The wicked mother-in-law doesn't try to whitewash herself; she only abuses her awful children.

Chapter 731 Confrontation at the Golden Palace

The entrance to Peach Blossom Dessert Shop was packed with people.

The ordinary people and merchants watching were impressed and worried at the same time when they saw that Peach Blossom Dessert dared to defeat Princess Mingyue.

Princess Mingyue's name was known to everyone in Shengjing, mainly because she was too arrogant and domineering.

In winter, she had an old charcoal seller beaten to death in the street by her servants when he bumped into her carriage; she nearly gouged out the eyes of a rich girl who glanced at her twice; and she argued with other playboys, then galloped off on horseback, scattering all the stalls along the street.
Anyone from Shengjing could name several of Princess Mingyue's misdeeds.

"Peach Blossom Dessert will likely not have a good ending if it comes to the princess."

"The owner of Peach Blossom Desserts just came from Ningcheng. He doesn't know the princess's character, let alone what the consequences of offending the Prince Yu's mansion are, which is why he came across her. By the way, why did Peach Blossom Desserts offend Princess Mingyue?"

"What else could it be? It's baseless. You know how Princess Mingyue acts. She got angry just from seeing her on the road. I think she's deliberately trying to cause trouble for Peach Blossom Desserts."

"To be honest, I really admire the owners and young master of Peach Blossom Dessert for going head-to-head with Princess Mingyue. I just don't know if Peach Blossom Dessert will still have a place in Shengjing after today. Also, Jufulai and Peach Blossom Dessert are owned by the same person. I wonder if they will be taken down together."

The onlookers and shopkeepers were abuzz with discussion.

Merchants, in particular, felt insecure.

If Princess Mingyue can cause trouble at Peach Blossom Dessert Shop today, she can cause trouble for other merchants tomorrow.

Some merchants who knew the inside story, while sympathizing with Tong Huaqiong, felt that she, being from a small place like Ningcheng, lacked flexibility and had so bluntly offended the princess. If the princess wanted a pastry chef, why not just give one away? Why risk offending the Prince Yu's mansion for a pastry chef?

After all, they are just ordinary people; how can an arm twist a thigh?

In Shengjing, it was no different for Princess Mingyue to crush a commoner than to crush an ant.

"Give way."

"Give way."

The Imperial Guards stormed in.

Tong Huaqiong and Gu Taohua shouted loudly, one on each side, that the Prince Yu's Mansion was plotting a rebellion. The commotion was so great that the news quickly spread throughout the city. When the Imperial Guards heard that Taohua had spread the news of the Prince Yu's Mansion's rebellion, they were so frightened that they informed their leader.

The leader of the Imperial Guard was Su Chengmin, who had distinguished himself in both the border defense and the protection of the Crown Prince.

Su Chengmin knew there must be something fishy going on, so he personally led a group of people to rush over to Peach Blossom Dessert Shop.

Meanwhile, the emperor also learned of the news in the palace.

The treason was a serious matter, and Tong Huaqiong and others were taken to the palace by the Imperial Guards.

This is exactly the effect Tong Huaqiong wanted.

The fact that the princess was raised to have such an arrogant personality shows that the Yu Prince's Mansion is not entirely innocent. The old emperor is naturally sensitive and suspicious, and this is going to be a real problem for the Yu Prince's Mansion.

Upon arriving at the Golden Palace, Princess Mingyue looked at Tong Huaqiong and Gu Taohua with barely suppressed smugness.

These two lowly merchants from the countryside are so ignorant. They think the palace is like the vegetable market at the entrance of their village. They're so calm when they arrive at the palace. They'll be crying soon.

When she sees the Emperor later, she will not be soft-hearted; she will beg the Emperor to cut off their heads.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, please do justice for Xiyue! These two crazy women have accused our Prince Yu's Mansion of treason and even tried to kill me with a sword."

As the bright yellow dragon robe flashed, Princess Mingyue was overjoyed. Her smugness vanished, replaced by anger and grievance, and she knelt down with a thud.

The Emperor is Princess Mingyue's uncle, and he has always doted on her, even more so than on the princess.

The emperor would grant her any request she made.

Therefore, she was certain that the Emperor would stand up for her this time.

"Your Majesty, please do justice for Xiyue," Princess Mingyue pleaded, her voice trembling with tears.

"This is how the same thing?"

Unlike before, the old emperor looked at Princess Mingyue with a calm expression and a scrutinizing gaze.

Princess Mingyue shivered involuntarily.

