Chapter 61 Counterattack.
This commotion drew the attention of everyone in the hall. The Empress Dowager could no longer ignore it, so she had to temporarily end her conversation with the Emperor and asked in a loud voice, "What's going on?"
Daiyu rose and curtsied, saying, "I'm sorry to have disturbed the Empress Dowager. It's nothing. I was just telling my eighth sister that I'm so grateful to my maternal grandparents for taking me in all these years. Otherwise, how could I be where I am today?" As she spoke, tears welled up in her red eyes. "Everyone in my maternal grandparents' family treated me very well. I never suffered any grievances there."
Chu Heng quickly got up to help her and gently comforted her.
Empress Dowager: "..."
With tears streaming down her face, she claims she has never been wronged. Even without the infamous foolish act Wang Shi committed last year, anyone with eyes to see today would not believe that the Jia family never wronged Daiyu.
Everyone felt sorry for her, living under someone else's roof and suffering countless grievances. Princess Duan was still painstakingly repairing her maternal grandparents' house!
Thinking about it, the Empress Dowager glared at Wen'an: "You're supposed to be having a proper festival, but you, as the older sister, have made your younger brother and sister-in-law cry. What kind of behavior is that?"
Everyone assumed that the Empress Dowager was upset because Wen'an had said something wrong and displeased her beloved youngest son's wife. Only Wen'an knew that the Empress Dowager was upset because she had not handled things well.
Wen'an stood up tremblingly: "I have misspoke, please forgive me, Mother."
Upon hearing this, Chu Heng said, "You want your mother to forgive you? Are you being disrespectful to your mother?"
Wen An glared angrily. "Why is Fifth Brother still going on and on!"
Seeing Wen An glaring at him, Chu Heng slowly added, "What? Did I say something wrong? Eighth Sister!"
"Enough!" the Empress Dowager snapped. "This family has made such a scene, don't you find it embarrassing? Heng'er, stop being so unreasonable. This matter ends here."
"To forgive even when you are in the right is absurd, even the principles of sages cannot justify it. If you repay evil with good, how will you repay good?" Chu Heng said with dissatisfaction.
Daiyu tugged at Chu Heng's sleeve and whispered, "Your Highness..."
Chu Heng took her hand in his palm and spoke softly again, his words faintly telling her not to be afraid.
Yongkang finally found a chance to speak up: "Fifth Brother is right, my Fifth Sister-in-law is the best person in the world. Eighth Sister, you made her cry, so of course you have to apologize!"
Wen'an was speechless. Who is your real sister?
Oh, and there's her own brother in there too. Compared to him, Wen An's significance is not enough.
But... Fifth Prince usually only argues with Yongkang verbally, and is always amiable to everyone else. Why is he so angry today? Is it all because of his princess?
The Empress Dowager was so angry that her veins were throbbing: "Yongkang, don't interrupt!"
Yongkang snorted and turned his head away.
"Heng'er, you..." The Empress Dowager tried to calm things down again, "This is your own sister. Even if the bones are broken, the tendons are still connected. Everyone in the room is family. Why do you have to make things difficult for her?"
Chu Heng said, “Mother, did I make things difficult for her, or did she find fault with my princess first? If I can’t even protect my own princess, how can I have the face to stand in the capital?” As he spoke, he bowed to the emperor, “Your Majesty, I request permission to take my family to my fiefdom.”
Once pulled, the emperor couldn't escape either. He coughed and said, "Well then, it's Wen'an's fault. You apologize to your fifth brother and sister-in-law, and that'll be the end of it. Fifth brother, what do you think?"
Chu Heng's face was full of dissatisfaction. Just as he was about to speak, Daiyu tugged at his sleeve again, so he changed his words and said, "Your Majesty's decision is clear and obvious. I will obey."
The emperor, looking down from his high position, naturally noticed the subtle interaction between the couple. He nodded slightly in approval, thinking that his fifth sister-in-law was not someone to be trifled with, yet she knew when to stop and when to yield. She was indeed a virtuous and capable wife.
With such a princess who is neither to be spoken of nor touched, he felt more at ease using Prince Duan.
Wen An looked at the Empress Dowager and saw her smiling slightly: "As expected of the Emperor, this is a very good way to do things. Wen An, why are you still standing there?"
Wen An: "..."
It's a thankless task!
Wen'an felt extremely aggrieved. The Empress Dowager had put her in a difficult position, and she couldn't disobey her.
"It was my fault, please forgive me, Fifth Sister-in-law," Wen An said, forcing a smile.
Daiyu turned slightly to the side and said with a smile, "We're family, so let's not speak like strangers. From now on, we and Eighth Sister will be no different from before."
Wen An gritted his teeth and smiled, "Exactly."
Daiyu nudged Chu Heng, and he leaned forward and nodded, making a gesture to indicate that everything was over.
After sitting down again, Daiyu touched Chuheng's palm with her finger, signaling him to let go of her hand. In front of these people, the act was over, and Daiyu couldn't help but feel shy about being so intimate.
Chu Heng hooked her finger in return, and the two exchanged a knowing glance before quickly parting ways as if nothing had happened.
Because of this minor incident, the Empress Dowager's Dragon Boat Festival family banquet was somewhat dull. At the end, she called Chu Heng and Daiyu to Renshou Palace alone.
"Mother hasn't touched her food much, is she not eating well?" Chu Heng asked as soon as they sat down.
The Empress Dowager said irritably, "I'm so angry I'm full, what's the point of eating? You all come here every day to make a scene, I wonder how much food you could save!"
Chu Heng said, "Mother, please calm down. However, it was Eighth Sister who started this today. It's no use getting angry at us. You might as well call her over and give her a good scolding to vent your anger."
