The Black Chamber Dream: Daiyu's Revenge

As dusk settled over the ship's side, Shishu noticed a ginkgo leaf pressed under the princess's makeup box, the veins of which still carried the scent of ink from Qiushuangzhai.

Upon arrival in the island nation, the king's eldest son personally led a group to greet them.

According to the information provided by Sister Lin, the king's two sons were at odds with each other. Throughout history, there have been too many instances of brothers in the royal family killing each other. Although the island nation is a small foreign country, it has been deeply influenced by the culture of the Central Plains, so it has also inherited this tradition.

Cai Guoxun, the eldest son of the island nation's ruler, was only one year younger than Tan Chun.

At night, Tan Chun finally met Cai Jinglue, the forty-year-old ruler of the island nation. He was wearing a black silk cloak, and forty years had etched fine lines at the corners of his eyes, making his hawk-like gaze even sharper.

He saw Princess Qingjia in the candlelight, her twelve-flowered phoenix crown, adorned with crimson gold and kingfisher feathers, weighing down her dark blue hair. A pearl from the phoenix's beak hung three inches between her brows, swaying gently. Her lips, painted with vermilion, glowed with the light of dawn, while her eyes held two pools of autumn water, brimming with unshed tears.

It's really good to defeat the Central Plains dynasty. Not only can we get a lot of supplies, but we can also get such a beautiful princess.

Reaching out to lift the bride's chin, Cai Jinglue narrowed his eyes.

Tan Chun felt a little fear in her heart, but her expression did not change at all. She even met the other person's gaze and looked back at him.

This action pleased Cai Jinglue: he had originally thought that the princess of the Central Plains would be a tearful little woman, but he did not expect her to be so bold.

Falling in love with a princess from the Central Plains dynasty is no difficult thing. She's amazing; in just a few months, she's become so fluent in the island language.

Not only that, she quickly grasped the affairs of the palace and managed everything in an orderly manner after taking over.

This made Cai Jinglue even more impressed: even when his ex-wife was alive, she had never done so well.

Since marrying this princess, Cai Jinglue has been constantly pleasantly surprised. She possesses great wisdom and a charming sense of humor. Even just watching her wear a gold and agate hairpin and add styrax incense to a jade kui-patterned incense burner, he feels that she is far more elegant than others.

No wonder the people of the Central Plains could write such verses: "Green-clad maids hold inkstones, urging the writing of scrolls; red-sleeved maids add fragrance, accompanying the reading."

With Cai Jinglue's favoritism, Tan Chun was naturally invincible in the Japanese imperial harem.

Cai Jinglue's harem wasn't large, but it was full of troubles. Among all the conflicts, the most prominent was the conflict between the two princes.

It seems that the island nation has really learned most of the culture of the Central Plains, even the internal strife.

It's quite interesting. The king's eldest son, Cai Guoxun, was not born of the principal wife, even though he was the eldest son. His birth mother had a very low status and was initially just a maid.

The second son, Cai Guobang, was the legitimate son, born to Cai Jinglue's first wife. Cai Guobang's maternal uncle was a general leading the island nation's army.

The two brothers were always vying for power and never giving in to each other, but they were kept in check by their father and never caused any major trouble.

Relying on his authority, Cai Jinglue did not take the struggle between his two sons seriously. He could give the position to whomever he wanted, and only those who could withstand the test could become qualified successors.

Cai Jinglue's arrogance relieved Tan Chun—an arrogant ruler is much easier to deal with than a cautious one.

The two princes soon took notice of their new princess from the Central Plains dynasty, who had quickly gained her father's favor.

Upon learning that their father intended to open salt fields and establish a salt tax office, both princes were taken aback: the island nation was not short of salt, but they had always assumed that salt fields were privately owned.

Upon further inquiry, it was discovered that the new queen had proposed this idea—salt is a national resource and should be controlled by the court; otherwise, it would be easily manipulated and would not be conducive to controlling salt prices.

Although Tan Chun's move was merely a transplant of methods from the Central Plains dynasty, she was thorough in her considerations and had a clear understanding of the salt administration code, which easily persuaded Cai Jinglue.

This made Cai Guoxun and Cai Guobang realize that their stepmother was an extremely intelligent person, and they should try to win her over.

At this time, the king's concubine, Jiang Chunhua, became pregnant.

Jiang Chunhua also came from a very humble background. She was originally an embroiderer, but unexpectedly, after the king took a liking to her and they spent a night together, she rose to power.

Jiang Chunhua was very uneasy: the new queen was not pregnant, but she was pregnant first.

Moreover, the new queen does not appear to be a gentle and kind person.

Unexpectedly, the new princess treated her very well. Not only did she instruct the imperial physicians to take good care of her, but she also generously gave her a lot of the precious medicinal herbs that she had brought from the Central Plains.

What's even more remarkable is that the princess also told her in detail about her sister-in-law's difficult childbirth: "So, pregnancy is the most difficult time for a woman. Never be greedy and eat too much, or you'll make the fetus too big and it will be difficult to give birth in the future. Don't worry too much, the most important thing is to be comfortable."

