Chapter 294 Fight
Concubine Jiang and the second and fourth wives sat there, listening to the Shangjin Bureau report the jewelry of those noble ladies. The smallest one was worth four hundred taels. The three faces were filled with shame and anger, and they wished they could die on the spot.
The Shangjin Bureau counted the donated jewelry and reported to Empress Xu, "Today, the ladies and girls donated a total of 154,614 taels of silver for disaster relief."
The four taels were contributed by the second and fourth wives.
The amount was so large that even Concubine Ye had not expected it. Empress Xu said, "I will report your concern for the disaster in Xuzhou and Changzhou to His Majesty."
In the previous life, after everyone donated their jewelry, they said goodbye and left the palace. In this life, all the jewelry was returned. Perhaps because they knew how much other ladies had donated, and because they were embarrassed in public, their mood was not as bad as in the previous life.
The imperial kitchen sent more cakes and fruits, the dancers danced, and the sound of stringed instruments was pleasant. No one stood up to say they wanted to leave, so everyone stayed.
Some ladies from noble families came on stage to show their talents. Empress Xu watched them attentively and praised them highly.
The posture really looked like they were looking for a princess for Prince Yu.
Princess Cheng'an left the palace banquet halfway through, and not long after she left, Princess Gu'an also went out.
After half a cup of tea, a palace maid ran over and said, "Empress, Concubine, something bad has happened! Princess Gu'an and Princess Cheng'an are fighting!"
One stone can cause a thousand ripples.
The lively banquet suddenly became quiet.
Empress Xu frowned, while Concubine Ye asked, "Why are the two princesses fighting?!"
The maid hesitated.
Obviously the reason for the fight is not convenient to say.
Seeing this, Princess Jinde said, "I have been in the palace for a long time. I will take Ran'er to pay my respects to the Queen Mother."
The fact that two princesses fought each other during a banquet in the palace must be no small matter. It is better to know less about what goes on in the palace.
After Princess Jinde stood up, Princess Duan also said goodbye, and the other noble ladies stood up one after another.
Princess Cheng'an had the same temperament as Concubine Ye, flamboyant and ruthless, but Princess Gu'an was dignified and generous. Although a little stupid, she was obedient and avoided Princess Cheng'an. How could Empress Xu fight with Princess Cheng'an? She was worried and had no intention of dealing with these noble ladies anymore.
Empress Xu left, Concubine Ye also left, and all the wives of officials left the palace.
On the way out of the palace, those noble ladies came in twos and threes. They all knew what was going on in the palace, but it was better not to ask because people love gossip by nature. Especially since Princess Gu'an had just been confined by Empress Xu and it was only after the Crown Princess of Prince Jingyang interceded for her that she was allowed to attend the palace banquet. Everyone's intuition told them that the fight between Princess Gu'an and Princess Cheng'an was related to the confinement.
When they were almost at the horse racing track, the news of the two princesses fighting spread. The two princesses first quarreled and then fought each other. It was seen by several ladies from prominent families, so the news spread.
The girl whispered to her handkerchief friend, "Today's palace banquet was held to ask everyone to donate money. It was Princess Cheng'an who instigated Princess Gu'an to propose this to the emperor. It was originally agreed that the two of them would go to see the emperor together, but Princess Cheng'an didn't go. Princess Gu'an was confined by the queen for this matter. When Princess Gu'an saw that everyone was forced to donate so many jewelry, she knew that she had offended people and questioned Princess Cheng'an. Princess Cheng'an denied it and got so angry that she started fighting with her..."
Originally, those noble ladies thought that Empress Xu was very stupid to do this. She was extremely foolish to share the emperor's worries and offend so many noble ladies. They didn't expect that there was such a plot behind it.
Concubine Ye and Empress Xu were fighting overtly and secretly, and they had even taken them all into account. They were angry with Empress Xu, so naturally she was more inclined to Concubine Ye. Although the master was not a person who could easily get along with her, he would eventually listen to her after hearing her words many times. After all, with such a stupid mother, it was unlikely that her son would be very smart.
Concubine Ye plotted against Empress Xu and them, but they still thought that Concubine Ye was a good person. Those noble ladies were all filled with indignation.
Then Empress Xu and Concubine Ye went to look for the two princesses. When they arrived, the two princesses had already been pulled apart by palace maids. However, their hair was disheveled, their red hairpins had fallen to the ground, and there were scratches on their faces from fingernails, which showed how severely they had been beaten.
Queen Xu walked over and asked sternly, "What's going on?"
Concubine Ye felt sorry for her daughter. Princess Cheng'an covered her scratched face, pointed at Princess Gu'an, and gritted her teeth and said, "Mother, she slandered me with empty words. I didn't encourage her to go to the emperor to make suggestions and let the wives of officials go to the palace to donate money, let alone go with her!"
Princess Gu'an did not argue with Princess Cheng'an, she just raised her hand and swore, "If this matter has nothing to do with you, Princess Cheng'an, then my father will depose me as a commoner and never allow me to enter the palace again!"
"I swear on it, do you?"
For a princess, being demoted to a commoner was the punishment second only to being executed.
No matter what the truth of the matter is, just because Princess Gu'an dared to make such a vow, everyone would believe her even more. Besides, it was not the first time that Princess Cheng'an had deceived Princess Gu'an.
Princess Cheng'an was so angry that Yunxiu clenched her hands tightly, but she didn't dare to swear. Although she didn't directly instigate Princess Cheng'an, she was behind it. There is a god above us, and she was afraid that the curse would really come true.
Princess Cheng'an said angrily, "Mother! You have to make the decision for your daughter!"
Concubine Ye looked at Empress Xu, "Is this how the Empress disciplines Princess Gu'an?!"
Empress Xu said, "If the Imperial Concubine believes that Gu'an lied, she can go and complain to the Emperor and get to the bottom of this matter."
Concubine Ye's eyes were cold with anger. It was not certain whether the matter could be investigated thoroughly or not, but if it was investigated, the news would surely spread out of the palace. Princess Gu'an would be said to be stupid, and her daughter would be said to be scheming, neither of which had a good reputation.
The nanny said, "Princess Cheng'an's face was scratched. You need to apply medicine as soon as possible to avoid scars."
Concubine Ye flicked her sleeves and turned away.
Empress Xu brought Princess Gu'an to Fengluan Palace. Just as she reached the palace gate, a palace maid came running over and reported to Empress Xu the reason for the fight between the two princesses.
Empress Xu was stunned. She returned to her bedroom, dismissed the palace maids, and then asked Princess Gu'an, "Why didn't I hear you say that Princess Cheng'an instigated you?"
Princess Gu'an said, "She didn't directly instigate her daughter..."
Empress Xu frowned. She thought that Princess Cheng'an was the one behind the scenes, and her daughter was afraid of being scolded, so she didn't dare to let her mother know. "What's going on?"
Princess Gu'an whispered, "It was the Crown Prince's wife of Prince Jingyang who taught me to find a chance to anger Princess Cheng'an. Even if a fight breaks out, father will still restrict my feet. But those noble ladies won't be angry with mother, at least not just mother..."
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