I, who disguised myself as a woman, turned out to be a queen! ?

Chapter 1193 Xia Tingyu: A Bad Person!
The streets of Yizhou City were filled with constant noise, and the clatter of horses' hooves resounded continuously in recent days.

Although people's lives remain unchanged, they are inevitably filled with anxiety.

After all, rumors and gossip have been increasing in Yizhou City lately.

Xia Tingyu stood in front of a bookstall and casually picked up a book on Buddhist Zen philosophy. "Let him go. In his position, how could he not want to make a fuss? Besides, Guo Fu and the others have to bring out someone like him to protect themselves, and my silly brother will naturally be the first to be targeted."

After saying that, Xia Tingyu looked at Wu Mao beside her and said, "Uncle, haven't you heard of the saying 'The angler asks for nothing, yet those who are willing will take the bait'?"

Wu Mao nodded earnestly: "Now that I've heard it from you, isn't that right?"

Xia Tingyu smiled charmingly, casually tossed down some money, and took the book from her hand.

Wu Mao followed beside him.

Ever since news from the northern border and Yan region reached Shu, Wu Mao has been almost constantly by Xia Tingyu's side, protecting her safety.

So he followed Xia Tingyu wherever she went.

Wu Mao continued, "Zhang Zi, it seems you have nowhere to go."

Xia Tingyu shook her head: "It's not that he had nowhere else to go that he came to my silly brother, but rather that he made this move."

Wu Mao looked at Xia Tingyu with a puzzled expression.

Xia Tingyu looked at Wu Mao and said, "I was just guessing. Uncle, you can just listen to me."

Wu Mao nodded.

Xia Tingyu said, "He should have already figured it out. My master destroyed all the plans because of Zhu Huang's army, or more precisely, the power of their muskets and cannons. So there was no need to bother with them anymore. These predecessors viewed the world as a chessboard and themselves as the players. But if the world can no longer be a chessboard, then naturally all the moves are unusable. Therefore, my master destroyed all the plans, simply and directly, to let those who couldn't sit still jump out on their own, such as Guo Fu and his group."

"But what makes them so formidable is that even without a chessboard, they can still hold their pieces and make moves. Zhang Zi must know that my grandmaster and Grandpa Wu are keeping a close eye on him. The reason he hasn't made a move is that he's waiting for someone to come. But the fact that he hasn't left means that he still has pieces that are alive, as if he still has a way to escape on the chessboard. Therefore, he is fearless."

Wu Mao looked at Xia Tingyu: "Xia Ruoyun?"

Xia Tingyu shook her head: "Lushan."

Wu Mao looked at Xia Tingyu with some surprise: "Zhang Zi, you should know who Lu Shan is, right? After all, he even gave his Qi Concealment Technique to the Fire Worship Cult."

Xia Tingyu raised her alluring eyebrows: "So this is what I don't understand. I used to think he knew, but now it seems he doesn't know, unless he is actually one of Lushan's men, and assisting my father is just a pretense."

Wu Mao: "They've come to kill the prince?"

Xia Tingyu glanced at the swordsman who was passing by and looking at her, then shook her head. "There have been many opportunities to make a move, but he hasn't. That means that in his plan, my father must be alive."

As she spoke, Xia Tingyu walked to the sachet stall. It was a sachet, a specialty of Sichuan, for the Dragon Boat Festival, filled with various medicines and colorful ropes.

Xia Tingyu picked one up and examined it carefully.

The stall owner was a young girl. When she saw Xia Tingyu's appearance, she couldn't utter a single word of her usual sales pitch. She could only secretly watch Xia Tingyu.

Xia Tingyu picked up a simpler one and looked at Wu Mao: "It would suit you quite well with Uncle."

Wu Mao smiled and glanced at the navy blue color, which matched his clothes quite well.

But he also frowned and looked at Xia Tingyu; Zhang Zi's behavior was actually quite strange.

The news from the northern border and Yan region that day shocked the entire city of Yizhou.

But Wu Mao stared at Zhang Zi.

But then they discovered that this person was drinking alcohol.

Since that day, I haven't been to the Prince's Mansion.

According to Fang Wenhe, his father, and the chess master, "something unusual must be going on."

Especially Zhang Zi himself.

Until today, news suddenly came that Zhang Zi had met with the Second Prince and was heading towards Madam Chen's residence.

Xia Tingyu said, "I'm just guessing. I'm not at the level where I can compete with Zhang Zi, so Uncle, just listen and don't take it too seriously. Besides, I really can't figure out what Zhang Zi is up to."

Looking at this humble girl, Wu Mao sometimes wondered how Tingyu could be so clever. He wished his daughter, Da Mengzi, had half of her brains.

However, Wu Mao looked at Xia Tingyu and said, "Dealing with smart people is really tiring. It would be much better to just fight them."

Xia Tingyu chuckled, then lowered her eyes and noticed a light blue purse embroidered with lotus flowers. For some reason, the first thing that came to her mind was Su Chang'an. "He would definitely suit her very well."

But as he said this, he turned to look at Wu Mao: "But he always comes up with strange ideas for these kinds of festivals. Will he have the same idea for the Dragon Boat Festival?"

Wu Mao, naturally unaware of who Xia Tingyu was referring to, asked, "Who?"

Xia Tingyu looked at Wu Mao: "A bad guy."

Wu Mao paused for a moment, blinked, and looked at Xia Tingyu with the same bewildered expression as Wu Dameng.

Xia Tingyu said with a smile, "Uncle, don't ask anymore. Should we go to Wang Mang's residence now, or should we wait?"

Wu Mao frowned: "What are you going there for? Weren't you supposed to be going to the Prince's mansion to deal with that captain?"

