The lights of countless fireworks illuminated Gu Jue's face, making his narrow eyes sparkle.
Gu Jue raised his hand and touched the place where she had kissed him, and curled the corners of his lips. The warm smile spread to the corners of his eyes and eyebrows.
His little girl always gives him surprises from time to time!
At the same time, cheers came from inside and outside the palace:
"It's the New Year! It's the New Year!"
The entire capital city was in an uproar and was bustling with activity.
There is no curfew tonight, and for many people in the capital, it will be a sleepless night.
Chu Qianchen originally thought that she would not be able to sleep. The sound of fireworks and firecrackers outside was very loud, and her heartbeat was also very loud, like a drum beating.
Boom boom boom! She tightly held the purse containing the New Year's money in one hand, silently counting her heartbeats. After closing her eyes, she fell asleep in a short while. She slept so soundly that she didn't even know when Gu Jue got on the bed.
The second half of the night was spent with the sound of lively firecrackers.
It was almost five o'clock in the morning when it became completely quiet outside. Before the cocks crowded at dawn, the black cat crawled out from under the bed and started meowing first.
"Meow!"
The black cat felt that he had escaped a "thunder disaster" and was very excited. He called out happily to the two two-legged beasts on the couch.
The man on the couch opened his eyes first with his eyelashes trembling. He blinked once, and his eyes became clear. He casually took out a small mouse made of feathers and cloth from the bedside table and threw it gently in the direction of the cat...
The little black cat's attention was immediately attracted. It aimed its pair of green cat eyes at the prey, opened its mouth, stretched out its claws, bit the prey with one strike, and went off to play.
The sky outside was just beginning to turn pale, and the light inside the house was dim.
Gu Jue turned his head and looked at the little girl sleeping next to him.
She lay on her side, like a little shrimp, her slender body slightly curled up, like an insecure child.
She closed her eyes, her sleeping face was peaceful, and her breathing was long and even.
She seemed to be having a sweet dream, with a sweet smile on her plump cherry lips. Her fair and delicate face was like a pink lotus quietly blooming in the night, with a pure and bright beauty.
With every breath he took, he could smell the light plum scent on her.
Just looking at her like this made him feel extremely calm, peaceful and harmonious.
He stretched out his hand and gently stroked her face. His fingertips stroked her smooth and shiny black hair, her delicate eyebrows, her straight nose, her rosy cheeks, and finally stopped at her petal-like delicate lips...
His throat rolled and a ripple appeared in his eyes.
Chu Qianchen seemed to feel something in his sleep, and suddenly reached out, grabbed his hand, held it tightly, and held it to his chest.
Gu Jue couldn't help but laugh, with the corners of his lips raised.
The little girl is still so domineering even when she is asleep. It's true that you resemble your cat!
Just then, the loud crowing of a rooster was heard outside, breaking the silence of dawn.
Chu Qianchen opened his eyes drowsily and rubbed his eyes with his hand sleepily.
She wasn't fully awake yet, with watery eyes, slightly parted lips, and a blank and innocent look, she was as cute as a lazy kitten.
Gu Jue couldn't help but laugh again, he put his arms around her slender waist, and asked in a low voice: "Do you want to sleep a little longer?"
He had just woken up and his voice was still a little hoarse.
Chu Qianchen leaned back and curled up in his arms, letting his warm embrace and familiar scent envelope her.
She said coquettishly, "I won't sleep anymore. I have to go to the palace to pay my respects." She pinched the sleeve of his white shirt again, "I'll ask my mother for New Year's money later, and I'll ask for some for you, too, okay?"
She raised her little face to look at him, her eyes sparkling.
He couldn't help but lean over and kiss her smooth forehead, and said only one word: "Okay." All up to you.
Chu Qianchen no longer stayed in bed. He pulled Gu Jue up with great energy and started to dress up.
Today is the first day of the Lunar New Year. All civil and military officials must go to the palace to pay homage. The royal family members are busier. They must first go to the Fengxian Hall with the emperor to worship their ancestors. After that, the emperor will go to the Taihe Hall to accept the worship of all officials. The ceremony is very complicated.
Chu Qianchen disliked these formal ceremonies. Instead of going to the Taimiao to worship with the emperor, it would be better for her and Gu Jue to go to the Taimiao privately to kowtow to the late emperor and ancestors and burn incense.
