Lu Nianfu found it strange, "If she wants to raise more money, why doesn't she just set a higher baseline herself? If the leader only puts up three thousand taels, who would dare to surpass her?"
Fu Yingyu's smile held an unconcealed schadenfreude, "She's out of money."
"How is that possible?"
"Seventh sister-in-law, you live a sheltered life and might not know, but the Crown Prince has been having a rather unpleasant spat with the Fu family recently. The Crown Princess's available funds are likely not as ample as before."
"Why?"
Fu Yingyu said, "The Crown Prince requested to lead troops at Yanmen Pass, but Duke Xie refused."
Lu Nianfu was even more perplexed, "The court is negotiating peace with Hui Ge. What kind of war is happening at Yanmen Pass?"
"There's no war at Yanmen Pass, but there is in the northern frontier. Lack of military achievement is the Crown Prince's Achilles' heel. Before, he didn't care because only my fourth brother had military merits, and my fourth brother's disfigurement meant he couldn't ascend the throne. But now that seventh brother has appeared out of nowhere, isn't he in a hurry?"
"So, his intention is to seize some military power from Duke Cao and then achieve merits in the northern frontier?"
"Haha, isn't that killing two birds with one stone?"
Lu Nianfu found it unbelievable, "He's digging his own grave with such fervor. He hasn't even ascended the throne yet and he's already trying to seize his maternal grandfather's assets. Duke Cao must be deeply disheartened right now."
"Isn't that so? With such a foolish move, my fifth brother must be laughing his head off." Who would have thought the Crown Prince would be so self-destructive? After this incident, even if Duke Cao is his maternal grandfather, he can no longer wholeheartedly help him without reservations.
"That doesn't make sense either. Since the Crown Princess's fundraising is to win over the military for the Crown Prince, didn't the Crown Prince help her out with some money?"
Fu Yingyu replied, "Who knows what they discussed between themselves? Perhaps the Crown Princess wanted to give the Crown Prince a surprise. Ever since the mine donation incident, the Crown Prince has been rather distant towards her, and he even elevated several concubines."
It was perfectly normal for the Crown Prince to have multiple wives and concubines.
But to promote several without any apparent reason was truly bothersome. Yet, the Crown Princess could not express any resentment and had to find ways to win back the Crown Prince's heart.
Alas, women.
The two looked at each other, and both saw a trace of sympathy in the other's eyes.
After all, they were in the Eastern Palace, and their conversation soon turned to other matters. Seeing that the time was about right, they left the palace together.
If the Crown Princess wanted her to pay more, there were only a few methods. The most likely would be to create public opinion pressure, for example, accusing her of being rich and unkind, donating so little when the border was in need. But she wasn't really afraid of this. She had donated a mine just last year and had also donated generously in the name of Rui Wangfu during the snow disaster.
Setting up porridge stalls and distributing rice and grain, nothing was left out.
It hadn't even been half a year since those events, and the public's memory couldn't possibly be that poor.
Therefore, after returning, she had people send two thousand five hundred taels to the Eastern Palace and then put the matter out of her mind. Qing Ya, however, was extremely diligent. Every afternoon, she would mingle in tea houses, striving to get the latest news firsthand.
If anyone dared to slander her Wangfei for this matter, she would have a good argument with them about what it truly meant to be rich and unkind.
Unfortunately, after waiting and waiting, she didn't hear anyone talking about Lu Nianfu's donation. Instead, she heard news of the Crown Prince being punished with kneeling by Emperor Changwu.
"The Emperor said, if there's any issue, we'll just solicit donations. What's the Ministry of Revenue for? What's the court for? Tell the Crown Prince to reflect well. Tsk, at the morning court, with all the civil and military officials present, the Emperor truly didn't spare any face for the Crown Prince this time." Qing Ya was so excited she could almost write it on her face. She suppressed her voice with great effort, "Wangfei, the Crown Prince tried to curry favor and ended up stepping on a rake. Do you think he might be deposed because of this?"
Lu Nianfu lightly smacked her head, "Such a solemn matter as deposing and enthroning a Crown Prince wouldn't be decided based on something like this."
Come to think of it, in her previous life, the Crown Prince was still in that position until her death, though he was fiercely contending with Situ Jue.
Moreover, the national treasury in her previous life was much poorer than it was now. The Crown Prince was adept at fundraising and had even received praise for it. It had caused Situ Jue to smash porcelain for a whole day in his manor, and then he was labeled as extravagant.
Since the Crown Prince was punished for fundraising, could the Crown Princess, who was his devoted follower, fare any better?
Just as the noblewomen in the capital were gathering with melon seeds, ready to watch the show, news came from the Eastern Palace that the Crown Princess had gone to apologize with thorns, and the Crown Prince, far from blaming her, had comforted her extensively. For several days, he stayed in her courtyard. Then, the Crown Princess returned to her maternal home and was subsequently driven out by Duke Cao.
The Third Prince's wife, cracking melon seeds, gossiped with Lu Nianfu, "The Crown Princess actually went home to beg her grandfather to relinquish military power to pave the way for the Crown Prince. Tsk tsk tsk, even the Empress wouldn't dare to open her mouth. What on earth is she thinking?"
"Perhaps the Crown Prince made some incredible promise to her?"
"Pah, a man's words are a liar's ghost. If you truly believe them, you'll just end up crying your eyes out."
Lu Nianfu laughed heartily, "Look at what you're saying. What did Third Brother lie to you about? Was it wealth or beauty?"
"Hmph, how dare you mock me?" Fu Yingyu said, reaching out to tickle her. Just then, Shuan Zi ran in, panting, "Wangfei, the envoy who visited Hui Ge has returned to the capital."