Chapter 116 She's Not an Evil Spirit
In the afternoon, Princess Ning'an sent over an invitation, saying she would come over for tea that afternoon.
Chu Yunjin knew the purpose of Princess Ning'an's visit and that they would meet sooner or later, so she didn't go anywhere in the afternoon and waited for the princess at the palace.
About half an hour after lunch.
Princess Ning'an arrived at the side gate of the Prince Yan's mansion by carriage, entered the mansion through the side gate, and met Chu Yunjin in the inner hall of Shuanghua Courtyard.
After serving the tea, Adele withdrew.
Chu Yunjin frowned slightly as she thought about what had happened these past few days: "The Wen family has all received their just deserts. I urge the Princess not to think too much about it and to relax and live a good life."
“I no longer care about Wen Yishu’s family.” Princess Ning’an said indifferently, “Yesterday, when they were exiled, I went to see them off, and then went to the palace to see the Empress Dowager. After leaving the Empress Dowager’s palace, I also saw Consort Shu.”
Consort Shu?
Chu Yunjin's eyebrows twitched slightly, puzzled as to why she specifically mentioned Consort Shu.
Consort Shu seems to be the mother of Prince Jin.
"Consort Shu reminded me of something." Princess Ning'an took a sip of tea, put the teacup back on the tea table, and looked at Chu Yunjin's face. "She said that your temperament has changed drastically recently, and you are not the same as before. It may be that you are possessed by an evil spirit."
Chu Yunjin: "..." Heaven and earth bear witness, she is not an evil spirit.
Princess Ning'an said, "Don't you want to explain?"
Chu Yunjin was silent for a moment, then sighed sadly: "Yan Cang left the capital early yesterday morning, and I started having insomnia last night. But even after having insomnia, I still had dreams. Does the Princess find that strange?"
Princess Ning'an raised an eyebrow: "What did you dream about?"
“Some things that never happened.” Chu Yunjin’s tone was somewhat downcast. “I dreamed that Yan Cang became the emperor and I became the empress. But Yan Cang had no military power and no foundation in the court. His ascension to the throne was very hasty, so he was constantly hampered by the prime minister and the Duke of Dingguo in the court. He was even forced to depose his own empress.”
She smiled bitterly: "I am very sad, half for myself and half for Yan Cang... After waking up, I couldn't understand why I had such a dream. Yan Cang is so powerful, he is not even the crown prince, how could he have ascended the throne so hastily? Moreover, the prime minister's whole family has been imprisoned, so he could not possibly threaten the imperial power."
Princess Ning'an looked at her face and complexion, and for some reason, she believed that what she said was true.
If Wen Yishu hadn't been exposed, she wouldn't have realized that her husband was full of scheming. If Prime Minister Wen hadn't been punished, it would have been very possible that the Wen family would have become extremely powerful in the court—especially with the Empress Dowager's secret protection and help, the Wen family's power would have grown stronger and stronger.
The only unreasonable thing is that Yan Cang has no military power.
However, if Yan Cang were to truly ascend the throne, it would be highly unlikely that Prime Minister Wen would be able to restrain the imperial power, as Yan Cang is not one to be restrained by others.
Even if the Duke of Dingguo and the Prime Minister's office joined forces, it would be absolutely impossible.
Princess Ning'an frowned: "So you discovered that Wen Yishu was scheming against me because you were dreaming?"
Chu Yunjin slowly shook her head: "Not entirely. To be precise, my dreams are all related to me and Yan Cang, but often the things that appear in my dreams are intertwined with other people, so I pay extra attention to them."
She spoke in a way that was half true and half false, but her tone was exceptionally convincing.
After all, the eldest princess certainly wouldn't know that there are such bizarre and absurd experiences as "transmigrating into a book" and "rebirth" in this world, and she probably wouldn't believe in past lives or present lives either, so half-truthfully attributing it to a dream is the most appropriate explanation.
Chu Yunjin lowered her eyes: "Just like I told the Princess, I dreamt of myself and Yan Cang last night. Because such dreams are too real, they make people wary, so I pay extra attention to everything related to the people in my dreams."
