Chu Jinjin saw a rare truth in the two people, especially Princess Le'an.
Women of this era face three inescapable mountains in their lives: parents and brothers before marriage, and parents-in-law and husbands after marriage. They are always cautious and worried about this and that.
Environment shapes personality.
Only because these two people have a certain status can they be relatively carefree.
The three of them were in a lively atmosphere, as if they were going on a spring outing. As soon as they stepped out, Princess Le'an was grabbed by the leg by Prince Consort Zheng.
Prince Consort Zheng was truly terrified, tears and snot streaming down his face: "Princess, please spare me for the sake of our marital bond. In my next life, I'll be your servant, whatever you say."
He sensed Princess Le'an's resolute determination.
Keeping a mistress won't get you beheaded, and he's still the imperial son-in-law, but his life is probably over. He's brought trouble to his family, and he probably won't have a good life from now on.
"I have plenty of cattle and horses, get out of my way." Princess Le'an kicked him, not bothering to say anything more. With a single glance, servants grabbed Zheng, the consort, and dragged him aside like a dead dog.
Li Xinzhi glanced at the trembling mistress: "What should we do with her? Sell her or what?"
Knowing he was the prince consort, she still dared to do this. Oh, and by the way, she also had an affair with Gu Shouping. She's no good.
Chu Jinjin thought for a moment: "Why don't we let her go and let her go find Gu Shouping?"
She couldn't figure out how to punish Gu Shouping. Killing him wouldn't work, but not killing him made her feel that such a scourge deserved to be punished, especially after Li Xinzhi recognized her as her god-sister.
The bellyband was obtained from Gu Shouping. After his mistress made a scene, the whole capital knew what kind of person he was.
I doubt anyone would dare to commission him to draw again.
Li Xinzhi strongly agreed with this approach and breathed a sigh of relief: "Let's do it this way."
Gu Shouping can't do anything but paint, and Chu Jinjin has taken all his savings. His future is likely to be miserable.
Today seems destined to be a good day.
The Xu family.
Upon seeing the royal carriage, the servant immediately scurried inside to report the danger, his intuition telling him that something terrible was about to happen.
Before long, the Xu family of three rushed out and knelt down to perform a grand salute: "Greetings, Your Highness."
Princess Le'an stood quietly, seemingly oblivious to what was happening.
The scene that never happened at the banquet occurred here.
Xu Wenda was alright, being young after all, but Lady Xu, with her old arms and legs, couldn't keep up. Before long, she began to tremble slightly, but since the princess didn't speak, she didn't dare to get up.
Chu Jinjin felt great; it felt so good to bully others with her power.
Xu Wenda pleaded in a low voice, "My mother is old and frail, please understand, Your Highness."
"Xu Wenda, are you implying that I'm deliberately making things difficult for her?" Princess Le'an said coldly, putting on airs. "Even if I am, what can you do about it?"
Xu Wenda slammed his head on the ground: "I dare not."
"I see you're not afraid of anything. The severe drought in the north has already affected the nation. How dare your Xu family joke about such a serious matter?" Princess Le'an casually uttered a accusation that was enough to wipe out the family and exterminate nine generations of their relatives.
Xu Wenda was sweating profusely. He understood that the princess was avenging Chu Jinjin, so he changed his target for help: "Jinjin."
Chu Jinjin waved her hand: "Young Master Xu, there's nothing I can do."
With such a spectacle, the common people passing by could hardly move. Because of the princess's status, they dared not get close to watch the excitement and stood at a distance, pointing and whispering.
You can tell what they're saying without even listening.
Chu Jinjin is now a legendary woman in taverns and teahouses, while the Xu family is always brought up as a background figure.
Princess Le'an wanted this effect. She disliked intrigue and backstabbing, but being born in the palace, where were the innocent people? She understood all too well how to humiliate someone, and she understood even more that humiliation could sometimes be more despairing than death.
It took her a full half-incense stick's time before she calmly said, "Rise."
As if hearing some signal, Lady Xu immediately collapsed to the ground like a limp rag.
"Your Highness, you know about the donation. It was Chu Jinjin who deliberately provoked my daughter-in-law," Madam Xu said fiercely before she could catch her breath. "Ruoyun has already returned to her parents' home. While raising funds, she is also preparing to report to the Emperor."
She knew that the Xu family meant nothing to the princess; the only one who could keep them in check was the Imperial Concubine.
Princess Le'an smiled faintly: "Reporting to my royal brother? What a coincidence. My royal brother has ordered me to ensure that the donations are in place by tonight. Madam Xu, I am not an unreasonable person. Wang Ruoyun will not escape responsibility for this matter. She will be responsible for half, and your Xu family will be responsible for the other half."
Lady Xu: "...This."
She went to the Chu family to make a scene in the morning, and also wanted Chu Jinjin to go to the princess to explain things clearly. Her biggest reliance was none other than the noble concubine sister behind Wang Ruoyun.
But it was an imperial edict?
She almost habitually tells you that you're lying.
Even a princess wouldn't dare to forge an imperial edict.
Lady Xu's face turned pale, and she murmured, "Your Highness, I... my Xu family really can't afford it. May I go and discuss it with my daughter-in-law?"
The Xu family really has no money left.
After Wang Ruoyun left, she immediately led people to take stock of her dowry. After deducting the gifts from the palace, there was still at most twenty or thirty thousand taels of silver.
That's far from enough.
The princess's maidservant said impatiently, "How dare you! What kind of status does the princess have? She doesn't have time to wait. If she doesn't have money, then sell the house."
Lady Xu seemed to have heard the most terrifying thing in the world, staring in disbelief: "...What did you say?"
The maid was a clever woman and knew what to say: "The princess has been ordered by the Emperor to raise the donations by tonight. Since your Xu family has made the request, if you fail to do so, it would be a crime of deceiving the Emperor. Do I need to say more?"
The Emperor's edict certainly didn't say that, since donations are considered charity and are voluntary.
But the crime of deceiving the emperor is also a fact.
Lady Xu's imposing manner vanished completely. She stared blankly at the princess for a moment, then suddenly turned around and slapped Xu Wenda hard across the face: "You beast, it's all your fault."
If he hadn't provoked Chu Jinjin, how could he have ended up like this?
The Xu family is doomed to ruin.
The slap was incredibly loud, especially in front of so many people. Xu Wenda was slapped so hard he fell to the ground. He quietly got up, stopped begging, and bowed to Princess Le'an: "Your Highness, I will go to the Wang family immediately, and I will definitely donate the full amount before the appointed time."
His reaction surprised everyone, and for a moment they couldn't figure out what he was going to do.
But since he said that, we can only wait.
Since it was quite far from the princess's residence, Chu Jinjin was a little too polite, and Princess Le'an decided to make her way to the Chu residence.
Chu Jinjin: "......."
For anyone else, a visit from a princess would be an unparalleled honor, but Chu Jinjin didn't want to go through all that trouble.
But there was no other way, so they had to send a servant ahead to report.
When they arrived at the door, just as she had expected, men, women, and children, dressed in their finest attire, even more elaborate than for the New Year, all came out. At the head of the group was her grandfather, who immediately knelt down upon seeing the princess.
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