Volume 2: Residence in the Capital Chapter 216: Petty
In the Qianqing Palace, noble sons and officials were summoned one after another, staying for a while or a long time. The Qingning Palace was much quieter. However, it was not like usual, where most of the time there was only the empress dowager, and few concubines came to accompany her. At most, Zhu Ying came to the palace and talked about everything without restraint. But there were two more princesses and two more county ladies.
However, even Zhu Ying sat there with her head down, looking unhappy. Others either didn't like to talk, were not in the mood to talk, or didn't dare to talk, so the atmosphere naturally became stiff and stagnant. The Queen Mother had been in the palace for so many years, but she was the one who could sit still the most. She didn't care about this kind of silence, so the palace servants had to be more cautious and light-footed.
"Queen Mother, the eldest son of Duke Qin, Zhang Chen, and the second son of Duke Zhao, Zhu Tingjie, have entered together. They are the last two."
When the female official Yuquan's quiet report came from outside, Zhu Ying, who had been sitting there like a statue, suddenly came to life. She sat up straight and asked impatiently, "Aunt Yuquan, shouldn't we meet each one at a time? Why did the rule change when it came to my second brother and Zhang Chen's turn? Do you know what the emperor and Ah Shou said?"
As Zhu Ying spoke, she stood up, but when she moved, a book beside her fell to the ground with a snap. Seeing Princess Yongping looking at her strangely, Princess Deyang looking unbearable, and the two princesses staring in amazement, she picked up the book as if nothing had happened and put it directly into her sleeve.
It turned out that she was not in a daze with her head down just now, but was using this dazed posture to secretly look at a book that she brought into Qingning Palace from somewhere!
Even the Queen Mother was amused by Zhu Ying's audacious behavior. She immediately scolded her with a smile: "You are such a grown-up girl, yet you still act like a child. When you were taught by the teachers in front of Grand Tutor Ge, you, a little girl, dared to read comic books. How dare you act like this in front of me now!"
I didn't say anything to you when I saw you just now, but you actually revealed such a flaw in public. Aren't you asking for trouble?
Zhu Ying then laughed awkwardly, then whispered, "I came to the palace today and wanted to go to the Qianqing Palace to watch the fun, but my grandmother said that the Empress Dowager would definitely not let me go, so I was afraid of being bored, so I brought a book to read. In fact, I have already finished reading it, it has been more than two hours, and I have read it three times!"
"You're still blaming me for not letting you go to the Palace of Heavenly Purity to watch the fun?" The Queen Mother was simply furious at Zhu Ying's audacity. As for the fact that Mrs. Zhao knew that she would not let anyone go to the Palace of Heavenly Purity, she was not surprised. At the moment, she did not bother to ask about the situation in the Palace of Heavenly Purity, and just shouted with a stern face, "What kind of messed-up book are you reading? Bring it to me and let me see it!"
"That won't do!" Zhu Ying hid her right hand behind her back without saying a word, and said in a naughty manner, "You would definitely scold me if you knew! Besides, it's just an outline, the story isn't even complete yet!" If the empress dowager knew that she had sent someone to trick the Twelve Rains in Tingyu Cottage into giving it to them, and that they had each written a draft of Peach Blossom Fan, telling the story of the head of a brothel, wouldn't they be scolded to death?
Seeing Zhu Ying so blatantly reject the Queen Mother's request, Princess Xinyang and Princess Ninghe, who often visited the palace and knew that Zhu Ying was very favored, could not help but secretly smack their lips. Princess Deyang saw that the Queen Mother's eyebrows were raised, and she seemed to be about to slap the armrest in anger, so she quickly stood up and advised: "Queen Mother, you don't know Yingying's temper, so don't be angry with her!"
Princess Yongping watched coldly and saw that the two princesses also hurriedly joined the ranks of persuading and pleading, while the empress dowager half-jokingly and half-falsely put away her anger and just glared at Zhu Ying angrily. She was already bored and did not want to stay here any longer.
However, she also knew that the Empress Dowager kept them in Qingning Palace just to prevent her father from wanting them to personally see the candidates, which would be embarrassing if the news got out. So no matter what excuse she made, she could not leave. She stood up quietly and told a palace servant that she was going to the bathroom.
