Chapter 57 Helpless
Inside the Eastern Palace, Hu Shanxiang heaved a sigh of relief after hearing the reliable palace servant beside her report that the Queen had been informed. She then asked, "Where is Huai'en, who has always been by Huanhuan's side? Why isn't he here?"
"I saw the princess glance at Huai En, and then he left on his own. I don't know where he went..."
Sun Mengqiu glanced at Hu Shanxiang cautiously. Seeing that she didn't say anything, she asked tentatively, "Your Highness, are you worried that Huai En has ulterior motives?"
Hu Shanxiang smiled and said, "Huanhuan is a smart kid. He wouldn't make a mistake. I guess there's something important he wants to do."
Sun Mengqiu saw her trusting smile, and a myriad of emotions surged in his heart. He forced a smile and said, "The princess is a genius, and she has indeed never made any mistakes."
To be fair, if her daughter were in this situation today, what would she do? At least she wouldn't do what Hu Shanxiang did, allowing her daughter to do things that could lead to a complete loss if she made a mistake.
If Zhu Yuhuan were a man, it would be fine. As long as he didn't commit a serious crime in the future, he would at least have a title. But as a princess, if she showed off like this, it would only bring disaster, and even implicate the whole family.
Thinking of this, Sun Mengqiu said, "Your Highness, the Emperor Taizong is no longer here. Huanhuan can't continue like this, otherwise the Emperor..."
If Zhu Di were still alive, how could Zhu Gaochi use such a small matter to attack Zhu Zhanji? Times are different now, and they should also follow the example of Zhu Gaochi and Empress Zhang and keep a low profile.
Hu Shanxiang smiled and asked, "She has done nothing wrong, so why should I restrict her?"
Sun Mengqiu was speechless for a moment, and after a while, he reminded her, "There are many disputes in the palace, and sometimes the more you do, the more mistakes you make. How could Your Highness not understand this?"
After all, the entire Eastern Palace shares the same fate, and if the Emperor displeases them, no one will be left unharmed. Of this mother and daughter, Hu Shanxiang is aloof and devoted to her duties, while Zhu Yuhuan is a true mischievous devil. Once favored by the Emperor Taizong, his sharp tongue was endearing, but now that his influence has faded and nothing has changed, his sharp tongue has become a sharp tongue that will only bring disaster. The Crown Prince and his Consort cannot continue to indulge him.
Hu Shanxiang shook her head and said, "After all, I am an outsider who married into the Eastern Palace, so naturally I have made many mistakes. But Huanhuan is different. Her surname is Zhu, and she is a member of the Zhu family." She looked at Sun Mengqiu and said reassuringly, "Don't worry, His Majesty and the Crown Prince both value bloodlines and will not vent their anger on innocent people."
Sun Mengqiu felt a little embarrassed when she was exposed like this. She sat up straight and looked at the shadows in the courtyard that were getting longer and longer with time together with Hu Shanxiang. For a moment, she didn't know whether she was ashamed or annoyed.
After all, Hu Shanxiang was the Crown Princess, and her elder sister was once a lady-in-waiting in the palace. Naturally, she didn't have to watch people's faces like her, having entered the palace at a young age. How could she understand her thoughts?
After a while, Sun Mengqiu stood up and said, "Hanjia is still young, I will take her back to rest first."
Hu Shanxiang nodded slightly and said gently, "Okay."
On the other side, Huai En followed Zhu Yuhuan's instructions, covered the music box with red silk, and went straight to Empress Zhang's palace.
The East Palace is quite far from the Kunning Palace. In order to avoid being discovered by others, Huai En deliberately chose a small road to avoid being exposed before the matter was explained clearly, which would make it impossible for him to "fight back".
If Huai'en had not often walked around here, he probably would not have been completely sure of notifying Empress Zhang in time.
Just as he was thinking this, he saw someone whispering in the distance by the palace road. One of them was dressed in the uniform of a female official, nothing special about him. The other was hiding very secretly in the recess of the city gate, making it difficult to tell who he was. Huai En subconsciously hid aside. Seeing that the two people didn't notice him, he breathed a sigh of relief, but also felt a little curious.
This path is indeed hidden. Normally, there are very few palace servants walking here. Only some palace servants who are responsible for the dirty and tiring work that requires them to leave the palace will walk on this palace road. Most palace servants are unwilling to get close to here. Even when Huai En helped to deliver messages before, he rarely came to this road. It should be deserted today, so how could there be people on this road?
Could it be that there is someone in this palace who is delivering messages in this place just like him?
He thought of the music box and Zhu Yuhuan on the tray, and observed secretly, and saw that the palace maid and the only exposed piece of green lining had disappeared. Huai En looked around and then turned to another way. Unexpectedly, he saw an acquaintance who was peeking at something there.
