Chapter 15: CH 14

Old Madam Xiao said with deep gratitude, “Fortunately, our eldest son was clear-headed. He declined that princess and brought Junru home instead. It’s truly a blessing.”

The other daughters-in-law, including Second Aunt Xiao, all followed old Madam Xiao’s lead with flattery. In the midst of this harmonious atmosphere, a single thorn suddenly appeared.

“Is that really true?” Xiao Jingduo, taking advantage of his young age, deliberately put on a disbelieving expression. “Grandmother, you’re not deceiving us, are you?”

Wu Junru let out a soft laugh, and her maids also giggled, clearly looking down on Xiao Jingduo’s question. Preferring to marry a daughter from a great family over a princess was common among prestigious clans. How could someone of common birth like Xiao Jingduo understand?

Old Madam Xiao looked at Xiao Jingduo with amusement. “Of course, it’s true. Why would I lie about such a thing? I heard she was even a legitimate princess. Seems her name was…”

Xiao Ying being favored by a princess was a mark of honor for the Xiao family, while his declining the princess for Wu Junru was a point of pride for the Wu family. This explained why the old madam and Wu Junru spoke so flippantly about the Rong family’s princess. The old madam, eager to show off in front of everyone, used Xiao Jingduo’s question as an opportunity to elaborate. By now, she had completely forgotten Xiao Ying’s warnings. She didn’t understand why Xiao Ying had told her not to spread this information; she only knew that even a princess had favored her son, yet they had turned her down. This was incredibly face-saving for them. After thinking for a moment, the old madam finally recalled the princess’s title: “I remember now, I think she was called Princess Pingwei. I heard that when they conquered the state of Wei, she entered the city alongside her father and brothers, so she was given the title Pingwei.”

Princess Pingwei, Xiao Jingduo repeated silently to himself. So, there was such a history between Xiao Ying and Princess Pingwei.

After the old madam finished speaking, Second Aunt Xiao also put on an expression of disbelief: “For a young woman to join so many men in attacking a city? That’s really…”

Touching on royal matters, Second Aunt Xiao didn’t dare say more, but the implication of her words was clear to everyone present.

After discussing the princess, the old madam couldn’t help but turn her attention to her grandson: “Duo’er, in the future, you should stay far away from these princesses and noble ladies. You’re our family’s eldest grandson, and you absolutely cannot marry a princess. It’s not that I don’t respect His Majesty, but the princesses of the royal family these days are just too…”

Vicious, Xiao Jingduo thought to himself, feeling contemptuous. The old madam was taking the Xiao family far too seriously. While Xiao Ying was indeed a marquis, he was just one among many meritorious officials, and not even part of the currently powerful Prince Qin’s faction. Their future was uncertain, yet they already dared to be picky about princesses.

However, before Xiao Jingduo could speak, Nanny Wei, who was by Wu Junru’s side, spoke up: “Old Madam, you jest. A son born of a concubine cannot marry a princess.”

Nanny Wei’s words instantly silenced the entire room. The women who had been chatting excitedly just moments ago all stopped, their eyes suddenly fixed on Xiao Jingduo.

The old madam forced a smile and said, “Junru, what do you mean by this?”

Wu Junru sat upright, only smiling gently as she replied, “I am now a wife of the Xiao family, and it is my duty to serve my in-laws, attend to my husband, and educate the children. However, the Wu family has many social connections. If the eldest young master were to be registered under my name, how should I respond when relatives and friends inquire? I truly dare not agree to this, and I beg for mother-in-law’s understanding.”

Although Wu Junru’s words were gentle, their meaning was very firm. The old madam knew there was no room for negotiation on this matter. The Wu family could not be offended, so comparatively, Xiao Jingduo would have to make a slight sacrifice.

So the old madam remained silent, tacitly agreeing. For the older generation, as long as all grandchildren were of their own bloodline, the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate didn’t really matter. In fact, having a legitimate son from a prestigious family background might be even better for the Marquis’s household. With the old madam’s tacit approval, the matter was almost settled. Second Aunt Xiao lowered her head, secretly smiling, while Third Aunt Xiao cast a sympathetic look towards Xiao Jingduo. Even the three Xiao Yufang sisters lowered their heads and sighed, looking at Xiao Jingduo with a mix of sympathy and detachment.

As for Xiao Jingduo, the subject of this discussion, he remained remarkably calm, as if unconcerned about the matter of legitimacy and seniority. Seeing Xiao Jingduo’s composure, the old madam assumed he had come to terms with the situation and felt greatly relieved. After Wu Junru left, the old madam purposely kept Xiao Jingduo behind to console him: “Duo’er, you heard today that Madam Wu is unwilling, and we have no choice. Don’t worry. We family members don’t care about these empty titles. It’s just a name for the outside world. Within the household, everyone will be treated equally. Your treatment will remain the same as before, and there won’t be any difference.”

No difference? Then why not make Xiao Jinghu the illegitimate son? Xiao Jingduo laughed coldly inside but outwardly maintained an obedient demeanor as if truly persuaded by the old madam’s words. He sincerely thanked his grandmother: “Thank you, Grandmother. Your grandson is now at ease.”

