Madam Du was rendered speechless by the Crown Princess née Lu’s few remarks, her face flushed red with embarrassment. She still had to awkwardly maintain a smiling face. She hadn’t bowed and scraped like this in so many years, yet she felt no shame about it. The wrinkles on her face squeezed together as she trembled and rallied her spirits to continue her persuasion: “Your Highness, what Prince Gong did this time truly stabbed you in the heart, but you must still remember your youthful affection. Moreover, think about it—the Grand Prince is still that other Highness’s own son, yet he struck just as viciously! Prince Gong simply cannot swallow this grievance, Your Highness!”

This time she dared not bring up old feelings again. She spoke repeatedly only of the affection between cousins, then used the Crown Prince as his actual father for comparison. She didn’t consider how this was like stabbing a knife into the Crown Princess née Lu’s heart. Her words flowed more smoothly with each sentence: “After all, he is your cousin. Right now, no one can speak before His Majesty. Only if the Grand Prince speaks a word or two might His Majesty show some leniency. Saving one life is better than building a seven-story pagoda. Moreover, the affection between you and His Highness was originally deeper than with others…”

What face, what propriety—none of it could be considered or worried about anymore. She spoke these words boldly, fearing only that she couldn’t move the Crown Princess née Lu. In any case, Elder Du’s relationship with Prince Gong couldn’t be hidden from anyone. From the day he became Prince Gong’s teacher, he couldn’t extricate himself. Since he couldn’t extricate himself, he could only fight desperately to help Prince Gong escape. Faced with life and death, wealth and honor, what did reputation and shame matter? Who still cared about these things? Even Han Xin endured the humiliation of crawling between someone’s legs.

The more she spoke, the paler the Crown Princess née Lu’s face became. In the end, it turned green and white, looking so terrible she seemed about to faint. But she didn’t faint after all. Gritting her teeth, she stared directly at Madam Du for a long moment, then laughed softly in a thin voice: “Have him come tell me himself. If he comes to tell me himself, I’ll speak this word for him.”

Women do remember old feelings. Madam Du breathed a sigh of relief and perked up immediately. She hastily took her leave. Walking out the door to the corridor, she even encountered Princess Rongcheng coming this way. She curtsied to Princess Rongcheng, exchanged pleasantries for a while, then left.

Inside the room, Nanny Wu stamped her feet. The anger she’d been holding in her belly couldn’t be contained anymore and burst out in curses: “Heaven-damned murderers! What do they owe this family? One after another, looking human on the surface but all rotten to the core inside! Not a single good person!” As she cursed, her voice choked with sobs: “The others being inhuman is one thing, but this one… this one also comes to dig out people’s hearts. How do they have the face to open their mouths? Heaven-damned! If Heaven has eyes, they should have been struck by lightning and taken away long ago!”

Nanny Wu was the Crown Princess née Lu’s wet nurse. She had held the Crown Princess née Lu even before Old Madam Lu, following her from childhood. She herself was a widow whose child had died at the age of three. Because the Lu family treated her family very well, and her deceased husband had a younger brother who needed care, she didn’t remarry. She devoted herself wholeheartedly to raising the Crown Princess née Lu as her own daughter, holding her in her mouth afraid she would melt, holding her in her hands afraid she would fall. But such a rare treasure was not valued by her own family. A perfectly fine marriage arrangement was forcibly broken off by her own elder brother and mother, who insisted on sending her to a higher place. Who knew that this sending would send her straight into a pit of fire?

The Crown Prince was nothing like the gentle, refined, magnanimous, and benevolent appearance he showed on the surface. To her face he was respectful, but behind her back he only doted on that vixen. Year after year, day after day, not only did he show no restraint but became increasingly excessive. Even Zhou Weizhao, whom the Crown Princess née Lu bore, received no kindness from him, and nearly lost his life at the age of five.

All these sufferings could be endured. With difficulty they endured until now. Just when the Grand Prince was about to marry and had made something of himself, Prince Gong and the Crown Prince committed such bestial acts and nearly destroyed Zhou Weizhao again.

The Crown Princess née Lu had forced herself to live on this one breath all these years. Her only hope in her heart was this son. If this son were also gone, how could she go on living?!

Just now Madam Du spoke repeatedly of past affection, but if Prince Gong had cared even half a bit about past affection, wouldn’t he have thought about the Crown Princess née Lu’s situation? This gang of people truly didn’t treat people as human. Not only did they ruin her entire life, but now they wanted to add insult to injury. Nanny Wu didn’t know how Prince Gong had the face to send someone to speak these words. In her agitation, she coughed until her face turned red.

On the contrary, the Crown Princess née Lu herself was more open-minded. She shook her head at Nanny Wu and didn’t mention the matter again. Instead, she asked: “Are the waist-bending gifts for Mingzi ready?”

According to the capital’s customs, when a young lady married, close relatives and friends would send gifts to the bride on her wedding day to bend her waist—meaning the more gifts, the straighter her back would be, and the less she would be bullied at her in-laws’ home.

Though Nanny Wu’s heart was still troubled, she knew the Crown Princess née Lu meant to speak no more of it. Swallowing the anger in her heart, she replied with a stern face: “According to your instructions, I’ve selected three bolts of Shu brocade, a pair of red gold engraved bracelets, and six pairs of gemstone earrings. Once they’re organized, they’ll be sent to Miss Mingzi.”

Everyone in Mingcui Palace knew that Xiang Mingzi was Song Chuyi’s cousin and that the two had a good relationship. Without the Crown Princess née Lu’s instructions, they had already prepared gifts, just waiting for Xiang Mingzi’s wedding day to send them.

The Crown Princess née Lu had just nodded when Princess Rongcheng entered from outside. Seeing Nanny Wu’s fuming appearance, she looked back at the corridor where no one could be seen anymore, then stepped forward to take the Crown Princess née Lu’s hand. After calling her “cousin,” she asked: “I just saw Madam Du leaving. She’s always been a rare visitor. What brought her here out of the blue?”

Elder Du was Prince Gong’s teacher, so Princess Rongcheng worried that Madam Du had come about Prince Gong’s matter.

Indeed, as soon as she finished asking, Nanny Wu had already turned her head away. The Crown Princess née Lu only smiled faintly and lightly brushed past it: “She came to talk about matters from our youth.”

What past youthful friendship was there to reminisce about? These people who couldn’t be connected even with eight poles—unless… Princess Rongcheng furrowed her brow and gently shook the Crown Princess’s hand: “Did she come about my brother’s matter?”

The hall fell silent for a while. After who knows how long, the Crown Princess née Lu finally laughed self-mockingly and nodded: “Yes. She came to talk about old times, wanting me to persuade Weizhao.”

Princess Rongcheng’s anger immediately flared up. She simply didn’t know what her two brothers were thinking in their heads—how could one be stupider than the other, one more heartless, ungrateful, and callous than the other? She widened her eyes and cursed without reservation: “Their hearts are blinded by lard! He has the face for this!”

Exactly so. Nanny Wu felt even more aggrieved for the Crown Princess née Lu. She glanced at her and sighed deeply.