Chapter 110: Planning to sign a contract to sell oneself.
"Azhu is not at the ancestral temple. I don't know where he went."
During those troubled times, both of her children met with misfortune. Even Mrs. Xie, who had always been calm and composed, became seriously ill.
The eldest daughter-in-law, Meng, was nursing her. She was genuinely concerned for her mother-in-law, her eyes red from all the hard work. Mrs. Xie, feeling sorry for her, took the medicine bowl from her and said, "Go to sleep. I'll talk to Ah Ying."
Cong Ying also advised Meng: "I'll take care of your mother-in-law. Sister-in-law, take a good rest."
She saw Meng out. Meng took her hand, her attitude much more friendly, and sighed softly, "Xie is in such a state, it's pitiful that you still want to call my mother mother-in-law and me sister-in-law."
She had many friends in Yunjing and had heard some rumors about Jiang Congying and Prince Jin. She thought that people's hearts were like water and she would just go with the flow. Unexpectedly, she was now willing to accept Xie as her husband's family, and did not let her mother-in-law down.
"Actually, I have a clue about Ah Zhu's whereabouts," Meng said. "Last month, she traveled by carriage to Qingfengqu. I don't know who she met, but the next day she insisted on going to the ancestral temple."
Qingfengqu is the only way to the Censorate.
Cong Ying nodded: "I'll keep an eye on it."
She went back to the room to talk to Mrs. Xie, but Mrs. Xie took out an unsigned letter from under the pillow, took it from Ying and unfolded it, and she saw the three words "divorce letter" in front of her.
Cong Ying's face turned pale in an instant: "What do you mean, mother-in-law..."
Mrs. Xie held her hand and said, "Before Sanlang left, he asked me to take good care of you. But with the Xie family's current situation, I'm afraid it's going to be a disaster. All I can do for you is not to burden you."
Cong Ying felt unhappy: "I am already married to Sanlang, so naturally I will share the joys and sorrows with Xie. If my mother-in-law can keep my eldest sister-in-law by her side, why won't she keep me?"
Madam Xie shook her head and said, "You are different from Mrs. Meng. You have no children, and not many people know about your marriage to Sanlang. Not even the Prime Minister saw it in person. You have never received any favor from the Xie family, so why bother coming here to fill a hole for nothing? Go now while there is still room for you, and don't come to the Xie Mansion again in the future."
It seemed like a great effort to say this. Madam Xie leaned on the soft pillow, closed her eyes and took a rest, and no matter how much Congying refused, she did not waver.
Xie Xiang invited the imperial physician to come and see her, and Cong Ying had no choice but to leave. Xie Xiang picked up the divorce letter that had fallen at his feet and said with a faint smile, "Madam, why are you so soft-hearted towards everyone? But this Madam Jiang has a temperament somewhat like yours."
Mrs. Xie said, "That's why I couldn't bear to see her end up like me."
"Do you regret marrying me?" Xie Xiang sat beside the low couch, holding her hand and whispering, "I'm not at the end of my rope yet."
He told her his plan: "Now I am pretending to be out of power and flying low, so that I can withdraw from the struggle between King Jin and King Ying. King Ying is deeply rooted, and King Jin is swift and decisive. I will wait until they are both dead and injured in the fight, and then I will intervene."
Madam Xie was puzzled: "If these two princes fall, the emperor may be even more reluctant to appoint an heir."
"There's no need to appoint an heir," Xie Xiang whispered in her ear, "Concubine Xie is pregnant, and I'm about to have a nephew who's the crown prince. He's still inexperienced, so he's the most suitable person to be the emperor."
He really wants to be like Huo Guang.
Madam Xie sighed, feeling deeply exhausted. "Since you have your own ideas about the court affairs, there is no need to tell me again. There are only three things you must agree to."
"Madam, please speak."
"First, I've already used Ah Ying once. I gave her the account book of King Ying and Kang Huayu. It's enough for her to help you this time. Don't try to take advantage of her again in the future."
Xie Xiang nodded: "Okay."
"Secondly, even if you pretend to lose power, you must protect Sanlang and Ah Zhu with all your heart. If something like what happened to Erlang happens again..."
Xie Xiang held her hand and assured her: "I understand."
"Third, no matter what, you cannot harm King Jin."
Xie Xiang was slightly startled: "Why is this?"
Madam Xie stared at him intently: "Don't you really understand... Even a tiger won't eat its own cubs."
The smile in Xie Xiang's eyes disappeared, and he gripped Madam Xie's hand with a bit more force: "Who dares to speak nonsense in front of you? Such outrageous words, don't you want to live?!"
Madam Xie said, "I'm not trying to dwell on the past. Your Excellency, there's no need to react like that."
Xie Xiang was unusually furious. "He should have died last year, yet he came back to life to make matters worse. No, he shouldn't have been born in the first place! His last name is Xiao, not Xie. What does that have to do with me? In this life, I've only had children with you!"
