Fortunately, her womb was fertile, and she was able to give birth to a son for her husband, thus preventing her from dying from a forced love affair.
Most of the ladies and young women around them frowned. Everyone knew that it was wrong to do something so disregardful of others' feelings and deliberately reopen old wounds.
"You should worry more about your own son, lest he be cursed to death again. Stop interfering in my affairs. I am the Crown Princess, how dare you interfere in my business!" Seeing that she didn't speak, Song Tangli felt smug, and her resentment lessened a bit.
"The Empress Dowager has arrived!"
A sharp, drawn-out voice slowly rose as the Empress Dowager's entourage slowly arrived on the island, flanked by the Empress.
The two quickly glanced at the scene, both frowning.
Jiang Chun quickly walked up to the Empress Dowager and knelt down heavily before her with a thud, kicking up some dust from beneath his knees.
Jiang Chun's eyes reddened, as if she had suffered a great injustice. Her voice choked with sobs and shrilly: "My husband sacrificed his life for the country, dying on the battlefield. After his death, he received this official position because of our child. Now, however, the Crown Princess is humiliating me in every way, saying that I, a subject, have caused my husband's death! But my husband clearly sacrificed his life for the country!"
"I beg Your Majesty to do justice for this humble woman!" Jiang Chun's words were filled with anguish, causing Song Tangli to shudder. She felt a sense of relief, realizing that she had caused trouble with her loose tongue.
She hurriedly stepped forward and knelt beside Jiang Chun to explain: "Your Majesty, please understand, that's not what I meant. It was Jiang Chun who deliberately instigated it."
The Empress Dowager lowered her eyes, and the ladies and young women in the distance were all stunned by Song Tangli's move, unable to find the words to scold her.
I've never seen anyone so shameless, especially a Crown Princess.
The Empress Dowager glanced coldly at her and immediately noticed Song Tangxue, who was covering her face. She beckoned her over, and Song Tangli's heart skipped a beat.
"What's going on?" As she got closer, the Empress Dowager noticed something amiss. The five-finger mark was clearly freshly made, and looking at the wet Song Tangli, it wasn't hard to guess that this matter was related to her.
"This was done by the Crown Princess! The Crown Princess herself lost her balance and fell into the pond, and when she got up, she hit the Crown Princess!" Before Song Tangxue could reply, Jiang Chun, who was standing next to her, had already explained everything clearly.
"The Crown Princess's sleeves are all torn, so the quality of this dress must not be very good." Jiang Chun spared no effort in trying to sow discord between the Crown Princess and Song Tangli, who trembled with anger: "Don't make false accusations!"
The Empress Dowager examined her closely and noticed something amiss: "Is the fabric you're wearing Suzhou embroidery?" The Empress Dowager was asking Song Tangli.
Song Tangli turned around and respectfully replied, "It was the Crown Prince who rewarded me because he saw that I managed the household well."
The Empress Dowager's expression turned cold, and she remained silent for a long time. This fabric was clearly something Li Zhaoxian had requested for Song Tangxue, and she had actually fallen for Li Zhaoxian's trick, giving away many of her most treasured possessions.
She had heard that Song Tangxue had been slandered by Song Tangli, and she felt sorry for her. Now that all these things had fallen into Song Tangli's hands, the Empress Dowager was so angry that she wanted to hang that unfilial descendant up and beat him!
Looking at Song Tangxue again, her palace dress was no longer a fashionable style, and her makeup was plain.
Song Tangli's earrings were all made of pearls from the East. The Empress Dowager was at a loss as to whether to criticize Li Zhaoxian's foolishness or Song Tangli's arrogance.
"Tang Xue, you speak." The Empress Dowager pinched her brow, suppressing her anger.
"Yes, the Crown Princess asked me to accompany her to retrieve something, but I accidentally fell into the pond on the way. Perhaps she misunderstood and thought I pushed her, and in her anger, she slapped me." Song Tangxue recounted the story in a gentle manner, seemingly still trying to exonerate Song Tangli, which made everyone's impression of her even better.
"Sister Jiang Chun said a few words on my behalf, and the Crown Princess said those hurtful things." Song Tangxue didn't let it go on this matter: "It was really quite insulting."
Jiang Chun glanced at her gratefully.
"Jiang Chun, your husband sacrificed his life for the country. I will certainly not let the soldiers down and will give you an explanation." The Empress Dowager spoke slowly, dealing with the most important matter first.
This matter concerns the face of the royal family, and even more so the loyalty of the frontier soldiers; it must not be taken lightly.
"Grandmother!" Song Tangli's face turned pale, and she crawled forward on her knees to grab the Empress Dowager's hem, but was stopped by Granny Geng.
"Song Tangli, as the Crown Princess, it is extremely indecent for you to appear in front of everyone like this. Go and change your clothes!" The Empress Dowager's eyes were filled with anger, and she looked at Song Tangli with a stern expression.
Song Tangli was escorted away by several palace maids. The Empress Dowager looked at the ladies with a helpless expression: "I will give you all a reasonable explanation for today's events. This palace banquet cannot be disrupted because of an unimportant person. As the Crown Princess, Tangxue should take on the role of the person in charge."
Song Tangxue raised her head and met the Empress Dowager's gaze. The Empress Dowager's eyes were full of tenderness. She grabbed Song Tangxue's hand and pulled her closer to examine her closely.
Her makeup was light today, making her look a bit haggard. The Empress Dowager felt sorry for her and said, "Tang Xue, you've suffered. Go and change your clothes first. We'll have to trouble you with the upcoming palace banquet."
The Empress remained silent. She couldn't bring herself to plead for Song Tangli after the incident, and she was also still resentful because she had lost Song Tangxue's enormous dowry.
Seeing her like this now, I am filled with disappointment. Xian'er's Crown Princess is truly hopeless and incapable of shouldering great responsibilities.
Song Tangxue had no desire to get involved. This palace banquet was a thankless and exhausting affair. She quickly changed the subject, saying, "Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty, but Tangxue's face is still injured, and it is really difficult for her to be seen in public. I'm afraid people will gossip about it."
Women love beauty and care about their image. When the Empress Dowager saw the red mark on her face, she nodded and said, "Never mind. This palace banquet was planned by Song Tangli. You don't know the process. There will be plenty of opportunities for you to learn in the future."
The Empress Dowager's meaning was that she was giving up on Song Tangli. The Empress did not object to such an obvious statement. She was still thinking that if Song Tangxue was promoted to the position of principal wife, would the dowry still be able to be returned?
Each of the three had their own thoughts. Song Tangxue thanked the Empress Dowager and went to the back to change her clothes with Cuixi.
The Empress Dowager nodded secretly as she watched the man's calm and composed back. Tang Xue was a sensible girl who knew how to behave properly. She had acted a little hastily today.
If Song Tangxue were to take charge, it would put her in a difficult position and also make the royal family look bad. After all, Song Tangxue is only a Crown Princess, and she is not qualified to host such a palace banquet.
After closing the door, Cui Xi breathed a sigh of relief: "Your Highness, you don't know, there were so many guards around at that time, and those guards clearly shouldn't have been so close!"
Song Tangxue took off her coat: "Song Tangli wants to ruin my reputation. Although saving people was a last resort, it is an undeniable fact that I had contact with other men. It is inevitable that others will feel disgusted. These are all despicable and shameful methods."
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