Half in the river wind, half in the clouds

Princess Anle smiled at Princess Taiping and said, "Look, aunt, I just said a few bad things about the Crown Prince on impulse, but Yiye couldn't stop me. This 'Jade-faced' Shiyi is not called that for nothing. But even Emperor Taizong once said, 'It is more difficult to guard against the mouths of the people than to guard against the floods.' How come he can't even say a word about the Crown Prince?"

Look, how can Princess Anle reason with you? Shen Guxing's meaning is not that we cannot discuss the prince's faults, but that the prince is related to the succession of the country, and we must follow the formal procedures to discuss it, and we can't just scold him. If anyone can reprimand the prince for his faults at will, then where is the prestige of the Eastern Palace? If the prestige of the Eastern Palace is gone, the prestige of the country will be damaged.

Before Princess Taiping could speak, Princess Cheng'an, who was sitting next to Princess Anle, could no longer sit still and said indignantly, "The Crown Prince was born to a palace slave. He was born lowly and therefore behaved in a despicable way. Back then, in order to please the two Zhangs, he falsely accused the eldest brother of discussing the Zhang brothers' usurpation of power, which led to his brother being executed by Empress Wu. Is it worthy of Yiye to protect a person who framed his brother like this?"

As soon as Princess Cheng'an finished speaking, everyone's face changed drastically, and Princess Taiping's face turned cold. Princess Cheng'an, such a big mouth, dared to curse the prince in public as a lowly person! Even if the prince's mother was a palace slave, his father was the emperor! She also had resentment towards Empress Zetian in her words, who was the mother of Princess Taiping and the current emperor! How did Princess Cheng'an get the favor of Empress Wei when she was so outspoken?

Looking at Shen Guxing again, he was already filled with righteous indignation, and took another big step forward. Jiang Feng coughed lightly. Why bother to argue with such a proud sister? A woman's twists and turns are the natural nemesis of a gentleman's straightforward approach.

When the two Zhangs were in power, they regarded the children of the Li family as thorns in their eyes and flesh. In order to strike at the Li family, their minions and spies were everywhere. Whether Li Chongrun informed on the secret is debatable. It is very likely that it was imagined by Empress Wei. Because at the darkest moment when the descendants of the Li family were in danger, whoever rushed to the front would be the target of public criticism. Li Dan and Li Xian hid their talents, and Li Chongrun, as the legitimate son of Li Xian, was the first to be persecuted. If Li Chongjun overthrew Li Chongrun, he would become the second-in-line heir. This behavior is tantamount to washing his neck clean and taking it out for a knife.

But for Empress Wei, her husband was lucky enough to become the emperor again, while her only son had no chance of ever getting the supreme throne again. It was like working hard to make a piece of clothing, from raising silkworms, planting mulberry trees, weaving, cutting, sewing to embroidery, every step was done by herself, the process was extremely difficult, and finally the most luxurious robe in the world was made, but you can only watch it being worn by others!

This gorgeous robe embodies your suffering and hard work, and was originally intended for your beloved son!

How could he be worthy of the son of that palace maid?

Therefore, Empress Wei and the Anle faction did their utmost to suppress her, and put a lot of charges on her, and what Princess Cheng'an said was one of them.

They just wanted to throw this bucket of dirty water on the prince, regardless of whether there was any evidence. It was precisely because these were all nonsense and unsupported evidence that they were completely untenable, which made it even more difficult for Shen Guxing to refute. This was not the court, it was not the scholars citing classics and arguing with reason, and there was no fair and authoritative referee. Are you going to have a verbal battle with a group of women and children? !

Jiang Feng was getting anxious, and Princess Taiping said coldly, "Cheng An is so arrogant that he dares to criticize the decision of our mother and brother! When the crown prince Zhongrun slandered our mother, our brother was angry at him for not fighting back and beat him to death. Do you want to question our brother too?"

Everyone remained silent, and Princess Cheng'an looked at Princess Anle with pleading eyes.

After all, she is not Empress Wei’s biological daughter, so she lacks confidence!

Princess Anle smiled with an ambiguous smile and looked at Princess Taiping. For a moment, the two most respected women in the Tang Dynasty were full of sparks and tense!

One was the aunt who was once the most favored and was named Princess Taiping by the new emperor.

One is the empire's new favorite who was almost made the crown princess.

Their confrontation was a scramble between top bureaucratic groups and political forces, with blood flowing in silence.

Finally, Princess Anle laughed first and said, "Cheng'an is too frivolous. How did he upset my aunt?"

