"——So, it was the Second Prince who framed that Fifth Young Master Rong."
Inside the room, Madam Zhou listened to Gu Lan's words, inadvertently furrowing her brow and asking thoughtfully.
"Exactly." Gu Lan replied indifferently.
How the original character fell into the water was not important. What mattered was that the male protagonist could not have pushed her. The Second Prince trying to use the Marquis Mansion as a weapon was clearly a miscalculation.
"Don't worry, Lan. Mother will immediately send someone to clarify for you," Madam Zhou reassured, "It seems that what people say is true, that Rong Heng indeed holds a low status in the palace. The Second Prince can accuse him at will, and the Emperor ignores it. Now that he's imprisoned in the Imperial Prison, I'm afraid he won't come out easily..."
Gu Lan's eyes narrowed, engraving her words in his heart.
Madam Zhou shook her head: "Forget it, since it has nothing to do with the Marquis Mansion, let it be."
Gu Lan spoke casually: "How can Rong Heng, being the former Emperor's Fifth Prince, be ignored by the Emperor?"
Madam Zhou replied: "When Pingnan Marquis was convicted, Rong Heng was merely a child of seven or eight, losing his milk teeth, changing to permanent teeth. The Emperor spared his life due to his young age, and not demoting him to commoner was already gracious. Does he expect the Emperor to treat him like Prince Rui, granting him titles and heavy responsibilities?"
At the age of changing baby teeth, Rong Heng is about fifteen or sixteen now.
Still a child, Gu Lan sighed in relief in his heart.
A young servant entered from outside to report: "Madam, Eunuch Zhang from the Palace brings the Emperor's decree, here to inquire about the Young Master."
Madam Zhou's gentleness immediately turned cold as she glanced at Gu Lan with a newfound seriousness in her eyes:
"He probably came to inquire about you, saving me the trouble of sending someone into the palace. However, Lan, haven't you been good friends with the Second Prince before? Now, if you wish to follow his intentions... Mother can speak for you."
This sentence translates to: Gu Lan and the Second Prince were once close, but if she now wishes to frame Rong Heng along with the Second Prince, Madam Zhou would not oppose—it's Gu Lan's decision.
If Gu Lan says it was Rong Heng who pushed her, then it was him!
The truth didn't matter to Madam Zhou; what mattered was Gu Lan's own thoughts.
Gu Lan finished the soup Madam Zhou served and stood up, saying, "Since it's someone from the palace, I shall go speak myself."
With the original character's nature, she would definitely side with the Second Prince to slander Rong Heng.
Getting on the male protagonist's bad side so early, it's no wonder she was eventually killed.
Madam Zhou stared in surprise at Gu Lan's departing figure, her eyes revealing a peculiar gleam.
Lan... She truly is different now.
The main hall of the Marquis Mansion.
A middle-aged eunuch, well-featured, with a pale, hairless face, wearing a blue official robe and a black lacquer silk hat, entered. Seeing Madam Zhou and Gu Lan, he neither humbled nor exalted himself, bowing in greeting: "Greetings to the Marchioness, greetings to the Young Master."
The eunuch's voice was an unremarkable tenor, unlike that in the dramas, which slightly disappointed Gu Lan.
"This humble woman extends gratitude for the Imperial grace." Madam Zhou returned the greeting gracefully and modestly.
Behind Eunuch Zhang were several gift boxes. He said: "His Majesty is concerned about the Young Master's health and specially sent a pair of Centennial Ginseng for the Young Master's reinforcement."
While speaking, he noted that although Gu Lan appeared pale, her demeanor was calm and stable, with seemingly no serious issues, so he asked:
"I was sent to inquire, Young Master, about what exactly happened at the Floating Green Pavilion in the Imperial Garden three days ago, how did you fall into the water?"
Eunuch Zhang's eyes were long and penetrating, fixating on Gu Lan with a deep scrutiny.
Gu Lan scratched her neatly tied black hair at the back of her head, revealing a touch of teenage awkwardness, and gave a simple, naive smile.
This smile, bright as the spring sun, was mesmerizing.
Eunuch Zhang couldn't help but marvel, though Young Master Gu was known for being uneducated and notorious, he indeed had a handsome appearance.
"It was I who saw the lotus blooming so beautifully, and in my delight, I wished to get closer to admire them. Who knew I would slip and fall into the water? At the time, Rong Heng was far from me, how could he have pushed me? As for His Highness the Second Prince, he was very close; perhaps he made a mistake."
The explanation was reasonable, without offending the Second Prince, and it helped exonerate Rong Heng.
Eunuch Zhang's gaze sharpened, deepening his eyes, posing another question gently: "Young Master, do you like lotus flowers?"
