Chapter 312: Sorry
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Longsheng Great Eldest Princess was the elder sister of Emperor Wen, born of the same mother as Emperor Wen and Zhongshan Wang. This Eldest Princess, when she was young, was greatly favored as the eldest legitimate daughter. Later, when Emperor Wen ascended the throne, he treated her with great respect because she was his only full-blooded elder sister. Coming from a prestigious family, she was gentle and refined by nature, and everyone treated her with deference. Therefore, she was a person who never went back on her word.
If there was anything unpleasant, it was that after Emperor Wen’s death, her nephew Emperor Zhengqian didn’t listen to her. Several times he rejected her requests to increase her land and estates and to bestow titles on her children. His reasons were always righteous, citing various examples from the previous dynasty and the difficulties faced by the country and its people. He basically accused her of being too greedy and never satisfied.
The Eldest Princess was very dissatisfied and went to the palace to find the then Empress Dowager, now Great Empress Dowager, to complain. She cried and vented her grievances, saying that Emperor Zhengqian was disrespectful and didn’t love her. She recounted how Emperor Wen had treated her so well when he was alive.
The Great Empress Dowager listened to her complaints without any expression and then slowly said, “The past is past, the present is present. Although the world belongs to the Yuwen family, the Emperor can’t just do whatever he wants. If the Eldest Princess can’t help the Emperor, it’s fine, but causing trouble for him is not good. Otherwise, if everyone follows your example, the properties allocated to princesses for marriage won’t be enough.”
The Eldest Princess had never been treated like this before and immediately fainted on the stone floor of Changxin Palace. The Great Empress Dowager wasn’t in a hurry. She called a royal physician to diagnose and treat her, and then had her sent back to the princess mansion very politely.
Since then, the Eldest Princess had a falling out with Emperor Zhengqian and the Great Empress Dowager. There were rumors that when Emperor Zhengqian died prematurely, she laughed heartily at home, called for musicians to play and sing, and reveled in various joys. Of course, this was just a rumor, because no one caught her in the act, otherwise she would have been charged with great disrespect long ago.
When the young Emperor Yuwen Bai ascended the throne, she became active again, but she preferred to go to Zhaoyang Palace rather than Changxin Palace. Relying on her special status and the prestige of her younger brother, Zhongshan Wang, she rallied a group of people in the royal family, openly and secretly supporting Emperor Yuwen Bai and his mother, aiming to challenge the Great Empress Dowager and avenge the past humiliation.
Because she had a good relationship with Zhaoyang Palace, she was definitely going to invite the Min family today. While she might only invite a few important people from the Fu family, she invited almost anyone with a bit of face from the Min family.
When Mingzhu and Yuwen Chu arrived, there was already a bustling scene outside the gates of the Eldest Princess’s mansion, with many people waiting in line to enter. Mingzhu knew very well about the grievances between the Eldest Princess and the Great Empress Dowager, couldn’t help but smile and say, “It’s really lively, aren’t most of the officials from the capital here?”
Yuwen Chu looked out through the window and said calmly, “Indeed, almost half of them are here. Among these people, some are from Zhongshan Wang’s side, some are from the Min family, and some are loyal to the Great Empress Dowager.” And some are loyal to him.
Everyone’s motives were not simple. Mingzhu propped up her chin and asked Yuwen Chu, “Your Highness, do you suspect that the person in charge of digging the secret tunnels and setting up various contact points in the capital is the Eldest Princess?”
Yuwen Chu smiled and didn’t directly answer her question, only saying, “Longsheng Great Eldest Princess is not as simple as she appears on the surface. From the time she became a princess, she knew how to win people’s hearts. Later, as a Eldest Princess, she became even more scheming. As the Great Eldest Princess now, she’s not just scheming. She repeatedly asks for benefits not because she lacks money, but because she has too many people to support and too many things to do. When the money really isn’t enough, she has to shamelessly ask for it everywhere. The Emperor is not a cruel person. The reason he treats her like this is also to limit her. She’s reached too far.”
That’s how it is! Mingzhu suddenly realized, feeling that she had been quite foolish back then. She only knew how to eat, drink, and have fun, talk about love and anger, and didn’t have a clue about anything else. She had even overlooked someone as formidable as Longsheng Great Eldest Princess, naively thinking she was just an old princess who liked to argue with her aunt. Who would have thought that her talents and ambitions far exceeded hers by miles, and she was not a petty person at all, but was involved in national affairs.
Seeing Mingzhu lost in thought, Yuwen Chu smiled and said, “It’s not too late to know now. Be careful when you enter the mansion. Don’t eat or use anything from her mansion. Don’t feel embarrassed. If you’re hungry, eat what we brought. Don’t go anywhere alone. Whenever you want to return to the mansion, let someone inform me, and we’ll leave immediately.”
Mingzhu wondered, “Did we bring food ourselves? Why don’t I know?”
Yuwen Chu said calmly, “Of course we did. You’re a patient, so it’s normal for your diet to be different from theirs. You’ve come here despite being so ill just to show your support at such a joyous occasion. How much face must she have? So even if you act a little out of line, she shouldn’t blame you, right? Otherwise, it would be disrespectful to the elderly and narrow-minded!”
He had already prepared the reasons for her! Mingzhu couldn’t help but laugh, “That’s right, I’m a patient. It’s normal for patients to have some peculiar habits.”
While they were talking, the servants of the Eldest Princess’s mansion had already driven away the vehicles lower in rank than those of the royal prince’s mansion, making way for the royal prince’s carriage to pass through. Their carriage entered the mansion through the wide central gate, where the Changshi of the mansion and the Eldest Princess’s husband personally came up to greet them.
At this point, Yuwen Chu had to part ways with Mingzhu. Female guests went inside, and male guests went outside. The polite and courteous son-in-law of the Eldest Princess invited Mingzhu into the mansion, while Mingzhu pretended to casually glance at the entourage and noticed that the little maid who had been mixed in with the maidservants was nowhere to be seen. She knew she had probably slipped in silently, so she didn’t care anymore and leisurely walked inside with Zheng Momo and the others.
But just as they took a few steps, Yuwen Chu stopped them. He earnestly said to the Eldest Princess’s husband, “She hasn’t fully recovered yet. I told her not to come, but she insisted, saying that such happy occasions are rare in the royal family and she must come to show her support. But look at her, she’s out of breath after just one step. Can you arrange a sedan chair or a soft carriage for her…”
Mingzhu originally thought of herself as strong as an ox, but when he said that, she suddenly felt like she was indeed gasping for breath after every step. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be fair to him for telling such blatant lies, so she had to pretend to pat her chest and say, “Your Highness, please stop. With so many guests, and many elders from the royal family also here, how can I?”
Yuwen Chu said naturally, “This is at your aunt’s house, what’s there to be embarrassed about?”
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