bayedsolid Chapter 712 The Second Wife Stirs Up Trouble!
Chapter 712 The Second Wife Stirs Up Trouble!
"Mother, you are the Crown Princess. Even if you do nothing, you will easily become Empress. Why do you do this?"
Duanmu Chen could not agree with the Crown Princess's actions. Now that she had displeased his father, the King, he feared that his grandfather would also be somewhat dissatisfied with the Xie family and the Eastern Palace because of this.
To put it bluntly, this is like lifting a rock only to drop it on one's own foot!
"Chen'er, haven't you noticed that your imperial grandfather's attitude towards Prince Chang Le has changed drastically over the past two years?"
Duanmu Chen's mind stirred slightly as he recalled how his grandfather would always shake his head with a helpless expression whenever he mentioned the Fourth Imperial Uncle, clearly indicating his disappointment in him.
Even after he returned with great military achievements, he still refused to serve in the court, which always gave his grandfather a great headache.
But ever since he went to his fiefdom, every time news came back from Yanzhou, the Emperor's grandfather would smile with great joy.
Considering what Prince Chang Le has done in Yanzhou over the past two years, he truly embodies the qualities of a wise and virtuous king.
"Mother, please don't worry about these things. Just rest and recuperate. I'll come to see you again when I have time."
After being reminded by the Crown Princess, Duanmu Chen suddenly realized how easily he had been influenced by his mother. And wasn't this precisely why the Emperor and Empress had always disliked the Crown Princess?
Duanmu Chen hurriedly left Yichun Palace and went to the Crown Prince's study.
"Greetings to my father."
"Hmm, get up. Did you go to pay your respects to your imperial grandfather today?"
"Yes, Father. I have been there. My grandfather was in a good mood today. He even wrote a large character for 'quiet' in the Imperial Study, saying it was the best character he had written in recent days."
The Crown Prince nodded. “Your grandfather has been in a good mood lately. Perhaps it’s because several of your uncles have come to the capital. At this time, you should get along well with your uncles. Don’t be like your mother, who is always finding fault and making trouble, which will only make your grandfather dislike you.”
"Yes, Father."
Duanmu Chen had a sudden inspiration. "Your Majesty, I have heard that Fourth Princess's medical skills are superb. I would like to go to the Chang Le Prince's Mansion myself and ask her to examine Mother's pulse. What do you think?"
The Crown Prince paused for a moment, then asked, "Please invite Princess Chang Le?"
"It's up to you. Your mother will surely be pleased to hear of your filial piety. However, your fourth aunt still has to take care of her child, so you can go and ask her for help, but don't force her."
"Yes, Father."
With the Crown Prince's permission, Duanmu Chen went directly to the Chang Le Prince's residence after leaving the Eastern Palace.
Unfortunately, Mu Xin Nuan's family all went to the Mu residence and never came back.
Left with no other choice, he had to tell the servants in the mansion that he would come again the next day.
Meanwhile, Mu Xin Nuan and her family returned to the Mu residence and made it clear that they would stay there for one night before leaving. Naturally, Li Shi was the happiest of them all.
She immediately ordered her courtyard to be thoroughly cleaned up again, and then ordered that some necessities be replaced with new ones, in order to avoid neglecting the prince again.
The family was originally very happy. The old man watched as Xiao Zonghua crawled for a while and stood for a while, and his beard trembled with joy.
However, things didn't go so well for the Mu family in the afternoon.
Fortunately, Mu Chang'an and Duanmu Chuze were holding Xiao Zonghua and keeping the old man company, playing chess with him. They were unaware of these matters concerning the inner quarters of the household; otherwise, there would have been another heated argument.
"Sister-in-law, you be the judge. How could Aunt Ding hit Miao'er? Miao'er didn't say anything to her, nor did she lay a hand on her. How could an adult like her lay a hand on a child?"
Mu Xin Nuan was having a private chat with Li Shi when Jin Shi burst in, saying that Aunt Ding had actually hit Mu Xin Miao.
Mu Xin Nuan looked at the little girl's face and saw that half of it was indeed swollen. She immediately asked someone to fetch a boiled egg and peel it.
"Come here, come to your aunt's. How are you? Does it still hurt?"
Mu Xinmiao was just a child, and when Li Shi held her in her arms, she burst into tears, crying, "She's a bad person, she hit me. A bad person."
He's just a little kid after all, and his speech isn't very clear.
Originally, Li was unwilling to get involved, but considering that the prince was still in their residence, she worried that if the matter was not properly resolved, Jin would be unhappy, and Ding would also cause trouble.
"Alright, sister-in-law, has second brother returned home yet?"
"He's back. As soon as he got back, he reached out to hit the child, saying that she was too young to be doing good. Heaven knows how old she is! What could she possibly do? Even if she were to do something bad, she'd have to be cunning! Who has ever seen a three-year-old do something wrong?"
"Come on, stop crying. Let's go to your yard and take a look."
As soon as the group arrived at the west courtyard, Mu Xin Nuan specifically instructed that no one should report to them. As soon as they approached the main house, they heard someone inside crying and complaining.
After listening to it intermittently for a while, Mu Xin Nuan was both angry and amused.
Clearly, this Aunt Ding was quite capable; with just a few words, she shifted all the blame onto Jin Shi, claiming that Jin Shi had orchestrated everything.
Mu Xin Nuan couldn't help but glance at Jin Shi. Perhaps feeling a little guilty, Jin Shi awkwardly turned her face away and stopped talking.
Mu Xin Nuan could tell that this was originally a small matter, but Aunt Ding insisted on making a big deal out of it. She didn't know if she was deliberately trying to embarrass Jin Shi in front of them, or if she wanted to elevate her own status.
Of course, she also realized that Jin Shi was capable of handling this matter herself. However, with her presence, she was trying to use her status as the Princess Consort of Chang Le to thoroughly undermine Ding Yiniang's arrogance.
Although Mu Xin Nuan could see through everything and didn't want to get involved, she softened a bit when she saw the swollen half of the baby girl's face in the wet nurse's arms.
No matter what, he was a child who lost his mother.
Mu Xin Nuan had heard that Jin Shi had treated her well over the past few years, which showed that she genuinely liked the child. If Ding Shi was allowed to continue her reckless behavior, it would likely be the child who suffered.
After all, the status of Kim's principal wife cannot be changed at will.
Having figured all this out, Mu Xin Nuan could only accept her bad luck; who told her to run into this situation?
"Hmph! This little bitch, at such a young age, her mind is so vicious. If she isn't disciplined more strictly, what will become of her?"
"Oh, Second Brother, who are you calling a little slut? Are you talking about Miao'er from our second wife's side? Second Brother, don't forget, she was born to your beloved concubine, she is your own flesh and blood."