However, what does this have to do with being without regret? And what benefits can one gain from being without regret?
Recalling He Yao's previous behavior, He Caiqiong intuitively felt that the other party might not have good intentions. Having grown up by her stepmother's side, she thought more and saw further than her peers at a young age. Moreover, in order to secure the greatest benefit for herself, she was most adept at taking the initiative without making a sound. Therefore, she was never one to sit and wait for death when faced with a problem. The more doubtful she was about something, the more she wanted to find out.
The same applies now. Rather than being clueless about what the eldest princess is up to, it's better to go and find out so we can make an appropriate response.
“In that case, it’s really not good to go without regrets,” He Caiqiong replied.
Upon hearing this, Wu Hui tugged at her sleeve.
He Caiqiong grasped Wu Hui's hand in return and continued, "However, she has been traveling a long way and is indeed quite tired. I am worried that she may be impolite, so I will accompany her instead."
It was an unwritten rule in wealthy families for a mother to accompany her underage daughter to an invitation, and no one could find any fault with it. Naturally, Eunuch Ning had no reason to object.
After settling Wuyou and Wushuang in, He Caiqiong led Wuhui to the eldest princess's tent.
The eldest princess was, after all, her sister-in-law. Although the two were not particularly close usually, they would still exchange warm greetings whenever they met.
After a couple of cups of tea's time, everyone finally got down to business and started talking about the Grand Princess.
"Father said that the eldest princess said in her letter that she wanted to meet the younger generation of the imperial family. They will be meeting this afternoon, and he asked me to bring my children along. After all, Wu Hui is the princess's own niece, so I thought I would bring her along to let the eldest princess see her."
The eldest princess leaned against her pillow and spoke lazily.
If it were someone who was solely focused on currying favor with the powerful, they would probably be filled with gratitude and would be eager to offer their daughter up immediately. However, He Caiqiong was a down-to-earth person and knew to some extent that the eldest princess's marriage with her brother was not happy, so she was not interested in close relationships with the royal family.
“Sister-in-law, you are so kind to Wu Hui. I think my sister would be grateful to you if she were alive.” He Caiqiong tried to make her tone and expression more sincere. “But Wu Hui has no royal blood. It would be too abrupt to go there so rashly.”
"What's the big deal?" The eldest princess said dismissively. "I treat all the younger generation in the Prince Consort's family like my own children. Who would dare to say anything bad about them? I think it's best to let Wu Hui make the decision himself. Wu Hui, whether you want to go or not, it's your choice."
In the past, Wu Hui would naturally have been willing to go with her, but now she was too busy avoiding He Yao to possibly go to meet the Emperor with the eldest princess and her daughter.
“I…I’d better not go,” Wu Hui said. “Mother is right. I’m not of high enough status. If I go, people will laugh at me for trying to climb the social ladder.”
He Yao sat at the feet of the eldest princess and saw Wu Hui and He Caiqiong making excuses in unison. He couldn't help but say, "Silly girl, we're doing this for your own good. The young members of the royal family are all gathered together. Maybe someone will take a liking to you. Even if you don't become a princess consort, you'll become a county princess consort. It's such a rare opportunity. Why are you still making excuses? Are you still blaming me?"
Wu Hui did indeed harbor resentment towards her, but he was unwilling to say it. He only said, "I am of course very grateful for your consideration for me, but if I do not respect myself and am looked down upon, not to mention the royal family, even young men from ordinary marquis families may not be willing to marry me."
Despite repeated attempts by the eldest princess and her daughter He Yao to persuade her, Wu Hui remained adamant about this point and refused to change her mind. With the meeting between the eldest princess and Emperor Deqing drawing near, and the eldest princess and He Yao still undressed, the princess had no choice but to let them leave.
When talking about the Grand Princess, one cannot ignore the Northern Frontier Kingdom.
The Northern Frontier Kingdom was originally a nomadic tribe whose people lived by following the water and grass. Every winter, when the grass withered and the water dried up, they had no means of livelihood and suffered greatly. They could only send strong men from the tribe to cross the border in groups to beg for food near the border city of Qi.
To put it bluntly, it was about robbing the people of Qi and plundering their grain.
As a result, the people of the border town lived in constant fear and suffered greatly every autumn.
The border troops would certainly not stand idly by, but those herdsmen were all skilled horsemen, appearing and disappearing unpredictably, making them very difficult to deal with.