However, when she left the noisy front hall and came to the purification room at the back, she bumped into another palace maid, who was just using this as an excuse. She was not a calculative person, but when she thought about the fact that she could not avoid getting married and would have to live an ordinary life with a husband and children in the future, she was already full of anger. At this moment, she staggered back two steps and couldn't help but yelled.
"How do you walk like that?"
The maid fell to her knees in panic, then knelt forward and apologized: "Princess, it was my fault for not paying attention. I deserve to die!" Seeing that there were only two maids of Princess Yongping around, she suddenly threw a ball of paper at Princess Yongping's feet with extremely fast movements. Then, she got up with extremely agile movements and ran away.
Princess Yongping was furious when she felt something dropped at her feet and someone suddenly ran away. The two palace maids following her did not hesitate to chase after him. She was about to call for help, but she didn't know where the impulse came from. She took a step back, bent down, picked up the paper ball on the ground, and then unfolded it after a moment's hesitation.
When she glanced at the contents, she was stunned.
"My mother has been a nun for so many years. If you don't want to get married, why don't you follow Princess Taiping's example and become a nun for a few years?"
Princess Yongping had originally decided to hand the note to the Queen Mother immediately, but when she recognized the familiar handwriting, she hesitated. This was clearly Zhu Ying's handwriting, and she had also come up with a very feasible idea to delay time. Moreover, only someone with Zhu Ying's personality would mention the old story of Jiu Niang in Zhaoming Temple so unscrupulously.
Then she thought that although Zhu Ying and she did not get along well, their words and actions were just sharp, and she had never done anything to frame her. She had previously gone to Duke Zhao's mansion and expressed her feelings to the Lady Dowager and Jiu Niang. Perhaps it was they who told Zhu Ying that she did not want to get married. She could not help but hold the ball of paper with mixed feelings, and she felt a little dazed.
But at this moment, she suddenly heard a voice: "Princess, what are you holding in your hand?"
Princess Yongping immediately looked up and saw that the person with a cold face was Yurong, another female official in Qingning Palace who was second only to Yuquan. Her heart skipped a beat and she suddenly realized that the note that had just touched her might be an extremely vicious trap! She did not dare to hesitate and took the note and stuffed it into her mouth without thinking.
However, even though she made the move in a split second, her hand was suddenly clamped firmly just as it reached her mouth. Realizing that Yurong was actually a hidden master, she immediately turned pale, especially when she saw her fingers being ruthlessly pried open one by one and the tightly clenched note was taken away, she felt even more depressed.
If she had known this would happen, she would have shown the note to Yurong openly!
Sure enough, after seeing Yurong let go of her hand and unfolded the note to read it, her eyes suddenly turned cold. Princess Yongping didn't know where she got the courage from, and she didn't argue, but looked at her with a defiant look. However, under her cold gaze, Yurong didn't hesitate or feel guilty at all.
"This is a matter of great importance. Princess, please follow me to see the Queen Mother."
Princess Yongping couldn't help but retort, "It's a matter of great importance? Just a note of unknown origin that was thrown at my feet is a matter of great importance? Are you sure that this note was passed to me by Zhu Ying?"
"It is because I don't believe that Miss Zhu would do such a stupid thing that I want to ask the princess to see the Queen Mother as soon as possible. After all, I don't know if the little girl who was chased by the two palace servants who were accompanying the princess will have any accidents."
Princess Yongping was furious when she heard this. Zhu Ying would not do such a stupid thing... Could it be that you want to say that I used such a clumsy way to frame Zhu Ying? The more she thought about it, the more she felt that her mind was confused because of the uncontrolled marriage approaching, and the more she thought about it, the more angry she felt, but she just sneered and then strode ahead.
However, before she reached the front hall, she saw a palace maid suddenly rush out from a side door on the side wall, passed her and ran straight to Yurong behind her, bent her knees and said, "Aunt Rong, the palace maid who was being chased before saw that there was no way to escape, and actually ran into the wall. She fainted now, and we have already rushed to the Imperial Pharmacy and the Imperial Medical Bureau to call for help."
It really is a chain of events...
Ever since Yurong suddenly discovered her, Princess Yongping had a premonition that today's incident would definitely not end well. When she heard the news, she was neither happy nor angry, and walked towards the front hall of Qingning Palace with her head held high as usual. When she realized that Yurong and the palace servant who came over only whispered a few words and immediately followed her closely, she did not look back at all.
