The Black Chamber Dream: Daiyu's Revenge

Song Huilan was in the crowd, listening to people praising Princess Yi, and naturally felt very dissatisfied. Madam Du, of course, understood Song Huilan's thoughts, and quickly said loudly, "The affairs of the inner palace have always been managed by Her Majesty the Empress, assisted by the Noble Consort and others. Princess Yi is too young to understand the rules at all. It is only because Her Majesty the Empress is kind and the Noble Consort and other elders have promoted her that she was invited to the Dragon Boat Festival banquet. Otherwise, she would not have been invited."

She spoke loudly, and many people present heard her. When they saw that Princess Rui was standing next to Madam Du, they immediately understood: it was normal for Princess Rui to be unhappy that Prince Rui was no longer being valued.

Everyone just laughed it off, and no one said anything.

But some people are not satisfied.

"How does Madam Du know that Princess Yi is ignorant of etiquette? Did she witness it herself?"

Chapter 145 A Quarrel at the Dragon Boat Festival Palace Banquet

Everyone heard a clear and beautiful female voice and couldn't help but look.

Zuo Jiangqiu remained calm, seemingly unconcerned about the stares of the crowd. Someone in the crowd recognized her; Madam Liao, standing next to Madam Du, tugged at Madam Du's sleeve and whispered, "That's the future Fifth Prince's consort, from General Zuo's family."

Madam Du was a daughter of the Wu family. After marrying into the Du family, she was the cousin of Prince Rui and his wife. Upon hearing Zuo Jiangqiu's words, she couldn't think of a rebuttal for a moment.

Seeing this, Princess Ruijun quickly spoke up: "Madam Du is not saying that Princess Yijun is ignorant of etiquette. She just feels that this Dragon Boat Festival banquet is more lively than usual, and she thinks that Princess Yijun may not be able to manage it all by herself."

As the Princess Consort, Song Huilan shouldn't have spoken up at this time, but seeing that her cousin was standing up for her and that Zuo Jiangqiu had taken the initiative to help Princess Consort Yi, she was very dissatisfied and spoke up.

After hearing this, Zuo Jiangqiu gave a meaningful "oh," and then said slowly, "So that's how it is. As far as I know, this Dragon Boat Festival banquet isn't just for Princess Yi alone. There are so many elders in the palace who will naturally help with the preparations. I heard that His Majesty even sent people to help. Originally, Princess Yi didn't intend to show off, so Madam Du's words are a bit puzzling. Every sentence mentions the Imperial Concubine. Anyone who doesn't know better would think that Madam Du is trying to sow discord between Princess Yi and the Imperial Concubine."

"Yes, everyone realized that Madam Du had been referring to the Imperial Concubine repeatedly, so shouldn't the Empress be in charge of this matter?" Many people then looked at Madam Du with unusual curiosity: "Oh, right, she's the Imperial Concubine's niece."

"Miss Zuo is quite eloquent; she's truly an eye-opener." Song Huilan noticed the looks on everyone's faces and knew things weren't going well, so she said this on purpose.

The banquet had not yet officially begun, and the Empress and concubines had not yet arrived. At this moment, the officials' wives were all somewhat surprised: the banquet had not even started, but they could already smell the gunpowder.

So many people kept their mouths shut, not wanting to get involved. After all, one was the Princess Consort of Rui County, and the other was the future Princess Consort of the Fifth Prince; both were members of the royal family.

"I'm just telling the truth, it's not that I'm being eloquent." Zuo Jiangqiu wasn't afraid of Song Huilan at all.

"What Princess Rui and Madam Du mean is that Princess Yi is still young, and if you say that she can organize this Dragon Boat Festival banquet by herself, I'm afraid no one will believe it. Perhaps she was there and gave the Empress some advice." Madam Liao dared not mention Consort Wu again; she thought her explanation was quite good.

Zuo Jiangqiu understood perfectly well; they simply didn't want to give the credit to Princess Yi.

