Chapter 305: The Princess Arrives
Early in the morning, Princess Grandma was dressed in her finest. She looked even more beautiful than she had yesterday.
If power is a beauty buff for men, then love is a plastic surgeon’s scalpel for women.
Before yesterday, she had been devoid of desire, unkempt, and messy, as if there was no one left in the world she cared about. She would dress like a black fish or like a giant bird, just throwing on whatever, not caring at all.
But today, even after spending half the night on the toilet, she got up early to dress in her finest.
She wanted to show her own son the best version of his Mother. She wanted to set an example of what a princess should be for her dearest, dearest granddaughter.
Princess Huiyun was a little dazed when she saw the person in the mirror. Time seemed to have treated her well.
Even with the scar on her face, it did not diminish the beauty of the person in the mirror in the slightest; in fact, it added a sense of alluring mystery.
She thought it was because she had found her son again, regained her vitality, and come back to life. She wanted to live now, filled with fighting spirit.
She had almost forgotten what she used to look like. She only knew that everyone had always praised her beauty.
Princess Huiyun had once pretentiously said, “I do not know what beauty is.”
She was beautiful without knowing it, because she was never sure if people praised her because she was truly beautiful or because she was a princess.
The winter day was cold. As Mianmian looked at Princess Grandma, she always felt that Grandma was radiating a murderous aura, a bit like a female version of the Victorious Fighting Buddha…
She asked curiously, “Grandmother, do you not have any special feelings?”
Usually, drinking spiritual spring water would cause diarrhea or something similar. Looking at Princess Grandma’s vibrant appearance, it seemed to have had an effect, though any other side effects had yet to be discovered.
Mianmian felt that this spiritual spring water definitely had side effects to some degree, and the side effects were different for everyone.
After Elder Sister drank the spiritual spring water, she could eat anything. The side effect might be a dulling of her nerves; poisonous things could no longer poison her, and she had lost the happiness of being poisoned.
For example, when others ate certain hallucinogenic mushrooms, they could see fairies taking off their clothes and dancing, but when Elder Sister ate them, she saw nothing, losing a lot of joy.
After Elder Brother drank the spiritual spring water, he suspected he had been reborn. But while others who were reborn had various opportunities to change their fates and could see development trends to defy the heavens, Elder Brother’s rebirth only showed him an endlessly long life of death; his side effect was a fear of the dark.
After Mother drank the spiritual spring water, her side effect was becoming too sensitive. If Mianmian had even the slightest bad thought, the sensitive Mother would discover it and then proceed to take sensitive, drastic actions to spank her.
After Father drank the spiritual spring water, his side effect was that he occasionally felt a bit “green tea-like.” Perhaps it was just an illusion; that was her own Father, she couldn’t say that.
As for herself, after drinking the spiritual spring water, her side effect was probably hyperactivity. Her five senses were stronger than others’, so she couldn’t sit still, was restless, couldn’t study properly, and just wanted to play…
“Didn’t you say you wanted to go pick up your Father after he finished at the Imperial Court? Let’s go.” Princess Huiyun looked at the little one who seemed to be daydreaming again and spoke up.
She didn’t know if she looked good or not, but the little one was truly beautiful, especially when she wasn’t talking.
“Grandmother, your carriage is a princess’s carriage; it must be especially imposing. I fell asleep yesterday, so I want to sit in it properly today. Later, we’ll drive it to the entrance of the Imperial Court and pick up Father there. Oh, right, let’s pick up Elder Brother too. That way, in the future, Father and Elder Brother’s colleagues will know that Father has connections, and they’ll be bullied less.”
“Who would dare!” Princess Huiyun was always broken by the things the little one said.
A princess’s palanquin was second only to the Emperor’s and was much more high-ranking than Prime Minister Lu’s. After all, no matter how high-ranking Prime Minister Lu was, he was just a high-level employee, whereas the princess was the boss’s own sister.
Inside, the Imperial Court meeting was in session, and the princess’s palanquin strolled in leisurely. No one stopped it. The Emperor had given his word; the princess could go anywhere, and no one was allowed to stop her.
The princess couldn’t be bothered to deal with others, so she sat on the palanquin and did not get off. She just waited for the meeting to end to pick up her own son and grandson. It was also a formal announcement of their identities.
Seeing guards entering the Imperial Court, Jiang Mianmian asked curiously, “Grandmother, when the Imperial Court is in session, do the guards go in to arrest people?”
Princess Huiyun sent her subordinates to take a look, while explaining to the little one, “If someone makes a mistake, they get arrested. It’s always those messy kinds of things.”
As it turned out, the servant flew back in an instant. Princess Huiyun’s face immediately flushed red. She lifted the carriage curtain and jumped out of the carriage.
