Chapter 348 Reporting
Princess Fu'an gripped the dagger tightly in her hand, her shoulders trembling, and two streams of tears fell down her cheeks. "Get out, get out, don't come any closer... please, don't touch me!"
Her voice was thick with sobs, mournful and sorrowful.
Dou Wenyi's breathing was erratic, and her chest felt tight. She let Dou Wenyi vent her grievances and fears until Dou Wenyi was exhausted from crying. Then she gently coaxed Dou Wenyi, "Fu'an, this is Tianning City, this is the Imperial Palace. I am Wenyi, your sister-in-law. You are safe now, no one will dare to bully you anymore!"
Princess Fu'an paused, a familiar yet unfamiliar figure appearing in her blurred vision. She sniffed, "Wenyi? Sister-in-law? I can't find my mother... Please help me find her, okay?"
"Yes, it's me. The Princess has passed away. My condolences!" Dou Wenyi frowned slightly.
Princess Fu'an became agitated and screamed, "No, she's not dead!"
The death of the eldest princess was a devastating blow to her.
Such a delicate flower, without the protection of power, how could it withstand the wind and rain?
Dou Wenyi dared not provoke her any further, and went along with her words, "Then how are you going to find her now? You need to take a bath, change your clothes, eat your fill, and rest before you go looking for her!"
"Put away the dagger in your hand first, okay?" Dou Wenyi patiently persuaded.
With a "thud," the dagger fell to the ground.
Princess Fu'an lowered her head and began to cry again, her lips trembling. "But I have no face to see my brother, the Crown Prince... He won't forgive me, will he?"
“If he wanted to make things difficult for you, he wouldn’t have sent someone to bring you back.” Dou Wenyi’s expression was complicated. She had already failed the emperor’s favor twice, and her dignity as a princess had naturally been ruined.
Princess Fu'an suddenly raised her head and stared intently into her eyes and brows. "Your brother, the Crown Prince, won't recognize me, will he?"
"Wenyi, I regret it... I really regret it. I shouldn't have provoked Xie Guidu."
Dou Wenyi sighed. Only those who have experienced it can understand the bitterness of love. The greater the hope, the greater the disappointment.
It was too late for regrets.
Are you secretly laughing at me, thinking I'm stupid?
Dou Wenyi shook her head. "Why would I laugh at you? I used to be just like you. Even more deluded than you, thinking that as long as you were sincere, you could warm even a stone. But things didn't go as planned. Some people are inherently despicable and not worth loving at all. Once you fall in love, it will only bring misfortune to a woman."
“None of this is your fault. The Princess is your mother, and her will almost controls you. She is also used to arranging everything. Mo thought that obeying her opinion was filial piety. That’s why you obeyed her and married Xie Guidu, why you followed them to run away to your fiefdom, and why you made one mistake after another.”
"All of this is because you love your mother deeply and are afraid of losing her love for you."
"Let it go, stop making things difficult for yourself. You have a long life ahead of you. Even without power, you can still live. You will definitely encounter things that are more meaningful to you in the future."
The woman before me was gentle and kind, and her words contained the wisdom of someone who had experienced many hardships, as if she had awakened me and given me a renewed desire to live.
Princess Fu'an hadn't taken her words to heart before. But at this moment, she suddenly understood why Pei Siyan was so infatuated with her.
Like the Crown Prince, she never stops thinking and reflecting, dares to question and break through, is not blindly filial, and will not be manipulated by others.
With the help of a maid, Fu'an went to the clean room, where the water was steaming. Fu'an, the county magistrate, leaned against the wall of the bathtub, her body submerged in warm water.
She took a cloth and scrubbed her body vigorously, especially the places that those people had touched.
Red marks quickly appeared on her snow-white skin, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't wash away the stains on her soul...
Half an hour later, Princess Fu'an changed into clean clothes and returned to the side hall.
A snow-white cat meowed twice at her. She crouched down, picked up Snowball, and gently stroked its back.
The door creaked open, and palace maids brought in a variety of exquisite dishes. They quietly arranged the dishes and then withdrew without a sound.
Dou Wenyi walked in, carrying a book. Only the two people and a cat remained in the side hall.
She placed the book she was holding on the low table, without urging him, and said softly, "Are you hungry? Eat something first."
Princess Fu'an held the snowball but did not move.
She remained silent for a moment, then finally raised her head, her eyes red and swollen, yet carrying a clarity bordering on despair.
“Wenyi, you’re right, I still have a long life ahead of me. But my past life was like a magnificent yet fragile dream woven by my mother. I lived in that dream, thinking that everything was within my grasp—power, wealth, men, including… Xie Guidu.”
Her voice trembled slightly when she mentioned the name, and she tightened her grip on Xue Tuan's arms.
Dou Wenyi sat down opposite her and listened quietly without interrupting.
"I overestimated myself. I did not inherit my mother's wisdom, but I did inherit her extravagance."
"Her love for me and her teaching of me were arbitrary. She didn't teach me how to protect myself; she only wanted me to be an obedient pawn."
"Xie Guidu has never been sincere with me in the slightest. The way he looks at me is as cold as if he were looking at an object!"
Princess Fu'an spoke with bitterness, "From the very beginning, his approach to me and his marriage to me were all for the sake of gaining my mother's power and fulfilling his ambitions. Although I always knew this, I clung to the hope that he would eventually be moved by me and change..."
“Fu’an…” Dou Wenyi felt a pang of heartache.
A woman should never try to change a man.
Princess Fu'an took a deep breath, suppressing her surging emotions: "I've witnessed too much along the way. He even colluded with the Japanese pirates, secretly stockpiling weapons and provisions, and condoning their burning, killing, and looting..."
Her eyes were filled with hatred.
Dou Wenyi grasped her hand, "Fu'an, it's truly remarkable that you can see these things clearly. It's a great virtue to acknowledge your mistakes and correct them."
Princess Fu'an raised her face, her tone more resolute than ever before: "I cannot live a life of dishonor, nor can I stand by and watch Xie Guidu destroy the foundation of the Great Zhou, ignite war, and cause widespread suffering. It is only the common people who will suffer."
She said, as if enunciating each word, "I want to see the Emperor; I want to atone for my mistakes!"
“Xie Guidu, he’s a madman, he wants to rebel! I know some information, though it’s not complete, but I’m willing to tell His Majesty everything I know.”
Dou Wenyi nodded solemnly:
"Good. Protecting our country is the duty of every one of us. As a princess, you should have stood firm and turned back from the wrong path long ago. His Majesty will not blame you."
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