Chapter 94: Plea
The Queen Mother spoke excitedly, and Princess Wanshou quickly comforted her, saying, "I understand. The Queen Mother did a good job."
"Is that so?" The Queen Mother smiled bitterly. "But my grandson is starting to hate me. I don't know what kind of curse Mrs. Lu cast that made my two grandsons protect each other so desperately."
Wanshou knew that the Queen Mother was trapped, so he changed the subject.
"Queen Dowager, I heard that the Lu family is from a family of yin and yang masters, and that they have helped the Crown Prince and the Crown Prince a lot. Is that true?"
The Queen Mother snorted.
"Isn't it just because she luckily predicted the skyfire in the East Palace? So she's worshipped as a god because of that?"
Princess Wanshou finally understood the crux of the matter.
The Queen Mother did not know the truth about the Northern Palace Rebellion, and naturally did not know the role played by the Lu family. In order to protect Wang Han, the Princess concealed many things.
However, Princess Wanshou’s surname is also Wang.
"Speaking of which, Mrs. Lu's divination skills are truly miraculous," Princess Wanshou said slowly. "I believe her prediction of the celestial fire in the Central East Palace was no accident. The Empress Dowager probably doesn't know that Mrs. Lu helped me find the Grand Tutor."
The Queen Mother looked at her in surprise: "She helped you?"
"That's right," Princess Wanshou said. "I've been searching for the Grand Tutor for years but couldn't find him. It was that Lu who came to my house and told me where he was. I thought at the time that she had just arrived in Jiankang, so it was already quite rare for her to know about my past with the Grand Tutor, and she even knew where he was. I asked her how she knew that, and she simply said it was through the family divination technique."
The Queen Mother seemed to be lost in thought.
"That's not all," Princess Wanshou continued. "I've been living in seclusion in Yuzhou because I don't want anyone to find me. I know Boya has been searching for me for years. But as long as I'm determined not to let anyone find me, no one will be able to. And that Lu family, with her divination skills, not only found my hiding place, but also helped me find the Grand Tutor. Isn't that amazing?"
The Queen Mother frowned: "Do you believe her?"
"If you don't believe it, how can you explain it?" Princess Wanshou asked, "Not to mention that she has no roots in Jiankang, even if she had deep roots like the Wang family, she wouldn't be able to do this, right?"
The Queen Mother was silent for a long time.
Princess Wanshou was unhurried. She took a sip of her teacup before speaking, "So, I'm thinking, Lu is incredibly gifted. Does the Queen Mother really want to drive her away? Jiankang City doesn't have impenetrable walls. Even if the Queen Mother doesn't care about her, there are probably many who do. Especially with the Queen Mother's birthday approaching, Jiankang City will soon be bustling with activity. A while ago, there was the fire in the Eastern Palace and the mutiny in the Northern Palace. How come I and the Grand Tutor are returning to the capital? Which of these events hasn't sparked discussion, and which one is unrelated to Lu?"
The Queen Mother glanced at her and said calmly, "She found the Grand Tutor for you, and her contribution was immense. You've received her kindness, and now that you're pleading for her, is that considered repaying her kindness?"
Princess Wanshou chuckled and said, "The Queen Mother is right. I did have a deal with the Lu family, but it wasn't what the Queen Mother imagined. She came to me and said she would help me find a tutor, but she had only one condition: I would return to the palace to celebrate the Queen Mother's birthday."
"Oh?" The Queen Mother was puzzled. "How will this benefit her?"
"The Empress Dowager is a figure in a difficult position," said Princess Wanshou. "Doesn't Mrs. Lu know that the Empress Dowager loathes her? Isn't she doing this just to make the Empress Dowager smile and cheer her up? She never imagined that after returning, before she could even claim credit, the Empress Dowager would be the first to attack. The Empress Dowager knows that I'm on her side, so now that I'm in her presence, I must tell her the truth about everything I've seen and heard along the way. Now that I've finished, it's up to the Empress Dowager to decide."
The Queen Mother leaned slowly against the table and pondered for a long time.
"But what about her and the Crown Prince? You and I have both been through this before. The Crown Prince summoned this concubine alone in the Jingyuan, and it's not something that can be brushed off with a few words. He has always been steady and composed, so how could he suddenly lose his composure? And you saw it just now. When I questioned him about this, the Crown Prince kept speaking for her. His words were in tacit agreement, as if they had already agreed. If you say they are innocent, I simply cannot believe it."
At this point, Princess Wanshou knew that there was still a chance for her to return to the world.
"If the Queen Mother doesn't trust her, she should find a way to keep her away from the Crown Prince," Princess Wanshou said. "Then choose a Crown Princess who suits the Crown Prince's taste. He'll naturally change his mind. Why would he be obsessed with a widow from the countryside? Are you still worried about her stirring up trouble?"
The Queen Mother pondered Princess Wanshou's words, feeling they made some sense. She nodded and said, "That's quite true. The Crown Prince is not young anymore. Now that his first wife has passed away, he should quickly decide on a second wife. Besides the Crown Prince, there's also Ah Jun. He's even more difficult to deal with, as he won't be able to marry until the mourning period is over..."
Princess Wanshou glanced at the Queen Mother and thought to herself that the eldest princess was indeed very eloquent.
The Queen Mother actually believed Sima Jun and Lu's unclear lies.
The concubine and the stepson... Anyone with a bit of common sense would not get involved in such dirty things, let alone someone as cold and aloof as Sima Jun.
"Can I give the Empress Dowager some advice?" asked Princess Wanshou.
"you say."
"Now that the Crown Prince has resigned from his official duties and is residing in the Prince of Yuzhang's mansion, if the Queen Mother is worried, she can order Madam Lu to move to Xunyang Palace. That way, the Queen Mother won't have to worry about the Crown Prince and Ah Jun interacting too much with Madam Lu, nor will she have to break off relations with Madam Lu and encourage outsiders to stir up trouble. It's like killing two birds with one stone."
The Queen Mother nodded. "That's a good idea. But since Mrs. Lu is a widow, it would be best if she didn't cause trouble with other men."
"I've been thinking that even if Madam Lu is a promiscuous woman, she should have reined herself in after this incident. If she still refuses to repent and causes further trouble, the Queen Mother will have every reason to execute her on the spot. Whether she's beaten or killed, no one will dare to say a word."
The Queen Mother suddenly felt enlightened, and her previous gloom disappeared.
"You're so resourceful! You've returned just in time." The Queen Mother praised, then sighed softly. "Ayan is indeed well-informed, but she's a straightforward person. Nine times out of ten, she'll punish someone to death. It might have been okay if she were from an ordinary background, but as the eldest princess, she must learn to convince others with reason and rule with virtue. She was quite anxious about what happened today, and she's so anxious that she's desperately trying to get Lu convicted. I'm genuinely surprised, and I'm wondering if she's hiding something from me."
Princess Wanshou thought to herself that the Queen Mother did indeed know something about her daughter. However, she did not intend to interfere in the affairs between mother and daughter.
"The Queen Mother is overthinking it. The Princess just saw that the Queen Mother disliked Lu Shi and didn't want the Queen Mother to be angry about Lu Shi again, so she wanted to drive Lu Shi away."
The Queen Mother closed her eyes and nodded: "That makes sense."
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