knelt down, she also knelt down together.
He Zhiran did not hurry to help them up. She had to make clear the ugly truth before bringing them to the northwest.
"You must have heard about the Mo Family being raided and exiled. At that time, only one Mo son was left alive, my husband Mo Jiuye."
As she spoke, she glanced at the two still unconscious on the bed.
"Today we sneaked into the residence of the Crown Prince and successfully rescued Seventh Brother. This matter probably can't be kept secret for long. But I hope this news does not come from your mouths."
Lan Er immediately promised: "Madam Ninth, rest assured, Lan Er swears she will never speak of this."
To protect this person, even the princess had lost her life. Even for the sake of the princess, she had to help conceal this matter for the Mo Family.
Seeing her sincere attitude, He Zhiran went on: "We now live in the countryside of the northwest. If you can't get used to such hard days, I won't force you to go there.
Moreover, we don't keep idlers in our family. Not to mention you, even my mother-in-law and sisters-in-law work every day."
He Zhiran was worried that no matter how the Fourth Princess was not favored, she was still a princess of the country. The palace maids who could accompany her to the Southern Borderlands must be the highest class of palace maids.
In her mind, first-class palace maids in the palace basically did not need to work, only needed to help their masters with some trivial daily matters.
She kindly wanted to bring them along, but what if she brought back two people who could not lift a shoulder or lift a hand? Wouldn't that be a burden?
Shun Zi was the first to awake. He was suddenly knocked out and found that there were several more people in the room now. He was a little confused.
But seeing his master was also there, he felt at ease.
Shun Zi got up, massaged his sore neck, gestured that he would go outside to take a look, then left.
Mo Xiuyan and Mo Yuance needed to recuperate. The yard they rented now only had two rooms. Fortunately the beds were big enough that two people lying on them did not feel crowded.
As for Lan Er and Yu Er, after they woke up, Madam Ninth would ask them some questions. If they really had nowhere to go, she would bring them together to the northwest.
The family had already found so many sons alive. This news could not be kept secret even if they wanted to. Besides that, there was nothing else to worry about being leaked out, so there was no need to be concerned that these two would divulge secrets.
Lan Er and Yu Er were both healthy. They woke up faster than the Mo brothers.
Seeing the two gradually wake up, He Zhiran took the initiative to walk up to them.
Lan Er reacted the fastest. Realizing the environment was not right, she immediately stood up, completely ignoring He Zhiran. She started scanning the entire room.
"The princess, where is the princess?"
Yu Er also got up and asked suspiciously, "Where is this place?"
He Zhiran knew they were not feeling well at the moment, so she softened her tone a lot when speaking.
"You've left the residence of the Crown Prince."
Upon hearing this, Lan Er turned around and ran outside.
"I'm going back. The princess is still lying there alone."
He Zhiran blocked the door: "The Fourth Princess is gone. Do you think the Crown Prince will spare you if you go back?"
Lan Er stubbornly said, "We don't need anyone to spare us. We just want to be with the princess."
At this point, He Zhiran could no longer describe whether these two were loyal or ignorant.
She helplessly advised, "It's obvious that the Fourth Princess was killed by the Prince of Southern Borderlands. Don't you want to avenge her?"
"Take revenge?" Lan Er let out a self-deprecating laugh. "How can we two weak women avenge the princess?"
"You can send a message to Emperor Shunwu that his daughter has died. Would he really remain indifferent?" He Zhiran was trying her best to dissuade them from thoughts of suicide.
Even if she couldn't make them change their minds, she wouldn't force it. After all, she had done what she could.
Unexpectedly, her words not only failed to make Lan Er change her mind, but also made the disappointed expression on her face grow heavier.
"After the princess was taken to that place by the Prince of Southern Borderlands, we tried many times to send letters to the imperial capital, but it was like throwing a rock into the sea."
He Zhiran raised her eyebrows in surprise: "Could it be that your letters did not make it out?"
Lan Er shook her head: "More than a dozen letters. I don't believe not a single one made it to His Majesty."
He Zhiran was even more puzzled: "Could it be that Emperor Shunwu does not care about his own daughter's life and death?"
