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

"I didn't expect the new Khan to be interested in the family affairs of my Great Wei? But what does it prove just because you said the Prince of Youbeiping wasn't wearing riding boots back then?" Yuan Linye looked at Yarkand with a sidelong glance.

When Fu Luan saw Yarkand enter, she couldn't help but sigh—it was she who had suggested the horse race with Yarkand today, and now not only had she failed to keep her promise, but he had also saved her life once again…

Yarkand gave a perfunctory bow and said, "If I could recall the specific style and pattern of that young prince's boots, would you be so kind as to ask?"

Yuan Li gestured for him to continue, and Yarkand recounted his story in detail. Yang Jin compared it to his own account, and indeed, it was perfectly accurate! Most importantly…

"The young prince had an accident that day; his gold-embroidered jade boots slipped off his feet, and the entire piece of jade that was inlaid on them fell off. Unfortunately..."

“I just happened to see that the back of that jade is inlaid with the character ‘Yao.’ I suppose…” Before Yarkand could finish speaking, Lady Yaozhang shouted, “What nonsense are you spouting on the territory of the Great Wei, you barbarian! You…”

But Yuan Li had already sent people to remove the jade from the boots in front of him. Sure enough, one was engraved with "Yuan" and the other with "Lu"!

Regardless of whether the man later changed his name to "Zhang Liu" or "Yuan Lu", his original name was "Yuan Lu".

Since Yuan Lu had an affair with Lady Yao Zhang when he was the crown prince, it is reasonable for him to have his own name engraved on the token of their love. This shows that what Consort Pang said is credible!

Now that there are witnesses and physical evidence, no matter how eloquent Madam Yaozhang is, she cannot deny it!

"Lady Yaozhang, Xie Qingtan, has falsely accused the Empress, committed adultery, and plotted to harm Qian Chonghua and her unborn child. Considering the merits of her father and brothers in serving the country, her title is hereby revoked, but she retains the rank of 'Lady' of the second grade."

"But from today onwards, all benefits will be paid according to the standards for a 'ninth-rank imperial concubine'!"

"Zhaoyuan Pang, who slandered the Empress, caused trouble in the palace with her words, and disrupted the palace, was demoted to a commoner and sent to the Guanghan Palace after giving birth to the emperor's child."

"Men in the clan who are twelve years of age or older will be executed in the marketplace, while those under twelve will be exiled to Lingnan; unmarried women will be forced into prostitution, and married women will be enslaved in the inner palace."

"He shall never leave the palace, nor shall he ever be promoted to palace maid, female official, or concubine!"

"The female historian Mei'er slandered the Empress and covered up the truth about her mistress's miscarriage and death. Considering that she was coerced, she was stripped of her 'female historian' status, punished with facial tattooing, and renamed 'Mei'er'."

"I hope that from now on you will be an honest person and careful in your work, and never again do things against your conscience!"

“Lady Yongning, your mother…” Yuan Li looked at Cuiyun, who had calmed down considerably, and said:

“One should take responsibility for one’s own actions. My mother has slandered the Empress and committed the crime of deceiving the Emperor. If I help her today, I will be harming hundreds of people in the Yongning Marquis’s household! Your Majesty should deal with this according to the laws of the Great Wei. I will not dare to complain in the slightest!”

“Good! What a fine Lady of Yongning! I will bestow upon Lady Xu a white silk ribbon. As for Lady Qian of Chonghua…” Yuan Li sighed, then continued, “I just promised her yesterday that I would promote her rank and bestow upon her a title.”

"Now that we've made up for it, even though it's late, it's still keeping our promise... Those who die young in the middle of the year are called 'mourning,' so Lady Qian is posthumously honored as 'Mourning Consort,' and her funeral is the same as that of the four 'Virtuous and Gentle Consorts'!"

Everyone in the hall accepted the decree, except for Lady Pang, who had become a commoner, who protested: "Your Majesty, the one who had an affair was Lady Yaozhang, the Lady Yaozhang who slapped Consort Qian, causing her to miscarry."