That's not all. More than 30 years ago, a tribal leader named Tuoba Ji appeared. He was exceptionally brave and skilled in battle. He not only brought all the scattered tribes of all sizes on the grasslands under his command and established the Northern Frontier Kingdom, but also led his troops south and captured three border cities of the Qi Kingdom in one fell swoop.
The late emperor sent troops to resist, but the battle ended in a stalemate. In the end, in order to persuade Tuoba Ji to stop attacking, he had no choice but to propose a marriage alliance and send two cities as part of the dowry.
Tuoba Ji invaded the Qi Kingdom with the sole aim of bringing peace to the people of the northern frontier. His ambitions were limited, and he readily accepted the marriage proposal, bringing the Grand Princess back to the country.
Unfortunately, although he married the princess of Qi, he did not know that there was a saying in Qi: "A gentleman takes revenge even after ten years."
The late emperor was employing a delaying tactic.
With no immediate worries for Tuoba Ji and his people, their lives became stable, and their fighting spirit had long since waned over the past decade. Meanwhile, the Qi Kingdom secretly trained its troops, never slacking off.
Twenty years later, the Qi Kingdom launched an attack and within a month reclaimed three of the cities that had been lost. Tuoba Ji was so enraged that he died suddenly, and the Grand Princess succeeded him as his son, Tuoba Li.
The king of the northern frontier, who was half Qi Kingdom blood, took the initiative to seek peace, expressing his willingness to retreat to the grasslands so that the people of both countries could live in peace and prosperity and not suffer from the pain of war.
By this time, Emperor Deqing had already ascended the throne. He had mentioned the harsh life on the grasslands and wanted to bring the Grand Princess back to the capital to live out her days, but the Grand Princess refused outright, intending to stay with her children. Ostensibly, she was reluctant to be separated from her children, but in reality, she was trying to influence Tuoba Li as much as possible to prevent war from breaking out again.
When the Grand Princess was sent to marry the Tuoba Ji, Emperor Deqing was still young and powerless to stop it. Twenty years later, Tuoba Ji's sudden death was actually orchestrated by the Grand Princess, a truth known only to the two siblings.
Emperor Deqing felt indebted to his elder sister, so he made the most of the occasion to give the Grand Princess face. He not only personally led a group of imperial relatives out of the camp to greet her, but also planned a grand banquet. However, an unexpected accident occurred as a result.
Chapter 91 | Table of Contents
Chapter 85:
Following behind Wuxia were her maids and servants from the Prince Yi's mansion, as well as old women from the Marquis of Runan's mansion; everyone stepped forward to help her.
The experienced ones saw her clutching her lower abdomen, sweating profusely, and immediately ordered the maid to fetch a doctor.
Six-month-old Chu Yi nestled in her wet nurse's arms. Although she didn't understand what was happening, she probably cried loudly out of the natural bond between mother and daughter, and nothing could soothe her.
The noise and commotion outside could naturally be heard inside. Just as the old lady was about to order someone to come out and see what was going on, Wuxia's maid, Guyu, lifted the curtain and rushed in in a panic.
“Madam,” she said hastily, bowing, her words flowing rapidly, “the eldest daughter just fell in the courtyard, causing excruciating abdominal pain. It seems she may be having miscarriage. I would like to ask that you allow her to rest in your room for a while. The doctor will be here shortly.”
No one knew beforehand that Wuxia was pregnant, and even now it cannot be completely certain. However, since it concerns the royal offspring, no one dares to be careless, and the old lady naturally did not refuse.
Several tall and strong old women carried Wuxia steadily into the room, and Dr. Zheng, who was often used by the Jun family, arrived soon after.
Everyone was busy cleaning up the aftermath of the accident, and no one had time to investigate the responsibility. Wu Hui, the perpetrator, stood alone in the yard, stunned.
If we're talking about the sisters with whom she had the best relationship, it would undoubtedly be Wuxia.
Wuxia was much older than her younger sisters and had always been considerate and caring towards them. Even when there were occasional disagreements, she would never hold a grudge against them. Wuhui's personality was not likable, and Wuyou and Wushuang had both had many disagreements with her. Only Wuxia was always magnanimous and simply thought that her younger sisters were just being immature.
Of course, that was all in the early years when Wuxia was still unmarried. After she got married, she rarely had the opportunity to return to her parents' home, let alone have any unpleasantness with Wuhui.
Wu Hui twisted her fingers, the only person in the family who made her feel the warmth of sisterhood had just been harmed by her.