Chapter 290

Chapter 290 Prince Jing: "I hear the Princess Consort has been in better health lately. You may go and discuss the matter with her." Xie Run: "..." Prince Jing was still such a dog. Anything he didn't want to deal with, he handed it all over to the Princess Consort. And now the Princess Consort had just undergone surgery—the wound on her body hadn't even healed yet. Prince Jing really had the nerve to say such a thing. It wasn't until the next day that Xie Run realized just how fierce the struggle over the position of Crown Princess had become. The morning court had barely adjourned when half the capital was already buzzing with the news. Word had it that the ministers had gotten into a brawl in court, and every one of them came out with injuries on their faces. Public opinion in the capital surged like a tide, and it inevitably influenced the views of the common folk across the land. There was a growing murmur among the people—an unwillingness to accept a princess of the Xia Dynasty as the Crown Princess of the Great Yu Dynasty. After all, the Crown Princess would one day become the mother of the nation. A mother of the nation who wasn't from their own dynasty was simply unacceptable. With Prince An still on the run, if someone seized this opportunity to stir up public sentiment and shake the people's confidence, it would be extremely disadvantageous to Prince Jing as well. Even if Prince Jing secured the position of Crown Prince, the Emperor still loomed above him—it would never be stable. Unless... he could directly ascend the throne as Emperor? The moment this thought crossed Xie Run's mind, she startled herself. Treasonous—utterly treasonous! That was something only Prince Jing could do; she mustn't entertain such thoughts. In any case, matters outside were for Prince Jing to handle. After finishing breakfast, Xie Run led her people toward the Green Pine Courtyard. Along the way, she overheard many people discussing the Princess Consort: "Do you think the Princess Consort can become the Crown Princess?" "Who dares say? The court is arguing so fiercely, and they still haven't reached a conclusion—they've only managed to anger the Emperor." "The Princess Consort is the Prince's lawful wife. She married him at sixteen and has diligently managed the household for nine years without a single fault. If she can't become the Crown Princess, that would be a terrible injustice." "Injustice, yes—but the Crown Princess of our Great Yu Dynasty can't be someone from the Xia Dynasty, can she?" "After the Treaty of Stability was signed, the two countries have had border trade, but exchanges have never been frequent. And when there is news, it's rarely good. If the Princess Consort becomes Crown Princess, who's to say the Xia Dynasty won't stir up trouble and act against our Great Yu?" Xiaoshu couldn't listen any longer and snapped coldly: "Drink a couple of swigs of horse piss and you forget who you are, daring to gossip about the Princess Consort?!" "Think about your own worth—how many strokes of the board can you take?" "Have you even finished your own duties? Are your days too idle, or are you simply incapable of doing your jobs well? Tell me one by one, and I'll gladly find you new positions, so we don't have to keep such grand Buddhas cramped in our household!" The old maidservants hadn't expected to be caught gossiping by Consort Xie's people. They quickly confessed their guilt. "Please forgive us, Consort Xie. We were just repeating what we heard outside and chatting idly—we wouldn't dare do it again!" "We wouldn't dare disrespect the Princess Consort. It's just that the household is full of talk, and we couldn't help but worry..." Xie Run wasn't one to enjoy meting out punishment, and these old maidservants were veterans of the household, with family members all working in the estate—they had some measure of face. Under normal circumstances, Xie Run would have just had them scolded and let it go. But today, she suddenly changed her tune. "Xiaoshu, look into these people's identities thoroughly." "Send off those who are loose-tongued, fond of drinking, or sloppy in their work. Otherwise, if we let them gossip about the masters in the household day after day, what kind of example does that set?" Xie Run said only these two sentences to Xiaoshu, then turned and left with Dantao. Only then did the group of old women's faces change drastically, and they begged Xiaoshu for mercy in succession. Xiaoshu let out a cold laugh: "Now you know to beg for mercy? Too late!" "You took advantage of my mistress's good nature—how she never uses harsh measures in managing the household—and grew bolder and bolder. Now