By now, Lan Er no longer had any need to conceal things.
"We grew up with the princess in the palace since childhood, and have long seen through the cold-bloodedness and ruthlessness of the imperial family.
A daughter married off to consolidate the country, who would care about her life and death?"
"What about the Empress then?" He Zhiran was increasingly confused.
Lan Er sneered coldly: "The Empress's mind is all on Prince Heng. And we heard recently that Prince Heng has gone missing. Where would she have any thought to care about the princess's suffering?"
He Zhiran...
Alright!
It was because she had lived in the harmonious Mo family circle for too long that she had forgotten the lack of kinship in the imperial family.
"Even if Emperor Shunwu is unwilling to seek justice for the Fourth Princess, would the next emperor also turn a blind eye?"
The next emperor?
Lan Er had not thought that far.
Now that He Zhiran had brought it up, she had to think deeply about it.
The only two princes with the most hope of inheriting the throne in Da Shun were Prince Heng and Prince Qi.
Now Prince Heng's whereabouts were unknown. The only one left was Prince Qi.
Since childhood, Prince Heng had been instilled by the Empress that there was only the throne in his eyes. He had no kinship with his sister born of the same mother. In fact, he had always resented the Fourth Princess for being a girl and unable to help him compete for the throne.
Prince Qi was different. He was gentle and courteous since childhood and extremely respectful to his sister the Fourth Princess.
He would even help the Fourth Princess when she suffered grievances.
If Prince Qi ascended the throne, would he help the princess seek justice?
Thinking of this, Lan Er seemed to see a glimmer of hope.
"But I don't know when Prince Qi will succeed to the throne."
Hearing her say this, He Zhiran knew her persuasion was working.
"There is a saying, it's never too late to take revenge even after ten years. Moreover, Da Shun and the Southern Borderlands are often at war. Who knows, maybe someday, the Southern Borderlands will be completely conquered by Da Shun. By then, when you make offerings to the princess, you can tell her this news, won't that comfort her spirit in heaven?"
The more Lan Er listened, the more reasonable she felt it was. If she died, the princess's suffering in the residence of the Prince of Southern Borderlands would never see the light of day. She had to live well and look for opportunities to burn incense and tell the princess that her great vengeance had been reported.
"Madam Ninth, thank you for reminding me. Lan Er is willing to serve by your side. I only want to wait for the day the Prince of Southern Borderlands falls, and then tell the princess this news. Then Lan Er will have no regrets in this life."
As Lan Er spoke, she had already knelt down before He Zhiran.
Yu Er was obviously someone without much independent thought. She basically felt whatever Lan Er said made sense.
Therefore, after Lan Er knelt down, she also knelt down together.
He Zhiran did not hurry to help them up. She had to make clear the ugly truth before bringing them to the northwest.
"You must have heard about the Mo Family being raided and exiled. At that time, only one Mo son was left alive, my husband Mo Jiuye."
As she spoke, she glanced at the two still unconscious on the bed.
"Today we sneaked into the residence of the Crown Prince and successfully rescued Seventh Brother. This matter probably can't be kept secret for long. But I hope this news does not come from your mouths."
Lan Er immediately promised: "Madam Ninth, rest assured, Lan Er swears she will never speak of this."
To protect this person, even the princess had lost her life. Even for the sake of the princess, she had to help conceal this matter for the Mo Family.
Seeing her sincere attitude, He Zhiran went on: "We now live in the countryside of the northwest. If you can't get used to such hard days, I won't force you to go there.
Moreover, we don't keep idlers in our family. Not to mention you, even my mother-in-law and sisters-in-law work every day."
He Zhiran was worried that no matter how the Fourth Princess was not favored, she was still a princess of the country. The palace maids who could accompany her to the Southern Borderlands must be the highest class of palace maids.
In her mind, first-class palace maids in the palace basically did not need to work, only needed to help their masters with some trivial daily matters.
She kindly wanted to bring them along, but what if she brought back two people who could not lift a shoulder or lift a hand? Wouldn't that be a burden?
