Quick, female general, I traveled through time to save my father

Chapter 349: The Mother of the Bomen Raises Her Stepson 16

When the footsteps faded away, Shen Tang immediately lowered his voice and said, "Mother, what should we do next?"

Sirong's eyes flashed with a sharp light: "We should use her tricks against us. Since she wants to find out our background, why don't we find out where she came from?"

Shen Tang understood, a cunning light flashing in his eyes: "I understand! Tomorrow I will go to meet this 'weak' Concubine Liu!"

"No rush, let Jun Yao know about this, and you guys can discuss it."

Now that it has been discovered that there is something wrong with Concubine Liu's identity, it is not just a matter for the women in the harem. Moreover, even the secrets of the harem are something that Shen Junyao cannot know.

Sirong’s philosophy in educating her children is that there is no need to hide anything dirty from them. Only by seeing enough can they understand what path they should take.

"Okay, mother, I'll go find Jun Yao right away." Shen Tang responded and left.

On the second day, Shen Tang deliberately chose the time when Aunt Liu was walking alone in the garden and "accidentally" passed by.

"Auntie, you are in such a refined mood~" Shen Tang came closer with a smile, playing with an exquisite dagger in his hand. It was the dagger that Si Rongrong specially gave her for self-defense.

Seeing this, Aunt Liu's eyes flashed with a hint of vigilance, but she quickly returned to her timid look: "Young lady, this dagger... is really sharp. It looks scary."

Shen Tang deliberately turned his wrist, and the dagger drew a cold light in the air: "Don't be afraid, Auntie, I'm very skilled at this!" As he said that, he suddenly "lost his grip" and the dagger flew straight towards Auntie Liu's face!

In a flash, Aunt Liu slightly turned her body and raised her right hand at an extremely fast speed.

"Snapped!"

She caught the dagger steadily, and her movements were so fast that it was almost impossible to see!

The air solidified instantly.

Concubine Liu's face changed, and she immediately pretended to be panicked: "Ah! I'm so scared... "

Shen Tang, however, was already smiling meaningfully: "Auntie, you are quite skilled! Your reaction doesn't seem like that of a woman who has never seen the world."

A hint of coldness flashed across Concubine Liu's eyes, but she quickly forced a smile: "Miss, you're joking. I'm just... lucky."

Shen Tang took back the dagger and waved it in front of her deliberately: "Really? Then Auntie, be careful. I'm a clumsy person. Maybe my luck won't be so good next time~"

After saying that, she left humming a little tune. There was definitely something wrong with this Aunt Liu Liu!

That night, Shen Tang told Sirong and Shen Junyao about his attempts during the day.

"As expected," Si Rong pondered, "Since she's skilled in martial arts and is deliberately hiding her identity, she must have some ulterior motive. Next, we need to find out who she's working for."

Shen Tang rubbed his hands in anticipation: "Don't worry, mother, I will keep a close eye on her!"

"What does Junyao think?" Sirong asked.

Shen Junyao lowered his head and thought for a moment, then shook his head: "No, from now on, you have to pretend that you didn't notice anything."

"Why?" Shen Tang was puzzled.

A hint of deep meaning flashed in Shen Junyao's eyes. "Because a true hunter often appears as prey. The more she thinks we are unaware, the more likely she is to reveal her flaws."

Sirong nodded with satisfaction, her eyes moving between the brother and sister, with relief in her eyes.

"Okay, let's do as Jun Yao says." She gathered her sleeves, her tone gentle but unquestionable, "I have to prepare a flower viewing banquet for the princess these days, so I'm afraid I won't be able to spare time. I'll leave this matter entirely to you."

She paused, her gaze lingering on Shen Tang's face for a moment longer. "Is there a problem?"

Shen Junyao looked calm and nodded slightly: "Don't worry, mother."

Shen Tang straightened his back, patted his chest with his hands, and his eyes flashed with eagerness: "Mom, go ahead and do your work! Jun Yao and I will definitely get this done beautifully!"

Sirong was amused by her appearance and shook her head and laughed. She reached out and touched her forehead: "You..." Her tone was helpless but doting.

Sirong has indeed been quite busy recently. The eldest princess' flower-viewing banquet was said to be for flower viewing, but in fact it was to help the young prince find a princess consort.

Speaking of this prince Xiao Changrong, he is quite a wonderful person.

He was born with a good appearance, picturesque features, and elegant manners, but he inherited the temperament of his father, the prince consort. He spent his days either walking in the snow to look for plum blossoms or visiting Taoist temples to ask questions.

The noble ladies in Beijing were vying for his favor, but he was only concerned with discussing Zen and Taoism with the old Taoist priest in Baiyun Temple.

There was a joke a few days ago. Miss Liu, the daughter of the Minister of Revenue, disguised herself as a man and wanted to get close to him to see if she could get the upper hand.

He was mistaken by the prince as a new Taoist boy and insisted on discussing the mysteries of the "Huangting Sutra" with him.

If you were to discuss the Four Books and Five Classics with Miss Liu, she might be able to offer some insights, but what the hell is the Huangting Jing? It's way beyond the scope of the subject. You can imagine how utterly embarrassed Miss Liu must have been at that time.

The eldest princess has only this one son, so she is not afraid that her son will sleep with other women and have many wives and concubines. For a family like theirs, having a son who is a bit extravagant is actually a way to protect themselves.

If you are too ambitious, you will easily be feared by the upper class or be wooed by the princes.

My own son does this particularly well.

But the direction was a little off. The eldest princess was really scared. One day, her son left home to seek immortals and asked for advice, without even leaving her a grandson.

During the years Sirong had been in the capital, she had collaborated with the Princess on many business ventures, both covertly and overtly. She knew very well that while the Wuwei Marquis's Mansion was a great place to sit, it couldn't be relied upon as a real support.

"Madam, another invitation has arrived from the Princess's Mansion." Sirong was checking last month's account book when the maid arrived with the gilded invitation. Her fingertips paused, and the cinnabar pen smeared a small blush on the word "spices."

"Leave it there." Sirong didn't even look up from her writing. "Go to the storehouse and get the box of South Sea pearls, and prepare two rolls of newly arrived brocade."

Only after the maidservant left did Sirong put down her pen and rub her wrist gently.

A crabapple tree was in full bloom outside the window, which suddenly reminded her of the time when she was admiring flowers at the Princess's Mansion last year. The prince, facing the spring scenery in the garden, was only concerned with discussing the mystery of "the nature of plants and trees" with the Taoist priest.

"Madam, the pearls are here." The maid's voice interrupted her thoughts.

Sirong opened the box, ran her fingertips over the round beads, and chuckled softly: "Go tell the doorman to prepare the sedan chair. I'm going to the Princess's Mansion right away."

When she stood up, she deliberately chose a lake blue jacket, which was neither too flashy nor too decent. After all, this flower viewing banquet was more than just about admiring the flowers.

She knew exactly what the eldest princess was thinking.

Halfway through the flower viewing banquet, Sirong and the eldest princess retreated to the warm room under the pretext of appreciating several newly acquired precious orchids, leaving the main stage to these young people.

The warm room was filled with the faint fragrance of agarwood. The eldest princess personally poured a cup of tea for Sirong and sighed, "You can see that my son spends all day either practicing Taoism or playing chess. He doesn't even pay attention to the ladies in the garden."