Chapter 51 The Empress Dowager's Plans.
In Renshou Palace, the Empress Dowager twirled the Buddhist prayer beads in her hand, her brows furrowed.
"Lin Ruhai gave birth to a fine daughter. After all these years of death, she's somehow managed to snag a Duke's title," the Empress Dowager said sarcastically.
Shuangyun presented the teacup to the Empress Dowager and slowly said, "Empress Dowager, bestowing favors upon the Princess Consort's family has always been a rule. Although granting her the title of Duke in one fell swoop is a bit excessive, Lin Ruhai is, after all, a dead man. Otherwise, His Majesty would probably be the first to object."
The Empress Dowager said, "Of course I know. Look at the imperial edict; it mentions the late Emperor so many times."
Because of many disagreements with the late emperor, the emperor had dealt with many former officials in the past two years, which inevitably led to some gossip. Whether it was disrespect for the late emperor or narrow-mindedness, it greatly displeased the emperor. He took the opportunity to confer a title on Lin Ruhai, a former official of the late emperor, in order to show his magnanimity and filial piety to the late emperor.
But besides these things, what really annoyed the Empress Dowager was that the Emperor was determined to use Chu Heng for his own purposes. He was so determined to get him. Who knew if that boy who only had his wife in his heart would turn to the Emperor!
The emperor was once a loving older brother to the young emperor, but back then he only gave Chu Heng some toys, antiques and medicinal herbs as rewards. In order to show his maternal love, the empress dowager also gave him these things.
But now the emperor first appointed Chu Heng as the Minister of the Imperial Clan Court, one of the Nine Ministers, and then gave his father-in-law and mother-in-law posthumous honors that were beyond what was expected. These were all real benefits.
The Empress Dowager could influence the court through the Fang family, but she couldn't interfere in everything. After all, the Fang family were always subordinates, and naturally, they were inferior to the emperor.
In the inner palace, the Empress Dowager could use filial piety to control the Emperor, but she could not openly interfere in politics, which made her feel quite constrained.
Therefore, it is of utmost importance and indispensable for the Empress Dowager to now allow Chu Heng, who serves as the Minister of the Imperial Clan Court, to completely obey her orders.
Shuangyun said, "Your Majesty, please rest assured. The Prince has always been filial to you. If anything happens in the future, just say the word and the Prince will certainly not disobey."
The Empress Dowager shook her head and said, "Yongkang openly argues with me, but Heng'er seems obedient. He's actually very cunning and never listens to me."
Previously, Chu Heng's every word and action conformed to the Empress Dowager's desire for a loving mother and filial son, so the Empress Dowager was too lazy to expose him. But now it's different. What the Empress Dowager wants is not this appearance, but Chu Heng's true filial piety and obedience.
Shuangyun said, "If that's just how the Prince is, even the Empress Dowager can't change him."
"No." The Empress Dowager smiled. "He didn't care before, but now he does. Once a person has a weakness, he's easier to control."
Shuangyun suddenly realized that the Empress Dowager had once again set her sights on the Princess Consort.
"But, Your Majesty, now that the Prince has requested titles for his father-in-law and mother-in-law, outsiders will only praise the Prince and Princess for their filial piety. Who will dare to mention the Jia family's affairs?"
The prince requested the title, and the emperor issued an imperial decree. Even if someone truly felt that the princess's past words and actions in the Jia family were inappropriate, they dared not utter a single word.
The Empress Dowager remained silent, only glancing at her.
Having served the Empress Dowager for many years, Shuangyun quickly grasped her mistress's meaning.
It didn't matter whether others dared to say it or not. The Empress Dowager didn't want to spread rumors that were detrimental to the Princess Consort—that would damage her reputation as the mother-in-law. She just wanted to embarrass the Princess Consort so that she would know to seek the Empress Dowager's protection, thus controlling the Prince.
Shuangyun bowed and said, "This servant understands."
...
At this time, in the Duan Prince's mansion, Chu Heng was maintaining the guqin that he had taken out a few days ago, while Daiyu leaned against the chaise lounge under the corridor, closing her eyes to rest.
When Zhao Qing arrived, Chu Heng was washing his hands.
"Your Highness, the palace has issued an imperial decree posthumously conferring titles upon Lord Lin and Lady Lin." Zhao Qing spoke in a low voice, afraid of disturbing the Princess.
Chu Heng wiped his hands: "Mm."
"Zijuan, bring out my clothes." Over there, Daiyu was not asleep.
Chu Heng tossed the handkerchief to the maidservant serving him and hurriedly went to Daiyu's side, taking over Xueyan's task to help Daiyu up.
Xueyan was forced to take two steps back, and exchanged a glance with Chunxian, who had almost been bumped into by her. They couldn't help but laugh.
The prince really can't be without his girls for even a moment, and they're still slowly getting used to it these past few days.
Daiyu had already skipped over whether she was used to it or not, and was now filled with shame, anger and helplessness. She was resting here in broad daylight, who was to blame for this?
In the few days since she married into the Duan Prince's mansion, Daiyu only slept in one morning because she wasn't used to it. For the rest of the days, she was too tired to get up early.
The culprit who made Daiyu so tired was Chu Heng.
Other than that, Daiyu felt it was too embarrassing. There were no other masters in this mansion, but there were many servants!
Especially the several nannies who had served Daiyu closely for many years, unlike the shy girls like Zijuan, would always cover their mouths and giggle while serving her. When Chuheng was not around, they would even say a few words about the love between the prince and princess. Even though she knew they were happy for her, these words still made Daiyu blush so much that she couldn't lift her head.
