Red Mansion and Crimson Pearl

Chapter 376: One Arrow, Many Eagles

This "good marriage" ended with Princess Tongyi cursing "How dare any poor man covet my daughter?" and forcibly dragging the sobbing Princess Shouchang out of the Yanjia Palace.

Naturally, Princess Tongyi did not forget to give Baochai a vicious look before leaving, and gritted her teeth and cursed her as a "scourge".

As soon as the mother and daughter left, the others took the opportunity to get up and leave.

The Queen Mother looked at Princess Duncheng with a fake smile and asked her meaningfully, "You and your daughter should sit for a while longer."

Then he looked at Baochai coldly and said, "I know that your dear aunt died of illness because she was vicious and harmful to others and was despised by her husband's family.

“And you, held this grudge against the Jia family.

“So, once your bastard uncle is confused and greedy and wants to curry favor with the emperor to avoid punishment, you should go with the flow and let him offend the Princess's Mansion and the Prince Zhongshun's Mansion.

"Not only that, you also encouraged Tongyi to bring this matter to my attention.

"Not only can it let all the imperial edicts see the mean face of the Jia family, but it can also provoke Yimin and Zhaoqing, and think of the blood relationship and come forward to defend the Jia family.

"In this way, if rumors about Zhaoqing and Jia Jue start to spread outside, her soft-hearted behavior today will serve as clear evidence.

“As for Yimin, the Jia family destroyed her reputation and wanted to kill her in front of me, but I saved her.

“She is right in front of me now, and she is using the respect I gave her to speak for the Jia family. This will naturally anger me, and no one will support her in the future.

"And I, in front of all the imperial officials in the capital, saved a ungrateful bastard. I can be considered blind!"

Xue Baochai wanted to speak up to refute several times, but the empress dowager hadn't finished speaking yet, so who dared to interrupt?

The Queen Mother looked at her coldly, "Princess, you are so calculating! You treated Tongyi and Shouchang harshly, and Jia Shi, who stopped having any contact with your Xue family after your aunt passed away. You looked down on Zhaoqing and Yimin, who lived better than you, and me.

"You hit several birds with this arrow!

"A few days ago, I heard that your mother was so confused that she happily rushed to marry you to the Zhongshun Palace, the mortal enemy of the Fourth Prince, based on a few words in your uncle's letter.

“I felt sorry for you for a few days, thinking it was a pity to have such a scheming mind and knowledgeable appearance.

“Now it seems that I was too honest.

"You are living a very comfortable life!"

Xue Baochai knelt down gracefully and bowed her head in denial: "I would never dare to do that!"

The Queen Mother snorted and rolled her eyes, then looked up and smiled as she asked the others to leave:

"It's hard for you to get up so early in the morning and brave the wind and snow to come visit an old lady like me.

"Everyone, go back and have a rest! Have a peaceful and simple New Year!"

Everyone lowered their heads and hurriedly left.

Princess Kejin even wanted to signal Hongchang to follow her and say goodbye.

But the Queen Mother smiled and pulled Hongchang's hand to sit on the footstool next to her, and even gave her some fruit to eat.

Princess Kejin knew that the Queen Mother must have wanted her daughter to stay here to serve as a shield for Daiyu and Tanchun, so she could only sigh in her heart, lower her head and leave.

Only the people from the Yanjia Palace and Princess Duncheng and her daughter were left in the palace. The empress dowager then turned cold and ordered Anchang to repeat what he had just said to Princess Tongyi, word for word.

After hearing everything, the empress dowager frowned and said nothing, but looked at Daiyu.

Daiyu nodded slightly.

The Queen Mother was relieved and said with a straight face: "You made a mistake, but you were injured and you can't go out during the New Year holidays, so it's fair.

"I won't punish you this time."

He looked at Princess Duncheng again, with a hint of disgust, and sneered, "In front of so many people, can you make up for the crime of you and your daughter leaking the forbidden words by exposing all the past events of Tong Yixiang bullying officials' wives, spying on the emperor's whereabouts, and attempting to interfere in government?!

"Stupid woman!"

He turned to Cheng Qian and shouted, "Twenty slaps!"

Princess Duncheng's face suddenly changed: "Queen Mother! Today is New Year's Day, and according to custom, no one is punished!"

"Aunt Wang, please accept your punishment obediently.

"Otherwise, after such a big incident, you and your daughter would not be able to walk out of the Yanjia Palace without a single hair damaged.

"Think about it. When the news reaches His Majesty and His Majesty, what will happen to you, Sister Anchang, and Uncle Duncheng?"

Hongchang ate the fruit while giving some vague suggestions.

Anchang finally got smart and knelt down before her mother could speak: "Your Majesty, it is because of Anchang's cowardice that he has caused such a disaster.

“Although my mother was guilty of negligence and failure to educate me, it was all because of my spinelessness that it led to this.

"Please, Queen Mother, Anchang is willing to take the punishment for his mother!"

The Queen Mother looked at her and her expression softened: "You still know how to be filial, so you are not hopeless.

"In that case, I will fulfill your filial piety. I will give you half of the twenty slaps your mother gave me."

He raised his hand and pointed at Princess Duncheng: "Hit her! Don't hold back!"

Princess Duncheng knelt down with a dejected face, gritting her teeth, closing her eyes and looking up, and received ten slaps in the face.

"Give me a curtain."

The Queen Mother did not even raise her eyes, nor did she look at the embarrassed mother and daughter. She just went back to rummaging through the plates, picking out the good-looking snacks and fruits, and handed them to Hongchang with a smile.

Princess Duncheng and the mother and daughter of Anchang County supported each other as they walked out of the Yanjia Palace. Each of them had a curtain covering their red and swollen faces tightly.

Anchang was in so much pain that tears welled up in his eyes: "Mother, why does the Queen Mother bully me like this?

"Why didn't she punish Aunt Tongyi for asking such nonsense? Why didn't she scold Shouchang for being so shameless?

"Why are you so powerful just on the two of us?!"

Princess Duncheng laughed at herself and said, "That's because you and your father share the same surname as the Grand Master. She is our serious elder and has the obligation to discipline us.

"The slap your mother received today was more of a slap on your father than a slap on me!

“You and your father couldn’t help at all with the situation in the main hall yesterday!

"Not only that, you also caused more trouble today.

"The Queen Mother is warning your father to discipline his wife and children and fulfill his duties as a prince of the royal family."

Anchang's tears fell and flowed down his face. He hissed in pain and said aggrievedly, "Isn't Aunt Tongyi's surname also Situ?!"

"Since she's married, she's an outsider." Princess Duncheng said coldly, "Besides, for a person like this, what's the harm in being a little stupid, other than bringing shame to the royal family?

"Once enough crimes have been accumulated, we will drive him out of the capital.

"Your Majesty is reluctant to do so, but Your Majesty will not do so at all!"

Anchang was confused: "Aunt Tongyi just wanted to know the follow-up of the matter and wanted to find a good husband for Shouchang, right? What crime could this be?"

“Haha!” Princess Duncheng sneered, looked around to see if there was anyone around, and whispered to her daughter, “She’s trying to find out the details of the case for the guilty minister. Is that a small crime?!”