Chapter 43 His Majesty has recently shown some dissatisfaction with the Crown Prince…
Lou Xueying was sick for two days, but gradually recovered. After recovering, she resumed teaching Li's mother to read.
This time, Li's mother studied very hard and was much more focused than before. Although her memory was still not very good, she had made visible progress, which made her very happy.
Lou Xueying was also happy for Li's mother.
However, beneath her smile, she still harbored some worries.
She smashed the zither that Emperor Jinghui had given her that day and stormed off. Although it is unknown how he ultimately reacted, judging from the calm of the past few days, he does not seem to intend to continue to make things difficult for her.
Although he didn't recall Li Pan, he probably thought that if he couldn't have him, no one else could. Or perhaps he thought that going back on his word would damage the dignity of the imperial power.
Lou Xueying thought that although a forced march could not involve bringing family members, there was no law that said family members could not visit each other at the border. If she were to set off now to find Li Pan, it wouldn't be impossible.
The problem is, should she take Li's mother with her? The journey to the capital is long and arduous, and it's not easy for the elderly to come all this way. They haven't even had a chance to enjoy their comfortable life for long before being sent back to the Northwest. Li's mother has recently become interested in the capital and probably wouldn't want to leave.
But if she goes to the Northwest on her own, not to mention whether her elders agree or not, even if they do, what if Emperor Jinghui sends someone to stop her on the way?
It would be good if he let her return to Kyoto; the real fear is that he might take this opportunity to lock her up in some unknown place and possess her alone.
If Li Pan thinks she's in the capital, and her family in the capital thinks she's in the Northwest, that would be terrible.
We're still too passive.
Lou Xueying felt somewhat annoyed.
Just then, Yao Biyue sent an invitation to the Marquis's residence, saying she wanted to invite her for tea and a chat.
When Li's mother found out, she told Lou Xueying to go ahead. Anyway, Lou Xueying had already figured out how to read, and even if Lou Xueying wasn't there, she could review on her own. She had plenty of things to do.
Lou Xueying then went out.
When they arrived at the teahouse, Yao Biyue was resting her chin on her hand, admiring the scenery. When she saw Lou Xueying arrive, she smiled at her and said, "Susu, you're here."
Lou Xueying: "Why do you seem to be in a bad mood?"
"Sigh, it would be strange if things got better." Yao Biyue sighed. "I went to the palace once last time, and then nothing happened. My mother and the others keep asking me what the Empress thinks of me and what the Crown Prince thinks of me. I tell them I have no idea, they don't wear their thoughts on their sleeves."
Lou Xueying pursed her lips: "Then what do you think of the Crown Prince?"
“I didn’t feel anything,” Yao Biyue said. “Actually, I only met him once and said three sentences in total: ‘Greetings, Your Highness,’ ‘Thank you for your trouble, Your Highness,’ and ‘Thank you, Your Highness.’”
Lou Xueying: "Isn't that all?"
“That’s all.” Yao Biyue leaned back in her chair and sighed deeply. “Actually, I talked quite a bit with the Empress. I think I behaved fairly well. Later, when the Crown Prince arrived, the Empress had him escort me out of the palace. He didn’t say a word on the way, and I was too embarrassed to speak. When we reached the palace gate, he finally managed to say, ‘The palace gate is just ahead, Miss Yao, please take care,’ and then he left.”
At this point, Yao Biyue couldn't help but snort: "If he could be like the Empress and take the initiative to talk to me, I would be willing to spend more time with him. But he is obviously not interested in me, so I am not interested in him either. There is no shortage of men in the capital, and I don't necessarily have to be the Crown Princess. You were right before, being the Crown Princess is too troublesome. I would rather find someone who listens to me, so that I don't have to go to great lengths to please him and not even get a smile in return."
Lou Xueying breathed a sigh of relief and laughed, "That's how it should be. The royal family is a deep and treacherous place, and you don't like to get involved in those power struggles. You might not be happy marrying into that family."