But they had to go, as New Year's Day was a rare opportunity in the year to meet Queen Dowager Yin with a legitimate reason.
A few days ago, Nanny Jin from the Ministry of Internal Affairs came to the palace on the pretext of delivering New Year's goods. She said that ever since the matter of Yuan Zhitong was decided, the Queen had obviously been much more indifferent to Empress Dowager Yin. Also, from some medicinal residues that Nanny Yan asked Nanny Jin to bring out, Chu Qianchen discovered that the amount of medicine in them was heavier than before.
Presumably, something happened at the Third Princess's coming-of-age ceremony, which made the Queen feel humiliated and unhappy.
Afterwards, Chu Qianchen also submitted a sign to the palace, but the queen did not agree to let her enter the palace, so Chu Qianchen could only ask Nanny Yan, Nanny Jin and others to continue to keep an eye on her.
Chu Qianchen had already figured it out. She planned to go to the palace to see Queen Mother Yin today and take her pulse carefully again, so she had to go to the palace today.
Whenever she put on heavy makeup, Chu Qianchen would look at Gu Jue with envy.
Compared to her, with three layers of clothes inside and outside and all the heavy jewelry from head to toe, he was at least half as light as her.
Gu Jue could completely understand her eyes, and considerately accompanied her to ride in her red-wheeled cart, feeding her water and candied fruits.
It was not yet fully light, and the red-wheeled carriage moved smoothly all the way until it reached the palace gate. Then the surroundings began to become lively, with the sounds of people, horses, and wheels mixed together.
Chu Qianchen looked outside and saw seven or eight carriages parked at the palace gate. The people who arrived at the palace at this time were basically members of the royal family.
When they saw that it was the carriage from Prince Chen's Palace, many mansions quickly made way for them and took the initiative to let them cut in line.
Gu Jue and Chu Qianchen followed suit. After getting off the carriage, Chu Qianchen found that the weather was getting colder. She really wanted to shrink into her cloak. She had already prepared a sleeve stove for Gu Jue and herself, and told him to keep it well.
The two went to Fengxian Hall first. Today, the emperor wanted the royal family and relatives to hold a grand sacrifice here. First, they would sacrifice to the gods, and then worship the ancestral tablets. The sacrifice alone had three parts: welcoming the gods, three offerings, and sending off the gods. The ceremony was very grand.
To put it simply, it means repeatedly performing the ritual of three kneelings and nine prostrations.
By the time the entire sacrificial ceremony was over, it was already an hour and a half later.
Afterwards, Chu Qianchen separated from Gu Jue, and all the female members of the family had to follow the Queen to Fengluan Palace. Next, the Queen would accept the worship of the ladies from both the inner and outer courts in Fengluan Palace.
This is another extremely complicated ceremony that involves a large number of people.
By the time the celebration was over, the sun was already hanging in the middle of the sky, almost noon.
Chu Qianchen originally planned to go to Shouning Palace to meet Queen Mother Yin, but she didn't have the chance to leave. Aunt Xu, who was beside the Queen, came over and conveyed the Queen's intention with a smile on her face: "Princess Chen, the Queen wants you to come over and sit down."
Chu Qianchen: “…”
Nanny Xu smiled and said, "Princess, the Queen Mother has been feeling unwell recently, and the Queen wants to talk to you."
Her voice was neither too loud nor too soft, just loud enough for the ladies around to hear. They all looked at Chu Qianchen and Nanny Xu with scrutiny, curiosity, or inquiry.
Nanny Xu's words were implying that if Chu Qianchen refused to accept the toast, he should not blame the Queen for neglecting the Queen Mother.
Chu Qianchen was not afraid of the Queen's threats, but she might as well go and see what the Queen was up to.
She stroked her sleeves and said with a calm smile, "Please lead the way, Madam."
Nanny Xu smiled even more deeply, stretched out her hand as if to invite someone in, and led Chu Qianchen to the west warm pavilion of Fengluan Palace.
In the West Warm Pavilion, besides the Queen, there were fifteen or sixteen female relatives of different ages, including several royal princesses, Crown Princesses, Princesses, and Shangshu's wives. All of these female relatives were of noble status, which allowed them to be summoned by the Queen and sit here.
