TGDS Chapter 86.3

The Good Dad System (Arc 12) Chapter 86.3: (Ancient Times) The People Around My Daughter Have All Been Reborn (9)

Pei Yuzhuo hesitated for a moment, then readily agreed. She was wary, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t do anything. Everyone knew Lin Shuniang was in poor health; it wouldn’t make sense for her, as her cousin, not to accompany her.

Lin Shuniang smiled slyly. Being slightly shorter, she didn’t let Pei Yuzhu see her expression. In fact, she had already had her maids prepare. After all, she was the daughter of the Empress’s brother-in-law, and the maids in the Empress’s palace fawned over her. She knew the area around the Imperial Garden very well. Just past this path, after two more turns, was Chengtian Pond. The water there was quite deep. Two years ago in her previous life, two of Emperor Xia Ren’s concubines had a dispute here, and one of them fell into the pond. It was later discovered that some of the pebbles by the roadside had become loose at some point, and a person could slip and fall. Lin Shuniang had already started preparing in this life and quickly found the exact spot. Not long after entering the palace today, she had been applying oil to those stones and prying them open.

She wouldn’t be like she was in her past life, foolishly pushing her good cousin at a family banquet. Her cousin, who was clearly in excellent health, actually feigned illness after just falling into the water, forcing her to become a nun at a temple. Later, she married that awful man, whose health deteriorated and who was constantly angry, and died a few years after marriage. Of course, she would take revenge one by one, starting with her good cousin. She wondered if she, who had fallen into the water at a palace banquet and emerged soaked, would be as lucky as she was in her past life.

“Sister, I want to go to the garden.” Gu Yuniang had been to the inner palace several times. Noticing the direction Lin Shuniang had gone, she immediately reported to her sister and made to get up.

“No!” Aunt Gu strongly objected, fearing her younger sister would cause trouble again, but she couldn’t stop her. Seeing that her sister was about to stand up, she had no choice but to follow. The two of them came together, and many young ladies who were tired of sitting also came along, insisting on going to the garden together. Aunt Gu couldn’t refuse for a moment, after all, there were many daughters of her father’s friends in court here. Gu Yuniang was very happy to go. If she guessed right, she should bring more people to see the show. Even if she guessed wrong, she could just treat it as going to the garden. Their large group followed.

The show seemed to be about to begin.

“Cousin, are you feeling better?” Pei Yuzhu stood upright. After walking so far, she was afraid that the hair ornaments on her head would start to fight. If it weren’t for the jewelry and dress, she might have walked with great flair. Too bored, she began to silently recite the military strategy lessons her father had written for her. Her father said that after a while, he would mention to His Majesty that he would take her to the frontier for a period of time.

Lin Shuniang said softly, “I’m much better, I just need to rest a little longer.” She pointed ahead, “Cousin, you look at the lanterns for a while, I’ll just walk a few steps.” Many standing palace lanterns floated on the pond, part of the New Year’s decorations. A new batch would be replaced for the Lantern Festival. She quietly walked behind her cousin, feeling nauseous. She couldn’t understand how her dear cousin could be so robust. Women were supposed to be frail and thin. Looking at her and then at her cousin, who could believe that one was born at the beginning of the year and the other at the end?

Pei Yuzhu was quite obedient. She quietly looked at the lanterns ahead, wondering if her father, in the western city, could see such beautiful lanterns. She thought she might send some along with the festival gifts, but wondered if they would be easy to transport. She’d have to ask the guards. Her ears were sharp; she heard a whoosh behind her—

“Ah—” A long scream rang out. It was Lin Shuniang. She rushed forward.

Pei Yuzhu jumped in surprise. When Wang Bu’er taught her martial arts, he often practiced this back attack. Of course, her master was very careful and would stop when she was about to strike. If she couldn’t dodge, he would give her a light tap as a minor punishment. She subconsciously jumped to the side, and only when she turned around did she realize that Lin Shuniang was rushing towards her…?

Perhaps she dodged too quickly, because Lin Shuniang stepped on the rock and fell down with a splash. The screams and splashing sounds mingled together, creating a particularly jarring sound.

Before Pei Yuzhu could react and grab her, her cousin had already fallen in. She had never learned to swim—and these days, it was rare for anyone to learn. She didn’t know the depth of the water, and there were no tools around, so she could only squat down and reach out to pull her in.

