The Black Chamber Dream: Daiyu's Revenge

Now, the third prince has an incredibly powerful ally in both the inner court and the harem: his princess consort. She is admired by the emperor, liked by the eldest princess, and now, with such a wonderfully organized flower-viewing banquet, it's likely that all the newly appointed noble ladies will be drawn to her.

These people should not be underestimated. For example, Princess Chun is the oldest and most respected member of the royal family.

Thinking of this, Xiao Tingkai couldn't help but glance at the Princess Consort of Yi County, who was standing beside the Empress, whispering something. Then he looked at his wife and felt a strange sense of annoyance.

The fourth prince, however, didn't think about any of this, because he was caught in the middle between his princess and his maid Chunmei, and felt that he was in a difficult position.

What's worse is that Chunmei is pregnant, and this is being kept from Ge Xijia for the time being. He's thinking about how to tell Ge Xijia.

Chunmei told him not to make a fuss too easily, lest he displease the princess. But this matter couldn't be kept a secret forever, so after thinking it over, Xiao Tingfeng decided to talk to his mother about it tomorrow.

Meanwhile, the Fifth Prince, Xiao Tingzhao, standing beside the Fourth Prince, also had his own thoughts—his second brother had come to win him over a few days ago and said quite a few things.

But the situation is now quite clear: it's still uncertain whether my second brother can retain his title of Prince. Everyone thought the war in the southeast had been resolved and that Father Emperor wouldn't pursue the matter, but today he has unexpectedly dismissed the Minister of War.

The position of Minister of the Six Ministries is not one that can be easily changed.

Therefore, it's hard to say whether Father will continue to pursue the relevant officials. As for my second brother, from the very beginning, as a prince, he strongly recommended the Prince of Nan'an and worked in the Ministry of War. So far, he has not been punished. Perhaps Father is still considering how to deal with him.

Furthermore, Xiao Tingzhao was somewhat displeased when he heard that one of the girls who came to participate in the selection today might be chosen to be his prince's consort—his heart already belonged to someone else.

Moreover, now that he is about to get married, his father has no intention of making him a prince, which makes him uneasy.

Compared to his brothers, Xiao Tingjun seemed much more calm and composed, but in reality, he was also uneasy.

After returning to the Prince's Mansion with Daiyu, he no longer hid his unease: "My eldest uncle has become the Minister of War, and Father is going to transfer my second uncle to the southeast. I'm afraid we will face an even more difficult situation in the future."

Daiyu had been busy all day and was unaware of the changes in the previous dynasty. However, she reacted quickly upon hearing this: the eldest and second uncles mentioned by Xiao Tingjun were naturally the Qiao brothers.

“My eldest uncle used to be the Vice Minister of War, so this promotion is reasonable. But at the same time, transferring my second uncle from Gansu to the southeast is a bit surprising.” Daiyu pondered, “Father still has plans for the southeast, and another war is inevitable. My second uncle probably won’t be the commander-in-chief there, right?”

“Not now. Father Emperor appointed General Zuo Qing as commander-in-chief, but the meaning is clear: the old general is getting old, and we still need to rely mainly on my second uncle. We don’t know when we will fight again, and maybe my second uncle will be the commander-in-chief then.” Xiao Tingjun knew very well that with this change in his uncle’s official position, many people in the court would definitely be watching him.

In the past, it was easier to keep a low profile; now, it requires more caution to step forward.

"Moreover, if I'm not mistaken, this time, Father will betroth the Zuo family's daughter to my fifth brother," Xiao Tingjun added.

"Father, will you also confer the title of Prince on my fifth brother?" Daiyu asked.

"That's hard to say. Oh, there's another important matter." Xiao Tingjun almost forgot something. "Consort Wu's father, Minister of Personnel Wu Bingcheng, has submitted a memorial resigning from his post."

What? Daiyu was deeply surprised. She looked at Xiao Tingjun and they both remained silent for a while.

