Chapter 78 - Chapter 78: There’s No Kinship in the Imperial Family
Chapter 78: There’s No Kinship in the Imperial Family
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“Your Majesty, the Fourth Princess was not injured by me,” Yu Yunxi said Consort Xiao leaped to her feet immediately and shouted, “Impudent! You actually dare to lie to the Emperor! If you didn’t push Weiping down, how could she have been injured by the white tiger? So many people witnessed it, but you still dare to deny it!”
Consort Xiao glared at Yu Yunxi as though she wanted to kill Yu Yunxi. If looks could kill, Yu Yunxi would have already died.
“Consort Xiao, I admit that I pushed the Fourth Princess down…” Yu Yunxi said honestly.
“You finally admitted it!” Consort Xiao said before she turned to say to the Emperor urgently, “Your Majesty, she’s already admitted it! Please punish the
County Princess of Xinan and uphold justice for Weiping!”
At this moment, the Empress Dowager suddenly said, “You’re the County Princess of Xinan? You’re quite capable. Not only did you stir up a storm in the capital in such a short time, but you even dared to mess with a member of the imperial family. It’s unlikely that a weak woman like you would have such guts. Could it be that the King of Xinan’s Residence instructed you to do such a thing?”
The Empress Dowager’s gaze was piercing as she looked at Yu Yunxi, implying that the King of Xinan’s Residence intended to rebel against the imperial family.
Yu Yunxi scoffed inwardly when she heard the Empress Dowager’s words.
‘As expected of the Empress Dowager. With just a few words, she implicated the King of Xinan’s Residence. Is she really helping the Emperor to deal with Xinan?’
At the same time, everyone stared at Yu Yunxi, wondering how she would respond.
Yu Yunxi did not panic. She looked up and said, “Today, I was invited to participate in the palace banquet. However, I ran into the Fourth Princess. The Fourth Princess said she wanted to liven up the atmosphere so she locked me up in the coliseum with a pack of wolves and a white tiger. Although my status is low, I’m still human. Isn’t the Fourth Princess’ actions inappropriate? Consort Xiao, don’t you agree?”
Consort Xiao averted her eyes when she heard Yu Yunxi’s words. However, after a moment, she seemed to regain her confidence as she said, “Weiping was just trying to liven the atmosphere for everyone. She didn’t mean to hurt you. Moreover, aren’t you fine now?”
“Consort Xiao is right. It’s right for the Fourth Princess to liven up the atmosphere for everyone. For this reason, I also pushed the Fourth Princess down to liven up the atmosphere. I thought it would be easy for the Fourth Princess to deal with the white tiger, after all,” Yu Yunxi calmly replied with a smile.
“You…” Consort Xiao looked angry.
Yu Yunxi did not give Consort Xiao a chance to speak and continued to say, “I’ve long heard that the Fourth Princess was personally taught by the Emperor and that she’s not inferior to men. Although I was taught by my godfather, I’m not very talented. Seeing that I was able to deal with a pack of wolves, I
thought it would be very easy tor the Fourth Princess to deal with the white tiger. I didn’t expect…”
Yu Yunxi did not finish her words, but everyone naturally knew what they were.
Consort Xiao said furiously, “Count Princess, are you saying the Emperor did not teach the Fourth Princess well?”
All of a sudden, Feng Yijin called out, “Consort Xiao!”
‘This idiot!’
Yu Yunxi had indirectly said that the Emperor was inferior to the King of Xinan, but Consort Xiao, an idiot, actually further affirmed it.
In the past, seeing that Consort Xiao was not scheming, Feng Yijin treated her quite well. However, it was clear today that she might not be scheming, but she was definitely stupid.
Yu Yunxi shook her head and feigned a remorseful expression on her face as she said, “Your Majesty, that’s not what I meant at all. You’re the son of heaven, and you govern the country. It’s naturally easy for you to teach the Fourth Princess. I firmly believe this so I pushed the Fourth Princess to the white tiger. I didn’t expect an accident to happen…”
At the same time, Yu Yunxi thought to herself, ‘Do you think that you’re the only one who can act?’
Feng Yijin’s expression darkened. On the surface, it sounded like a compliment, but it sounded offensive coming from Yu Yunxi’s mouth.
‘The people from King of Xinan’s Residence are really more annoying than the last!’
“Your Majesty, she’s still trying to quibble! Weiping was only playing with her, but she actually wanted Weiping’s life! Attempting to murder the members of the imperial family is a capital offense!” Consort Xiao protested angrily, wanting to take Yu Yunxi’s life.
