Chapter 872 The Truth - Twenty Years Ago 33

Upon hearing the princess's words, the old lady immediately smiled.

“That’s right, that hairpin also belonged to my mother. It was originally a set of jewelry with this gold hairpin. Now that they have been given to the princess, they can be reunited.”

The old lady naturally knew that the hairpin the princess mentioned was fake. There was a small mark on the gold hairpin, engraved with her mother's name. The phoenix hairpin also had a name engraved on it. The princess's words were to tell her that the phoenix hairpin was with her.

Upon hearing this, the eldest princess stuck the gold hairpin into her hair and said playfully, "In that case, this junior will not stand on ceremony and accept it."

Princess Chang's every move showed her fondness for the hairpin. Princess Baiyun, seeing this, simply assumed that the old lady wanted to add to her dowry, so she didn't think much of it.

After sitting with the old lady for a while, news came from the front that the banquet was about to begin.

The eldest princess bid farewell to the old lady and was about to leave with Princess Baiyun when the old lady stopped her.

"Princess Baiyun, please wait a moment. There is something I would like to ask you to deliver to Prince Bai on my behalf."

As the old lady spoke, she took the box from her mother's hand. This box was none other than the one containing the black and white jade pendant.

"I was fortunate enough to be saved by the help of the Crown Prince a few days ago. I know that His Highness lacks nothing. Please make sure to pass on this small token of my appreciation to the Princess."

The old lady spoke very sincerely. Princess Baiyun glanced at the old lady and finally nodded, "Don't worry, old lady, I will definitely entrust it to my brother."

As she watched the two leave, the old lady swayed slightly and almost fell to the ground.

"Madam, are you alright?"

The old woman behind her quickly came up to support her, but the old lady waved her hand and did not let the old woman help her to rest.

"Go to the ancestral hall."

As soon as the old lady finished speaking, her mother advised, "Madam, why don't you rest for a while before you go?"

The old lady shook her head, insisting on going to the ancestral hall.

On the prayer mat, the old lady knelt and looked at the ancestral tablets. Besides the ancestors of the Gu family, there were also tablets for her parents and several others without names.

"Father, Mother, your daughter is unfilial for failing to follow your instructions and protect the last secret of the royal family."

After the old lady finished speaking, she kowtowed and repented before the ancestral tablets.

Although her grandparents adopted her mother, it wasn't just their family that helped her maternal grandparents escape; the head of the Gu family also helped.

The head of the Gu family at the time was just a low-ranking official of the sixth grade. Because his ancestors were merchants in the capital, he had a wider network of connections than the average person.

When the rebellion broke out, the Lu family slaughtered all the royal family members. The last royal son, who had nowhere else to turn, accidentally stumbled into the Gu family, who had joined the Lu family in the uprising.

Originally, the Gu family head wanted to send him to receive the reward, but seeing the disheveled appearance of the young couple and the baby crying in the swaddling clothes, the Gu family head finally made a decision to send them away.

However, the situation was dire, and the guards were extremely tight. Just when the Gu family was at their wits' end, the royal prince revealed the name of his close friend.

With the help and cover of both families, the couple disguised themselves as merchants and managed to leave the city, while the last princess in swaddling clothes was secretly raised in the home of their close friend.

Because of his involvement in the massacre, the previous head of the Gu family felt uneasy after being granted a marquisate. Before his death, he not only arranged for the princess's daughter to be his granddaughter-in-law, but also erected a memorial tablet for the former royal family, though he did not inscribe the names on it.

The old lady knelt in the ancestral hall for half an hour before returning to her courtyard with red eyes.

Compared to the quiet backyard, the front yard was a place where both hosts and guests enjoyed themselves.

After a drinking session with Gu Jin, the princes, all drunk, were helped away by their servants. However, as soon as they arrived at the gate of the Marquis's residence, they saw Princess Baiyun waiting outside with a box in her arms.

"Is the princess waiting for His Highness the Crown Prince?"

These are all the emperor's unmarried sons, who are the most likely to marry Princess Baiyun.

When asked, Princess Baiyun nodded and gave a faint "hmm".

"I just saw His Highness the Crown Prince being helped to change his clothes. I imagine he won't be out for a while. Perhaps I should stay here with the Princess and wait!"

The fourth prince couldn't wait to show his affection, but Princess Baiyun didn't buy it.

"It's getting late, Your Highness, you should head back soon!"

Princess Baiyun subtly moved to the side, trying to distance herself from him.

Who would have thought that the fourth prince was so shameless? Not only did he not leave on his own, he actually moved closer.

"Princess, you don't need to be so polite. Besides, I can't bear to leave you here alone."

With the Fourth Prince launching such an offensive, naturally some people couldn't stand by and watch.

"Brother, can't you tell that the princess doesn't want you to accompany her?"

The speaker was none other than the Fifth Prince, who was a few months younger than him.

"Is Fifth Brother jealous of His Majesty? The princess hasn't said anything, so why are you putting me down like this? Oh! I see, Fifth Brother wants to get rid of me so he can stay and keep the princess company."

The fourth prince was seven parts drunk and three parts sober, and he spoke without any restraint.

The Fifth Prince's face immediately turned bright red when the Fourth Prince saw through his thoughts. "You're talking nonsense. When did I ever say I wanted to stay? I was just telling you not to be ungrateful."

"Come on, do you think I don't know what you're thinking? Let me tell you, with me around, you can forget about marrying the princess."

The two brothers' words became increasingly outrageous, and Princess Baiyun was already breathing heavily with anger, yet she was helpless to do anything about it.

"Who do you think you are? Even Father hasn't said anything, so what gives you the right to say that?"

The Fifth Prince was also angered by what the Fourth Prince said, and immediately made a gesture as if he wanted to take action.

Princess Baiyun had no doubt that if the Fourth Prince dared to say another word, the Fifth Prince's fist would surely smash into his face.

Fortunately, Bai Xu came out from inside at this time, with the slightly tipsy Seventh Prince by his side.

"What happened?"

Bai Xu glanced at Bai Yun, then looked at the two brothers who were poised to attack, "Why are the Fourth Prince and Fifth Prince's faces so red? Have they had too much to drink?"

Bai Xu's words not only gave the two of them a way out, but also relieved Princess Baiyun.

The two men were taken aback for a moment upon hearing this, then laughed and said, "What Prince Bai says is true. Today's wine is too strong, and we are indeed a little drunk."

Upon hearing this, Bai Xu ignored the two and walked over to Princess Baiyun. "How are you? Are you alright?"

Princess Baiyun understood what Bai Xu meant; he was asking if she had been frightened by the two of them. Princess Baiyun shook her head. Thinking of the things the old lady had given her, Princess Baiyun quickly handed the box to Bai Xu.

"Brother, this is what the old lady asked me to give you."

Bai Xu was taken aback upon hearing this. Looking at the obviously exquisite box, a sense of doubt welled up in his heart.