The Black Chamber Dream: Daiyu's Revenge

While waiting for the food to be served, the Emperor held Gao Xin and asked them what they were doing.

"Feeding the rabbits, my aunt has two little white rabbits, which my uncle caught and gave to her himself," Gao Xin told Tianzi. "We gave the rabbits a bath, and my uncle even brought a rabbit hair brush to brush their fur. My aunt said that if the rabbits knew it was a rabbit hair brush, they would definitely bite my uncle."

Giving a rabbit a bath? The Emperor was quite surprised. Did his third son and his wife really not care about the affairs of the Prince Rui's residence at all?

As she was pondering this, she heard Daiyu ask the Empress, "Mother, how is Second Sister-in-law? She didn't look well when I left just now, and I was a little worried."

"I was just about to tell you, your second sister-in-law gave birth to a healthy baby girl, but the baby is premature and she needs to be well cared for," the Empress told her.

"That's truly a joyous occasion. I asked my sisters for a lot of fabric scraps and made a patchwork garment, which I'll send to my second sister-in-law later," Daiyu said casually to the Empress.

The emperor knew about the "Hundred-Family Garment," which was made up of small pieces of cloth of various colors, somewhat resembling the patchwork robes worn by monks. The pieces and strips of cloth used to make the garment were collected from multiple relatives and friends.

According to old sayings, children who wear "clothes made from a hundred families" will live to be a hundred years old.

Soon Zijuan led the kitchen to deliver the food, which included braised bamboo shoots with ham, braised pork belly, and salt and pepper beef short ribs, all of which were hearty dishes. Of course, there was also the fish soup that Gao Xin had mentioned, as well as a large plate of mutton stew noodles.

The emperor smelled the aroma and smiled, "I'm really hungry right now." He then looked at Gao Xin, "Would you like something to eat?"

Gao Xin shook her head: "No, my aunt has Longjing chestnut cake, we'll eat it later."

"You little rascal, save room for something even better," the Empress teased.

As the emperor began to eat, his mood improved. He found that being with his third son and his wife always made him feel comfortable, like a gentle spring breeze in March.

But the Emperor's visit wasn't just for a meal. With such a major incident at the Prince Rui's residence, he wanted to see the attitude of the third prince and his wife.

The Emperor gleaned some of Daiyu's attitude from just a few casual words: she was a sincere person, only thinking about her second son's wife, and even painstakingly made a patchwork garment. No wonder she was bullied by the Rongguo Mansion back then.

But what about the third son? The emperor ate and thought for a while. After finishing his meal, he decided to call the third son for a private chat.

Once he had an idea, the emperor focused solely on eating.

"This fish soup is really good. I think it has ham in it, right?" The emperor drank a small bowl in one gulp.

"Yes, after steaming the sea bass, remove the skin and bones, then add shredded ham, shiitake mushrooms, chopped bamboo shoots, and chicken broth to simmer." Daiyu nodded.

"I've finished eating. Third Prince, come with me." The Emperor summoned Xiao Tingjun privately.

The Empress watched as the Emperor left with Xiao Tingjun, then glanced at Gao Xin beside her. Daiyu understood the meaning in the Empress's eyes, so she asked Gao Xin, "Do you still want to play roulette with Xueyan and the others?"

Gao Xin loved playing this game because if the little figure at one end of the horizontal bar landed on a certain square, she could obtain the item in that square. Daiyu had many ingenious gadgets, and Gao Xin was able to win them all.

"Great! Great!" Gao Xin clapped her hands. Xue Yan had already gone down to prepare, and the group started playing at the pavilion in the middle of the lake.

Seeing that Gao Xin was engrossed in playing, the Empress then spoke to Daiyu about the matter of the Prince Rui's residence: "I'm afraid His Majesty summoned the Third Prince just for this reason."

Daiyu wasn't too worried, because she and Xiao Tingjun had already discussed it. Ever since she went to the palace to ask the Empress for advice and received the instruction, "If you're going to fight, you can't be soft-hearted," Daiyu had spent a lot of time sorting things out.

Since the fourth brother and his wife orchestrated this whole affair involving Prince Rui, it goes without saying that the second brother will also be punished.

