The Black Chamber Dream: Daiyu's Revenge

Therefore, Xiao Tingjun was very happy that Zuo Jiangqiu could come and keep Yu'er company and talk to relieve her boredom.

The two entered the room, and Zuo Jiangqiu quickly stood up to bow to the Crown Prince. However, in front of the Crown Prince, Zuo Jiangqiu said to Daiyu without any regard for propriety, "The Crown Princess is pregnant this time, and there may be some people with bad intentions. My mother once said that there is no such thing as a thief who can be caught a thousand days in the act, but there is no such thing as a thief who can be caught a thousand days in the act. We must be careful."

She said it so casually that Xiao Tingzhao was surprised and quickly said, "Don't talk nonsense."

"I'm not talking nonsense. Don't underestimate a woman's jealousy." Zuo Jiangqiu spoke quickly. "Besides, the Crown Princess is different. So many eyes are watching."

Her straightforward temper made Xiao Tingzhao shake his head, and he quickly looked at the Crown Prince's expression.

"I know that Fifth Sister-in-law is doing this for my own good," the Crown Princess said with a smile. "But, as you just said, I have many eyes watching, so it's alright."

Zuo Jiangqiu looked around. Zijuan, Xueyan, Granny Gu, Granny Xu, and the female physician Meng were all present. He had heard that the Empress was also paying close attention, and everyone in the Imperial Hospital was being extremely cautious. So there shouldn't be any problems.

"Also, Your Highness, don't meet with just anyone at this time. Some people are obviously up to no good, so it's best to avoid them if possible." Zuo Jiangqiu thought of Song Huilan and Ge Xijia, who were always stirring up trouble. When she was pregnant, those two said a lot of things to deliberately upset her.

For example, Song Huilan took the opportunity to give her some advice and said some sarcastic things, but Zuo Jiangqiu was a good person. She immediately smiled and said, "Thank you for your concern, Second Sister-in-law. You are indeed an experienced person. You have been harmed once and have gained a lot of experience."

Song Hye-lan was so angry that she couldn't stay any longer.

"Okay, I will definitely keep it in mind." Actually, even without Zuo Jiangqiu saying it, Daiyu understood that, putting aside others, both the Princess Consort of Rui County and the Princess Consort of Li County were unreliable.

The crown prince also had an idea and secretly noted it down.

Xiao Tingzhao and Zuo Jiangqiu had lunch at Delin Palace before taking their leave. After they left, Xiao Tingjun smiled and said to Daiyu, "Fifth sister-in-law is truly sincere."

"That's just her personality. She's good to those who are good to her. Don't let her straightforwardness fool you; she's really capable." Daiyu admired Zuo Jiangqiu's upright and honest character.

When Xiao Tingjun left the next day, Daiyu was still asleep. During this pregnancy, they slept separately for convenience.

Xiao Tingjun summoned Xu Mama and Zijuan: "From today onwards, apart from Father Emperor, Mother Empress, Aunt's family, and Princess Consort of Cheng County, if anyone else wants to see the Crown Princess, you must stop them. If they do not agree and insist on seeing the Crown Princess, you must say that it is my will. If they want to see the Crown Princess, they must first inform me."

Xu Mama and Zijuan readily agreed, and went to give instructions to the other palace maids and eunuchs of Delin Palace, especially the young eunuchs guarding the gate.

It must be said that Xiao Tingjun's order was very timely. Only two days later, Song Huilan brought Consort Wang Xiyun to the palace to pay their respects. After visiting the Empress's Fengyi Palace and Consort Wu's Fengqi Palace, the two of them came to Delin Palace.

But when they got to the door, they were stopped by a young eunuch.

"How dare you! I, the Princess Consort, am going to pay my respects to the Crown Princess, and you dare to stop me?" This was the first time Song Huilan had been stopped by the people of Delin Palace, and she immediately raised her eyebrows and shouted.

"It's not that we servants are being presumptuous, but the Crown Prince has ordered that ordinary people are not allowed to enter." The eunuch who spoke was named Hong Shun. Actually, his original name was Hong San, but it was changed after he entered the palace.

