To Be A Virtuous Wife

114

The incident of the princess of Jing giving a dance at the birthday banquet very quickly spread throughout Jing. Many people who liked to gossip began to speculate on how was the princess' dance, how beautiful she was. There were even people who started to say that the Emperor was going to take the princess into the hougong.

The people of Jing had seen many things and naturally guessed that the Jing princess hadn't simply offered a dance, rather, she wanted to display herself in front of the Emperor. A woman trying hard to show off her attributes in front of another man, if she didn't have any other motives, it was a bit suspicious.

At one time, the rumors about the princess from Jing increased. Some said that they saw the Jing princess buying jewelry at certain stores, and then incense at another store. All of the rumors had one similarity, the princess of Jing was very beautiful and could steal a soul with a glance.

The rumors became stronger and stronger. It gradually became how devastatingly beautiful Dai Rong Princess of Jing was, and how in love she was with the Emperor. But the Emperor was obstructed by the Empress and had to painfully stop himself from taking Dai Rong Princess into the hougong.

The Empress had already been married for two or three years to the Emperor, she even had a child, but she really was too overbearing by occupying the Emperor and not allowing him to take other fei.

Some men felt that the Empress wasn't virtuous enough. Other women had slightly sour hearts and said the Empress wasn't generous enough. By the end, Dai Rong Princess became that innocent and beloved woman and the Empress was the evil wife who used her position to bully the princess.

When the rumors from outside passed into Qu Qing Ju's ears, she was playing with Tun Tun and his small drum. When she finished hearing Huang Yang's report, her face held mirth as she remarked: "Such a good story. When did the Emperor take pity on this beauty that is Dai Rong Princess, and when did he have to endure abandoning her?"

When the room heard the words, the people all held their breath as they stood, afraid that the Empress would get angry.

"The Emperor is master of Da Long, he doesn't need to hesitate if he wants to take a woman. Control the court, balance the hougong?" Qu Qing Ju sneered, "Only a useless emperor will rely on women to govern the court. Ben gong thinks that the people who spread these rumors have ulterior motives."

An unfounded rumor, but it affected both the court and the hougong. Even some of the senior officials that He Heng placed importance were involved in the rumor. Those senior officials became the rebellious officials who had taken control of the court, and herself, the Empress, was the mastermind in the shadows, while He Heng was the trapped and suffering Emperor.

There were many noble families in Jing. Usually when something happened, there were many different versions, yet this time, all of the rumors were so similar, so it meant that someone certainly was manipulating them in the background. The main targets were her and Zhong Yi Gong Fu. If He Heng felt even a hint of dislike for her, then when the rumors streamed into his ear, that bit of dislike would become a lot.

The tactic wasn't clever but very useful. It ruined her reputation, affected the reputations of the strong officials in court, and was also involved the subordinate countries. Right now, the envoys from all the superior countries were still in Jing. If this Dai Rong Princess returned peacefully and safely to the country of Jing like this, what would the envoys of the subordinate  think?

Thinking all this, Qu Qing Ju frowned. She watched as Tun Tun's fat hands finally grabbed the rattle-drum, and laughed because of the sounds he made. Her brow steadily smoothed out, and as she rubbed Tun Tun's face, she said: "Since there are so many rumors, let's make them even livelier."