At the back garden of Princess Royal.
Bai Yihao came here to say goodbye to Princess Royal. As the aunt of Bai Yihao, it’s normal for Princess Royal to talk intimately and personally to him, and hence she ushered all her servants out, with only Princess Royal’s nanny, Nanny Qin, guarding the door. The conversation inside made Nanny Qin shudder in fear.
That was nothing like the intimate conversation between an aunt and her nephew, it’s clearly…
The voices in the inner hall were not loud, with a certain kind of gracefulness and composure even though they were talking about a topic that devastated others. Nanny Qin suppressed the chill in her heart and stood further away, cautiously monitoring situations outside the room. She was afraid that someone could be eavesdropping and use the information to hurt Princess Royal.
“Aunt, did you forget the hatred we had before? Did you forget your parents, who sent you into the imperial family just to save your life? Aunt, do you still remember the sister that loved you? The one that ran away and died far away just to protect you?” Bai Yihao took the teacup beside him and drank, explaining casually. The meaning behind his sentences hit Princess Royal like a thousand-pound hammer, pouncing on his heart multiple times.
Each time, it hit the softest part of her heart!
Princess Royal, who sat opposite him, was all pale, her fingers on the tabletop trembling and unconsciously convulsing. Her illness had turned better but she was still pale for she had been to the palace these few days to visit Empress Dowager. Now, there was no trace of blood flowing in her face.
“Hao’er, must you really do this?” She took a deep breath and picked up her teacup with trembling hands. She sipped at it and asked anxiously, raising up her head, taking advantage of the heat that the tea brought her.
That was an intimate call of his name that she had never used before!
“Aunt, do you really not care about all those bloody feuds we had? Are all these lives lose irrelevant to you? Did all the years of extravagant life made you forget the feud from your birth parents? Aunt, if our grandfather didn’t pass away last time, you will still be a princess, a proper and official princess. You need not live so humbly all these years, not able to interfere in even your sister’s death.” Bai Yihao explained coldly.
“Hao’er…” Princess Royal could not suppress her painful expression as the fingers holding on to the teacup trembled. Her expression was sad and bitter. “I…”
“If Aunt was unwilling to do it, I will avenge for my grandfather, grandmother, mother and aunt myself! I shall burden all the responsibilities, and you just need to be the princess of Great Qin, enjoying the luxurious life brought by the blood of your loved ones.” Bai Yihao stood up indifferently, completely disregarding Princess Royal, who had a stiff expression. She bowed to Princess Royal and just left, ignoring her.
“Hao’er, Hao’er…” As if hit by something heavy, Princess Royal stood up immediately. She tried to grab onto Bai Yihao’s hand but he casually pushed her away.
“Don’t worry about me, Aunt, I am fine. I have so many responsibilities and burdens! How can I let something happen to myself since I’m the only one left!” Bai Yihao stood away, his handsome face bearing a cold smile. He seemed to be smiling peacefully but there was no warmth in his smile, which made Princess Royal even more heartbroken.
Seeing Bai Yihao turning away, Princess Royal chased out and almost fell. She then turned around and started coughing loudly.
“Your Highness, Your Highness, what happened to you?” From the door, Nanny Qin rushed in and supported the weak Princess Royal.
Princess Royal coughed heavily, covering her mouth with her handkerchief. She then said difficultly, “Help me into the inner room.”
A light touch of blood was seen from the handkerchief. Seeing that, she tightened her grip on the handkerchief.
Seeing her fragility, Nanny Qin felt sad and dared not disobey her. She carefully brought her to the inner room and helped her lean down on her bed.
“Nanny Qin, Hao’er insists on revenge. Later, tell him that he can use my men like his!” Princess Royal untied her blouse, taking out a tiny jade piece from inside. It was merely the size of a finger and was shaped cylindrically, with jade being crystal clear. “Since I won’t use them anyways, I’ll give it to him!”
“Princess, this is to save your life, how can you…” Nanny Qin was shocked and kneeled down, pulling on Princess Royal’s hand, preventing her from pulling the jade piece off.
“It is useless to me and is merely an accessory in my hands, and can only be used to evoke jealousy. I am not an official princess and should not have men secretly under my wing! Others will say that I am not loyal to the imperial family! I shall gift it to Hao’er as my good wishes.” Princess Royal looked into the air with sorrow and despair. “Hao’er would hate me less! If not for me, my First Sister would not need to run away.”
“What happened before had nothing to do with Princess yourself. His Excellency and her lady had clearly told you that everything was unrelated to the Princess. The fight for the throne in the imperial family was neither feuds nor blessing. His Excellency planned to dethrone the previous Emperor and that was his fault. He would not want Princess to avenge him just because of his death! All these had nothing to do with the Princess!” Nanny Qin hurriedly comforted the Princess.
Many years had passed since then and Nanny Qin did not want the past memories to hurt Princess again. After all, she was merely a woman and her thoughts could change little. The fight for the throne was deadly and emotionless, and His Excellency was clear on this, having provided a way out for the Princess.
