Noble First Daughter-in-law

Chapter 1226: Trees grow from their roots, water flows from its source

"congratulate?"

When Tao Wanyin heard these two words, she was stunned for a moment, and then she understood that Shang Ruyi was talking about her being lonely and quiet these days, and now that she had regained the emperor's favor, it was indeed something worth celebrating.

She just smiled faintly, there was not much joy in her eyes, but instead a hint of gloom flashed across them.

Although she had regained the emperor's favor, in the eyes of everyone she was still the calm and gentle "flower of eloquence" who could solve the emperor's problems with just a few words. However, the painful cold treatment she had received during these days was like a journey through the eighteenth level of hell. Even now, she still remembers it vividly.

Fortunately, Shang Ruyi asked Qiao Shu to bring her the words that made her wake up.

She doesn't want to look back...

So he said, "I'm sorry to have made Princess Qin laugh these days."

Seeing the loneliness in her expression, Shang Ruyi's eyes also became solemn. Speaking of which, Tao Wanyin's actions during this period were bold, and in the eyes of other palace people, they could even be called "wanton". After all, as a concubine, she lived in the palace relying on the emperor's favor. The more favor the emperor had, the more decent she could live. Losing the emperor's favor was equivalent to losing everything. So no matter how much grievance, pain, or trouble she had, she had to cover up her pain and smile when facing the emperor.

But Tao Wanyin allowed herself to indulge in the pain of losing her child and refused to see her even when the emperor himself came to visit her, which led to such a cold treatment.

This is probably what Zhang Yuping and others would like to see the most.

Seeing her like this now, her soul was clearly still in deep pain, but her body was already struggling to stand up, and she even felt ashamed of herself for having once indulged in pain. Shang Ruyi felt even more sad.

She said softly, "Don't say that, Concubine."

"..."

"When a woman loses her child, it's like losing half her life. Others only see us in pain, but we are the only ones who are truly in pain."

"..."

“We have the right to be sad.”

She even wanted to tell her that she had once lost the fetus in her womb and was in great pain, and wanted to break up with Yuwen Ye. Even looking back now, she didn't think she was making a fuss at that time.

The only difference is that Yuwen Ye has always been by her side.

Hearing Shang Ruyi's words, Tao Wanyin's originally delicate and calm face shook slightly, as if it had been cracked by the impact. The pain hidden under the smile suddenly burst out, and the smile in his eyes was also covered by the slowly rising mist.

She was trembling slightly and almost in tears.

Qiao Shu, who was standing by, felt distressed and sad when she saw her like this, and hurriedly stepped forward to offer her a handkerchief. However, Tao Wanyin gently pushed her hand away and forced herself to swallow the pain and tears. When she looked up again, her eyes were still a little red, but her expression was much more relaxed.

She said, "Thank you, Princess Qin."

Shang Ruyi said hurriedly: "I didn't do anything."

Tao Wanyin shook her head. At this time, she didn't need anyone to do anything for her. As long as someone told her that her pain was justified, it would be more effective than any panacea. When she looked up at Shang Ruyi, her eyes were more determined.

It seems that joining the King of Qin's camp is the right choice for her.

Moreover, she also understood the situation. Zhang Yuping had completely stood on the side of the crown prince and the king of Qi. The two sides were almost in the same boat, so Zhang Yuping would attack her this time when she was pregnant. If the crown prince ascended to the throne in the future, with Zhang Yuping as a "hero", what would be the fate of herself and her family?

She couldn't hold back any longer.

Tao Wanyin thought for a while and said softly, "Trees grow from their roots, water flows from its source. To catch a snake, you have to hit its head. To catch a thief, you have to catch its leader. This time, it was His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi who proposed to transfer General Shentu and Lord Pei. If His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin and the Princess want to solve this matter once and for all, I'm afraid they have to start with the Prince of Qi."

Shang Ruyi didn't expect her to cheer up so quickly. She was a little surprised and a little happy.

But when she heard the word "King of Qi", she frowned slightly.

Perhaps in the eyes of many people, Yuwen Ye and Yuwen Cheng are brothers from the same mother after all, and they should be closer to Yuwen Ye than to the crown prince no matter what. It was only because of their competition for military merits that the two became estranged. However, Shang Ruyi herself knew that the relationship between Yuwen Cheng and Yuwen Ye was bad, and it had nothing to do with their status, and it didn't even have much to do with the crown prince.

All I can say is that Yuwen Cheng is a person who was born crooked from the very beginning and is destined to not get along well with Yuwen Ye.

So he smiled bitterly and said, "That's true, but if it was the Crown Prince who proposed this, we might be able to find a solution from the King of Qi. But since it was the King of Qi who proposed this, then -"

Tao Wanyin also came to his senses and said, "It seems that I thought the problem was too simple." Shang Ruyi pondered for a while and murmured, "But you said that trees grow from the roots and water flows from the source, which is a solution."

Tao Wanyin looked at her: "Oh?"

