The Eldest Daughter Reborn: She Provoked the Obsessive Crown Prince and Couldn't Escape

Yuan Rui thought that Fu Luan would eventually return to the Eastern Palace and become her sister-in-law;

It might even be...

Thinking of this, she not only excused Fu Luan from the formalities, but also sent someone to serve her fine tea.

"Hmph, that so-called horse racing event is nothing but a battle between men; "

"What's so impressive about performing in front of the Emperor?"

"'Thirty-six Kingdoms of the Western Regions,' sounds nice, but they're nothing more than a bunch of small, foreign states." Yuan Rui scoffed.

He even spat a few times when the words "Western Regions" were mentioned.

"This humble woman has noticed that the princess seems to have many grievances against the Western Regions," Fu Luan said, feigning ignorance of the rumors.

Yuan Rui said irritably, "Who in Chang'an doesn't know that a Khan from the Western Regions has specifically asked to marry me?"

"That damned Khan, I heard he's over sixty!"

"I've only recently come of age, I'm only fifteen! If the late Emperor were still alive, I'd be several years younger than him!"

Fu Luan covered her face with a fan, knowing that the rumors she had sent to spread had reached the little princess's ears.

"It's just what the common people say, but look..."

"It's probably just a rumor." Seeing that Yuan Rui's teacup was empty, Fu Luan personally poured her some more tea.

Yuan Rui hurriedly said, "That's not true! As early as three or four years ago, people from the Western Regions came to the Emperor to propose a marriage alliance."

"But at that time, I was still young and not of marriageable age; the Emperor was reluctant to part with the other princesses."

"So they found a princess from the imperial clan, gave her the title of 'Princess Chengxian,' and sent her to the Western Regions to be that old man's concubine!"

"Now that I've come of age, I definitely can't escape it this time! In the last few horse racing competitions, it's always the people from the Western Regions who have won."

"The thirty-six kingdoms of the Western Regions exchanged goods and services, and whichever kingdom's envoy won, they would inevitably propose a marriage alliance..."

When Yuan Rui spoke of her sorrows, she almost burst into tears.

Fu Luan volunteered, "If I could help the princess out of her current predicament, what could I do?"

Upon hearing this, Yuan Rui was first surprised, then delighted, and then rolled her eyes disdainfully, saying:

"Although I am not favored by the emperor, I still have several capable men under my command; even they couldn't solve this problem, so what makes you think you can?"

The palace maids wanted to laugh but dared not. Their princess's "few capable men" were nothing more than eunuchs and palace maids;

Yuan Rui was trying to intimidate Fu Luan by making a show of force.

Fu Luan said solemnly, "This humble woman is indeed capable."

Yuan Rui snorted, "Anyone can talk big. If you really had that ability, you wouldn't have let your little sister climb into your husband's bed!"

"The scandalous affairs of the Crown Prince's palace are known to everyone, both in the imperial court and the inner palace."

"Since the princess does not believe me, then I will take my leave. Oh, right..."

"I've heard that the Khan who has been seeking the princess's hand in marriage for years just turned seventy at the beginning of the year, not in his sixties." Yuan Rui's words were laced with barbs, but Fu Luan didn't argue with her.

After all, she personally sent people to spread the rumor that "Fu Zhengzheng climbed into her brother-in-law's bed, causing the Crown Prince and Crown Princess to divorce," and it cost her a lot of money!

Now even the unmarried princess knows about this and can make fun of her, which shows that the money was well spent.

Fu Luan smiled, bowed, and then turned to leave.

Yuan Rui's lady-in-waiting, Rouge, whispered a reminder: "Princess, why don't you listen to her method first?"

"If you don't like what she says, just ask her to leave..."

Rouge continued, "But what if Miss Fu really has a brilliant plan to save the princess from a marriage alliance? Wouldn't that be a great thing for us?"

"Hmph, what kind of spell did she cast on you, girl? Why are you speaking up for her like this?"