Mianmian also jumped out of the carriage. Princess Huiyun wanted to tell the little one to wait in the carriage, but thought that was impossible; if she didn’t keep an eye on this little one, who knew what she would do, so she decided to just let her come along.
Thus, the Emperor was still sitting on the dragon throne, rubbing his temples, preparing to wait for the officials to leave before he departed. At that moment, a eunuch suddenly shouted in a thin, feminine voice, “Princess Huiyun has arrived!”
The ears of all the officials in the Imperial Court felt a bit of pain from that sharp sound piercing their eardrums. Prime Minister Lu felt an even worse headache and a bit of dizziness.
The old officials in the court all knew who Princess Huiyun was. There had been an entire era dominated by Princess Huiyun.
Women of that era talked about Princess Huiyun every single day. The woman whose name was mentioned most frequently by sisters, Mothers, and wives was Princess Huiyun. Even if they had never seen her, her name was like thunder to their ears.
The younger generation of officials knew less about her. Princess Huiyun was more like a legendary figure. But in the Grand Court, a princess had just appeared like this. A legendary figure. Her name was thunderous. Truly a legend.
The Emperor sitting on the dragon throne was stunned for a moment. Then came endless nervousness; he even wanted to find a mirror to see what he looked like at this very moment.
Why would Princess Huiyun come now? And in the Imperial Court, of all places. Had Princess Huiyun suffered some grievance? Was she here to find him? For a moment, the Emperor even wanted to stand up. Fortunately, his sluggish body controlled his restless heart, preventing him from losing his composure in front of the courtiers.
Mianmian was a little nervous. Wasn’t she supposed to pick up Elder Brother and Father after work? Why did they run straight to where people work? But she was very curious. It would be a waste not to watch.
The scene was basically full of top scholars, past top scorers in the imperial exams, or children of powerful families, relatives of the Emperor… She was gaining experience, gaining experience. She would go back and tell Mother and Elder Sister all about it. Jiang Mianmian had a serious expression, but she was incredibly happy inside.
Princess Huiyun, however, was radiating a murderous aura, charging straight into the Imperial Court with her sword in hand. Princess Huiyun was allowed to see the Emperor and enter the palace without disarming; this had been personally permitted by the Emperor himself.
In the great hall, the civil and military officials were lined up on the left and right. Princess Huiyun walked forward step by step. The Princess Huiyun of the past had been arrogant, but she had never stormed into the Imperial Court. Yet today, Princess Huiyun had made an appearance before all the civil and military officials.
Those who had seen her, those who had not, those who were curious, and those who were very curious—all eyes were fixed on her.
Princess Huiyun was a very self-centered person. She felt that she could not make everyone like her or be satisfied with her. Because if she wanted everyone to like her, it would mean handing power over to those who disliked her the most. It would mean having to win over that group of people who didn’t like her. She didn’t need that. She had always ignored that group of people. She only needed those who liked her, those who were compatible with her, and those who were like-minded; it was enough for that group of people to like her.
She looked down on everyone. She looked down on everything. She was a princess by birth. Her aura was unmatched.
Everyone thought they would see a disfigured, frail, and elderly woman. After all, Princess Huiyun’s era had passed a long time ago. So long that everyone had almost forgotten it.
What would a person who lived a life accompanied by a green lamp and an ancient Buddha look like? Every major family seemed to have such people. White hair, wrinkles, old age, loneliness…
But at this moment, a ball of fire was spreading toward the Imperial Court. Both the young and the old felt that warmth.
There was such a woman, walking on the Golden Dragon Path of the Imperial Court, as if it were only natural. She was dressed in a red robe embroidered with clusters of dragons and phoenixes, adorned with magnificent jewelry, and even her boots were studded with gemstones; she was gorgeous, vibrant, and luxurious.
But all of this could not overshadow her face. She wore a half-face golden mask, like a goddess descending to the world. Time had not left a single trace on her. It was as if time had paused.
She walked over slowly. Or perhaps not slowly, but rather quickly. But for some officials, it felt like time was flowing backward. It felt like they had returned to the era dominated by Princess Huiyun.
The Emperor sat on the dragon throne, watching the figure get closer and closer. From illusion to reality, it was as if he had traveled back from the present to his youth. Sunrises and sunsets, stars shifting—Princess Huiyun had actually remained completely unchanged. No, she had changed; she had become more beautiful, more brilliant, and more unbridled.
Princess Huiyun walked to the very front of the Imperial Court. She saw that everyone was standing, except for one man who was kneeling. He was wearing a shabby, dark blue fourth-rank tattered robe, kneeling there. Everyone else was standing, and my son was kneeling. Everyone else was standing, and my son was kneeling. Good, good, good!…
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