Five days later, the residence of Wushan County Duke Yu Dingxing was bustling with noise.

Ever since he lost one eye, Yu Dingxing went to court and performed his duties as usual, but he seldom met people during ordinary times and kept the door closed most of the time, so the mansion was deserted for a long time.

Today was unusually lively, because his two daughters, the Crown Princess Yu Mingyue and the youngest daughter Yu Mingzhu, returned to their parents' home with a group of servants. The two sisters had always disliked each other, and it was inevitable that they would be sarcastic when they spoke to each other. In addition, his wife loved her own daughter and was biased when she spoke, and soon the hall was already tense.

Yu Dingxing managed to hold the two sides together with great difficulty and ordered the servants to serve tea.

When the tea was served, Yu Mingyue took a sip without any good mood and immediately said angrily: "Why is it so spicy!"

As she said that, she threw the teacup to the ground, fragments flew everywhere, and the tea spilled all over the floor, most of it splashing onto Yu Mingzhu who was sitting opposite. Yu Mingzhu was so angry that her eyebrows were raised, and she immediately stood up: "You——"

Yu Dingxing was also a little angry: "What are you doing?"

Yu Mingyue said coldly: "I've already said that I'm not used to your tea. Just make me plain tea. Who told you to add anything to it?"

It was only after she came to this place that she learned that people here add salt, ginger, onion, mint, orange peel and other things to the tea soup. It was salty and spicy, and the taste was very strange. She couldn't swallow it, so she told her subordinates not to add anything else to her tea. But after she married Yuwen Qian, the servants of the Yu family were replaced, and Mrs. Zheng of Yu didn't tell her subordinates, so she served this kind of tea soup.

Yu Dingxing frowned as he looked at the angry Yu Mingzhu.

Although his current status mostly came from his alliance with the crown prince and with the help of Yu Mingyue, he didn't like this daughter whom he had once abandoned from the bottom of his heart. He loved Yu Mingzhu who grew up by his side more. It was only because of her relationship with the crown prince and now her identity as the crown princess that he reluctantly put on a good face. However, when he saw Yu Mingyue provoking Yu Mingzhu again and again, his face also turned ugly.

Yu Dingxing said: "If the Crown Princess doesn't like it, you can ask someone to take it away and exchange it for another cup. Why are you smashing the cup and bowl?"

At this time, Madam Yu Zheng, who was sitting next to him, chuckled and said, "Your Highness, Crown Princess, you may be angry, but you still have to consider the dignity of the royal family. It's okay to smash cups and bowls at your parents' home, but if you do this in other places, it would be inappropriate and the Crown Prince would not look good."

"..."

"Although I didn't raise you, I am still your stepmother. If this gets out, it will bring bad reputation to me."

Upon hearing her words, Yu Mingyue's face darkened.

Although Zheng was talking about her bad reputation, Yu Mingyue could tell from the tone of her words that she was mocking her biological mother for not raising her well.

In fact, she was not raised by that weak woman. After all, that woman had died a long time ago when she came here. She just lived as another Yu Mingyue under the skin of her daughter. However, she didn't have to go through the process of being abandoned and betrayed to feel resentful towards the scumbag and the mistress. Seeing that the whole family attacked her together, she immediately said coldly: "Mistresses are not afraid of a bad reputation, so what should I be afraid of?"

Zheng was stunned: "What mistress?"

She didn't know Yu Mingyue's background, she just felt that some of her words and deeds were a bit strange, and she often said things that people couldn't understand. But Yu Dingxing knew something, and his face became even uglier at this time: "Crown Princess, she is your stepmother after all, what nonsense are you talking about!"

Yu Mingyue originally wanted to curse back, but just as she was about to open her mouth, the only remaining eye of Shangyu Dingxing turned red and his face turned ashen. After thinking for a moment, she gritted her teeth and endured it.

She was not afraid of them at first, but Yu Dingxing was the Duke of Wushan County and had lost an eye in the battle of Longmen Ferry. Even if he stood in the prince's camp, he didn't have to rely entirely on her. What's more...

These days, the prince has become increasingly cold and aloof.

To be honest, Yuwen Qian's attitude towards her has never been warm. Even after they got married, he rarely spent a long time with her, even if he didn't go to his Buddhist temple. When the two met, they had almost no topics to talk about except the affairs of the court and how to deal with Yuwen Ye and others.

They were strangers living under the same roof.

Therefore, when Yuwen Ye returned victorious from Luoyang this time, Yuwen Qian did not show any anger but accepted everything calmly. Yu Mingyue had no idea why.

He was neither more enthusiastic nor more indifferent to her, but Yu Mingyue seemed to find a familiar feeling from him.

It was as if, when we first met, the wandering monk looked untainted by the mundane world...

This feeling made Yu Mingyue very uneasy, so much so that she felt that she no longer had the confidence to argue with Yu Dingxing and others.

Just when the atmosphere in the lobby was a little tense, someone came from outside to report - Su Changjing had arrived.