"Is this a strategic retreat?" Daiyu voiced her thoughts.

"Perhaps, or perhaps, Lord Wu fears that Father will punish Second Brother," Xiao Tingjun said frankly. "If he is truly punished, Second Brother might lose his title of Prince."

Not only the young couple, but even Consort Wu in the palace was quite surprised to learn that her father was going to resign from his official post.

He immediately sent someone back with a message, and soon, Consort Wu's mother, Old Madam Wu, submitted her nameplate to the palace.

Chapter 111 Timely Retreat to Preserve the Clan

Old Mrs. Wu was quite old and rarely went to the palace, but this time she knew she had to go.

Wu Bingcheng had already told his wife that he wanted to resign. After the defeat in the southeast, Wu Bingcheng knew very well that the emperor would severely punish the officials in charge. This was the first battle after the death of the retired emperor, and the army was far superior to the enemy. Yet they had lost. Publicly, he felt sorry for the fallen soldiers and the people. Privately, the emperor had lost face.

After reading the battle report, Wu Bingcheng already considered resigning from his official post. Seeing the Nan'an Prince's Mansion and the Zhiguo Duke's Mansion being ransacked only strengthened his resolve: the Emperor had always disliked these powerful families, especially those who rested on their laurels and whose descendants were incompetent. The Zhen family, the Liguo Duke's Mansion, and the Qiguo Duke's Mansion were prime examples.

Now that they have been defeated again, it gives the emperor even more reason to punish them severely.

Although the Wu family is not as powerful as the Four Kings and Eight Dukes, they have been in business for many years. Now that there is a Noble Consort and Prince Rui in the palace, they should be more cautious.

Princess Rui is also the granddaughter of the Minister of Revenue. The two families together are truly eye-catching.

So Wu Bingcheng quickly submitted his resignation memorial. Although the emperor had not yet agreed, he believed that if he persisted, the emperor would probably agree.

Consort Wu, however, couldn't understand. When she saw her mother, she was very anxious: "What is Father thinking? He actually wants to resign? This matter in the southeast has nothing to do with the Ministry of Personnel."

The Minister of War was dismissed from his post. Consort Wu knew very well that this was the reason for the defeat in the southeast. However, her father was the Minister of Personnel, which had no direct connection with the southeast. In Consort Wu's view, there was no need for him to resign.

“Now that the Prince of Nan’an’s mansion is gone, and the Duke of Zhiguo’s mansion is gone too, plus many officials in the capital, the second son has lost a lot of help. If the Emperor approves Father’s resignation, the Ministry of Personnel will probably listen to the second son even less.” Consort Wu knew very well that her father had been in court for many years and had a great influence.

Old Madam Wu, however, spoke up unhurriedly: "Your Majesty, that's not right. The Ministry of Personnel belongs to His Majesty and the court. How can you say that you should listen to Prince Rui?"

The old lady's words brought Consort Wu to her senses. She rubbed her temples and said, "Mother, I was too anxious. Lately, there have been so many things going on in court, and I haven't been able to help. People forget each other when they leave. If Father really leaves this position..."

Consort Wu dared not think about what would happen to the second son after losing such a powerful ally.

Old Madam Wu sighed, her voice heavy with concern: "Your Majesty, it was precisely because of Prince Rui that your father had to resign. Think about it, back then, Prince Rui strongly recommended Prince Nan'an to be the commander-in-chief, and he remained in the Ministry of War from beginning to end. I heard that he even argued with Prince Yi over the battle plan. Now that the war has ended in defeat, Prince Rui has not been punished. Does His Majesty really not know how to punish?"

Consort Wu was actually worried, especially after the Minister of War, Zhang Zilin, was dismissed from his post. She was afraid that His Majesty would remember this and hold it against him one day.

