Chapter 243 The Hatred of Killing One's Mother

Dou Wenyi was somewhat surprised.

The eldest princess has been scheming for years, controlling several merchant guilds in the Great Zhou Dynasty. Zheng Zhilong has painstakingly investigated the intricate relationships within them but still hasn't figured it out. If the eldest princess were to cooperate and confess, the national treasury might soon be overflowing.

This is indeed a good thing that benefits the country and its people.

However, the eldest princess held on tightly to the merchant guild and refused to budge, wanting to ensure that Princess Fu'an would enjoy a life of carefree wealth and luxury.

Fu'an was sincere and unwilling to exchange his mother's life for these ill-gotten gains.

Dou Wenyi suddenly felt a pang of envy for the motherly bond between them; however, life is never perfect.

She nodded slightly. "I'll mention this to the Crown Prince, but whether it will work out or not is really hard to say."

Princess Fu'an was extremely grateful and left Wutong Garden, where Xie Guidu waited for her at the gate of the East Palace.

The two boarded the carriage. Xie Guidu's expression turned slightly cold. "Fu'an, you shouldn't have come to the East Palace. The Princess's entire scheme was for you."

The Grand Princess has controlled the Chamber of Commerce for over a decade. Besides the official Chamber of Commerce, there are many hidden shops and banks that are completely unknown to the public. As long as they don't hand them over, it will be impossible for Pei Siyan to sort out these assets in a short period of time.

Princess Fu'an suddenly raised her eyes, her gaze bloodshot. "Xie Guidu, do you think I would rather have those cold, hard coins than my mother's life? I may be extravagant and dissolute, lacking any skills, and even lusting after men, but no matter how despicable I am, I would never linger on my mother's corpse!"

"Fu'an, you're too naive. Can't you see that the person behind Qin Shuo is the Crown Prince? He's the one who framed the Princess for treason!"

"So what if it is?"

"It was Mother who first attempted to harm the Crown Princess. She was outmatched and has no one to blame but herself. When will this cycle of revenge end?"

Xie Guidu was startled. He had always thought that Princess Fu'an was a simple, naive girl, even a little silly. But at this moment, he suddenly realized that he truly knew her.

He looked at her quietly, a strange feeling welling up inside him. "Don't you resent the Crown Prince?"

"So far, my brother, the Crown Prince, has not made things difficult for me, nor has he made things difficult for the Cheng family. Why should I resent him?"

"What if it's the revenge for killing one's mother?"

Princess Fu'an didn't want to make that assumption, so she turned her head and gazed at the bustling streets outside through the carriage window.

She never denied being a worldly person, indulging in a life of luxury and being domineering, but in her entire life, only her mother gave her boundless tolerance and love. Her father, Cheng Shen, took several concubines; he only cared about his half-brothers and sisters, treating her like a complete stranger!

Although she was a princess, her half-brothers and half-sisters in the Cheng family did not dare to be arrogant in front of her. However, every time she returned to the Cheng family, she felt like an outsider.

Grandmother openly and secretly looked down on and mocked my mother, and she despised her immensely. Yet the entire Cheng family relied on my mother's business association to make a living!

She always knew that her mother was her only close relative in this world.

Must we sacrifice the mother alone to protect the wealth of the entire Cheng family?

absurd!

My mother kept many male lovers, but she never wronged herself.

Princess Fu'an's eyelashes trembled, and her tone was extremely solemn, "Xie Guidu, I didn't know you had always looked down on me. My mother has lost power, and I'm afraid I can no longer give you what you want. In fact, you are not as noble as I imagined. Once my mother's matter is settled, I will leave Tianning City and never come back."

“Although our marriage was arranged by the Emperor, I can ask His Highness the Crown Prince to help us dissolve the engagement.”

"From now on, let's each go our own way and never see each other again!"

Xie Guidu remained silent for a long time, looking intently into her eyes, before finally pulling out a neatly folded handkerchief and handing it to her. "You really think so?"

The man's long, slender fingers almost touched her face, and Princess Fu'an cried even harder, tears streaming down her face like a broken string of pearls. She did like Xie Guidu. In fact, she had long since witnessed his hypocrisy, indifference, selfishness, and ruthlessness, but that did not diminish her fondness for his appearance.

Even if it's just infatuation with his body, there's nothing wrong with that.

Unfortunately, she would never have the chance to defile him again.

Princess Fu'an disliked worldly strife and originally wanted to live a life of wealth and leisure, but she was forced to confront these power struggles...

Princess Fu'an nodded, her words earnest, "We are destined to be apart."

Meanwhile, Pei Siyan went to the imperial prison.

When Shen Jin, the Minister of Justice, saw the Crown Prince condescend to come over, he quickly stepped forward and said in a low voice, "After all, the Princess is of royal blood, and we dare not use torture. She refuses to admit to the treason, insisting that it was Qin Shuo, the head guard of the Princess's residence, who did it, and that it had nothing to do with her."

"She only bears responsibility for negligence. As for the case of the murder of the Crown Princess, she did not admit who was acting on orders, but simply sent her to recuperate. Everything else was pushed onto Feng Tingyun."

Pei Siyan remained expressionless, quickened his pace, and asked in a deep voice, "What about the Chamber of Commerce?"

Shen Jin shook his head helplessly. "His Highness specifically instructed us on this matter, but the Princess is very uncooperative. She only said that she wants to see you."

Pei Siyan nodded. "I'll go take a look."

Perhaps due to orders from above, the prison where the eldest princess was imprisoned was relatively dry and cool, unlike other prisons which were so smelly and damp. However, the eldest princess, dressed in prison clothes, no longer possessed any of her princess dignity.

The jailers respectfully brought Pei Siyan a chair and then withdrew. The Crown Prince leaned back in the chair and said bluntly, "I am very busy. If you want Fu'an to be safe and sound, you'll have to cooperate."

The eldest princess trembled with rage, her slightly purple lips shaking. "Pei Siyan, the accusation of treason is a frame-up, as you and I both know. I was merely acting on imperial orders. That day in court, I was already willing to be your weapon and accused the Emperor on your behalf. Why do you still want to kill me?"

"What a fine way to say it is to act on orders?" Pei Siyan's brows furrowed with a hint of anger, clearly displeased.

He pulled out a snow-white dagger from somewhere, held it in his hand and toyed with it. "Back then, who spread the rumors?"

The princess's face turned deathly pale, as if she had fallen into an ice cave.

No, Pei Siyan was only a few years old at that time, and more than ten years have passed since then, so there is no trace of it anymore.

He couldn't possibly know about those sordid things...

The reason why Emperor Muzong hated Wen Wan out of love and even forced her to her death was because someone said that she had an affair with Prince Xian, and even spread rumors that Pei Siyan was Prince Xian's bloodline!

The princess hesitated. The crown prince was definitely bluffing her... She absolutely couldn't let him know the truth.

Otherwise, not only would she not have a chance to survive, but Fu'an would also be implicated.

“Pei Siyan, I am unaware of what happened back then. I only heard that Consort Tan was gossiping in His Majesty’s ear.”