The initial days of marrying Liu Junsheng, the Grand Princess, like many ordinary women, had once fantasized about a life of mutual respect and harmonious companionship with him.
Unfortunately, she had been too naive.
Liu Junsheng had ulterior motives from the very beginning when he agreed to become a驸马.
He was merely following the instructions of his father and elder brother, using his marriage to gain power and prominence for the Liu family.
What was infuriating was that he had succeeded.
Even more disheartening was that the Grand Princess herself had facilitated all of this.
"Because I had someone else in my heart, I always felt a bit guilty towards him, which made me more accommodating to his requests.
Furthermore, Father Emperor doted on me, so whatever I asked for, he would grant. Hmph.
I personally nurtured his greed.
But he wasn't a docile sheep, but an insatiably greedy wolf, ungrateful, and even repaid kindness with enmity."
The Grand Princess's voice was tinged with ferocity, indicating her extremely poor mood at the moment.
Su Xiaoqi felt a bit embarrassed.
She understood what the Grand Princess meant.
She was trying to distract her with these stories.
She didn't want Su Xiaoqi to be troubled by the Emperor Xingzhao's harassment.
However, Su Xiaoqi also didn't want the Grand Princess to be disturbed by this matter.
She clasped the Grand Princess's hand, her clear, bright eyes shining as she looked at her, and said word by word:
"Your Highness, it's all in the past. You still have Princess Huian and Bao Ge'er.
They are both very lovely. Moreover, when it's extremely dark, dawn will naturally break."
"Good, well said. When it's extremely dark, dawn will break. This Princess waits."
The Grand Princess quickly composed herself.
Su Xiaoqi was right; no matter how blind she had been in the past, she still had two lovely children.
Regardless of who their father was, they were still flesh and blood to her.
The Grand Princess continued her story.
Recently, whether it was due to a slip of the mind or something else, Ji Chenggang had been coming to find her frequently.
He expressed his apologies, telling her that he had listened to others back then, and his mind had been clouded by foolishness, believing he wasn't good enough for her, which was why he had proactively given her up.
However, seeing that she hadn't found happiness all these years, he couldn't bear it and had reappeared.
Su Xiaoqi's eyes welled up with warmth, feeling inexplicably moved.
From the Grand Princess's account, she could discern what kind of person Ji Chenggang was.
He was unlike any Jin Yi Wei she had ever encountered.
He was special, righteous, and, remarkably, loyal.
He had even remained unmarried for the Grand Princess for most of his life.
Su Xiaoqi secretly thought that if the Grand Princess were to discard the scumbag Liu Junsheng, Ji Chenggang would not be a bad prospect.
Of course, thinking about this now was too far-fetched.
Currently, they both had a severe test to face.
Emperor Xingzhao's life had been extended, but the duration was limited; if not by the end of the month, then by the spring of the new year.
Su Xiaoqi recalled Liu Junsheng's schemes and ambitions over the past twenty years and suddenly thought of a plot point from a book, blurting out a question:
"Could the person who sabotaged Your Highness's relationship with Commander Ji back then have been from the Liu family?"
Even if it wasn't Liu Junsheng himself, it was definitely someone from their family.
At that time, the Liu family had already declined in the capital of the Daliang Dynasty, practically being impoverished gentry.
They desperately needed someone as noble as the Grand Princess to elevate their status.
Since they had a need, they would naturally have conducted investigations beforehand.
They would have known about the relationship between the Grand Princess and Ji Chenggang.
Since it was difficult to approach the Grand Princess, they chose to target Ji Chenggang.
The Grand Princess looked at her in surprise and stammered, "It's very possible."
She seemed to recall that Ji Chenggang frequently associated with someone surnamed Liu back then.
He even introduced him as a confidant.
But soon after, she had a falling out with Ji Chenggang, and out of spite, she stopped caring about his affairs, thus missing the opportunity.
As a result, he was schemed against.
Speaking of which, it really seemed plausible.
Otherwise, given Ji Chenggang's stubborn temperament, how could he have easily given up without external interference?
Su Xiaoqi said, "It wouldn't be difficult to verify this. Besides the person involved back then, Commander Ji would certainly know about it."
The Grand Princess nodded, saying she would inquire.
Su Xiaoqi smiled and remarked that sometimes one shouldn't just judge things by their superficial appearance, as it was easy to be misled by scoundrels.
