Chapter 253: Different Plans
Prince Chu was overjoyed upon hearing this and immediately said, “As the Mister predicted, this humble prince can escape this predicament.”
“Your Highness, do not rejoice too soon. Escaping the current hardship is only a temporary relief,” Hua Ying said. “Not making long-term plans is ultimately unsustainable.”
“What the Mister says is absolutely true. This humble prince was short-sighted before,” Prince Chu said humbly. “I hope the Mister will not hesitate to speak his mind due to my ignorance.”
“Your Highness, please rest assured. Since the Tutor sent me, I will only do my utmost,” Mister Hua Ying said. “There is also one matter Your Highness should know: the King of Fenye has come to the Capital City intending to select a husband for his daughter from among the two Heirs Apparent.”
“Oh? There’s such a thing!” Prince Chu exclaimed in surprise. “No wonder they were so aggressive!”
Next, Prince Chu spoke a great deal of heartfelt gratitude and ordered his servants to quickly prepare dinner, which he would share with Mister Hua Ying.
Meanwhile, Princess Consort Chu was naturally delighted to hear that Mister Hua Ying from San Jing Academy had come to visit. Her previous gloom vanished, and she personally led her servants to clean and arrange accommodations for Mister Hua Ying.
Not to mention Prince Chu’s side, the Liu Family was in chaos.
The Prince of Liu was not in the Capital City at the moment; the Heir Apparent, Liu Yuchun, was in charge of the household.
Today, he had been impeached in the Imperial Court. Although no final verdict had been reached, he had indeed committed the act, making him inevitably uneasy.
Upon returning home, his wife, Wei Shi, learned of it and couldn’t help but weep, “I told you to be more discreet and not give them leverage, why couldn’t you be more careful?”
“What you’re saying is, they deliberately sought trouble; did I hand them the leverage on a silver platter?” Liu Yuchun was already annoyed, and his wife’s outburst only made him more vexed.
“What does Prince Chu say? We got into trouble while working for them; are they just going to wash their hands of it?” Wei Shi said, wiping her tears. “In my opinion, they are the ones who offended people, and now you have to take the blame?”
“There’s no final verdict yet! His Highness will surely find a way; don’t make such a fuss first,” Liu Yuchun said. “No wonder the Sage said that only women and petty people are difficult to deal with.”
As they were speaking, Liu Yuchun’s Mother, Jiang Shi, and his younger sister, Liu Huanchun, also arrived.
Seeing them, Liu Yuchun felt his head swell even more. He thought to himself that indeed, the older the ginger, the spicier it is. His father had gone away to seek peace, leaving these three troublesome women to him.
“I said it, we should have gone to the Heavenly King Temple to burn incense long ago,” Liu Huanchun said as soon as she entered. “But Sister-in-law doesn’t believe in Buddhism properly. Last month, my nephew broke his hand, and now my brother is in such trouble; aren’t you alarmed yet?”
“My dear sister, you are truly wronging me. While I may not have burned incense at every temple, I have never insulted monks or slandered the Dao. You, sister, are so devout, yet you haven’t married a suitable husband? Which temple haven’t you visited?” Wei Shi was no pushover either. Her sister-in-law, in her late twenties and still unmarried, had become a laughingstock in the entire Capital City.
Yet, she remained oblivious, causing trouble both inside and outside the home, and often stirring up trouble with her mother-in-law.
In the first few years after entering the family, she was a young bride, timid and not prone to arguments. Furthermore, having given birth to a daughter first, she lacked confidence. But ever since giving birth to Liu Chuanbin, she no longer tolerated this sister-in-law. After a few confrontations, they were evenly matched, yet neither was willing to concede to the other.
“All of you, be quiet! It’s not the time for this!” Jiang Shi scolded angrily. “People say that harmony in the home leads to prosperity. With you two squabbling like chickens and geese every day, can there be peace?”
The two then fell silent.
Fearing his mother’s worry, Liu Yuchun said, “His Highness spoke with me after the court session; he will find a way to handle this matter. It’s nothing more than spending money to avert disaster; at worst, we’ll return the twenty thousand silver to them.”
“This matter might not be impossible to resolve, but I am worried if someone will pursue further repercussions,” Jiang Shi, being older, thought more deeply. “Since the person who impeached you knew the details, how could they not know that Prince Chu is behind you?
Who among the civil and military officials in the court dares to impeach Prince Chu? How many are there? Have you not considered this?”
“Mother means…” Liu Yuchun’s fear grew as he considered this. “Prince Zhao made the move?”
Wei Shi couldn’t help but exclaim, “We haven’t offended Prince Zhao either! We’ve paid respects during every festival; why would he target us?”
“Did you get stupid from giving birth?” Liu Yuchun glared at her. “You pay respects to them, but they might not take you seriously. In the end, it’s because Prince Zhao and Prince Chu have a rift that they are using us as a tool.”
“Then… then what should we do? Let’s go beg Prince Zhao and the Princess Consort now! Ask them to be lenient.” Wei Shi certainly knew how powerful Prince Zhao was, let alone with the Dong Family added.
“Idiot, you can even say something like that.” Jiang Shi actually looked down on this daughter-in-law a bit. She had originally fancied her elder sister, but Miss Wei had a short life; she passed away right after their engagement was finalized, so this one was brought in as a replacement.
“This… what’s wrong with that?” Wei Shi asked, her eyes wide. “We have leverage in their hands; if we don’t beg them, what else can we do?”
“Hush, you! Stop giving foolish advice.” Liu Yuchun glared at her again. “Going to beg Prince Zhao at this moment is equivalent to betraying Prince Chu! Even if this matter passes, we will have offended Prince Chu. Do you think Prince Zhao will favor us because of this? Stop dreaming!”
“Then… then let’s go find Prince Chu!” Wei Shi was not giving up. “He’s the one who asked us to do it.”
“We cannot go to Prince Chu about this either,” Jiang Shi said. “They didn’t use us for free; we shared the silver. If not for today’s incident, would you dare say we didn’t benefit?”
“Mother is right,” Liu Yuchun said. “I understand now too. Since the incident has already happened, let’s try to minimize the damage. We’ll take out some silver and find someone to take the blame. As long as they stick to their story and don’t change, I don’t think it will be too bad.”
“My child, thinking this way is correct,” Jiang Shi nodded. “By doing this, Prince Chu will surely think highly of us. If this storm passes, they will trust us even more in the future. As for Prince Zhao, we will pretend to know nothing from beginning to end, and things will surely pass on the surface. If it really escalates, we will have to sacrifice a pawn to save the king; ultimately, our foundation will not be harmed.”
Princess Consort Zhao had also heard about the events in the Imperial Court. When Prince Zhao returned that day, she said, “You said a few days ago that you wanted to put Prince Chu in his place; was he intimidated?”
“Naturally, he must be intimidated,” Prince Zhao smiled. “Actually, I didn’t intend to do anything to him, just to make him restrain himself.”
“This matter will surely drag on for a few more days,” Princess Consort Zhao said. “Even if we can’t do anything to Prince Chu in the end, we must reach a conclusion. Otherwise, they will not truly fear us.”
“I know this, don’t worry,” Prince Zhao said. “I was thinking it would be best if there was a way to get that Ying Bai out of the Palace. Then, even if they are not at ease, they will have no hope.”
