Phi-Fic Chapter 294 Fighting
Chapter 294 Fighting
Concubine Jiang, the second wife and the fourth wife sat there, listening to the Shangjin Bureau report the jewelry of those noble ladies. The smallest one was worth four hundred taels. The three faces were filled with shame and anger, and they wished they could die on the spot.
The Shangjin Bureau tallied up the donated jewelry and reported to Empress Xu, "Today, the ladies and girls donated a total of 154,614 taels of silver for disaster relief."
The four taels were contributed by the second and fourth wives.
The amount was so large that even Concubine Ye had not expected it. Empress Xu said, "I will report your concern for the disaster in Xuzhou and Changzhou to His Majesty."
In the previous life, after everyone donated their jewelry, they said goodbye and left the palace. In this life, all the jewelry was returned. Perhaps because they knew how much the other ladies had donated, and because they were embarrassed in public, their mood was not as bad as in the previous life.
The imperial kitchen sent more cakes and fruits, the dancers danced, and the sound of stringed instruments was pleasant. No one stood up and said they wanted to leave, so everyone stayed.
Some ladies from noble families came on stage to show their talents, and Empress Xu watched them attentively and praised them highly.
The posture really looked a bit like they were looking for a princess for Prince Yu.
Halfway through the palace banquet, Princess Cheng'an left the table. Not long after she left, Princess Gu'an also went out.
Barely half a cup of tea had passed when a palace maid came running over and said, "Empress Dowager, Imperial Concubine Dowager, something bad has happened! Princess Gu'an and Princess Cheng'an are fighting!"
A stone stirred up a thousand waves.
The lively banquet suddenly became quiet.
Empress Xu frowned, and Concubine Ye asked, "Why are the two princesses fighting?!"
The palace maid hesitated.
Obviously, the reason for the fight is not convenient to say.
Seeing this, Princess Jinde said, "I have been in the palace for a long time. I will take Ran'er to pay my respects to the Queen Mother."
The two princesses fought each other during a banquet in the palace, which must be no small matter. It is better to know less about what goes on in the palace.
After Princess Jinde stood up, Princess Duan also said goodbye, and the other noble ladies stood up one after another.
Princess Cheng'an has the same temperament as Concubine Ye, she is flamboyant and ruthless, but Princess Gu'an is dignified and generous. Although a little stupid, she is obedient and avoids Princess Cheng'an. How could she fight with Princess Cheng'an? Empress Xu was worried and had no intention of dealing with these noble ladies anymore.
Empress Xu left, Concubine Ye also left, and all the wives of officials left the palace.
On the way out of the palace, those noble ladies came in twos and threes. They all knew what was going on in the palace. It was better not to ask, but people naturally like gossip. Especially Princess Gu'an, who had just been confined by Empress Xu, and it was only after the Princess of Jingyang interceded for her that she was allowed to attend the palace banquet. Everyone's intuition told them that the fight between Princess Gu'an and Princess Cheng'an was related to the confinement.
When they were almost at the horse racing track, the news of the fight between the two princesses spread. The two princesses first quarreled and then fought each other. It was seen by several ladies from prominent families, so the news spread.
The girl whispered to her handkerchief friend, "Today's palace banquet is being held to ask for donations. It was Princess Cheng'an who instigated Princess Gu'an to propose this to the Emperor. We had originally agreed that the two of us would go to the Emperor together, but Princess Cheng'an didn't go. Princess Gu'an was confined by the Empress for this matter. When Princess Gu'an saw that everyone was forced to donate so many jewels, she realized that she had offended others and questioned Princess Cheng'an. Princess Cheng'an denied it, and she got so angry that she started a fight with her..."
Originally, those noble ladies thought that Empress Xu was very stupid to do this. She was extremely foolish to share the emperor's worries and offend so many noble ladies. They didn't expect that there was such a hidden plot.
Concubine Ye and Empress Xu were fighting openly and secretly, and they had even taken them all into account. They were angry with Empress Xu, so naturally she was more inclined towards Concubine Ye. Although the master was not a person who was easily persuaded, he would eventually listen to her after hearing her words many times. After all, with such a stupid mother, the son would not be very smart.
Concubine Ye plotted against Empress Xu and them, but they still thought that Concubine Ye was a good person. All those noble ladies were filled with indignation.
Then Empress Xu and Concubine Ye went to look for the two princesses. When they arrived, the two princesses had already been pulled away by the palace maids. However, their hair was disheveled, their red hairpins had fallen to the ground, and there were scratches on their faces from their nails, which showed how severely they had been beaten.
Queen Xu walked over and asked sternly, "What's going on?"
Concubine Ye felt sorry for her daughter. Princess Cheng'an covered her scratched face and pointed at Princess Gu'an, gritting her teeth and saying, "Mother, she slandered me with empty words. I didn't encourage her to go to the emperor and make suggestions to let the wives of the officials go to the palace to donate money, let alone say that I would go with her!"
Princess Gu'an did not argue with Princess Cheng'an. She raised her hand and swore, "If this matter has nothing to do with you, Princess Cheng'an, then my father will depose me as a commoner and never allow me to enter the palace again!"
"I swear on my oath, do you?"
For a princess, being demoted to a commoner was the punishment second only to death.
No matter what the truth of the matter is, just because Princess Gu'an dared to make such a vow, everyone would believe her even more. Besides, Princess Cheng'an had deceived Princess Gu'an more than once.
Princess Cheng'an was so angry that she clenched her hands tightly, but she didn't dare to swear. Although she didn't directly instigate Princess Cheng'an, she was behind it. There is a god above her head, and she was afraid that the curse would really come true.
Princess Cheng'an said angrily, "Mother! You have to make the decision for your daughter!"
Concubine Ye looked at Empress Xu, "Is this how the Empress disciplines Princess Gu'an?!"
Empress Xu said, "If the Imperial Concubine believes that Gu'an lied, she can go and complain to the Emperor and have the matter thoroughly investigated."
Concubine Ye's eyes were ice-cold with anger. It was uncertain whether the matter could be thoroughly investigated, but if it was, the news would surely spread out of the palace. Princess Gu'an would be called stupid, and her daughter would be considered scheming, neither of which had a good reputation.
The nanny said, "Princess Cheng'an's face was scratched. She needs to apply medicine as soon as possible to avoid scarring."
Concubine Ye flicked her sleeves and turned away.
Empress Xu brought Princess Gu'an to Fengluan Palace. As soon as they reached the palace gate, a palace maid came quickly and reported to Empress Xu the reason for the fight between the two princesses.
Empress Xu was stunned. She returned to her bedroom, dismissed the palace maids, and then asked Princess Gu'an, "Why didn't I hear you say that Princess Cheng'an instigated you the other day?"
Princess Gu'an said, "She didn't directly instigate her daughter..."
Empress Xu's brows were furrowed. She had thought that Princess Cheng'an was really behind this, and her daughter was afraid of being scolded, so she didn't dare to let her mother know. "What's going on?"
Princess Gu'an whispered, "It was the Crown Prince's wife of Prince Jingyang who taught me to find an opportunity to anger Princess Cheng'an. Even if a fight breaks out, father will still restrain my feet. But then those noble ladies won't be angry with the Queen Mother anymore, at least not just the Queen Mother..."