“Yuzhu, what are you doing? What if you get pulled in?” Gu Yuniang appeared out of nowhere and shook her head disapprovingly. She shouted, “Someone has fallen into the pool! Someone come quick!”

Gu Da Niang didn’t have time to stop her sister from interacting with Pei Yuzhu. She knew Lin Shuniang’s identity and quickly sent a maid to call a eunuch. Fortunately, the banquet was not far away, and a eunuch quickly came and hurriedly rescued the trembling Lin Shuniang, taking her to the Empress’s palace. The women were already in an uproar.

“Yu Zhuo, I’ll help you explain the truth,” Gu Yuniang quickly boasted. “We all saw it! This Miss Lin insisted on pushing you. You dodged, and she fell. You didn’t even touch her!” She was smug and very proud. With this partial life-saving grace, she was finally tied to the Pei family’s warship!

Aunt Gu then realized what had happened and quickly pulled her shameless sister over, saying gently, “If anyone asks, we’ll tell the truth.” There were too many witnesses; they couldn’t lie for anyone. But why was Lin Shuniang so foolish? Couldn’t she even push someone properly? If it weren’t for this incident, why would she have bothered with all this?

Lin Shuniang, now sent to the Empress’s palace, was much happier than in the novel “Water Half Summer.” Strange, she was vomiting water, shivering violently. The pond water in winter was so cold, so cold that she couldn’t find any warmth.

How could things have turned out like this?

She hadn’t even had a chance to say, “Cousin, you’ve ruined me! When I wake up, I’ll make everyone know how vicious you are!”

At this moment, Lin Shuniang, who was not quite in her right mind, didn’t know that in the Empress’s palace, whether it was the Emperor’s brother-in-law, Old Madam Pei, or the Empress, they all knew the ins and outs of the matter. There were at least ten young ladies from prominent families who witnessed the scene. They weren’t blind; they clearly saw a dark figure inexplicably run up and run towards the dark figure in front of them while shouting. The dark figure in front of them had only dodged quickly but hadn’t done anything.

Lin Guojiu was covered in cold sweat. He never imagined that his own daughter would try to harm his niece. He knew that Chengtian Pond was filled with flowing water, and in the dead of winter, falling into it could be fatal for young girls with weak constitutions. He was heartbroken that his daughter was injured, but also somewhat relieved—not because he was heartless, but because if it had been his niece who was injured, his daughter would likely have faced severe punishment. His brother-in-law was away fighting, and his only son had gotten into trouble in the palace; the Emperor would certainly not let it go easily.

“I…”

Old Madam Pei had already calmed down after the initial tension, and now she was quite composed, simply saying lightly, “It’s alright, Uncle Guojiu. As long as Yuzhuo is alright, that’s all that matters.” How could she say it was alright? She wasn’t a philanthropist. Whether Yuzhuo was injured or not, the fact that she had almost been harmed was enough to frighten her. However, this wasn’t what she wanted now.

“Madam, it was Shuniang who was being unreasonable.” The Empress quickly spoke up for Lin Shuniang, sighing inwardly. She had already sent palace servants to investigate; there was definitely something fishy about the land by the pond. Considering Lin Shuniang’s behavior recently, the truth was already clear. She wondered who this young girl was scheming against, as if she had been wasting all these years in the palace.

“It’s nothing, it’s just…”

“Just what?” The Empress pressed, fearing that this matter would be taken against her since she had no son and relied solely on the Emperor’s favor.

“It’s just that I’m afraid Yuzhuo was still frightened. Your Majesty, could you please mention it to the Emperor? After the New Year, I plan to send my daughter to the Western City for a while so she can get along well with her own father.” Old Madam Pei immediately made the request. She knew perfectly well that even if Pei Naochun mentioned it, the Emperor wouldn’t mind, but the risk should be minimized if possible. Now, this little girl had almost been pushed into the water by her own cousin in the palace; shouldn’t she go find her father? Besides, this Empress, who has never given birth, is very well-maintained and has always been favored. A few words of encouragement from her would be very useful to Emperor Xia Ren.

“Alright, of course!” The Empress thought there was something important, so she immediately agreed. “I’ll mention it to His Majesty in a couple of days!”

“Then thank you, Your Majesty.” Old Madam Pei took a sip of tea and said nothing more.

She believed that her precious granddaughter would not be frightened by this. What she practiced in the martial arts arena was far more extreme than this.