The remaining task, of course, is to have Consort Wu and Prince Rui find out what the fourth brother and his wife did in this matter.

"Don't worry, Mother, he knows how to speak." Daiyu knew Xiao Tingjun very well. "But, I'd like to ask you, Mother, will Consort Wu and my second brother investigate?"

"Of course, I requested permission for Consort Wu to stay at Prince Rui's residence for the time being. Could it really be to take care of my daughter-in-law?" The Empress smiled. "By now, they must have come to their senses."

Yes, giving Consort Wu time to discuss things properly with her son will help her figure things out more quickly.

Just as Daiyu and the Empress had predicted, Xiao Tingjun's response in front of the Emperor was quite appropriate.

“Father, although I don’t know exactly what my second brother did, it seems he has made a mistake. These matters will be handled by you and the Ministry of Justice. However, I feel that my fourth brother’s actions were somewhat inappropriate.” Xiao Tingjun said honestly, “There are so many officials here today. My fourth brother shouldn’t have acted rashly. It is said that family scandals should not be aired in public. If my fourth brother had been calmer and quietly told me, this matter would not have caused such a big uproar.”

The emperor couldn't help but glance at Xiao Tingjun again, and then deliberately asked, "Don't you think the fourth prince did it on purpose?"

See? Father Emperor is indeed suspicious of the fourth prince.

Upon hearing this question, Xiao Tingjun was taken aback at first, and then replied after a moment: "I haven't thought that much about it. Fourth Brother is indeed a very impulsive person."

The emperor was silent for a moment: "Then, what if I entrust the matter of the second son to you, and let you lead the Ministry of Justice to investigate the matter of the second son?"

This was completely unexpected for Xiao Tingjun, but he remained calm and thought for a while before speaking: "Your Majesty, I am currently in the Ministry of Revenue. With the military supplies in the southeast constantly being replenished, I have learned a great deal from the officials in the Ministry of Revenue. If Your Majesty wishes to send me to the Ministry of Justice, could you please allow me to first settle the affairs of the Ministry of Revenue?"

This answer greatly pleased the emperor: if Xiao Tingjun had shown that he was happy to go to the Ministry of Justice, the emperor would have suspected that he also wanted to take the opportunity to put his second brother down.

"Never mind, I haven't thought about it enough. The Ministry of Revenue is very important right now, and we must win this battle in the southeast. Do a good job in the Ministry of Revenue." The Emperor casually inquired about the situation at the Ministry of Revenue, and from Xiao Tingjun's well-organized answer, he knew that Xiao Tingjun was very dedicated to the ministry.

The emperor got what he wanted and didn't intend to stay any longer; he still had many things to do. He went out to call the empress, but unexpectedly saw her playing roulette with Gao Xin and Daiyu like a child.

"Haha, Aunt, this gourd is mine now." The Empress hadn't brought anything with her today, so she placed a white jade gourd-shaped pendant on the roulette wheel, and Gao Xin immediately won it.

The emperor laughed heartily: "You silly girl, it seems you've taken quite a few good things from your aunt."

The Emperor and Empress left the Prince Yi's residence together. Daiyu and Xiao Tingjun saw them off at the gate. After watching them leave, Daiyu looked at Xiao Tingjun beside her.

Every step that follows is equally crucial.

Chapter 92 The Prince and Princess Yi's Clever Guidance

Just as Daiyu and the others had predicted, Consort Wu and the Second Prince immediately began their investigation—the incident involving the Fourth Prince and his wife was clearly not a coincidence.

"Fourth Brother and Fourth Sister-in-law are too hasty. They haven't investigated at all why that Miss Chen went to that shop," Xiao Tingjun couldn't help but say to Daiyu after learning that Consort Wu had begun her investigation.

"That's right. To put it bluntly, the Chen family girl is still being monitored by my second brother. The shops that the Chen family girl can go to are all private properties of Consort Wu or my second brother." Daiyu only remembered this after the Empress pointed it out.

Therefore, it is relatively easy for Consort Wu to investigate now.