All the female relatives gathered around the queen and talked with smiles on their faces. There was a lot of chatter and laughter, and everyone's face was filled with the joy of the New Year.
After Chu Qianchen paid his respects to the Queen, he sat down.
The other female members of the family naturally also knew Princess Chen. Some of them just smiled in response, some slightly slightly, and some were familiar with Chu Qianchen and greeted her out loud, such as Princess Li and Jingle.
The moment she saw Jingle, Chu Qianchen's eyes turned, and she vaguely understood why the Queen had specifically called her over.
She pretended not to know, smiled as if nothing had happened, drank her tea, and kept an eye on the people around her. She noticed that sitting next to the wife of Duke En was a middle-aged woman in her forties with triangular eyes. She looked unfamiliar, and she cast disgusted and resentful glances at Jingle from time to time.
Jingle didn't even look at the other person, but just drank tea and occasionally glanced at Chu Qianchen.
The queen in front exchanged greetings with the female relatives present one by one, talking and laughing, and the atmosphere was harmonious.
After a while, the Queen finally turned her gaze to Jingle, who was sitting next to Princess Yunhe, and asked calmly, "Jingle, it's the New Year, and I heard that you haven't returned to the Princess's Mansion these days. Is that true or not?"
It was impossible to tell whether the queen was happy or angry in her first words, but her blood-red lips clearly curved in a sarcastic and displeased arc.
The Lu family came to the Queen to complain about Jingle's running away from home, but they didn't dare spread the news, so not many people knew about it. When the Queen said it, everyone was shocked, and the few female relatives who were whispering to each other suddenly fell silent.
“…”
“…”
“…”
There was total silence in the warm room, without a single sound.
“…” Jingle bit her lower lip slightly and remained silent, still with her usual weak and timid look.
The Queen immediately asked the second question: "Tell me, did you beat up your husband not long ago?"
Jingle: “…”
Be quiet or silent. At this time, silence is actually equivalent to agreement.
The other female members were stunned, their jaws almost dropped, and they almost suspected that they were hallucinating.
Most of these people have lived in Beijing for decades, especially the Princess of Li and other royal princesses, who have watched Jingle grow up, and they all know her personality well.
To put it nicely, Jingle's character is gentle and humble, but to put it bluntly, she is timid and cowardly. Everyone present knew that the prince consort Lu Fangrui had taken a concubine, and some people even heard that Lu had whipped Jingle.
Such a weak Jingle dared to attack Prince Consort Lu. Was she drunk and staged a "drunk beating of the Prince Consort"? ! Princess Li and other female relatives exchanged doubtful glances. Many people wondered if there was a misunderstanding, or if Jingle was timid and did not dare to refute the Queen? To be honest, it was possible.
Perhaps Chu Qianchen was the only one who didn't show the slightest bit of surprise on his face. He continued to sip his tea elegantly and watched the queen perform.
There was a commotion in the warm room. Several female relatives were whispering in groups of three or four, and they all glanced at Jingle who was silent out of the corner of their eyes.
The Queen sat upright on the throne, wiping her fingertips stained with bright red with a handkerchief. Her tone gradually became colder and harsher as she reprimanded, "Jingle, you are the eldest princess, the emperor's biological sister. You should be a role model for women in the world. You should be gentle, elegant, respectful and generous, and take good care of your husband and children. How could you hit someone so casually, and the person you hit was your husband!"
"If this gets out, people will think that the princess of the Gu family is arrogant and willful. Who will dare to marry the princess in the future?"
Every word the queen spoke became more severe, as if Jingle had done something intolerable to heaven and earth.
At this time, the middle-aged woman with triangular eyes sitting next to Lady Enguo said angrily, "Empress, your Highness, your husband was beaten like that by the Princess. It hurts your son, and as a mother, I feel really bad."
"Until now, the wound on the Prince Consort's face has not healed yet. The imperial physician said that it might leave a scar."
This woman was the mother of the son-in-law Lu Fangrui, the wife of the Earl of Dongping, and also the aunt of the Queen.
As Lady Dongpingbo spoke, she pretended to press her eyes with a handkerchief, and the look she gave Jingle became even more resentful.
The Queen's biological mother, Lady Enguo, patted her sister Lady Dongping's hand soothingly.
