Chapter 30 Daiyu's plans.

Lady Wang Ziteng was in a very bad mood. First, she was so angry that she had a headache from her two stupid sisters-in-law. Then, the stupid things her sisters-in-law did spread throughout the noble and royal circles in the capital, making her afraid to even leave the house!

But that wasn't the end of it. In the blink of an eye, an imperial edict and a royal decree were issued, and the younger sister-in-law was condemned for her lack of virtue and viciousness, and even lost her title as a result.

Bad news kept coming. Today, she was invited by Grandmother Jia and was told that the Imperial Concubine had been stripped of her title by the Emperor because of her mother's improper conduct, and was demoted to the rank of Noble Lady. She would probably fade into obscurity in the future.

She was also suspected by Grandmother Jia of being the culprit who leaked the events of that time. Although Lady Wang Ziteng also had this suspicion, the several incidents that had already been exposed not only caused the Jia family to lose face but also severely damaged their vitality. She could not possibly admit it under any circumstances.

Such matters are baseless and difficult to trace back to their source. The Jia family has servants who leak information everywhere. As long as she stubbornly denies it, even if she is the Duchess of the State, she cannot do anything to this Lady of the Imperial Decree!

It was truly a pity, Lady Wang Ziteng thought regretfully, that such a fine imperial concubine had been dragged down by her own mother.

Although the Imperial Concubine had no imperial favor, how much could outsiders know? The Wang family, as the Imperial Concubine's maternal family, had previously enjoyed some prestige, but now they had lost everything.

Although their master had already reached the highest position in the government, his career had been quite unsuccessful this year, which was a double blow to the Wang family.

At this moment, Lady Wang Ziteng had the same thought as Grandmother Jia before. They were both fifteen years old and had submitted their birth dates and times, so why was Daiyu chosen instead of Tanchun?

Tan Chun was not related to the Wang family by blood, but in name she was Wang Ziteng’s rightful niece. As for Daiyu, the Wang family had to go through a roundabout way to establish a kinship with her.

Now that Lady Wang has done such a thing, she must have offended Daiyu badly. The Wang family wants to use her to curry favor with the royal family, but they are afraid that the royal family will not even look at her.

Even before the marriage, Prince Duan already values ​​his fiancée so much. Her future prospects will likely be even better after she enters the household. Lady Wangzi Teng pondered this, feeling deeply regretful. Why wasn't she related to the Wang family or even a daughter of the Wang family?

Daiyu gracefully entered the inner room and stepped forward to greet him. Seeing that the chief eunuch of the Prince Duan's mansion had stood up and was standing to the side, Lady Wangziteng also stopped sitting and stood up, smiling, "Greetings, Miss! It's been a long time. You look much better than before. It's true that people are in high spirits when they have something to do!"

Daiyu smiled and said, "I am well, Madam. Thank you for your blessing. I am doing well."

Zhao Qing stepped forward and bowed: "Greetings, Miss Lin. His Highness has found two musical scores and sent me to deliver them to you."

Daiyu smiled and said, "Thank you, Your Highness. Please sit down and have a cup of tea."

Zhao Qing bowed in thanks and sat down on the small stool.

Seeing this, Wang Ziteng's wife was extremely envious.

The two imperial edicts were issued and spread quickly. Everyone said that Prince Duan was avenging his fiancée; otherwise, a mere princess would not warrant such a large-scale conflict!

Although outsiders rarely see Prince Duan, who is the Emperor's younger brother, he has never been short of imperial favors over the years. This attention has enabled Prince Duan to obtain two imperial decrees.

Of course, some people say that the conspiracy ultimately failed, and Miss Lin was unharmed. They argue that Prince Duan's actions were making a mountain out of a molehill and that it's always better to be forgiving. As for Miss Lin, she's lived in the Jia family for so many years, yet she didn't even plead for her aunt; she's truly heartless.

Because her own family suffered losses, Lady Wang Ziteng couldn't help but mutter a few words to herself. Many people in the Jia family said that Miss Lin was petty. It's true that birds of a feather flock together. This Prince Duan is also a person who likes to nitpick.

"The Prince has heard some unpleasant things said these past couple of days," Zhao Qing said to Daiyu. "He said, 'If someone tries to stab a person while they are walking peacefully on the street, should we blame the person walking instead of the malicious one?'"

“Miss Lin is magnanimous and never holds grudges against petty people. It’s just that the Prince is narrow-minded and insisted on avenging Miss Lin. He didn’t expect that this would implicate the Miss Lin. The Prince feels very bad about it. Please don’t take it to heart, Miss Lin. He will personally come to apologize to the Miss Lin another day.” Zhao Qing glanced at the people in the room and then said, “The Prince went to the palace to pay his respects to His Majesty today and couldn’t come over in time.”

Judging from his accent, everyone outside must be talking about this. Daiyu thought, but that's not surprising. After all, it has alarmed both the Emperor and the Empress. It's like a spectacle!

Previously, everyone thought that the Lin family's daughter was marrying into the royal family to bring good luck. What about the princess? She might not necessarily have a good future. But today, seeing that Prince Duan is so interested in her, everyone is curious.

This curiosity wasn't just directed at the Lin family's daughter, but also at Prince Duan, who rarely appeared in public, much like a young lady from a secluded family. Everyone was talking about Prince Duan and his fiancée.

Therefore, Lady Wang and the Jia family became quite famous in the capital—although not for a good reason.