Xia Tingyu took out her money and bought several purses she liked. However, seeing that the young girl selling the purses was quite shy, she smiled slightly and said, "You can't do business like this. You have to talk things out when you do business." Then she turned around and walked away without looking at the girl.

The stall owner blushed and stole glances at Xia Tingyu's back.

Xia Tingyu looked at Wu Mao: "I'm not going. What's there to deal with about that captain in the Prince's mansion? Father can handle it. On the contrary, I definitely want to join in the fun at Wang Mang's mansion, especially to catch a glimpse of that silly girl."

Wu Mao was speechless: "I told the old man and the others that you were going to the Prince's Mansion. It's not safe outside now."

Xia Tingyu retorted, "Isn't it safe with Uncle here?"

Wu Mao thought for a moment, not daring to be careless, so he nodded: "It's really not safe. Although the old man killed a few elders of the Zoroastrian Church that day, the most powerful ones are all hiding. I've punched one of them a few times, and he's a bit troublesome. If it's just one, it'll be fine, but if there's one more, I'll be in trouble."

Xia Tingyu, however, disagreed and asked in return, "Didn't Uncle say the other day that the guy's punches weren't that strong, and that he was just relying on his numbers?"

Wu Mao immediately said, "Is it not impressive? I just mentioned someone and I'm fine."

Xia Tingyu revealed a bewitching smile, causing the passersby to stare in bewilderment for no apparent reason.

After laughing, Xia Tingyu said, "If Grandpa Wu heard this, he would say that you are trying to imitate Liu Fenggu from Liuyue Village, but your knife skills are lacking, while your words are too stubborn."

Wu Mao said, "The old man isn't here."

Xia Tingyu chuckled and then said, "It's alright, it's safe. After all, we're going to Wang Mang's residence. Besides, I have some questions for Wang Mang and a few words for his silly daughter. After we've asked and said them, we'll leave, whatever they want to do."

Wu Mao frowned: "What if we run into Madam Chen, who's proposing marriage, and Xia Ruoyun?"

Xia Tingyu smiled and said, "I want to run into them. It would be best if I could meet Zhang Zi; I'd like to ask him a few questions."

Wu Mao frowned: "Your Highness, the old poisoner is still a few days away from arriving. We must not alert him now."

Xia Tingyu immediately said, "If Zhang Zi had run away, he would have run away long ago. I just want to see what tricks he has up his sleeve. He knows that his master has murderous intentions towards him, yet he still stays safely in the city."

Wu Mao frowned, but didn't say anything more, just nodded.

Zhang Zi's ability to conceal his inner energy and his escape techniques are unparalleled, but his skills in actual combat are still somewhat lacking.

Even if Zhang Zi suddenly attacks, he is confident that he will not let Xia Tingyu get hurt.

Xia Tingyu raised her eyes and noticed someone selling a very beautiful Western Region silk gauze by the roadside. She immediately ran over to look at the azure blue silk gauze.

Then he turned to Wu Mao and asked, "Uncle, do you think he'll like it?"

Wu Mao curled his lip. "You didn't even tell me who it is, how am I supposed to know! This girl has become so neurotic!"
……

Wang Mang was sitting in the main hall when guests arrived at his home.

Dian Junming was his equal.

Dian Junming showed no airs of a guest, casually sitting in a chair and looking at Wang Mang, he said, "I hear that girl Fuwei is still causing trouble?"

Wang Mang did not answer, but instead picked up his teacup and asked, "Aren't you afraid that coming here will displease the prince?"

Dian Junming laughed and said, "Your Highness doesn't care about that. Besides, it's broad daylight. We've come, so what? If Your Highness asks, we're not doing anything wrong."

Wang Mang continued, "Let's get straight to the point. I don't have much time for idle chatter."

Dian Junming looked at Wang Mang: "Guo Fu came to me and asked what my chances of winning against Zhu Huang were."

Wang Mang looked at Dian Junming, his expression indifferent: "Did you answer?"

Dian Junming shook his head: "If I answer that, it will give them a reason to accuse me of rebellion. I'm not stupid. They'll be jumping around all over the place. Don't come after me."

Wang Mang took a sip of tea and roughly guessed Dian Junming's intentions, so he said, "He didn't come to see me, but Shen Yue came to see me and asked if there was any news about the people from the Western Regions."

Dian Junming nodded: "He also went to look for that kid Zhi'en, but how can he find him? Everyone says that Lu Shan is right next to us. If someone helps us hide him, how can we find him?"

Wang Mang did not rush to answer, but looked at the old nanny who had come to the door, and said, "Speak."

The old nanny glanced at Dian Junming and then looked at Wang Mang: "Master, Miss is threatening to hang herself again."

Wang Mang said, "Tie him up, and remember to stuff his mouth with silk."

The old woman nodded, then turned and hurried away.

Dian Junming looked at Wang Mang and said, "Why is he making such a fuss? It seems he's truly infatuated with the Second Prince."

Wang Mang didn't say anything, but looked at Dian Junming and said, "If you have nothing else to do, you should leave."

Dian Junming immediately became displeased: "I came to your residence and you're telling me to turn me away?"

Wang Mang didn't speak, but his gaze fell on the servants and steward who rushed over. "Don't tell me about the young lady's affairs. Just do what you did before."

The steward immediately said, "Master, it's not about Miss, it's about Madam Chen. Madam Chen from the Prince's Mansion has come with the Second Prince."

Wang Mang did not hesitate at all: "I will not see you."

……

P.S.: I was busy all day and rushed back to update in the evening, so it's late. There will be a second update.
(End of this chapter)