“I visited the Prince Yi’s residence a few days ago and saw that the Princess Yi was extremely busy. The Princess Rui is much more capable. With just a few words, you have completely stripped the Princess Yi of all her credit,” Zuo Jiangqiu said bluntly.

These words prompted everyone to weigh the situation: Yes, Prince Yi is currently away on official business, and Princess Yi is so capable, it's bound to attract jealousy.

"You..." Madam Du couldn't win the verbal battle, and in her haste, she pointed at Zuo Jiangqiu.

"Oh my, what's all this talk about? It's quite lively." The Empress arrived with her concubines, and beside her was the Princess Consort of Yi County.

Everyone quickly bowed, and then Zuo Jiangqiu was the first to speak.

"Your Majesty, just now everyone was saying whether this banquet was organized by the Princess Consort of Yi County."

The Empress immediately understood what was going on and nodded with a smile, "That's right. It was Consort Wu who suggested to His Majesty that Princess Yi be in charge of the arrangements. She is still young and has some shortcomings, so please bear with her."

Princess Chun, who had remained silent until now, made her stance clear: "Princess Yi is clever and resourceful. The arrangement of this palace banquet is truly novel and interesting. Even I, an old man, like it very much."

Princess Chun, the current emperor's aunt, is the oldest and most senior member of the royal family, so she carries a lot of weight.

After she said that, everyone began to praise Princess Yi.

Daiyu smiled and humbly declined, "I'm not that capable. It's all thanks to Father Emperor sending Granny Yang and Mother Empress sending Eunuch Li for help. The Imperial Household Department and the Ministry of Rites also helped a lot with personnel arrangements, menus, and all sorts of other things. It was only through the concerted efforts of everyone in the palace that we were able to accomplish all this."

Everyone looked at Princess Yi, who was outstanding in appearance and kind in nature. Compared with Princess Rui, who had been domineering, the difference in their demeanor was obvious.

The Empress and her concubines took their seats, and the women stepped forward one by one to pay their respects. Some of them Daiyu had met before, while others were new to her. Fortunately, there were female officials present. Each time a group of people came over, the female officials would whisper to Daiyu the names and backgrounds of the people, so that she would not be impolite during the greetings.

Now that the Ningguo Mansion has been seized from the Duke's Mansion and the Rongguo Mansion's matriarch is in poor health, no one from the Jia family is qualified to attend the banquet. Yuan Chun is out of favor and, unlike Consort Zhou and others, does not have a son, so she appears quite lonely at this moment.

She glanced at Princess Yi. Now that the Emperor was heavily relying on the Third Prince, many ladies were going to Princess Yi's place to pay their respects and exchange pleasantries, creating a lively scene.

“These people, one by one, are all people who fawn over the powerful and look down on the weak, aren’t they, Your Majesty?” Song Huilan whispered to Yuan Chun.

Yuan Chun didn't even notice when the Princess Consort of Rui County stood beside her. She used to follow Consort Wu's lead and had always been very polite to the Princess Consort of Rui County.

But the situation is different now. Yuan Chun felt that if the Third Prince could win in the end, she wouldn't need to be so foolish.

Ultimately, Daiyu was still his cousin.

"Your Majesty, your sister-in-law and I are getting along very well." Song Huilan had been advised by Consort Wu to guess that Consort Xiande might have changed her mind and no longer wanted to support Prince Rui. That's why she took advantage of the fact that everyone's attention was on Princess Yi to say a few words.

Baochai? Yuan Chun was startled: Could it be that the family still intends to support the Second Prince?

"The Empress's sister-in-law is quite formidable. She has the entire eldest son's family in Ping'an Prefecture under her thumb." Song Huilan wasn't really aware of the details, but Baochai confidently declared that she had a way to persuade Jia Lian and Wang Xifeng to support the Second Prince.

Baochai did indeed have a way, because she had leverage over Jia Lian and Wang Xifeng: one secretly took a concubine during the period of national and family mourning, and the other lent money at exorbitant interest rates and took on lawsuits.

But Baochai naturally wouldn't tell Song Huilan about these things.

