The old lady shook her head and said, "Our family made such a great sacrifice for the royal family. Why should we be forgotten after only a few years? Di Ge'er is right. Forgetting is betrayal. Since they have betrayed us, we must find a suitable way to make everyone remember what happened back then."
The more the old lady spoke, the brighter her eyes became. She urged Granny Shen, "Go, go and bring me the pen and ink. I need to write a letter to Di Ge'er. Di Ge'er once asked me about what happened back then, and he even said he wanted to write a biography for the Princess. I've thought about it, and this is really a good idea. The history of our Great Liang should not just be a few sentences in the history books. It should be presented to the world vividly, like a storybook."
Granny Shen was startled and grabbed the old lady's hand, saying, "My dear old lady, what are you doing? The late emperor said that the matter of the eldest princess should be kept secret. Aren't you going against the emperor's will by doing this?"
The old lady sneered twice and said, "Disobeying the imperial decree? Isn't he just afraid of being accused of climbing up the social ladder by stepping on a woman's shoulders? That's his own sister, after all. Why should he have the Princess's era sealed away? Don't worry, I'll talk to Di Ge'er about it. We can't let others talk nonsense about history."
Seeing that she couldn't persuade the old lady, Granny Shen had no choice but to bring out the writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone.
Wearing tortoiseshell glasses, the old lady leaned over the kang table and began writing a letter to Xu Di, stroke by stroke. Granny Shen urged her several times, but the old lady ignored her. It wasn't until the third watch of the night that she finally finished writing the letter. The next day, she took it out and read it carefully before putting it in an envelope and having it mailed.
The news of the Emperor's visit to the Xu family had already spread. Emperor Liang Cheng made no show of ceremony, dressed in ordinary clothes, accompanied by Chen Wufu and several guards, and rode in a very ordinary carriage out of the side gate of the palace, heading straight for the Yongning Marquis's residence.
Marquis Yongning was waiting at the gatehouse early on. After Emperor Liang Cheng arrived, he led him to the courtyard of the old lady.
Emperor Liang Cheng spoke privately with the Grand Madam in her room for half an hour. The Grand Madam's courtyard was heavily guarded, with even Marquis Yongning waiting there. After Emperor Liang Cheng finished speaking with the Grand Madam, he calmly emerged from the room. Marquis Yongning nervously glanced at Emperor Liang Cheng's expression. When they reached the study in the front courtyard, Emperor Liang Cheng said to Marquis Yongning, "The old lady is getting on in years, so you, as her juniors, must take good care of her. Also, you must earnestly help her fulfill her wishes."
These seemingly random words left Marquis Yongning completely bewildered. After seeing Emperor Liang Cheng off, Marquis Yongning went to the courtyard of the Old Madam. A maidservant of the Old Madam came to tell the Marquis that the Old Madam had instructed that speaking earlier had taken a toll on her mental energy, and she was too exhausted to speak now and had already gone to bed. Marquis Yongning had no choice but to suppress his curiosity and fear and return to his study in the front courtyard.
Emperor Liang Cheng's private visit did not cause any sensation on the surface, but it secretly made some people tremble with fear.
That evening, a distinguished guest arrived at the Wan family's front courtyard study, a place of great importance.
The Third Prince sat on the couch, while his uncle, Wan Weiyong, paced back and forth in the open space in front of the couch. After looking around for a while, the Third Prince said to Wan Weiyong, "Uncle, please sit down. I'm getting dizzy from all this pacing."
Wan Weiyong looked at the Third Prince and said, "Your Highness, why did His Majesty go to the Xu family this time? Have you asked anyone to inquire about it?"
The Third Prince poured Wan Weiyong a cup of tea and said, "I asked one of the guards on duty in the Imperial Study last night. He said that His Majesty dreamed of the Eldest Princess in the middle of the night and summoned Chen Wufu. After dawn, Chen Wufu went to the Xu family and invited the Marquis of Yongning to the Imperial Study. Today, His Majesty went to the Xu family to visit the Old Madam Xu."
Wan Weiyong shook his head and said, "Things can't be that simple. There must be something we don't know. Your Highness, since you can come to the palace so often, we need to ask someone to help you inquire further. His Majesty's reason is very far-fetched. When did the Eldest Princess pass away?"
After hearing Wan Weiyong's words, the Third Prince thought for a moment and said, "I heard that when the Eldest Princess passed away, my grandfather had not yet ascended the throne. At that time, my father was not yet born. My father was my grandfather's youngest child and was born after he ascended the throne."
Wan Weiyong nodded and said, "Third Prince, we must be careful in everything we do now. Although the matter of Miaozhou has not been investigated in depth for the time being after Chu Huaigui's suicide, someone will eventually go to Miaozhou to investigate. Unless it is a very urgent matter, Chen Wufu would not have personally gone to the Yongning Marquis's residence to invite people at dawn."
Wan Weiyong pondered for a long time, then stood up and said in a deep voice, "No, there must be something we don't know. Third Prince, I will arrange for someone to go and inquire again."
Wan Weiyong turned around and went outside to arrange manpower. The Third Prince felt that Wan Weiyong was making a mountain out of a molehill, but he couldn't point it out. The Third Prince was mediocre. He knew in his heart that he could only rely on his uncle, who was deep in character and meticulous in his actions. He had to do everything his uncle asked him to do.
The Third Prince shook his head, poured himself another cup of tea, and had just taken a sip when Wan Weiyong rushed in from outside, looking panicked, and said, "Third Prince, an urgent report has come from Miaozhou, saying that a plague has broken out in Yun'an County under its jurisdiction, and Prime Minister Feng and Prime Minister Fu have just entered the palace."
Upon hearing this, the Third Prince was stunned. Seeing the Third Prince's expression, Wan Weiyong said anxiously, "Your Highness, it's a plague! Our Great Liang Dynasty has been established for a hundred years, and there has never been a plague before. Back then, during that plague, nine out of ten houses were empty, and there was no one for miles around."
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