Chapter 867 The Truth - Twenty Years Ago 28
His trip to the capital was to arrange a marriage alliance with the Zhou Dynasty, thereby undermining the friendly cooperation between the Wei and Zhou states.
But now he has taken a liking to the princess of Wei. If this matter is brought to the attention of his father, the emperor, he will surely be punished.
"This princess of Wei is truly beautiful; she seems quite different from the noble ladies we've met before."
The speaker was none other than the eldest prince sitting beside him.
Xu Menglong glanced back at the eldest prince, who was over thirty years old. He was already so old, yet he still coveted the princess of Wei. He really didn't know what was good for him.
The eldest princess and Princess Baiyun walked to the empty seats, and after the singing and dancing stopped, the eldest princess bowed to the emperor.
The emperor naturally saw Princess Baiyun as well. Seeing her standing with his daughter, he immediately smiled and said, "This must be the princess of Wei, right?"
"Your Majesty, this is my younger sister, Baiyun."
As Bai Xu spoke, he beckoned to Princess Baiyun, who immediately bowed to the emperor and said, "Baiyun greets Your Majesty of the Great Zhou."
"Princess Baiyun, there's no need for such formalities. Please take your seat!"
After the emperor finished speaking, Princess Baiyun nodded to the eldest princess and then went to Bai Xu's side.
As a princess on a diplomatic mission, Princess Baiyun naturally had to stay with her brother, but she felt somewhat restrained because she was surrounded by men.
"Mother, Princess Baiyun is really beautiful."
Lady Hou looked at Princess Baiyun who had taken her seat and whispered something to the old lady.
The old lady came today hoping to see the princess and crown prince of Wei in person. Now that she has seen their faces, they are indeed as Gu Jin said, both being extremely outstanding individuals.
only……
The old lady's eyes darted around, as if she was considering something.
Court banquets are never very long; once the songs and dances have been performed, the banquet ends.
Seeing the emperor busy arranging for people to send the envoys back to their post station, the old lady and the lady of the Marquis slowly got up, also intending to return to their residence.
Just then, a young palace maid approached the Empress and said, "Madam, Her Majesty the Empress requests your presence."
The Empress was still present, but the young palace maid asked her to go there. The old lady knew that the Empress wanted her to go to her bedchamber to speak.
Seeing the Empress busy at work, the old lady turned to the Lady of the Marquis and said, "You go back first, I'll come back by myself later."
Lady Hou glanced at the old lady with some concern, but finally nodded and replied, "Yes."
After sitting in the Empress's palace for the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, the Empress returned with her maids and nannies.
"Your humble servant greets Your Majesty the Empress. May Your Majesty enjoy boundless blessings."
The Empress looked to be in her fifties, younger than the old woman, but perhaps due to overwork, she didn't look as energetic as the seventy-year-old lady.
"Madam, there's no need for such formalities."
The Empress said she would sit down in the main seat, and then gestured for the old lady to sit back down.
"I have rarely heard of the old lady going out to socialize in recent years. Today, seeing the old lady enter the palace, I couldn't help but want to keep her here for a private chat."
Even though the Empress was the mother of the nation, she still treated the old lady with great courtesy.
"Your Majesty's favor is deeply appreciated by this humble woman."
The other party was just being polite, so the old lady naturally couldn't take it too seriously and quickly stood up to bow to the Empress.
"Please sit down, please sit down. There are no outsiders here, Madam, you don't need to be so polite."
The Empress had a kind face, and as she spoke, she promptly dismissed all the servants in the room.
Upon seeing this, the old lady's heart skipped a beat. It seemed that the Empress had something to say to her!
Sure enough, once there were only the two of them in the hall, the Empress slowly spoke: "A few days ago, His Majesty summoned me and brought up a past event."
"Before the founding emperor established the Great Zhou Dynasty, the previous emperor had plundered the people's wealth and built Taoist temples and mausoleums everywhere, which cost a huge amount of money. However, when the founding emperor sent people to investigate, they found that the previous emperor had not spent all of the money he had emptied the national treasury, but had hidden most of it away."
Having heard the Empress's words, what else did the old lady not understand?
The founding emperor knew that his own grandfather had taken in his maternal grandfather's family. The reason he didn't take action against them later was because there was no evidence.
Now that even the State of Wei has tracked her down, it's impossible for the royal family of the Great Zhou not to take action.
"So, Your Majesty is saying that His Majesty has found those treasures?"
The old lady spoke at the right moment, and the Empress couldn't help but look at her.
The old lady showed no panic on her face, and even her surprise was so convincing that the Empress couldn't help but glance at her a few more times.
"No, His Majesty said that if anyone knows the whereabouts of those treasures, he will give them a huge reward."
As the Empress spoke, her eyes remained fixed on the old lady.
"If there really was such a large treasure, it would be a great thing for the country and its people. It's just a pity that it happened more than a hundred years ago. Is it still possible to find it?"
The Empress has put it so bluntly. If the old lady still doesn't understand that she's being targeted, then she's truly wasted her seventy years of life.
Upon hearing this, the Empress withdrew her gaze, picked up the tea beside her, took a small sip, and then slowly said, "It's probably possible to find it! They say perseverance pays off. As long as we don't give up, the truth will eventually come out. You agree, Madam!"
Every word the Empress spoke was a subtle hint to the old lady, who understood perfectly well, but had to pretend to be clueless and nod.
"Your Majesty and His Majesty are blessed with great fortune; they will surely find it."
Having said what she needed to say and offered her guidance, the Empress chatted a few more words about family matters before having the old lady escorted out.
By the time they walked out of the palace gates, it was already dark.
"Mother, you've finally come out."
Lady Hou did not dare to go back alone after leaving the palace, so she waited for the old lady outside the gate.
Nearly two hours passed before the old lady slowly emerged from inside. Seeing her unsteady steps, the Lady Hou quickly stepped forward to support her.
"If you ask me, Mother really shouldn't have made this trip today. It's such a long way from the palace gate to the inner palace. She didn't need to go through all this trouble."
Lady Hou wasn't complaining; she just felt a pang of sympathy seeing how tired the old lady looked.
"How can meeting the Emperor be considered a burden? Don't say such nonsense again."
As she spoke, the old lady was helped into the carriage by the others. Once inside, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Seeing the old lady like this, the lady of the house wanted to ask something, but before she could speak, the old lady stopped her with a look.
"We'll talk about it when we get back."
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