Chapter 78 Princess Qiongxiao
The Emperor's decree did indeed order Guan Yi'an to be exiled to the frontier, but in reality, the one exiled was just another serious criminal using the name Guan Yi'an. The real Guan Yi'an changed his name and was taken away by Princess Qiongxiao.
Princess Qiongxiao is the Emperor's youngest sister and the late Emperor's most beloved princess. Although she and the current Emperor are not born of the same mother, because she chose the right side from the beginning and has always stood with the Emperor, her favor has not diminished after the new Emperor ascended the throne; on the contrary, she enjoys even greater favor.
In the third year of the Emperor's reign, the prince of Shuanghua Kingdom visited and took a liking to Princess Qiongxiao, requesting a marriage alliance. At that time, Jinyue Kingdom was beset by internal and external troubles, and a marriage alliance with Shuanghua Kingdom would help stabilize Jinyue Kingdom. Before the Emperor had agreed, Princess Qiongxiao readily agreed and traveled thousands of miles to marry Shuanghua.
After Princess Qiongxiao's marriage to the foreign ruler, relations between the two countries became close. However, this period of good fortune was short-lived. After becoming pregnant, Princess Qiongxiao unexpectedly discovered that Shuanghua Kingdom and Lanyu Kingdom were colluding to destroy Jinyue Kingdom from both sides. Princess Qiongxiao risked her life to send the news out, allowing the emperor to take precautions and avoid danger. However, the emperor of Shuanghua Kingdom believed that Princess Qiongxiao, though living in Shuanghua, was still loyal to Jinyue.
In a fit of pity, Princess Qiongxiao was placed under house arrest. Her seven-month-old fetus was beaten until she miscarried, and she was subsequently humiliated by the soldiers of Shuanghua Kingdom on several occasions.
Two years later, when the Golden Moon Kingdom recovered its military strength and marched on the Frost Flower Kingdom, Princess Qiongxiao had been tortured beyond recognition. She had not only lost her fertility but also gone blind in one eye. After destroying the Frost Flower Kingdom, the emperor bestowed upon Princess Qiongxiao the title of Protector of the Nation, granted her the most luxurious palace in the capital, and rewarded her with countless gold and silver treasures.
It is said that the Emperor had also arranged a marriage for Princess Qiongxiao, but she refused, threatening suicide. She could no longer bear children and did not wish to marry again; she only wanted to indulge in pleasure and enjoy life to the fullest in her remaining days.
The Emperor initially thought Princess Qiongxiao was just making excuses, but soon Princess Qiongxiao openly kept several handsome men in the palace the Emperor had bestowed upon her, indulging in eating, drinking, and merrymaking every day, living a life of debauchery.
The officials and the emperor sighed and repeatedly admonished her, but Princess Qiongxiao remained unrepentant.
Considering her contributions to the court, after discussion, everyone decided to simply leave her alone and let her do as she pleased, indulging in immoral and disrespectful behavior.
Fifteen years have passed, and Princess Qiongxiao is now nearly forty. However, the number of male concubines in her bedchamber has not decreased but increased. This time, she heard from somewhere that the top scholar was handsome and talented, so she went to the palace to beg the emperor.
It is said that although she had many men, few of them were learned. She couldn't even find anyone to compose poems. She talked about her childhood friendship with the emperor and how she was a slave in Shuanghua Kingdom. The emperor's eyes reddened when he talked about it. In desperation, he performed this substitution for her.
Very few people knew about this, but Meng Lingge had been following Guan Yi'an's verdict. After hearing that he had been exiled to the frontier, she arranged for someone to follow him to investigate. After discovering the problem, she spent over a thousand taels of silver to pull strings and learn the inside story from the prison.
After listening to Qiu Lan's report, Meng Lingge frowned and said, "Is it possible that Princess Qiongxiao and Guan Yi'an knew each other before? She can find handsome men anywhere, why would she personally go to the Emperor to beg for a criminal?"
In earlier years, Princess Qiongxiao always sat next to the Emperor at palace banquets, and her rewards were the most generous of all the princesses. However, in recent years, her position has become increasingly distant from the Emperor, and she is not even invited to some less grand banquets, with her rewards becoming fewer and fewer.
