Chapter 266: One Arrow, Many Killings

On the way back, Bei Jingchu asked Xiangqiao: "Madam, why did the horse get frightened? Was there any sign of it?"

"Your Highness, there was no sign, the horse just went crazy all of a sudden."

Bei Jingchu turned around and told Haoyue: "Send the coroner to examine the horse's body."

"Nian'er, take everyone to check the area around the incident to see if you can find the reason why the horse got out of control."

"Your Majesty is also in the hunting grounds, be careful."

"yes."

Xiangqiao was sent back to the camp. She thought that perhaps the prince was still young and didn't know about her past.

All the women, young and old, who knew her past, were unwilling to get close to her.

Even if we force the relationship, the reluctance cannot be hidden.

Xiangqiao breathed a sigh of relief.

She was sent back, and a lady who had always been at odds with her exclaimed "Yeh" when she saw this.

"Mrs. Tong is back? What's going on? Did the hunting go wrong?"

"You'd be better off using your energy on the couch. This may not be the place for you."

"......"

This woman's husband and Tong Huai'en were also political enemies. The two families had already become enemies, so they acted and spoke without restraint.

Knowing her weakness, he looked for opportunities to step on it.

In the past, Xiangqiao would not have swallowed her anger.

But she had a young princess who had not yet left the palace by her side, so she did not dare to make her words too clear.

He just shouted, "What are you talking about? Be more restrained."

The pattern of the riding uniform could not be seen clearly from a distance. The guards were standing far away outside the tent. The woman obviously did not recognize who was next to Xiangqiao.

Still humiliating: "A poor family, a thing from a low-class brothel, it's better not to mix hunting with it."

"When you lose your life, it will be a laughing stock."

"Don't blame me, Madam Tong. I am just reminding you kindly~"

Xiangqiao is usually a person of dubious character, but she becomes stronger when she meets a strong opponent. However, with the little prince beside her, she cannot curse him, so she can only warn him, "There are noble people around me, don't say anything wrong."

The woman covered her mouth and exclaimed: "How can you have such a noble person by your side?"

"Is it because you are of such a lowly origin that everyone looks like a noble to you?"

Xiangqiao: ...Who made her so upset today? Did she have another fight with her husband?

Xiangqiao could only point out: "Don't lose your manners in front of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

"......"

Facing her shocked and terrified expression, Bei Jingchu smiled and nodded slightly.

The woman said timidly, "I didn't know...I didn't know Your Highness was here. I am so sorry."

"Ignorance is not a crime. Please forgive me, Your Highness."

Bei Jingchu shrugged speechlessly and took Xiangqiao back to her own tent.

Xiang Qiao saw that she was acting normal, and couldn't help but be curious: "Your Highness knows my identity, don't you think it's... dirty?"

After saying this, Xiangqiao realized she was stunned. She was only ten years old and she probably didn't even understand what a brothel was.

Bei Jingchu was overwhelmed with unspeakable thoughts after what happened today. In the past, when she read about their friendship, she only felt it was sad and beautiful.

And behind this sadness and beauty lies so much suffering and tears.

Xiangqiao is already middle-aged, and even as the wife of the Minister of the Central Secretariat, she is happy and has a harmonious family.

But because of a dark past, she was nailed to the pillar of shame for her entire life.

"I have a question about the world, and no one seems to have any doubts about it, so I don't know who to talk to."

Xiangqiao is like a gentle older sister who guides the confused younger sister.

Especially when I think about the fact that the Crown Prince's biological mother was sent to the cold palace, I feel even more pity for him.

I guess this child must have many things he doesn't understand on his way to growing up, but he has no female elder to talk to.

Bei Jingchu didn't know what the other person was thinking. She asked a question that no one had ever asked about the world: "Women are women. Why are they divided into saints and... whores?"

This statement was a bit harsh, but Bei Jingchu couldn't help but speak out.

Normally, no one discusses this issue with her, and everyone treats her like a child. She has been holding it in for a long time.

