A Foodie Transmigrated into the Palace

Chapter 1341: Chapter 1339: Collapse

"Mother, you need not blame yourself. I am also at fault here."

Consort Zheng felt a pang of disappointment, and sneered.

"Are you saying you regret not having a son?"

The Eldest Princess lowered her head, silently stirring the handkerchief in her hand.

It took quite a while before she nodded hesitantly.

"In the past... my husband treated me well!"

"Though he had a few chamber maids by his side, he always prioritized me!"

"Only when I couldn’t serve him would he..."

"Serve?"

Consort Zheng stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

"You’re a Princess, talking about serving a mere official’s son!"

"Even if there’s serving involved, he should be serving you!"

"When was it your turn to serve him?"

The Eldest Princess was somewhat taken aback.

"But..."

In the past, hadn’t her biological mother often taught her:

’Women must take their husbands as the center, be virtuous and benevolent, respect elders, manage household affairs and raise children.’

’Obey your father before marriage, obey your husband after marriage, obey your son if your husband dies.’

’Your demeanor, speech, actions must all reflect the image of a woman, and as a Princess, you should set an example.’

"Your mother’s teachings are not wrong!" Consort Zheng said with some headache.

"But those are common people’s rules!"

"As a Princess, you represent the Imperial Family’s dignity, and should naturally not be constrained by those norms!"

"A Princess should behave like a Princess!"

"Look at the Second Princess, then the Third Princess!"

"I don’t expect you to be as bold as the Fourth Princess, but you should at least learn from the other two!"

Consort Zheng’s tone was a bit anxious.

The Eldest Princess listened with apprehension, lowering her head, too fearful to speak.

Eventually, Consort Zheng sighed.

"Forget it!"

"It’s not entirely your fault!"

If not for Lady Dou’s misguided teachings back then, how could the Eldest Princess be so timid?

How could she fail to recognize her position?

Now that she’s grown, her mindset is already formed, speaking further is too late.

Might as well conserve energy and think about what to do now?

The Eldest Princess saw her disappointment and cautiously spoke.

"Mother!"

"I will definitely..."

Consort Zheng felt a bit impatient but maintained her composure on the surface.

"Don’t you have the Princess’s Mansion? You have your stipend and fief!"

"Starting today, take your two daughters and move to the Princess’s Mansion!"

"When the Tao Family comes to apologize, then you move back!"

"In the future, if you feel aggrieved again, never return, let them come to you!"

The Eldest Princess hesitated instantly.

"Is this... feasible?"

What if the Tao Family gets embarrassed and reacts angrily?

What if her daughters are neglected in the future?

And if her husband gets angry and truly separates from her, then what?

Consort Zheng coldly laughed.

"Why wouldn’t it be feasible? You are a Princess, dare the Tao Family act against you?"

"Or, do you not trust me, your mother?"

The Eldest Princess hurriedly said.

"I dare not!"

"Mother came all the way from the palace for my sake, enduring hardships just for my well-being, how could I not trust?!"

But...

Yet in her heart, there remained a ’but’.

Consort Zheng, unaware, breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.

"Good that you understand!"

"Just do as I say!"

"Always remember, you are a Princess, you are royalty, they are subjects, they won’t dare treat you poorly!"

As for divorce, it’s impossible.

If they dare to divorce a Princess, the Tao Family can consider themselves doomed.

The Eldest Princess agreed on the surface, but internally she was still confused.

’Obviously, it’s a marital relationship, why speak of such royal subjects theory!’

’Even if I’m a Princess, I’m still a woman, right?’

’What woman doesn’t respect her husband? Talking about royalty, should husbands kneel before wives? Wouldn’t that disrupt the social order!’

However... in front of Consort Zheng, she didn’t dare voice these thoughts.

Only dared to think internally:

At some point, I’ll have to persuade Mother again, women should not usurp their husbands, isn’t that abandoning women’s virtues?

"Alright!"

Consort Zheng saw her lowering her head in thought, and didn’t bother persuading further.

"It’s late, rest early!"

The Eldest Princess felt a sense of relief and quietly exhaled.

"Yes!"

"Mother has worked hard too, rest early, I shall take my leave now!"

"Go!"

Consort Zheng waved, watching the Eldest Princess depart.

...

Once the Eldest Princess had left.

Consort Zheng removed her garments and collapsed onto the bed, Hong Yun took a hot-water bottle to warm her.

Touching the warm bottle and comfortable bedding, Consort Zheng sighed contentedly.

"Finally done!"

"Not sure if it’s the cold or fatigue, my hands and feet feel icy!"

Hong Yun laughed.

"It’s only the Qingming Festival now, sometimes the cold snap is harsher than January, if you feel cold, warm up more, if it’s not enough, I can light a charcoal brazier?"

Consort Zheng laughed and waved.

"No need, I’m not that delicate!"

She thought for a moment and continued.

"Considering the situation, three days might not be enough, send word to Empress tomorrow to grant a few more days!"

"Yes, I remember!" Hong Yun nodded.

Consort Zheng continued.

"It’s late, who knows what tomorrow brings? Sleep early!"

"Ah!"

Hong Yun smiled, tucked her in, lowered the bed curtains, and took the lamp outside.

Meanwhile.

The Eldest Princess returned to her residence, feeling exhausted.

But after extinguishing the lamp and lying down, she couldn’t sleep, worried about her two daughters, her heart feeling tight.

She repeatedly pulled Xiao Luo, who had rushed from the mansion to serve, asking how her daughters were eating, sleeping, if they were being bullied.

Xiao Luo felt helpless, but could only comply, saying pleasing words.

"Don’t worry, Princess, both young ladies have reliable people around them!"

"After all, they’re also daughters of the Tao Family, no matter how cruel, they wouldn’t treat the young misses poorly!"

"If worse comes to worst, Consort Zheng is there, remember how frightened they were today?"

The Eldest Princess considered this and agreed.

Even if they dared to offend her, what about her mother? Would they dare disregard her?

After much thought, convinced her daughters weren’t in danger.

She finally breathed a sigh of relief and fell asleep.

Xiao Luo wiped the sweat from her forehead, and turned out the lamp.

It was now her turn to be sleepless with worry.

Indeed, the young ladies couldn’t possibly be in danger.

But luck hadn’t smiled on her.

Since the Eldest Princess fell out of favor, much of the misfortune around her had been orchestrated by herself.

Though it was Maternal Aunt Tao that forced her to do it.

But if it came to light, who would care about these details? Done was done.

She’s scared she might be executed on the spot by Consort Zheng.

Even if not killed, tales of torture at the Punishment Department weren’t encouraging, live prisoners going in, corpses coming out, agonizingly slow.

She shivered, crazily clutching her head, barely daring to think further.

"No!"

"No!"

"Must find a way to silence Maternal Aunt Tao!"

She truly regretted it!

Why not serve a well-to-do Princess, but instead get entangled with a concubine!