Yu Xiang crouched on Yu Pinyan's shoulder and looked at those stiff and ashen-faced maidens. She smiled at them and pretended to be sad as she buried her face in her brother's neck. Then she remembered Xiao Qiu 'er's true identity and couldn't help but be shocked.
When that pouch full of gems was handed over, Yu Xiang knew that the other party's background was not simple. But in the entire Xihe Garden, who had a simple background? Therefore, she didn't think too much about it. She never thought that Xiao Qiu, who only had an old mama with her and was dressed simply and plainly, would be the Ninth Princess of the current dynasty. The Ninth Princess who was protected so tightly by the Emperor, Empress, and Crown Prince!
Xiao Qiu 'er's pronunciation was close to Jiu' er, and with her round body, this nickname was too appropriate.
She turned to look at the siblings walking in front of her and saw that Xiao Qiu was still sobbing, looking very pitiful. Did this child really think that she was going to jump into the river and was scared stiff?
Yu Xiang felt a little guilty.
Yu Pinyan mistakenly thought that she was afraid and patted her back to comfort her, "Don't be afraid, Brother is here. No one can bully you."
"Brother, did I cause trouble for you? Her father is Prince Yu. "This was an era where 'with a good father in hand, I have the world.'
Prince Yu stubbornly defended his fief in the northwest and refused to return to the capital. The Emperor had sent three imperial edicts and ignored them. Everyone knew what Sima Zhao's intentions were. In less than a year and a half, the Emperor would make a move against him. His original wife and di daughter in the capital had long been abandoned and no one knew how they would die in the future.
Yu Pinyan's bottomless eyes quietly leaked a trace of viciousness. He rubbed his sister's head and said in a low voice, "No problem, I, Marquis Yongle, am not afraid of offending Prince Yu's fu."
Yu Xiang smiled in satisfaction.
In Phoenix Perching Pavilion, the Empress sat in the main seat and the Crown Princess accompanied her in the guest seat. Seeing the sobbing Xiao Qiu, they both stood up to welcome her.
Yu Xiang couldn't salute and could only clasp her hands in front, her expression neither servile nor overbearing.
The Empress smiled and said, "Good child." Then she took her youngest daughter into her arms and patted her. She asked gently, "Qiu 'er, what's wrong? Who bullied you? "
Yu Xiang looked down calmly.
"They … They stole my lantern and wanted to hit me. Lotus Seed Cake protected me. They wanted to force Lotus Seed Cake to death and make Lotus Seed Cake jump into the river." Little Ball sniffled and narrated.
Yu Xiang really wanted to rush up and kiss this fat ball. With just a few words, that group of people had fallen into a trap. Indeed, she was naturally evil to the extreme!
The Empress originally had a faint smile on her face, but when she heard this, her face immediately turned cold.
Yu Xiang lowered her head slightly and blinked her eyes. Tears flowed out of her eyes, and the way she held them in her eyes made her look especially pitiful. She just sat there and didn't say a word, but others felt that she had suffered a great grievance.
"Don't cry. Imperial Mother will uphold justice for you. I heard from Mama that you want to eat sweet and sour carp? The imperial chef has already prepared it. Go wash your face and eat with Yu Siyu and Lotus Seed Cake. "The Empress gently wiped her daughter's tears and patted her chubby little butt.
Hearing that there was food, Little Ball instantly smiled and waved at Yu Xiang with tears in her eyes.
Yu Xiang turned to look at her elder brother. Seeing him nod slightly, she followed. Just as she walked out of the door, she saw an imperial concubine leading a group of noble maidens in slowly. The Qinghe Commandery Princess, who had been insufferably arrogant earlier, was now like a quail that had fallen into water. She was trembling and crying. Chang Yafu looked calm, but his steps were a bit shaky. Yu Siyu followed behind them with her head lowered. Hearing the rumbling sound of the wheelchair, she quickly looked up, her eyes full of pleading.
Yu Xiang raised her chin, raised her index finger, and lightly drew a line on her neck. Seeing Yu Siyu's instantly distorted face, she smiled evilly.
