Chapter 1036 Old Madam Was Banished
The eunuch knelt on the ground and reported with the greatest of care. “That’s how the news came from His Majesty’s place. It was said that… Second Princess would have to marry him no matter what!”
“I will never agree.” The woman, mad with rage, stood up and was about to rush out.
“Please calm down, Your Grace!” An old maid stood out from behind her and bowed respectfully.
The gorgeous woman stopped. Though she was old, she still looked delicate and touching. The most attractive part of her was the tenderness in her bones. Merely by a gentle and sweet expression could she arouse men’s desire to protect her.
However, her tenderness in the past was all gone. How could she keep calm when what had happened damaged her fundamental interests?
!!
“It must be a plot done by people from the Queen’s side. It must be them. How dare they…” The woman stopped and scolded harshly.
“Your Grace, please be careful with your words!” The old maid waved her hand, and the eunuch who reported left.
“The current situation can only be like this. Envoys of the Kingdom of Dongcang had seen Second Princess stay in bed with Commandery Prince Qing. You can do nothing to change their marriage. So what if you refuse to give in? Anyway, Second Princess won’t get a decent husband from our country now. What’s more, there should be a marriage between our two countries. What you have to consider now is not about Princess Yuyan but Princess Yutao.”
The old maid took two steps forward to the woman and reminded her in a whisper.
This woman was Princess Yuyan’s birth mother, Consort Li, a Han woman who had sought refuge in the Xu State. Of course, it was only her background that appeared on the surface.
Although the imperial edict about this marriage hadn’t been pa.s.sed down yet, it was settled. With the people from the two countries witnessing such a shameful scene, even the King couldn’t do anything about it. In any case, Princess Yuyan would have to accept this marriage.
“What’s so important about Yutao?” Consort Li said impatiently, full of thoughts about her daughter’s marriage to the Kingdom of Dongcang. How could she accept it?
“Princess Yuyan will marry into the Kingdom of Dongcang, and her husband will be Commandery Prince Qing who is not an ideal husband. But on second thought, it is lucky that she will marry Commandery Prince Qing, isn’t it?” The old maid tried her best to convince her, and her words had some other implications.
When Consort Li heard this, her face suddenly clouded over. With a cold snort, she said, “I don’t think there’s anything good about Chu Qing. He really thinks of himself as…”
“Your Grace, please watch your words…” The old maid once again interrupted Consort Li. She looked around and saw two trusted subordinates of Consort Li standing on both sides. “Your Grace, the Queen has schemed against Princess Yuyan. Don’t you think we should get even with her? Princess Yuyan has to marry into a foreign country. Then what about Princess Yutao? We have to let her marry there because she can’t stay in our state.”
The old maid reminded Consort Li again that the most important thing at the moment was not about Princess Yuyan. Whether she was willing or not, her marriage was inevitable. At present, driving Princess Yutao out of their state by marriage was their utmost important thing, which would greatly benefit Consort Li’s branch.
“Only without the hindrance of Princess Yutao can First Prince become the crown prince and ascend to the throne. Otherwise, the Queen’s branch will never give up. We have to take away everything that the Queen’s branch wants to get and ruin all their hopes. The little prince is so young that the King will not make him the crown prince.”
Seeing that Consort Li was lost in thought and seemed to consider her words, the old maid breathed a sigh of relief and added.
She was really afraid that Consort Li would throw caution to the wind and make a scene. At this time, the bigger the trouble, the more embarra.s.sing it would be for the King, and it would anger him even more. Consort Li achieved her current status by taking advantage of the King’s love. Without his favor, she would be worthless.
“How can we send her away as well? His Majesty has just decided on the marriage of Yuyan. He won’t marry Yutao into the Kingdom of Dongcang. The two countries only have agreed to marry one princess.” Consort Li was terribly upset. She certainly hoped that Yutao could go far away, and it would be best if Yutao vanished from her sight. That was why she persuaded His Majesty to marry Yutao to the Kingdom of Dongcang. Unexpectedly, she shot herself in the foot: it turned out that her daughter would have to marry far away. She felt so aggrieved that her face was dark with rage.
“It must be that b.i.t.c.h, the Queen, played a dirty trick. Otherwise, how could Yuyan suddenly have to marry but not Yutao?”
“Your Grace, you don’t have to worry. You can make use of Prince Chen.” The old maid said meaningfully.
Prince Chen was from the Kingdom of Dongcang, the deceased emperor’s son, who had lost the throne and might not live long. Consort Li had chosen him to be Princess Yutao’s husband. Prince Chen was endowed with a pretty face and a n.o.ble status, but it was regrettable that he had been in poor health and might die in a few years. If Yutao married him, she could get a n.o.ble ident.i.ty, but so what? She would soon become a widow.
Most importantly, Prince Chen had a legal wife, and they were a couple known to be very much in love. Even if Yutao married him, she wouldn’t live a happy life because of her status and relations.h.i.+p with Prince Chen.
“What can a feeble man do?” Consort Li said impatiently, breathing a sigh of relief. Fortunately, her daughter wouldn’t marry Prince Chen; otherwise, she would be a widow.
