Despite wielding great power and holding a high position, Princess Xiaoyue Meng Qingqian is not truly free.
Not only were there countless memorials to process every day, but there were also meetings of all sizes to attend. Furthermore, they had to help resolve conflicts between officials who belonged to the Meng clan.
Most of the time, she had to work until late at night, reviewing various documents and writing comments. Whether to approve, revise, or reject and reconsider, she had to consider carefully. Many times, the man surnamed Han would deliberately try to stall her. Just getting a single document stuck in a major matter could throw the whole thing into chaos.
Night had fallen in the palace. Meng Qingqian walked to her mother's bedchamber and whispered, "Is Mother asleep?"
At this time, the Empress Dowager would naturally be asleep. However, the Empress Dowager knew her daughter's personality; she wouldn't come to the palace without a reason, so her visit at this time must mean something important.
"Qingqian, come in quickly. Is there something you want to discuss with the Empress Dowager?"
Meng Qingqian nodded and said, "Tomorrow at the morning court, please ask Mother to arrange for a reliable palace maid, dressed nicely, to sit in my seat."
Why?
"Mother, I plan to leave the palace to see Fan Yu."
Although the eldest princess had to attend various meetings, big and small, every day, the most important one was undoubtedly the daily morning court session.
When the Empress Dowager was in charge of the country, she sat behind a curtain behind the Emperor's dragon throne. Later, she delegated power to the eldest princess, who then sat next to the Empress Dowager behind the curtain.
The curtain was not thick, and two figures could be vaguely seen, which was intended to give the courtiers an invisible sense of oppression.
The eldest princess was diligent; after assuming the regency, she never missed a morning court session.
This time, when Meng Qingqian went out of the palace to see Fan Yu, she naturally needed to find a substitute to sit there for her in order to remain discreet. This way, she could not only avoid breaking her rule of not missing the morning court session, but also deceive Prime Minister Han's power.
Finding a palace maid wasn't difficult; however, the Empress Dowager couldn't understand why her daughter wanted to see a general who had resigned from his post long ago.
"Qingqian, what are you doing going to see Fan Yu?"
“Mother, the Meng family is most in need of military power. If General Fan Yu can return to service and unite the Chu family army to serve the Meng family, then when the Han family and I hand over power to His Majesty three years later, there will be no threat of a coup.”
Meng Qingqian paused and added, "Moreover, Nan Zhu won't need to marry He Yunxiao in exchange for Wu Qinghou's help."
The Empress Dowager paused for a moment, blinked, and said, "Don't rush to make a decision for Nanzhu. What if she wants to marry He Yunxiao?"
Meng Qingqian said, "Mother, Nan Zhu is innocent by nature, how could she like a dissolute playboy like He Yunxiao?"
The Empress Dowager said, "I think Yunxiao is very sensible. How is he of bad character? You are not young anymore. If it weren't for the need to oversee the country, you would not be able to get married. How could I let this good marriage fall on Nanzhu's head?"
Marrying He Yunxiao is a good thing...
Meng Qingqian knew her mother's personality better than anyone else.
Sometimes, she even felt that Nanzhu was her mother's biological daughter.
The Empress Dowager judged people and did things based on her feelings and intuition.
I've heard that He Yunxiao is exceptionally handsome, so she's probably just making decisions based on appearance alone.
Meng Qingqian understood that relying on facial features to arrange a marriage was absolutely unreliable.
Marriage, especially for a royal princess, requires careful consideration from many angles. Personal factors like appearance and feelings are the least important considerations. In which dynasty did a princess marry without the benefit of the entire royal family?
Meng Qingqian knew she still cared about her younger sister, Meng Qingrou. However, if she couldn't get Fan Yu to help, and the Meng family's predicament couldn't be resolved, she wouldn't hesitate to leave her sister with He Yunxiao.
As members of the royal family, they enjoy preferential treatment in ordinary times, and in critical moments, the royal family should naturally take precedence.
For herself, Meng Qingqian only hoped that after handing over power to the Emperor, she could shave her head and become a nun, and from then on be free and no longer concern herself with worldly affairs.
As for getting married, being a wife and mother, she never even considered it.
Having held a high position for a long time, she had seen many so-called outstanding individuals. The more she saw, the more disappointed she became with them.
Meng Qingqian did not believe in Buddhism or Taoism; she shaved her head and became a nun simply because of despair. Because in this world, no man was worthy of being close to her, let alone sharing a bed.
...
This time when she left the palace, Meng Qingqian did not bring her personal guards or maids, but only Jian Ling.
Jian Ling specializes in swordsmanship and has reached the peak of the ninth rank. With her protection alone, she is equivalent to an entire guard of female attendants. Too many female attendants would be too conspicuous, and it would be very inconvenient to operate in secret now.
Since the Deer Horn Academy was almost entirely male, the two had to disguise themselves as men to sneak into the academy and meet Fan Yu in order to avoid attracting attention.
Meng Qingqian was so careful because she absolutely could not let the Han family know about her meeting with Fan Yu.
Getting someone to come out of seclusion is difficult, but preventing someone from doing so is very simple. If the Han family finds out that he went to see General Fan, then this matter will be almost hopeless.
Jian Ling's appearance was not effeminate; she looked perfectly natural dressed as a man, with almost no sense of incongruity. Coupled with her sword intent, she was naturally a swordsman wandering the martial world.
But Meng Qingqian was in a terrible situation.
Putting everything else aside, just those unruly breasts on her chest are extremely difficult to deal with.
She wore several layers of a bralette and loose clothing to make her look more normal.
Even so, when she dressed in men's clothing, her delicate and beautiful features could not be changed, and coupled with her fair and delicate skin, she seemed completely unfazed.
Left with no other choice, he applied a little more yellow powder to make his face less fair and handsome, so that he could at least look like an ordinary young master.
The two of them secretly traveled to the Deer Antler Academy in the carriage that palace maids usually rode in when they went out to shop.
Inside the car, Meng Qingqian asked, "Jian Ling, do I look like a man?"
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