At first, Jiang Chunhua was still worried, but as the saying goes, time will tell. She observed carefully and found that the new princess was truly open and honest and very attentive to her. Jiang Chunhua gradually put her mind at ease.

"The weather is nice and warm these days, so don't stay cooped up all the time. Take a walk around the palace." Tan Chun accompanied her personally, which was also a good opportunity for her to familiarize herself with all parts of the palace.

Tan Chun's magnanimity and thoughtfulness pleased Cai Jinglue even more.

Satisfied, Cai Jinglue accepted the red agate carved flower and bird pattern teapot handed to him by Tan Chun, somewhat puzzled: "This is quite good, cleverly carved with natural colors, and the craftsmanship is exquisite."

He praised her, but Tan Chun told him, "This is from the eldest prince's wife. She brought it to me when she came to the palace to talk with me today."

What? The eldest son's wife? What does that mean?

Cai Jinglue immediately felt dissatisfied: Now, his eldest son not only wants to win over ministers in the court, but now he even wants to win over the women in his own harem.

They've stretched their arms too far.

The next day, Cai Jinglue found a reason to reprimand his eldest son.

The second son, Cai Guobang, was pleased: It seems that his stepmother still thinks his eldest brother is not good enough and will not support him.

If you don't support your older brother, then you have to support yourself.

Cai Guobang pondered how to test the waters.

Chapter 306 Extra Chapter 1: Talented and Ambitious (4)

But Tan Chun never expected that Cai Guobang's attempt to win her over would be even more outrageous than Cai Guoxun's.

When Cai Guobang's wife, Madam Tian, ​​entered the palace to pay her respects, her smile was just right: "Our Second Master feels that Mother is the most loving and gentle person. He can't help but think of his own mother. Poor Second Master, his mother passed away not long after he was born. When Second Master thinks about the nine years he has been alone, he feels very sad."

Then Madam Tian actually stood up and said very sincerely, "Therefore, Second Master hopes that Your Highness will love you more in the future. If I am fortunate enough, I will certainly be willing to call Your Highness Mother."

What?! Tan Chun was completely stunned. This was something she had never imagined. Did the Second Prince mean he wanted to acknowledge her as his biological mother?

The eldest prince only sent some gifts, yet the king is so dissatisfied. If he knew about the second prince's actions, he would probably be furious.

Tan Chun sighed inwardly, but said very seriously, "That's a bad way of putting it. Now that I am the Queen, no matter which prince it is, he should address me as Mother. So I advise you not to say such things again."

Rejected by Tan Chun, Madam Tian was not angry. Instead, she cleverly saved face: "It was my rashness. I was only thinking of showing my master's filial piety and good intentions, and I spoke too hastily. I will take my leave today and come to pay my respects to Mother another day."

After Tian left, Shi Shu couldn't help but say, "The Second Prince is really something else. Who would willingly pick up a sixteen-year-old son out of thin air?"

Tan Chun thought to herself, "That makes perfect sense."

"Fine, I'll find a time to let the king know what kind of person his son is." Tan Chun's goal was to sow discord between the two princes and prevent either of them from becoming too powerful.

Shi Shu understood Tan Chun's thoughts best, and upon hearing these words, she knew what to do.

When Cai Jinglue learned that his second son had actually made his wife go and recognize Tan Chun as his mother, he was even more shocked. If it were the eldest son, he could be said to be trying to elevate himself because of his low birth. But the second son's mother was the former queen. Wasn't the second son afraid that his mother in the afterlife would be heartbroken by doing this?

Enraged, Cai Jinglue even confronted Tan Chun, asking, "What, you look down on the second son?"

"What makes you say that?" Tan Chun feigned ignorance.

"Didn't he come to acknowledge you as his mother?" Cai Jinglue's words could be described as sarcastic.

Unexpectedly, Tan Chun seemed not to take it seriously: "Are you upset that I didn't tell you? First of all, the two princes should call me mother, and secondly, I'm still young, and it's not like I can't have my own son in the future."

These words were quite frank, and Cai Jinglue was rendered speechless by Tan Chun's openness: in the end, he was still afraid that his wife would join forces with his son.

"Besides, I don't want such a big son, and I don't want to be someone else's cheap mother-in-law." Tan Chun continued, "There's a saying among the people, 'Once you marry a wife, you forget your mother.' I already have a bride, so why would I need a mother to support me?"

At this point, Cai Jinglue could no longer hold back and burst into laughter, shaking his head: "Is this something a queen should say?"

There was not a hint of blame in his tone.

The matter ultimately ended with Cai Jinglue reprimanding his son.

Interestingly, the two princes were not discouraged by their failure to win over Tan Chun, because they both felt that as long as the other party also failed, it was not a failure.

However, the two of them gave up on their plans and stopped trying to win over Tan Chun: as long as the Queen remained neutral, that was a good thing.

