The Favored Little Peasant Seizes the Heroine's Script!-Chapter 490 - 452: Countering Moves with Moves

Imperial Palace, Imperial Study Room.

When the Eldest Princess took her people and left the imperial palace, Emperor Xia received the news.

"Your Majesty, should I pay a visit to the Empress Dowager?"

Chen Lian carefully asked when he saw Emperor Xia remained silent.

As the chief eunuch by Emperor Xia’s side, Chen Lian undoubtedly understood Emperor Xia well. Although he wouldn’t claim to know him thoroughly, he could generally perceive about seventy to eighty percent of his thoughts.

"No need!"

Emperor Xia glanced at Chen Lian, "Let’s just pretend we don’t know!"

Let’s just pretend we don’t know!

Could Emperor Xia possibly be unaware of the affairs within the palace? 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

If such a situation truly arose, the entire world would be in chaos!

"Your Majesty, you’re just deceiving yourself!"

Only Chen Lian dared to speak such words.

Anyone else who dared to say something like this in front of Emperor Xia would be risking their life.

"I’m just being willfully ignorant!"

Emperor Xia forced a bitter smile.

On one side was his own mother, and on the other was his legitimate sister. He was the one caught in the middle.

Of course, this wasn’t just a private matter; it also involved the Wei Family.

Frankly speaking, if the Empress Dowager weren’t Emperor Xia’s own mother, he definitely wouldn’t be this passive right now.

But regardless of Emperor Xia’s current feelings, he couldn’t avoid facing reality.

His mother had made so many calculations against the Wei Family.

This matter couldn’t possibly be hidden.

"Chen Lian, do you think I did too many misdeeds in my past life?"

With such a mother, Emperor Xia truly felt like crying without tears.

"Your Majesty, what are you saying?"

Chen Lian knew why Emperor Xia had such thoughts, but thinking that way was absolutely inadvisable.

Emperor Xia sighed and said, "Forget it, you go to Cining Palace, or rather, I’ll go myself!"

No matter how displeasing, she was the mother who gave birth to and raised him.

This was a destined bond for life, inescapable.

...

As Emperor Xia went to Cining Palace to see the Empress Dowager, inside the main courtyard’s principal bedroom of the Wei Family’s large residence in the Capital, Wei Dingjiang was carefully applying anti-swelling ointment to the Eldest Princess’s face.

Knowing the Eldest Princess returned from the palace, Wei Dingjiang was overjoyed.

But when he saw the slap mark on the Eldest Princess’s face, his heart ached terribly, and he almost rushed into the palace to confront the Empress Dowager.

In Wei Dingjiang’s view, once the Eldest Princess married him, she was part of the Wei Family.

The Empress Dowager may be the birth mother of the Eldest Princess, but she had no right to discipline her.

After all, a daughter married is like water poured out.

It was due to the Eldest Princess’s efforts to pull him back that he didn’t storm into the palace that night.

To put it bluntly, if not for the Eldest Princess, Wei Dingjiang would have surely barged into the palace.

The Wei Family’s protectiveness was engraved in their bones.

Why, among so many families in Daxia, has the Wei Family alone been able to thrive continuously? It is because of the Wei Family’s protectiveness.

Members of the Wei Family could compete internally.

But if there was an external enemy, the Wei Family members must unite against it.

As the saying goes, brothers fight within the wall but unite against the external foe.

"My dear wife, I’m sorry, it’s all my fault!"

Wei Dingjiang didn’t know exactly what happened, but he could guess the general story.

Initially, when he and the Eldest Princess got married, everyone thought the Empress Dowager had let go of all grievances. But who could have foreseen, the Empress Dowager played a good game of "to take, one must first give."

If it weren’t for Wei Wushang’s relatively good luck, the Empress Dowager’s calculation would indeed have succeeded!

"Silly, what’s this got to do with you?"

The Eldest Princess couldn’t help but wipe Wei Dingjiang’s weary face with her hand as she looked at his guilt-ridden expression, "All this is just my mother being possessed!"

"She only thought about our grandfather’s death without considering how many people from the Wei Family have died in battle over the years!"

"And how many in Daxia have lost their husbands and fathers over the years!"

"..."

Wei Dingjiang didn’t know how to respond.

Of course, he was inwardly very gratified.

He knew he hadn’t married the wrong person in this lifetime. His wife was the most understanding in the world, his lifetime virtuous helper.

...

In another courtyard across two small yards from the main courtyard, Yuan Bao sat opposite Wei Wushang.

The news of the Eldest Princess’s return from the palace naturally did not escape them.

As for the Eldest Princess being slapped by the Empress Dowager, the two of them were also aware.

"Grandmother is really breaking ties now!"

Wei Wushang sighed deeply, feeling quite heavy-hearted.

From childhood to adulthood, the Empress Dowager had always seemed like a kind elder to him.

But only today did Wei Wushang realize that all the kindness from the Empress Dowager was more like a form of compensation.

One can know people’s faces but not their hearts!

If today’s incident hadn’t happened, he might never have known until his death that he had been schemed against by the grandmother he respected dearly.

"Uncle, what are you planning to do?"

Yuan Bao curiously looked at Wei Wushang.

Wei Wushang was at a loss for words!

Even knowing the Empress Dowager was truly breaking ties, what could they do in response?

The Empress Dowager was the most noble woman in all of Daxia, and also his elder!

Whether publicly or privately, they were very passive.

"I don’t know!"

Wei Wushang had always prided himself on his intelligence, but at this moment, he sadly found that no matter how talented one might be, some situations left them vulnerable to manipulation.

Talent, sometimes, was utterly useless.

It felt like a scholar meeting a soldier, reason couldn’t get through.

"Uncle, what do you think the Empress Dowager will do?"

Though Yuan Bao also didn’t know how to face the Empress Dowager, why should they make the first move? As long as they reacted accordingly, wasn’t that enough?

The Empress Dowager’s schemes might be malicious, but unless she openly showed malice, they could simply respond accordingly without worrying about being manipulated by her.

In the end, the Empress Dowager was just an elderly woman in the palace.

As long as Emperor Xia didn’t side with the Empress Dowager, then what could she do?

Rely on a group of nannies around her?

After Nanny Qu died, how many people could the Empress Dowager still rely on?

As for the Empress Dowager’s maiden family?

If the Empress Dowager herself was unclear, it stood to reason her family would be too.

Wei Wushang, hearing Yuan Bao’s question, suddenly laughed and said, "Jiaojiao, you are indeed very clever!"

As he spoke, Wei Wushang lifted Yuan Bao up and spun him around a few times.

Yuan Bao felt speechless.

Well, after all, he was still young!

...

The next day, at sunrise, the Eldest Princess awoke, and the slap mark on her face had faded.

However, it was already quite late at this hour.

With the Empress Dowager’s birthday celebration, as the Empress Dowager’s daughter, she should have arrived early.

Yet, from the Eldest Princess’s demeanor, it seemed she had no intention of going early and even planned to be late.

As for Yuan Bao?

As the Eldest Princess’s daughter-in-law, naturally she would follow in her mother-in-law’s footsteps and was even less likely to head to the palace early.