Yaoying looked undisturbed. She coughed gently, and glanced at a small box by the bed.
Xie Qing understood, picked up the box, and handed it to Wei Ming.
Wei Ming took the box and opened it, looked at it, then showed happiness.
Inside the box was Yaoying's sealed, handwritten letter and the pendant she usually carried on her, which was enough to serve as tokens.
Yaoying covered her lips and coughed. Looking at Li Xuanzhen, she said weakly: "Is Your Highness satisfied? Or does Your Highness have to send me to Chief Yelu's bed right away to feel relieved?"
The delicate and soft tone carried the most biting questioning.
This sentence made Wei Ming frown. He smiled awkwardly, "I won't disturb Princess's recuperation."
He glanced at Li Xuanzhen.
Li Xuanzhen moved his eyes away and turned to leave.
The Chief Historian's eyes turned round and shouted, "Wait! Where are your tokens? Who knows if you will keep your promise? The princess's token was given to you. You have to produce one too!"
Wei Ming frowned and looked at Li Xuanzhen.
Li Xuanzhen turned back and stared at Yaoying for a moment, "What proof do you want?"
Yaoying gave a wisp of a smile, but her eyes were clear and bright: "Your Highness the Crown Prince's words carry enormous weight. Why do I need proof?"
Wei Ming froze for a moment, his face embarrassed.
Li Xuanzhen's thin lips were pursed, dark currents flowing in his eyes. He stood for a while, then turned around and went out.
The Chief Historian immediately instructed the maid to pull open the curtain and ran to the bed, saying worriedly, "Your Highness, is it really unnecessary to ask the Crown Prince for a token? What will be done if the Crown Prince doesn't keep his word?"
Yaoying took a few shallow breaths and shook her head.
"The Crown Prince will not break his promise."
Li Xuanzhen would definitely save whoever he promised to save, even if that person was his sworn enemy. She was not the least bit worried about this.
....
After leaving the wangfu, Wei Ming immediately suggested sending Li Yaoying's token to the residence where Chief Yelu was staying.
"This way, even if the Seventh Princess wants to backtrack, she cannot."
Li Xuanzhen did not speak and reached out to grab the box.
Wei Ming was taken aback and raised his head.
Li Xuanzhen said, "Keep it for now. Wait until there is news from Huangzhou."
Wei Ming's eyes flickered for a moment, and he bowed his head in response.
When he returned to the Eastern Palace, a manservant came over to report, "Your Highness, Her Highness has been waiting for you for a long time."
Li Xuanzhen changed his clothes and went to see Zheng Biyu in the inner courtyard.
Zheng Biyu's face was full of worry: "Your Highness, is it true that you have no choice but to have the Seventh Princess marry instead? Can someone else do it?"
Li Xuanzhen rubbed his brow, "No."
Zheng Biyu bit her lip, her eyes slightly red: "The Seventh Princess is only fourteen years old! She's your younger sister. Although from a different mother, but still your sibling. Your Highness, how can you let the Seventh Princess suffer on Zhu Luyun's behalf? If His Majesty insisted on the marriage, it would be fine. But this marriage was initiated by Zhu Luyun herself! You shouldn't make a deal with the Seventh Princess on this matter!"
Li Xuanzhen raised his head, his gaze ice-cold and his voice deep: "If not her, it would be Yun niang. You really want to see Yun niang be married away?"
Zheng Biyu was stunned, and her beautiful face was suddenly filled with indignant anger: "What does Your Highness mean? Your Highness thinks I am stopping you so that Zhu Luyun marries far away?"
Li Xuanzhen lowered his eyes and did not speak.
Zheng Biyu's body trembled, so angry that she could not say anything for a while.
After a moment, she laughed and said without sarcasm: "Your Highness, this concubine is the di daughter of the Zheng clan. I have been trained in poetry and books since I was young, and I am famous for my virtue as a woman. Over the years, Your Highness has repeatedly done inappropriate things for Zhu Luyun. This concubine has had words of complaint, but this concubine has never been jealous of Zhu Luyun. This concubine is Your Highness's wife; whoever Your Highness pampers, this concubine will also share Your Highness' care and affection for her, only hoping that she can make Your Highness happy and comfortable."