These days, the wife of the Duke of Dongping has been complaining to the wife of the Duke of Enguo, saying how miserable Lu Fangrui is, how many days Jingle hasn't returned to the princess's mansion, and...
Lady Enguogong herself heard so much that she disliked Jingle and even regretted asking the Queen to marry Jingle to her nephew. She thought to bark: It is true that barking dogs don't bite, and biting dogs don't bite.
Jingle: “…”
Jingle still didn't say a word, her eyelids drooped like a frightened deer, looking extremely weak.
The anger and displeasure on the queen's face intensified, and her eyes were filled with gloomy emotions.
A few days ago, when Lu Xianjing came to the palace to complain, the queen was almost mad. To the queen, Jingle slapped Lu Xianjing's face, and also slapped her face as the queen. A princess who had always been useless dared to disobey her, the queen! But Jingle not only did not return to the princess's mansion, but also disappeared.
The Queen couldn't find Jingle, and she guessed that it was Chu Qianchen who hid her.
The queen had originally thought about complaining to the emperor, but the emperor had never cared about his sisters and didn't care about them.
The good thing was that after the death of the previous emperor, as the empress, she had the first few unmarried princesses in her hands, and their marriages were basically arranged by her;
The downside is that the emperor would not necessarily scold or discipline his sisters.
The Queen was only afraid that if she told the Emperor about this, the Emperor would scold her for making trouble, and would never send the Imperial Guards to help her find someone.
After much thought, the queen decided to wait until the first day of the first lunar month, when the emperor would pay his respects to the emperor, which was only a few days away.
Sure enough, Jingle entered the palace today.
Thinking back on the past few days, when her natal family and Lu's family took turns coming to the palace to cry to her, the queen became more and more unhappy. All kinds of feelings rolled over and over in her heart, and only anger remained.
She stared coldly at Jingle below, and the anger that had been accumulating in her heart for several days reached its highest point.
She had already made up her mind that she must make Jingle go to the Lu family to kowtow and apologize today, otherwise, she, the queen, would have no place to save her face!
Chu Qianchen was still drinking tea, calm and relaxed, as if this matter had nothing to do with her.
The wife of the Duke of Dongping looked coldly at Chu Qianchen with disdain. She had also heard from her daughter about what happened in Duobaozhai that day, and knew that the reason why Jingle was so bold was because of the support of Princess Chen.
Now that things have gotten out of hand, Princess Chen might have abandoned Jingle.
The wife of the Duke of Dongping raised her chin even higher, like a proud white goose, and she was just about to quack arrogantly.
She shifted her gaze away from Chu Qianchen and looked at Jingle again. Jingle was still pursing her lips like a mute.
The queen was complacent at first, but now she begins to realize that something is wrong.
Although Jingle was always a quiet person, she did not tremble in fear as the queen had imagined, and was not so scared that she would admit her mistake directly.
Jingle's expression was too calm. It should be said that she looked too calm to be the Jingle that the Queen knew.
Her calmness and indifference angered the Queen, who felt that her dignity as the mother of the country was challenged.
Queen Mother Yin didn't take her seriously, Chu Qianchen didn't take her seriously, and now even Jingle dared to ignore her?! The Queen flew into a rage, her anger rising from her feet to her head.
"Bang!"
She slapped the coffee table hard with her palm, causing the teacup and fruit bowl on the table to shake, and some tea spilled out.
The palace maids around were so frightened that they shrank back and became silent, and the air became slightly condensed.
"Jingle, I have said so much to you, don't you know you are wrong?!" The Queen scolded aggressively, her tone sharp and high, her expression became extremely excited, and the blue veins in her neck throbbed with the rhythm of her words.
Lady Enguo also spoke up, sighing, "Her Royal Highness Princess Jingle is too unruly. As a daughter-in-law or a wife, you should be aware of your own behavior. It's ok for the princess not to take care of her parents-in-law, but she can't even take care of her husband. How shameful!"
When Lady Dongping heard what her sister said, she felt deeply moved and thought that the Lu family was truly pitiful. This was not the same as marrying a princess, it was simply marrying a female bandit!