"So Your Highness, you should cooperate with my mother, don't you think?" After saying this, Song Huilan left, leaving Yuan Chun alone and helpless.

Song Huilan saw the snowflakes approaching in a hurry. The Empress's head maid looked at the snowflakes with anxiety. Song Huilan immediately glanced at Princess Yi: Today is destined to be no peaceful day. Princess Yi, I'll see if you can still be so smug later.

Chapter 146 The Prince is in Trouble and Consort Yi Faints

Seeing Xuehua's anxious expression, Song Huilan knew that news must have arrived. So Song Huilan hurried over to see how Princess Yi would react.

To everyone's surprise, after hearing Xuehua's words, the Empress was only slightly taken aback, but then seemed to ignore it completely and continued talking to the old Princess Chun beside her.

Now Song Huilan was getting anxious. She thought for a moment, then deliberately walked to Daiyu's side and whispered, "I see Xuehua looks very anxious. Is something wrong?"

Daiyu was not in a hurry. If something really happened, the Empress would know how to handle it. Therefore, upon hearing Song Huilan's words, Daiyu said calmly, "It's probably nothing important. The Empress has her own arrangements. You and I don't need to worry about it."

A female official came to request permission to hold a banquet. After the Empress nodded, the women of each family took their seats. The first thing the palace maids brought on a tray was a five-colored acacia rope for the Dragon Boat Festival. This was a bracelet woven by the Imperial Clothing Bureau for the Dragon Boat Festival, which the Empress bestowed upon the ladies and young women to ward off evil and ensure peace.

Immediately afterwards, court musicians began to play music, and dancers from the Imperial Music Bureau came up to perform, their skirts adorned with colorful sachets. They wielded reeds shaped like swords, dancing gracefully to symbolize the exorcism of evil spirits. The crowd watched with great interest, and Song Huilan, though anxious, could do nothing but quietly observe the dance.

The imperial kitchen began serving up delicious dishes, while the women enjoyed singing and dancing. Meanwhile, the civil officials composed poems and played ball and shot arrows, creating a scene of joy and harmony.

The emperor was watching them shoot arrows at willows when Hu Delu, having received a message, composed himself and walked to the emperor's side, whispering a few words to him.

The emperor subconsciously glanced at the second and fourth princes. Coincidentally, Xiao Tingkai, who had a guilty conscience, also looked at the emperor. Their eyes met briefly, and Xiao Tingkai quickly looked away.

The emperor's heart skipped a beat, and he deliberately raised his voice slightly: "What did you say? Say it again!"

Hu Delu had served the emperor for many years. After a moment of surprise, he understood the emperor's meaning, so he lowered his head and said loudly, "News has come from Lord Tian that the Third Prince and the Fifth Prince were attacked on their way back to the capital, and Prince Yi was seriously injured."

Suddenly, many ministers heard the news, and in an instant, many of them had their own ideas.

The emperor's expression immediately changed: "Quickly, summon the Left Guard to the Imperial Study!"

After speaking, the emperor turned to leave, and Xiao Tingkai quickly stepped forward: "Father, the ministers are still here..."

The emperor stared at his son with sharp eyes for a long while before saying, "Here, you shall entertain the officials."

Xiao Tingkai quickly accepted the order, but the emperor didn't say another word and had already left.

The women's side was on higher ground, so naturally some of them saw the emperor leave. They looked at each other, bewildered, not knowing what had happened.

Soon, palace maids came to invite the Empress and Princess Yi.

"I have some business to attend to, so I'll be taking Princess Yi with me to leave first. I'll leave everything here to Consort Wu." The Empress stood up and took Princess Yi with her.

Now the children and relatives naturally lost their appetite for singing and dancing, and were all wondering what had happened.

The Empress had actually received the news from Xuehua earlier. She had intended to keep it to herself, but the Emperor decided to make it public.

As she led Daiyu to the Emperor's residence, she told Daiyu, "Yu'er, you need to be mentally prepared, don't be frightened."

