048 The Sixth Princess
He knelt upright, like a pine tree standing proudly in the snow. The Empress Dowager sneered, "Are you threatening me?"
"Your humble servant dares not," Yuan Chongjing replied respectfully and loudly.
"Hmph," the Empress Dowager sneered, then her gloomy eyes carefully scanned the Fifth Prince and the Eighth Prince. After a moment's thought, she shouted to the palace servants, "Guards, drag these two who used the princes to frame the court officials away and beat them to death with sticks. Also, leave their bodies outside the palace walls for three days as a warning to others."
These words effectively announced to everyone that Xiao Taozi's parentage was genuine, and that everything was a fabrication by Yang Chenshi and her son to frame Yuan Chongjing and Li Yang. This both enhanced their reputation and protected the faces of the Third and Fifth Princes.
Upon hearing this, Qiuqiu and Yang Chenshi immediately kowtowed and begged for mercy.
The Empress Dowager turned a deaf ear, and the Fifth Prince and the Eighth Prince also stood aside as if they hadn't seen anything, showing no intention of pleading for them.
The Empress Dowager turned to Yuan Chongjing and asked, "How is it, Minister Yuan? Are you satisfied with how I handled this?"
Yuan Chongjing, expressionless, prostrated himself on the ground and kowtowed: "Your Majesty is wise."
Seeing that no one was paying attention to him and his child, and that the guards outside the hall were approaching them, Qiuqiu, feeling utterly helpless, turned his gaze to Li Yang. He knelt down and crawled towards her, seemingly pleading yet also threatening: "Madam Yuan, Madam Yuan, please save us! My master will definitely save me. He saved your life, and you must repay him! You must repay him! I am his disciple, you must save me, Madam Yuan!"
Li Yang took two steps back while holding Xiao Taozi, pressing Xiao Taozi's head down so she could lean against him and not see anything else. He then covered Xiao Taozi's ears with his hands.
Li Yang and Yuan Chongjing watched helplessly as the guards dragged away Yang Chenshi and her son without uttering a word. The Empress Dowager's eyes showed a hint of approval, but then she quickly concealed it as if she had thought of something.
She rose from her chair with a flick of her sleeve and walked toward them: "I find this little peach quite delightful. It's been a long time since the palace has had the lively sounds of children. If you, Yuan Qing, feel comfortable with this, let little peach stay in the palace for a few days, so she can keep me company. What do you think, Yuan Qing?"
Since Xiao Taozi was to stay in the palace, Li Yang probably couldn't leave either. Yuan Chongjing and Li Yang exchanged a glance and replied, "It is Xiao Taozi's blessing to be favored by the Empress Dowager. However, Xiao Taozi is still quite young, and she has been spoiled by me and my wife. I am apprehensive if I have offended the Empress Dowager in any way..."
He hesitated for a moment, revealing a clear desire for Li Yang to stay, yet he was unwilling to speak up, waiting for the Empress Dowager to speak.
The Empress Dowager naturally saw through his thoughts, but did not point it out. Instead, she smiled slightly and said, "There are plenty of etiquette instructors in the palace, especially my personal maid Fang, who has trained several batches of imperial concubines. You can rest assured about that, Yuan Qing. The one sent back to the Yuan residence will definitely be a Miss Yuan whose etiquette is even better than that of the current princess."
The two seemed to be engaged in an invisible tug-of-war. Yuan Chongjing looked embarrassed, as if he had made up his mind to admit defeat, and said, "Empress Dowager, Xiao Taozi is most dependent on my wife in the mansion. She has to coax her to eat and sleep every day. I beg the Empress Dowager to have mercy and let my wife stay with me."
Seeing his softened attitude, the Empress Dowager said triumphantly, "Alright, just like the palace will cut off her food."
"Your humble servant dares not," Yuan Chongjing replied respectfully immediately.
The Empress Dowager tilted her head back, casually touched the hairpin hanging by her ear, and said smugly, "Then let him stay. The palace can afford to support an idle person."
