Chapter 157: Mutual Calculation

these old clothes have been washed, so maybe it's best not to let the Third Princess wear them. She's still recovering from her illness and can't afford any risks. I brought her a few sets of old clot...Liàn Yī is currently looking at the message that Fèng Shǒu sent back. The people brought by Xiān Shì Jūn have successfully entered Fēng Xuān City, and the Third Princess is now out of the most dangerous time, her body is recovering well.

"Your Majesty, the second princess requests an audience."

"Let her in!"

The ripples conveyed the seen message to the intelligent people around. Then, with a sip of tea, he raised his cup.

"Greetings, Mother Empress!"

The Second Princess curtsied and then said with an anxious expression:

"Your Majesty, my third sister went to Fengxuan City. There's an outbreak of plague there, it's too dangerous. I want to arrange for someone to bring her back."

"It's fine, I've already sent a maidservant to take care of her. You don't need to make such a fuss over her."

R ripples said softly.

This puts the honorable attendant in danger as well, how could this be

The Second Princess frowned, she was truly worried. If something happened to her third sister during her regency, she could only imagine the consequences that awaited her.

"Originally, Lao San was sent to the military for training by me. He barely passed the new recruit assessment and was transferred to Longling City to reinforce the troops. This time, a flood occurred, and you dispatched Zhao's army to provide disaster relief. All of their new recruits went to assist in the relief efforts."

Training a seasoned soldier for the battlefield is no easy feat, but it's not like all we have are fresh recruits! Veterans also walked the path from rookie to veteran step by step.

I know the Zhao family is your clan and you are close to them. They are also your greatest support. Can you be certain that you can fully control them in the future

The ripples sounded faint, making everything clear.

The second princess's heart skipped a beat upon hearing this. It seemed that the Empress was quite displeased with how the Zhao family had acted this time.

"Your Majesty, it was my oversight."

Since I have entrusted you with the regency, I will not interfere in your decisions. I just fear that before you even ascend to that position, you may have nurtured certain people's ambitions.

Ripples glanced at the Second Princess with a subtle look, causing her to jump.

The Second Princess's heart was already pounding. Her own mother empress held tremendous authority in her mind, and she knew her mother would never speak without reason.

"The Empress reminds me, and I will take heed."

Then the second princess hurriedly bid farewell to Lian'i and went to summon people from the Zhao family.

On the other side, the Grand Princess was inspired by the ripples' suggestion and began to organize a donation drive in the capital city. This time, it wasn't about donating silver, but rather unwanted old belongings. People were less resistant to this idea, even commoners gathered bags and bags of their used items. After all, this was still considered doing good deeds.

The great princess has been busy with these matters lately. She has to check everything that is brought in, removing anything too dilapidated and unusable. Then she categorizes and loads it onto trucks, arranging manpower to transport it to the disaster-stricken cities. Thankfully, it's not silver or grain, so there's no fear of anyone having ulterior motives.

Because of the eldest princess's actions, she received a lot of praise. People said that the eldest princess had a heart for the common people and was magnanimous. The second princess, acting as regent, not only did not create obstacles but also offered advice. This further increased the ministers' favor towards the eldest princess.

The Second Princess was exposed to the Zhao family's matters by the Empress Dowager because of her third sister's incident. Now, hearing the praise for her elder sister from the court, she felt stifled with frustration in her heart. However, she knew that she couldn't act rashly at this time, and she also followed the trend and praised her eldest sister.

The Great Princess went to see her father with a bright smile on her face, but Rong Shijun's complexion was not good, and he occasionally coughed. She immediately asked with concern:

"Father, wasn't Empress Mother supposed to send Mei Yuanzheng to check your pulse Why are you still coughing"

Mei Yuan is coming, and he also gave me some medicine. Now my cough has eased a bit, but I still cough occasionally.

He whispered to her, "Serve me."

He knows in his heart why he coughs. In the past, when he copied Buddhist scriptures, he always wore a face mask. After copying the scriptures, he would immediately send them to a separate temple for worship, and even the three incense sticks burned daily were lit by people around him. However, even so, he still inhaled some of it, which is why he coughs.

At first when Mei Yuanzheng was taking his pulse, his heart pounded with anxiety, afraid that Mei Yuanzheng would discover something. Fortunately, the old man was senile and didn't notice anything amiss. He treated him for a common cold, and the cough medicine he prescribed actually worked. His condition had improved significantly.

"Father, please take care of your health. If you feel unwell at any time, please tell me immediately."

Don't worry, I know my own body best. I see you're in good spirits today, though. How's the fundraising going

"Yes, I came to tell my father about this."

After the Grand Princess finished speaking, she lowered her voice and said:

"Father, I just received the news as well. Third sister is trapped in Phoenix City, where an epidemic is raging."

"No wonder the Second Princess visited the Empress in such a hurry yesterday. She must have come about the Third Princess's affairs."

Rong Shijun said with a thoughtful look.

"That's likely. I heard that both days in court, Second Sister didn't look well at all. And because I was praised for raising funds to help the people, she couldn't even manage a smile."

The Great Princess said with some pride.

"My son, you mustn't be careless. Right now, it seems like you have the upper hand, but nothing is certain until the very end."

Rong Shijun's eyes narrowed slightly, then he coughed twice. After drinking the medicinal soup offered by the eldest princess, he thought for a moment and told everyone in the room to leave. This time his voice was even lower as he said:

The Third Imperial Princess is in Phoenix Glow City. We can make something out of this. If she were to die from the plague...

The Great Princess' eyes lit up upon hearing this, then she furrowed her brows and in a lowered voice, replied:

"Father, there must be people arranged by the Empress Dowager around Third Sister. If she really contracted the plague, she would definitely receive the best medical treatment. We shouldn't interfere. If we were discovered by the Empress Dowager..."

"As you said, the best medical treatment was sought. If the doctor wasn't doing their best and delayed her condition, leading to the demise of the Third Princess, what do you think would happen"

The Crown Princess's eyes rolled, then she shook her head and said:

"It's not right, Second Sister had no reason to do this. Once it's discovered that she did it, she might even blame me and drag me down. After all, I am the ultimate beneficiary."

"I know, so the third princess must have contracted the plague and died. That way, neither you nor the second princess would be implicated. It could only be blamed on her bad luck for going to that place. But the empress will definitely take her anger out on the second princess."

"Rong Shijun calmly said."

“Father means to make the Empress transfer her anger onto the second sister because of the third sister's death, and since I haven't done anything wrong, I am naturally the best choice.”

The Great Princess reacted instantly.

Nod your head in satisfaction, my lord.

"Father, please rest assured. I know what to do. This time, as I'm sending old belongings to Fengxuan City, I'll have someone find a few problematic old clothes and try to get Second Sister to come into contact with them."

The princess reacted quickly and immediately came up with a plan.suppress the other. However, he was a man and had a natural advantage, so he was slightly better than Eileen. The other party has always been unwilling to accept this, and planning to catch his weakne...