Chapter 257: Sisters’ Words
Ying Tong was naturally not seriously ill; he was more unwilling to see people.
He certainly felt the distance and coldness from Princess Duanmin and the others, and wanted to ignore it.
But in the end, he was still a child, so he had to use some deliberate methods to avoid them.
Princess Consort Zhao came in and first touched her son’s forehead: “Don’t make the room too hot, it’s about right.”
She then asked Ying Tong, “Do you feel like eating? What do you want to eat? I brought some of your favorite dim sum from home, and it’s still warm.”
Ying Tong was not seriously ill to begin with. Seeing his mother arrive with his favorite food, he sat up.
After he finished eating, Princess Consort Zhao cautioned him again, “Even though you’re sick, there are some things I need to tell you. You know I can’t come to the palace every day, so you must take my words to heart.
I advised you some days ago, but you wouldn’t listen. Look at you now, haven’t things turned out as I said?
Ying Bai is much more cunning than you. Look at how he’s often with Princess Duanmin and Zhuola Han. As the saying goes, ‘near the water, one gets the moon first.’ Don’t take it lightly again.”
“He likes being the Imperial Son-in-law, let him be. I don’t care!” Ying Tong was still being stubborn.
“Why won’t you listen, child? I’ve told you it’s not as simple as marrying Zhuola Han. Do you think the hundreds of thousands of cavalry on the grassland are a joke?
If you continue to be disobedient, when your maternal grandfather returns, I’ll tell him and have him teach you a good lesson!” Princess Consort Zhao had no choice but to bring up her father.
Indeed, when Ying Tong heard his mother mention Grand Tutor Dong, he couldn’t help but become more disciplined.
Although Grand Tutor Dong was his maternal grandfather, he was also someone the Emperor respected. How could he not be afraid?
But he also found it difficult: “How can I please that shrewish princess? You know Ying Bai is more cunning than me.”
Princess Consort Zhao couldn’t help but sigh when she heard this, saying, “I know this is difficult for you, but at least you should appear to be okay. I’ll go and speak with the Empress later to see if there’s a better method.”
Speaking of which, she looked at the sky and said, “I haven’t paid my respects to the Empress yet, and I can’t stay here too long. You should take good care of yourself, recover quickly, and do what you need to do. You can’t always hide in your room and not see people.”
She then instructed the people accompanying her before getting up and heading to the Empress’s Palace.
At this time, the Empress was preparing to have lunch. The attendants by her side had already informed her that Princess Consort Zhao and Princess Consort Chu had entered the palace.
Princess Consort Zhao arrived at the Empress’s Palace, but unexpectedly, Princess Consort Chu had also just arrived, and the two bumped into each other.
“What a coincidence,” Princess Consort Zhao smiled. “I heard the Grand Princess and the others were having roast meat. Sister must have eaten meat and come over.”
“You guessed it right, Sister. I think no matter how clever people are, they can’t outsmart heaven. Many things that seem like coincidences are actually fate,” Princess Consort Chu smiled even more heartily. “Then let’s go in together to pay our respects to Her Ladyship the Empress!”
“Did you two arrange to come to the palace together today? I thought that in this cold weather, you might not be willing to go out.” The Empress was wearing a silver fox vest, and a large golden peony hairpin adorned her hair bun, with a rare purple pearl inlaid in the center of the flower.
“It’s precisely because the snow is fresh that we thought of coming to the palace to pay our respects to Your Ladyship. We have people from our mansion who brought fresh game this morning, which has already been delivered to the Imperial Kitchen,” said Princess Consort Chu.
“You are thoughtful. Did you know if you sent any to the Grand Princess and the others?” the Empress asked. “Did you come from that direction?”
“I originally thought that you and Princess Consort Zhao would have some intimate talk, so I went over there first. Who knew that I would circle around and run into Sister here,” Princess Consort Chu explained with a smile.
“This is a good time. Both of you stay and have lunch with me!” the Empress said.
“I dare not hide it from Your Ladyship, I ate something over there. After paying my respects to Your Ladyship, I should leave the palace. Besides, I still smell of smoke, and I’m afraid of offending Your Ladyship. Let Sister accompany Your Ladyship for lunch!” Princess Consort Chu was still as respectful and docile in front of the Empress as before.
“That’s fine. We are family, so there’s no need for too many rules. You can do as you please,” the Empress said.
After Princess Consort Chu left, Princess Consort Zhao sneered, “Does Your Ladyship know that Princess Duanmin and Prince Chu’s Heir Apparent are very close now!”
The Empress was unconcerned, merely saying, “You know Duanmin’s temperament. She resents me in her heart. Knowing that I am close to Tong’er, she deliberately treats Ying Bai well.”
“But I vaguely heard that the King of Fenye came this time wanting to choose a son-in-law for his daughter. Could it be that he has taken a liking to Ying Bai?” This matter was now causing Princess Consort Zhao great anxiety. If she didn’t bring it up to the Empress now, she wouldn’t be able to sleep.
“Who said that?” The Empress frowned upon hearing this. “How come I don’t know about this?”
“Your Ladyship truly hasn’t heard anything? I’ve heard such rumors from many places,” Princess Consort Zhao said quickly. “After Ying Bai won the horse race at the last palace banquet, his family’s situation has been completely different from before. Perhaps they are still respectful in front of His Majesty and Your Ladyship, but their tone when speaking to us has changed greatly.”
Hearing her say this, the Empress did not immediately believe it. After all, Ying Bai had indeed stolen Ying Tong’s thunder, and it was understandable for Princess Consort Zhao to be dissatisfied.
She asked her, “Didn’t you host a banquet at home some days ago and invite the King of Fenye and Duanmin? Didn’t you discuss this matter at the table?”
“Naturally, I couldn’t ask directly, but I did try to probe indirectly. However, they both deliberately avoided the topic. I thought there must be something. If there wasn’t, wouldn’t they just say so?” This also made Princess Consort Zhao uneasy. Their evasiveness suggested they likely didn’t favor her son, and feared the embarrassment of saying so.
“You don’t need to worry too much. Marriage requires the agreement of both parties. With His Majesty and me here, we will certainly advocate for Tong’er,” the Empress said. “You are good in other ways, but you are too impatient. Nothing has happened outside yet, and you’re already panicking.”
“With Your Ladyship advocating for me, what do I have to fear?” Princess Consort Zhao smiled a little sheepishly. “I’m just afraid Tong’er will embarrass your sister.”
“Do you know about the Liu family’s affairs? There’s a commotion going on in the front court about this matter, and I find it somewhat suspicious,” the Empress said, gently rubbing her face with a jade ruler.
Ancient books say that fine jade can eliminate blemishes. Regularly rubbing jade on the skin can make it white, smooth, and radiant.
Princess Consort Zhao felt a little guilty upon hearing this, but she couldn’t tell the Empress the truth.
So she said, “I’ve never paid attention to matters of the court. Who knows what they are arguing about!”