The Qinghe Commandery Princess and Chang Yafu clearly saw her threatening action and both widened their eyes. This person was a little too vicious and evil. With just a few words, he had plotted against all of them! If she had said The Ninth Princess's identity earlier, everything would have been fine! She was deliberately messing with them!
After this incident, the Second Young Miss Marquis Yongle's notoriety spread. She was fierce, cunning, and very good at pretending to be innocent. Ordinary noble maidens didn't dare to have a close relationship with her. They were afraid that she would stab them in the back. Of course, they also didn't dare to offend her because she had a strong backing.
While Yu Xiang and Little Ball were enjoying the food, a group of noble maidens were kneeling in the Phoenix Pavilion to be scolded. The Qinghe Commandery Princess was grounded for three months, and the others were punished to copy scriptures a hundred times. This punishment wasn't harsh, but the Empress' words of "not having good morals" were enough to make them unable to turn over a new leaf for several years. Those who were engaged were afraid that their in-laws would break off the engagement, and those who weren't were afraid that they wouldn't be able to get married. They were so regretful that their intestines turned green.
After taking care of everything, the Empress strolled to the side hall and peeked at the two maidens eating through the hollowed-out screen.
In order to prevent the Ninth Princess from eating too much at once, she only prepared three mouthfuls of each dish and put them in small white jade cups. One of them was pretending to cry, and the other was really crying. They both consumed a lot of energy. At this moment, they were eating very happily and quickly swept up all kinds of dishes. There was only a braised lion's head left. Little Ball reached out to pick it up, but Yu Xiang poked it away with her chopsticks and put it in her mouth as if she was going to swallow it.
Little Ball looked at it eagerly.
Yu Xiang handed the lion's head to her.
Little Ball was overjoyed and opened her mouth to bite it, but Yu Xiang took the lion's head back the moment she was about to bite it.
Little Ball only bit a ball of air. Her upper teeth knocked against her lower teeth, making a crisp crunching sound. Then, with tears in her eyes, she looked at her accusingly.
Yu Xiang put on a straight face and handed over the chopsticks again. Little Ball once again bit a ball of air. After teasing her like this three times, Little Ball was fooled each time. Yu Xiang really couldn't take it anymore and leaned on the table with a smile. Seeing that she looked so pitiful when she couldn't eat it and wanted to eat it, she put the lion's head into her mouth in exchange for a grateful smile.
Old Lady Yu, who came with the Empress, was very embarrassed. She could only turn her Buddhist beads and lower her head to recite sutras. What the eye doesn't see, the heart doesn't grieve over.
But the Empress didn't feel angry at all. Instead, she covered her mouth and chuckled. Even though she already knew Little Ball's identity, she could still get along with her so generously and naturally. She didn't bow and scrape, didn't flatter, didn't lower herself. There was no false enthusiasm in her eyes, only true love for her daughter. She could make her daughter cry and laugh, making her become very lively. This had greatly exceeded the Empress' expectations. This child was very good. Little Ball needed this kind of eccentric playmate to prevent her personality from becoming more and more eccentric.
The Empress stopped laughing and beckoned to old lady Yu, walking towards the main hall. After sitting down, she got straight to the point, "Old Yu matriarch, ben gong has taken a liking to this granddaughter of yours. Send her to the palace to be Little Nine's companion."
Old lady Yu hesitated, "Her leg … …"
The Empress waved her hand, "It's fine. Just send a few more mamas to serve her."
Old lady Yu thought for a moment and decided to reveal Yu Xiang's past. Anything that involved the imperial family wasn't simple. Yu Xiang served the princess, so her identity had to match the princess. If the matter was exposed one day, wouldn't she be crowned with the crime of "deceiving the monarch"? Perhaps the situation would be even worse. If the Empress took pity on Yu Xiang and wanted to find a good husband for Yu Xiang, she would offend even more people if her identity was exposed when the imperial edict was issued.
Right now, the Marquis Household had lost their di daughter and was the victim. At that time, the fake would become the perpetrator and drown in spittle.