Why does her beloved imperial uncle seem different from before? Princess Mingyue's voice was full of grievance as she asked, "Imperial Uncle."

"emperor."

Tong Huaqiong interrupted Princess Mingyue, raised her head, and embellished the story.

"Your Majesty, although I come from the countryside and don't understand the intricacies of city life, I do know who owns this empire. So when the people from Prince Yu's mansion told me in my shop that everyone in Shengjing wanted to pledge allegiance to Prince Yu's mansion, and that no one in the entire empire dared to oppose him, I was terrified. I'm so foolish; I just think these words mean that the empire belongs to Prince Yu's mansion? But the empire clearly belongs to Your Majesty! Isn't this treason?"

"I was terrified when I heard that. These words were said at Peach Blossom Dessert Shop. If word gets out, people will think that Peach Blossom Dessert Shop and Prince Yu's Mansion are in cahoots. I just arrived in Shengjing and didn't have anyone to discuss this with, so I was so scared that I shouted at the door."

After speaking, Tong Huaqiong patted her chest.

He looked terrified.

The old emperor's gaze toward Princess Mingyue turned even colder.

Princess Mingyue roared at Tong Huaqiong, "When did my Yuwang Mansion ever have any thoughts of rebellion? You are making baseless accusations."

“Uncle, don’t listen to her nonsense.”

Gu Taohua said, "Who's talking nonsense? Didn't you yourselves say that no one in the world dares to oppose the Prince Yu's Mansion? Eunuch Pan, I'm foolish, but you are knowledgeable and experienced. Tell me, what do you mean by that?"

Gu Taohua looked at Eunuch Pan beside the Emperor with an expression of eager curiosity.

Eunuch Pan was stumped by Gu Taohua's question. He pondered it carefully and realized that the Prince Yu's mansion was indeed too arrogant and domineering.

Even if there was no intention to rebel, saying such a thing was indeed presumptuous.

Eunuch Pan just gave an awkward laugh and didn't say anything. Gu Taohua didn't make things difficult for Eunuch Pan. Although she was asking Eunuch Pan, she was actually asking the Emperor, the person behind Eunuch Pan.

She didn't expect Eunuch Pan to give her an explanation.

Gu Taohua continued to say to Princess Mingyue, "You can know a person's face but not their heart. Who knows if your Yuwang Mansion is two-faced? Your maids dare to say that no one in the world dares to oppose the Yuwang Mansion. Everyone knows that servants act according to their masters' thoughts, so it's clear that what they said is what you're thinking."

"You bastard, you're spouting nonsense."

Princess Mingyue was utterly wronged; she couldn't argue with them and wished she could tear Tong Huaqiong and Gu Taohua apart.

Gu Taohua knelt on the ground and raised an eyebrow at Princess Mingyue.

Princess Mingyue was so angry that she went mad.

Tong Huaqiong observed the interaction between the two.

Gu Taohua has hated Princess Mingyue since her previous life.

In Tong Dajiao's memory, Gu Taohua never recognized Princess Mingyue as her new sister-in-law in her previous life. Because Gu Jingzhe married Princess Mingyue, Gu Taohua stood on the opposite side of the Gu family for the first time.

She only recognizes Lu Zhaozhao as her sister-in-law.

Princess Mingyue is currently just a pastry chef who steals peach blossom desserts. If she dares to steal from Gu Jingzhe, Gu Taohua would probably really chop her in half with a sword.

"Your Majesty, Prince Yu requests an audience." After Eunuch Pan left, he quickly slipped in like a shadow and whispered.

The Emperor said, "Let him in."

Soon, the chubby Prince Yu waddled in and knelt down in the main hall with a thud.

“Your Majesty, please understand. My servant got into an argument with Manager Tong at Peach Blossom Dessert Shop over a pastry chef. In the heat of the moment, I said a few unpleasant things, which were then misinterpreted and manipulated by someone with ulterior motives,” said Prince Yu.

Tong Huaqiong sneered, "So, you come in and immediately start complaining."

It's a pity that once the seeds of the emperor's suspicion are sown, they won't be so easily removed.

In particular, Prince Yu, as a brother who had a direct rivalry with the emperor back then, was never completely trusted.

Tong Huaqiong was just a female merchant from the countryside, and it would do her no good to bring down Prince Yu.

In the Emperor's eyes, Tong Huaqiong simply believed that the Prince Yu's mansion was plotting a rebellion and thus made the fuss.

After all, it's normal for country folk to act without any particular method.