"Your Highness, your father has no choice this time. Of the two, I'm afraid he can only keep one. If His Majesty agrees to your father's resignation, he probably won't punish Prince Rui anymore. Otherwise, I'm afraid he might not even be able to keep his position as a prince." Old Madam Wu told Consort Wu about her husband's analysis.

"Your Majesty, think about it. The incident of deposing the Crown Prince is a good thing. Now that Prince Rui has taken a step back, it's actually a good thing. If your father hadn't resigned, Prince Rui would have had a maternal grandfather who was the Minister of Personnel and a paternal grandfather who was the Minister of Revenue. Would His Majesty feel at ease?" The old lady spoke even more bluntly.

“But the third son also has two maternal uncles. His eldest maternal uncle is now the Minister of War, and his second maternal uncle is still leading troops in the field.” Consort Wu was unwilling to accept this.

"That's why your father wanted to resign so that the Third Prince could show off. The Emperor is in his prime, and the one who shows off is more likely to be feared." Old Mrs. Wu was also reluctant. They had lived in the capital for so many years, and according to her husband, as long as the Emperor agreed to let him resign, the couple would return to their hometown.

Consort Wu finally fell silent, because she knew that things had come to this point and it was time to make a choice.

And it seems that the father made the right choice.

Seeing her daughter's gloomy expression, the old lady could only offer some words of comfort. In fact, there were many more things she didn't know how to say to her daughter.

Because his wife had said, "We can't let the Second Prince ruin the entire Wu family." They needed to extricate themselves quickly before the Emperor became too wary of the Wu family, or it would be too late.

When the crown prince was deposed, almost the entire family of the late empress was executed.

Although the Wu family wasn't a prominent clan, it still comprised over a hundred members. Wu Bingcheng himself had three sons and one daughter. Apart from his eldest son, who lived in the capital, one son served as a sub-prefect in Yongxin Prefecture, while the other remained a wealthy local gentry, managing the family's land and shops, donating money to the local community, and sponsoring the education of talented but impoverished students. The Wu family maintained a good reputation. With several promising scholars within the clan, this temporary retreat was not a significant issue.

Wu Bingcheng's idea was that if he returned to his hometown, although he wouldn't be as wealthy as before, at least the Wu family could be preserved. That way, even if something happened to the Second Prince in the future, the Emperor should be lenient towards those who hadn't held office. There was no precedent in the current dynasty for holding retired officials accountable. Furthermore, if the Second Prince later vied for the throne, the Wu family would only be providing some support behind the scenes, so it wouldn't implicate them too much.

Five days later, the emperor approved Wu Bingcheng's resignation, and the position of Minister of Personnel became vacant. At the same time, the emperor transferred Prince Rui from the Ministry of War to the Ministry of Rites.

For a time, court officials and members of the royal family had their own thoughts: Prince Rui had suddenly lost the support of the Minister of Personnel and had also moved from the popular Ministry of War to the less popular Ministry of Rites, which showed that the emperor's favor had waned.

On the other hand, Prince Yi is currently working in both the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War. Although he is said to be learning how to do things, no one can ignore such a prince.

In addition, with one uncle being the Minister of War and another leading troops in the field, anyone would feel that Prince Yi is now the most sought-after prince.

As a result, many officials began to try to get in touch with Prince Yi. Unfortunately, although the prince seemed humble and polite, he was very good at keeping his distance. He did not accept a single gift and did not say a word.

So the officials began to speak with their wives, hoping to gain some access to the inner quarters. However, the ladies of the inner quarters soon discovered that Princess Yi was even more difficult to approach.

After all, no one was related to or had any old friendship with Princess Yi, so they couldn't even get into the Prince's residence. If they sent a letter, the servants would politely accept it, but would soon come out to inform the sender that their Princess was too busy to see anyone. As for gifts, they were completely refused.

As a result, many people turned their attention to the Rongguo Mansion—after all, the Princess Consort came from the Rongguo Mansion.