Li Xuanzhen's gaze fixed on her and said quietly, "Crown Princess had always been virtuous... Then why are you pleading for the Seventh Princess?"
Zheng Biyu was silent.
Yes, why should she speak for Li Yaoying?
Li Xuanzhen understood her. She was the di daughter of a noble family, growing up under the kind of influence where she was conditioned to put the family's interests first in everything.
Calm and rational, doing everything for her own self-interest.
When the world was in turmoil, several branches of the Zheng family defected to different forces. Zheng Yu became Li De's advisor, while her father chose to assist Li De's sworn enemy.
This was the way of survival of a noble family. No matter which side won in the end, the Zheng family could continue to prosper in the new dynasty.
The world's righteousness and the people's suffering were not relevant. They only focused on their own clan.
The Xie family, a noble family that made it their mission to carry the weight of the world, was an anomaly. As a result, the Xie family's bloodline was thin and eventually completely killed off in the war.
They were looked up to by the people but were not understood by them.
Only clans like the Zheng family, which always put family interests first, could flourish from generation to generation.
Zheng Biyu, as a daughter of a noble family, was skilled at calculating everything for herself and the family's sake.
At the age of fifteen, she married the son of Li De's sworn enemy. The Zhao family promised to make her the Crown Princess in the future. A few years later, the Zhao family was defeated and her father sent her to Li De.
Li De asked Zheng Biyu if she was willing to marry Li Xuanzhen instead.
Zheng Biyu agreed without a second thought. She was ready to marry again even before her first husband's corpse was cold.
With this kind of character, why was so unhappy at the Seventh Princess's injustice?
Zheng Biyu smiled bitterly and slowly said: "When I first met the Seventh Princess, she was only ten years old. That year, the Zhao family's army was defeated, and the Wei army surrounded the Zhao family's residence. The Zhao family and the Li family had a long-standing feud, and they even killed His Majesty's younger brother. The Old Madam knew that the Li family would not spare them after the city walls fell, so she had poisoned wine prepared."
....
At that time, Zheng Biyu was also at the Old Madam's side.
The Old Madam, with tears in her eyes, said to her, "Yu niang, you are the Zheng family's di daughter and have a reputation for your virtuousness. The Li family is unlikely to kill you, but the dozens of people in my Zhao family will not escape this disaster. You and I, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, this is also fate. Today's farewell is also yin and yang1. If you can see your uncle, I hope you can say a few good words for my Zhao family's women for the sake of our past friendship, and at least beg them not to defile our corpses."
Zheng Biyu choked with sobs and nodded.
Outside the high walls, fires were raging and the sound of killing was getting closer.
Madam Zhao led all the women to hide in the Zhao family's ancestral hall. The Eldest Madam, Second Madam, Third Madam, several of the concubines, the housemaids, the young girls, and the wailing babies were all kneeling on the ground, trembling as they covered their faces and cried.
"Ah Luo, don't be afraid." Madam Zhao comforted her most beloved little granddaughter, shaking as she handed out the poisoned wine, "Drink this wine, and you won't have to be afraid of anything."
Ah Luo was already fifteen years old and understood that what her grandmother handed up was poisoned wine, so she cried out loudly.
The women in the room followed suit, bursting out in miserable sobs.
At that moment, there was a sudden kick at the door, and soldiers were shouting and yelling from outside, trying to storm the ancestral hall. Their rough and filthy words were rising and falling in succession.
The women looked terrified and cried out in fear.
Zheng Biyu and her own attendants stood to one side, not stepping forward.
From the moment the Zhao family was defeated, she had nothing to do with the Zhao family.
Madam Zhao's face turned pale. Grabbing Ah Luo, she tried to pry open her mouth, and cried, "Ah Luo, be good. Drink it so you don't have to suffer."
Ah Luo wailed but also understood that her grandmother was not able to bear seeing her violated by the chaotic soldiers. She slowly opened her mouth.
"Madam Zhao, wait a moment!"