He refused to respond to the third point, saying nothing, and walked away. Madam Xie leaned back on her pillow, lost in thought, muttering to herself for a long time, "What a sin!"
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King Ying was in great trouble because of the censorate's report on Kang Huayu's bribery, and he was seeking help everywhere. King Jin took advantage of the situation and bribed or threatened the King Ying's party who were not firm in their stance in the court, making them turn to him. At the same time, he placed his own people in power in various important positions.
He devoured everything he had and moved with great haste. In just two months, his influence in the court soared, and he became a hot candidate for the throne.
Some people say that he has been dormant for ten years just for a chance to debate, while others are puzzled: since he could endure for more than ten years, why is he suddenly so impatient now, as if he is being chased by something? Isn’t he afraid of making mistakes?
Sure enough, in early November, when the first snow fell in Yunjing, Prince Jin was assassinated on his way out of the city to worship gods. He was injured and unconscious, but fortunately the injury was only to the ribs and his life was not in danger.
The eldest princess was furious, and the emperor ordered a thorough investigation. All the clues on the assassin pointed to the King of England, and the atmosphere in the court was very delicate.
When the King of Jin woke up and heard about this, he actually laughed: "He still likes these tricks of fighting each other."
He invited the eldest princess to come and told her, "The assassins who tried to kill me were spies that Prime Minister Xie had planted beside the King of England in his early years. The mastermind behind this was not the King of England, but Prime Minister Xie. Please, mother, investigate these people."
Prince Jin thought about it and called out a few names, not noticing that the eldest princess's face suddenly turned pale.
What the Prince of Jin meant was that he should ask the Princess to report this matter to your Majesty, who would naturally drag Prime Minister Xie into the matter. He would frame the King of England, and the King of England would not let him off easily. Then, the people who would be fighting over the matter would become Prime Minister Xie and the King of England.
But Prince Jin knew one thing: the real father of this body was not the prince consort who died young, but Prime Minister Xie, who had a one-night stand with the eldest princess.
So he didn't expect that the eldest princess would be so furious that she lost her mind and led the imperial guards to besiege the Xie Mansion, and he didn't expect that this matter would involve Mrs. Xie.
"Xie Huanzhi actually dared to touch my son. This beast is worse than an animal. I will bury him and his entire family with him!"
The eldest princess stood in the courtyard of Xie's mansion with red eyes: "Everyone with the surname Xie, I will kill them all!"
After Xie Xuanlan left, the Xie Mansion, which had lost the protection of the Fengchen Guards, was left with only a few hundred servants. They were no match for the fully armed imperial guards and were killed and dispersed in a matter of seconds.
The eldest princess deliberately chose to come when Xie Xiang was summoned to the palace. She wanted Xie Xiang to see his descendants, uncles and aunts all turned into corpses on the ground when he returned, in order to avenge him for his evil act of daring to attack King Jin.
"Stop, Your Highness the Princess."
Mrs. Xie came out with the support of Mrs. Meng. Her haggard and sickly appearance formed a sharp contrast with the plump and beautiful eldest princess.
They were once called the "Two Beauties of Yunjing", the eldest princess was the Peony of the Royal Family, and Madam Xie was the Lingxiao of the Poor Family.
Now the peonies remain, but the trumpet creepers have withered. Madam Xie saw through the eldest princess's complacency in her eyes, which still showed her anger.
Madam Xie said, "The assassination of Prince Jin has nothing to do with the Prime Minister. It was my order."
The eldest princess: "Why are you asking that?"
"The eldest princess looks at me like a fool. What happened more than 20 years ago? Don't you know anything?"
Madam Xie smiled slightly. "Prince Jin and Sanlang were born at the same time, and their horoscopes are the same. Why is it that my son was exiled to Xizhou, and the Prime Minister didn't care, while your son is rising rapidly, and the Prime Minister wants to secretly help him? Why am I not as good as you, and my son is not as good as your son?"
These words made the princess stunned. She raised her hand and the imperial guards immediately put away their swords.
She was surprised: "So you already knew?"
Mrs. Xie nodded: "Yes."
"Are you jealous of me and my son?"
"yes."
This unexpected answer instantly dispelled much of the Princess's anger. She had been brooding over her incompetence with Cheng Danyin for half her life, and now, unexpectedly, Cheng Danyin was jealous of her.
The princess felt a mixture of emotions. It was she who had wronged Cheng Danyin first, so she was at a loss for words. She gave the order, "Since Cheng has pleaded guilty to the murder of Prince Jin, arrest her and imprison her, then hand her over to the Dali Temple for trial."
The Dali Temple is your lord's territory. Given the grudge between your lord and the Xie family, they will certainly not show mercy. Sooner or later, they will use torture to extract a confession and pin the matter on Prime Minister Xie.