The Queen, the wife of the Duke of Enguo and the wife of the Earl of Dongping all condemned Jingle in unison. The three of them did not notice that the Princess of Liqin, the Princess of Shun and other royal princesses as well as several other eldest princesses had all turned unhappy, with most of them frowning. Even the Crown Princess had a strange look on her face.
Jingle didn't tremble and sat there quietly.
Her heart was far from being as calm as she appeared. She was actually afraid, nervous and panicked. But because Chu Qianchen was here, she felt that she was not fighting alone and she had someone to rely on.
Jingle glanced at Chu Qianchen slowly, and at this moment Chu Qianchen put down the teacup and smiled at her.
When their eyes met, everything was self-evident. Jingle felt at ease, as if he had taken some magic medicine, and his eyes were filled with a hint of brilliance.
She folded her hands on her knees, her left hand gently stroking the place on her right wrist where the whip mark had been left, and her expression became more resolute.
As the last word fell, his eyes met the queen's angry and condescending eyes.
“…”
“…”
“…”
There was silence in the warm room again. The other female members all looked at Jingle in shock. Some of them almost felt like they didn't know Jingle anymore.
Queen: “!!!”
The queen was so angry that her face turned pale, her eyes were wide open, and she could not believe her ears.
Jingle actually dared to speak to her like this!!
The rage swirling in the queen's eyes grew even more violent.
In her opinion, her cousin was not wrong, so of course Jingle was the one who was wrong! "You beat your husband and are still so unrepentant. You are simply hopeless!" The queen raised her hand, and pointed the bright red nail polish at Jingle with thunderous anger.
"According to the laws of the Great Qi, any wife who beats her husband will be punished with 100 strokes of the cane. If the husband wishes to divorce, he will be allowed to do so."
"If this happened in the civilian world, even if you don't divorce your wife, you will be sent to the government and punished with a hundred strokes of the cane!"
The queen felt that Jingle was just spoiled. If she were an ordinary woman, she would have been divorced long ago.
The wife of the Earl of Dongping also nodded frequently.
The more the queen spoke, the more she felt she was right. She cast an angry look at Chu Qianchen and scolded, "Ninth brother's sister, you are really something. I heard that you were also there that day. It would have been fine if you didn't persuade Jingle, but you actually helped her beat the prince consort. How shameless!!"
Princess Li and others all suddenly understood, with different expressions on their faces, and finally understood why Jingle suddenly dared to attack Prince Consort Lu.
The originally stagnant atmosphere seemed to change suddenly.
Jingle stood up suddenly, her eyes, which were usually half-closed, now sparkled brightly.
The Queen can say that to her, but she can’t say that to the Ninth Princess! If it weren’t for her, why would the Ninth Princess have to wade into this muddy water? Jingle clenched her fist tightly, her neatly trimmed nails digging into her palm, and said directly: "I am a princess."
"'Country' comes before 'family'. My husband and I are first king and subject, and then husband and wife."
These two concise sentences make it clear.
In the common people, if a husband beats his wife, he will not be punished at all, but if a wife beats her husband, it is a serious crime. However, the princess and her husband are not an ordinary couple. The princess is the monarch and the husband is the minister. The relationship between the monarch and the minister is a different matter.
Queen: “…”
Lady of Duke Enguo: "..."
Mrs. Dongping: "..."
The faces of the three people suddenly became very stiff. Some looked embarrassed, some were unhappy, and some were speechless.
Especially the Queen.
Ever since the Queen was promoted from Crown Princess to Queen, she has been accustomed to calling the shots in the harem. There are no laws in the harem anyway, and as long as the matter does not get to the Emperor, she has the final say in everything. Over the years, it has become her habit to look down on Jingle, so she naturally ignored this point and subconsciously made demands on the eldest princesses based on her husband's standards.
Jingle continued, "Sister-in-law, Lu Fangrui was rude to me first, so he should be deposed."
"Otherwise, where is the royal family's reputation!"
Hearing these two sentences, the queen forgot her embarrassment for a moment, and flew into a rage, as if she was burning with flames from head to toe.
The sisters, Lady of the Duke of Enguo and Lady of the Earl of Dongping, were also angry.
Deposing the prince consort, isn't that divorcing the husband? !
This is outrageous, absolutely outrageous!!
Before the queen could finish her curse, a familiar female voice suddenly rang out: "Jingle, well said!"
