At the Great Princess's mansion, the Grand驸马 frowned after receiving the letter. He actually regretted his past association with Bai Huixian, now referred to as Madam Zhou.
In his youth, he was foolish, resentful of his family, and had given up his official career to become a驸马 for their benefit. Coupled with the Great Princess's somewhat spoiled and possessive nature, he harbored rebellious thoughts.
By chance, he met Bai Huixian, a young lady from the Bai family. The two rebellious and willful individuals spent their time feasting and playing together, unbeknownst to their families.
Bai Huixian often disguised herself as a man, and they even visited brothels together and got into fights. At that time, he felt that being with Bai Huixian was living life to the fullest; he could do whatever he wanted, say whatever he pleased, and no one controlled him.
Unconsciously, their feelings for each other grew. Walls have ears, and eventually, this matter reached the Great Princess. The Great Princess cried and made a scene. His family members always looked at him with reproach, which made him even more determined to defy them.
He even argued that he wanted a divorce from the Great Princess, resorting to tears, tantrums, and even threats of self-harm in turns.
Finally, the Emperor was alerted. No matter how dissatisfied or unbalanced he felt, he could only watch helplessly as Bai Huixian was married off to the south by Master Bai.
Although the matter was suppressed, his relationship with the Princess also cooled to the freezing point. A few months later, he received a letter from Bai Huixian stating that their son had been born. He even went out to buy some wine and celebrated heartily.
The thought of himself and Bai Huixian being like tragic mandarin ducks, cruelly separated, filled him with a deep sense of unwillingness.
A few years later, when everyone thought he had forgotten the young lady from the Bai family, he took the opportunity of an official trip to the south to secretly get involved with her again, now Madam Zhou.
Soon, they had a daughter. He was somewhat jealous of Master Zhou. Although his status was very low, he had obtained the woman of his dreams. Even though they were only nominal husband and wife, he still minded it greatly.
After that, he had no opportunity to leave the capital again. The Great Princess, seeing that she could no longer win back her husband's heart, took several concubines for him. Although he occasionally maintained contact with Madam Zhou through letters, over time, their attention was drawn to the people around them, and he gradually began to forget about her. Moreover, every time she wrote, it was either to ask him to solve her troubles or to request benefits for her current husband.
Once or twice might have been acceptable, but over time, he became somewhat annoyed. If it weren't for their son and daughter, he truly wouldn't have bothered with her. Especially in the last two years, as he aged, he truly understood the purpose of his family arranging his marriage to the Princess – primarily because he lacked the talent to pursue an official career himself. Additionally, his family had encountered some troubles at the time and needed the Princess to oversee their household, showing leniency.
He also noticed that the young gentlemen he used to associate with were either mediocre, holding unimportant positions, or were commoners with nothing to do all day. Some families even declined. Only he remained in the public eye, mainly because he was a son-in-law of the imperial family, commanding respect when he went out. After realizing these things, he intentionally sought to improve his relationship with the Great Princess.
How could the Great Princess not notice his change? Although she hated some of his actions in the early years, honestly, she had fallen in love with him at first sight among so many people. In the beginning, the Great Princess could ignore him, but as time went on, he sent her gifts repeatedly and spoke tender words, and her attitude softened unconsciously.
It had taken him great effort to achieve a relationship of mutual respect with the Great Princess. Now, with this incident surfacing, it was imaginable that the Emperor would definitely recall his youthful indiscretions. If the Great Princess found out, their relationship would likely be thrown into cold water again. The thought of this gave the驸马 a headache.
If he ignored Bai Huixian, he feared implicating his son and daughter, as they were now Master and Miss of the Zhou family. Although he had no feelings for them, he still wished them a good future. But if he got involved, he feared the Great Princess might misunderstand. Furthermore, if he pleaded with the Emperor, the consequences would likely be even more severe.
After contemplating, he secretly sent someone to inquire about the Bai family's movements.
Meanwhile, Master Bai had knelt outside the Imperial Study for a long time before being granted entry.
Ignoring the pain and weakness in his legs, he immediately knelt before the Emperor upon entering and said with tears, "This old subject is guilty. I have raised a lawless daughter. Originally, I did not intend to interfere with her, but after all, she is my daughter. She holds the same place in my heart as your imperial daughters do in Your Majesty's heart. Unfortunately, my daughter is not as filial, virtuous, and dignified as your imperial daughters. Despite her flaws, this old subject must still beg for her."
The Emperor knew he was saying this to soften his heart and cease pursuing Bai Huixian's responsibility. Yet, his heart couldn't help but soften slightly, for after all, parental love is universal.
"If I recall correctly, your nephew and niece are the children of my elder sister, the Princess? Do you fear my retribution for causing trouble for my imperial sister?" the Emperor asked, raising an eyebrow somewhat tentatively.
Master Bai remained silent for a moment before calmly stating, "My daughter has made a mistake and should be punished. If Your Majesty wishes to target them, then that is their fate. After all, the empire belongs to Your Majesty. If a ruler wishes a minister to die, the minister must die."
Hearing his official reply, the Emperor felt somewhat bored and waved his hand, "On your account, I shall spare her this once. But you must know that my patience is limited. If such a thing happens again, I will show no mercy."
Upon hearing this, Master Bai quickly kowtowed to express his gratitude. As for his daughter's request in the letter to intercede for the magistrate, he dared not utter it. Only his daughter's foolish mind would write such a letter to him. She didn't consider that there was an essential difference between her and the magistrate.
The magistrate, as a local official, should serve the Emperor rather than lose his principles. His daughter, however, was merely a woman. The Emperor might describe her as having "long hair but little sense" and let her off lightly. But for the magistrate's betrayal, the Emperor could not tolerate it.
When the驸马 received the news that Master Bai had interceded for his daughter at the palace, he breathed a sigh of relief. After some thought, he couldn't help but write a letter to Madam Zhou, asking her to lie low, go out less, stop causing him trouble, and no longer send him letters. They should each live their own lives peacefully.
To teach his daughter a lesson, Master Bai intentionally delayed sending the letter by a few days, wanting her to worry a little longer, remember this experience, and not act so recklessly and brazenly.