Chapter 58: No Personal Feelings for the Prince
Yu Fei was stunned.
The Queen said calmly, "Since the Crown Prince has promised not to pursue the past with you, I cannot let him down. He is deeply in love with you and has been hurt so much. As a mother, I cannot stop you from having a relationship. I will help you."
Yu Fei thought that the empress would use this as an excuse to punish her by making her do things like copying Buddhist scriptures or praying for the crown prince. After all, Jing Cang was injured because of her, and if the empress tortured her afterwards, wouldn't that chill her son's heart.
But she had never expected that the Queen would be so ruthless in her punishment. After a little reflection, she understood her intention.
The prince risked his life for a merchant girl, but merchants are cunning and profit-seeking, and she might very well raise the price. The lion asked for a high price, asking the prince to disobey the imperial decree and marry her.
The Queen's move was like a sharp knife, which sealed her identity right after she returned to the East Palace and cut off her possible thoughts of instigating the Prince and usurping the throne.
Yu Fei was impressed. The queen was indeed a great politician in the original story. If the original owner had used this "stick and carrot" strategy, she would have been terrified when her past was exposed. But when she learned that everything would be resolved if she became the prince's concubine, she would have thought that the queen was the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara who saved the world. She would have been so happy that she would have prostrated herself and thanked the emperor for his grace.
But she is a woman of the 21st century, the concept of monogamy is ingrained in her bones, and her pride and dignity will not allow her to be a mistress, no matter how much she loves the man.
——Love is precious, but self-worth is higher.
In fact, the queen was overthinking. She would never tempt Jing Cang for the position of Crown Princess. She had deceived him many times before, but this was the only thing she would never play.
Just like a couple in modern times, if the woman needs to chase, coax, and beg the man to marry her, what is the meaning of this marriage? If a man has you in his heart, he will offer everything to you. If he doesn't have you or thinks you are not that important, even if you get it by force, it may not be long-lasting and happy.
Moreover, compared with the splendor, prosperity and strict rules of the imperial palace, she prefers the vastness, freedom and casualness of the outside world.
Yu Fei was thinking about how to decline the offer. The Queen saw that she hesitated for a long time and her expression darkened. She asked, "Do you think that the position of a concubine is too low and it disgraces your appearance and family background?"
Seeing that the queen seemed about to get angry, Yu Fei hurriedly said, "Yu Fei is terrified."
She pondered slowly, "I am a merchant, and the prince is a son of heaven. It is a blessing for my Yu family to serve him. But I know that I am uneducated and clumsy, and I am afraid that I will not be able to serve the prince and the princess well in the future. If I offend them, I will not end well."
"Besides, I only admire the prince and there is no need for me to interfere. If I continue to stay with him, it would be like blaspheming my father and brother. It makes me feel remorseful and unable to sleep or eat."
She kowtowed heavily. "So, I bravely ask Your Majesty to make the decision and allow me to leave the palace and return to my hometown. I will definitely remain single for the rest of my life, and pray for Your Majesty, His Majesty, the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess to be safe and healthy, and for the weather to be favorable and the country to be prosperous."
After Yu Fei finished speaking these words of humility and filial piety, he waited for the empress's reply until his neck ached. The empress did not say a word, as if she had not heard anything.
She secretly raised her eyes to glance at the Queen, only to see that the Queen was looking past her and staring meaningfully outside the door, as if she was watching a show.
Yu Fei's heart skipped a beat.
Before she came, she told Huo Dao that if she didn't return within an hour, he should wake up Jing Cang and send someone to look for her. Judging from the Queen's behavior, Jing Cang seemed to have come in person in advance and heard her righteous words.
Yu Fei felt a little guilty. He had just been hurt for her, and she wanted to cut off all ties with him and have no contact with him, but then she thought that it was better to suffer a short pain than a long one, and instead of entangled in a fruitless struggle, it would be better for him to give up and let her go.