Princess Li not only praised it, but also clapped her hands.
The applause was neither light nor heavy, but it seemed particularly loud in the quiet room at that moment.
There was an appreciative smile on the corner of Princess Li's lips, and her gentle and kind eyes were staring at Jingle who was a few steps away.
Princess Li had always thought that Jingle was a harmless little white rabbit, and she never expected that she could say such words.
As the saying goes, even a rabbit will bite when it is angry. This saying is also true.
The Lu family was too pushy and even made Jingle anxious.
Princess Li has lived for most of her life and has seen all kinds of people. It is difficult for an honest official to manage household affairs. There are many cases where couples quarrel fiercely and the husband beats his wife terribly. But whenever outsiders intervene, most wives will help their husbands to face the outside world, making the kind-hearted outsiders feel embarrassed and get involved.
Therefore, Princess Consort of Prince Li did not care too much about Jingle's affairs in the past. After all, Jingle was not an orphan with no one to rely on, and it was not the turn of her, the imperial aunt from the next room, to intervene.
Now that Jingle can stand on her own, Princess Li doesn't mind giving her a hand, as this is also her duty as a member of the Gu family.
Princess Li looked at Jingle and nodded slightly, then chimed in, "A princess is naturally noble, and a consort is nothing. There is a consort only when there is a princess. Without a consort, the princess is still a princess."
The princesses and princesses present all nodded.
There were also those who did not want to offend the Queen, so they lowered their eyes and drank their tea without making any comment.
The Queen looked as if she had been slapped several times in the face by Princess Li and others, and her expression was extremely ugly.
The queen took a deep breath, suppressed her anger, and said with a dark face, "Let's not talk about the princess beating her husband. Jingle was disrespectful to her husband's elders, which is unfilial. If this gets out, it will affect the reputation of the daughter of the Gu family."
The Queen's voice was icy, and the wife of Duke Enguo also echoed: "The emperors of the Great Qi Dynasty have always ruled the world with filial piety. It is a great sin for a wife to be unfilial."
The Queen and her daughter both thought that the princesses would be able to empathize after hearing this, because everyone has daughters and granddaughters!
This also includes the princesses present. Yunhe and Ningde are princesses, but it is good enough for their daughters to be given the title of county lady. Once Jingle ruins the reputation of the princess, it will only implicate the daughters of other princesses.
Princess Li: "..."
Princess Shun: “…”
Yun He: “…”
…
Several princesses and queens all wondered if the queen had lost her mind.
The daughter of the Gu family is a member of the royal family, not a commoner.
The princesses of this dynasty have been quite well behaved.
But no matter how obedient she is, a princess is still a princess. She is of royal descent, with the blood of the late emperor flowing in her veins. She is a member of an imperial family.
Like Jingle, she didn't do anything out of line. She was just severely bullied by Prince Lu's family and she just wanted to correct the emperor and his subjects. How could it affect the reputation of the Gu family?
If you want to affect the reputation of the Gu family, it depends on whether others dare to do so!
Even if the prince consort has no hope of a career in the government, he can only get a sinecure at most. However, the prince consort does have a salary, and not everyone has the ability to take the imperial examination. Most of the time, there are too many sons of nobles in the family, and sons of mediocre qualifications want to marry the princess.
Anyway, if being a father is not good enough, you can still train your son to take the imperial examination and enter the official career in the future! The princess's son has royal blood and will have a natural advantage in promotion.
That is to say, the queen has been sitting on the throne for too long and thinks she is the mother of the country and is high and mighty. She also looks up to her own mother's family. She does not think about how the Dongping Marquis's Mansion, a mansion that is about to reach the end of its title, has the qualifications to be compared with the princess.
Then, the wives of Prince Rui and Prince Zheng began to persuade the Queen: "Your Majesty, what you said is wrong. The elders of the Prince Consort should treat the Princess as a monarch and a minister."
"That's right, the only person Your Highness the Princess should be filial to is the Empress Dowager."
Normally, the princess's mother-in-law should show great respect when meeting the princess, and it was because the princess was kind that she was exempted from these etiquettes. However, if the mother-in-law still talks about filial piety all the time, it means she has no knowledge of etiquette and disregards hierarchy.