Princess Qiongxiao, being so intelligent, couldn't possibly have failed to see that, because over the years she had acted willfully, the affection between her and the Emperor had been almost completely worn away.
Each time you search, the intensity of your feelings diminishes.
It's really not worth wasting a precious favor for a criminal.
Qiu Lan shook her head. "They probably don't know each other. Before Guan Yi'an became the top scholar in the imperial examination, he was just a poor boy from the countryside. Princess Qiongxiao, on the other hand, basically stayed in her palace and rarely went out except when she entered the palace."
Meng Lingge nodded slightly.
If Guan Yi'an had known Princess Qiongxiao earlier, he wouldn't have sought help from a dangerous figure like Eunuch Wan for the position of Vice Minister.
So, Princess Qiongxiao really just wanted a male concubine who could compose poems?
Chunhong said regretfully, "Guan Yi'an is really lucky. Just when it seemed he was about to be exiled to the frontier, Princess Qiongxiao suddenly appeared. This man is too attractive to women. Even as a prisoner, he still has women who want him."
Meng Lingge said, "Being taken away by Princess Qiongxiao may not be better than being exiled to the frontier. Becoming Princess Qiongxiao's male favorite means not only having to compete for favor with dozens of men, but also never being able to enter an official career again, and he can't even leave the princess's residence at will. This is extremely painful for him."
Guan Yi'an had always dreamed of making a name for himself and bringing glory to his ancestors, but now he was confined within the palace walls. He saw women as stepping stones, but in the end, he had to rely on their favor to survive.
Isn't this a kind of cause-and-effect cycle?
After thinking for a moment, Meng Lingge instructed, "Lan Cui signed a contract with no restrictions on her employment. After the Guan family seized the property, they should have released her. Arrange an easier job for her. Also, inform Chen Luo that there's no need to keep an eye on the Guan family anymore. Have him go to Lanyu Kingdom and investigate whether anything unusual happened when Prince Anshun fought against Lanyu Kingdom ten years ago."
Now that Guan Yi'an has been taken away by Princess Qiongxiao, his future is ruined. Although he has changed his name, most people in the capital recognize his face. Once he leaves the princess's residence, he risks being arrested by the authorities.
Princess Qiongxiao's taking Guan Yi'an away was permitted by the Emperor. Even if Meng Lingge reported it, she would not get any credit and would only incur the Emperor's displeasure.
It could even cause trouble for the Prince of Anshun's Mansion.
Meng Lingge decided to put aside her grudge against Guan Yi'an for the time being. She would let it go as long as Guan Yi'an did not reappear.
That day, Princess Anshun mentioned that the prince should know about the Gu worms, which had been a lingering doubt in her mind. Taking advantage of Chen Luo's free time, she decided to send him to investigate the situation.
Qiu Lan agreed and took her leave.
Chunhong stepped forward and refilled Meng Lingge's empty teacup with tea.
"Your Highness, there is one more thing I need to tell you. Guan's parents have come several times, shamelessly claiming that Your Highness and Guan Yi'an were once engaged and asking you to save him. They asked you to rescue Guan Yi'an when he was in prison, and now that they hear he has been exiled to the frontier, they are asking you to plead with the Emperor to release him."
These Guan family parents are truly shameless. Knowing that her marriage to Guan Yi'an had caused such a mess, they still had the nerve to come to her door and beg for help.
And she even made these demands that she couldn't fulfill. Does she really think she's a saint?
No, Guan's parents probably knew she wouldn't help, nor could she do anything about it. The reason they came to her door was probably because they resented her for breaking off the engagement, which led Guan Yi'an down a dangerous path and ended in utter failure. They were taking their anger out on her and deliberately came to ruin her reputation.
Or they might think that she would give them some benefits in order to keep the peace.
They're so stupid and wicked, and they're dreaming!
"Is the Princess aware of this matter?" Meng Lingshuang asked. The Princess values her reputation and would likely be displeased.
"I know. The Princess Consort ordered people to drive them away several times and instructed the servants not to tell you, for fear that it would affect your mood. I only found out about this today because I happened to run into her. Not only that, I heard that Guan's parents went to the Meng residence to cause trouble before, but they left only because Aunt Lu rushed out and threatened to fight them. Now they're trying to extort money from us again."
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