What? Song Huilan could hardly believe her ears. After a moment of stunned silence, she asked again, "Am I an ordinary person?"

Hong Shun thought for a moment. The Crown Prince said that only the Emperor, the Empress, the Princess's family, and the Princess Consort of Cheng County were not ordinary people, which meant that everyone else was just an ordinary person.

So he said respectfully, "Yes, oh no, this servant didn't explain clearly just now. His Highness the Crown Prince instructed that if one wants to see the Crown Princess, one must first inform His Highness the Crown Prince."

Song Huilan didn't believe it at all. She immediately gave a cold laugh, thinking that the Crown Princess was just putting on airs and that she was so great just because she was pregnant.

"Then go and inform me that I wish to see the Crown Princess and ask the Crown Prince if it is permissible." Song Huilan was determined to let everyone in the palace see the Crown Princess's haughty demeanor.

To everyone's surprise, Hong Shun actually responded and then jogged away.

Could it really be that the Crown Prince ordered it? Song Huilan was dumbfounded.

Wang Xiyun watched the retreating eunuch's back, then glanced at the other eunuch who was still obediently guarding against entry. A sense of unease crept into her heart. At the same time, she thought: Logically, she should tell the Princess Consort to quickly stop the eunuch who had run off. If this were true, it would be bad for the Princess Consort if it became public. After all, the Crown Princess was pregnant, and she'd heard the palace was very concerned.

But Wang Xiyun thought: If Song Huilan displeases the prince because of this, wouldn't she benefit from it? Anyway, she is with the princess, and if this matter becomes a big deal, others should blame the princess.

So Wang Xiyun remained silent.

It has to be said that Song Hye-ran was extremely unlucky.

When Hong Shun went to see the Crown Prince, the Crown Prince was in front of the Emperor. In a few days, it would be the anniversary of the death of the Crown Prince's birth mother, Lady Qiao. The Emperor's intention was for the Crown Prince to bring his wife and Yueyue to pay their respects.

Upon hearing that a young eunuch from Delin Palace had come to see the Crown Prince, the Emperor quickly asked if something had happened.

"Princess Rui requests an audience with the Crown Princess." This was the first time Hong Shun had spoken to the Emperor, and he was somewhat timid, so he didn't speak very clearly.

The emperor frowned, but Xiao Tingjun already understood what was going on. He quickly told the emperor his instructions to Delin Palace and added, "Your subject is just in case."

Upon hearing this, the emperor felt that Xiao Tingjun's arrangement was quite correct: when sons fight, their inner quarters will also fight, something the emperor had experienced firsthand; the empress's child had died in the same way.

The emperor nodded and said, "You did a very good job."

Then he instructed Hu Delu: "You go there yourself."

Upon hearing the Emperor's words, Hu Delu silently mourned for Princess Rui.

Chapter 245 Huilan is punished, Prince Rui is anxious

Hu Delu took Hong Shun with him to the front of Delin Palace.

When Song Huilan and Wang Xiyun saw Hu Delu arrive, they both felt something was amiss. Hu Delu was the most trusted eunuch in the Emperor's court. His personal visit meant either that he was reprimanding the Crown Princess for taking advantage of her pregnancy to act arrogantly, or that he was targeting the two of them.

Song Huilan had long heard that the Emperor was very pleased with the Crown Princess's pregnancy and had bestowed many gifts upon Delin Palace.

Therefore, based on this reasoning, it's likely that they're targeting me.

After thinking about it, Song Huilan became incredibly amiable towards Hu Delu, a stark contrast to her arrogant demeanor when speaking to Hong Shun earlier.

"Why is Eunuch Hu here?"

Hong Shun's eyes widened. Was this really Princess Rui? She had been so fierce just now.

Hu Delu first bowed respectfully to Princess Rui, and then spoke politely, but his words were anything but polite.

"This servant has come to convey His Majesty's decree."

Upon hearing this, Song Huilan and Wang Xiyun immediately knelt down.