After learning about this from Ying, I felt like my head was exploding and my heart was suddenly constricted.
She didn't care about anything else and went to the Dali Temple first, pretending to convey the noble master's instructions and meeting Madam Xie.
Mrs. Xie rarely spoke sternly and warned her not to interfere in this matter. Cong Ying shook her head with tears in her eyes, took off her cloak and put it on her, and ordered people to bring charcoal and hot water.
She said to Madam Xie, "I often envy Xie Miaozhu and think how wonderful it would be if Madam Xie were my mother. Madam Xie, I cherish you as much as I do Sanlang. Don't worry, I will rescue you."
She showed the Imperial Jade Token bestowed upon her by the noble Lord to the Junior Official of the Dali Temple and said, "Pass on your Highness's order. Before the three judges convene, no one is allowed to privately interrogate Madam Xie, let alone torture her. Protect her and provide her with her medicine. No negligence is allowed."
This is of course also a false imperial decree.
After leaving the Dali Temple, Cong Ying went straight to Princess Chun'an's mansion, apologized to the noble lady, and told her everything he had done.
She vowed to Princess Chun'an, "Maybe it was the King of Ying, maybe it was Prime Minister Xie, but it definitely couldn't be Madam Xie. I am willing to find out the truth for Your Highness, and I beg You not to implicate Madam Xie."
She knelt before the princess, kowtowed deeply, and begged earnestly.
Princess Chun'an asked her, "What do you want from me?"
Cong Ying said: "If Your Highness wants it, I won't refuse as long as I can afford it."
The princess said, "I want your wholehearted service, your loyalty, and to stop worrying about Xie San. Write him a letter and sever all ties with him. Will you do that?"
Congying was stunned when he heard this, and looked up at Princess Chun'an, as if he didn't expect that her words would hit him so hard.
Although Princess Chun'an was angry that she had concealed the truth, she felt pity for her when she saw her distress. She walked to the center of the palace, helped her up, and said to her kindly, "I've been through this before, and I understand how you feel. However, there are some relationships where hesitation can lead to chaos. Ah Ying, don't get too caught up in this."
Congying knelt before her again: "I will win the Qingtan at the end of the year, and I will regard the Taiyi as my life's work. I will pledge my loyalty to Your Highness with my life...Except for the lives of Sanlang and Madam Xie, no matter how Your Highness treats the Xie family, Congying will never betray you, but Your Highness..."
Cong Ying's voice was slightly hoarse: "I am the thin thread that holds his life. If I abandon him now, he will really become a desperado."
Princess Chun'an didn't care about Xie Xuanlan's life or death, and even thought it would be better if he died cleanly.
But she cared about Jiang Congying and the people from Luoxiang Mountain who shared her sympathy.
When Jiang Congying said she was Xie Xuanlan's thread, she was actually saying Xie Xuanlan was her thread. She had also experienced the deep, piercing feeling of love.
Intellectually, she knew that as long as she insisted, Jiang Congying would have no choice but to agree to her for the sake of Madam Xie's life.
But emotionally, I really couldn't bear to see her so sad.
Her father said that a ruler should use more wisdom and less emotion, but that was for others, not Jiang Congying. In her heart, Jiang Congying was different from others, and it was difficult to measure her with political tactics.
After a long stalemate, Ying was almost on the verge of collapse. Finally, she slowly closed her eyes, her lips trembling constantly.
She opened her mouth, but before she could even say "OK", Princess Chun'an suddenly interrupted her.
"That's all."
The princess sighed imperceptibly, "That's just you... This won't happen again. Please leave."
Cong Ying seemed a little unbelievable: "Then Madam Xie..."
Princess Chun'an said, "I am willing to let her go, but the eldest princess may not be so willing to let her go so easily. You'd better take care of her."
Congying thanked him gratefully and left. When she turned around, she heard Princess Chun'an calling out, "Jiang Congying."
Cong Ying returned and waited for orders: "Your Highness."
The princess said, "Let's put this matter to rest and ask the hermit from Luoxi Mountain to come see me."
Cong Ying said subconsciously: "Senior Sister Yiyun is not in Yunjing——"
The princess raised her voice slightly, a hint of anger in her voice: "I didn't ask her, I was talking about the people from Luoxi Mountain!"
A flash of inspiration came to Ying's mind, and she was stunned.
She understood what the princess meant.
For a long moment, she bowed her head, not daring to look up at her, a myriad of emotions swirling within her. Until the princess stood up and left, the edge of her crimson dress brushing past her in the corner of her eye, she replied softly, "Yes, Your Highness."
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After leaving the Princess's Mansion, Cong Ying turned and headed towards Prince Jin's Mansion.