Suddenly, a cold voice rang from the entrance.
“Since when did Consort Xiao become so muddle-headed? The Fourth Princess is a member of the imperial family, but the Princess Regent is not?”
Everyone looked over in unison and saw Feng Yili striding into the hall.
Consort Xiao’s heart trembled when she met Feng Yili’s icy gaze.
Everyone was still not sure if Feng Yili came to help Yu Yunxi when Feng Yili ordered someone to carry something over.
There was a white cloth covering the thing.
When Jiang Chuan removed the white cloth, a bloody palace maid who was still hanging on to her last breath appeared before everyone’s eyes, scaring everyone.
Consort Xiao let out a scream and even began to retch.
Feng Yili said frostily, “This is the palace maid who was locked in the coliseum with the Princess Regent. If the Princess Regent did not know martial arts, she would probably be like this now. Does Consort Xiao still think the Fourth Princess was just playing around?”
Feng Yijin frowned, clearly thinking about something.
At this time, the Empress finally spoke up, giving everyone a way out. She said, “Alright, the Fourth Princess probably did it unintentionally. It’s the same for the County Princess of Xinan. Today’s the celebration banquet so there’s no need to dwell on this matter.”
Consort Xiao still wanted to protest, but she was immediately silenced by the Empress’ gaze.
Yu Yunxi frowned.
‘Why does it seem like the Empress is helping me? That’s not possible since I caused the Crown Prince and her to be grounded. What’s her motive?’
At this time, Feng Yijin calmly said, “Since Prince Regent here, please take a seat. As for the County Princess of Xinan, since you and the Fourth Princess were just playing around, there’s no need to talk about it anymore.” Upon hearing this, everyone shook their heads inwardly and sighed.
‘Isn’t it said that the Emperor loves the Fourth Princess the most? Why did he let Yu Yunxi off so easily just because of a few words?’
Yu Yunxi was not surprised at all. Everyone thought that the Emperor loved the
Fourth Princess very much and would definitely seek justice for the Fourth Princess. However, she knew that was not the case. How could there be kinship in the imperial family? How could the love between an emperor and his daughter be pure?
Yu Yunxi also knew that it was impossible that Feng Yijin did not know about Feng Weiping’s plans in advance. However, he did not stop Feng Weiping, which was a tacit agreement. He was clearly hoping to test her. As for the reason, he let her off the hook so easily? It was all thanks to the might of Xinan’s army.
Feng Yili and the Empress’ words only expedited the result.
“Thank you,” Yu Yunxi said softly as she walked past Feng Yili. No matter what, she would remember his good intentions.
With that, the banquet commenced.
However, after the commotion, everyone was not in very high spirits.
After a while, the Empress swept her gaze across the crowd and suddenly suggested, “Your Majesty, General Chen’s victory is worthy of celebration. Why don’t we let the noble ladies perform as a blessing?”
The Empress maintained her dignity as the mother of the country, looking completely unaffected by her previous confinement.
‘A performance?’
Many of the young ladies had their own thoughts when they heard the Empress’ words.
A performance?
Hearing this, many young ladies from the aristocratic families were moved. It was a golden opportunity for them to perform during a palace banquet. After all, there were so many princes in attendance. If the emperor bestowed them with marriage, they would bring honor to their families.
Meanwhile, Yu Yunxi remained silent. She seemed to have already guessed the Empress’ intentions. It was clear that the Empress wanted to select a Crown Princess for the Crown Prince.
There were many aristocratic families, but which one could support the Crown Prince and help recoup the loss from the Yu family? It seemed like only the Chen family met the requirements.
Sure enough, as soon as Chen Simeng finished her performance, the Empress did not conceal her interest at all. She called Chen Simeng over and said with a warm smile, “You must be General Chen’s daughter.”
Chen Simeng looked up and replied gently, “Yes, Your Majesty.”
“I remember you’re still not married…” the Empress said before she turned to
Feng Yijin and called out, “Your Majesty…”
Feng Yijin twirled the jade ring on his finger and laughed before he said, “General Chen protected our country. How can I let his daughter fall behind in marriage?”
Then, Feng Yijin looked at the First Prince, the Third Prince, and the Fifth Prince before he continued to say, “The position of Crown Princess is still vacant. In that case, I’ll bestow you and the Crown Prince with a marriage.. As the legitimate daughter of the Chen family, do you have any objections?”