"I used to think that many people don't respect women, but it seems that's not the case."

"They simply divide women into two categories. One category is saints, mothers, wives, people who may start a family in the future, and are happy without desires. Their uses are divided into giving birth and continuing the family line."

"The other type is..." Bei Jing took a quick look. Mrs. Tong should know what she was talking about.

"They are prostitutes, objects of play, serving only desire and far away from reproduction."

Bei Jingchu was not the kind of person who would talk too much with people she did not know, but this strange and uncomfortable feeling had been lingering in her heart for too long.

Even in that distant era in her memory, it was the same.

"In fact, due to some complicated reasons, perhaps in order to improve their status, women try hard to be saints and become ascetic clay Buddhas."

"And conversely, they insult and hate another type of women to show their own purity."

"We are all grasshoppers on the same rope, and we are all people whose values ​​are being judged. Why should we be complacent just because we are given a high price?"

Xiangqiao was stunned and couldn't utter a word in response.

But Bei Jingchu was not looking for a response, she just wanted to find a way to vent.

"I found it very strange that men's lust is affirmed and even praised."

"They frequented the entertainment world and were known as romantic and suave."

"Women are not allowed to be lustful or face their own desires."

"Whether they understand the relationship between men and women becomes the dividing line between whether they are innocent and pure."

Xiang Qiao stared blankly at the young girl, feeling inexplicably shocked.

All along, everyone told her how despicable she was in the past.

Even her husband, who had always been with her, did not despise her, but he thought that what happened in the past was shameful.

Just to comfort her, it wasn't her fault that she was forced and sold out.

Now a ten-year-old girl told her that she was not tainted, because it was absurd to use the intimacy between men and women to determine whether a woman was holy or not.

Yes, how can it not be ridiculous?

But why no one questions it?

She didn't question it.

This is because someone told her from the moment she was born that women who have too much contact with men are immoral and unclean.

So, it becomes like the sun always rises from the east.

No wonder she was able to do what her predecessors could not do and became the first crown prince to be crowned as a princess in thousands of years.

What a remarkable man!

"Your Highness, what you said is very inspiring to me."

Bei Jingchu was very happy with this answer. After speaking out her true feelings, she was not rejected as nonsense. Instead, she felt like she had met a close friend.

However, she gossiped a little: "Madam and Minister Tong have a deep friendship, which is a good story. I heard about it when I was in the inner palace."

"But Minister Tong is a man of integrity and I heard he is devoted to his wife, so how could they have met in a brothel?"

"It sounds fake."

Xiangqiao seemed to recall her youth and smiled sweetly.

“Many people therefore suspect him of being a hypocrite.”

"It's just that he was very poor back then and made money by writing letters to illiterate people."

"Few of the girls... can read."

As he was speaking, the people arrived, the curtain of the tent was drawn back, and the scholar, who had changed into riding clothes for the first time, came running back, panting.

"Xiang Xiang, are you okay?"

"As soon as I heard you were injured, I asked for leave from His Majesty. I don't have to go to the big tent for the time being, so I can stay with you for a while."

As soon as he came in, his eyes were glued to Xiang Qiao, and Bei Jingchu and his group were completely ignored.

She coughed lightly, which attracted the attention of a certain Wife-Watching Stone.

"Your Highness?"

"I have met His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Xiang Qiao smiled and said, "My husband, I got scared on the road. It was His Royal Highness the Crown Prince who saved me."

"Otherwise, by the time we carry it back, the body will be cold."

"We must thank His Highness."

Tong Huai'en, who was about to stand up, had no choice but to bow: "Thank you, Your Highness. I will never forget your life-saving grace."

Bei Jingchu waved his hand and said, "You're welcome. Everyone saw me personally escort your wife back to the camp. Everyone will think you are mine now."

Tong Huai'en: ...

Xiangqiao: ???!!!!

Bei Jingchu, who knew how many birds were slain with one arrow, happily blew a sip of hot tea, hehe~