The embroidery shop that the Empress gave to Daiyu was right next to Consort Wu's antique shop. So Daiyu and Xiao Tingjun had instructed each other that if necessary, they only needed to mention one or two uncommon people during casual conversation, which would lead to a breakthrough in the investigation.

Even Daiyu and her husband hadn't expected that their fourth brother and his wife would be so impatient.

Firstly, in the previous dynasty, Xiao Tingfeng was dissatisfied because the emperor only ordered Prince Rui to reflect on his mistakes behind closed doors. He not only complained to some of the officials who supported him, but also encouraged Consort Xu to whisper in the emperor's ear.

Consort Xu was not really clear about the whole story—her daughter-in-law, Ge Xijia, always felt that her mother-in-law came from a humble family and had little brains or knowledge, so the couple kept the whole thing a secret from Consort Xu.

Therefore, when she learned from her son that her second son had made a serious mistake, but the emperor favored his son and was unwilling to punish him, Consort Xu was very unhappy and brought it up to the emperor that very night.

“Your Majesty, it is said that the emperor is subject to the same laws as the common people. Now that Prince Rui has made a mistake, Your Majesty’s favoritism will surely discourage the court officials.” The angry Consort Xu chose to speak directly to the emperor.

Upon hearing this, the Emperor's expression immediately changed: "Does Consort Shu know very well what mistake the Second Prince has made?"

Consort Xu had served the Emperor for many years, and seeing his expression, she knew she had said something wrong. She quickly tried to clear herself: "I didn't go to Prince Rui's residence, so how would I know what mistake he made? I just said it casually after hearing everyone talking about it."

The emperor sized up Consort Xu and, seeing that she didn't seem to be lying, didn't pursue the matter further.

Equally anxious, Ge Xijia thought long and hard before deciding to bring gifts to congratulate Princess Rui on the birth of her daughter—it was truly a joyous occasion.

To Ge Xijia's surprise, Daiyu was also there.

Looking at the patchwork clothes that Daiyu brought, Ge Xijia said with a smile, "Third sister-in-law is so thoughtful, making clothes for the children so early."

Daiyu simply said, "It was by chance that I overheard the nanny in my household saying that this is a folk custom. Children are born delicate, and if they can eat food from many families and wear clothes from many families, they will surely be healthy. So I thought I would make one."

Having narrowly escaped death, Song Huilan was deeply grateful for Daiyu's words. Since it was her daughter, neither the Emperor nor the palace had expressed any gratitude. Daiyu's thoughtfulness in presenting such a gift, made by her own hands, was truly heartwarming.

So Song Huilan sincerely thanked Daiyu, which made Ge Xijia, who was standing to the side, sneer inwardly: Hmph, she only gave birth to a daughter, what's there to be proud of?

What displeased Ge Xijia even more was that Daiyu seemed to be going against her every time she tried to steer the conversation toward her second brother.

"Second sister-in-law, the imperial physician said not to exhaust yourself. We've been here for quite a while now, it's time to take our leave." Seeing that Ge Xijia always said something that would upset Song Huilan, Daiyu stood up and deliberately brought up the imperial physician.

Song Huilan understood Daiyu's good intentions and immediately said, "That's right, I'm tired right now, so I won't entertain my two younger siblings. Thank you for coming to see me and the children."

Since that's what they said, even if Ge Xijia wanted to stay, she couldn't stay because of Granny Gan's attitude.

As they came out together, Daiyu took the initiative to say to Ge Xijia, "Fourth sister-in-law, Second Sister-in-law suffered a lot during childbirth this time. If there's anything, let's wait until Second Sister-in-law is feeling better before we talk about it. We are all women, and we should be considerate of each other."

Ge Xijia couldn't stand Daiyu's behavior. After returning to the Prince's Mansion, she couldn't help but complain to Xiao Tingfeng: "I think Third Sister-in-law really is a coward after all these years of being an orphan. She's helping Second Sister-in-law at every turn today. She's a complete idiot. If she doesn't kick someone when they're down now, when will she?"