She kowtowed again and said loudly: "The love snake has been freed. Yu Fei has come to her senses and realized that she has no private feelings for the prince. I think the prince will soon realize it. Please agree, Your Majesty."
The queen came back to her senses, rubbed her brows, and asked worriedly, "Have you told the prince about this?"
Yu Fei said: "No."
Seeing that the queen was no longer paying attention to the door, she guessed that Jing Cang had left and pretended to smile sadly: "Men are born with the right to have three wives and four concubines, but which woman doesn't want to 'win the heart of one man and stay together until old age'? I think that as the mother of a country, your majesty is a role model for women all over the world and can better understand the difficulties of women in this world."
The queen looked at her intently and said with a smile, "I didn't expect you to have such an opinion."
She also suddenly realized that this little merchant girl was not completely without feelings for Jing Cang, but she was asking too much for the future king's heart. Fortunately, she realized her mistake and thought of retreating while the tide was at hand.
The queen couldn't help but think of her younger self, who was also bright and spirited like Yu Fei. However, she was luckier than Yu Fei, as she met a prince who fell in love with her at first sight and was determined to marry her. They supported each other all the way and ascended the throne of queen.
However, the emperor wanted to expand the royal family, and she was in poor health. After giving birth to Jing Cang, there was no news for a long time. Memorials to the emperor to select concubines came like snowflakes. At first, the emperor refused. As time went on, some ministers and people called her a "jealous queen". In order to maintain her reputation and power, she made drastic efforts to select concubines for the emperor.
The day after the emperor visited Concubine Zhu, he said to her indifferently: "Zi Tong, we can never go back..."
But he was a prince who had never been favored, and she was a court lady from a humble family. They had worked hard and exhausted all their efforts to reach the top. How could they allow their children's love affairs to make their status and power unstable? She deliberately ignored her jealousy and disgust towards other concubines, and tried to be a virtuous and generous queen. She also liked to spend her time and energy on competing for fame and fortune to forget the unhappiness between her and the emperor.
At this moment, she recalled her past self, and her greatest wish was to live a loving life with her husband until old age. However, the years of palace affairs and power had changed her beyond recognition, and her original intention was lost.
She agreed to Yu Fei, which was like pushing her younger self out of this quagmire of the palace.
Yu Fei heard the empress's calm but trembling voice on the high throne: "Later, I will give you an oral order to let you leave the palace." He paused, "But from now on, you are not allowed to regret it again."
Yu Fei thanked him and said, "Yes."
The Queen couldn't help but feel suspicious because Jing Cang treated her like this. What if she went back on her word and came back to seduce the Crown Prince and cause chaos in the palace? All the Queen's good deeds would be in vain.
She also learned from the original text that the queen's regret was that she could not be with the emperor until old age, and that the queen cried for half the night when Concubine Zhu slept with him for the first time. Therefore, she dared to speak out her woman's voice, hoping that the queen would resonate with her and agree to let her leave the palace and regain her freedom.
But when one loses something, one must gain something. This is true for her and the queen as well.
After Yu Fei left, the maid who was watching asked the queen, "Are you really going to let Yu Fei go?"
The Queen held her forehead and said, "What can I do if I don't spare her? Qilin risked his life for her. If I did something to Yu Fei and he finds out in the future, our mother-son relationship will probably be in tatters."
Mammy followed suit with a sigh.
The Queen said, "I never thought this woman was so clever and clever, no wonder Qilin fell in love with her." After thinking for a moment, she mocked Jing Cang, "He can't even keep his own woman. He is so incompetent."
The nanny smiled and said, "The prince is a man of integrity, and he is nothing like that young lady who has seen too many tricks in the entertainment industry."
The queen nodded. She had heard many stories about Yu Fei in Shu County.
The nanny asked worriedly, "If the prince knew that you let Yu Fei go from the palace, would he become hostile to you?"
"He has the nerve to do that!" The queen curled her lips, "If he dares to shake his sleeves when he can't keep a woman, I will punish him according to the family rules."