"There's only one. Does Grandmother intend to use the Puppet Gu on someone else?"
Upon hearing Consort Dowager Zheng's words, Huangfu Yue keenly sensed that her grandmother was inquiring about using the Puppet Gu herself.
"Not currently," Consort Dowager Zheng shook her head. "But I fear there might be in the future," she added.
Huangfu Yue's gaze flickered. Her grandmother's words were intriguing.
"Not currently, but I fear there might be in the future." Grandmother, she...
"Yue'er, there's only one Puppet Gu. It would be a waste to use it on Xu Yuqing," Consort Dowager Zheng stated.
Hearing this, Huangfu Yue was somewhat surprised and froze for a moment.
"The Puppet Gu should be used on someone valuable, someone worthy. This woman, Xu Yuqing, is utterly worthless and not deserving of the Puppet Gu at all," Consort Dowager Zheng continued, her eyes darting as if contemplating and calculating something.
Huangfu Yue thought for a moment and couldn't help but nod in agreement.
Listening to her grandmother's words, it was indeed true that the Puppet Gu was so rare and precious it should be used on someone valuable and worthy. Like using it on the extremely wealthy to make them hand over all their assets, allowing Changjing to acquire the immense wealth.
Someone like Xu Yuqing, as her grandmother said, was utterly worthless and not deserving of the Puppet Gu. Using it on her would be a waste.
Why hadn't she thought of this before... Fortunately, she hadn't stolen the Puppet Gu to use on Xu Yuqing yet, or she would regret it forever!
But if she didn't use the Puppet Gu on Xu Yuqing and turn her into a puppet, she wouldn't behave herself and would continue to cause trouble and stir up drama. And for Ying'er's sake, she couldn't kill her!
It was a real headache...
"Grandmother, you're right. But if I don't use the Puppet Gu on Xu Yuqing, there's no way to make her behave. Considering Ying'er, I truly don't want to kill her," Huangfu Yue voiced her distress.
"I have my own ways for Xu Yuqing. Your mention of the Puppet Gu has reminded me that killing her isn't the only option," Consort Dowager Zheng smiled, a dangerous glint flashing in her eyes.
"When I was young, there was an old wet nurse in the palace who was very skilled at making various fragrances. She knew how to make a fragrance called 'Cui Yi Piao Xi'.
The 'Cui Yi Piao Xi' fragrance can make a person's body feel soft and weak, prone to drowsiness, and constantly want to sleep. They would spend more than half the day wanting to lie down, their thoughts would become sluggish, and their reactions would slow down. However, they could still speak and act normally, with their lives not being significantly affected, capable of taking care of themselves and others.
I learned many fragrance-making methods from that old wet nurse, including this 'Cui Yi Piao Xi'. After using 'Cui Yi Piao Xi' on Xu Yuqing, she should no longer be able to cause trouble."
Huangfu Yue immediately nodded in agreement after listening. "Good, let's use 'Cui Yi Piao Xi'. Grandmother, have you figured out how to make her inhale 'Cui Yi Piao Xi'?"
She hadn't expected her grandmother to know how to make fragrances. She wondered how this "Cui Yi Piao Xi" should be used? Was it placed in an incense burner for people to smell, or put in a sachet, or something else?
"I have. I'll put it in a bracelet and give it to her. However, 'Cui Yi Piao Xi' doesn't take effect immediately. It requires continuous inhalation for more than ten days to take effect, meaning we'll have to endure her for a few more days," Consort Dowager Zheng said.
She had initially thought of putting it in a sachet, but with a sachet, she worried that Xu Yuqing wouldn't wear it consistently.
Since "Cui Yi Piao Xi" requires continuous wearing and inhalation before it takes effect, she decided to put it in a bracelet.
Giving Xu Yuqing a beautiful and precious bracelet, she would surely like it and wear it all the time, even while sleeping.
"Ten days is acceptable; we can bear it," Huangfu Yue smiled.
Ten days wasn't long; it would pass quickly.
"Then it's decided. It's getting late today, and it's inconvenient to go out. Tomorrow, I'll go buy the ingredients for making the fragrance. I'll quickly make 'Cui Yi Piao Xi', then find a beautiful and luxurious bracelet, put it in the bracelet to give to Xu Yuqing, and make her wear it every day." Consort Dowager Zheng stated.
Huangfu Yue nodded and asked, "Grandmother, do you have any beautiful and luxurious bracelets? If not, I can give you one. I previously stored all the items from the prince's mansion's treasury into my Qiankun Bag, which includes a lot of gold, silver, and jewelry. Among the jewelry, I remember there are quite a few precious ornaments, including bracelets."
"No need, I have bracelets," Consort Dowager Zheng gently shook her head. "Last night, someone from the palace secretly delivered a message to me, saying the Emperor intended to raid our prince's mansion and exile us. At that moment, I immediately hid a considerable amount of money and precious ornaments on myself."