"Yes, even you are waiting to see me make a fool of myself, waiting for me to marry into the Western Regions for a political marriage."

"You'll end up like those lowly women, finding a eunuch to share your life with, hoping to secure wealth and status for the rest of your life."

"Yes and no?" Yuan Rui retorted sharply.

Rouge remained calm and knelt at Yuan Rui's feet, speaking softly, "What benefits will I receive for speaking up for her?"

"If the princess goes to the Western Regions for a marriage alliance, let's not talk about the other palace maids;

"I am the first one to be part of the princess's dowry and go to the Western Regions with her."

"In the Great Wei Dynasty, whether a noblewoman, a commoner, a mistress, or a servant, who would want to travel to the Western Regions?"

"If the princess stays in Chang'an, then I can stay in Chang'an. Why should I side with outsiders?"

"If the princess listens to Miss Fu's method, she will have a 50% better chance."

"If we don't listen to her methods, the princess will have absolutely no chance! Besides..."

"Besides what? This princess hates people who beat around the bush and have to split a sentence in half!" Yuan Rui frowned and said impatiently.

"Moreover, judging from Miss Fu's words, she seems to be quite close to the Ninth Prince."

"The princess is concerned about your ninth brother, but our people can't get into the prison of the Ministry of Justice, while she can:"

"This is enough to show that she is indeed quite capable."

“The princess wants to know about the Ninth Prince’s recent situation, so she can ask her…” Rouge’s analysis was very logical.

“Ninth Brother…” Yuan Rui thought there was some truth to what he said;

He sighed and ordered her to bring Fu Luan back.

"Miss Fu, please wait!" Rouge lifted her skirt and ran over with small, quick steps.

"What brings you here, Lady? I suppose something has gone missing from Yaohua Palace, and the princess suspects that I stole it?" Fu Luan still had that smiling look on her face.

In fact, Fu Luan hadn't gone far. She deliberately slowed her pace when she left.

Because she knew that Yuan Rui would definitely send someone to call her back.

Sure enough, before half the time it takes to drink a cup of tea had passed, the lady-in-waiting caught up with them.

"Miss Fu is joking... My princess has come to terms with what happened just now."

"Please return to Yaohua Palace, Princess, to discuss this further." Rouge smiled and cleared a path for Fu Luan.

"Spare me the formalities and just tell me your idea."

"If you speak well, I, the princess, will reward you handsomely; if you speak poorly..." Yuan Rui smiled enigmatically.

"If I speak poorly, I will leave myself to the princess's disposal."

"Hmph, good that you know. Stop talking nonsense and just say it!"

Fu Luan got straight to the point, "His Majesty has always opposed sending princesses to the Western Regions for marriage alliances. Firstly, it's unnecessary, and secondly, it would be a disgrace to the Great Wei."

"Three or four years ago, the Western Regions sought to marry the princess by borrowing the prize money from the horse racing competition."

"Even though the emperor is extremely unwilling, this is the rule set by his ancestors, and even the emperor has no choice but to comply."

"To be honest, if we insist on 'not complying,' the people of the Western Regions can't do anything about it."

"But it's not a good thing to have my great Wei Dynasty be branded as 'untrustworthy'!"

"On the other hand, if those people from the Western Regions can win the championship, why can't we in our Great Wei?"

"As long as the winner of this competition is from our Great Wei, no matter what treasures the Western Regions offer as tribute, the Emperor will definitely not agree to the marriage alliance."

Yuan Rui said with disdain, "I thought Miss Fu had come all this way to come with some good ideas."

"Who doesn't know this? Who can't say it? But who can we send to snatch the championship from the Western Regions?"

"This humble woman is willing to go." Fu Luan nodded slightly.

"You?" Yuan Rui looked Fu Luan up and down as if she were meeting her for the first time.

Yuan Rui said sarcastically, "Miss Fu, you're making such a joke. Even I, the princess, am embarrassed for you!"