Traveling to Daliang Kingdom starts from falling into the water

The letter was signed by Princess Yongning's full name at the end, and the distinctive small regular script with floral patterns was written by Princess Yongning herself.

Without needing to retrieve and compare it with Princess Yongning's previous handwritten letter, Zhou Banxia already had the answer in her heart. Looking at the matters mentioned in the letter, it was absolutely true.

Just as she suspected, the handkerchief with the pattern of the carefree grass was indeed something her master had embroidered when she was young and just learning needlework, but not everyone could get their hands on it.

Princess Chaoyang, who once made her master exchange handkerchiefs with a piece of embroidery made by a novice needlework student, has long since passed away.

With Princess Chaoyang's elder brother's failure to seize the throne and the current emperor Rong ascending to the throne, Princess Chaoyang, though having passed away first and thus not implicated by her brother, could hardly preserve many of her belongings.

Ultimately, she was an unmarried princess before her death, and she had no children to inherit her belongings. Her beloved items were probably buried with her, and very few remain.

Just as Princess Yongning wrote in her letter, she asked her father to seek the Emperor's favor so that her mother could retrieve the handkerchief from the palace.

Of course, we must also thank one person, namely the current eldest princess.

Whether it's the handkerchiefs, the silk scrolls of the two children playing, or the two remaining silk scrolls, even without the mention of the eldest princess, Princess Yongning might not have been able to find so many.

The former princess's residence in the capital, not far from the Duke of Liang's mansion, was, in the end, not the place where her master lived when he was young, even though the late emperor had never issued an edict to confiscate it.

To this day, there are many good things inside, but most of them are her master's mother's dowry items. It's not that there are very few, but there are no pictures of her master growing up when he was young.

The only painting depicts the master's mother holding the infant master, which has long been regarded as a family heirloom and enshrined in the ancestral hall of Zhoujia Village by the uncle.

Unlike these four paintings, which depict the master falling and reaching out his hand while wandering among flowers and grass when he was three or four years old, turning his head when he was caught climbing a tree when he was seven or eight years old, the master's handprint and pen during his first birthday celebration, and the silk scroll painting of him fighting with the prince when he was five years old, these paintings vividly and figuratively connect the master's childhood.

What a wonderful and carefree childhood she had! She could come and go as she pleased in the palace, and she even laughed when she hit a prince. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that she was the most favored person in the world.

All of this was destroyed by his own family. Perhaps this is why his master later preferred to be a slave to her in order to destroy his entire paternal clan.

He relied on marrying the eldest daughter of the Duke of Liang, and with the strong support of the Duke of Liang's family, he managed to climb up from a poor, impoverished scholar's family. In the end, he even stabbed the Duke of Liang's family in the back.

The greater the happiness, the greater the hatred. Moreover, the ungrateful act of the father's family led to the mother's suicide. No wonder the master did not take the father's surname until his death.

A noble lady who was born with the title of county princess, lost her mother and was killed by her maternal grandfather and uncle who cherished her like a precious jewel. How could she live a life of shame and be a county princess? How could she not hate? The entire maternal family could only preserve her uncle's bloodline.

If my uncle is not saved in time, what use would it be if I were to enter the palace as an empress and have the opportunity to have the current emperor clear the name of the Liang family?

Even if the Duke of Liang's family can clear their name and regain their title, the heir will not be their master's closest relative; only their uncle is their master's true cousin.

"I think I understand why my master passed away so conveniently. If it were me, even if I was certain that the Duke of Liang's family would be exonerated, I wouldn't have lived another day."

Living was too tiring; I'm finally free. Returning to Beijing alive won't mean everything has changed and all is over; it will only make it difficult for many to face her.

Only after she's gone will those who wronged her, whether intentionally or unintentionally, or out of necessity, finally remember how good she was, their grudges wiped clean.

There are very few people in this world like Princess Yongning who would stand up for my master and take their anger out on Old Madam Gao, since their interests don't really conflict. But some people wouldn't be happy to see my master return to the capital in such a grand manner. Although almost everyone in that family is dead, every family still has a few influential relatives.

As far as I know, the eldest princess's husband's family has an elder brother who married that family's daughter. He married young and is still living a good life as a third-rank lady.

To say that the other party doesn't hate my master is impossible. She was almost divorced by her husband's family back then, but luckily she gave birth to her eldest son just as her family's troubles came to a head.

Unfortunately, that family had few heirs and was thus fortunate enough to escape this calamity. She will definitely never see my master again. There are many similar cases.”

Gu Wenxuan knew about this family. The current cooperation between the soap workshop and the Jiang family was more or less related to this family.

To put it bluntly, no matter how noble a princess's status is, she doesn't have to follow her husband after marriage like ordinary women. In the end, she will still become one family with her husband's family for the sake of her children's interests.

Cooperating with the Jiang family is a way of indirectly transferring benefits to the princess's children, while also constantly reminding Princess Hui'an not to forget to "learn from history".

The mother of the Princess of Fu'an is the most typical example. It's better to have what you have than what others have. No matter how close your husband's family is, once she falls, the first to suffer will be her children.

Rather than having her children rely on their father's family, it would be better for her to cling to her mother's family. As long as the Liang Dynasty stands, no father's family can be more powerful than the mother's family.

Since imperial power is supreme, it would be a waste for a princess not to become part of her husband's family. It would also make the husband's family forget who is the ruler and who is the subject.

In his opinion, Princess Huian was not very bright, which explains why she was not as favored by the late emperor as Princess Fu'an when she was young; she was just lucky.

She gained a huge advantage: the princesses before her either died or were implicated and demoted to commoners, and in the end, she, an unfavored princess, became the eldest princess.

If any of the older women had survived to the time when the current emperor ascended the throne, she would be the emperor's elder sister, but she could never be the eldest princess.

Of course, there's no need to mention this to my wife. But to be honest, this princess did deserve credit; without her, these four paintings wouldn't exist.

The first two silk paintings are fine, but what is rare and precious are the two silk paintings of the Fu'an County Magistrate's first birthday celebration and the five-year-old fighting, especially the latter.

In her letter, Princess Yongning clearly pointed out which person in the fighting picture was the current emperor and which person was the empress dowager. By comparing this with the baby's first birthday celebration picture, her intention was indeed quite profound.

"I'm now 100% certain that my master didn't leave without warning; she deliberately tried to lure me away, using her death to pave a smooth path for me—"

"Stop!" Gu Wenxuan quickly reached out and covered her mouth. "You're getting more and more outrageous. If she wanted you to go to heaven, would she stop you from going to the prince's residence?"

"no the same--"

"Are you smarter or I smarter?"

Zhou Banxia was speechless. She was interrupted repeatedly and asked who was smarter. "One is controlled by others in the backyard, while the other is free. Even if I'm stupid, I still understand the difference."

"That's true, you look so clever." Then, Gu Wenxuan immediately changed the subject, "My clever wife, tell me first, what is the meaning behind Princess Yongning sending you these four paintings?" (End of Chapter)