The Empress Dowager was even angrier: "You dare to talk back!"
Chu Heng said innocently, "To tell you the truth, Mother, you were there at the time. Wasn't it Eighth Sister who went to find Daiyu first?"
The Empress Dowager rubbed her forehead: "What did she do wrong? It was just a word. She's your own sister, when did you learn to be so petty?"
Chu Heng said dejectedly, “Mother, Eighth Sister also lost her biological parents. She changed her expression as soon as I mentioned it. Why can’t she be more understanding of Daiyu? Mother has always been good to Eighth Sister. Am I not her own brother? Isn’t she just provoking me? I don’t know where I offended Eighth Sister that she blamed my princess.”
They were tough just now, but now they're backing down.
He used such meager methods on his own mother!
The Empress Dowager was furious. The fifth prince doted on his princess like the apple of his eye, even more so than she had ever known. Today's plans had been ruined.
Wen An is utterly incompetent. Next time something happens, she should choose someone else to do it.
Daiyu curtsied and said, "It is all my fault. I beg the Empress Dowager and the Prince not to cause any unpleasantness between mother and son over such a trivial matter. Otherwise, I would be truly ashamed."
"No, that's not true." Chu Heng quickly grasped Daiyu's hand and comforted her, "There's no such thing as a mother and son holding a grudge overnight. Look at Yongkang, he often makes Mother angry, but Mother never holds it against him. Mother will treat me the same way."
The Empress Dowager choked again. These words should have been left for her to say last, to show her maternal love, but the fifth prince had taken them!
"Enough." The Empress Dowager waved her hand. She had been careless, thinking that the fifth son's wife would be easier to deal with, which was why she chose Wen'an, who was a bit dim-witted. She hadn't expected the couple to be so united.
The Empress Dowager acknowledged the defeat, but she still had a backup plan.
The Empress Dowager said, "There is no need to mention today's matter again in the future."
Chu Heng and Daiyu both replied, "Yes."
The Empress Dowager had nothing more to say to them and simply told them to leave. She needed to catch her breath so she could prepare for the next plan.
"She gave birth to her own child, and she couldn't even control it?" The Empress Dowager didn't believe it.
...
Chu Heng and Daiyu, relying on their tacit understanding, spontaneously put on that play to make their stance clear: Prince Duan and Princess Duan are not to be trifled with; the Emperor and Empress Dowager both favor them. Anyone else who wants to provoke them should first consider whether they can afford to offend the Emperor and Empress Dowager.
If he wanted Chu Heng to do things, he needed to squeeze as much benefit as possible out of the Emperor and Empress Dowager before discarding them after they had served their purpose.
However, there was still one thing they couldn't understand.
“Among the sisters, Wen’an is considered the dumbest, but having grown up in the palace, even the dumbest person knows what to say and what not to say.” Chu Heng rubbed his fingers. “Besides, we have no grudge against her and no reason to make trouble for her, so she has no reason to make trouble for us.”
Daiyu understood Princess Wen'an even less, and could only guess: "Since she's not very bright, perhaps she's being used?"
Chu Heng pondered, "Even so, who have we offended?"
Daiyu and he looked at each other for a moment, and then Daiyu said, "Besides the Jia family, who else could it be? But the Jia family should not have any dealings with Wen'an. I only know that their family is on good terms with the Prince Consort of Yongchang."
"Does the Jia family still have the ability to get the princess and her husband to do something?" Chu Heng shook his head. "Even if they could really persuade them, it would have to be the old lady of the Rongguo Duke who would step in. She's still recovering from her illness and doesn't have the energy for that."
Besides, Grandmother Jia was quite frightened by Chu Heng last time, so she wouldn't dare to easily find fault with them again.
Daiyu thought for a moment and said, "Deliberately bringing up the Jia family might be an attempt to mislead us. This matter is indeed unrelated to the Jia family, but..."
However, they had no idea whether Wen An was truly unable to control his tongue or was being instigated by someone.
“I’ll have someone keep an eye on Wen’an’s residence and see who she’s been associating with lately.” Chu Heng grasped Daiyu’s hand again. “Don’t worry, we’ll deal with whatever comes our way. We have the Emperor and the Empress Dowager above us.”
Daiyu couldn't help but laugh: "We've been using each other's power for our own good."
Chu Heng blinked: "Who says a tiger needs a fox?"
Daiyu chuckled, "I know. Be careful out there. I'll be fine here at home."
Aside from visiting the palace every few days to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager and Empress, Daiyu spent the rest of her time entertaining herself in her residence, reading, playing the zither, writing calligraphy and painting, embroidering, fishing, composing poems, and appreciating flowers. All of this was quite enjoyable.
"We agreed to go out and play together again, but I haven't had much time yet," Chu Heng said, sounding somewhat apologetic.
Daiyu smiled and said, "The street can't be moved, we can just go whenever we have free time."
Chu Heng gently stroked the corner of her eye: "Okay... there's still some redness here. It's all Wen An's fault for making you cry for nothing."
“I won’t cry. I can’t just start talking badly about the Jia family,” Daiyu said, unconcerned. “Fortunately, this happened today, which will prevent anyone from bringing this up with me again in the future. We should thank her.”
Daiyu openly criticizes the Jia family, and some may believe her while others may not. But when Daiyu cries and praises the Jia family, and considering the malicious schemes that Wang Shi made a huge fuss about last year, everyone knows whether the Jia family is truly good or not.
Chu Heng snorted, still very dissatisfied with Wen An: "I won't thank her."
He only acted this way because it concerned her, which comforted Daiyu deeply. She softened her tone and gently comforted him.
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Author's Note: Sorry everyone, I got so busy I forgot to put the drafts in the archive beforehand.
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