After saying this, she took Fang Mama's hand and walked out of the hall.
Having failed to achieve its goal, the Fifth Prince departed along with the Empress Dowager. The Eighth Prince glanced at Yuan Chongjing and left helplessly as well. People from Shou'an Palace were still waiting nearby. Yuan Chongjing grasped Li Yang's hand and squeezed it gently: "Don't worry."
Li Yang nodded: "Yes, I will protect Xiao Taozi."
Palace servants were already urging them on, but Yuan Chongjing said nothing more and quietly watched them leave.
Hopefully, his performance of admitting defeat just now will lessen the Empress Dowager's dissatisfaction and hostility towards them.
***
Shouan Palace was far from the Council Hall. Li Yang carried Xiao Taozi for a long time until her arms were sore and numb, and the passageway in front of her still seemed to stretch endlessly.
Little Peach wiped the sweat from Li Yang's face with her sleeve and whispered in her ear, "Mother, let's go downstairs."
Li Yang carefully put away the two bracelets given to Xiao Taozi by the Empress Dowager on her wrist before putting her down on the ground and taking her hand as they walked.
The Empress Dowager's palanquin had disappeared at some point, and the palace attendant leading the way remained expressionless and silent, as if he were a soulless person.
After walking for an unknown amount of time, the palace servant arrived at a magnificent and imposing gate: "We've arrived, Madam Yuan, Miss, please come in."
Li Yang looked up and saw the three powerful characters "Shou'an Palace" written on the plaque above the door. The characters were golden and smooth, subtly radiating a layer of understated luxury.
Granny Fang was waiting at the palace gate. When she saw them stop, she scolded the palace maid: "Tao'er, what's wrong with you? You've been serving in the palace for so long, have you gone blind? You even took the wrong way."
The palace maid called Tao'er was so frightened that she immediately knelt down: "Granny."
"Alright, the Empress Dowager is in a good mood today, so she won't punish you. Just kneel here for now." After saying that, Granny Fang smiled and said to Li Yang, "Madam Yuan, please go in quickly. The Empress Dowager has been waiting for you for a long time."
Li Yang held Xiao Taozi's hand, knowing this was the Empress Dowager's way of putting her in a difficult position. She forced a smile and said respectfully, "It was my fault for making the Empress Dowager wait. I must apologize to the Empress Dowager properly."
Granny Fang smiled, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes pressing together. She looked down at Little Peach and said kindly, "What a coincidence! The palace maid who led you in just now was also named Peach. Miss Peach is in Shou'an Palace. You can play with her in the future."
Little Peach nodded and obediently took Li Yang's hand as they walked forward.
Compared to the Hall of State Affairs, the interior of Shou'an Palace was decorated much more elegantly, with a faint, familiar medicinal fragrance, which brought Li Yang a little peace of mind. Upon entering the hall, Li Yang saw the person sitting in a wheelchair beside her. Granny Fang respectfully said, "Sixth Princess, Empress Dowager, the person has been brought."
The sixth princess wore a veil, revealing only her eyes. Her hair was styled in an exquisite updo, adorned with an expensive, openwork gold hairpin, and embellished with a large pearl in the center, which further accentuated the snow-white skin of her exposed forehead. Her bright and flamboyant sunset-colored palace dress made her even more striking. Even though she was confined to a wheelchair due to her mobility issues, it did not diminish her noble bearing in the slightest.
The Empress Dowager sat on the couch by the window and said to the Sixth Princess, "I have brought her to you safe and sound."
Granny Fang waved her hand, dismissing all the servants in the hall.
The sixth princess nodded and thanked her, saying, "Thank you, Grandmother."
His voice was deep and slightly rough, clearly a man's voice.
The Empress Dowager sighed, exasperated by her attitude. Pointing at Xiao Taozi, she said, "This child looks so much like Prince Yu when he was young. I don't believe the Emperor didn't notice. Since he entrusted her to me, it means he doesn't want to acknowledge her. In other words, he doesn't want to give Prince Yu a chance. I really don't understand what you're trying to achieve by helping Prince Yu like this?"
