Proud Feather

Chapter 131 The Prince's Mansion
That same day, news spread that the Crown Princess had gone to the Funing Palace to apologize.

Those who enjoy gossiping vividly describe how the palace was filled with idle chatter, and how the Crown Princess tearfully begged the Emperor to move to another palace, inevitably evoking a wave of sympathy from onlookers.

"Since marrying into the Eastern Palace, the Crown Princess has never made a mistake, and is praised by everyone in the court and the harem. After the Crown Prince passed away, she devoted herself to raising the young grandson. Now she is being slandered like this. No wonder she is heartbroken."

"It's more than just sadness and grief; this is clearly a death sentence for the Crown Princess! To seize the Eastern Palace by any means necessary—what kind of crime is that? In addition, the young prince is still ill. If things go too far, she might have to atone with her death."

"Yes! The little prince is still so young, and he has already lost his father. If he were to lose his mother as well, wouldn't that be..."

"That's going too far! What's wrong with letting the Crown Princess and the little prince stay a few more days? The Eastern Palace is there, they can't just run away, why are you in such a hurry?"

As the story spread, it inevitably led people to make connections.

Who would be in a hurry to vacate the Eastern Palace? The next master, of course! Right now, the most heated debate in court is over the succession according to ritual and propriety. If it's not the young grandson, then it's someone else…

……

Xinwangfu.

The sounds of things being smashed and thrown kept coming from the study, frightening the servants so much that they dared not approach.

When Princess Pang Yu arrived, the maids guarding outside seemed to see a savior.

"Is His Highness inside?"

"Yes," the maid replied softly. "He threw a huge tantrum and smashed everything he could. Your Highness, please go and try to calm him down; only you can appease him."

Pang Yu touched her slightly protruding belly, a hint of annoyance on her face: "You guys are really useless, you can't even persuade them! You have to make me come in person."

Her child isn't troublesome, but because of what happened before, she doesn't dare to let her guard down at all, and has been keeping him mostly at home lately. If it weren't for this incident causing such a big commotion, she wouldn't want to step out of the backyard at all.

Thinking this, Pang Yu gestured to her maid to knock on the door and called out, "Your Highness, may I come in?"

The commotion inside subsided for a moment, then the door opened. Prince Xin, Chu He, still had a flush of anger on his face, but he had tried to keep his expression and tone calm.

"Ayu, what brings you here?"

Pang Yu smiled and lifted her foot to walk inside: "Of course I was worried about Your Highness, so I came here specifically to check on you."

Chu He was a little nervous: "It's messy inside, be careful not to get hurt."

"It's alright," Pang Yu said, and stepped inside resolutely.

The room was indeed a terrible mess. Broken porcelain was scattered all over the floor, and paintings, calligraphy, and ornaments were smashed everywhere. Even the chairs had been kicked over and were lying crookedly.

"Your Highness." The maidservants serving in the room bowed to her as if they had been granted a pardon.

"Are you all blind?" Chu He roared. "Hurry up and clean up! If you hurt the Princess, I'll skin you alive!"

The maidservant hurriedly knelt down to clean him up, not daring to utter a sound even when she accidentally cut herself, until all the debris around Pang Yu was removed. Chu He personally helped Pang Yu up in a chair and solicitously invited him to sit down.

Pang Yu smiled slightly. When the marriage was arranged, she wasn't too satisfied. With the Crown Prince as a precedent, Prince Xin seemed like a silent shadow, overshadowed. But over the years, she had lived a very comfortable life.

Perhaps because she wasn't outstanding enough, and her mother's family had no power, Chu He listened to her every word and became even closer to the Marquis of Jingping's household. He not only didn't blame her for her two miscarriages, but also became even more careful.

With the Crown Prince's death, Chu He became a strong candidate for heir apparent, which made Pang Yu even more satisfied.

So what if Lü Chan is better than her in everything? With the Crown Prince dead, he'll be a living dead. And she will become the new Crown Princess, and later the Empress, and even the Empress Dowager.

It's clear that no one can defy fate!
However, she cannot be complacent yet. As long as Chu He has not established a crown prince, there is still room for change.

He waved for the maids to leave, and the study door closed again. Pang Yu asked, "Is Your Highness angry about the palace relocation?"

In front of his wife, Chu He made no attempt to hide his anger, which resurfaced on his face: "Ayu, you don't know what people outside are saying. They say someone deliberately made Jin'er sick, stalled my sister-in-law, and deliberately spread rumors to force her to atone with her death. Who is this person? Isn't it me? Now they're saying increasingly nasty things, saying that even before my brother's hundred days have passed, I can't wait to seize the Eastern Palace!"

"So?" Pang Yu remained completely unperturbed, even smiling. "Your Highness, don't you have any?"

Chu He was taken aback by her question, unsure if his wife was deliberately trying to embarrass him: "Ayu..."

Pang Yu said softly, "Your Highness, it's nothing serious. It's just that you made a move and I responded with one. Now that the opponent has made their move, we are temporarily at a disadvantage, so there's no need to get angry."

Perhaps because she was too calm, Chu He's emotions gradually calmed down.

"Then what do you suggest we do? If these words continue to spread, my reputation will be ruined, and if I try to compete again, I will face numerous obstacles."

“If my sister-in-law can go and plead her case, so can you!” Pang Yu said casually. “Didn’t you submit a letter of apology? Submit another one tomorrow, and in front of all the officials, swear to Father that you absolutely had no intention of coveting the Crown Prince’s palace. To avoid suspicion, you are willing to temporarily leave the capital, carry on your elder brother’s legacy, and take over the task of repairing the river. You will not return until the river is repaired!”

Chu He was taken aback: "Leave the capital? This... what if I'm not here, and Father Emperor decides to send Jin'er..."

"Don't be afraid." Pang Yu smiled. "Father hasn't agreed to let your sister-in-law move to another palace, so he won't let you leave the capital. This is no small matter. Father will only ask you to leave if he truly dislikes you and doesn't want you to be involved in that position."

"Really?" Chu He was unsure. "Father loves my elder brother so much, and he's always doted on Jin'er. He really wouldn't..."

Seeing his lack of confidence, Pang Yu felt a slight displeasure, but quickly suppressed it and continued to persuade him: "Think about how this case was resolved, how Minister Lin died. Your Highness, you must have confidence. Father Emperor likes you more than you think."

Yes, Chu He remembered. That old fox, Minister Lin, had always been aloof and unpredictable; he wasn't even sure if he was one of them. But at the last moment, he took the blame for everything, bringing the matter to a complete close without implicating him.

Pang Yu took out a memorial and added fuel to the fire: "Your Highness, Father has already thought of how to write the letter of apology. Just copy it. If you don't trust me, don't you trust Father?"

Marquis Jingping! Chu He's eyes lit up. His father-in-law was usually very low-key, but he always stepped in at crucial moments and never let him down.

"Okay! I'll write it!"

Pang Yu smiled with satisfaction: "Your Highness, please rest assured. No matter what happens, the Jingping Marquis's Mansion is here. My husband and I are of one mind, and we can overcome any difficulty!"