Daiyu also wanted to "get revenge" on Chu Heng, to let him taste the feeling of embarrassment and awkwardness. She might not be able to do other things, but she was confident that she could make Chu Heng lose miserably in chess.
After playing chess with Chu Heng for a few days, Daiyu realized that the effect of revenge was negligible. He didn't care about winning or losing the game at all. As long as the opponent was Daiyu, Chu Heng could still smile happily even if he was completely defeated.
Daiyu admitted that she was pleased with the discovery, but... she still needed to think of a way to make Chu Heng stop.
“I just thought of something…” During the day, Chu Heng was very tactful—Daiyu was already used to his various affectionate gestures, so she felt at ease letting him hold her hand. “I’ve kept that calligraphy by Master Gu in my box. I’ll take it out another day.”
"Ah." Chu Heng couldn't help but think of the first time he met Daiyu last year. He thought that if he married her, he could appreciate Gu Dajia's calligraphy. But now?
Chu Heng's heart and eyes were only on this person. No matter how much Gu Dajia was there, or how many times Wang Xizhi's calligraphy filled the room, nothing could distract him from looking at Daiyu.
Seeing his reaction, Daiyu asked curiously, "What's wrong?"
Chu Heng shook his head and smiled, saying, "I was blind and mistook a pearl for a fish eye."
Daiyu was even more confused: "Who are they talking about this time?"
Chu Heng pinched her chin and smiled, "Guess?"
Daiyu didn't guess, but quickly took two steps to block his way and said, "It's getting late, let's change our clothes and go to the palace first. Didn't you want to eat cherry meat for dinner? You can give the order first."
Chu Heng still held her hand: "We'll probably have dinner in the palace tonight, so we'll have to eat the cherry meat tomorrow."
Thinking of the last palace banquet, Daiyu couldn't help but touch her stomach. Etiquette and manners took precedence over food, and she really couldn't get enough to eat.
Daiyu has never been fond of food and drink. In the past, it was common for her to skip a meal or two. However, since her health gradually improved last year, her appetite has returned. She feels uncomfortable if she doesn't eat enough at a meal, and she can hardly imagine herself as someone who used to skip meals so often.
Seeing this, Chu Heng smiled and said, "I'd better have some snacks prepared first, so that our princess can eat something on the way and not get hungry."
Daiyu didn't mind: "Aren't you going to eat?"
"The palace makes it hard for people to eat. Are you really going to stop me from eating?" Chu Heng looked at her pitifully.
Daiyu couldn't help but chuckle: "We really can't delay any longer, or we won't be able to get back in time. Wouldn't it be even worse if the Empress Dowager asked us to stay in the palace?"
These words struck at Chu Heng's weak spot, and he quickly said, "That's absolutely right. You should go quickly; it's troublesome to put on those clothes of yours."
Daiyu smiled and called Zijuan and others to come and serve her, while Chuheng first asked someone to prepare some snacks before he began to change his clothes.
After a while, the two of them dressed and went directly from the main house to the second gate in a sedan chair, and then changed into a horse-drawn carriage.
The carriage was the same spacious one they had ridden in before. Chu Heng then remembered that he had been so busy spending the last few days with Daiyu that he had forgotten to tell Zhao Qing to change the carriage.
but……
Chu Heng looked at Daiyu, who had already gotten used to it in just a few days and sat down next to him, and couldn't help but feel secretly pleased. He also felt that it was unnecessary to change to a smaller carriage, since a small carriage couldn't hold much and would be inconvenient.
Daiyu took a box of pastries and said to Chu Heng, "Would you like to try some?"
Chu Heng took a piece of mung bean cake and held it to Daiyu's lips: "This isn't very sweet, you like it."
Daiyu took a bite and smiled, "Refreshing and delicious, indeed very good. There are some candied fruits in that box over there, but you should eat less of them, as they are too sweet and bad for your teeth."
"Okay," Chu Heng agreed with a smile, and picked out a pea flour cake to eat.
The couple ate their snacks as the carriage moved smoothly until they reached the palace gate. Only then did they put away the snack box, rinse their mouths and wash their hands, and brush the snack crumbs off each other.
After expressing their gratitude at Haiyan Palace, the emperor indeed invited them to dine there. Later, Chu Heng and Daiyu went to Renshou Palace to pay their respects to the Empress Dowager and were once again invited to stay.
Chu Heng laughed and said, "My brother Cai also said that he wanted us to come over for a meal. Mother, you see, there are only one mouth for the two of us, so we can't possibly eat all of it."
The Empress Dowager, playing with a pair of small jade gourds, smiled and said, "I'll invite the Emperor over too, along with Yongkang, the Empress, and the children, so our family can have a lively time."
This is reminiscent of the day Daiyu first met Chu Heng. She couldn't help but look at Chu Heng, and at that time she only hoped that Prince Duan would remain taciturn for the rest of his life, and that they would each live their own lives.
Now……
If Chu Heng really becomes taciturn and no longer gets close to Daiyu, she will not only feel uncomfortable, but she will also be heartbroken.
It's a truly earth-shattering change.
Upon hearing that her fifth brother and sister-in-law had entered the palace, Yongkang came over, bowed, and sat down next to Daiyu: "Fifth sister-in-law, we haven't seen each other for the past few days, have you missed me?"
"I don't want to," Chu Heng said before Daiyu could answer.
Yongkang ignored him: "I know Fifth Sister-in-law must miss me!"
“Yes, Yongkang is so lovable, of course I miss you.” Daiyu nudged Chuheng with her elbow and smiled at Yongkang.
Chu Heng rolled her eyes at Yongkang, but obediently followed Daiyu's lead and did not interrupt their conversation.
The Empress Dowager took everything into account and became increasingly confident that she could control Chu Heng.
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