Chapter 20: Secret Talk
Zhu Yuhuan exchanged a few more pleasantries with Ruan An and briefly introduced Wu Ning and Yu Ying to him. Then, under the pretext of asking for advice on the water power of the imperial farm and inquiring about matters concerning the princess's mansion, he let his sister and the two of them leave.
Only Zhu Yuhuan, Ruan An, and Han Guilan were left in the room. Zhu Yuhuan then spoke up and asked, "Just now, I saw that Banban seemed to have something to say to me, so I asked the others to leave. I don't know what it was."
Seeing that Zhu Yuhuan had only Han Guilan left, Ruan An knew that he trusted her deeply. He then spoke truthfully, "That day, His Majesty sent a message to summon me back to the capital. The messenger was an old acquaintance of mine in the palace. He said that this matter wasn't decided in His Majesty's palace, but was discussed during His Majesty's visit to the Imperial Concubine's palace. He was of low status and didn't hear everything in detail, but he did hear the Imperial Concubine say with his own ears that the Princess's residence must be well decorated for His Highness."
Zhu Yuhuan was somewhat puzzled and asked, "Did the Imperial Concubine say this?"
Ever since the incident at the Sun family and the horse farm, the two of them had kept their distance. Why was Concubine Sun suddenly mentioning her Princess Mansion? Could it be that she was secretly planning to have someone devise some hidden weapons or traps within the Princess Mansion, achieving the most direct and simple outcome of eliminating Zhu Yuhuan, and then having Ruan An take the blame?
Zhu Yuhuan came up with such a simple and yet unexpected plan not because he looked down on Concubine Sun's ability, but because the Sun family had indeed proved that they did not have any overly sophisticated conspiracies or they would not have been driven out of the capital by Zhu Zhanji.
Ruan An didn't know what Zhu Yuhuan was thinking, so he just said, "Yes. He heard these words very clearly, so there must be no mistake."
"How strange..." Zhu Yuhuan and Han Guilan exchanged a look of amusement, saying, "Could it be that the Imperial Concubine heard some people gossiping outside and is afraid that I might have some ill intentions towards the Crown Prince? So she's planning to plant a trap in the Princess's mansion to kill me?"
Ruan An had naturally heard these rumors before, and he quickly said, "Your Highness is upright and has nothing to fear from his own shadow. Moreover, how could the Imperial Concubine be so foolish..."
Zhu Yuhuan smiled upon hearing this and said, "Don't be afraid of my companions laughing at me. Although the Imperial Concubine and I are not irreconcilable now, we are not as peaceful as before..."
Ruan An heard the familiarity in her words and said, "Ever since the Sun family left the capital, everyone knows who is behind His Highness's assassination. Now that His Highness's life is in danger, how can we all stay safe?"
With the knife at their necks, it would be strange if they could live in peace. The princess in front of him could actually laugh when mentioning Concubine Sun. No wonder when Liu Yongcheng introduced Princess Shunde to him, he said that the princess was quite like her great-grandfather, and she had the rumored forbearance of Emperor Taizong when he was still in the Yan vassal state.
Zhu Yuhuan sighed softly and said, "If my brother hadn't been raised by my grandmother, I'm afraid the prince would have resentful words towards me..."
Ruan An comforted him, "Just now, Your Highness specifically introduced the two Shujishi who compiled the book for the Crown Prince. This shows that the Emperor trusts Your Highness deeply, otherwise he would not have entrusted such an important task. Moreover, the Crown Prince is still young, and with so much time together, how could their relationship be bad?"
Zhu Yuhuan, however, heard another possibility from his words and suddenly said, "This kind of palace is usually built for married princesses, like my aunt Jiaxing and my aunt Qingdu. After getting married, they can't often return to the palace to accompany their parents..."
Ruan An was stunned at first, but soon understood Zhu Yuhuan's implication and said, "Your Highness means... the Imperial Concubine specifically mentioned this matter because she wants the princess to leave the palace as soon as possible?"
When he said this, his expression was slightly stiff, as if he didn't expect that Concubine Sun and His Majesty said this just to drive Zhu Yuhuan out of the palace, and Zhu Yuhuan was not yet of marriageable age, which was against etiquette.
Zhu Yuhuan touched his chin and said, "The imperial concubine is not very cunning, nor is she as bold as the Sun family to take my life. I think this is the reason."
Today they were renovating the Princess's Mansion, and tomorrow they might find Zhu Yuhuan a perfect husband. Zhu Yuhuan was a little amused and confused for a moment, thinking that if this was really the case, Concubine Sun's thinking was quite unique.
But it is also very useful. After all, there are still many families in modern times who believe that "a daughter once married off is like water spilled out", not to mention that this is in ancient times, or in the royal family.
Ruan An was silent for a while.
Zhu Yuhuan understood his embarrassment and said with a smile, "Thanks to Ruan Banban for telling me the news in advance, otherwise I would not have had time to react after returning to Beijing."
In fact, there was no need for Ruan An to reveal this matter to Zhu Yuhuan. He simply felt that this was a good opportunity to give something back, although the value of this information might not be worth Zhu Yuhuan's "recommendation".
Ruan An then asked, "May I ask what your Highness's plan is?"
Zhu Yuhuan thought for a moment and said, "This matter is nothing. Someone will speak for me when the time comes. But..."
Ruan An was a little confused and asked, "But? But what's inconvenient for the princess?"
Zhu Yuhuan smiled slightly and said to Ruan An, "I'm thinking about taking this opportunity to leave the palace directly, but I can't let go of my mother and sister."
An unmarried princess was allowed to leave the palace and live in the princess's mansion. Not to mention what people outside would say, even the ministers would not agree.
Although the social customs are much more open than in the past, it is not to the point where single, unmarried women are allowed to live independently. Even if there are female officials and aunts in the princess's mansion, it would not be proper.
Zhu Zhanji's order to rebuild the princess's mansion was obviously a test. For him and Zhu Yuhuan, it didn't matter whether they continued to stay in the palace or lived in the princess's mansion.
Zhu Zhanji was just using this incident to see the ministers' attitudes towards the emperor's intentions. If there were too many people opposing him, he could find out the true strengths of these people. As for the blame, he could put it directly on Concubine Sun.
Otherwise, Zhu Zhanji could have asked everyone else to leave when Concubine Sun just opened her mouth, leaving only the two of them present. Why leave a trail for others to spread the rumor?
Seeing that she still cared about the Empress and her sister, Ruan An saw how filial and friendly Princess Shunde was. Thinking of the rumors that had been spread, he consoled her by saying, "The Empress is the head of the harem, beloved by the concubines. Princess Yongqing is the apple of her eye. Who would dare to murder her?"
Zhu Yuhuan smiled and said, "That makes some sense."
But what she was worried about was not this, but historical issues. Her mother, Hu Shanxiang, was still well-known, but people like her and her sister were only mentioned in passing, either dying young or dying early. Zhu Yuhuan was really worried that if she was not in the palace, something might happen to her sister.
But there is no point in thinking about these things now. Leaving the palace or not is a beneficial option for Zhu Yuhuan.
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