Chapter 242 Request for an Audience
Today is the day the results of the imperial examination are announced, and the people have flocked to Zhuque Street to watch the excitement. As a result, almost all the houses near the Princess's residence are quiet, except for the Xiao family who have just moved back.
After nearly a year of mourning in Jiangnan, the Xiao family of five finally returned to the capital and settled down in their old house. They brought back fewer trunks and servants than they had when they left, with only a dozen or so people following them, making them look rather lonely.
Lin Hui looked up at the lacquered gold plaque of the Princess's Mansion, which she had seen again after a year. Bathed in the warm afternoon sunlight, the large, golden characters, written in a flamboyant style, appeared even more magnificent and noble, making it difficult to look directly at them.
Seeing that she was alone, with a haggard and aged face, and dressed only in fine cotton clothes, the guard assumed she was a curious but illiterate commoner who had stopped to observe. He waved her away impatiently, as if shooing away a fly.
"This is the Imperial Residence of Princess Ningyang. All of you idlers, get out of here immediately!"
Lin Hui's face paled. She hesitated, taking half a step forward, and asked tentatively:
"Young man, I'm no ordinary person. I'm the birth mother of Princess Chang Le. Could you please help me pass on a message to the princess, saying..."
Before she could finish speaking, the guard's thick, long eyebrows shot up, and he barked:
"Insolence! Princess Chang Le's mother is only Princess Ning Yang. You're spouting nonsense. Are you trying to get yourself into trouble?!"
Lin Hui trembled with fear as the other party drew his long sword halfway out, but her longing for her daughter overcame her terror. Trembling, she pulled a packet of silver from her sleeve and smiled ingratiatingly.
“Young man, I’m not lying to you. I really am the wife of Minister Xiao and the birth mother of Princess Chang Le. Please pass on a message for me, it’s just a message…”
The guard didn't even glance at the bulging bag of silver; he was even angrier than before. "In all the time I've served here, I've never heard of Princess Chang Le having any other birth mother. Even if you were, it's impossible that you haven't visited the princess for so long. What are you up to today? You're like a weasel paying respects to a chicken."
Lin Hui's lips were deathly pale, and she swayed precariously.
"Hey, is that Madam Xiao over there?"
A slightly frivolous voice rang out from the side gate. Lin Hui stared blankly over and saw a brown-clad boy with thick eyebrows and big eyes standing there. He looked about eighteen or nineteen years old. He looked her up and down and then walked over with a casual gait.
"It really is Madam Xiao! You are a rare guest indeed!"
Chen Liao had thought he wouldn't be able to complete the princess's task, but unexpectedly he ran into the Xiao family as soon as he stepped out the door, which was quite a coincidence.
The job was one thing, but his feelings about the princess's past were another. Now, meeting Madam Xiao, who was rumored to have favored her illegitimate daughter and killed her own daughter, was quite an eye-opener.
In his opinion, it might have been a good thing that the princess wasn't raised in the Xiao family from a young age, given that she had such a clueless and brainless mother.
Lin Hui didn't recognize the doorman-dressed servant, but seeing that he had at least taken the initiative to talk to her, she asked him to pass on a message.
"Young man, you are the gatekeeper of the Princess's residence. Could you please pass on a message to the Princess and tell her that I would like to see her?"
Chen Liao looked at the bag of silver and readily accepted it, weighing it in his hand.
"Sure, passing on a message is easy."
"But what should I say if the princess asks?"
Lin Hui paused: "What are you asking?"
Chen Liao smiled contemptuously: "Why did you suddenly come to visit after a year of silence, saying you wanted to see the princess? I can't very well say that the concubine's daughter of the Xiao family died, and Madam Xiao's love for her daughter had nowhere to be expressed, so she finally remembered the princess!"
Chen Liao's mouth seemed to be coated with poison, and his words were so harsh that they were chilling. The two guards couldn't help but let out a sneer.
Lin Hui opened her mouth, but could only utter meaningless "I, I..."
"Or does Madam Xiao think that the princess will happily come out to greet you as soon as she hears that you have arrived?"
After Chen Liao finished speaking, seeing that Lin Hui's expression was indeed awkward and embarrassed, he handed the silver back with satisfaction.
"Madam Xiao, please keep the money safe. Come back when you feel you have the face to do so."
Lin Hui looked sadly at the tightly closed gates of the Princess's residence, unwilling to leave just like that.
"Young man, please help me, please pass on a message for me. I just want to see the princess..."
The woman spoke with a tearful voice, her withered back bent low, almost kneeling before Chen Liao. "Please, I beg you, if the princess doesn't want to see me, I'll accept it. After all, she's my own flesh and blood—"
Chen Liao dodged her hand and dusted off his sleeves as if they were dirty.
"If only you had known this would happen, you wouldn't have done it in the first place."
"If Madam Xiao has so much free time, she should focus her attention on her own children. The princess is doing very well now and doesn't need parents like you."
Lin Hui's face was as white as paper. With trembling hands, she took out a small, folded plain handkerchief from her bosom, unfolded it layer by layer, revealing a delicate and round longevity lock inside. Hidden in the lock core was a string of birth dates and times, which belonged to Qi Yuxuan.
“We’ve wronged her, I’m a bad mother. I’ll accept whatever you scold me for. This longevity lock was made when she was born, and I’ve kept it at the bottom of a box ever since. Please, please return it to its rightful owner…”
Seeing that Chen Liao remained silent, Lin Hui knelt down with a "plop".
She is no longer a titled lady, nor even a commoner; she can only be called a family member of a disgraced official. After the Lin family incident, the Xiao family was eager to sever ties with the Lin family and even made a fuss in Jiangnan demanding that Xiao Su divorce her.
Her affairs with the Xiao family were over, and the divorce was over. The only thing she couldn't let go of was this daughter to whom she owed so much.
Chen Liao had already hurriedly dodged away.
"If you like kneeling, then kneel. The princess is not someone that just anyone can see."
After he finished speaking, without paying attention to Lin Hui's expression, he told the two guards at the door to do their jobs well and went to do his own work.
He still has to go to the Xiao family.
In the third alley next to the Princess's residence, a figure in light blue cotton clothing hurriedly disappeared into the deep alley, barely escaping Chen Liao's gaze as he passed by.
Xiao Jue leaned against the cold corner of the wall, looked up, and wiped his eyes.
He saw his mother kneeling at the entrance of the Princess's residence and heard the humiliating conversation.
But he felt no anger whatsoever, only endless sorrow and guilt.
Princess Chang Le... Now he can only call his younger sister Princess Chang Le.
"Young Master, why don't you go and help Madam? She's kneeling like that; what if she hurts herself?"
Xiao Jue's attendant reminded him, but Xiao Jue clenched and unclenched his fist repeatedly, and in the end, he said nothing and turned to walk to the other end of the alley.
"What right do I have to stop her?"
He couldn't even count how many good words he had said for Xiao Yuyao in front of their parents, and how many times he had slandered his sister. He was also the sinner who caused this family to fall apart, wasn't he?
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