Yao Biyue nodded repeatedly: "That's right. I recently thought that after becoming the Crown Princess, I will also have to become the Empress. My God, I will have to manage so many beautiful women in the harem. I'll be exhausted. If I don't manage them well, it will be my fault. Where can I complain?"
Lou Xueying's smile deepened: "Exactly, it's a thankless task."
That's great. Yao Biyue herself didn't fancy the Crown Prince and didn't want to be the Crown Princess, so she could rest assured.
Putting everything else aside, now that Emperor Jinghui has been reborn, he will certainly not let the Crown Prince and Empress off the hook. If the Yao family still wants to marry into the Crown Prince's family, they may very well be implicated.
Now that Yao Biyue herself is no longer willing to consider a relationship with the Crown Prince, the Yao family will have to put in considerable effort to continue their marriage alliance. In the meantime, Emperor Jinghui might even eliminate the Crown Prince, at which point the Yao family will surely be grateful for Yao Biyue's decision.
However, now that she had received Yao Biyue's affirmative reply, knowing that Yao Biyue did not like the Crown Prince and had no interest in becoming the Crown Princess or the Empress, Lou Xueying couldn't help but wonder, what about her past life? Was she unhappy in the palace in her past life? After she died, would Yao Biyue learn of her true death? And what would her reaction be?
Unfortunately, we can no longer know.
Yao Biyue blinked and glanced at Lou Xueying, saying, "Why do you look so happy? Don't you want me to be the Crown Princess?"
Lou Xueying said, "To be honest, I recently heard a rumor. Just listen to it yourself, but don't tell anyone else, and don't tell your family either."
Yao Biyue eagerly leaned closer and said, "Tell me, tell me."
Lou Xueying: "I heard that His Majesty has recently become somewhat dissatisfied with the Crown Prince. Although I don't know what happened, if it's serious, he might change the heir apparent. At this critical juncture, you absolutely must not become the Crown Princess."
Yao Biyue was taken aback: "Change of heir? That serious? Who has the audacity to spread such a rumor?"
Lou Xueying: "It's just hearsay. Just listen to it and don't take it too seriously."
Yao Biyue: "I didn't know about such a big thing as changing the heir apparent, but I have indeed heard that His Majesty is dissatisfied with the Crown Prince recently."
Lou Xueying was taken aback: "Where did you hear that from?"
Yao Biyue said mysteriously, "I heard it from my mother, but I don't know where she heard it from. Maybe it was just gossip among the ladies."
Lou Xueying frowned.
Yao Biyue continued, "What my mother heard wasn't as serious as the change of heir apparent. After all, among His Majesty's sons, who is better than the Crown Prince? The rumor is that the Crown Prince may have made a small mistake recently, angering His Majesty, and is currently troubled by this matter. She told me to start from this point and find a way to relieve His Highness's worries. If His Majesty's anger is appeased as a result, the Crown Prince will be happy, and naturally he will look at me differently."
Lou Xueying: "You don't even want to be the Crown Princess anymore, so why are you getting involved in all this?"
Yao Biyue: "I know. But what if the Empress thinks I'm alright and wants to continue trying to match me with the Crown Prince? I can't very well refuse the Empress, can I? She's not fallen from power yet!"
Seeing that Lou Xueying couldn't think of a good solution either, Yao Biyue sighed and said, "Forget it, I'll figure it out myself."
-
In the Empress's palace.
"Has His Majesty not summoned you to the Imperial Study for several days now?"
The crown prince replied in a muffled voice, "Yes."
The Empress frowned: "He used to summon you to the Imperial Study from time to time after court to discuss state affairs with several senior officials. Why doesn't he summon you anymore? Could it be that there's nothing important to discuss lately?"
Crown Prince: "How can there be no important matters? Father Emperor has ordered Marquis Wu'an to return to the border to fight, which will be a huge expense. The Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War have been arguing for days, and they still refuse to leave after court."