But they soon discovered that the Rongguo Mansion had no time to receive them. The Rongguo Mansion's daughters had been selected by the imperial court and would soon be bestowed the title of Princess—to be sent to an island nation for a political marriage.

After learning that she had been selected, Tan Chun took the initiative to visit Daiyu. She had something to say to Daiyu, otherwise she feared she would never have the chance in this lifetime.

Chapter 112 Tan Chun and Dai Yu's all-night discussion

When Tan Chun visited, she saw the deep sorrow in Daiyu's eyes and couldn't help but sigh. Of all her relatives, apart from her own parents, only Daiyu and Xi Chun were truly saddened by her decision to be married off to a foreign land.

Tan Chun laughed heartily instead: "Today I won't call you Princess Consort, I'll just call you Sister Lin. Sister Lin, do you still remember what I said back then? If I were a man, I could have left, I would have left long ago to make a name for myself, and I would have my reasons. Now that I can leave, Sister Lin shouldn't be sad, she should be happy for me."

Those were the words Tan Chun uttered when she first took charge of the household affairs. Several years have passed since then. Everyone's status is very different now, but fortunately, the affection from back then remains unchanged.

"Although we can say to the outside world that you, Third Sister, are protecting the friendship between the two countries as a woman, you must also know that the truce between the court and the government is only temporary." Daiyu didn't know what questions the emperor would ask the young ladies, but since the emperor wanted the girls who married into the country to help the court, he would definitely reveal this crucial information to them.

Tan Chun nodded: "Of course, His Majesty made it very clear that day. That's why I have to go."

Daiyu looked at Tanchun quietly, waiting for her to continue.

“Sister Lin, this time when Madam was confined to the Buddhist hall, I had another opportunity to manage the household. Although I was with my eldest sister-in-law and second sister-in-law, this time I truly saw the situation in the mansion.” Tan Chun felt horrified just thinking about it.

"I used to think that the household was spending more than it was earning and that it would be difficult to make ends meet. Now I realize that the household has done so many things that violate the law. I'm afraid you don't even know, Sister Lin."

"Sister Lin, do you still remember that Second Brother Lian secretly married someone from the You family? That was during the period of national and family mourning. If the Censorate had found out, that would have been a crime."

"And Lian's second sister-in-law, lending money at exorbitant interest rates and taking over lawsuits, these are even bigger crimes."

"The couple ran away, thinking they could hide for a while, but do they think they can hide forever?"

"Now that the master has lost his official position, only Brother Lian is still serving as an official outside the family, and he himself has incriminating evidence against him. This family is truly in grave danger. His Majesty has already punished the Zhen family, the Duke of Li's mansion, and the Duke of Qi's mansion. The plaque of the East Mansion has been removed, and even the residence has been confiscated. The inherited title has ended with Brother Zhen. It's really hard to say what will happen in the future."

Tan Chun's series of words startled Daiyu as well—the fact that Jia Lian and Wang Xifeng were in such a hurry to leave suggested that things were more complicated than Daiyu had imagined.

“Sister Lin, now that you are already the Princess Consort of Yi County, you and your brother-in-law are both in this game, fighting for the throne. The winner takes all. So, Sister Lin, perhaps my marriage to him can help you.” Tan Chun was still very confident in herself. “Of all the questions His Majesty asked that day, I think there was one that His Majesty was interested in.”

"If it benefits the nation, I will risk my life for it."

Daiyu understood, of course, that Tanchun was gone, and with her intelligence and talent, she would surely be able to help herself and Xiao Tingjun, but she still couldn't bear to leave her.

"Then, does Third Sister know that this island nation's ruler is eagle-eyed and wolf-like, quite ambitious, and almost forty years old? He used to have a wife, but she passed away. Now he has two sons, both of whom are adults." Daiyu told Tanchun all the information she knew.

