Chapter 1472: Chapter 1471: Could it be that we really have to perish together?
Before Chu Qianli could speak, Chu Lingyang said again, "Lanlan indeed doesn’t speak well, but she is inherently kind and has no ill intentions. If she said something wrong, Little Lili, you shouldn’t take it to heart."
"Your second royal uncle apologizes to you."
"What is second royal uncle saying? I was just thinking of Father and wanted to return to the palace to see him sooner."
Chu Qianli restrained her thoughts and smiled at her, "As for my conversation with second aunt... well, it’s a secret between women, so I won’t tell second uncle."
"Ha," seeing this, Chu Lingyang finally felt at ease, "as long as there wasn’t a quarrel."
"Why would I quarrel with second aunt?"
"Ha, a woman’s heart is like a needle at the bottom of the sea. How would your second uncle know, ha."
After leaving the Prince Residence, the moment Chu Qianli got on the carriage, the smile at the corner of her lips slowly faded.
The Princess did not reveal any method to dissolve the Life and Death Alliance.
Unsure whether she truly didn’t know or knew something but was unwilling to say.
Chu Qianli was deeply troubled.
If the Life and Death Alliance cannot be undone, she would be forever controlled by Lan Fan.
Could it be that she really has to perish together?
...
The matter Chu Qianli worried about happened sooner than expected.
That night, the Emperor’s sleeping quarters were filled with officials, each pleading on behalf of Prince Yu.
"Your Majesty, outside the palace, all over the Imperial City, in the streets and alleys, they are chanting a ballad, saying that..."
"What is it?" Chu Jiangnan asked expressionlessly.
Immediately, an official began reciting the so-called ballad sung by the people, word by word, for the Emperor to hear.
Chu Jiangnan had a headache and couldn’t remember each line, but he grasped the gist of it clearly.
The ballad implied that the Emperor suppressed his brother for the sake of his reign, even intending to harm his brother’s family.
Everyone heard that the Emperor secretly executed Crown Prince Hao in prison.
Moreover, the Emperor even set fire to Crown Prince Hao’s residence to cut off Prince Yu’s bloodline.
The reason the Emperor did so, of course, is that he wanted to hand over the Nanming kingdom to his daughter since he found the Princess, so he harmed the loyal and good.
The lyrics also contained mockery and disdain for Chu Qianli, saying she, a mere woman, dared to grasp power shamelessly.
It even hinted at Chu Qianli’s wrongdoing in handling the Xinhua Village matter, yet she blamed it entirely on Crown Prince Hao.
Merely a ballad, yet it concealed so much meaning.
"Outrageous!" Chu Lingyang, who rushed over, was furious after hearing it!
"The Princess stayed day and night, risking her life with the sick in Xinhua Village. Without the Princess, the epidemic couldn’t have been controlled at all!"
"Those idle folk, not writing poems and songs to praise the Princess is one thing, but to slander her with filth, such intentions deserve punishment!"
"Prince, please don’t be angry. This ballad has something to do with you too, Prince."
"What does it have to do with me?" Chu Lingyang angrily asked.
The official immediately replied, "The people have spread another version in the streets and alleys."
"What version?"
"I dare not say."
"Nonsense!" Chu Lingyang was filled with rage.
What dare not say? All the outrageous things just said, and now he wouldn’t say this?
Utterly pretentious!
"This..."
"If he’s not willing to say, let’s not make it difficult for him."
Outside the hall, Chu Qianli stepped in with steady steps.
"If someone doesn’t want to speak, why force them, second royal uncle? It wouldn’t be anything pleasant anyway, let it rot inside, best not to hear it!"