When mentioning the Emperor, a deep hatred flashed in her eyes.
It was no wonder she hated the Emperor. The Emperor had treated the Prince Dai's Mansion with such heartlessness and treachery; anyone in Consort Dowager Zheng's position would have hated the Emperor.
"If I had known earlier that you had the miraculous Qiankun Bag, I would have had you empty out everything in the mansion, leaving nothing for the Emperor's men to raid and confiscate, sparing the Emperor the gain." Consort Dowager Zheng showed a look of regret.
Hearing this, Huangfu Yue also showed a look of regret. If only they had emptied everything from the prince's mansion at that time, leaving nothing for that dog Emperor. That dog Emperor deserved not a single strand of hair.
"Oh, right," Consort Dowager Zheng suddenly said.
"What is it? Grandmother, have you remembered something?" Huangfu Yue immediately asked with concern.
"It's about your sisters-in-law," Consort Dowager Zheng suddenly sighed, a hint of sadness appearing on her face.
"All your brothers are dead, and they have all become widows. They are all still very young and may find it difficult to remain chaste, to follow us and remain the wives of our Prince Dai's Mansion, to remain widows for your brothers.
Regarding them, you must always be vigilant with each of them, do not trust them too much, and be moderate in your kindness towards them. You can be generous with their food, clothing, and daily necessities, but try not to give them money. If you do give them money, don't give too much, for fear that they might develop other intentions and suddenly find a man to remarry one day, running off with the money," Consort Dowager Zheng cautioned.
Lian Qiao nodded, hesitated for a moment, and then asked, "Grandmother, what are your thoughts and attitudes regarding the remarriage of the sisters-in-law?
As you said, the sisters-in-law are still young and may not be able to remain chaste. They won't remain wives of our Prince Dai's Mansion forever, continuing to be widows. I fear they will eventually find men to remarry. If they remarry, would you... stop them?"
"Is this something that can be stopped!" Consort Dowager Zheng shook her head and gave a bitter smile. "If you can stop it once, can you stop it a second, third, fourth, or fifth time?
They are all so young. If they have the intention to remarry, and you stop them once, there will surely be a second and a third time. With their looks, they will certainly not lack men who want them, and remarrying will be very easy.
And I am not an obstinate person. I am also a woman, and I lost my husband when I was still relatively young, becoming a widow. I know the suffering and difficulties of a widow, and I will not force them to remain widows until old age like me.
I was a woman of the former Emperor, and I must remain a widow for the former Emperor. But they are different from me...
If they wish to remarry, then let them remarry! I believe your brothers in the afterlife will understand and not blame me for not stopping them," Consort Dowager Zheng sighed.
When the former Emperor died, she was just thirty years old, and now she had been a widow for many years.
The days of being a widow were extremely bitter, especially when one was still young, not old, and still yearned for romantic love.
It was because she had loved the former Emperor very much and, due to her status, valued her identity greatly, that she had been able to endure and reach this age, having even great-grandchildren.
But to expect several granddaughters-in-law to do the same as her was asking the impossible, it was practically extinguishing people's desires!
The eldest grandson's wife, Zhu Jiayi, had a very good relationship with her eldest grandson and was a person who followed the rules. Unlike herself, she cared about etiquette and might be able to maintain her chastity with great effort.
As for the other three granddaughters-in-law, she held no hope whatsoever!
Huangfu Yue looked at Consort Dowager Zheng and sighed inwardly: Grandmother is truly a reasonable and insightful person.
To expect the sisters-in-law to remain widows for a lifetime was impossible, after all, they were so young and each so beautiful.
However...
"If the sisters-in-law remarry, my nephews and nieces..."
"Those children will definitely not be allowed to be taken away by their mothers," Consort Dowager Zheng stated, shaking her head with a firm expression, not waiting for her granddaughter to finish.
"Those children carry the bloodline of my Prince Dai's Mansion. They are people of the imperial family. How can they leave with their mothers and be left to wander outside?
Moreover, if they are allowed to call another man 'father', how can I face your brothers and the ancestors of the Huangfu family? Your brothers and the ancestors of the Huangfu family will surely blame me. How can I face them after I die!"
Huangfu Yue nodded, "Grandmother, you are right."
"Yue'er, although we are currently branded as criminals and have fallen to this state, you must firmly remember that no matter how terrible our situation becomes, even if we are trampled into the mud, we are still people of the Huangfu family, people of the imperial family!
We must take pride in our identity and cherish and protect this identity. Only by doing so do we have a chance to turn things around!"
Consort Dowager Zheng's expression suddenly changed, and she gazed at her granddaughter's identity with a solemn expression, saying.