"It was Lady Yaozhang who sent people to kill Consort Qian, and it was Lady Yaozhang who slandered the Empress! She is clearly the mastermind behind it all, so why is she able to retain her rank, while I am to be demoted to a commoner and even have my entire clan implicated???"

Fu Luan frowned and said, "It seems that she was the mastermind, but it was you—Pang Shi—who sowed discord and used others to do the dirty work!"

“From the very first day you served tea to me, you have been openly and secretly sowing discord, wishing you could make Consort Qian your enemy and use her to block my path.”

"But Consort Qian's rank was lower than yours when she was alive, and she was weak by nature, not up to your command. You also set your sights on Lady Yaozhang, which ultimately led to this disaster! You still have the nerve to complain and cry foul? What a joke!"

The matter ended with everyone sighing; immediately following were the funeral of Consort Qian and the marriage of Yuan Rui and Fu Zhan.

Not long after the wedding and funeral, Liu Yun gave birth to a son, and the entire Marquis of Jimo's mansion was filled with joy.

Fu Ze even held a month-long banquet, with countless royal relatives, princes, generals and ministers attending. Even the emperor and empress personally visited the mansion, giving the Fu family ample face!

Therefore, only after Fu Luan finished all these matters did she have time to keep her "on-horseback appointment" with Yarkand...

"I was the one who brought this up, but it was me who delayed things again..." The two rode their horses around the riding arena, chasing each other for nearly half an hour before stopping to rest in a place with a very beautiful view.

“Not at all! Last year’s horse racing event was marred by too many mishaps, making it an unpleasant competition! Even if Your Majesty hadn’t mentioned it, I would have loved to have a one-on-one duel with the champion.” Yarkand gazed at Fu Luan’s profile and finally sighed, “But…”

"Regarding the Prince of Yan... I'm sorry! If I had known it would end like this, I would have fought tooth and nail to refuse Anagui's marriage to him! But is Your Highness truly happy marrying the Emperor of Great Wei?"

"Last year in Zhaoyang Palace, the Emperor refused to take Anagui as a concubine on the grounds that the age difference was too great, and bestowed her upon the Prince of Yan. But then he turned around and married you, who are about the same age as Anagui..."

"Excuse my bluntness, but the combined age of you and me isn't even older than his! Are you really happy marrying a man so much older than yourself?"

Fu Luan smiled and said, "When I invited the Khan to ride a horse, the Khan actually inquired about the secrets of the Great Wei Palace? Since the Khan thinks that a woman cannot be happy if she marries an old man, why did you ask our Princess Miaoze, who had just come of age, to marry your father, who was over sixty years old, back then?"

"The two of them are fifty years apart! The old Khan could be Princess Miaoze's grandfather!"

“This…this is different! Little Khatun has no choice, but Your Majesty, you do! As long as Your Majesty is willing, there will always be a royal tent in the desert, belonging only to you…” Yarkand blushed and turned his head away.

He was a warrior, a general, a great hero, and the newly appointed Khan of the Western Regions, but in the end, he was still just a man of sixteen or seventeen...

Fu Luan's face immediately darkened, and she secretly clenched her fists, but then she smiled and said, "I am now the Empress of Great Wei, and I'm afraid I am not fortunate enough to enjoy your royal tent!"

"The Khan has met with the Emperor several times, all to seek the hand of a princess from Great Wei in order to solidify the alliance between the two sides. Forgive my bluntness, but as long as I live, Great Wei will never agree to a marriage alliance!"

Yarkand hurriedly explained, "Does Your Majesty think that my words just now were only for 'marriage' and alliance? I..."

“Whether it is or not, it can only be considered a ‘marriage alliance,’ isn’t it? Yarkand, there’s an old saying in the Great Wei: ‘Disaster comes from the mouth.’ You witnessed Lady Yaozhang’s affair with your own eyes that day. Did you want to put me in that kind of situation?” Fu Luan sighed.

“I… but…” Yarkand felt a bitter taste in his mouth.

"Yarkand, you must be having a hard time in the Western Regions too, right?" Fu Luan asked softly, gazing at the slowly setting sun.