Re-embroidering life

Chapter 116 Life experience

In Cining Palace.

The empress dowager, who was over 60 years old, was wearing simple home clothes and sitting in an armchair, with her eyes slightly closed and a string of Buddhist beads in her hand. She was muttering sutras and her fingers were moving the beads quickly, and the Buddhist beads were spinning rapidly in her hands.

Her bedroom was not luxurious. At first glance, it contained only ordinary utensils. But upon closer inspection, one would find that the materials and workmanship were of the best quality. The phoenix patterns everywhere highlighted her status - the most noble woman in the empire.

The incense smoke from the bronze Boshan furnace curled up, and a faint fragrance of agarwood emanated from it.

"I've heard everything. How did this Lady Shui offend you?" The Queen Mother stopped chanting and spoke slowly.

Princess Dihua knelt below, tears streaming down her face. "I admire her and kindly invited her to work at Jingxiufang. It would have been fine if she didn't want to, but she just wanted to gain fame and reputation, and was arrogant. She borrowed Dong Siqi's name and said that she was a needle saint and no one could compare to her in the embroidery industry. My niece was so angry that she heard that she was pretending to have someone else's unique skills, so she planned to expose her true face in public and teach her a lesson. Unexpectedly, my niece was deceived by those embroiderers!"

Princess Dihua fell to the ground, tears streaming down her face.

The Queen Mother said nothing, but spun the Buddhist beads in her hand faster.

After a long while, the Queen Mother said, "You are a princess, but you were deceived by a few country women. You are so careless."

Princess Dihua cried, "The people below are not conscientious enough to not even find out that the embroiderer had been involved in a lawsuit. I will definitely punish these servants severely!"

The Queen Mother sighed and said, "You are the one who decides the affairs of your house. I will help you deal with these embroiderers this time, and this will not happen again. Dihua, you are not young anymore, you should be more restrained and not act too recklessly."

A hint of impatience flashed in Princess Dihua's eyes.

"You finally chose Shui Niangzi's embroidery, which still has the style and mind of a royal princess. This is the best." The Queen Mother stood up, said she was tired, and went into the inner room with the help of the female official. Princess Dihua silently took her leave.

The Queen Mother's bedroom was different from the outer room in style, with a more delicate layout and brighter colors. The bed curtains were made of soft silk, with exquisite ruyi cloud patterns embroidered on them. There was a large dressing table next to the bed, with a bronze mirror polished to a bright finish, and a jewelry box next to it filled with dazzling jewels. At first glance, it looked more like a girl's boudoir.

The Queen Mother's expression also became much more lively, as if she had suddenly become ten years younger. She asked the female official beside her: "Xiao Lin, what's going on?"

This female official was the one who watched the entire embroidery conference today. Xiao Lin recounted the entire process, choosing his words carefully: "The princess thought that Jiangxia was thousands of miles away, and no one knew what happened there, so she could make up her own story. But she didn't expect two things. First, the Third Prince's wife would rather offend her than support Lady Shui, and second, Lady Shui actually took out the official verdict on the spot."

"Stupid!" A flash of disgust flashed across the Queen Mother's face. "I'm not afraid of her being bad, I'm afraid she's both stupid and bad. If she can't even hold the wife of a sixth-rank official, what else can she do?"

Xiao Lin hesitated to speak, and the Queen Mother asked, "Is there anything else?"

Xiao Lin said, "I heard that a few months ago, on the day of the Qionglin Banquet, the princess went to the Qionglin Garden and left an hour later in a rage. This year's top scholar, Ji Zimo, is handsome and has outstanding manners. He is the husband of Lady Shui."

"Ah!" The Queen Mother sneered, "She has a big appetite. She even covets Wenquxing, who has passed the imperial examination."

Xiao Lin lowered his head and didn't dare to speak.

"She is a young widow, so it is not excessive for her to have several lovers. The emperor and I should just pretend we don't know. But if she sets her sights on court officials, the emperor will not forgive her, even without me saying anything."

The Queen Mother sat down in front of the dressing table and looked at the graceful woman in the bronze mirror. "The number one scholar must be unhappy about being humiliated like this. Well, I will give his wife justice as a way to comfort him."

***

At the same time, at Ji's house.

Ji Zimo came back from work and asked Shui Qinghua, "Did everything go well today?"

Shui Qinghua nodded: "Everything went well. Princess Dihua also sent someone to keep an eye on Yajing, fearing that Yajing would stand up and speak for me. She didn't expect that we were well prepared, and Yajing easily shook off the surveillance."

Ji Zimo nodded: "Fortunately, the judgment document was sent today, just in time."

In order to deal with Princess Dihua's mischief, the couple made many contingency plans at home and rehearsed them repeatedly. They had no enemies or handles in Jiangxia, so what could the princess dig out in Jiangxia? After thinking about it, the only person who could come up with the idea was Meng Xiu Niang, who had been in court. Three months ago, Shui Qinghua wrote a letter home, asking Dou Jianzhi to find a way to get the judgment document and send it to the capital, just in time for today's scene.

"We had no choice but to offend the princess. I'm worried that Yajing will be implicated. After all, they are relatives." Shui Qinghua had a hint of worry between his brows.

Ji Zimo smiled: "Don't worry, Yajing has been dealing with the royal family since she was a child, and she is smarter than anyone else. In fact, Princess Dihua is not as favored by the emperor as outsiders think."

"How could that be? Isn't she the Queen Mother's adopted daughter?" Shui Qinghua asked in surprise.

"She is indeed an adopted daughter. Do you know under what circumstances the Queen Mother adopted her?" Ji Zimo asked.

Shui Qinghua's head shook like a rattle.

Ji Zimo explained in detail. Princess Dihua's father was the crown prince of the previous dynasty. Originally, the crown prince should have ascended the throne, and Dihua would have been a princess instead of a crown princess. But for some reason, the crown prince could not give birth to a male heir, and there was only one daughter, Dihua. Over time, the crown prince's status as an heir was criticized by the court and the public, and the Emperor Shengzu, the grandfather of Dihua and the present emperor, became increasingly shaken.

Later, during a royal spring hunt, Emperor Shengzu led all the officials. The prince suddenly fell off his horse due to feeling unwell. It was said that he broke his spine on the spot, and he died not long after being carried back to the capital.

The Crown Prince was gone, and the Crown Princess was completely hopeless. Not long after, she became ill and passed away. Only her daughter Dihua was left, and she became an orphan.

Emperor Shengzu appointed one of the crown prince's younger brothers as crown prince, who was the late emperor and the father of the current emperor.

The Empress Dowager took pity on Dihua, who was alone and helpless, and raised her under her lap. That's why people outside said that the emperor had no biological sister. Although Dihua was a cousin, she was like a biological sister. Over the years, the Empress Dowager and the Emperor had indeed treated her with great favor and indulged her a lot, which cultivated her gentle appearance but unruly character.

"Then why do people say that she is not as favored by the emperor as outsiders imagine?" Shui Qinghua was puzzled.

"The Crown Prince is a legitimate son, and his descendants, in terms of bloodline, are even nobler than the current line. Can the Queen Mother and her son really be so fearless and truly treat her as a daughter or sister? From Princess Dihua's marriage, we can see that although the Li family has a title, it has long been impoverished, her husband is in poor health, and she has been a widow in her twenties. I don't believe that the Queen Mother would arrange such a marriage for her own daughter." Ji Zimo analyzed.

Shui Qinghua couldn't help but sigh. Princess Dihua was indeed hateful, but her life story also sounded pitiful.