Chapter 93: Protection
When Sun Wei heard Sima Jun's name, his heart suddenly moved.
This stubborn ox, didn’t we tell him not to come?
But for some reason, she felt a faint sense of relief in her heart, as if something that was tightened had suddenly loosened.
He didn't give up on her.
Since the people were outside the palace, including Zhou Chang, the empress dowager had to summon them into the palace.
Sun Wei heard footsteps, one of which belonged to Sima Jun, whom she remembered from her previous life.
She didn't look back, but she knew that Sima Jun was walking in and looking at her.
Sima Jun saw Lu kneeling on the ground, with the eunuch holding a staff behind her, and he knew the situation was dangerous. A fire surged from his heart, piercing his head, but Zhou Chang's words were still in his mind.
——"If you insist on going, I have nothing to say. But you must remember, you can only watch from afar. As long as you don't move, it will be the greatest help to the Concubine."
How ridiculous is this? Just watching from afar is considered helping?
He wanted to push the eunuch away, and then...
Then, what is it?
He clenched his fists.
When the prince entered the room, he saw the note on the ground and the eunuch of the Eastern Palace kneeling on the ground, and he had a rough idea in his mind.
After the ceremony, silence filled the palace.
It was Zhou Chang who broke the silence with a smile: "It's been many years since we last met, and the Queen Mother is still as spirited as ever."
The Queen Mother glanced at him and sneered, "It's been many years since we last met. Your Excellency is no longer as good as he used to be."
Zhou Chang smiled apologetically and said, "I was still thinking about the title of Prince's Tutor, so I went to see the Crown Prince as soon as I returned. Then the Crown Prince said, since I have entered the palace, how can I not pay a visit to the Queen Mother? I thought the same thing, so I thought of stopping by to see the Queen Mother. I never thought it would be like this. What happened? Isn't this the Concubine of Yuzhang Prince? Why is she kneeling? Did she do something wrong?"
The Queen Mother didn't engage in idle chatter. She said calmly, "Ms. Lu has deceived the Crown Prince. I was prepared to give her twenty strokes of the cane as a light punishment. But Princess Wanshou pleaded for mercy, saying she wanted to speak to the Crown Prince to clarify matters, lest there be any injustice. Now that the Crown Prince is here, let's discuss whether there is any injustice."
After saying this, she asked the eunuch beside her to tell her what had just happened.
After hearing this, the Crown Prince bowed to the Empress Dowager again and said, "There is indeed an injustice here. My grandson did meet the Concubine in the Jingyuan. It was because she had predicted the Eastern Palace would be struck by the Heavenly Fire, and my grandson wanted to thank her in person. That's all. The rest of the story is completely fabricated. I hope the Empress Dowager will make a fair judgment."
"Ridiculous!" the Queen Mother exclaimed. "This note, as well as the story about the concubine serving as a counselor and going to the East Sea, were all fabricated by the eunuch? How could he have fabricated such things out of thin air?"
"Of course this eunuch couldn't have fabricated this, but the people behind him might be able to," the Crown Prince said solemnly, "I beg Your Majesty to hand this eunuch over to me. I'll have a thorough investigation of this matter and give you an explanation."
Without waiting for the Queen Mother to answer, the eldest princess suddenly sneered.
"What does the Crown Prince think of this place? According to the current rules, can the Eastern Palace also take people from the Queen Mother's Palace?"
The Crown Prince looked at her and replied, "There is indeed no such rule. But Aunt, please remember that this man was originally a eunuch in the Eastern Palace. Someone took someone from my Eastern Palace without my approval. How do you think this should be settled, Aunt?"
"Whoever took the prince's people will be the one the prince asks about. What does it have to do with me?" the eldest princess said coldly.
The Crown Prince then addressed the Empress Dowager, "Grandmother, as Auntie has said, this case is indeed not a simple one. Someone has secretly taken someone from my Eastern Palace, instigated the Eastern Palace eunuchs to fabricate conversations between me and the Princess, and even spread these nonsense before Your Majesty. This matter is of no small importance. I hope Your Majesty will allow me to conduct a thorough investigation."