“A wise man builds a city, a wise woman can bring down a city. A wise woman is a hawk or a kite. The Princess Consort of Rui County is well-read but does not perform good deeds. Now she is ordered to piously copy a set of the Avatamsaka Sutra before the Buddha in order to pray for good deeds.”

Upon hearing this, Song Huilan's heart sank: the Avatamsaka Sutra has eighty volumes! How long would it take her to copy it? But even though she was dissatisfied, Song Huilan still had to kowtow and express her gratitude.

Is Father Emperor really so biased towards the third prince and his wife? She doesn't even know if she'll have a son or a daughter yet. What if it's another daughter? Hmph, Song Huilan wants to see what you'll do, Your Majesty.

Wang Xiyun, standing behind, secretly rejoiced: thankfully, the emperor did not punish her.

No sooner had she finished feeling relieved than she heard Hu Delu speak again.

“The concubine of Prince Ruijun should be advising the princess, but now she doesn’t know how to do her duty. The princess is copying scriptures, so the concubine should accompany her to pick up Buddhist beans and cultivate her mind.”

Wang Xiyun was stunned by the punishment: it seemed that the emperor was very dissatisfied with them. The princess was angry about copying the scriptures, so she would definitely supervise her, the concubine. She would not be able to slack off on picking up the Buddha beans.

The two felt bitter inside. After kowtowing to express their gratitude, they left dejectedly.

After watching the two leave, Hu Delu returned to the emperor to report.

Soon, news of Princess Rui's punishment spread. Xiao Tingfeng seized the opportunity, since his second brother had thoroughly mocked him when his princess was punished last time.

So Xiao Tingfeng deliberately arranged a chance encounter with Prince Rui, Xiao Tingkai.

"Oh, Second Brother, are you in such a hurry to go home?" Xiao Tingfeng said with a smile. "Yes, Second Brother should go back and have a good talk with the family. At this critical juncture, everyone knows Father's attitude. Why go and make yourself disliked?"

Xiao Tingkai had just heard the news and was planning to go home to find out what had happened. The princess had been punished, and even the usually obedient concubine had been punished.

Now that his fourth brother was laughing at him, he felt even more annoyed and immediately frowned: "You don't need to worry about my family's affairs, fourth brother. If you have time, you should take care of your own family more. After all, you were supposed to be the first among us brothers to have a son. Alas... alas, as your older brother, I feel very sad for you."

He said he was sad, but you couldn't see it on his face.

"Oh, Fourth Brother, you don't need to worry. Father and Mother have directly sent Granny Yang to Fourth Brother's residence, so everything should be going very smoothly." Xiao Tingkai looked at Xiao Tingfeng with a smile, thinking, "You want to see me make a fool of myself? Don't you even know what your own residence looks like?"

Xiao Tingfeng, who had been mocked, was naturally not going to let it go. Hearing his second brother's words, he was not angry at all, but even smiled: "Yes, I really have to thank Father and Mother. Now that the concubine is pregnant, our household has to be very careful. Unlike you, my second brother, you don't have such troubles. Speaking of which, only you are so carefree."

These words struck a nerve with Xiao Tingkai: Now, the Crown Princess is pregnant, the Fourth Prince's concubine is pregnant, and the Fifth Prince, not to mention, already has a son. But in his own household, the Princess can say that she was weakened when she gave birth to a daughter, but the concubine has been in the household for so long, almost a year earlier than the Fourth Prince's concubine, yet she has no news of pregnancy.

"Fourth Brother is really riding high. Well then, Fourth Brother, you'd better be careful not to repeat the same mistakes." Xiao Tingkai turned and left, full of anger.

Xiao Tingfeng chuckled and left happily.

This scene was witnessed by Tian Jingmin, the Minister of Works. He shook his head and thought to himself: Fortunately, the Emperor is wise. If these two had become the Crown Prince, the people of the world would have suffered.

Xiao Tingkai stormed home and immediately asked what had happened.