The Sixth Princess lowered her eyes: "I have already said what I need to say to my grandmother many times. I believe my grandmother does not want to hear me repeat myself again."
The Empress Dowager was so angry at her calling her "Grandmother" that she closed her eyes and said, "Get out, get out, all of you, don't get in my way."
The Sixth Princess turned her wheelchair herself, gestured to Li Yang, and left through the side hall entrance with Xiao Taozi and the other two. Her residence was not far away. Back then, in order to take care of her, the Empress Dowager specially chose a palace next to Shou'an Palace and knocked down the courtyard wall in the middle, so that it was also included within the Shou'an Palace's grounds.
Once they arrived at the Sixth Princess's own territory, she dropped the pretense and stood up from her wheelchair, asking with concern, "Yangyang, did they give you any trouble?"
Li Yang shook her head: "It's nothing."
The Sixth Princess felt somewhat guilty: "It's my fault. I should have realized when Qiuqiu and Yang Chenshi disappeared that they must have been taken away by Fifth Brother. I didn't think things through, which led you to this situation."
“It’s not your fault, Princess Song…” Li Yang advised, “This is the Fifth Prince’s plan. No matter how we try to prevent it, if it’s not Yang Chenshi, it will be the next wet nurse. Since he has suspicions, he will definitely find the person.”
Actually, Yang Chenshi saw them by chance in the capital and mentioned it to Qiuqiu when she got back. The speaker didn't mean anything by it, but the listener took it to heart, which is why the Fifth Prince suspected something and caused this whole mess.
However, Li Yang didn't intend to say much to him and tried to brush it off with an excuse.
The sixth princess lowered her hands, looked down at her attire, and said with a wry smile, "I'm so ashamed that you still saw me like this."
Li Yang shook her head and said sincerely, "No, it really is beautiful."
The sixth princess gestured for her to sit down and beckoned to Little Peach: "Little Peach, do you still recognize me?"
Little Peach was very perceptive. Seeing that Li Yang had relaxed, she was no longer so afraid. Hearing the Sixth Princess speak, Little Peach tilted her head and looked at her: "I don't recognize you, but it feels like I do. You look like my Sixth Uncle."
Li Yang said, "This is your sixth aunt."
The Sixth Princess chuckled: "Alright, Sixth Aunt it is. Little Peach, call me Sixth Aunt."
Little Peach found the stunningly beautiful woman in front of her, who was so beautiful she couldn't take her eyes off her, yet spoke like a man, increasingly strange. After softly calling out "Sixth Aunt," she ran to Li Yang's side with her short legs, nestled in her arms, and dared not look at the Sixth Princess any longer.
Li Yang smiled and put his arm around her, then said to the Sixth Princess, "Did you ask the Empress Dowager to help me?"
The Sixth Princess said, "Well, I'm not sure either. The Empress Dowager is right. It all depends on His Majesty's attitude. If he still has feelings for Prince Yu, he will let this matter of Little Peach go lightly."
Her words were completely contrary to the Empress Dowager's. Li Yang asked, "You mean, he saw through Xiao Taozi's identity, and the reason he handed the matter over to the Empress Dowager was because he couldn't bear to punish her?"
"That's possible. His Majesty rose from an unfavored prince to the throne, so he naturally understands the power struggles among the princes. Besides, His Majesty has placed great hopes on Prince Yu since he was a child. He wouldn't easily give up on him. He entrusted him to the Empress Dowager because he knew she didn't want any trouble and would only try to minimize the problems."
As it turned out, Emperor Mingde's decision was correct. The Empress Dowager punished Qiuqiu and Yang Chenshi, and brought Li Yang and Xiao Taozi to Shou'an Palace, which not only silenced the Third Prince and the Fifth Prince, but also complied with the Sixth Princess's wishes, thus protecting Li Yang and Xiao Taozi.
Li Yang asked, "So what do we do next?"
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