"My grandmother?" Gu Youyou found his words perplexing and disjointed.
"Today your grandmother went to Sanqing Temple, and it seems Yu Jizi said something to her."
...In the afternoon in the flower hall, Gu Youyou was only concerned about the ambush on the road and didn’t notice any abnormalities in her grandmother.
"You didn’t put any medicine in Xiang Chun’s food today, did you?" Jin Zijin asked again.
Gu Youyou nodded and said, "Xiang Chun took a beating for me today, so I let her rest early. She’s not on night duty."
Jin Zijin breathed a sigh of relief and said, "That’s good, don’t give her any medicine for the time being."
"It’s late, let’s sleep." Jin Zijin stood up and went to extinguish the lamp.
"Wait, I have something else." Gu Youyou suddenly remembered her encounter with the elder Princess at Manxiu Building.
"I saw the elder Princess in Jinxiu City."
Jin Zijin sighed, "She is accustomed to a luxurious life and often goes to Jinxiu City. It’s strange to encounter her anywhere else, but not in Jinxiu City."
"Xiao Jinfei’s residence is outside Jinxiu City, also because of her fondness for the place."
"The eldest son of the Xiao Family, the elder brother of Xiao Jinyan, Xiao Jinfei. He is the elder Princess’s Prince Consort!"
Gu Youyou was stunned for a long while and couldn’t utter a word.
"You all knew she was an impostor, right? The Xiao Family is helping you!"
Jin Zijin said, "We can’t expose her identity now. Since the Emperor decreed the marriage, we naturally had to proceed with it. Besides... she still has her uses for the moment."
Aiyo, that really puts that cousin in a tough spot.
This night was equally restless for both the elderly Madam Lin and Lin Xingyi.
In the afternoon, Madam Lin told Lin Xingyi about the ambush that Lin Qianqing and Gu Youyou encountered on their way to Jinxiu City, and Lin Xingyi said it should be reported to the Governor’s Office normally, insisting that not a single word about Yue Rujing should be leaked, as he would handle it.
Madam Lin, a woman deeply influenced by the decrepit notion that women should be submissive to their husbands and stay inside while men govern outside, naturally had no complaints since Lin Xingyi said as much.
However, at night, the elderly Madam Lin secretly called Lin Xingyi to her quarters.
In the elderly Madam Lin’s room, all the maids had been dismissed, and a bright lamp was lit. It was just the two of them, mother and son.
"Mother, what matters so much that you had to call Xingyi here in the middle of the night?"
The elderly Madam Lin had been uneasy since returning from Sanqing Temple and felt a little better seeing Lin Xingyi, so she told him about the strange things Yu Jizi had said to her that day.
After hearing it, Lin Xingyi frowned deeply and remained silent for a long time.
The elderly Madam Lin anxiously asked, "What does he mean by that? Isn’t he a Taoist? Why is he so concerned about our family? What is he trying to do?
And what about Youyou? What did he mean by talking about Youyou like that? Is he trying to remind me of something?"
Lin Xingyi sighed, "Mother, don’t overthink it. Your son knows what he’s doing."
"How can I not overthink? Do you still remember your sister? If it weren’t for her, where would you be today, a Great Scholar in the imperial academy, instead of still digging soil in the village? Youyou is her only daughter. If this one’s... fake, and we’ve been treating her like a treasure, how can I ever face your sister?"
Lin Xingyi said helplessly, "Mother, how could it be fake? Don’t think such chaotic thoughts."
"I don’t want to think it either, but what does Yu Jizi mean by that? Or are you saying that you’ve secretly arranged for someone to teach her over these years?"
Lin Xingyi’s expression grew grave as he shook his head lightly, "No."