For so many years, the Princess had been raised by Empress Dowager, who doted and loved Princess greatly to the extent that even the Emperor doted the Princess. After so many years of affection, the Princess had been stuck in an emotional dilemma. How could she hurt them?
“Nanny, say no more. Give this to Hao’er, he will naturally know what to do with it. He is in a difficult position now too. Fifth Princess was now married to the First Prince of Yan Kingdom. As a proper princess, she must have several secret guards that are competent. After returning to his homeland, Hao’er must be under a lot of pressure. As an aunt, I have little to help him other than manpower.” Princess Royal pushed Nanny Qin aside, pulling the string on the jade piece off and explained with resolution.
No matter what would happen, she had to protect Hao’er as he was the only bloodline left from her older sister. In her memory, her older sister was always gentle and Bai Yihao’s gentle eyes reminded her of her older sister, making her impossible to resist him. “Go, give it to Hao’er! If you are late, he will be gone! Don’t make me worried!”
“Yes, Princess!” Seeing the determination in Princess Royal’s eyes, Nanny Qin knew that any persuasion would be useless. She took the jade piece and turned away, teary.
It was at the imperial palace.
It was at Cining Palace.
Empress Dowager was sitting in her bed looking well. She had just drunk her medicine and was a little tired. Waving her hand, the servants and eunuchs knew that Empress Dowager wanted to rest and retreated. The last one carefully closed her door and stood at a place two steps away from the door.
The position was perfect!
If Empress Dowager wanted to call for him, she only needed to raise her voice. If she was talking to someone, he could not hear what she said clearly.
“Has King Ning arrived in Yan Kingdom yet?” In the vast and empty hall, only lead eunuch Yu was by the side of Empress Dowager. He had been beaten a few days ago and was still limping. Hearing Empress Dowager’s question, he hurried over and answered quietly.
“His Royal Highness King Ning had arrived in Yan Kingdom, returning to our country soon. Please rest assured, Empress Dowager.”
“Well, when Zhen’er enters the palace, let the Emperor order for him to marry the second miss from General Manor. She is pretty and has a good personality. If she is true to Zhen’er, it will not be difficult for him to obtain that position.” Empress Dowager nodded satisfyingly.
“Empress Dowager, what about the Wang family?” Eunuch Yu asked respectfully.
Wang Xiuxiu and King Ning had been having affairs for a long while, even bringing their affairs to fruition. They had originally wanted to bring Wang Xiuxiu in as the second consort of King Ning, with the child in her heart to pacify the Wang family. Even though the second miss of Luo family was now the proper wife of King Ning, a son that Feng Yuzhen liked would propel Wang Xiuxiu to a high position in the palace once the matter had been completed.
Then, it would be just a simple order to get rid of Luo Mingzhu.
Therefore, even if they were not to grant Wang family the position of proper wife, they would not say anything about it.
However, the situation was different now. Wang Xiuxiu was now carried into King Yan’s manor, making the matter more confusing!
“Later, let someone go to Grand Secretariat Wang to inform him that I said this. When King Ning returned, he would marry the second miss of Wang family as a second consort. If Wang Xiuxiu does give birth to a child, the child will be under the name of the second miss of the Wang family. Tell him to rest assured that with Zhen’er’s ability, this matter can be easily accomplished.”
With a daughter married to King Yan and another married to King Ning, it would seem that King Yan was in favor as the elder proper daughter married King Yan. However, the child in the womb of this proper elder daughter belonged to King Ning. She believed that the Grand Secretariat Wang would be clear about who he should support. Empress Dowager promised to bring the child over to King Yan. She spoke nothing about the mother but implied that King Ning would settle her business.
With the power of King Ning, it would not be hard for him to protect a woman!
At that instance, both of the daughters would belong to King Ning, and Empress Dowager was sure that Grand Secretariat Wang would be clear about the situation and knew who he should support.
“Yes, I shall send someone to explain to him.” Eunuch Yu nodded and retreated, limping.
“Did Consort Yu came today?” Empress Dowager stopped his retreat.
“Madame Consort Yu came once today. However, she didn’t disturb you when she knew you were resting. She promised to be back again later.” Eunuch Yu replied.
Ever since Consort Yu was released from the Cold Palace, she always came to pay respects to the Empress Dowager every morning and night and was even more diligent than the Empress. She was never late, coming regardless of rain or shine. Even the Emperor praised her filial piety and her gracefulness, stating her as a model for all in the harem to learn. She was well rewarded and was doted by the Emperor even more so before she was banished to the Cold Palace. Furthermore, the child in her womb propelled her to become the most doted consort in the palace, even more doted than Consort Zhao.
“Treat her well when she comes over later. Wake me up if I fall asleep as I have something to talk to her about.” Empress Dowager explained slowly, a cold sly smile flashing across her eyes. “I hope that Consort Yu can make me more pleased this time.”
“Yes, I understand!”
