Chapter 1289 - 965: "Presumptuous Words

Feeling the fingers rubbing the temples stiffen a bit, Yu Wenquan calmly said, "Don’t worry, since I told you to ’speak freely,’ I naturally won’t blame you. Just say whatever comes to mind without any concerns."

Tao Wanxin replied, "Yes."

Although Yu Wenquan said "no concerns," she understood that speaking before the Emperor could never truly be without concerns, so she bowed her head and pondered for a moment. Then she spoke softly yet solemnly, "I still do not believe that Princess Qin would commit the scandal of infidelity."

Yu Wenquan kept his eyes slightly narrowed, "Why?"

"Judging by her character."

"You haven’t been in the palace for long, and haven’t been acquainted with her for long either, correct?"

"Yes, I got to know Princess Qin recently when I sought her advice on soup recipes, leading to some interactions. Before that, I had only seen her a few times at nighttime festivals."

"Then how do you know her character?"

"One’s character isn’t judged merely by what they say, but by what they do, as words can be deceitful, but actions are difficult to feign. Even if actions can be falsified temporarily, they cannot be consistently pretended."

Yu Wenquan said, "Continue."

Tao Wanxin said, "Though I haven’t been in the palace for long, I actually heard about Princess Qin’s deeds quite early on, especially during—the Battle of Fufeng."

At this mention, Yu Wenquan’s brows slightly raised.

Tao Wanxin continued, "Being a woman and the young madam of the esteemed Duke Mansion at the time, to follow her husband to battle, risking life and limb—her spirit is commendable, her feelings even more so. How could such a woman who shares life and death with her husband have an affair?"

"..."

"Moreover, to have an affair with a man she barely met a few times and perhaps didn’t even know well, especially within the heavily guarded palace inner court."

"..."

"Princess Qin was able to follow King Qin to battle, which shows deep affection between them; her ability to strategize in warfare shows she is meticulous in thought. Based on these points, she should not commit such an outrageous scandal."

She said this while carefully bowing her head to glance at Yu Wenquan, who still had his eyes slightly narrowed, without comment on her words but seemingly agreeing with her sentiment judging by his gradually relaxed brow.

However, the next moment, Yu Wenquan said, "Yet, that Sun Xianyue does resemble Chu Yang somewhat, and she with Chu Yang—"

Tao Wanxin lowered her eyelids, "About Emperor Yang’s matters, I’m not aware."

Yu Wenquan was silent for a while, finally opened his eyes, revealing a hint of gravity, "In the past in Yanmen County, I heard Chu Yang held a special attitude towards her, even in front of everyone—" He paused, truncating the sentence, then continued, "Moreover, when Chu Yang went to Jiangdu, he even specially abducted her to keep her by his side."

Tao Wanxin widened her eyes, "Didn’t Princess Qin go to Jiangdu on her own?"

Yu Wenquan looked back at her, "You know?"

Tao Wanxin replied, "Back then at the Dayan Temple dharma assembly, I also attended, though not at the Great Hero Hall listening to the sermons, but in the temple, so I also heard from others what Princess Qin said at the time."

Yu Wenquan nodded but then coldly laughed, "They think, some things can be hidden from me."

"..."

"It’s just that I don’t bother with them."

Hearing this, Tao Wanxin felt cold sweat in her palms but dared not show any expression, softly saying, "As Emperor, you naturally know when to tighten and when to loosen; when it’s necessary to be tight, and when it’s necessary to be lenient."

Yu Wenquan lightly snorted, said, "I am aware of what Chu Yang intends for her. In the past, I considered it a matter for extraordinary times and extraordinary circumstances, so did not hold it against her. Besides, she is Feng Chen’s wife, and since Feng Chen didn’t mind these matters, I, as the father-in-law, naturally wouldn’t interfere in their young couple’s affairs."

"..."

"But now, if the matter involves the royal family’s reputation—"

At this mention, his tone grew heavy.

Tao Wanxin thought for a moment, suddenly said, "Your Majesty just kept mentioning, Emperor Yang towards her."

"...Hmm."

"I listened to Your Majesty saying, in Yanmen County, Emperor Yang had ambiguous attitudes towards Princess Qin; later, in Jiangdu, Emperor Yang also abducted Princess Qin, but all these were actions taken by Emperor Yang towards Princess Qin."

"Hmm."

"But from start to finish, Princess Qin always passively accepted, without showing any extraordinary behavior."

"..."

"If Emperor Yang truly abused his kingly status to coerce, then the one feeling aggrieved would be the Princess."

"..."

"But such grievance cannot be voiced by a woman, too terrified to speak, for speaking out will only result in questioning her integrity, leaving no recourse."

"..."

Yu Wenquan fell into silence.

And after Tao Wanxin finished speaking, she too fell silent, although her movements did not stop, dared not cease, but the slight trembling in her fingertips was still noticed by Yu Wenquan.

After a long time, Yu Wenquan slowly turned his head to look at her, said with a faint smile, "You are truly ’speaking freely,’ huh."

Tao Wanxin was startled, hastily stood up to kneel before him, "I’m rambling, please forgive me, Your Majesty."

Yu Wenquan watched her for a moment, suddenly softly chuckled, "What are you afraid of? I just said, no matter how you ’speak freely,’ I won’t blame you. Stand up."

Tao Wanxin then rose, Yu Wenquan extended his hand to her, and she immediately stepped forward to take his hand, being pulled to sit beside him.

Yu Wenquan looked at her for a while, said, "Then about last night’s event, do you think someone is framing Princess Qin?"

Tao Wanxin immediately replied, "I dare not speak freely about this, as I’m unaware of the full picture."

Yu Wenquan nodded.

Tao Wanxin glanced at him, cautiously asked, "I heard the Emperor jailed Sun Xianyue who performed the dance; did he confess anything?"

Yu Wenquan said, "The people from the Ministry of Justice just reported, he refuses to confess, only saying he did it for—"

At this, he himself stopped, as Tao Wanxin knew he did not wish to continue, she did not inquire further, softly said, "It appears the matter originates within the palace."

"..."

Yu Wenquan remained silent for a while, then released her hand, said, "Alright, I still have some memoranda to review. You may return first. I’ll dine at your place tonight."

Tao Wanxin immediately rose, "Yes."

She left Liangyi Hall, turned to see the palace maid Qiao Shu waiting outside immediately approach, cautiously saying, "Concubine."

Tao Wanxin comfortingly smiled, "Let’s go. Later, the Emperor will come for dinner, let’s head back and prepare early."

Upon hearing this, the previously worried Qiao Shu immediately rejoiced, quickly assisted her away, but while departing, Tao Wanxin glanced towards the Chengqian Hall separated by layers of palace walls, her expression heavy.

Earlier, Han Yuhui’s cold smile now increasingly unsettled her.