The queens wouldn't be unaware of this, right?! Several princesses exchanged glances with strange expressions, and even began to worry about the princesses of this generation. Except for the third princess, the other princesses were concubines. Could it be that they were all raised to be virtuous by the queen?!
The princesses were all thinking about the eldest princess and the second princess who had already married. Normally, they saw these two princesses were always respectful in front of the queen and didn't think much about it, but now they felt something was wrong.
Princess Shun was thinking that she would talk to her daughter Chang Ning when she got back, telling her not to learn from those princesses. If Chang Ning also swallowed her anger after getting married and was bullied by her husband's family, wouldn't it be like the beautiful girl being taken advantage of by a pig? In the eyes of Princess Shun and other princesses, they would rather their daughters bully their sons-in-law than let their precious daughters be bullied by their sons-in-law for no reason.
Under the "persuasion" of several princesses, the queen's expression became more and more ugly.
If today wasn't the first day of the Lunar New Year, she would have walked away.
The atmosphere became tense again as the Queen's face turned red with anger, as if a storm was about to come.
Chu Qianchen didn't care about the changing atmosphere in the warm room at all. He was calm and composed from beginning to end.
She just gave Jingle a faint smile, as warm as the spring breeze, when Jingle looked at her uneasily.
For Jingle, all she needed was an affirmative smile, especially when this smile came from Chu Qianchen, which made her feel a hundred times more courageous.
She felt more at ease and mustered up the courage to look around at the other people. She saw that Princess Li and several other princesses were looking at her with admiring eyes and nodding frequently. She felt an indescribable feeling in her heart.
Before saying these words just now, Jingle was somewhat hesitant in her heart.
She didn't know how others would react when she said this; she didn't know if others would have the same reaction as the queen.
But now, not only is Chu Qianchen here, but Princess Li and the others also think that she did the right thing.
So, she did nothing wrong.
She is a princess!
At this moment, Jingle felt an unprecedented courage in her heart, and her almond-shaped eyes became more determined and brighter.
It was as if a dusty mirror had finally wiped off the dust on its surface, or as if a person who had been in the fog finally saw rays of bright sunshine shining ahead. The sunshine dispelled the haze in front of her eyes, making her feel that the road ahead was suddenly clear.
Jingle straightened her back even more and said to the queen, "The prince consort was disrespectful to the princess, committing an offense against his superiors, which is a crime of disrespect."
Chu Qianchen smiled and continued, "According to the laws of Da Qi, the crime of disrespect is punishable by fifty strokes of the cane."
What?! Lady Dongpingbo almost cursed, but she remembered that this was Fengluan Palace, so she bit her tongue.
Princess Li and Chu Qianchen sang the same tune, stroking her sleeves as she said, "That's how it should be. Otherwise, there will be no hierarchy, rules and etiquette between the monarch and his subjects!"
Princess Li also knew that the Jin prince consorts had been following suit recently and neglecting the other princesses. She felt that it was time to correct the trend. Otherwise, if even the princesses of the Gu family were looked down upon, wouldn't the princesses of the imperial clan also be bullied by the imperial guests? Princess Li wanted to teach the queen a lesson, so she deliberately said, "Although the eldest sister-in-law is like a mother, the queen mother is still alive. Even if the princess made a mistake, I think it's better to let the queen mother 'discipline' her."
Originally, the saying "eld sister-in-law is like a mother" is based on the premise of losing one's mother, but many people like to use this saying as an excuse to gain authority.
Logically speaking, while Empress Dowager Yin was still alive, Princesses Jingle and others would have to ask their stepmother for help if they had any problems. If the Empress Dowager was unwell, the Empress, the eldest sister-in-law, would have to make the decision.
In the past, the empress could abuse her power in the harem by relying on the emperor's support and using the excuse that "the empress dowager was not feeling well".
The other princesses also nodded frequently.
What Princess Li said was reasonable and logical, and there was nothing wrong with it.
Queen Mother Yin is the biological mother of Princess Jingle and other princesses. Regardless of whether the princesses are right or wrong, this matter should indeed be handled by the Queen Mother.
Queen: “!!!”
The queen's face turned blue and red, and dark clouds filled her forehead. Even the wife of Duke Enguo felt that something was wrong.
The first step in this game of chess was wrong. No matter how we move now, we will make matters worse. I'm afraid it will be difficult to turn the situation around.