you've even dared to gossip about the Princess Consort." "Truly, an old birthday star hanging himself—tired of living!" Xiaoshu only said: "Who's the head supervisor over you?" On Xie Run's side, Dantao also spoke softly: "There's likely no small amount of such talk in the household. We'll have to make an example of someone to warn the rest." "Let's hope that after today's punishment, the household will have less gossip." Xie Run glanced at the maidservants working nearby. "You can manage things for a moment, but not forever." "For now, we can only hope the matter is settled soon." Dantao had been serving in the room yesterday and naturally knew about Prince Jing's probing words to Xie Run. She also knew that Xie Run wanted the Princess Consort to remain Crown Princess. "The Princess Consort's health is improving day by day—she mustn't be upset by these matters. I'll have a word with Sister Tinghe later." Xie Run nodded, somewhat distracted, lost in thought. Halfway along the path, the two encountered the Eldest Young Master playing with a eunuch. Xie Run's gaze fell on the respectful wet nurse standing nearby. "This is the fifth wet nurse assigned to the Eldest Young Master, isn't it?" Dantao replied: "You remember correctly, mistress. This one was personally chosen by the Prince. Observing her conduct in the front courtyard these past few days, she seems reliable." Xie Run: "By rights, the Eldest Young Master is too old for a wet nurse, but since his birth mother isn't here, he needs someone to attend to him." Xie Run lowered her eyes, recalling how she had sent someone to Consort Sun's courtyard to probe yesterday. Consort Sun was also someone who could hold her composure—she hadn't revealed the slightest hint of anything. The little maidservant assigned to her courtyard, she used them normally as well, and for the time being, Xie Run truly couldn't catch her on any fault. Sometimes Xie Run couldn't help but wonder if she had been mistaken, or perhaps the young eunuch had misheard? Dantao suddenly called out softly, "Mistress, look at the Eldest Young Master!" Xie Run raised her eyes and saw the Eldest Young Master tossing a bamboo cuju ball into the flower bed beside him. The young eunuch was about to retrieve it when he suddenly said, "Kneel!" The young eunuch didn't understand why, but he didn't dare defy his master's order and obediently knelt down. After a long moment, they heard the Eldest Young Master say, "Kneel, and fetch the ball." The young eunuch raised his eyes, a hint of surprise in them, "Does the master mean for this servant to crawl on his knees to fetch the ball?" The Eldest Young Master was always slow to react, and only after a moment did he nod, pointing coldly at the ball's position: "Go!" Another eunuch beside him urged, "When the master tells you to go, go quickly! Do you want to spoil the master's mood—are your skin itching?!" The young eunuch was only seven or eight years old, specially chosen to accompany the Eldest Young Master in his play. Now, looking at the flower bed full of roses, there was clearly a hint of fear in his eyes, yet he still lowered his head and crawled on his knees into the flower bed. Even from a distance, unable to see clearly the young eunuch's legs scratched by the thorns, one could still see his face contorted in pain. After the young eunuch had crawled two steps, the Eldest Young Master suddenly burst into loud laughter, clapping his hands as he laughed. The attendants nearby all joined in with the commotion. Xie Run frowned as she approached, speaking with a smile, "It's been a few days, and the Eldest Young Master has grown even more lively?" Everyone else stopped laughing and bowed to Xie Run in greeting, only the Eldest Young Master continued clapping and chuckling to himself. It wasn't until the young eunuch beside him tugged at him for a long while, reminding him, "Eldest Young Master, it's Consort Xie—you must pay your respects!" The smile on the Eldest Young Master's face slowly faded, and his dark, heavy gaze fixed on Xie Run. Looking closely, one couldn't help but feel that there was something rather sinister in that gaze. Xie Run said with little concern, "Does the Eldest Young Master not have school today?" The wet nurse beside him stepped forward to answer on his behalf: "In reply to Consort Xie, the Eldest Young Master has only just recovered from his illness. The Prince has temporarily allowed him to rest for half a month, and he will return to school after that." "This servant saw that the weather was fine today, so she specially brought the Eldest Young Master out for some play." Xie Run gave a slight nod, "You've thought it through well."