She choked up for a moment, her voice full of grievance.
"I am clearly the princess, and I should be cherished by everyone."
“But I was cared for by a wet nurse from birth and never saw my mother even once a day. My father could only see me during festivals.”
"As I grew older, my mother hoped I would fall ill so that she would have an excuse to invite my father to her bedchamber. I became her stepping stone to have a son."
"My father dislikes my mother, and he also dislikes me. He has no idea how much I want to be close to him."
"Now that my mother is imprisoned, she kneels down like a madwoman and begs me to plead for her and my maternal grandparents' family."
"But my father won't see me. I'm caught in the middle, and I feel like dying. I can't even eat bird's nest porridge, let alone chestnuts..."
Jiayin fiddled with the purse on her waist, patiently listening from beginning to end. She originally intended to just go through the motions and find an excuse to leave later to complete her task.
But the Third Princess's last words still broke her down!
"I really didn't know that the princess would envy me. This is truly a strange thing!"
"The princess has also been to school, so she should understand some principles. Let's have a good talk about it today."
"The princess said she was pitiful, and then envied me for being pampered by my whole family?"
Jiayin sneered and mocked, "Then the princess was born with a wet nurse and a whole bunch of people serving her, and her diapers were made of silk."
"I was born on the road of fleeing famine, in a desolate wilderness, with countless refugees in front of me and barbarians chasing me with knives behind me."
"If my family hadn't been lucky enough to find a sheep, I wouldn't have survived three days. My little body would have been dumped in a ravine. Should I envy the princess?"
"While the princess sat on the long-haired stall, accompanied by a group of palace maids, playing with gemstones as if they were ordinary pebbles, I was traveling with my family through the mountains for thousands of miles."
“A poisonous snake bit my grandmother, a jackal gnawed off half of my brother’s hand, and bandits are trying to wipe out our whole village.”
“I’ve only just learned to crawl, and I’ve already learned to shut up, not cry, not make a fuss, not complain of being hungry, and not cause any trouble for my family. Should I envy the princess?”
"We finally made it out of the mountains and were about to reach Jiangnan when we were chased by barbarians."
"My grandmother was half-dead from injuries, but she still protected me. My father, my uncles, and my brothers carried wooden sticks and rushed towards the barbarian cavalry, wishing they could hug the horses' hooves, just to give me a chance to live."
"Does the princess know what it feels like to watch your loved ones die? You don't know!"
Jiayin sneered, glancing at the stunned Third Princess with increasing disdain.
"When our entire village set foot on this land in Jiangnan, not one of us was spared from injury or bloodshed. Even now, there are still dozens of people in the village who are missing limbs!"
"We finally managed to get a piece of land to settle down, but it was all gravel and sandy soil, plus two barren mountains, so we couldn't grow any crops at all."
Do you know how desperate we all felt? You don't!
"The Broken Gold Beach was dug out by everyone, one pickaxe at a time, as I sat in the thatched hut every day. It was watered by the sweat of all of us."
"We paid almost everything just to have a chance to fill our stomachs and survive!"
What was the princess doing at that time?
"Are you eating snacks and fruits, dressed warmly, and getting angry because your father and mother can't play with you? Are you smashing cups and bowls because you don't like your new clothes?"
"I didn't!" the Third Princess couldn't help but retort instinctively, "I also..."
She wanted to say that she was also suffering.
But in the end, she truly never knew what hunger felt like, or what it was like to run for her life...
Jiayin rolled her eyes and continued, "My grandma said that the hardships and blessings a person experiences in their life are finite."
"I was born into poverty and lived a difficult life, but I had the love of my parents and relatives who shared my joys and sorrows."
"As a princess, you enjoy the fine clothes and delicacies that ordinary people do not have, and you must also suffer the pain of the familial affection of the royal family."
No one can have everything go smoothly, or live a whole life without any sadness! You can't eat from a bowl and then complain that the bowl is ugly.
"The Emperor and Empress may not care enough about you, but they have still given you a life of luxury!"
"You want the harmony and happiness of an ordinary family, and you also want the immense wealth of the imperial family. Aren't you being too greedy?"
“If you have the chance, go to the relief agency and see how many children there have lost their parents and relatives. In this cold weather, they carry brooms and sweep snow on the street, their fingers covered in sores from the cold, just to get two pieces of bread to fill their stomachs.”
"Their worry is how to survive and how to stay warm, not how to get enough bird's nest porridge!"
The third princess clutched the corner of the blanket, her face flushed, whether from resentment or shame, it was hard to tell.
Jiayin was too lazy to waste any more words, so she stood up and said, "Just now, my uncle said that we have known each other since we were young, so I will say a few more words for that reason."
"Everyone in this world must learn to be independent, not to depend on anyone for survival, and to understand their own responsibilities."
"As a girl from a farming family, I have to be busy taking care of my elders, running a shop to help support my family, and constantly learning new skills."
"You are a princess, enjoying the protection of your royal uncle. Shouldn't you prioritize showing filial piety to your royal uncle? Even baking a pastry or doing some needlework would be a token of your appreciation."
"The Empress and the Wu family have their own reasons for their current predicament. You are forcing your uncle, the Emperor, on their behalf. How heartbroken he must be!"
"Instead of wallowing in self-pity, I advise you to learn some more skills."
"When the day truly comes that you need to share the burdens of Tianwu and your uncle, you won't still be this simple-minded!"
"Not only will you not be able to help your uncle, but you'll also make him worry about you all the time!"
Having said that, she ignored the Third Princess, gave a perfunctory bow, and left the palace.
The third princess glared angrily, wanting to stop the person, but didn't know how to refute them.
The head palace maid entered and, seeing her mistress's state, quickly asked, "Princess, should we bring her back? This Princess Kangle is far too presumptuous!"
"The princess has complained to the Emperor and demanded that her title be revoked!"
"You're the one being insolent!" The Third Princess's expression changed, and she sternly rebuked the head palace maid, "Get out! What I want to do is none of your business, a mere servant!"
The head palace maid was startled, immediately shrank back, and quickly retreated.
The third princess pounded the bedding a few times.
She was also angry that Jiayin spoke so rudely, but she wasn't stupid; what Jiayin said did indeed... make sense!
Moreover, no one had ever said this to her before.
The nannies and maids around her would coax her and go along with her wishes, but this also made her get more and more stuck in her own thoughts.
Today, however, she was jolted awake by a barrage of sarcastic remarks...
In the imperial study, the Emperor and the Marquis talked for a while, then the Emperor suddenly became concerned and asked Steward Yi, "Are the Princess and the Princess still playing together? Have they quarreled?"
The Marquis remained expressionless, but he also looked at Steward Yi.
He wasn't afraid that Jiayin and the princess would quarrel; he was worried that Jiayin was too sensible and would compromise herself...
Steward Yi quickly replied, "This old servant will summon the people from Zhilan Palace to inquire immediately."
Soon, a young eunuch was brought in...
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