Empress: "Is His Majesty still angry with you?"
The Crown Prince was puzzled: "What wrong have I done that makes Father Emperor still angry after so long? Besides, Father Emperor also reprimanded Mother Empress that day. Could it be that Mother Empress did something wrong as well?"
The Empress sighed.
Emperor Jinghui used to be quite amiable, but recently he has become increasingly unpredictable. I heard that even Eunuch Zheng, who serves the emperor, has become less smiling, which is really puzzling.
"Speaking of which, you will soon be of legal age. After that, His Majesty and the officials will no longer treat you like a child. At that time, you must be even more careful with your words and actions and not lose your status as the crown prince."
Crown Prince: "When have I ever failed to be careful in my words and actions...?"
The Empress said, “Although you have not been careless in your words and actions, you are still a bit childish at times. I heard that you barely paid any attention to that Miss Yao whom I asked you to meet a few days ago. You are all grown up now, do you still need your mother to teach you how to speak?”
The crown prince remained silent.
"Don't give me that look. I think if you were to replace Miss Wang or Miss Zhang with someone like you, the result would be the same. Besides, Miss Yao was approved by your father, and he's been looking down on you lately. Shouldn't you try to please him?"
Seeing the awkward atmosphere between the mother and son, the head palace maid smiled and stepped in to smooth things over, saying, "Your Highness, this can't be entirely blamed on His Highness. He's not talking to Miss Yao because there's really nothing suitable to talk about. Think about it, how can you start a conversation when the two of them don't even know each other? Ideally, you should find a topic that both of them are interested in so that they can have a good chat."
The Empress frowned: "Where are we going to find a topic to talk about?"
The head palace maid said, "I've heard that Miss Yao usually likes to go out shopping and have fun. Why don't we find an opportunity to let her accompany His Highness on a tour of the countryside? There are so many people and things to do in the countryside, much more interesting than in the palace. There's bound to be something to talk about."
"No," the Empress refused outright. "Ji'er is the Crown Prince; how can he leave the palace at will? What if something happens to him?"
The Crown Prince's eyes lit up: "Your subject thinks this suggestion is quite good. I spend my days confined to the palace, like a frog in a well, feeling extremely restricted. Although the two flower-viewing banquets my aunt hosted were uninteresting in themselves, I was quite moved by the many sights and sights I saw on the road. If I could leave the palace again and travel among the people, I would surely broaden my horizons. Then I would have something to say to Father. As for safety, wouldn't it be enough to bring some guards?"
The head palace maid smiled and said, "Yes, Your Highness, and in my humble opinion, this is a good opportunity to observe Miss Yao's character and conduct more clearly. It was fine when she was a young lady who liked to go out and play, but if she is still only interested in having fun after becoming the Crown Princess, then Your Highness should reconsider. If she can analyze people's lives for His Highness through her travels through the city, then this is the right thing to do. Moreover, this back-and-forth conversation will not be awkward and can also promote the relationship between the two of you."
Hearing her say that, the Empress wavered a little.
The Crown Prince had no intention of developing a relationship with Yao Biyue, but he didn't mind having someone by his side to answer his questions. So he smiled and said, "Mother, this trip will be worthwhile no matter what. If Miss Yao handles things well, I will naturally look at her with new respect and be willing to marry her. If she doesn't handle things well, then I won't suffer any loss. I went there to understand the people's conditions, and everything I encountered was related to the people's livelihood. If she's not good, then I can just find someone else."
"You, you," the Empress said, pointing a finger at the Crown Prince and shaking her head. "Fine, so be it." She looked at the head maid beside her and said, "Go to the Yao family and tell them to give them two days to prepare. Let Miss Yao accompany the Crown Prince on a private tour of the countryside. Be sure to be careful and cautious."
"There's no need to be too cautious," the Crown Prince quickly reminded him. "We absolutely mustn't clear out every place we go; what's the point of me traveling incognito then?"
The head maid smiled and said, "This servant understands."
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