"Who says otherwise? It's one thing for you to say that Third Sister-in-law is an orphan, but Third Brother is also so timid and cowardly. It's really boring. I was hoping that Third Brother could step on Second Brother's back." Xiao Tingfeng was also quite unhappy with his Third Brother's inaction.

Just as the couple were thinking about how to further punish their second brother, Jiang Youyi, Xiao Tingfeng's most trusted eunuch, rushed over.

"Your Highness, Your Highness, someone from the palace has arrived!" Jiang Youyi said in a panic. He had followed Xiao Tingfeng for many years, and it was already late afternoon when someone from the palace suddenly arrived. He sensed that something was wrong.

"Let them come, what's the big deal?" Xiao Tingfeng and Ge Xijia didn't find anything amiss.

But soon they all realized that something was really wrong.

The person who came was none other than Hu Delu, who was by the Emperor's side. And he didn't come to deliver any rewards. After Hu Delu bowed to Prince Li and his wife, he said directly, "This servant is ordered by His Majesty to invite Prince Li and his wife to the palace."

"But what's the matter?" Xiao Tingfeng asked directly.

"His Majesty didn't say anything, he only sent me to invite you. Once the Prince and Princess arrive at the palace, they should know what's going on." As one of the most trusted eunuchs around the Emperor, Hu Delu naturally wouldn't tell the Prince and Princess what was happening in the palace at this moment.

"So, is it just us, or are there other people?" Ge Xijia quickly asked.

"This servant is responsible for inviting the Prince and Princess. As for whether there are any other people, this servant does not know." Hu Delu kept his mouth shut.

"You..." Xiao Tingfeng almost blurted out "you castrated dog," but luckily he shut his mouth in time.

Even though he didn't say it aloud, Hu Delu had already guessed that what Prince Li was about to say wouldn't be anything good. But his expression didn't change at all. Instead, he said directly, "His Majesty is waiting. Please, Your Highness and Princess, hurry up."

Xiao Tingfeng and his wife exchanged a glance. Ge Xijia made an excuse to tidy up and change her clothes. Hu Delu agreed but didn't leave. He just waited there.

"Then this servant will wait for Your Highness and Your Highness. His Majesty has instructed this servant to escort you both into the palace," Hu Delu said in a formal and measured manner.

Xiao Tingfeng and Ge Xijia felt increasingly uneasy, but they couldn't do anything about it for the time being, so they could only follow them into the palace.

The two were led to the Empress's Phoenix Palace, which only deepened their confusion.

Upon entering, the two women were immediately stunned to see the Emperor, Empress, Consort Wu, and Consort Xu sitting above them, and they already had a guess in their hearts.

Chapter 93 The Oriole in the Nightfall, Jia is Punished

Upon entering, Xiao Tingfeng and Ge Xijia immediately knelt down to pay their respects. They not only saw the Emperor and Empress, but also two members of their own royal household kneeling with their heads bowed.

These two guards were selected from the Imperial Guards for the Prince Li's residence during his wedding. They were all on the official register, as were the palace eunuchs and maids, who had all been approved by the Imperial Household Department.

So it's impossible for them to deny it now.

The situation is now very clear: the people they sent to monitor the second brother's mistress in Ping'an Lane have been captured by Consort Wu.

"You knew all along that your second brother was keeping a mistress? Why didn't you report it?" The emperor looked at his son and daughter-in-law, who were clearly frightened, and his dissatisfaction grew. He had suspected that his fourth son had known all along, and why the affair was exposed on that particular day.

This afternoon, Consort Wu came to see the Empress, not the Emperor, with evidence. Since the matter was of great importance, the Empress had no choice but to send someone to invite the Emperor.

When Xiao Tingfeng realized that things had been exposed, he didn't know how to answer for a moment. Ge Xijia, on the other hand, reacted faster. Her first thought was that Xiao Tingfeng should not be implicated.

So she quickly kowtowed and spoke first: "It's all my fault. Your Highness doesn't know about this. It was all arranged and planned by me."

After she finished speaking, she couldn't help but wonder, what if the two guards had already said that it was the prince who arranged it? But since she had already said it, she didn't want to change her mind.

Xiao Tingfeng was extremely surprised, and everyone sitting up there was also surprised.