…

These past few days, Emperor Xia Ren had been quite overwhelmed. First, every year at the end of the year, the concubines would compete for his favor, comparing who he spent the most time with during the holidays. Then there were the various New Year’s gifts to distribute and the “Fu” characters to write. Even if he skipped the morning court session, he was still busy enough.

Having finally finished his work, he heard from the Empress that General Pei’s only daughter had almost fallen into the water in the palace. She didn’t go into details, only vaguely mentioning that a stone had fallen by the pond, and it was dark at night. Apparently, the young lady Pei was terrified; the imperial physician diagnosed her with a fright. Old Madam Pei wanted her granddaughter to visit her father in the western city, and Emperor Xia Ren readily agreed. If the Pei family didn’t have connections, he would have even sent some personal guards to protect her.

Whatever the reason, he hoped nothing would happen in the palace, otherwise, in a couple of days at court, memorials would be flying everywhere.

He had just sat down, intending to look at the urgent memorials, when his chief eunuch dismissed his attendants and knelt down, trembling. This eunuch was in charge of the Eastern Depot, but the Eastern Depot of the Great Xia Dynasty was very dilapidated and rarely used, only occasionally investigated corrupt officials and conducted undercover investigations of the people’s conditions.

“What is it?” he asked without looking up.

“This servant…this servant deserves to die a thousand deaths!”

Emperor Xia Ren put down his pen, frowned, and asked, “Die a thousand deaths for what?”

The head eunuch was heartbroken. His Majesty had clearly sent out to investigate a censor’s secret guards, but somehow, he had stumbled upon a clue that the Crown Prince was secretly keeping secret guards. Continuing to investigate, he had actually uncovered…

“The Crown Prince…” The eunuch was on the verge of tears.

“What happened to the Crown Prince?” Emperor Xia Ren immediately stood up, very nervous. The Crown Prince was his most valued son; he couldn’t be afraid something had happened to him. “Report immediately.”

The head eunuch’s heart tightened; he only wished for a quick death: “The Crown Prince is secretly keeping secret guards to spy on the Second Prince and the Third Prince’s whereabouts. He also…”

“He also what?” Emperor Xia Ren’s eyes widened, his fists clenched. He couldn’t imagine how his beloved Crown Prince could act in such a way. Clearly, recently, Prime Minister Gu and others had praised his handling of affairs.

“He’s also spying on the Emperor’s movements.” The head eunuch remained kneeling, repeatedly kowtowing until blood was visible on his forehead—a gruesome sight. Yet he dared not stop, for this was a matter of utmost importance.

Emperor Xia Ren was startled, staggering and slumping back into his chair.

“Your Majesty! Summon the imperial physician—” the head eunuch cried out, his voice filled with anxiety.

“Do not summon him.” Emperor Xia Ren sat in his chair, his expression cold. A breeze seemed to cause the lamplight to flicker, casting shadows on his face, making his expression inscrutable. “Is it true?”

The head eunuch crawled forward on his knees, presenting a thick memorial to Emperor Xia Ren’s desk. It even detailed the number of the Crown Prince’s secret guards and their names. He was puzzled; how had the usually incompetent Eastern Depot suddenly become so shrewd? But this shrewdness was truly inappropriate—this was the Crown Prince!

The eunuchs of the Eastern Depot, who were being fiercely criticized by the Grand Eunuch, were also wronged. Could they not investigate such a readily available clue? Moreover, no one had initially told them they were the Crown Prince. They had simply stumbled upon someone sneaking out of the palace, even heading towards the Emperor’s study. This investigation turned the place upside down.

Emperor Xia Ren had already finished reading the memorials, skimming through them. He recognized many of the names, as most of them were people he had personally placed for his beloved son. He never imagined they would become daggers pointed at him.

“I have a good son, a good son indeed!” Emperor Xia Ren smiled, but his eyes were filled with daggers. He was in his prime, holding imperial power, and had no intention of abdicating. He never expected his “good son” to be so cunning and premeditated.

He could ignore his two younger brothers’ spying, attributing it to their scheming and excessive caution. But how could he tolerate their spying on him?

As long as I live, you are all Crown Princes! Now that the Crown Prince wants to be emperor, the first step is to spy on him, and the second step is probably to kill him? Sure, that’s fine.

“Summon all the ministers.”

“Your Majesty.” The head eunuch looked up, shivering, whether from too much blood loss or extreme nervousness, his trembling was unbearable.

“I want to depose the Crown Prince.” Crown Prince, your father is so disappointed in you!