Daiyu smiled gently and said, "I wouldn't dare to delay Your Highness's business. As for what people outside are saying, I live in the inner courtyard and don't hear anything. I'll trouble Your Highness to take care of it for me."

Zhao Qing smiled and said, "The prince said it's all his duty, please don't be so polite, young lady."

Grandmother Jia listened from the side, her face growing increasingly grim. To protect Daiyu, Prince Duan showed no regard for the Jia family. Daiyu was already like this before she was even married. A married daughter is like water spilled from a cup; besides, Daiyu was just her granddaughter. After she got married, Prince Duan probably wouldn't care about the Jia family anymore.

No...no!

Grandmother Jia held Daiyu's hand, which was already etched with age spots. She still wanted to think of a way to help Daiyu. As long as Daiyu still cared about the Jia family, Prince Duan would still have some consideration for her.

After seeing Zhao Qing off, Lady Wang Ziteng wanted to talk to Daiyu a little more, but Grandmother Jia spoke first, politely asking her to leave. She had no choice but to get up and take her leave.

Daiyu was kept in Jia Mu's room, where she remained silent and sat quietly without saying a word.

"Yu'er," Grandmother Jia said, grasping Daiyu's hand. "You're all grown up now, and you're about to get married. Your mother is no longer here, so there are some things your maternal grandmother needs to teach you."

Daiyu lowered her head and said, "Please speak, Grandmother."

"It's one thing for a young lady to be a maiden, but it's another thing for her to become someone's wife. Before marriage, she's naturally perfect, but after marriage, it's a completely different story. Young people are so fickle; even princes and nobles are like this, let alone members of the royal family! In the end, she still needs someone to rely on; that's the way to a lasting relationship." Grandmother Jia looked at Daiyu's expression. "A woman's most solid support is first and foremost her children, and even more important is her maternal family."

Daiyu did not raise her eyes. She twirled the handkerchief between her fingers and said softly, "Mm."

Seeing that she was unmoved, Grandmother Jia continued, "Now that you have lost your parents, your maternal home will be your uncle's home. If you have any unhappiness in the future, come back and tell your aunts and sisters-in-law. If there are things you can't say or do that you can't do, your uncles and cousins ​​can speak up for you, right?"

Daiyu continued to fiddle with the handkerchief in her hand, and said in a low voice, "The royal family is so noble. Let alone my uncles and cousins, even if my father or maternal grandfather were still alive, if something really happened, I'm afraid we could only let it be."

In ordinary families, the bride's family might have some say, but when it comes to royalty, for better or for worse, the bride's family has no say at all.

Grandmother Jia understood this principle perfectly well, but her purpose was to make Daiyu understand that apart from the Jia family, she had no one else to rely on, and no matter what she thought, the Jia family could only be her sole support.

While things are still fresh and exciting for her, Prince Duan is willing to do anything for Daiyu. But in three to five years, his heart will change, and he won't care about the princess anymore! When Daiyu wants to pour out her grievances, she'll have to go to the Jia family to complain, otherwise who will listen to her?

“The royal family… naturally no one can afford to offend them. However, having a maternal family means that someone can speak up for you and someone will listen to your voice.” Grandmother Jia squeezed Daiyu’s hand tightly. “If anything happens in the future, you will have somewhere to go and someone to talk to.”

When Daiyu first came to the Jia family, she might have believed such words. However, after nearly ten years in the Jia family, she had gained firsthand experience.

No member of the Jia family wanted to be Daiyu's support.

"Grandmother, as long as my uncles and cousins ​​take good care of the family business and keep the household stable, I will be at ease in the Prince's Mansion in the future," Daiyu said earnestly, looking up at her grandmother.

Grandmother Jia understood the meaning behind Daiyu's words, and her face immediately turned pale and then red, which was quite a sight.

It doesn't matter whether the Jia family can be Daiyu's support; what's important is that they don't become a burden to her.

Daiyu actually wanted to advise the Jia family to stop now and manage their business properly so that they could at least stop their decline and plan for the future.

But at this moment, Grandmother Jia was annoyed by Daiyu's almost blunt words, so she had no mind to think about anything deeper.

After a while, Grandmother Jia released Daiyu's hand, leaned back on the pillow, and said wearily, "Yu'er, you are stubborn and have your own ideas. You refuse to listen to your grandmother. But one day in the future, I'm afraid you will regret it."

Daiyu curtsied and said, "Thank you for your teachings, Grandmother. I will remember them."

Grandmother Jia shook her head. Although she was disappointed and angry, she dared not say or do anything to Daiyu. Wasn't the example of Lady Wang a warning to her?

"Do as you please," said Grandmother Jia.

Daiyu bowed again, left Grandmother Jia's room, and stepped into the sunlight.

She placed her hand on her brow, glanced at the bright sun, squinted and pondered for a moment, then took Zijuan's hand and returned to her room.

The sheet music sent by Chu Heng was temporarily set aside, and Daiyu first opened the letter mixed in with it.

Omitting the opening apology and greetings, Daiyu slowly read the rest of the letter. After a moment of contemplation, she put the letter away and placed it in the dressing case on her dressing table.

Prince Duan's life was not as easy as outsiders imagined. Daiyu was very grateful for her trip to Longhua Temple, which gave her the opportunity to understand Prince Duan's situation.

Whether Daiyu can establish herself in the Prince's mansion or the royal family in the future will not depend on the Jia family, nor on her offspring or whether she can win over Prince Duan's heart, but on whether she can truly become Prince Duan's ally.

They were not merely allies who deceived the Empress Dowager.