“Mother, I didn’t want to tell you these things.”
"However, this matter concerns Nanling's lifelong happiness, so I can only tell you the truth."
Yongchang was indeed arrogant and dared to act recklessly in front of anyone.
However, she is not stupid.
At least when she needs a favor, she knows how to be strategic.
Deliberately feigning worry and distress, Yongchang said to the Empress Dowager, "Mother, you don't know, people have been dying every few days at the Fifth Prince's Chu Prince's residence lately."
"And all the dead maids or eunuchs had one eye gouged out!"
The anti-inflammatory drug developed by Xie Yuan has not yet spread in the capital.
Severe external injuries can lead to infection or high fever, which can then be fatal.
A perfectly healthy person has one eye gouged out. Putting aside the pain, the "aftereffects" of the injury alone could be fatal.
While Yongchang's words may be an exaggeration, they are not entirely fabricated.
Even the Empress Dowager, who had seen many storms and was never a soft-hearted old lady, couldn't help but change her expression upon hearing her daughter's words.
"You...you're telling the truth?"
Goro?
How could that be?
That's a handsome and refined young man.
Even if he becomes crippled, even if his title is demoted, it shouldn't be this bad—
"Mother, how dare I speak such things carelessly?"
"If you don't believe me, just send someone to ask around in the neighborhood."
Yongchang showed no remorse whatsoever and spoke with righteous indignation.
"In the public eye? This matter... this matter has already spread outside?"
The Empress Dowager's expression grew increasingly grim.
Family scandals should not be aired in public.
Even if the Fifth Prince is cruel, we can't let outsiders know.
How can a prince, a dignified prince, become the subject of gossip among ordinary people?
Do they still want the prestige and reputation of the Helian royal family?
"Of course! Otherwise, how would my daughter have known?"
Yongchang stiffened his neck, as if to say that this was the truth.
She would never tell the Empress Dowager that it was she who had people spread the rumors about the Prince of Chu's cruelty.
It's not fair to blame her, as the aunt, for being so unkind; it's just that the Fifth Prince is so clueless.
Even though he's become one-eyed, he still stubbornly refuses to break off the engagement.
Yongchang had no choice but to take action for his daughter's sake.
"...Foolish!"
The Empress Dowager cursed angrily.
On the surface, she seemed to be scolding the Fifth Prince;
What is the reality?
Yongchang shifted uncomfortably.
She doesn't like kneeling because it hurts her legs and back.
These days, there are already tall furniture pieces, like chairs and tables!
However, the nobles felt that sitting on a chair was inelegant.
They even called chairs "Hu beds," which were considered barbaric and unfit for polite society.
If you ask Yongchang, what does it matter if it's a folding chair or not? As long as it's comfortable to sit on, that's all that matters.
But there's nothing we can do; that's just how the rules are.
In her princess residence, she could sit however she wanted, but once she left the palace, she had to follow etiquette.
Otherwise, you'll be ridiculed.
"Goro's condition is not good, so let him take good care of himself first."
The Empress Dowager glared at her troublesome daughter, but ultimately felt sorry for her and her granddaughter.
After thinking for a moment, he said, "He has been through a lot of misfortunes lately, and his health in Nanling is not very good either. I guess they didn't take a good look at the horoscopes when they got engaged."
Although she agreed to Yongchang's proposal to annul the engagement, the Empress Dowager did not want to humiliate the Fifth Prince to death.
She didn't mention the fifth prince's disability, but instead brought up his birth chart.
"Mother! If we say that, others will point the finger at Nanling!"
Yongchang understood that the Empress Dowager was protecting the Fifth Prince, and she immediately began to complain.
"A fiancé died in front of Nanling. Now there's a bastard with a foul mouth who says she's a jinx, a woman who brings bad luck to her husband."
"Now that the engagement with Wulang has been broken off, what's the point of talking about fate? Who knows how the outsiders will smear Nanling!"
The Empress Dowager said coldly, "Then what do you want? Wu Lang is already pitiful enough, and you still want to annul the engagement?"
“If we break off the engagement, we have to bear the consequences. We can’t just throw the blame on Goro.”
"It's just that the two people's birth charts are incompatible, and forcing them together will bring misfortune to each other."
"That's better than letting people know that you're opportunistic and disdain your own nephew."
Being a snob or kicking someone when they're down isn't much better than having a bad reputation based on one's birth chart.
Yongchang: ...
He was speechless after being scolded by his own mother.
She was already upset from kneeling, and her mother's scolding only made her more irritable.
She simply stretched out her legs and sat with her legs spread wide.
In this day and age, sitting with legs spread apart is considered very impolite.
The Empress Dowager's temples throbbed as she desperately told herself: "He's my own son! He's my own son!"
She only had two children in her life; her son is already dead.
Now that only this one wretched child remains, no matter how utterly despicable he is, we can only endure it.
Taking a deep breath, the Empress Dowager softened her tone and said, "My seventieth birthday is in a few months, so let Nanling go to the Taoist temple to pray for me!"
Yongchang almost jumped up, "Mother! Isn't that enough? You actually want Nanling to go to the Taoist temple?"
Her statement about "becoming a nun" was just a spiteful remark.
Unexpectedly, my mother actually took it seriously.
Empress Dowager: ...My own son! He's my own son!
But seeing that Yongchang is almost fifty years old, he still acts like a child.
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
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