Until she reappeared in front of the Queen Mother, Zhu Ying and others, she saw Yurong step forward and whisper a few words to the Queen Mother. She stood there quietly but looked directly at Zhu Ying. She saw that the mortal enemy she had disliked since childhood looked at the Queen Mother in surprise, then looked at her, with an expression of confusion on his face. At that moment, she knew that she had really been wrong before.
If Zhu Ying really wanted to give her such an idea, she would have pulled her aside and told her directly, even in Qingning Palace, without any hesitation, instead of passing such a note that could easily cause trouble. However, she did do something not smart enough, but the moment the paper ball was thrown in front of her, it was doomed that the result would never be good!
The Queen Mother listened to Yurong's story with a calm expression. She was not much moved even when she mentioned that a young palace maid had fainted and it was uncertain whether she could be saved. When Yurong handed her the note, she did not even glance at it, but turned her head to look at Zhu Ying.
"Yingying, come over and take a look. What does this note say?"
Zhu Ying was curious about the extremely gloomy face of Princess Yongping after she came back from the purification room. When she heard the Queen Mother's call, she immediately stepped forward without hesitation. But after taking the crumpled note and taking a first look at it, she was stunned. Then, she did not get angry, but giggled.
"Oh, did you imitate me in writing this? It's quite similar. I wonder how much effort it took!"
She paused, then added sarcastically, "Even the words you use are similar to my tone of voice."
"Of course I know, it couldn't have been you who wrote it." The Queen Mother raised her lips slightly. Seeing Princess Deyang greet Princess Xinyang and Princess Ninghe, as if they wanted to retreat somewhere to take shelter for a while, she laughed and said, "Don't worry, it's just a clumsy little trick. I won't get angry. But, Yingying, you are still a little shortsighted. This note should have a special meaning."
Zhu Ying denied that she wrote the note , which Princess Yongping expected. But when she heard that the Queen Mother also believed so, she felt very upset. When the Queen Mother said that there was something else behind the note, she felt a loud buzz in her head and realized that the Queen Mother was talking about even more despicable means.
For example, those words that disappear without a trace after drying but can be seen after being soaked!
"No matter how many tricks there are, they are all treacherous and can't be put on the big stage!" Zhu Ying sneered, and then said with contempt, "Moreover, in order to plot against Yongping and me, maybe a life was sacrificed. It's so vicious and cold-blooded! The emperor hates such insidious means the most. If he really investigates it thoroughly, how can he not find out?"
"If we check, we will find out, but there is no need." The Queen Mother took the note from Zhu Ying and said to Princess Yongping in a slightly stern voice, "Remember this lesson. Do what you want to do in the future, and don't let others find out your thoughts so easily! Yurong, go get the candles and copper basin, and burn this mess in front of me!"
Princess Yongping saw that Yurong, who had just seemed cold and ruthless when she restrained her, agreed and immediately went to get a copper basin and a candle, and then burned the note that might cause many troubles to ashes in front of her. She thought she would feel relieved, but she didn't. She just felt that the heavy stone in her heart seemed to have weighed a thousand pounds more.
Not long after, the news came that Zhang Chen, Zhu Er and Zhang Shou were escorted out of the Qianqing Palace by the Emperor. Zhu Ying quickly stood up to say goodbye, but then smiled and said, "Empress Dowager, Yongping should go back to Concubine Yu. Can you ask her to see me off?"
The Queen Mother easily agreed to such a simple and direct excuse. Seeing this, Princess Yongping could only suppress the unspeakable frustration and anger in her heart, and then stood up and left. When she and Zhu Ying went out and walked down the steps to the large open space in front of the palace, she saw Zhu Ying chase away the several palace maids without saying anything, and then turned around and looked at her.
"Next time if you have anything to say to me in person, since we were born on the same day of the same month of the same year, even though we normally dislike each other, I will certainly help you if I can! Also, if you encounter this kind of thing again, forget about your dignity and airs as a princess, just grab the girl who framed you and beat her to death! Sometimes, it's better to fight with wits than with strength, but sometimes, it's better to fight with strength than with wits!"
Zhu Ying paused and said sarcastically, "The Queen's revenge is really petty!"
