Red Mansion and Crimson Pearl

Chapter 377 Who are you following?

Princess Duncheng's idea was correct, but in the afternoon, Princess Tongyi's various actions reached the ears of the Supreme Lord and Emperor Zhaoming.

The Supreme Lord was so angry that the Three Corpse Gods jumped up and down, and he directly ordered Dai Quan to take people to the Princess's residence and confined her and the entire family to house arrest for a month!

Princess Tongyi cried and made a scene. Dai Quan frowned and tried to persuade her but she would not listen. He could only pull the dumbfounded consort aside and admonish her solemnly:

“To be honest, it’s not necessary for the Supreme to intervene.

"But the princess has done such a thing, and His Majesty still doesn't care. We have to save it for when His Majesty dies. I'll leave it to Your Majesty to take care of it.

"The Prince Consort is always by your Majesty's side, don't you know what your Majesty's personality is like?

"Besides, even if you are indifferent to fame and fortune and don't care about your future.

"But you still have a son, doesn't your son care about his future?

"We have heard that your son's in-laws have been appointed to a post outside the city.

"Don't you understand? He wants to hide away because he's afraid of getting implicated by you guys!"

The prince consort looked back at Princess Tongyi and sneered, "It's okay. Let the princess do as she pleases."

"Since the Supreme Lord wants to hand this matter over to Your Majesty, then I will wait until the New Year is over and go to Your Majesty to ask for a peaceful divorce!"

Princess Tongyi's crying suddenly stopped.

Dai Quan took the opportunity to leave.

Before the princess and her husband could speak again, someone outside came to report: "The head of Kunning Palace is here to convey the Queen's order."

He no longer looked down on the Queen, and Princess Tongyi did not dare to break the rules, so she had to set up the incense table again to receive the Emperor's order.

Who would have thought that what Su Hong conveyed was Empress Wan's sarcastic remarks: "Give the Princess a pair of fox fur ear warmers, a box of the finest chicken tongue incense, a tortoise-shell crystal mirror, and a number of colorful lanterns."

Princess Tongyi took three or five breaths to react, and immediately became angry. She was still bowing, but suddenly stood up straight, pointed at Su Hong's nose and cursed:

"Bitch! You are just a second wife of my family, and you dare to ridicule me!?"

Su Hong faced her raging anger with an indifferent look in her eyes: "Let Princess Tongyi know that these things were specially picked out by His Majesty and sent to Kunning Palace."

Then Empress Wan looked confused for a while and said that she didn't seem to need these things. Then the eunuch who came to deliver the things said, "Why not give it to Princess Tongyi."

Queen Wan laughed three times with joy and drank a glass of wine. Only then did she allow herself to be rewarded and leave the palace immediately.

When the prince consort heard this, he ignored his wife who was standing there in a daze, and took his son and daughter-in-law to kowtow in a serious manner to express his gratitude, and then ordered his daughter-in-law to see the guest off.

Then he looked at his wife and children and said amiably: "I want to divorce the princess, who do the children want to go with?"

During the New Year, Princess Tongyi's mansion closed its doors and prayed for peace and prosperity every year.

This is another story, don't mention it.

The Yanjia Palace sent away several people who kowtowed and wished a happy new year. As the hour of Si was about to end, the empress dowager stretched and asked Cheng Qian:

"How many people are there in the side hall? Call them all over. This is the last group today. Anyone who comes later will be allowed in."

Cheng Qian smiled and said, "What a coincidence! They are the relatives of several imperial concubines. They probably went to the Queen to flatter her first, then met their own daughters, and finally came to us."

The Queen Mother smiled generously: "It's hard for them. Who told me not to live in Daming Palace? Go and spread the word."

While waiting, Tanchun came over to massage the Queen Mother's shoulders and neck, and whispered with some distress, "These people didn't even think of coming earlier. They had to wait until this hour."

"My daughter is in the palace, and I can't see her all year round. It's pitiful. It's so hard to have a chat, but I forget the time while talking."

The Queen Mother smiled tolerantly, "Two years ago, His Majesty, on a whim, allowed the concubines in Beijing to return home, out of consideration for their separation from their families."

Hongchang leaned forward and asked curiously, "That's true! How come the family visit has only been going on for two years and now it's no longer being held?

"Several concubines' families have even asked us about the reason!"

The Queen Mother was not quite sure either, so she shook her head and said, "I vaguely heard that the Emperor went incognito once, visited the family of a visitor, and came back to say that the Emperor was wasting money too much."

After a pause, he suddenly turned to Daiyu and complained, "When you have a chance, tell Tao Xingjian about it.

"His master is too stingy!

"For daily expenses, apart from the unchangeable established practices, they are unwilling to pay even a penny more!

"We went to Kunning Palace yesterday, and even the jade bonsai under the window was said to have been sent in by Wan's family.

"That was his wife's bedroom, and there was not a single thing in it that he had given away from his private storehouse!

"I originally thought that he disliked Wan, but when I checked later, I found out that it was the same in every palace!

"In addition to the food that would go bad if not eaten, there were also tributes from various places that were difficult to distribute without dividing them up. His own private storehouse was kept very tightly..."

Hearing this, Tanchun looked at Daiyu who was obviously embarrassed, blushed herself, lowered her head and whispered in the Queen Mother's ear:

"Have you forgotten, mother? When my sister Zhaoqing and I entered the palace, the emperor sent us many gifts...

"Others can say he is stingy, but my sister and I are the only ones who cannot say that..."

The Queen Mother was stunned: "Hmm? Really?"

"Yes..." Tanchun smiled shyly, "Just before the New Year, he gave us a lot of toys, ornaments, and small gadgets.

“They say they are the newest and best in the capital.

"Yes, there must be a lot of people here in the new year. If someone brings girls of the same age and generation as us, we won't be left without anyone to send away..."

Hearing this, the Queen Mother laughed and said, "If that's the case, then he is still a good son and brother, and he is very thoughtful!"

Then he glared at Tanchun and Daiyu, "If that's the case, why didn't you give them some when Anchang and the others were here just now?"

After a big battle like that just now, who would want to get involved in such a thing?

Daiyu laughed sweetly and said, "We were just trying to find an excuse to forget about it and keep all the good stuff.

“Who knew that the Queen Mother would find out!

"In that case, we'll prepare it later, and together with the reward that the Queen Mother wants to give him, we'll send it to his house this afternoon, okay?"

The Queen Mother slammed the table and cried out, "What a monkey! You are so stingy yourself, yet you come to pull me!

“When did I say I would give them a reward?

"Could it be that I am the one being taken advantage of?!"

Daiyu tilted her head and squinted her eyes as she hummed tenderly, "Who told you to covet me?

"Anyway, it's the same in Yanjia Palace. If we have to lose money, let's lose it together. No one can blame anyone else when the time comes!"

Amidst the laughter of the crowd, the concubines' families came into the hall.

The leader was Li, the wife of Queen Wan's brother, Wan Fu, the Minister of Rites.

Next came the families of Concubine Zhou Huifei, Concubine Yang Lifei, and several noble ladies and beauties.

Daiyu looked at the people below and her eyes flashed.

acquaintance--

These were the two families that were fighting for the right of way in the alley that day.