Princess Chang was the only daughter of the late Emperor. After the current Emperor ascended the throne, she was bestowed the title of Eternal Tao Princess. From the time she resided in Prince Cheng's manor, and continuing into the palace, this princess enjoyed immense favor. However, her temperament did not follow the path of arrogance and willfulness; instead, she sank deeper into the melancholic green waters, frequently lamenting the passage of time and the changing seasons, shedding tears over falling flowers, and weeping at the sight of eastward-flowing rivers – of course, these particular character traits were only revealed in front of those closest to her.

She gazed mournfully at the Empress Dowager and said, "Even Emperor-gege is like that, betrothing her to the Fan family, knowing full well that the Fan family and the Prime Minister..."

"You all leave," the Empress Dowager suddenly opened her eyes, lowering her voice but speaking with great authority. The matrons, expressionless, quietly retreated.

With a sharp "smack!", a red palm print appeared on the Princess's face. She looked at her mother with eyes full of fear. The Empress Dowager gritted her teeth and said in a cold voice, "How many times have I told you, don't mention that person in front of me! You may have no shame, but the royal family still needs face! If you hadn't used your own life to protect him back then, I would have killed that person long ago!"

"All these years, I haven't allowed him to see Chen'er even once, but I haven't placed any obstacles in his path," the Empress Dowager's benevolence had vanished without a trace, her face now covered in frost. "Because I knew that he wanted to marry you back then, but you were afraid of hindering his future, so you didn't marry him... Fine! You wanted to give him a future, so I gave him a future. Now he is already the head of all officials, and you should also have fulfilled your original wish, but... I will not allow you to have any further involvement with him, and in Chen'er's marriage, the Lin family cannot have any say, understood?"

The Princess wiped away her tears, forcing a smile, her voice trembling slightly: "Understood."

The Empress Dowager then turned to look at the Empress and said calmly, "The Emperor is busy with affairs of state. You should take care of matters like this. Take care of the marriage of your own children, but since the Emperor has betrothed Chen'er to the Fan family, you should not interfere too much."

"Yes," the Empress, already intimidated by the scene she had just witnessed, quickly lowered her head in response.

"Empress, you shouldn't always be serving by my side. When you have free time, you should spend more time with the Emperor and relieve His Majesty's worries." The Empress Dowager's tone softened a lot, the meaning of encouragement in her words was very clear.

The Empress gave a bitter smile and agreed. Suddenly, her brow furrowed, as if she had thought of something.

How could the Empress Dowager not understand these people's thoughts? She said softly, "If there's anything, just say it."

The Empress glanced at the Princess who was still wiping away tears and said in a low voice, "Eunuch Hong sent someone earlier to say that the Kyoto Prefectural Office is trying a case today."

"Oh? What case is it that even that old dog is interested in?"

The Empress smiled embarrassedly, "Empress Mother, actually everyone in Kyoto is interested in this matter, because this case has been making a scene in the Prefectural Office since morning, and it wasn't until just now that there was a result... It's said that Guo Baokun, the only son of Guo Youzhi, the Minister of Rites, is accusing that person from the Fan residence, saying that he blocked the street and beat Guo Baokun severely last night, and also recited a poem. This poem... Empress Mother has also seen it before."

"Oh?" The Empress Dowager said in surprise, "The 'Wan Li Bei Qiu Chang Zuo Ke' beat someone up?"

As soon as these words came out, the Empress beside her couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh, and even the Princess smiled through her tears, saying, "Mother's words are so humorous."

The Empress Dowager smiled and said, "It's not that I'm humorous, it's that Fan Xian is interesting. He's only been in Kyoto for a few days, how did he beat the Minister's son? Tell me quickly, what was the scene in the Prefectural Office." She suddenly thought of something and frowned, "The Kyoto Prefectural Office didn't dare to use torture, did they? If he's beaten badly, how will they get married in October?"

The Empress laughed "Where are Mother's words coming from? Although Fan Xian doesn't have a proper background, he is after all the flesh and blood of Earl Sinan, and he has talent and learning in his chest, he already has the background of a scholar, he can't be beaten."

"That's good." The Empress Dowager said, "Is that Guo Baokun one of those people who are often with the Crown Prince?"

For some reason, the Empress's face suddenly became a little uneasy, and she responded in a low voice. Sure enough, the Empress Dowager snorted and said, "Those little brats only try to persuade Chengqian to ride horses and play with eagles, they're all full of bad intentions, needless to say, that Fan Xian must have beaten him well."

The Princess's expression didn't move, but her mood was very complicated. She never expected that her mother would think that the illegitimate son of the Fan family had beaten him well without asking the reason, but she had just been slapped and taught a lesson, so it was inconvenient to speak at this time. Fortunately, the Empress said carefully, "That Guo editor does have some talent, so it's always a bit unreasonable to be beaten in the street like that."

