Chapter 55 Mother and Daughter Conversation
Concubine Sun had been in poor health due to excessive worry, and she was also disturbed by Zhu Yuhuan's "failed gift-giving" incident. Therefore, she had been recuperating in her own palace. She also learned from the empress and rarely interacted with others. She also ordered the palace servants not to interact with outsiders except when performing their duties, and to be polite and abide by the rules in their daily lives to avoid any bad luck.
Fortunately, Zhu Zhanji often came to visit her on weekdays, which calmed Sun Mengqiu's anxiety.
Just as her daughter Zhu Hanjia said before, after all, they are all family members with the surname Zhu. Even if she really told Zhu Zhanji that Princess Shunde was unusually scheming, Zhu Zhanji might not care.
Putting aside the deep affection between father and daughter, Sun Mengqiu knows better than anyone that His Majesty's ambition is to become a wise ruler. With Princess Shunde's talent, His Majesty may not be willing to let her go.
All Sun Mengqiu could pray for now was that the heir in her belly would be a prince.
How could she not know my hesitation? If the future emperor was her son, he would surely win some sympathy.
After all, there has never been a case of a bastard succeeding to the throne in the Ming Dynasty...
Sun Mengqiu finally calmed down, but she never expected that Madam Sun suddenly sent a message that she was going to the palace, but it was not the time agreed upon by the mother and daughter, which made Sun Mengqiu suddenly have an ominous premonition.
"Why is mother so anxious? Is there something urgent?"
When Zhu Hanjia saw Madam Sun coming, he dropped the Cuju in his hand and walked forward, calling out obediently, "Grandma."
The palace maid brought a stool and asked Madam Sun to sit down, but she was preoccupied and could not spare a word with her grandson. She felt very uncomfortable sitting on the stool. Madam Sun said cautiously, "I have a few words of private conversation with the Empress."
Wang Zhen first picked up the Cuju on the ground, and then saluted Mrs. Sun. Seeing Mrs. Sun's panic, Wang Zhen couldn't help but pay attention to her, and became even more curious about what the mother and daughter had to say.
Sun Mengqiu also vaguely sensed that something was amiss, so she said to the palace maids, "All of you, please leave. Wang Zhen, take Princess Changde away as well."
Wang Zhen was reluctant, but he still did as he was told. Seeing Zhu Hanjia's confused expression, as if she was reluctant to leave, he coaxed her, "Your Majesty and Madam must be discussing the matter of our future son. Your Highness, don't you want to prepare a gift for our son as well? I will go with you."
Zhu Hanjia then obediently followed Wang Zhen away, but still couldn't help looking back at his mother and grandmother.
After her daughter left, only Madam Sun and Sun Mengqiu were left in the palace. Sun Mengqiu's body was becoming increasingly clumsy, and she was accompanied by palace servants whenever she walked, sat, or lay down, for fear that she might have an accident.
But when she saw her mother, Sun Mengqiu walked over to her and massaged her shoulders as usual, asking, "Did something happen at home? Why are you in such a hurry?"
Madam Sun was anxious for a long time. Seeing that Sun Mengqiu still knew nothing, she asked in surprise, "Don't you know yet?"
Sun Mengqiu became increasingly puzzled and asked, "Know what?"
Madam Sun nearly burst into tears, saying, "Someone falsely reported that the Queen was seriously ill, so Princess Shunde fled back to the capital at night and encountered bandits on the way!"
Sun Mengqiu was slightly stunned and asked hurriedly, "How is the princess? Is she safe?"
"The princess is safe..."
Madam Sun then recounted the story of Princess Shunde returning to the palace to cry and the Queen visiting her daughter when she was seriously ill.
Sun Mengqiu finally let go of the worry in her heart and muttered, "It's good that he's okay, it's good that he's okay..."
Seeing Sun Mengqiu actually heaved a sigh of relief, Madam Sun said angrily, "You really scared her out of her wits! Even I know about this, which means it's a big deal. Everyone suspects you, the Imperial Concubine, did it!"
Sun Mengqiu was startled when he heard this, but he quickly said seriously: "I didn't do this, what do I have to be afraid of?"
Mrs. Sun looked terrified, tugging at her sleeves without saying a word.
Sun Mengqiu had never seen her mother look like this before. She quickly understood and pressed on, "Could this be related to you? You...you are so confused! The princess is my daughter, how dare you set your sights on her! Are you really that bold?" Her mind was in a turmoil, and she subconsciously said, "I'll go find His Majesty and the Empress, take off my hairpin and apologize! The Empress is the softest-hearted person. As long as I'm sincere, she will definitely not pursue the matter..."
