The farce at the palace banquet came to a brief end. It was unclear what kind of agreement Beiqing and Donglin had reached, but Tuoba Hongyun was released the following afternoon and swaggered into the Xiaoyao Prince's Mansion.
Song Yaozhu didn't want to receive her, but the girl was so loud and aggressive that she had no choice but to let her in.
As soon as Tuoba Hongyun entered the palace, she looked around curiously. Her face showed no trace of the haggardness she had felt the night before when she was held hostage by the Donglin people.
Song Yaozhu couldn't help but sigh at how carefree this princess was, managing to eat and sleep so well.
"Princess Tuoba, is there something you need?"
Tuoba Hongyun leaned back in the armchair with a nonchalant air and asked with a smile, "Your Highness, is this your way of treating guests? Why didn't you order someone to serve me tea?"
Song Yaozhu gave Caijin a look, and Caijin immediately told the maid to serve tea.
"No wonder I didn't make any arrangements. I was just afraid that Princess Tuoba wouldn't like the taste and that I would waste such good tea."
Tuoba Hongyun glared at Song Yaozhu, who was so blatantly mocking her for being vulgar!
Beiqing has a relatively short history, and its culture is not as ancient as that of the Central Plains. It also lacks refined etiquette such as tea ceremony. The people of Beiqing are often ridiculed by people from the Central Plains as northern barbarians because no matter how much they try to learn the culture of the Central Plains, they cannot change their rough and rugged nature.
"How did you manage that last night?!"
Tuoba Hongyun couldn't understand it; he clearly saw her drink that cup of tea.
She guessed that Song Yaozhu had spat the tea onto the handkerchief and then stuffed it into Dongfang Shi's clothes. The key question was, how did she know she wanted to harm her?
She had just arrived in Da Chen, and apart from the argument that afternoon, the two had no other conflicts. Moreover, she had also inquired carefully and learned that this Song Yaozhu was an illiterate village girl before marrying the Carefree Prince.
She didn't think a village girl could be so cunning.
"So, Princess, you admit that you drugged me and tried to harm me?"
Tuoba Hongyun scoffed coldly, "Harm you? You're not worthy!"
Although she was belittling Song Yaozhu like this, she was beginning to feel uneasy. Why did she feel that Song Yaozhu was so composed?
Song Yaozhu's voice also turned cold, and she was too lazy to pretend to be polite with her.
"If the princess doesn't know how to be a guest, she can go back and have the etiquette officials of the Northern Qing royal family teach her properly. If the etiquette officials of the Northern Qing can't teach her, it's best not to come out and embarrass herself."
Tuoba Hongyun gritted her teeth and said, "Indeed, she is not as good as the officials of the Great Chen Dynasty. I heard that the Princess Consort was still growing vegetables in the fields three years ago, but now she has become so elegant and noble."
Song Yaozhu slowly exhaled, "Granny Qin, see the guests out."
Talking to this kind of person is a waste of your time.
Seeing Song Yaozhu get up to leave, Tuoba Hongyun stood up and said, "Stop! You haven't finished speaking yet, why are you leaving!"
Song Yaozhu gave her a cold look and said, "Throw her out!"
Tuoba Hongyun looked at Song Yaozhu in disbelief, "I am the princess of Beiqing, how dare you treat me like this!"
However, no one in the Prince's mansion paid her any attention. Seven or eight burly old women, sleeves rolled up, approached her. Although Tuoba Hongyun had practiced martial arts and could easily deal with these rough old women, if she were to make a move in the Prince's mansion, things would be very different for her.
Gritting his teeth, he realized that Song Yaozhu had already disappeared.
There was nothing else I could do but turn around and leave.
No sooner had she left the Prince's Mansion than the manor's steward rushed out, as if the master of the house was about to die.
Tuoba Hongyun snorted coldly, thinking to herself, "Let them worry about it to death," and didn't take it to heart, angrily going to the restaurant for dinner.
Unexpectedly, when she returned to the post station after dinner that night, she was caught red-handed by people from the Dali Temple.
"Princess Tuoba, we are from the Dali Temple. We suspect you of murdering the family members of an important official. Please come with us."
Tuoba Hongyun looked blankly at the group of people in front of him, and then at the Northern Qing delegation behind them. Everyone's expression was not good.
Last night she angered the Regent of Donglin, and they settled it by offering two hundred fine horses to Donglin next year. Now she's implicated in a case of murdering officials' wives, as if Da Chen knew about their deal with Donglin and deliberately set a trap out of greed!
"What happened?" Tuoba Hongyun communicated with the Beiqing delegation in the Beiqing language.
Tuoba Yunwu's face showed deep fatigue.
Did you go to the Prince Xiaoyao's Mansion this afternoon?
Tuoba Hongyun nodded, while Tuoba Yunwu was so angry that her mind went blank for a moment, and she took a slight step back.
He quickly lost control of his anger and yelled at Tuoba Hongyun, "What are you doing there! You know she's not someone to be trifled with, why did you still go there to deliver yourself to her doorstep!"
Tuoba Hongyun was stunned by Tuoba Yunwu's shouting without knowing anything, and her anger was rising rapidly.
"What did I do that you have to yell at me like that! Haven't I suffered enough grievances since last night?!"
Tuoba Yunwu clutched his chest and said, "You had barely left when the Princess Xiaoyao suffered a miscarriage! Now they're insisting that you spoke rudely in the palace, deliberately provoking the Princess Xiaoyao, causing her blood to flow backward and resulting in the miscarriage!"
Tuoba Hongyun was stunned for a moment, then loudly defended herself: "That woman deliberately framed me! She only saw me once, didn't say a word, and then left!"
"Fool! You just walked right into his trap, how could Emperor Chen not seize the opportunity! You've fallen for his trap, but now all the evidence points to you, how are you going to defend yourself!"
"Brother, please save me!" Tuoba Hongyun immediately went up and tugged at Tuoba Yunwu's sleeve. Tuoba Yunwu shook her off and said with exasperation, "You go with them first. I will go to the palace tomorrow to see Emperor Chen and have a good talk with him."
Having received his words, Tuoba Hongyun reluctantly followed the people from the Dali Temple and left the post station.
She cursed Song Yaozhu in her heart, but then realized she had indeed been careless. She was seething with anger, feeling utterly wronged by Song Yaozhu, completely unaware that she was the one who had harbored malicious intentions first. Everything Song Yaozhu did was merely a tactical retaliation.
Tuoba Hongyun was taken to the Dali Temple's prison, but he was still treated as an honored guest and was not imprisoned in the lowest level of the prison like ordinary prisoners.
She wasn't as afraid as she had seemed before. That evening, a jailer brought her food and slipped a note under the dishes.
She thought it was a letter from her brother, but when she picked it up, she found it was written in the Da Chen script, which read: "A small token of my appreciation, Princess, please enjoy."
Tuoba Hongyun threw the note on the ground and crushed it fiercely. "Song Yaozhu! This isn't over!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com