When the man heard the footsteps, his body trembled and he turned around in disbelief. It was Wu Miaosu. There were a few drops of sweat on her forehead and she looked a little nervous.
Huai En didn't know what to do for a moment. He vaguely remembered Zhu Yuhuan's helpless mood when he faced the comments of the Tenth Prince and his sister that day, and seemed to empathize with him.
He tried his best to conceal his identity in order to protect the life of Wu Miaosu, who was considered his benefactor, so that she would not be killed for knowing too much. He never expected that they would bump into each other today and witness the shadow in the palace together. How could he not feel helpless?
Huai En felt helpless, and Wu Miaosu felt even more helpless than him.
Although she had known that the Zhu family was hostile to her, she had never expected such a sudden change to happen today...
The reason why Wu Miaosu approached Huai'en in the first place was, firstly, to make it easier for her to get in touch with Hu Shanggong naturally, and secondly, she heard that the palace servants of Tang Huafang could move relatively freely in the Forbidden City because of delivering flowers, and they must be very familiar with the palace roads. After tracking them, she found out that there was such a small road in this seemingly strict palace city that was suitable for delivering messages.
After Zhu Di passed away, Wu Miaosu heard that the young eunuch named Ma was executed by the Empress for making a mistake. After observing for a long time and seeing that no one would linger on this path, she decided to choose this place to deliver messages regularly.
How could Wu Miaosu have imagined that someone would "come back to life"?
Thinking of this, Wu Miaosu shook her head at Huai En, signaling both of them not to act rashly.
At least we need to find a way to stabilize him first...
The two of them retreated together in perfect tacit understanding until they were far away from the palace path they had just been in. Wu Miaosu confirmed that there was no one else around before she spoke: "Later, I went to Tanghuafang again. They all said that you had made a serious mistake and were punished..."
Huai En hesitated for a moment, but still did not take up Wu Miaosu's words. He just asked, "Why is Lady Wu here?"
In any case, it was the princess who saved his life. He had sworn with his own life to protect the princess for the rest of his life. Naturally, he had to give priority to the princess's safety and could not easily leak any news that would endanger the princess.
Wu Miaosu was startled, then calmly defended herself, "I'm now walking in front of the Empress, and occasionally go to Concubine Guo's palace. I saw a trusted female official in her palace acting suspiciously, so I quietly followed her to see what she was doing... I didn't expect to meet you." She looked at the tray in Huai En's hand, and at a glance she recognized that the red silk covering it was the fabric that Empress Zhang had previously rewarded the Crown Princess. She said, "So you're following the Princess now, which is reassuring."
Huai En didn't expect her to guess so quickly. It must be that the thing in his hand revealed something. He just countered it and said, "It was the princess who saved my life, so I should naturally be at the princess's service. From what the princess said, it seems that she is very familiar with the female official, and she must have taken good care of her."
Wu Miaosu said softly, "Princess... the princess treats the palace maids the best and always protects them. In the future, you will follow the princess and don't have to worry about being wronged."
She knew, of course, that Zhu Yuhuan was unlike any other prince or grandson of the emperor, but she was still a child. Who could Zhu Yuhuan protect outside her compound? Even she herself would be treading on thin ice.
Huai En heard the faint envy and loneliness in Wu Miaosu's words, looked at her green official uniform, and said nothing.
The person he had just spoken to, whoever he was not sure of, was also a female official, so Wu Miaosu couldn't be ruled out as a suspect. If she had already discovered him, it wouldn't have been difficult for her to find an excuse. But now that he had discovered such a secret, he was probably doomed...
Huai En unconsciously clenched the tray in his hand, and after a while he spoke: "The princess is now in the Palace of Purity. This is something to be presented to the Queen. It concerns the princess's life."
If that female official was indeed Wu Miaosu, who was walking beside him at this moment, his biggest worry was not that Wu Miaosu would kill to silence the witness, but that after that, no one would be able to hand over the item in his hand to Empress Zhang. Wouldn't the princess be wrongly accused?
Both of them were silent, not knowing when the accident would happen.
A gust of wind blew past, lifting a corner of the red silk. Wu Miaosu was slightly startled when she saw what was on the tray. She clenched her hands tightly, and after a long while, she asked jokingly, "Since you've changed your identity, what should I call you now?"
Huai En was startled, but still said, "Huai En."
Wu Miaosu paused for a moment, as if she had finally made up her mind, and said, "Huai En, I will go with you to deliver the princess's things to the queen."