Even though the servant girls and mamas had been cleaned up, it was better to be safe than sorry. It wasn't wrong to think of the worst. Therefore, even if old lady Yu hid it from the world, she didn't dare to deceive the imperial family.
As expected, the Empress was very surprised when she heard it. After a moment of silence, she sighed, "There were so many twists and turns in this. The heavens really make fools of people. Then has the real Yu Xiang been found? "
"Replying niangniang, we're still searching." Old lady Yu shook her head and smiled bitterly.
This was purely a secret of the inner residence and wasn't worth telling to outsiders. The Empress was very pleased with old lady Yu's honesty and loyalty, but she didn't mention the matter of searching for her. Let Marquis Yongle solve it himself. No one knew if the real Yu Xiang was alive or dead, or what her situation was like. Covering up this matter tightly would also pave some escape routes for her.
She would pretend she never heard of it.
Thinking of this, the Empress smiled, "Don't worry. With Yi Feng's ability, he'll find her one day." She frowned and thought for a moment, then continued, "Yu Xiang has been raised very well by you all. She's virtuous, intelligent, and generous. It's fine if she doesn't want to be a study companion. Send her into the palace to accompany Xiao Jiu in three to five days. It's rare for her to find such a pleasant playmate. "
This matter was considered clear. Old lady Yu sighed in relief and hurriedly agreed.
Yu Xiang was carried out of the palace gates by Yu Pinyan. From afar, she could see Yu Siyu standing beside the carriage with her head lowered. She didn't know what she was thinking about. When old lady saw her, she snorted coldly. Then she saw the Duke Jingguo fu's carriage waiting at the side and her face became gloomier.
"Old madam, can we talk in private?" Duchess Jingguo went forward with a smile.
"No need. It's getting late, everyone should return to their own homes." Old lady didn't look sideways and personally lifted the curtain to let her grandson put her granddaughter into the carriage.
"Old Ancestor, I'll help you." Yu Siyu obediently moved forward.
Because there were outsiders present, old lady suppressed her anger and took her arm to board the carriage. Yu Siyu calmed down a bit and smiled fawningly at her older brother on the horse. She also quickly climbed in and obediently sat in the corner.
Yu Xiang grinned at her, then lifted the curtain to admire Duchess Jingguo's alternating green and white face. Chang Yafu didn't show himself. Presumably, he was hiding in the carriage and didn't dare to see anyone. The carriage wheels slowly rolled and Duchess Jingguo's figure gradually disappeared into the night, becoming a blurry black dot. Only then did Yu Xiang calmly sit down and ask, "Old Ancestor, is big brother really going to marry that Phoule jiejie?"
"This matter is still pending. Children shouldn't ask too much." Old lady closed her eyes and muttered.
The more she looked at this marriage, the more dissatisfied she was. Duke Jingguo's treachery had always been a thorn in her heart. Seeing Chang Yafu today, not only did this thorn not disappear, it stabbed even deeper. It was one thing to want to break off the marriage in the past, but today, she even colluded with outsiders to swindle her younger sister-in-law. What kind of problem was this? On the surface, she was helping Xiang'er get out of trouble, but on the inside, she wanted to curry favor with Qinghe Junzhu. This trick of playing the victim on both sides was really clumsy.
Even worse, she was so short-sighted that she didn't know who to get close to and who to keep a distance from. The Emperor's guillotine was hanging over Prince Yu's head, yet she was still trying to curry favor with him. No matter how she thought about it, it was all for naught. This kind of seemingly smart but actually stupid granddaughter-in-law would be another disaster if she brought her into the family!
Thinking of this, old lady shook her head and sighed.
Yu Siyu carefully moved forward to massage her shoulders.
"No need to trouble yourself. Go to the side. What did I tell you before we left today? Colluding with outsiders to deal with your own sister, you've grown up. Your morals are lacking. With the Empress' words, even if I wanted to find you a good husband, it would be difficult. You should take care of yourself. " Old lady pushed her aside with a gloomy expression. Seeing Yu Xiang, who was minding her own business, she finally pulled out a smile and warmly warned, "After you enter the palace, you have to be good. Don't tease The Ninth Princess anymore."