The Grand Princess said, "Look at you, girl. It was supposed to be me comforting you, but instead, you've ended up comforting me."
"Thank you, Grand Princess. I have come to terms with it. After all, I am a subject's wife, and His Majesty is unlikely to go too far.
Moreover, I believe my husband will not abandon me."
Even if Emperor Xingzhao were to go mad and forcefully seize her to be sent to the palace, he would at least have to put on a show, wouldn't he?
He would have to hint and imply to Shen Yun, making him willingly send her to the palace.
This would also prevent censors from impeaching him and historians from recording it, leaving him with eternal infamy.
After all, Emperor Xingzhao had been on the throne for over thirty years since his accession.
By calculation, he was an emperor who had reigned for a very long time.
Due to his diligent governance, the Daliang Dynasty had developed quite well in various aspects.
Relatively speaking, the government was clean, and the people lived in peace and contentment.
Of course, apart from occasional natural disasters, there would always be various problems.
However, no one is perfect, and governing such a vast empire, no one could avoid making a single mistake.
The Grand Princess was somewhat worried. Her understanding of Shen Yun was not as deep as Su Xiaoqi's.
She was concerned that if this matter went through Shen Yun, it might eventually lead to her entering the palace.
After all, she knew her father best.
He was such a forceful person, especially towards those who resembled Yu Jing. Every time he expressed his intentions, it was with an unyielding determination.
But she couldn't say these words now.
She remained silent, thinking that if such a day ever came, she would be the first to stop her father.
Su Xiaoqi looked at the Grand Princess's distressed expression, knowing she was blaming herself.
She quickly comforted her, "Your Highness, this matter is not your fault. I heard that the Eastern Palace has been quite active recently.
Perhaps they are working behind the scenes, who knows."
Su Xiaoqi recalled the eunuch surnamed Huang she had seen in the Hall of Mental Cultivation earlier.
His gaze towards her was extremely ill-intentioned, coupled with what Eunuch Xiao Deng had told her at the time.
She felt it was likely that Eunuch Huang, following someone's orders, was deliberately using her as a pawn.
Two figures reappeared in Su Xiaoqi's mind.
Both of them were potential culprits, but she believed that Zhao Xiaohua, who could extend her influence into the imperial palace, was more likely.
Furthermore, news had arrived that the elusive Zhao Xiaohua had now taken up residence in the Eastern Palace.
Not as a concubine, but in the role of a strategist.
Using others' power to strike at her was very much in line with her style.
After their conversation, Su Xiaoqi reaffirmed that the Grand Princess stood with Prince Duan.
In essence, their goals aligned.
They spoke with great enjoyment, oblivious to someone riding past on a horse.
The wind, stirred by the horse, blew the carriage curtain aside, and Su Xiaoqi seemed to catch a glimpse of a familiar figure.
Seeing the direction he was heading, it was towards where they had come from.
Su Xiaoqi's heart inexplicably tightened.
Could her guess be coming true? Was Emperor Xingzhao serious about this?
She told herself not to overthink it, that it wouldn't happen, it wouldn't happen.
After bidding farewell to the Grand Princess, Su Xiaoqi returned home and immediately went to find Shen Yun.
He wasn't there. Su Xiaoqi immediately found Zhang Dian, who was guarding the backyard, and inquired about Shen Yun's whereabouts.
"My Lord has entered the palace. Just a quarter of an hour ago, a eunuch came to summon him."
Su Xiaoqi froze. Could the figure she had seen on the road earlier truly have been Shen Yun?
Her heart grew increasingly frantic. She had a premonition of what was about to happen.
She gritted her teeth, trying to convince herself to trust Shen Yun.
However, a strong instinct for self-preservation made her trust herself more.
"Guo'er, quickly fetch the silver notes I've hidden, and some other valuables. Pack them up simply."
Guo'er, who was sewing a down jacket under the corridor, was stunned by Su Xiaoqi's instruction.
She leaned closer and asked, "Madam, what are you...?"
"Don't ask anything, just go and pack. Do it quietly, without making a fuss."
In an instant, Su Xiaoqi had made up her mind. She had to be responsible for her own safety.
She couldn't entrust her fate to others.
She had considered it: as soon as news came from the palace that she was to be sent there, she would immediately take her people and flee.
Damn it, her own fate was hers to decide. Who dared to sell her out!