Huai En didn't expect her to suddenly come up with such an idea. Although he was a little confused, but thinking that Zhu Yuhuan was still in the Palace of Heavenly Purity at this moment, he didn't have time to think too much. He just nodded slightly and said, "Okay."
As soon as the two arrived at Kunning Palace, Huai En explained all the affairs of the Eastern Palace, and then handed over Zhu Yuhuan's gift.
Empress Zhang glanced at the contents of the tray, smiled slightly, and suddenly shouted at Wu Miaosu, "Go and summon Concubine Guo and Tenth Brother to come with me to the Palace of Heavenly Purity to meet the Emperor. If she doesn't come, don't blame me for exposing all her affairs. Then, no one will be able to live a good life!"
Wu Miaosu was startled by her harsh words and said hesitantly, "If Concubine Guo doesn't come..."
Empress Zhang sneered and said, "If she and Tenth Brother don't come, call Tan and have a talk with me at the Palace of Heavenly Purity! She's a sharp talker, but Tan isn't. Tan cherishes her own life, but doesn't she cherish the life of her father, who is an official in the court?"
Wu Miaosu was well aware of the queen's skillful tactics, so she immediately went to Concubine Guo's bedroom to deliver the queen's instructions.
Concubine Guo was naturally unwilling to go. She just wanted to see the Empress Dowager become desperate. Even if there were ten more Wu Miaosu, she would never move an inch.
Concubine Guo rubbed her forehead and asked someone to change her handkerchief. Then she said, "I am not feeling well and I am afraid I cannot appear before the Empress. As for Tenth Brother, he is not as intelligent as Princess Shunde, who has a good teacher every day. To get a single word of praise from Your Majesty, Tenth Brother would spend hours studying. Now he hasn't even finished, how can he give up halfway?"
Even if her scheme was clumsy, so what? As long as she had the Emperor's favor, could she never defeat Empress Zhang, that old woman who used children to win his favor?
During the reign of Emperor Taizong, Zhang had offered her granddaughter as a treasure to curry favor with the old man. Now, the Crown Prince had asked Princess Shunde to attend daily lectures alongside him, an honor not even afforded to the Emperor himself. Did she really think everyone was unaware of her ulterior motives? She simply wanted to consolidate the Crown Prince's position and curry favor with the Emperor through the child's cleverness.
In this case, she would first depose this princess and see if Zhang could then train up another Shunde princess.
Seeing that she was determined not to move, Wu Miaosu had no choice but to say, "Since the Imperial Concubine is unwell, I will go to see Empress Tan and announce the Empress's next oral order."
Hearing this, Concubine Guo raised her voice, hummed, and asked, "What do you mean? Does the Empress have any instructions for Tan?"
Wu Miaosu said respectfully, "The Empress said that since the Imperial Concubine is unavailable, please ask Empress Tan to come with her to the Emperor and reason with her to see if she still wants to save her father's life."
Concubine Guo sat up suddenly and threw the handkerchief in her hand to the ground. With a loud snap, she spoke crisply, "It is truly the blessing of Your Majesty and Your Majesty that my health has suddenly improved..." She laughed heartily, but with a hint of anger, she pointed at her personal maid and said, "Go! Hurry and call Tenth Brother here, so that he can accompany me to the Empress to see the Emperor!"
Tan, a daughter of an imperial censor, was inherently weak and timid, not endearing to Zhu Gaochi. Concubine Guo merely offered her some advice, urging her to learn how to win favor and have a child soon, thus avoiding future burials. If she were allowed to accompany Empress Zhang to the palace, it might be entirely her fault. Concubine Guo wasn't worried about the emperor's reprimand; she simply felt it would only enhance Zhang's prestige. Therefore, she absolutely could not allow Tan to enter the palace!
The palace maid who was originally serving tea and water to the imperial concubine ran out when she saw this and quickly brought Zhu Zhan'an over.
Zhu Zhanzhen looked puzzled and asked, "Your Majesty, have you sent me and your son to see the Emperor? Is there something important going on?"
Seeing the ink stains on his sleeves, Wu Miaosu knew that what Concubine Guo had just said was not entirely false, so she said, "Please ask the Concubine and His Highness the Tenth Prince to go to the Palace of Heavenly Purity."
Concubine Guo met her youngest son's puzzled eyes and felt a little guilty, but she pretended to be calm and said, "Since the Empress has given her instructions, you must obey her. Don't talk nonsense in the palace later."
She naturally knew that her son and Zhu Yuhuan had a very good relationship, but she and Zhang were sworn enemies. If she couldn't shake the crown prince's position, she would die without a burial place in the future...
Zhu Zhanzhen didn't know what she was thinking, but he still had a bad feeling. He bowed and said, "Yes... son, I understand."
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