After Jiang Chunhua gave birth to a son, the two princes didn't pay much attention: this little brother was too young, and by the time he grew up, it would be too late.

However, Tan Chun's life was not without its challenges.

On this day, Tan Chun held her brush, dipped in vermilion, above the Xuan paper, a drop of red ink falling into the stamen of a weeping crabapple blossom in the painting. Three partridge cries came from outside the window, her eyelashes trembled slightly, and her brush suddenly turned, outlining several symbols that resembled characters among the veins of the petals.

"Your Highness, the palace guards have broken into the garden!" Shi Shu pushed open the carved door, her gold hairpin piercing the twilight at an angle. Tan Chun's wrist twitched, and the crabapple blossom painting under the paperweight was rolled into a thin scroll and stuffed into the celadon painting jar, but her fingertips touched the cold wax ball in the dark compartment.

Tan Chun splashed tea onto the embroidery frame, and the ink chrysanthemums instantly turned into a dark cloud. "Shi Shu, bring me the copy of 'Admonitions for Women' that you made the other day." Before she finished speaking, the black iron wrist guard had already lifted the beaded curtain, and the leader's eagle eyes swept over the wolf-hair brush on the table, and the scabbard pressed heavily on the still wet drawing paper.

"Is Lord Zhao here to examine my calligraphy for the sake of the Emperor?" Tan Chun twirled her stained fingertips. "This crabapple blossom painting was originally intended as a birthday gift for the Crown Princess of the Central Plains."

Zhao Quan sneered, the tassel of his sword sweeping away the white jade paperweight on the desk. The moment the hidden compartment popped open, Shi Shu's breath caught in her throat.

There was nothing there; even the painting of the crabapple blossoms didn't reveal any problems to them.

"Your Majesty, Consort Fang's palace was robbed, and I was merely following orders." Zhao Quan had found nothing and could only apologize to Tan Chun.

Tan Chun immediately flew into a rage: "Consort Fang? How interesting. In that case, I await Consort Fang's explanation."

Unfortunately, Consort Fang will not have the chance. The king, citing her overstepping of authority, directly gave her a cup of poisoned wine.

This served as a reminder to Tan Chun—the king might have suspicions about her.

We should be more cautious about everything going forward.

Fortunately, when I discussed it with Sister Lin that day, I was careful—giving it directly to Sister Lin might be too conspicuous, since Sister Lin has a special status. It would be different if I sent the letter to Second Sister.

My second sister is a widow, so it's perfectly reasonable for me, as her younger sister, to send her a letter.

However, Tan Chun did not expect that someone was even more impatient than she was.

Chapter 307 Extra Chapter 1: Talented and Ambitious (5)

The crackled incense burner emitted wisps of smoke, and Tan Chun keenly noticed that it seemed somewhat different from usual.

Interestingly enough, after she married into the family, she once lit a Yihe incense stick, which Cai Jinglue liked very much. He even asked Tan Chun what kind of incense it was.

"This was just something I made at home when I was bored with my sisters. We looked through Huang Tingjian's incense manual and used his method to create this fragrance," Tan Chun told him.

"Very good, very good, it's a pity there's so little, I'm too embarrassed to ask you for more," Cai Jinglue said regretfully.

“That’s easy. This incense is made primarily of agarwood and sandalwood. Use one and a half ounces of agarwood and one ounce of sandalwood. Cut the small dice, soak them in the filtrate of the ginseng, about a finger’s width above the filtrate, for three days, then boil the filtrate until dry, and bathe them in water. Grind the sandalwood into shavings, take one mace of small dragon tea powder, add hot water and mix, then wrap it in several layers of damp bamboo paper and heat it. Take half an ounce of snail shell, grind off any impurities, boil it with sesame seeds, and when it turns a bright yellow color, quickly wash it with honey water until there is no greasy smell. Then grind the green sandalwood into powder and mix it with the four ingredients, add a little bit of saliva paste and musk, and only a little bit of jujube pulp. Then use a mold to shape it, and that’s it.” Tan Chun didn’t hold back and told him directly.

"That's wonderful! I wonder if Your Majesty would be willing to share it and have the Imperial Household Department prepare it according to this method, so that I can use it for incense regularly." Cai Jinglue quickly asked for the incense recipe.

Tan Chun readily gave him the prescription, and from then on, Cai Jinglue's study was always filled with incense and fragrance.

So when no one was around, Tan Chun placed a silk handkerchief soaked in milk over the incense burner. The peacock gall bladder, when it comes into contact with milk, turns to frost, causing spiderweb-like blue patterns to gradually appear on the burner's surface.

Tan Chun didn't understand any of this before, but in order to survive in the overseas island nation, she started reading medical books from the moment she decided to come for a marriage alliance.

Tan Chun is now certain that someone is poisoning Cai Jinglue.

This discovery greatly surprised Tan Chun. After a month of observation, Tan Chun found out that Hu Wei, the eunuch in the Imperial Study, had secretly sided with the eldest prince, Cai Guoxun.