After convincing the noble master, she felt relieved. She thought the eldest princess would have an easier time than the noble master. After all, the current Prince Jin was a different Sanlang, and he would never sit idly by and watch Madam Xie get into trouble.
But she did not see the Prince of Jin and was stopped by the eldest princess.
The eldest princess said, "My son is still unconscious, and you dare to come and plead for mercy for the murderer?"
Cong Ying said, "Mrs. Xie is not the murderer."
It's useless. The eldest princess is more difficult to deal with than your lord. Your lord still feels sorry for her and pities her, but the eldest princess only wants to scheme against her.
The princess said with a half-smile, "You can ask me to release Cheng Danyin, but there is one condition."
Cong Ying: "I'm all ears."
Just as she was wondering what unreasonable demands the eldest princess would make, she heard the eldest princess say, "You marry my son and become the Princess of Jin."
Cong Ying was stunned, momentarily puzzled. "What on earth could possibly be so worthy of the Princess's attention, considering my humble credentials and impoverished family background?"
The eldest princess said, "If it's just you, it's really not worth it. But the noble lady even agreed to let Madam Xie go, which shows how much she values you. If you become the Princess of Jin, she will treat the Jin Palace well in the future. The three of us are of the same mind, isn't that great?"
Cong Ying had never thought of such a strange relationship. She was like a hostage from the Princess's Mansion who was about to marry into the Prince Jin's Mansion.
This is outrageous.
Cong Ying suddenly stood up and said, "I want to see the King of Jin."
King Jin will never sit idly by.
"He's not awake yet."
"Then I'll come back after he wakes up."
The eldest princess smiled and said, "It's hard to say whether my son will wake up first or Madam Xie will die first."
Cong Ying refused to be easily manipulated and went back to wait for another three days. During these three days, the court was in chaos. The Princess and the King of Ying were both holding on to Mrs. Xie and refused to give in. Cong Ying went to Du Rupan every day to inquire about the news. In the midst of the storm, Mrs. Xie's situation became increasingly worse, and Prime Minister Xie's situation was not much better either.
It is said that His Royal Highness Prince Jin has not woken up yet.
Finally, Cong Yingxian couldn't bear it anymore and came to Prince Jin's Mansion again.
She compromised with the Princess: "As long as Her Royal Highness is willing to let Madam Xie go... just let Madam Xie go, I agree to be the Princess of Jin."
The eldest princess burst into laughter. She was so proud that she seemed to have forgotten that her son was still "not awake".
"Words are not enough. Please write down your proof. I will ask for the imperial decree so that I can go to Chun'an to retrieve you."
Cong Ying sighed, and as she said, she pledged to marry the Prince of Jin and become his Princess, and pressed her handprint.
She felt very uncomfortable with this practice of selling herself in an indenture, so she could only comfort herself in her heart that everything was just a temporary measure. As long as Madam Xie could be saved, when Prince Jin woke up, he would definitely intercede for her with the eldest princess.
He said he would not force her to become the Princess of Jin.
The princess said, "In less than two weeks, Madam Xie will be fine, don't worry."
After Ying left, the eldest princess admired the "indenture" with a happy mood, as if she saw the wonderful future of the Jin Palace and the noble lord's alliance, which would lead to even greater power.
A jade-white hand stretched out from behind her and pulled out the indenture contract.
It was the Prince of Jin who was rumored to be in a coma.
His injuries were no longer serious, but his face was a pale pale. He looked calm, as if he had everything under control. After carefully examining the indenture, he tucked it into his arms and bowed to the princess. "Thank you, mother, for your help. I'll go to the palace tomorrow to ask for permission. We can start preparing for the wedding ceremony. We'll choose the nearest auspicious day. We'll prioritize the urgent and then the convenient, to avoid any further complications."
"Okay, okay, you have great ideas. I'll listen to you."
The eldest princess smiled and said, "I really can't tell. When you don't want to, you are as unmovable as a rock, and even medicinal wine can't do anything to you. But once you have a mind, even the gods in heaven can't escape your calculations. You took a knife in vain, but in exchange you got a beautiful woman. Are you happy now?"
Prince Jin said calmly, "I'm sorry to have laughed at you, mother. Things are not yet complete, so I need to go out for a while."
The eldest princess said: "Be careful, don't let Jiang Congying see us. If she persuades you to soften your heart, I will become a wicked mother-in-law for nothing."
Prince Jin nodded: "I understand."
He wanted to go to the Dali Temple secretly to meet Mrs. Xie.
One was to make amends, and the other was to ask for a letter of divorce. Since Prime Minister Xie acted in this way, he believed that Madam Xie would definitely give it to him.
With the divorce letter, Ah Ying will no longer have any relationship with the precarious Xie family, and she will become the Princess of Jin, a woman of respected status and protected by power.
Only then could she be truly helped to escape the misfortune of her previous life.
Then he would die without regrets.
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