She smiled bitterly: "I don't know if it's because I was too awful in the past, so much so that even God couldn't bear to see Yan Cang's infatuation go to waste, and that's why He appeared to me in a dream, making me realize how precious Yan Cang is, and wanting me to cherish him."
Princess Ning'an's expression was subtle.
Chu Yunjin stopped talking and didn't say anything more.
"The Prime Minister's residence has been raided, Pei Yi'an has been imprisoned, and the Duke of Dingguo's mansion is struggling to survive. They are like ants on a hot pan," Princess Ning'an said calmly. "Once Pei Yi'an is convicted of treason, even his sister Pei Zhilan and husband Su Ziyan will be implicated."
To be precise, the entire Duke Dingguo's mansion will be implicated.
However, since the Duke of Dingguo's family had married the Third Princess, and her husband Su Zizhan was considered a royal son-in-law, the couple could be spared from being implicated. Whether the Duke and his wife would be punished depended on the Emperor's decision.
Anyway, this matter is very serious.
Even if the Duke of Dingguo's family doesn't end up being executed, they won't have any good days left. That's why they're desperate and trying to get Chu Yunjin's help.
"The Duke of Dingguo's mansion just sent an invitation today, inviting me to a flower-viewing banquet tomorrow or the day after." Chu Yunjin frowned. "It should still be about Pei Yi'an."
The eldest princess said, "Don't go."
“We have no choice but to go this time.” Chu Yunjin’s expression darkened slightly. “They even sent invitations to my mother and two younger sisters.”
Princess Ning'an frowned: "That's simple. Tomorrow, the Imperial Palace will also hold a flower-viewing banquet, inviting the Minister's wife to the Princess's residence to admire the flowers. We'll also invite a few young men to arrange a marriage for your youngest sister."
Chu Yunjin asked in surprise, "Is it too late to draft the invitation now?"
"What's the rush?" Princess Ning'an turned and called in her personal maid, casually pointing to a few people, "Go back to the manor and draft a few invitations—"
“Princess,” Chu Yunjin suddenly stopped her, “There really isn’t enough time. Even if we can send out invitations, we won’t have time to prepare for tomorrow’s banquet… How about this, if Aunt is willing, I would like to invite you to the Duke’s mansion tomorrow to join us and see what kind of trouble the Duke of Dingguo is up to.”
Although Yan Cang is not at home, she should still have the necessary interactions with others. She can't just hide at home and never see anyone because of any fear. Besides, some people will stop at nothing to achieve their goals. You can't hide forever. You have to face what you have to face eventually.
Princess Ning'an thought for a moment and said, "That's fine too."
He paused for a moment, then added, "Bring that little maidservant from Prince Ming's side as well; the more the merrier."
"Let's invite the Sixth Princess too," Chu Yunjin said. "She's bored in the palace, so she'll come out and join in the fun."
The two chatted casually, as if they were going out for a stroll together, and they talked about a whole bunch of people without ever thinking to ask if Xue Ziying and Yan Jinyue had received their invitations.
Oh right, Yan Jinyue sent an invitation.
"See you tomorrow." Princess Ning'an stood up, a relieved smile on her lips. "For years, I've been troubled by my inability to have children. Plus, I'm not young anymore, and I have three younger relatives. I always have to act like an elder, and I can't relax for a moment... Now it's all right. I'm free again. I can do whatever I want. In the future, whenever there are flower viewing banquets, poetry gatherings, spring banquets, or anything like that, please invite me. I need to go out more and participate in all the fun activities. That way, I can stay young forever."
Chu Yunjin smiled and said, "I'm quite surprised that Auntie was able to get through this so quickly."
"Consider it a rebirth." Princess Ning'an smiled faintly. "Having lived half a lifetime and witnessed so much life and death in the palace, if I can't get over this, wouldn't I have lived in vain?"
After saying that, she waved her hand and said, "No need to see me off. See you at the Duke of Dingguo's mansion tomorrow."
Chu Yunjin bowed and said, "Take care, Aunt."
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