Madam Sun was scolded by her daughter, and when she heard her daughter say she was going to apologize, she immediately grabbed her and said, "What nonsense are you talking about? What does this have to do with our family? I'm worried that this matter will be implicated by you, so I came to the palace to warn you! Besides, why would the Queen be so soft-hearted? If she was soft-hearted, would she let that little princess run into your palace and humiliate you? She's clearly trying to scare you! She's afraid that you'll give birth to a prince!"
Sun Mengqiu ignored all this and pressed on, "Mother, tell me, was it Xianzong who did it?" Seeing that Madam Sun didn't answer her, she understood more clearly. Suddenly, she felt dizzy and her vision turned pale. She muttered, "My brother was also involved..."
Madam Sun ignored all this and simply warned, "Although the matter you mentioned about the Xian Concubine isn't completely certain, there are some clues. Your brother sent people to Dantu to investigate, and the locals had never heard of such a family as the Xian Concubine. This shows that the Xian Concubine's background is fake. This is a crime of deceiving the emperor. The Xian Concubine is closely related to Hu Shanwei and the Hu family. If we reveal this now, the Empress and Princess Shunde will be busy defending themselves and will naturally not pursue the matter further. We can also take the opportunity to bring down the Xian Concubine."
Sun Mengqiu felt bitter and said, "If we do this, others will think we are just throwing dirty water at each other, and I will only give each of us thirty lashes. They may not really suspect Concubine Xian, but instead think that I hate the princess deeply and that I ordered you to do this."
"You're not the only one who hates the princess." Madam Sun sneered, "Who captured Huang Yan back then? Huang Yan has so many disciples, could the Queen Mother have captured and killed them all? There must be a few who have received favors and hate the princess. The princess is just unlucky."
Sun Mengqiu sobbed, "You've already thought of a plan, and you did it secretly without telling me. Do you still care about me, your daughter? ... You're colluding with both inside and outside. With such behavior, how can I trust you in the future?"
Madam Sun saw that she still cared about how Zhu Zhanji viewed her, and she angrily asked, "Is His Majesty's favor more important, or our own wealth and glory? As long as you have His Majesty's eldest son to inherit the throne, would the Empress still dare to follow the Empress Dowager's example and force you to be buried alive with him? I see that you are so blinded by love every day. Did your family send you to the palace just to live like a resentful woman here? I think you have the intention but not the courage to do it!"
Sun Mengqiu held her forehead with one hand, her entire body swirling with pain from these words. She wept bitterly, "Entering the palace was not my choice. If you hadn't sent me here, how could this have happened? You guys did something wrong, and now you want me to be stuck in this mess with you. How can you be worthy of me? How can you be worthy of His Majesty?"
Fearing she might have a miscarriage, Madam Sun held her daughter in her arms, stroking her back as she spoke in a soothing voice, "His Majesty has been with you for many years. Even if he truly became suspicious, he wouldn't publicly rebuke you. Instead, he would help you cover it up. You boast of being by His Majesty's side for so many years, don't you even have this little bit of confidence?"
"Aren't you forcing His Majesty to expend his affection for me?" Sun Mengqiu choked up, "When that affection is gone, what will I do? What will you do?"
Mrs. Sun was almost mad at her daughter and said bitterly, "Okay, okay, just think about your little kindness. We are doing this for your own good. How could we possibly harm you? When we all die, I wonder who you can cry to!" After that, she let go of her daughter and left angrily.
Sun Mengqiu looked at his mother's back, wanting to say something but stopping himself, and cried silently for a long time, as if he was back to the day when he left home at the age of ten. He leaned on the window frame of the carriage to Yingtian, watching his mother leave so resolutely without even looking back at him.
After a long time, Sun Mengqiu finally wiped her tears and asked the palace maids to come in and put on makeup for her, saying that she was going to visit the sick Queen. The palace maids who knew the situation told the Royal Concubine that the gates of Kunning Palace were now closed, and the Queen did not want to see guests because the princess was recuperating in Renshou Palace. She advised Sun Mengqiu to have a good rest in the palace for a few days first.
"Then I will go to Renshou Palace to visit the princess."
The palace maid hesitated and said, "This..."
When the imperial concubine is about to give birth, she should have rested well. The roads are slippery and the weather is cold in winter. What if something goes wrong?
Sun Mengqiu adjusted her hair and said calmly, "Tell Wang Zhen to bring Princess Changde with him. Tell her that he missed her elder sister, and we can go together as mother and daughter."
The palace maid had no choice but to respond and leave.
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