Under the empress's cold gaze, Chu Qianchen showed no fear or hesitation. He nodded and agreed with the princess, "Auntie is right."
"The Queen Mother told me last time that she has always been thinking about her sisters, but it's a pity that she only sees them a few times a year."
"Would you like to go to Shouning Palace to pay respects to our mother? It would also be a filial piety for us as children."
Chu Qianchen looked at Jingle, Yunhe, Ningde and other princesses with a smile.
"..." The princesses looked at each other with different expressions.
None of them were Queen Mother Yin's biological daughters, they were all illegitimate daughters.
When the late emperor was still alive, Queen Mother Yin, as his biological mother, treated them very well and their lives were easy. Later, the late emperor's health deteriorated day by day, and Queen Mother Yin had no time to take care of the affairs of the harem in order to take care of the late emperor.
From then on, Song, the Crown Princess, began to take charge of the affairs of the harem.
Later, when the previous emperor passed away, the Crown Princess became the Empress. The Empress was kind to them on the surface, but in fact, she didn't care at all and was very disrespectful. It's not that no one went to complain to the Emperor, but the Emperor had no affection for these half-sisters...
The eldest princesses have not had an easy time in recent years, after all, people nowadays always take advantage of the powerful to bully the weak.
Yunhe, Duanrou, Ningde and other princesses exchanged glances with each other. Although they were somewhat moved by Chu Qianchen's words, they were still a little afraid of the Queen.
The Queen was a narrow-minded person, and the princesses were somewhat afraid that the Queen would make things difficult for them. They were also afraid that if they offended the Queen, she would remember it, which would make the situation worse.
In just a blink of an eye, they had already thought a lot and weighed the pros and cons.
They were just hesitating when Jingle took two steps forward and walked towards Chu Qianchen, saying with a smile, "Sister-in-law Jiuhuang, let me go with you to pay New Year's greetings to our mother."
When Jingle moved, the two princesses stood up immediately. Yunhe was the first to say, "Yes, I haven't paid my respects to my mother for a long time."
Yun and the others became more and more moved, all of them seemed to be thinking about something.
Jingle has been weak since she was a child, and her sisters know this best. She is just a little white rabbit, and even she can muster up the courage, so what do they have to be afraid of?
Negative emotions are contagious, and positive emotions can also infect people.
The other princesses were also inspired by Jingle's courage and stood up one after another, thinking about how their prince consorts had neglected them in the past few years. Even if they listened to the queen, their lives in the princess's mansion would get worse and worse.
Even if they were disobedient, the queen had no right to kill them. They were princesses after all, not maids in the palace. At most, they were just more neglected by the queen. If you think about it carefully, there is actually not much difference from the life now!
Several other princesses also said, "I will go and wish the Queen Mother a happy new year as well."
Several princesses including Princess Liqin and Princess Shun also stood up.
Princess Li took the lead and said with a smile: "It's New Year's Day, I will go to Shouning Palace with you guys to join in the fun. Last time, during Anle's coming-of-age ceremony, I didn't have time to have a good chat with the Queen Mother."
Princess Li wanted to support Jingle and the others, to prevent the Queen from really thinking that the royal family had no one and always mistreating them, making people think that the girls of the Gu family were not noble and could be neglected at will.
The other princesses of the royal family also echoed in unison. After all, every family has daughters and granddaughters.
At once, at least half of the women present stood up, and even a few princesses were eager to try, especially the fourth and fifth princesses.
The fourth and fifth princesses were in their prime years, and seeing that their aunts, the eldest princess and the second princess were having a hard time, they were actually full of fear for the future.
The two sisters looked at each other and knew that the Queen would probably not find a good family for them in the future. Even before, the third princess almost married Nan Hao.
The fourth and fifth princesses couldn't help but look towards Anle, only to hear Anle clapping his hands excitedly and saying, "Okay, okay, let's go pay our respects to the Empress Dowager!"
Since Anle was the first to speak, the Fourth Princess and the Fifth Princess did not hesitate and stood up as well.
"Anle!"
The Queen's expression was indescribable, but she was unable to bring back Anle.
The Anle plot is not a side story, it is the main storyline, you will soon understand what I mean.
(End of this chapter)
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