newbobooks Chapter 1743 Mother, you won't blame Yun'er for being nosy, will you?
Chapter 1743 Mother, you won't blame Yun'er for being nosy, will you?
As Han Cui listened, she felt as if a heavy stone was pressing on her heart.
The last time she went to Changchun Palace, the Imperial Concubine's attitude was already very clear.
He disliked the empress for being so useless and felt she deserved to be taught a lesson, so he explicitly refused to plead for her.
How long has it been? And now the Empress wants her to go again?
The Imperial Concubine will probably become even more impatient...
Looking at Consort Mei's appearance, Han Cui knew that if she dared to say "no," she would immediately become the target of Consort Mei's anger.
When the empress lost power and was in distress, she didn't treat those around her kindly.
Han Cui replied, "Yes. This servant...this servant will go right away."
Consort Mei, still worried, added, "You must see the Imperial Concubine and convey my words without missing a single one!"
"This servant understands!"
After leaving the main hall, Han Cui sighed.
She was just a palace maid, assigned by the Imperial Concubine to serve Consort Mei. Caught between the two consorts, she was in a dilemma.
The Imperial Concubine appears kind and gentle, but her thoughts are actually unfathomable.
Consort Mei is young and not mature enough.
This mission is likely to end in failure again.
……
Changchun Palace.
The eldest princess is almost seven years old, and she has become much more sensible.
Perhaps it was because she had been influenced by Consort Zhuang for so long, or perhaps it was because she was kind-hearted and had wisdom.
Although Consort Zhuang had long since stopped practicing Buddhism, the eldest princess was still a devout Buddhist. Despite her young age, she often read Buddhist scriptures in her room.
The words that spoke of compassion, patience, and cause and effect were like cool spring water, nourishing the sensitive heart of the eldest princess.
She liked the tranquility.
I appreciate the power of Buddhist scriptures in explaining the turmoil of the world and soothing people's hearts.
But... in the past, her mother would hold her in her arms, point to the words on the scriptures, and gently explain them to her.
Those days are gone forever.
Suddenly, a commotion came from outside the window, along with the sound of bamboo poles shaking.
The eldest princess looked up from the scriptures, listened intently, and her delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly.
She put down her book, slipped on her soft satin embroidered shoes, and walked to the window to look outside.
Under the tall sycamore tree in the courtyard, Xiao Cai was leading several young eunuchs in a busy work.
Two young eunuchs, holding long bamboo poles with shiny adhesive at the ends, were carefully touching the chirping cicadas among the branches.
Two other eunuchs stood below, holding copper basins, while the cicada struggled futilely after being stuck down.
Xiao Caizi was directing from the side.
A hint of reluctance appeared in the eldest princess's eyes as she pushed open the palace door and walked out: "Little Cai Zi."
Xiao Cai, who was staring intently at the bamboo pole, was startled.
Turning around and seeing it was the eldest princess, he quickly waved to stop the eunuchs and jogged over to pay his respects: "This servant greets the eldest princess!"
"I have disturbed the Princess; this servant deserves to die."
The eldest princess looked at the cicadas whose thin wings were trembling in the copper basin and asked with pity, "What are you doing?"
Xiao Caizi respectfully replied, "Your Highness, the cicadas in the trees are chirping too loudly. It's customary to keep them a bit quiet in the summer, so as not to disturb Your Highness's peace and quiet."
"This servant is guiding them through it; it will be done soon."
"Princess, please return to your palace to rest and be careful not to get sunburned."
The eldest princess looked at the cicadas on the paulownia tree, still chirping with all their might, completely oblivious to the impending danger.
Then I looked at the lives in the basin that had lost their freedom and could only tremble slightly.
The look of pity in her peach blossom eyes grew stronger.
"Heaven cherishes life."
The eldest princess couldn't bear it and said, "Little Cai, the palace is not just a place for people to live. These cicadas, birds, and insects live and sing here. They are also living beings with their own spirits."
"By catching them like this, aren't you cruelly killing them?"
Xiao Cai was stunned; he hadn't expected the eldest princess to say such a thing.
He instinctively defended himself, saying, "The eldest princess is kind, I know that."
"But... but the cicadas' chirping is indeed very noisy. Your Majesty needs to rest quietly these days and is afraid of being disturbed."
"If this servant does not handle this, Her Majesty will blame me..."
The eldest princess said earnestly, "My mother won't blame me."
“My mother is the kindest person. She can’t even bear to step on an ant. She understands the principle of compassion the most.”
"If Mother knew that you were afraid of making noise and thus harmed these little lives, she would be unhappy."
At this point, the eldest princess looked up at Xiao Caizi with clear eyes and said, "Let them chirp."
"Summer wouldn't feel like summer without the sound of cicadas. Why don't you release them all?"
Xiao Caizi opened his mouth, looking at the eldest princess's kind gaze, and then remembered that the princess had indeed been in a bad mood recently, and was caught in a dilemma.
He let him go, fearing that the Empress would find it noisy and take her anger out on him.
He wouldn't let her go; although the eldest princess was young, she was someone he couldn't afford to offend...
Just as he was hesitating, Ruoji suddenly came out of the main hall and looked at Xiao Caizi, saying, "Xiao Caizi, Her Majesty asked why the cicadas are chirping louder and louder. Haven't you cleaned them up yet?"
Xiao Cai felt a chill run down his spine, realizing something was wrong.
He looked at the eldest princess with a pained expression and said anxiously, "Your Highness, listen... Her Majesty is probably really disturbed by the noise..."
The eldest princess shook her head at Xiao Caizi, turned around with a happy smile, and ran towards the main hall: "Mother!"
Consort Zhuang was sitting on a soft couch by the window, her brows furrowed tightly.
The Imperial Noble Consort's belly grew bigger day by day, and her position became more and more secure.
Consort Mei is still imprisoned in Xianfu Palace. Not only is she unable to help, she is also causing trouble.
The cicadas chirping outside the window, one after another, only fueled the nameless anger burning within her heart.
Upon hearing the eldest princess's voice, Consort Zhuang suppressed her irritation, revealed a gentle expression, and looked towards the door.
The eldest princess looked up at her with bright, sparkling eyes: "Mother, please don't be angry."
"It's not that Xiao Cai is being lazy, it's that Yun'er won't let him catch those cicadas."
Consort Zhuang was taken aback: "What?"
“Yun’er saw Xiao Caizi with his men, using bamboo poles to catch cicadas, intending to capture them all.”
The eldest princess said earnestly, "Yun'er recalls a Buddhist scripture that says all beings are equal and possess Buddha-nature."
"The cicadas singing in the trees is their natural instinct, and they are not at fault."
"Heaven cherishes life! We live in such a large palace; sharing a little space with them is also a way to accumulate blessings!"
At this point, the eldest princess stepped forward, gently tugged at Consort Zhuang's sleeve, and said sweetly, "Yun'er knows that Mother Consort is the kindest and most compassionate consort in the palace."
"You wouldn't even bear to pluck a flower, so you certainly wouldn't want to hurt those little lives, right?"
"So Yun'er decided to tell Xiao Caizi to stop."
"Mother, you won't blame Yun'er for meddling, will you?"
Consort Zhuang looked into the pure and innocent eyes of the eldest princess and was momentarily speechless.
Could she say that she was having a headache from the noise of the cicadas and wanted to kill them all?
That would be inconsistent with her usual compassionate image...