Daiyu's heart tightened, and for some reason, she immediately thought of Xiao Tingjun.

A few days ago, Daiyu received a letter from Xiao Tingjun saying that he and her fifth brother would be returning to the capital soon. Judging by their numbers, they'd probably be almost at Zhangjiakou by now.

"The third prince is injured." The Empress did not hide it from Daiyu, since she would surely find out when they arrived before the Emperor.

Daiyu stopped in her tracks and looked at the Empress with hesitation.

The Empress also stopped walking: "Don't be anxious. You'll find out how things are soon enough."

The two arrived at the Emperor's residence together. The Emperor had already arranged for the Left Guard of the Five Cities Garrison to personally lead a group to pick them up, and also arranged for an imperial physician to accompany them.

After the Left Guard received the order and left, the Empress arrived with Daiyu.

Although she was mentally prepared, Daiyu still couldn't hold on and fainted instantly when she heard that Xiao Tingjun was seriously injured.

"Oh dear, this child has such a good relationship with the third prince and his wife, she must be anxious." The Empress quickly ordered people to settle Daiyu down and then summoned the imperial physician.

The emperor couldn't help but sigh. As the father, he was naturally worried about his third son's condition. But he truly hadn't expected that someone would dare to attack a prince.

The emperor frowned, recalling the look in the second son's eyes earlier.

Physician He arrived quickly and took the emperor's pulse just as fast. He had been on tenterhooks because when he entered, he noticed that the emperor looked unwell, and then he saw that the empress was also there. And then he saw that the one who was still unconscious was Princess Yi.

Imperial Physician He was well aware that Princess Yi had recently gained the favor of the Emperor and Empress.

Physician He quickly felt relieved, but he remained cautious and only congratulated the Emperor and Empress after taking their pulses a second time.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty! Congratulations, Your Highness! Princess Yi is pregnant! Her fainting spell was due to overwork and shock, but it's nothing serious. She just needs to rest."

The Emperor and Empress were both surprised. The Empress was still somewhat incredulous: "Imperial Physician He, are you sure?"

"Yes, I took her pulse twice, and the results were the same." Imperial Physician He was quite confident in his medical skills. "Judging from the pulse, the Princess Consort is probably more than two months pregnant."

"Good, good, good," the emperor said three times, his joy evident in his words. "He deserves a reward."

The Empress quickly spoke up: "Your Majesty, I have a request that you may make."

"Speak," the emperor said, puzzled, waiting for the empress to speak.

"Since the third prince hasn't returned yet, let's not announce Yu'er's pregnancy to the public yet." The Empress thought that it was still uncertain whether there were other people involved in the Prince Yi's residence. It would be safer to wait until the third prince returned, check on his condition, and then make any plans.

The Emperor now understood the Empress's meaning: if even the Third Prince could be injured, those with ill intentions would likely be even more likely to harm the Princess.

"The Empress is very thoughtful. Let's do it this way." The Emperor looked at Physician He. "You know about this yourself. From now on, the Princess Consort will be in your care."

This was no easy task, but it also demonstrated the Emperor and Empress's trust in him, so Physician He quickly accepted the order.

After Daiyu slowly woke up, the Empress quickly went up to her and asked how she felt.

"My daughter-in-law's faults have caused Mother Empress to worry." Daiyu was still worried about Xiao Tingjun. "Mother Empress, Changsheng..."

The Empress held Daiyu's hand and told her not to worry: "Your father sent the Left Guard Commander with troops to personally welcome you. Now, you must take good care of yourself."

After saying this, the Empress told Daiyu that she was pregnant: "You must take your health seriously."

“My daughter-in-law’s health has been poor in the past, and her periods have been irregular. Recently, because of the Dragon Boat Festival banquet, she has been neglecting them.” Actually, Daiyu wasn’t completely oblivious, but she was afraid of making a fool of herself.

The Empress recalled that when she first met Daiyu, she was indeed not in good health. "The Rongguo Mansion is truly something else," the Empress thought, adding another debt she had been owed to them.