The turmoil of Prince Qin killing the Crown Prince had not yet settled when another shock came from the palace. Throughout August, the troops in Chang’an were particularly restless. In early September, the Emperor finally couldn’t hold on any longer. He wrote an edict abdicating the throne to his second son, Prince Qin, while he himself retired to become the Emperor Emeritus.

One wonders if he remembered that a year ago, it was the same situation when he forced the young emperor to abdicate. Yet in the end, the young emperor’s history repeated itself with Rong Bo, who was now forced to yield the throne to his son, who was in his prime and had glorious military achievements.

Even more ironic was that despite this great humiliation to the emperor, the entire Chang’an showed no resistance, demonstrating the extent of Prince Qin’s power. It’s no wonder Rong Bo felt compelled to strike first.

Prince Qin unhesitatingly accepted the throne offered by his father, ascending as emperor. He immediately began lavishly rewarding his children, siblings, and loyal generals and established his eldest legitimate son as the Crown Prince. While all of Chang’an was in a celebratory mood, the atmosphere in the Dingyong Marquis’s mansion was quite the opposite.

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Xiao Ying had been by former Emperor Rong Bo’s side for years and was not part of Prince Qin’s faction. The former emperor’s forced abdication was not good news for the Dingyong Marquis’s household.

With Prince Qin’s faction suddenly in ascendance, even a simple chrysanthemum-viewing banquet hosted by the Duke of Zhao stirred up all the nobles in Chang’an. Even Madam Wu had to dress up and attend, representing the Dingyong Marquis’s household, to subtly curry favor with the new emperor.

Unable to resist Xiao Jinghu’s persistent pleading, old madam Xiao allowed him to go out as well. Still worried, she decided to send Xiao Jingduo along, instructing him to keep a close eye on Xiao Jinghu and ensure her precious grandson didn’t get hurt.

Xiao Jingduo agreed readily at the time, but as soon as they arrived at Duke Zhao’s mansion, he quickly left Xiao Jinghu behind and hurried towards the back courtyard.

He had deliberately provoked Xiao Jinghu to go out and used various means to accompany him, but not for the sake of attending the banquet.

Duke Zhao was a powerful ally of the Emperor, and his wife’s banquet would be honored by the presence of imperial concubines and princesses. So Xiao Jingduo anticipated that Princess Pingwei would also attend.

This was his true purpose for coming.

The situation where great families lorded over imperial power had existed for nearly a hundred years. Even now, these families maintained their superior attitude. Xiao Jingduo, an outsider, felt uncomfortable with this. He didn’t believe that the current royal family, known for their beauty and ruthlessness, would truly tolerate this slight.

This was his only chance. Like a desperate gambler, he was putting all his assets on the table. From here on, he would either lose everything or completely turn his fortunes around.

Xiao Ying had kept the news about Zhao Xiulan tightly under wraps, not wanting the outside world to know he had abandoned his first wife. Even if people learned of this, they wouldn’t say much out of respect for Xiao Ying. After all, who besides the Zhao family would seek justice for Zhao Xiulan? Xiao Ying had calculated this and dared to take the risk. But it wasn’t a glorious matter. While Xiao Ying could use his power to suppress others, he still had his official career to consider. This kind of scandal, where he was clearly in the wrong, would be detrimental if it became public.

Xiao Ying wanted to keep things hidden, but Xiao Jingduo was determined to expose him.

Xiao Jingduo had considered spreading the news among the common people to ruin Xiao Ying through rumors, but he lacked the manpower. It would be foolish for him to spread the news himself, so that method was impractical. He also thought about reporting it to the authorities, but the local officials might not accept the case, and officials often protected each other. The local official might even turn around and inform Xiao Ying. Therefore, reporting it to the authorities was also out of the question.

After thinking it over, Xiao Jingduo realized that the only people unafraid of Xiao Ying’s title and willing to confront Xiao Ying and the Wu family directly were members of the royal family.

The best choice was Princess Pingwei, who had been rejected by Xiao Ying. As a princess, she would not feel comfortable being rejected by a mere official. As the saying goes, “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” Xiao Jingduo believed he could use the princess to achieve his goal.

However, this plan had a significant flaw: Xiao Jingduo did not know the princess. Thus, he could only try his luck in the back courtyard, hoping to encounter Princess Pingwei.

Carefully avoiding people, Xiao Jingduo headed to the back courtyard without looking back. He could faintly hear the servants of the marquis’s residence calling out behind him. Eventually, many people started chasing after him, clearly aware that Xiao Jingduo was up to something.

Realizing the gravity of the situation, Xiao Jingduo started running. He had to find Princess Pingwei; this was his only chance to turn things around, and he couldn’t let the servants interrupt him.

However, Xiao Jingduo was still disadvantaged by his age. Soon, the servants of the marquis’s residence caught up with him. The guard in the front reached out and was almost able to grab the back of Xiao Jingduo’s collar.

Xiao Jingduo ran with all his might, but the next moment, he collided head-on with someone. The guards took the opportunity to seize him, gritting their teeth and shouting, “I’ve got him! Daring to cause trouble behind the Marquis’ back—just wait and see how the Marquis deals with you. Someone, take the young master back to the residence!”

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