Princess Cheng'an seemed to be hesitant to speak, and finally stammered and bowed to Princess Taiping.

Princess Taiping also laughed and said, "I have finally gathered everyone together under the pretext of Anle's birthday celebration. We agreed to enjoy the autumn scenery of Qujiang River. Why bother bringing up the affairs of the court? If anyone brings up these matters again, I will drag him to my brother. The group of scholars in the Qinzheng Palace will have time to debate with you."

"Aunt is right! Thanks to aunt and sister, I finally get to spend a day out to relax and listen to music happily!" The Princess of Shouchun County, one of the backup mother-in-law of Shen Guxing, echoed.

Upon hearing this, Shen Guxing gestured to Princess Taiping, Prince Shouchun and Princess Anle, then returned to his seat.

Princess Anle looked at the Crown Princess with disdain, then said with a smile: "Aunt and sister-in-law are absolutely right! Why bother talking about these dirty things? It really spoils the fun."

Look, women don’t care about right or wrong.

Seeing the situation eased, Li Longye's wife seized the opportunity and said slowly while drinking tea: "Yi Ye is so young and energetic! How can he look like someone who has already been engaged?"

As he spoke, he looked at Shen Guxing and smiled slightly: "I don't know how many girls will cry until their eyes turn red."

What is coming will eventually come! Jiang Feng's alarm bells rang loudly.

Princess Taiping also became interested. She put down her teacup and smiled playfully, "Oh? Although I don't go out much, this matter has caused a lot of uproar in the capital, so it's hard not to hear about it. I heard that the emperor's sister-in-law was so eager to protect her daughter that she even dismissed Yi Ye from his post? I wonder which girl could have made the wooden Yi Ye wise?"

As expected, wherever there are women, there is gossip! Even the most noble women love gossip! This has been the case since ancient times.

Princess Zhongshan said with a smile, "It's a coincidence today. This girl is also traveling with Yiye, so I asked the palace maid to call her up. Miss Jiang San, come here quickly and let the princess meet her."

Jiang Feng has felt like he's being targeted ever since he came to Chang'an. When he was traveling with Shen Guxing, he happened to run into his love rival, and then rumors started flying everywhere; today when he met the princess on the cruise, he was again used as a topic of conversation in person.

Jiang Feng understood the Princess's thoughts too well. She wished she and Shen Guxing could be together immediately so that she wouldn't have to share her husband with others.

Since we are here, we should make the best of it. The girl took a deep breath and prepared to stand up. President Shen Gu, standing tall, walked over earlier. The two looked into each other's eyes, and courage and strength surged in their chests.

Shen Guxing led Jiang Feng to Princess Taiping and said in a clear voice, "Princess, this is Jiang Feng."

Jiang Feng Yingying knelt down and bowed, "I, Jiang Feng, greet all the princesses and queens. I wish your highness good health and happiness."

Most of the people at the table had never seen Jiang Feng, they only heard that she was a country girl with some beauty. The girl put on a little makeup, and she was more beautiful than all the other girls in the room, but she was not ostentatious, like a hibiscus flower covered with dew in the morning, which people dared not touch. Especially her eyes, which were extremely clear and clean, as if she could not bear any worldly things.

There are more than just some colors! Where does the term "countryside" come from?

Princess Taiping was sitting at the top, and could not see clearly from a distance, but she thought the voice was pleasant. She said, "Come closer, my eyesight is getting worse."

Then he looked at Shen Guxing: "From a distance, why do you look so unfamiliar? I can recognize the young ladies from the noble families in Chang'an City."

Jiang Feng stood up, took a few steps forward, and comforted himself with the spirit of Ah Q: "Do we have to be well-matched, from aristocratic families? I, Jiang Feng, the daughter of a ninth-rank official, can still take down Shen Guxing!"

Shen Guxing's face was full of brilliance, and he replied: "Princess, her name is Jiang Feng, she is the daughter of Jiang Jingxiu, the county magistrate of Liangzhou, and the sister of Lord Jiang Zuo."

Princess Taiping thought to herself that with a plain family background, how could she have the ability to tie down a dragon among men? She couldn't help but take a few more glances. Two inquiring eyes shot over and Jiang Feng stopped.

After a while, Princess Taiping was overjoyed: "What a pretty girl! No wonder Yi Ye was so stunned. I like her too."

He looked at her again, waved his hand to one side and said hesitantly, "I see, her features are somewhat similar to Ji'an's. Ji'an, come closer."

As soon as he finished speaking, a girl in a pink dress walked out gracefully from behind the Princess of Shouchun County.

It turned out to be the Princess of Ji'an County!