The princess regretted it.

Yao clutched her chest tightly with one hand, tears streaming down her face like beads from a broken string. She choked and said, "Jiaoyu, do you know that the Zhang family is struggling right now? Your father is determined to take action against the Zhang family, so..."

"That's enough!" Before she could finish her words, Jiaoyu's furious rebuke abruptly stopped her. Her emotions were now completely out of control, her eyes red and wide with rage. She shouted, "Stop making so many excuses! Since you're unwilling to help Mother, I'll go talk to Grandfather myself."

As soon as she finished speaking, she turned abruptly and scurried out of Yao's room like a whirlwind. Seeing this, Yao was distraught and instinctively reached out to stop her, but her body was too weak to move. She could only let out an anxious "Ah" and watched Jiaoyu disappear through the doorway, feeling helpless and worried.

The maids and servants waiting outside were stunned when they saw the princess suddenly rush out of the old lady's room in a rage, completely confused as to what had happened. They exchanged glances, then hurriedly drew back the curtains and entered. They saw the old lady sprawled on her side on the bed, her face a purple crimson from her agitation, her eyes wide open, staring intently at the door.

A quick-eyed and quick-handed old woman quickly stepped forward and carefully helped Yao up. While comforting her softly, she kept rubbing her chest with her hand, trying to help her calm down, muttering: "Old lady, what's wrong with you? Don't get angry and get sick. Take care..."

Like a gust of raging wind, Jiaoyu rushed straight towards Zhang Chengde's study in the front yard. When she arrived, the servant at the door was about to step forward to salute respectfully, but Jiaoyu waved her hand impatiently, walked past the servant, and pushed the study door open with force.

At that time, Zhang Chengde was sitting in his study, concentrating on the message he had just received. Jiaoyu's sudden intrusion startled him, and in a panic, he quickly pressed the note in his hand under a book on the desk.

His actions naturally didn't escape Jiaoyu's eyes. However, at this moment, Jiaoyu was so furious that she had no time to care about what Zhang Chengde was hiding. She strode straight to Zhang Chengde, and Zhang Chengde quickly calmed down after a brief panic.

He looked at Jiaoyu calmly and asked calmly, "Jiaoyu, what's wrong with you? You're in such a hurry."

"Hmph! Grandfather, don't you know why I'm here?" Jiaoyu snorted coldly, not directly answering Zhang Chengde's question. Her tone, devoid of the warmth and deference she once displayed toward her grandfather, was now filled with sarcasm and sarcasm, as if every word carried a sting.

Zhang Chengde, hearing her words, had already guessed that Jiaoyu's visit was definitely due to Concubine Zhang's banishment to the cold palace, and that she had probably learned the Zhang family's attitude from his wife. He sighed inwardly, but had to muster up his spirits to deal with his emotional granddaughter.

"Jiao Yu, grandpa knows that you are worried about your mother," Zhang Chengde narrowed his eyes slightly, with a serious expression on his face, and said slowly, "but this is an imperial decree issued by your father himself, and the emperor's order is difficult to disobey. You also understand that in this world, he is the king and we are the ministers. Since ancient times, if the king wants the minister to die, the minister has to die. This etiquette between the king and the minister must not be violated." As he spoke, he shook his head slightly, as if he was helpless about the current situation.

"Moreover, your father is still angry at this moment," Zhang Chengde raised his head and looked into the distance, as if thinking about something, "If we act rashly at this time, it will only add fuel to the fire. Not only will we fail to save your mother, but it may bring greater disaster to the entire Zhang family. So, Jiaoyu, it's not that grandpa doesn't want to help, it's that he really can't do anything. We have to think about it in the long run." When he said these words, his tone was very calm, trying to use the attitude of an elder to make Jiaoyu understand the current situation of the Zhang family.

Hearing Zhang Chengde's seemingly reasonable words, Jiaoyu was so furious that she actually laughed out loud. "Hahaha! So in your eyes, the Zhang family is more important than my mother, my brother, and me, right? Grandfather! Hahaha, I see. My brother and I aren't considered part of your Zhang family after all, because our last name is Changsun, not Zhang. No wonder! Although my mother's last name is Zhang, she married out, right? So it's not worth taking risks for people like us who aren't so closely connected to the Zhang family, is it?" Jiaoyu's emotions were completely out of control at this point, and her words were like sharp blades, piercing Zhang Chengde directly.

This barrage of questions left Zhang Chengde speechless for a moment, unsure how to explain. He sighed deeply and spoke in a slow voice, "Jiaoyu, how could you possibly know? We haven't tried to help your mother. But we can't act on impulse; we have to consider the overall situation. Do you expect us to disregard everything and petition the Emperor, disregarding the entire Zhang family's survival?"

After hearing Zhang Chengbei's words, Jiaoyu burst into laughter, her fury turning into laughter. "Hahaha! So you Zhang family members are more important than my mother, my brother, and me! Right? Grandfather! Hahaha, I see. My brother and I can't be considered your family members, because our surname is Zhangsun, not Zhang. No wonder! Although my mother's surname is Zhang, she married out, right? So it's not worth taking risks for us, people who have no connection to the Zhang family. Right?" Jiaoyu was agitated, and every word she spoke was laced with venom.

As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere in the study plummeted to freezing point, returning to the same tense situation from before. Jiaoyu was like a hedgehog with its fur blasted, radiating anger and hostility. And upon hearing these words, Zhang Chengde's face could no longer maintain its feigned composure, turning pale and blue, as if he had been prodded in a sore spot.

Zhang Chengde was so angry that his hands were shaking slightly. He really wanted to lose his temper on the spot, but Jiaoyu was a royal princess after all, so he had to suppress the anger in his heart and continued, "Jiaoyu, you are just saying this in anger. How could we not care about you? Over the years, have you completely forgotten our love and affection for you and the second prince? You are really hurting your grandfather's heart by saying this!" He wanted to comfort the emotional Jiaoyu, but he didn't know that he was using the wrong method.