Gu Lan nodded, swaying his head and pronouncing: "Certainly, I greatly love the lotus. As the ancients said: 'The lotus emerges from the mud unstained, washed by clear water without being demonic, upright inside and out, without vines or branches, fragrant from afar, stately standing, to be admired from afar but not to be profaned.'
Eunuch Zhang saw her scholarly demeanor and subtly twitched his mouth, complimenting, "This poem is quite excellent. I've never heard it before. May I ask who composed it?"
"An ancestor with the surname Zhou, you probably haven't seen it." Gu Lan replied calmly.
"The Young Master is truly well-versed in both ancient and modern. It seems I am the ignorant one." Eunuch Zhang smiled and agreed.
Gu Lan appeared oblivious to the undertone in his words and nodded calmly, "Thank you for the compliment."
Eunuch Zhang thought, in the entire Capital City, who doesn't know that you, Gu Lan, can't read a single word, spend your days mixing with maids, and are the capital's top playboy. And now, this so-called rice worm of Dayan is earnestly saying thank you for the compliment?
Who praised him? Couldn't he tell the sarcasm?
After completing the bestowal of rewards and exchanging some pleasantries, Eunuch Zhang finally left.
Once the surroundings were clear, Madam Zhou sneered coldly, her tone displeased, "Lan had just woken up for a two-hour period, and the palace received the news. The eyes in the Marquis Mansion are increasing, although I didn't expect Zhang Fengcai to come…
It seems, after Prince Rui's great victory, the Emperor has indeed paid more attention to our Marquis Mansion."
"Zhang Fengcai? Is that just now's Eunuch Zhang?" Gu Lan asked, finding the name somewhat familiar.
Madam Zhou extended a hand as if wanting to touch Gu Lan's head but then forcibly stopped the action. Her daughter's temperament was unruly, and since childhood, they weren't close, never allowing herself to stroke her…
She answered patiently, "If you enter the Imperial Family School, you'll know these palace attendants sooner or later. That was Zhang Fengcai, the Chief Eunuch of Qianyuan Hall, who has been following the Emperor for many years and is deeply trusted by him."
Gu Lan remembered, Zhang Fengcai indeed was a eunuch frequently mentioned in the original book, responsible for delivering imperial decrees, appearing more often than herself.
The man proclaimed every day, "By Heaven's decree, the Emperor commands," those eight words surpassed the original host's lines.
"However, a woman falling into the water and catching a cold is greatly harmful to the body. Lan, if you truly don't wish to become Prince Rui's Heir's Companion, then let's not do it. Just use your unwell condition after falling into water as an excuse, the Old Madam loves you and won't say anything."
Madam Zhou thought about Gu Lan being sent back from the palace that day, pale, her small body cold as a corpse, and couldn't help but fearfully say.
Gu Lan raised an eyebrow, realizing Madam Zhou also knew the original host's female identity, and there was another Old Madam in Dingyuan Marquis Mansion.
"For the sake of this companion role, I've already fallen into water, how could I not go." Gu Lan stated calmly.
The original book never mentioned Gu Lan as any Heir's Companion, presumably rejecting it with the reason Madam Zhou just gave.
But she, how could she walk the old path of the original host.
*
In the Imperial Palace, deep in the palace halls, the moon reflected on the palace walls.
"—Your Majesty, the Young Master Gu said he truly loves lotus flowers, his accidental fall into the water had nothing to do with the Second Prince, nor with the Fifth... Young Master."
Zhang Fengcai recounted every word of the conversation in Dingyuan Marquis Mansion to the Emperor, then stood aside, nodding.
"Truly loves lotus flowers..."
A deep, rich voice resonated, and the Emperor slowly repeated these four words.
The current Emperor, named Rong Jing, has been on the throne for over seven years, now just over thirty-one, remarkably handsome, a trace of smile still in his eyes.
"Wu, did you hear what Fengcai said, this Young Master Gu didn't stand on Qi Jun's side, but instead exonerated you."
From the shadows in the corner of the palace, a thin, fragile boy kneeled on the cold ground.
The boy had just been brought out of the Imperial Prison, covered in bloodstains, his exposed skin icy white, full of scars.
Upon hearing the words "lotus flower," he slightly lifted his head, his eyes clear and cold, his voice like a chilly pool:
"So what, this subject brother detests lotus flowers most in life, and detests those who love lotus flowers."
Rong Heng finished speaking, lowering his head inch by inch, the disgust and hostility in his eyes exposed under the Emperor's gaze.
"Alas, what a pity." The Emperor squinted his eyes and said.
At this time, slumped in the inner courtyard of the Marquis Mansion, embracing a hand warmer in the height of summer, Gu Lan suddenly sneezed violently, and angrily shouted:
"Zijin, I want iced watermelon juice!"