Princess Donglin is fifty-six years old this year, about the same age as Grandma Gu, but she looks much older than Grandma Gu.
Gu Xinnian was older than her and was an elder, so she didn't force anyone to take her to the lobby, but went to see her herself.
Princess Donglin received Gu Xin in the small Buddhist hall.
"Princess Xinxin has come from afar. I am sorry for not being able to greet you properly. Please forgive me!" said the Princess of Donglin in a polite manner.
In terms of rank, she was inferior to Gu Xin, so logically she should have paid a grand salute to Gu Xin.
However, given Gu Xin's age and the fact that she is not a princess of the royal family, the Princess Consort of Donglin could not possibly perform this grand ceremony.
Gu Xin didn't pay much attention to that. She looked around the small Buddhist hall and asked, "Has the Princess been living in this small Buddhist hall all these years?"
Princess Donglin nodded: "Yes."
Gu Xin then asked, "On the first day of the fifth lunar month, was the princess in the small Buddhist hall the whole time? Was anyone with her?"
Princess Donglin said, "I usually copy scriptures and chant Buddhist prayers in the small Buddhist hall. Except for going to the temple and during the New Year, I don't leave the Buddhist hall. On the first day of the New Year, my youngest daughter brought her son-in-law and grandchildren back to her parents' home and came to visit me in the small Buddhist hall. At other times, I am the same as usual."
Gu Xin nodded and then asked, "When was the last time the Princess Consort saw the Prince?"
Princess Donglin thought for a moment and said, "Early March, I suppose! That's when the Prince came to the Buddhist hall to see me. I haven't seen him since, and the next time was..."
Gu Xin then asked, "During that meeting, did the Prince discuss with the Princess the selection of your heir?"
Princess Donglin frowned slightly, then said in a deep voice, "It has been mentioned before. The Prince said that it would be better to request that the second son be made the heir apparent. Shijie is young, but he is skilled in both literature and martial arts, and is preparing to take the imperial examination. Therefore, this position of heir apparent might be a constraint for him. It would be better to give it to the second son. Princess, you are young and may not know that after the Prince handed over the tiger tally, he promised before the Empress Dowager and the late Emperor that the descendants of the Bai family of Donglin Prince's Mansion would live peacefully in their fiefdom and would not get involved with the powerful figures in the capital. If Shijie wants to take the imperial examination, and as the heir apparent, then it would go against the original intention."
Gu Xin raised an eyebrow and asked with a smile, "Is that so? Since the Prince told the Princess about this in early March, why didn't the others in the mansion know?"
Princess Donglin said, "His Highness recovered from his serious illness, but we never expected this sudden accident. All along, His Highness had intended to request that Shijie be made Heir Apparent, and everyone thought so too. Shijie also thought so. Shijie is our eldest grandson, and he has been groomed as our heir since childhood. We were worried that if we brought it up abruptly, Shijie might misunderstand, so we didn't say it immediately. We thought there was still plenty of time, and we could take it slowly! Our eldest son has been gone for many years, and the position of Heir Apparent has been vacant, so there's no rush. Who knew..."
Seeing that Princess Donglin was about to cry, Gu Xin immediately chimed in, "Since you didn't intend to reveal this matter immediately and wanted to give Young Master Bai time to gradually accept it, then why did Your Highness already write the memorial requesting an official title for Second Master Bai? Your Highness, this doesn't make sense!"
Princess Donglin glanced at Gu Xin and said with a wry smile, "I usually stay in the Buddhist hall and don't see His Highness every day. I don't know why His Highness wrote the memorial. But when we met at the beginning of March, His Highness did mention this matter to me. And that memorial was indeed in His Highness's own handwriting."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com