Seeming to detect that the Empress's thoughts were different from her own, the Empress Dowager didn't react and asked lightly, "What was the result of the trial?"

"Fan Xian brought the Jing Prince's son out as a witness, so the Kyoto Prefectural Office couldn't do anything and only temporarily postponed the trial."

"Hong Cheng is his witness? It seems that this little Fan Xian has some popularity."

The Empress was secretly delighted, knowing that although the Empress Dowager didn't show it on the surface, she actually hated the overly close relationship between officials and the royal family the most, but she also knew that things had to be said with discretion, and it was impossible to say too much, so she turned the topic back, "I heard that on the night Guo editor was beaten, the Fan family's son and the son of the world were on the Liujing River... lingering, so this matter should have nothing to do with him."

There was a moment of silence in the back garden of the palace, and the atmosphere seemed a little oppressive. The Empress Dowager suddenly got up and said, "I'm a little tired." The matrons and palace maids outside hurried up to support her, and a large group of people walked back to the palace.

After watching the Empress Dowager's chariot slowly turn into the palace walls, the Empress and the Princess stood up and looked at each other. A bitter smile appeared on the corner of the Empress's lips: "It seems that although the Empress Dowager is very unhappy that the Fan family's son is prostituting himself, she hasn't relaxed her tone. I'm afraid that Chen'er will really have to marry in half a year."

The Princess sighed and said, "I'm just worried about Fan Xian's character, but..." She looked at the Empress, her frail and helpless expression resembled a weeping willow by the riverbank, and said softly, "The Fan family has a good relationship with the Jing Prince's mansion, Empress Niangniang should be careful."

The Empress's heart skipped a beat, knowing that the other party was reminding her that if that kid named Fan really married her daughter, and His Majesty really handed over the business of the Internal Treasury to the Fan family, then the Fan family father and son, one in the Ministry of Revenue and one in the Internal Treasury, would be equivalent to controlling the vast majority of the Qing Kingdom's money. And if the Fan family, because of their relationship with the Jing Prince's mansion, really sided with the Second Prince, then the Crown Prince... She frowned, thinking that although her son was useless, he was, after all, His Majesty's only direct descendant. Could it be that His Majesty's move had some profound meaning?

"Don't think too much," the Princess comforted, "You also know that I have rarely managed the Internal Treasury in the past two years, and the Supervisory Council has always had people guarding it. After all, the Fan family doesn't have enough status. Even if that Fan Xian really marries Chen'er, he won't be able to truly control the Internal Treasury."

The Empress frowned and said, "I am very suspicious now, what kind of ecstasy did that old guy Fan Jian give the Emperor that he actually persuaded His Majesty."

The Princess smiled and said, "Niangniang should not have summoned Liu to the palace for a long time, right?"

The Empress's face turned cold and said, "That woman married Fan Jian as a concubine, which seems foolish, but is actually extremely cunning in her heart. Four years ago, you came up with the idea to kill the illegitimate son in Danzhou, but Liu took the lead. She must hate us, and it won't be easy to lure her out as a shield again."

"So what?" The Princess smiled charmingly, a woman in her thirties whose skin was still very well maintained, "Does she dare to say anything more? Besides, I've known Liu since I was a child and know that she's a person who likes to dwell on things."

The Empress suddenly frowned and said, "It's strange, why did His Majesty decide four years ago to hand over the Internal Treasury to the Fan family? If things weren't urgent, there wouldn't have been a need to take risks at that time." The Princess said gently and weakly, "Emperor-gege doesn't like my relationship with you to be too good, so he decided long ago to let me get out of the Internal Treasury... otherwise, he wouldn't have let the Dean send people to guard me from the beginning."

She then sighed, "Of all the civil and military officials in the court, no matter how clear or foolish, there is always a way to control them, but that Dean Chen is wholeheartedly loyal to His Majesty and manages the affairs of the court so perfectly that we can't even insert people into it."

The Empress frowned imperceptibly as she listened to these words: "As a subject, it is only right to be loyal to His Majesty. We secretly inserted people to worry about the Lord being deceived by traitors. Dean Chen's loyalty is clear, so there is no need to say more about it." The Princess knew that she had said the wrong thing and said softly, "Yes, but in recent years, the Supervisory Council has been investigating the assassination case in Danzhou without stopping, it seems that His Majesty gave a strict order."

"That's natural. At that time, His Majesty saw your daughter after drinking, and was very happy. He accepted her as his adopted daughter on the spot and betrothed her to the Fan family. Only a few people in the palace know about this." The Empress recalled the scene four years ago and said coldly, "As a result, there were assassins in Danzhou in less than a month. Although this matter was not uncovered, the Supervisory Council was clear about it. How could His Majesty not know the truth? He naturally doesn't care about the life and death of that illegitimate son, but he cares very much that someone in this palace dared to leak his words."