Chapter 192 Corrupting the Seventh Princess
After Li Sanqi had cried her heart out and vented her emotions, Madam Min Qiao finally spoke up, "Seventh Princess, have you ever thought about why all of this happened?"
Li Sanqi wiped away her tears, glared at Min Qiaoshi with annoyance, and did not answer.
Madam Min Qiao, however, didn't care at all. "In the end, it all boils down to two words: power."
Li Sanqi frowned slightly, looking at Min Qiaoshi with a puzzled expression.
Madam Zheng, standing to the side, seemed to see through what Madam Min Qiao was about to say. She frowned and glared at Madam Min Qiao, saying, "Don't corrupt the Seventh Princess. The Seventh Princess is the Empress Dowager's darling. Be careful she doesn't cause you trouble."
Madam Min smiled at Madam Zheng, "How could I possibly corrupt the princess? I just want to discuss life with her."
Li Sanqi seemed to realize something as well, and waved his hand, saying, "Madam Zheng, please don't stop me. I want to hear what Madam Qiao has to say."
Madam Zheng sighed helplessly.
Then Madam Min Qiao continued, "Why can't the Seventh Princess control her own marriage? Why can't she marry the person she loves? Why doesn't she even have the right to annul the engagement?"
"Why is everything the Emperor says taken as gospel? Why does the Emperor so readily accept the Crown Prince's words? Yet, the Seventh Princess's rebuttals are dismissed as childish nonsense in front of the Emperor?"
"Why does His Highness the Crown Prince, a mere junior, receive such high regard from His Majesty? And why is His Majesty reprimanding the Empress Dowager, an elder, for even punishing a mere Sun woman? Not to mention, the Seventh Princess was stripped of her title and imprisoned for disciplining a few servants in an attempt to find the person who poisoned Madam Zheng!"
"All of this is simply because of power!"
"As the legitimate princess, the Seventh Princess has been pampered since childhood."
"However, being favored does not equate to power!"
"Perhaps the Seventh Princess thinks that because she is favored, her brothers and sisters in the palace are all deferential to her, and the court ladies outside the palace are also respectful to her and dare not offend her. This is power."
"But in fact, these are all just appearances."
"True power is like that of an emperor, whose word carries immense weight. It is like that of a crown prince, whose promises are always kept."
"True power is the ability to control the life and death of others, one's own destiny, the emperor's decisions, and to change everything according to one's own will."
Li Sanqi looked at Min Qiaoshi in shock, "How is this possible?"
Madam Min Qiao laughed and said, "Yes, how could that be?"
"After all, even though the Empress Dowager has ascended to the position of Empress Dowager, she still cannot escape the fate of being manipulated by the Emperor."
"His Majesty is filial, and the Empress Dowager is the most noble person, unmatched by anyone."
"But if His Majesty is negligent, the Empress Dowager is nothing more than a figurehead. Who would dare to get close to her?"
Li Sanqi's pupils dilated in shock. "You, how dare you speak ill of Father Emperor!"
Madam Min Qiao smiled. "Seventh Princess, isn't what I said the truth?"
"Did His Majesty reprimand the Empress Dowager because of what happened to Madam Zheng?"
"Has the Empress Dowager's palace been deserted these past few months?"
"And what about Her Highness the Princess? During these months of confinement, didn't she experience the coldness of human relationships?"
Li Sanqi clenched her fists, gritted her teeth, and her eyes churned with inexplicable emotions.
During her confinement, apart from her grandmother visiting her frequently, her mother would occasionally visit her.
The only time the Crown Prince visited her was when Lu Ming expressed his intention to annul the engagement.
The Crown Prince went to see her to warn her to restrain her words and actions, behave herself, and not bring shame to the royal family.
Furthermore, the Sixth Princess, Li Jingyue, also visited her twice.
However, Li Jingyue went to see her purely to see her make a fool of herself.
She and Li Jingyue were born only a few days apart, yet she was healthy and pampered from childhood. Li Jingyue, on the other hand, was born with poor health and was not favored by her father, the Emperor. If it weren't for her mother's favor and the various precious medicinal herbs that nourished her, she wouldn't have survived to adulthood.
Therefore, Li Jingyue had envied and been jealous of her since childhood. In front of others, she pretended to be gentle and pitiful, but in private, she gritted her teeth at her.
He even falsely accused her in public on several occasions.
Unfortunately, even so, everyone still sided with her.
This also made Li Jingyue increasingly jealous of her.
Of course, these are all minor matters.
Just as Madam Qiao said, what she should really care about is how to seize power and, in turn, control her own destiny.
Li Sanqi stood up, bowed deeply to Madam Min Qiao, and said sincerely, "Please teach me, Madam!"
Madam Zheng, who was standing to the side, let out a long sigh, at a loss for words.
Madam Min Qiao quickly got up and stepped forward to help Li Sanqi up, saying sincerely, "Seventh Princess, there's no need for this. I dare not instruct you, but I do have a few words to say to you."
Li Sanqi helped Madam Min sit down before returning to his own seat. "I humbly request your guidance, Madam."
Madam Min smiled and said meaningfully, "First there was Princess Guantao, who held immense power in the court, and later Princess Taiping, who controlled the world. Has the Seventh Princess ever considered that, as descendants of the Emperor, why can't a princess wield unparalleled power?"
Upon hearing this, Li Sanqi's pupils dilated, and his entire face flushed red with excitement.
Madam Zheng looked at Min Qiaoshi with a serious expression, then at Li Sanqi. What was going on?
What exactly does Madam Min want to do?
The Seventh Princess is simple-minded; surely she wouldn't be swayed by a few words from Madam Min and do something irrational?
Ugh, just thinking about it makes me upset.
If she had known, she should have gone out with the maids and let the two of them talk.
Why should we stay and listen to them say such outrageous things?
Min Qiaoshi and Li Sanqi didn't care what Madam Zheng was thinking. Both of them had shining eyes, looking as if they had met kindred spirits.
“The Grand Madam is right! We are both of the Emperor’s bloodline, and I am of the same legitimate bloodline as the Crown Prince. Why can’t I have the same absolute power as the Crown Prince? Why can the Crown Prince control my marriage?”
Li Sanqi looked indignant.
"Please teach me, Madam, how can I gain power like the Crown Prince?"
Madam Min smiled and said, "The Seventh Princess doesn't need to have the same power as His Highness the Crown Prince; she only needs to have power that people are wary of."
Li Sanqi pursed her lips. Was this meant to dampen her spirits? Or was it an insult?
Madam Min Qiao continued, "Seventh Princess could read more of the Records of the Grand Historian and see how those powerful princesses of the past obtained their power. Perhaps they could learn a thing or two from it."
Upon hearing this, Li Sanqi's eyes widened. Wasn't this just playing a trick on her?
Madam Min Qiao changed the subject, saying, "I discovered a hot spring at my estate in the suburbs of Beijing."
Li Sanqi frowned. "What does Madam Qiao mean by this?"
They were talking about teaching her how to wield power, so why did they suddenly start talking about her estate in the suburbs of Beijing?
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