“Prince Chen has already known about this. Our two countries can’t become embroiled in a dispute because of Princess Yutao! I heard that Prince Chen is a favorite of the Emperor of the Kingdom of Dongcang. If he says something, Princess Yutao will have to marry him even if she doesn’t want to.” The old maid suggested.
“Well, send a gift to Prince Chen and let him ask for it.” Consort Li, gritting her teeth, made up her mind and nodded.
“Anybody? Clean up and dress up Your Grace.” The old maid took a step back and ordered in a high voice. Then, she warned, in a whisper, “Your Grace, remember not to go against His Majesty’s wishes. You should be more reasonable than His Majesty with this matter and appear more aggrieved and meeker than usual.”
“I know!” Consort Li nodded. She had behaved like that for so many years and knew how to deal with the King. She was just too furious to stay composed and steady.
She was going to see the King now. Though she would accept the arrangement without demur, she had to put forward the marriage of Princess Yutao and let the King know her grievance.
She was full of grievances. Since she married into the Xu State, she had suffered from lots of grievances and was badly in need of a chance to make a comeback…
The Xu State’s political situation had been changeable. For the sake of the marriage related to Princess Yutao and Princess Yuyan, all forces were contending with each other covertly. This matter would be settled in a few days!
In the Marquis Xing’s Mansion of the Kingdom of Dongcang, Old Madam looked at the Nanny before her in horrified disbelief. She struggled up, asking, “Is, is this what the Empress wants?
“Yes. It’s a joint decision of the Empress and the Empress Dowager.” The Nanny answered, poker-faced.
Old Madam’s hands went limp, and she almost crumpled down onto the bed. Nanny Yu hurried forward and stopped her from falling.
“Uhm… Is it because of Infanta Yuan’an, or is it about Princess Chen?” Old Madam asked begrudgingly.
“Infanta Yuan’an is seriously injured while Princess Chen is just a junior, a married one. I heard that Princess Chen doesn’t have a good relations.h.i.+p with your mansion.”
The Nanny from the Palace said, her face still expressionless, but she didn’t say who exactly it was or who caused it. It sounded like this matter was connected to both.
Old Madam pointed somewhere with her trembling fingers.
“Your Grace, show your grat.i.tude for this favor!” Nanny Yu whispered in her ear anxiously.
Since the Empress and the Empress Dowager had agreed to this, their decision was equivalent to an imperial edict. Therefore, no one could refuse to follow the decision even if it was not an imperial edict.
“Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty! Is there a deadline on this?” Old Madam asked, grating her teeth in hatred. However, she had to swallow her pride and endure it in silence. After forcibly suppressing the fishy smell of blood in the throat, Old Madam gradually sobered up. At this time, she certainly could not go against the will of the Empress.
“Her Majesty only asked you to recuperate in a quiet place.” The Nanny from the Palace said.
“Yes, I will!” Old Madam answered.
The Nanny from the Palace bowed to Old Madam and left the room. Nanny Yu hurried out and caught up with her at the door. With a broad smile, she handed over a purse and apologized with humility, “It was quite a surprise for my master, so she had been a little disrespectful. Please forgive her manners. When Nanny Xi was here, she even complained bitterly about our master being fierce and blunt.”
The Nanny took the purse and pinched it. With this fat purse in her palm, she finally revealed a smile and said, “You don’t have to do this. I suppose Old Madam was too stunned back then. Who would have thought that an elder would suffer the loss in the end? The Empress trusts and relies heavily on Nanny Xi’s service. I believe Nanny Xi will speak up for Old Madam.”
Although Nanny Xi was a trusted subordinate of the Empress, she was just an ordinary Nanny. People in the Palace did not dare to make any mistakes about who was inferior and superior. Since the Marquis Xing’s Mansion had a good relations.h.i.+p with Nanny Xi, she wouldn’t offend them. Besides, she had just received such a purse with quite a bit of money from them.
She had to repay this favor.
“When can my master come back?” This Nanny was visibly touched when Nanny Yu mentioned Nanny Xi. Seeing her reaction, Nanny Yu knew she had done the right thing, so she immediately lowered her voice and asked for advice.
The few words from this Nanny didn’t give them enough information about the situation. Thus, Nanny Yu had to ask everything more straightforwardly for Old Madam.
“Infanta Yuan’an’s face was wounded, but no important person in your manor visited her to apologize. Worse still, you forced Princess Chen to deal with this matter in the Palace. Princess Chen is a junior who is married. In the past, the Marquis Xing’s Mansion had never taken good care of her. But when something bad happened, you put pressure on her to handle them one by one. Prince Chen is not in the capital city now, so Princess Chen is under the protection of the Empress Dowager.” The Nanny lowered her voice and said what came to her mind.
There seemed to be no logic in her words. But after Nanny Yu considered them carefully, her eyes lit up. “Is Princess Chen the key to this issue?”
“Well, I don’t know about that!” The Nanny from the Palace grinned. Since Nanny Yu understood it, she could go back.
Seeing that she was about to leave, Nanny Yu grabbed her and asked the most critical question, “Nanny, when can my master return?”