Chapter 541 The Heartless Top Scholar 15
"But as long as the Emperor is alive, my elder sister will remain the Crown Princess, and your position will be secure. Only by bringing down my elder sister will you fall from grace, and then it will be natural for her to subdue me."
Perhaps she also wants to use me to do something to make it easier for her elder sister to fall.
The Third Prince listened with disbelief, "How could you think that?"
Ning Yan laughed. Yes, why would she think that way? Those who know her naturally know what kind of person she is, but the Second Princess doesn't know her at all!
Yuan Xihua asked, "Who in the Xiao family is she on good terms with?"
"Xiao Jue, a son born out of wedlock."
"Him? I thought he was one of Grand Tutor Xiao's daughters!"
"She is Xiao Jue's devoted follower."
"What?" Both of them were so shocked that their jaws almost dropped.
"Doesn't my second sister like women?"
Ning Yan smiled and said, "Who says you can't like men if you like women?"
The third prince suddenly started gagging.
The Third Prince finally stopped vomiting and, feeling weak, leaned against Ning Yan. "Tomorrow I will go to the palace to complain to Mother Empress."
Ning Yan thought to herself that this was a good idea; if the emperor filed a few more complaints, he would eventually be able to bring himself to depose that guy.
How can you guard against thieves for a thousand days when you're a thief for a thousand days?
She wasn't incapable of killing the Second Princess, but if a daughter who hadn't done anything wrong died, the Emperor would immediately forget her bad deeds and only remember her good ones, even whitewashing her from the bottom of his heart, while those who had previously "targeted" her would become the ones at fault.
Even if the emperor could not find any evidence, he would still pin the blame on the crown princess or her.
This is why sometimes you could kill someone outright, but you can't.
Just like in some time-travel novels, the reason why you can't directly attack the female or male protagonist, but have to wear down their luck before you can kill them.
Only when she makes one mistake after another, until everyone is disgusted with her, will it be the end for her.
The next day, Ning Yan escorted the Third Prince to the palace and then returned to the military camp.
She immediately told a few trusted confidants about the Crown Princess using private funds to improve the soldiers' meals, and then led the vanguard battalion up the mountain.
"Today's first training session is archery. Whoever can shoot the most prey will be rewarded with ten taels of silver by this commander."
Two hundred soldiers immediately rushed into the woods like tigers, and the prey on the mountain was in for a terrible day.
When they returned to camp that night, even the soldier who had hunted the least brought back two rabbits.
The cooks were all grinning from ear to ear. It was all meat! Although preparing this food would be tiring, they were willing to work hard to ensure the soldiers had good food.
...
In the palace.
The weather in July was exceptionally muggy.
Several ice basins were placed in Qifeng Palace.
Because the Third Prince kept complaining of the heat, the Empress had several ice basins placed around him.
The third prince lay reclining on the couch, having a palace maid fan him.
"Tell me, what brings you to the palace today?"
"It's nothing, I just miss Mother and you."
Empress Feng glanced at her son, wondering if she didn't know what kind of thing she had given birth to.
He was completely infatuated with his wonderful wife and never thought to visit her in the palace unless absolutely necessary.
Sometimes he really wanted to summon his daughter-in-law Ning Yan to the palace and ask her: in her heart, did she love her husband Yuan more, or her silly son more?
He didn't believe that one person's heart could hold two people at the same time, and both of them could be so deeply in love.
Of course, Ning Yan wasn't head over heels in love with either of them; she treated both men equally, which puzzled him greatly.
Just like the emperor, with so many men in the harem, she might love one today and then fall for another after a few days. How could she possibly treat every man equally?
But it seems that Ning Yan really did it.
"Then let Qingfeng go to the Qianyuan Palace later. Your mother will definitely come to dine with you once she knows you've entered the palace."
The Emperor doted on his two legitimate children, both the Crown Princess and the Third Prince, who were the most favored among all the princes and princesses.
Unexpectedly, no sooner had Qingfeng gone to the Qianyuan Hall than the mother and daughter, who were supposed to be reviewing memorials, returned.
The Third Prince, no longer caring about eating grapes, grabbed the Emperor and began to plead, "Mother, you have no idea, my Second Sister is so bullying! She actually tried to sow discord between me and my wife yesterday..."
He not only recounted what the Second Princess had done, but also shared Ning Yan's speculations.
The Emperor knew that her son would not return to the palace unless something was wrong, otherwise she would not have put aside her state affairs and come to Qifeng Palace as soon as she heard that he was coming back.
However, she was truly furious when she heard what her third son said.
It's not easy for the third son to find a good wife. If Ning Yan is really petty, even if she really falls in love with her third son, she will probably harbor resentment or even hatred.
After all, everything she has now is earned through her own efforts, yet people say she relies on men. What woman wouldn't be angry?
But no matter what, the second princess is still her daughter!
"How do you want the Empress Dowager to deal with your second elder sister?"
The Third Prince feigned ignorance: "How would I know? Why don't you send someone to slap my Second Sister ten times, so she won't talk nonsense again and will learn her lesson."
Crown Princess: ...Well, it's a complicated story.
The emperor was amused by his foolish son's request, so she didn't bother asking him any more questions!
He's about to become a father, but he still speaks and acts like a child.
“Slapping her is out of the question. Instead, Mother Empress, punish her by making her give silver to you and your husband as an apology.”
Yesterday, the Crown Princess recounted how her brother's wife had "extorted" her 10,000 taels of silver.
It's not easy for the eldest daughter to earn money. She has to support her younger brother and also support her brother's wife's soldiers. If this continues, the Crown Princess's residence might not even be able to afford food.
Therefore, she could only give her third son and his wife some extra money to save them from constantly troubling the Crown Princess.
So, the second princess was summoned to the Qian Yuan Palace the next day, and when she came out, her face was dark.
That damned bastard Zhuang Yan, she'll tear him to pieces sooner or later!
Soon, the Third Prince received twenty large boxes of pure white silver.
Ning Yan had previously told him that the Empress Dowager wouldn't kill someone outright; she might let them off lightly. She told him not to blame the Empress Dowager no matter the outcome. Therefore, he was very happy to receive the silver.
Then he immediately picked up a pen and wrote a letter to tell Ning Yan about it.
When Ning Yan received the letter, the corners of her lips curved slightly. Sometimes, picking something up high and putting it down gently is not necessarily a sign of affection.
Sometimes you may think you've put something down lightly, but that doesn't necessarily mean it was truly light.
Therefore, in her reply, she specifically instructed the Third Prince to stay at home quietly and not to go out and wander around, and to wait obediently for her to come home.
They didn't mention the complaint at all.
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