Chapter 145: Living Together

Chen Yuru's gaze fell on Tan Yun's face. Seeing that his eyes were tightly closed, the expression on her face gradually stripped away its disguise, turning cold and ferocious.

Change her identity and hide in a quiet place for a few years first?
Wait until the storm blows over, and then return under a different identity?
He makes it sound so easy.
Yet, on what grounds?

If it were not for Tan Qingshui, her daughter could have stayed safely in the capital.
Her daughter would have been the crown prince's consort whom everyone envied.
Instead, she had become a street rat, pointed at and reviled by all.
She could only hide in a place devoid of sunlight, as if unable to bear the light of day.

Her daughter had already been reduced to such a state, on the verge of losing her most precious freedom, yet Tan Yun spoke so flippantly, as if it were of no consequence at all.

Chen Yuru clenched her teeth so hard that the veins on her forehead bulged faintly.
Clearly, back then, Tan Yun was able to attain that position entirely because Tan Yunge became the crown prince's consort.
Moreover, her current status was not due to Tan Yun at all, but entirely because her own methods were ruthless and formidable enough.
Everything she and her daughter had today was earned through her own painstaking efforts.
By what right could that little bitch take it all away just by saying so?
By what right did Tan Yun always claim that she and Yunge owed everything they had today entirely to him?
What utter shamelessness.
Could it be that a woman could only rely on men?

Chen Yuru tightly gripped the brocade handkerchief in her hand, her face dark and gloomy.

"Do you think I am cruel?" Tan Yun suddenly spoke again.

Chen Yuru quickly loosened her grip on the embroidered handkerchief, disguising her emotions once more. "How could that be? I know that My Lord has not had it easy either. You bear the rise and fall of the entire Tan clan on your shoulders; in many matters, you cannot simply act on impulse."

"It is good that you understand. Even without Yunge, we still have Yunming. Yunming is still young, and surely you do not want anything to happen to our Tan clan, do you?"
"Once Yunge is married, she belongs to another family. Fortunately, she is married, so whatever she did will at least not implicate us. Rest assured, everything in the Tan family belongs to Yunming in the future. Your gaze cannot be fixed solely on immediate gains and losses."

Tan Yunming was the son she shared with Tan Yun, barely over ten years old.

Chen Yuru merely let out a faint sigh. "I know. It's just that I feel Yunge would never do such things, nor would she poison Qingshui. She is my daughter, born from my womb, I know her..."

Tan Yun frowned. "Why don't you understand? Whether Tan Yunge poisoned her or not is unimportant. What matters is how Prince Duan perceives it and what he thinks in his heart."
"In this matter, Prince Duan is the key. Does the objective truth matter?"

Tan Yun straightened his body, remained silent for a moment, and then said, "No, I must make a trip to the Prince Duan's Estate, and you will accompany me."

Chen Yuru's body paused. "Me?"
"Yes."
Tan Yun pressed his lips together. "Qingshui is my daughter, and since my daughter has met with misfortune and been poisoned, it is only proper that I pay a visit."
"Although you are not Qingshui's birth mother, you should go and see her as well. Otherwise, Prince Duan might think that we treat Qingshui poorly."
"Let us go to the Prince Duan's Estate."
"Just right, Qingshui has been in the Prince Duan's Estate for several days now. I can use the opportunity to discreetly probe and see whether Qingshui has actually developed any relationship with Prince Duan."

Chen Yuru's gaze turned cold. Tan Qingshui developing a relationship with Prince Duan?
She did not wish to see that happen in the slightest.
After all, Tan Qingshui was already so smug and arrogant. If she truly formed a bond with Prince Duan and became the rightful Princess Duan, would she not climb right over their heads?

A quarter of an hour later, they arrived at the Prince Duan's Estate.
Tan Yun hurried down from the carriage, only to be stopped right at the entrance.

Tan Yun furrowed his brows slightly. "I am the father of the Princess Duan. Hearing that she has met with misfortune, I wish to come and visit her."

The gatekeeper raised his eyes to look at Tan Yun. "Please wait a moment here, Master Tan, while I go inside to report."
"Very well."

Chen Yuru stood behind Tan Yun, her gaze appraising the grand gates of the Prince Duan's Estate.
Because Prince Duan held such a unique position at court, she had never visited this estate before.
Judging by the gates alone, however, the Prince Duan's Estate was quite majestic—far more magnificent than the Prince Ding's Estate she had visited previously.

Chen Yuru suddenly recalled what Tan Yun had said earlier: although Prince Duan was afflicted with illness, he was nonetheless a legitimate son of the Empress.
The distinction between the legitimate and the concubine-born.
Chen Yuru bit her lip, her expression cold. On what grounds?
Just because he was born into a fortunate womb?

Before long, the gatekeeper returned. "Master Tan, please enter."
"Thank you."

The gatekeeper led Tan Yun and Chen Yuru into the estate.
How vast the Prince Duan's Estate was! Although there were not many servants, the grounds were kept in meticulous order, with picturesque scenery at every turn, exuding elegance intertwined with nobility.
The further she walked, the more uneasy Chen Yuru felt inside.

Soon, they reached the reception hall, and the gatekeeper spoke again, "Please wait here a moment, Master Tan and Madam. His Highness will be right here."
"Understood."

Once the gatekeeper left, Chen Yuru bit her lip and lowered her voice. "Was it not said that because Prince Duan was ill, His Majesty enfeoffed him as a prince and established a separate household for him? Was it not said that while this place is called a prince's estate in name, it is actually a prison confining Prince Duan? Why is the Prince Duan's Estate so much more luxurious than the Prince Ding's Estate?"

Tan Yun merely glanced at Chen Yuru sideways. "Those are merely rumors. One should not easily believe rumors."
"I only know that back then, His Majesty and the late Empress Duanxian were a couple joined in their youth, childhood sweethearts with deep affection. Prince Duan is the son of Empress Duanxian."

Chen Yuru pressed her lips together, but Prince Duan was ill, was he not?
What good was a noble birth if he was sickly?

Before long, Shen Yingjue arrived.
Tan Yun quickly stood up and paid his respects to Shen Yingjue.

"Your Highness, this official heard that my daughter Qingshui was poisoned within the Prince Duan's Estate and remains unconscious to this day. I am deeply concerned and wish to pay her a visit. Might I be permitted to do so?"

Shen Yingjue raised his eyelids lazily. "It is inconvenient. The Princess Duan lives together with this Prince, and this Prince does not like idle people entering or leaving the main courtyard. So let us forgo it. This Prince has already summoned physicians to treat the Princess Duan. Master Tan may rest assured; once the Princess Duan recovers, I will naturally allow her to return home for a visit."

Shen Yingjue had spoken at considerable length, but Tan Yun caught only the most crucial sentence, his eyes instantly lighting up.
"Qingshui... lives together with Your Highness?"

Shen Yingjue raised his eyelids again. "Tan Qingshui is this Prince's primary consort. If she does not live with this Prince, with whom should she live?"