Chapter 834 If I Give Her Another Chance
Cheng Wanwan didn't have to wait long before she was taken inside.
"Greetings, Your Majesty." She curtsied. "The Grand Chancellor should have already informed me of the purpose of my visit. I wonder if Your Majesty still has the seeds you brought with you when you married?"
Princess Taiping said calmly, "Someone, bring all the boxes from the storeroom over."
The palace servants obeyed the order and carried over four or five large boxes.
The box was opened, revealing it to be full of cloth bags, each embroidered with text indicating what kind of seeds they contained.
After thanking her, Cheng Wanwan stepped forward and opened each item to check it.
Princess Taiping waved her hand, signaling all the palace servants to leave, while she sat quietly and drank her tea.
These seeds came with her from afar, and she had hoped that they would take root and sprout on the land of the Western Rong Kingdom.
But after marrying into the Western Rong Kingdom, she learned that the marriage was not a genuine attempt at peace, but rather a means to stabilize the situation while secretly plotting and constantly harassing the borders of the Great Yu Kingdom. She tried to stop them several times, but was warned by the Western Rong King. In addition, she became pregnant and gradually lost the energy to deal with so many things. Later, her children suffered a series of misfortunes, and in order to avenge them, all of her more than one hundred palace servants were killed.
In this desolate and secluded palace, her heart grew colder day by day.
When the people from the Great Yu Kingdom arrived, and she saw these familiar faces and heard someone call her Princess Taiping, she felt as if she had returned to her teenage years.
At that time, she was young and passionate. She stood up amidst internal and external troubles and married a foreign man from the Western Rong.
If time could turn back and she were given another chance to choose, would she still volunteer to be a princess sent for a political marriage?
After Cheng Wanwan finished inspecting the first box, she looked up and saw that Princess Taiping's eyes were moist, and she was looking into the distance, seemingly lost in thought.
She turned to look at the entrance of the main hall, where only two palace maids were standing, while the others were busy in the courtyard.
She spoke softly, "Your Majesty, I am a little hungry. May I be so bold as to ask for some food?"
Princess Taiping snapped out of her thoughts, her voice still unusually calm, and ordered, "You two go to the dining hall and fetch some food."
The two palace maids accepted the order and left.
Once everyone had left the entrance to the main hall, Cheng Wanwan put down the cloth bag in her hand and said, "Actually, I didn't come here to look for any seeds, but rather to have a private chat with the princess."
Princess Taiping showed no surprise: "What do you want to talk to me about?"
"I have a question for Princess Taiping." Cheng Wanwan raised her eyes and looked directly at the person seated on the throne. "May I ask, is the Princess currently a citizen of the Great Yu Kingdom or a Western Rong?"
“In our Great Yu Kingdom, our ancestors said, ‘At home, one should obey one’s father; after marriage, one should obey one’s husband.’” Princess Taiping said calmly. “I have been married for twenty years, so naturally I follow my husband. My husband is a Western Rong person, so I am also a Western Rong person.”
"In the princess's eyes, can the King of Xirong be considered her husband?" Cheng Wanwan asked with a mocking smile. "It's one thing that he didn't give the princess the respect she deserved, but he couldn't even protect his own son and daughter. If I were the princess, I would never have tolerated this for so many years."
Princess Taiping slammed her teacup down: "How dare you!"
"Even if it's outrageous, I will still speak out." Cheng Wanwan was not afraid at all. "If I'm not mistaken, the princess's son and daughter were both harmed by that Lady Li, right? The crown prince is dead, and the little princess is lying in bed like a living dead... But the culprit, Lady Li, and her five children are living carefree lives. Can the princess swallow this insult?"
She stepped forward and said, “The princess married into the Western Rong Kingdom for the sake of peace between the two countries. But now, the Western Rong king has captured so many people from the Dayu Kingdom. How can there be peace? He is forcing me to plant crops. When the harvest is plentiful next autumn, the Western Rong cavalry will declare war on the Dayu Kingdom again. Once the two countries go to war, the princess’s position as queen will be over.”
Princess Taiping's face turned ashen.
She gritted her teeth and said, "Madam Sui, how dare you!"
"The future Queen of Xirong will be Lady Li," Cheng Wanwan smiled. "The future King of Xirong will be Lady Li's eldest son. As for the princess and her two children, Lady Li will erase them, as if they never existed... Is this the ending the princess wanted?"
Princess Taiping gripped the teacup tightly.
She knew that what Madam Sui said was true, so she could only feel powerless anger.
But is anger useful? No, it's completely useless. Anger can't protect your child, it can't avenge your child...
She was heartbroken and had long since given up on revenge; all she wanted was to live out the rest of her life with her youngest daughter…
But Madam Sui's words reignited her long-dormant hatred.
What's the point of lighting it?!
What else can be done but keep her up at night?
Madam Li has a powerful family and five children to rely on; she can't touch Madam Li!
Princess Taiping closed her eyes, suppressing the hatred and tears in them, before opening them again and saying slowly, "Lady Sui has only been here for a little over ten days, yet she has already figured out so many things in the Western Rong Palace. No wonder she was able to rise to the position of a second-rank lady through her own abilities. I know what Lady Sui means by saying this, and I can tell you very clearly that I have no trusted or loyal people by my side. You want me to help you escape? I don't have that ability."
Cheng Wanwan said slowly, "So, the princess is willing to help?"
Princess Taiping looked at her and said, "I have the will but not the strength."
Two or three years ago, the Western Rong King had been plotting to capture Lady Sui. Now that she had been captured and imprisoned in the deep palace, she was accompanied by a large number of guards every day when she went to the experimental fields. As a queen with little real power, she was no match for these guards... If she angered the Western Rong King, she feared that he would use her daughter as a scapegoat...
Her daughter was so young, yet she had become a living dead, unable to open her eyes or move. She didn't want her daughter to get involved in these things...
"Princess, rest assured, you can handle this." Cheng Wanwan lowered her voice and quickly explained her plan. "What does the princess think?"
Princess Taiping frowned: "The plan is indeed very thorough, but where did you get the corpse? This is a palace, not a place where you can do whatever you want..."
"Since I have devised such a plan, it means I have a foolproof strategy. Princess, there is no need to worry," Cheng Wanwan said. "If this plan succeeds, Princess, you will also be able to get rid of Madam Li, won't you?"
Princess Taiping pursed her lips.
The person she hated most was Madam Li; she wished she could tear her apart and skin her alive.
Although Madam Sui's plan was not enough to kill Madam Li, as long as Madam Li fell out of favor, it would be much easier for her to deal with Madam Li in the future.
After thinking it over, Princess Taiping nodded: "Then let it be as you say."
Just as the two finished their conversation, two palace servants brought in a meal and placed it on the table in the hall.
Princess Taiping glanced at it and said, "Lady Li loves Polii flowers the most in her life. It just so happens that Lady Sui found Polii flower seeds in the trunk. Go and invite Lady Li to come and take a look to see if they are true."
The palace maid knelt down, accepted the order, and went ahead.
Just after they finished their meal, Lady Li arrived in a grand procession with a large entourage of palace servants.
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