“I know, His Majesty never intended to hide this information from me.” Tan Chun had already given it considerable thought. “But since I am willing, of course I don’t expect a harmonious and beautiful love. Actually, Sister Lin, think about it, even if I stay at home waiting to get married, with Second Sister’s example right there, what kind of home can I get?”

“But, my second uncle and my eldest uncle are ultimately different.” Speaking of Yingchun, Daiyu has been too busy lately to pay attention to her. She secretly made a note of it and will send Zijuan to check on her tomorrow.

"Yes, but the chaos in the mansion is something Master can't handle at all. Sister Lin, you know Master's temperament." Although Tan Chun understood that Jia Zheng wouldn't sell herself for five thousand taels of silver like Jia She did, Jia Zheng's ability as an official over the years was truly worrying.

“Actually, I have another request for you today.” Tan Chun did not hesitate or hide anything. “I know very well that the court has conferred the title of Princess on me, so my husband will definitely have an official position. It’s not right to let the Princess’s biological father remain a commoner. Please help me, sister and brother-in-law, so that my husband doesn’t go to a position that’s too popular, because he can’t do it well.”

As expected of Tan Chun, she saw things very clearly. Xiao Tingjun and Daiyu had discussed this matter a couple of days ago—the matter of the education commissioner completely revealed Jia Zheng's character; he was not quick-witted and had no way to balance things in the officialdom.

“I’ve discussed it with the Prince. We’ll let my second uncle become a Hanlin Academy reader. My second uncle loves scholars. The personnel there are relatively simple, and there are usually no conflicts of interest. It should be fine,” Daiyu told Tanchun.

Tan Chun nodded after hearing this: "This arrangement is very good. The master is a very rigid person. To put it bluntly, he is upright and pedantic. He should not be easily fooled in this position."

"Besides Master, I also hope that Sister Lin can help my mother in a critical moment. I don't ask for much, just enough to make sure she has enough to eat and wear." Tan Chun had always resented Aunt Zhao for not being able to distinguish between what was important and what was not. But after all, she was her own mother. Aunt Zhao was very sad when she saw that she was going to marry far away. She even went to Tan Chun many times to say that she did not want her to become a princess.

"She's been a muddle-headed person her whole life. Huan'er has been spoiled rotten and can't be relied on anymore." Tan Chun spoke the truth. "There's another matter. I used to think that Sister Bao was sensible and could distinguish right from wrong, but now it seems that she's not like that at all. Although she's read books, she doesn't really understand reason. Not only is she too selfish, but she also disregards the law. Sister Lin must have heard about Qiu Wen's matter. Although we can't find evidence, Sister Bao is definitely involved. In Sister Bao's eyes, maids and servants are no big deal if they die. But even under the laws of this dynasty, there is no reason to kill a servant arbitrarily."

“Now that she’s getting close to the Second Prince’s wife, I think there’s bound to be big problems in the manor sooner or later.” Although Tan Chun was worried, she was helpless. Sending this princess to marry a foreign ruler was the best solution Tan Chun could think of. “If it really comes to that, I hope Sister Lin can help my parents. I don’t expect them to live a peaceful life. I just hope they can survive and stay alive. That would be enough.”

Seeing that Tan Chun was about to get up, Daiyu quickly grabbed her hand and said, "Third sister, don't do this. Don't worry, I promise you."

Knowing that Daiyu was a woman of her word, Tan Chun changed the subject to the island nation she was about to visit: "I think Lin-jie and I should have a special connection, one that only the two of us can understand. This way, even ordinary correspondence can convey messages."

The third sister even considered this; it seems she really thought about it for a long time.

Since that was the case, Daiyu couldn't let Tanchun's good intentions go to waste. The two sisters were both clever, and they immediately started discussing it.

This was a very complex and meticulous task, and the two of them spent an entire afternoon and evening just to produce a rough draft.

When Tan Chun returned from the Prince's mansion, Bao Chai was the first to arrive. Behind her, Ying'er carried a set of precious gold jewelry, as if she wanted to show it off.