Song Huilan was a little short of breath, but she didn't think it was her fault. Instead, she blamed the emperor for being biased: "I just wanted to visit the Crown Princess, but who knew it would turn out like this. In the end, it's all because Father Emperor is too biased. The Crown Princess is pregnant, she's not some fragile thing, yet he won't even let anyone see her."

"Didn't I tell you a long time ago to keep a low profile? Why did you go and join in the fun? If you want to join in the fun, then you should get pregnant too, that would be the real fun," Xiao Tingkai said irritably.

These words startled Song Huilan. She was also heartbroken that she had not been able to get pregnant again. She had consulted many doctors, not only the imperial physicians in the palace, but also many folk doctors. Her family had also found many doctors for her.

The doctors all mentioned that she had lost her vital energy and advised her to take good care of herself.

She was weakened. Why was she weakened? It was all because Xiao Tingkai was philandering and causing such a big mess.

Upon hearing Xiao Tingkai's words, Song Huilan's pent-up grievances and sadness from many years finally erupted.

"Joining the fun? Do you think I don't want to get pregnant? If it weren't for you, your lust for beauty, how could I have given my fourth brother and sister-in-law the opportunity, causing me to have a premature birth? If it weren't for the Empress Dowager's composure, and if the imperial physician hadn't arrived in time, I'm afraid I wouldn't be alive today."

"Now that Your Highness sees the Crown Princess pregnant and the concubine in the Prince of Li's residence is also pregnant, you're starting to get anxious? If only you had known this earlier!"

Upon hearing these words, Xiao Tingkai glared angrily and immediately retorted, "You can't have a son yourself, and now you're blaming me."

Hearing the commotion of the two arguing, Wang Xiyun rushed over, trying to persuade them as she walked inside: "Your Highness, Your Highness, please don't damage the harmony between husband and wife. Today's events are all my fault. I should have advised my sister, but I never expected it to turn out this way."

Looking at his beloved concubine's obedient and gentle demeanor, Xiao Tingkai felt even more that Song Huilan was being unreasonable: "Hmph, she's just a princess, yet she doesn't know what's important. Why are you apologizing?"

Seeing how much better Xiao Tingkai treated Wang Xiyuan than he treated her, Song Huilan was even more furious.

He immediately spoke without thinking.

Chapter 246 Husband and Wife Turn Against Each Other, Each with Their Own Schemes

Enraged, Song Huilan immediately retorted coldly, "Your Highness, your beloved concubine entered the household a year earlier than the concubine of Prince Li, yet she still couldn't join the fun. If you ask me, Your Highness should probably reflect on this."

These words struck a nerve with Xiao Tingkai. No one is stupid; everyone could understand the meaning behind Song Huilan's words. She was clearly mocking Xiao Tingkai, implying that it was his own fault, not his woman's.

Xiao Tingkai was furious and couldn't help but slap Song Huilan.

It made a crisp 'snap' sound.

Not only was Song Huilan stunned, but even Xiao Tingkai, who had hit her, was stunned. Not to mention Wang Xiyun, who was equally dumbfounded.

Song Huilan slowly raised her hand, touching her cheek, which throbbed with pain as if burned by fire. Her eyes widened, her face filled with disbelief as she stared intently at Xiao Tingkai, as if trying to see right through him. At that moment, only one thought echoed in her mind: "He...he actually hit me?"

Xiao Tingkai realized he had acted too impulsively, but he couldn't bring himself to do it, so he just stared at Song Huilan without saying a word.

Song Huilan's tears flowed silently, and her heart ached more than ever before.

Seeing that Xiao Tingkai didn't say a word, Song Huilan completely gave up and covered her face as she walked out.

Seeing this, Song Huilan's dowry maid quickly followed, while telling the little maid to tell the wet nurse.

Seeing that Song Huilan had already left and Xiao Tingkai hadn't moved, Wang Xiyun hurriedly advised, "Your Highness, please go and apologize to the Princess Consort. She's bound to be going back to her parents' home now. If this matter gets to the Song family, it won't be good."