The eldest princess suddenly stood up and said, "The Crown Prince insists that the eunuch was instigated by someone. If what he said is true, and he falls into the Crown Prince's hands, then there will be no chance of recovery."
"I am the eldest princess's nephew and the crown prince." The prince looked at the eldest princess and said slowly, "Aunt would rather torture me into a confession than protect this eunuch? Could it be that in your eyes, I am worse than a eunuch?"
The eldest princess opened her eyes wide and suddenly looked at the empress dowager.
The Queen Mother lowered her eyes, as if in deep thought, and slowly turned the rosary beads in her hands.
"What are you talking about? Sit down." Princess Wanshou tried to smooth things over, saying to the Queen Mother, "Since the Crown Prince is begging for mercy, please spare the Concubine."
The Queen Mother still did not answer.
Seeing this scene, she finally understood. The Crown Prince was stubbornly insisting on protecting Lu, and inexplicably, Zhou Chang and Princess Wanshou were on his side to speak up for him. If she forced her way in, she was afraid there would be a fallout.
Although she really wanted to deal with Mrs. Lu, it was unnecessary to do so as to damage the harmony between the grandparents and grandchildren and the sisters.
After a while, the Queen Mother smiled faintly and looked at the Prince.
"I see," she said. "But if the Crown Prince wanted to thank Madam Lu in person, why didn't he meet her openly? Instead of summoning her to the quiet courtyard for a private meeting? This behavior is clearly beyond the pale."
The Crown Prince hurriedly said, "Your Majesty is right. It happened that the Eastern Palace was closed for ten days that day, and I was visiting the quiet courtyard when I suddenly remembered this incident. I sent for the Concubine, but I hadn't given it much thought. It was my fault, truly unjust, and I deserve to be punished. But the Concubine has done nothing wrong, so please forgive me, Your Majesty."
"It was just a misunderstanding, let's clear it up now." Zhou Chang said with a smile, "The Crown Prince has admitted his mistake, so the Queen Mother should stop being angry."
The Queen Mother glanced at Sun Wei and asked, "What does Mrs. Lu have to say?"
Sun Wei knew that the Queen Mother needed a step down, and he had to lower his posture.
"I have nothing to say. Please, Queen Mother, punish me."
After she said this, she bowed to the ground again.
The Queen Mother twirled the beads in her hand and said, "As the Queen Mother and the mother of Prince Yuzhang, I grant you a letter of divorce. From this day forward, Lu is no longer the Princess of Yuzhang. Her dowry must be returned and she must be sent back to her hometown."
Everyone present was shocked.
Only the eldest princess had a smile on her face.
"Empress Dowager!" Sima Jun finally couldn't hold back any longer and was about to speak when he heard Sun Wei say, "Thank you, Empress Dowager, for your grace."
Sima Jun stared at Sun Wei, but heard Zhou Chang cough.
Looking over, he stared at himself.
——"A little lack of patience can ruin a great plan. Doesn't the Crown Prince want the Queen Mother to kill the Consort on the spot?"
Zhou Chang said this before entering the hall.
The Queen Mother looked around at everyone in the hall, and after a moment, she waved her hand: "I'm tired, everyone go down."
Everyone left.
The eldest princess came over to support the queen mother, but the queen mother said, "You go back too, the princess stays."
"Mother..."
The Queen Mother ignored her and asked the eunuch to prepare the procession.
Princess Wanshou stepped forward and helped the empress dowager to the inner hall.
When they sat down by the window, the Queen Mother sighed deeply and said to Princess Wanshou, "Have I become inhumane?"
Princess Wanshou sat beside the bed and said softly, "The Queen Mother has her own reasons."
The Queen Mother closed her eyes.
"Everything has been in turmoil since Madam Lu entered the palace. First, my son died tragically; then, the emperor and his subjects fell out. Look at how the Crown Prince argued with the eldest princess today, even mocking her relationship with a eunuch. And the eldest princess, how can she act like an elder? You probably didn't notice that although Ah Jun didn't say a word, I could tell from his expression that he was furious. If it weren't for the Grand Tutor's signal, he would have come up to me and argued with me the moment he entered the palace. And all of their misbehavior is because of Madam Lu! How can I keep her?"
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