Allure of a Country Maiden
Chapter 779 - 777

Chapter 779: Chapter 777

After Du Yijin and the Princess (wife of Prince An) entered the Imperial Palace, the Empress Dowager left them outside in the cold for two hours, without calling them inside.

By now, darkness had completely fallen. The chilling wind was howling, making the cold seem even more biting. Despite being bundled up in thick cloaks, they were shivering with the cold.

Feeling a bit lightheaded and unsteady, Du Yijin looked at the Princess, whose nose had turned a bright shade of red from the cold. She was filled with guilt, "Mother, I’m sorry, for making you endure this suffering with me."

The Princess gave her a comforting smile, "Silly girl, I’m your mother, isn’t it natural for a family to share in each other’s joys and sorrows! The act was committed by your stepmother, it has nothing to do with you. Your mother knows you are a good child."

Upon hearing these words, Du Yijin felt even more moved, "I will definitely honor and take care of you in the future."

The Princess listened to her words and smiled. She remembered that her son had not spent his wedding night with her and said, "If you really want to honor me, live a good life with the Crown Prince, and soon you can give me a chubby grandson. "

Attracting her son and bringing him to bed was the best way to show filial respect to herself. She really didn’t want anything else!

The Princess looked at Du Yijin. The girl was not ugly, it’s just that she had a bit of a heroic appearance between her brows, which didn’t match the aesthetic standards of most people. However, her son liked men, or perhaps Du Yijin’s somewhat heroic face could straighten him out.

Listening to these words, Du Yijin’s face turned a shade of red. She said in a low voice, "I will."

The Princess wanted to tell Du Yijin about Shangguan Ruixi’s preferences, so that this daughter-in-law could capture her son’s heart as soon as possible. But at this point, the maid came to ask them to enter.

They went in.

Having been out in the cold, Du Yijin was feeling nearly frozen. Furthermore, her head felt a bit heavy. Nevertheless, she performed a standard greeting to the Empress Dowager.

In the afternoon, she had asked the nanny to come and spend the half day practicing this ceremony with her. Tonight, she finally delivered it error-free.

This time, the Empress Dowager didn’t go hard on her during the greeting, instead she abruptly ordered, "Kneel!"

They knelt down.

The Empress Dowager then took out a jade bracelet, "If I’m not mistaken, this is the bracelet that was passed from the great-great-grandmother empress dowager to me, and from me to the Princess, and from the Princess to the Crown Princess! This bracelet is meant to be passed down from generation to generation! Now it has been pawned! Can you explain to me how it ended up at a pawn shop!"

If it weren’t for the fact that the pawn shop was part of the dowry shop owned by her sister and was discovered by An Cheng to be an item from the palace, wouldn’t the bracelet passed down from her great-grandmother have ended up amongst the common folk!

Upon hearing this, Du Yijin felt her face burning. She steeled herself and said, "Your majesty, this bracelet was pawned because..."

"Enough! No need to explain, I had it checked out! It was stolen by your mother and pawned! A mother steals her own daughter’s dowry! What’s more absurd! Princess, is this the daughter-in-law you picked for Ruixi? Are you blind? How could you choose such a daughter-in-law for Ruixi! She’s not worthy of being a part of my grandson’s life! Now that this has gotten out, where can the royal family show its face!"

Du Yijin’s face was all aflame, she lowered her head, not daring to say a word.

The Empress Dowager eyed Du Yijin’s hand, which was wrapped up like a rice dumpling. Her eyes squinted slightly, the burns might not reach you, but the Empress Dowager has other ways to punish you!

"Mother, this was..." The Princess began to explain as soon as she heard this.

"Enough, no need to explain, I won’t listen! The Crown Princess will go to the small Buddhist temple and copy the Buddhist scriptures a thousand times, as an apology to the great-grandmother! Only after finishing can you leave the palace! You’re dismissed!" With a wounded hand, copying out the Buddhist scriptures a thousand times, even if it doesn’t damage her hand, the pain from writing would be unbearable.

The Empress Dowager was getting on in age, if she didn’t want to teach them a lesson, she would have gone to sleep a long time ago at this hour. Now her eyelids were wrestling, and she had no energy to scold anyone, hence she waved them away to carry out their tasks, those who had to return to their homes could do so.

The Empress Dowager stood up and with the help of a maid, she headed into her chambers.

Princess An, "..."

The Empress Dowager actually let them go after just a few words of scolding? Since when did the Empress Dowager become so kind!

But copying out the scriptures a thousand times? If she keeps copying until dawn, she probably won’t finish! The Princess glanced at Du Yijin’s hands again, it seemed this punishment was not light at all, won’t this ruin Du Yijin’s hands!

She thought the Empress Dowager was kind, but as it turns out, the Empress Dowager and kindness are antonyms.

If Du Yijin was only left alone in the palace to copy out the scriptures, the Princess wouldn’t be able to rest easy. She wanted to suggest that Du Yijin could return to her home to copy them out, and only return to the palace once she finished writing.

"Mother,..."

"What? You also want to go with the Crown Princess and copy the scriptures in the small Buddhist temple? I won’t stop you." The figure of the Empress Dowager leaving paused for a moment, she threw those words out and left.

Du Yijin gently tugged at the princess’s clothes, then shook her head at her.

After the Empress Dowager left, Du Yijin looked at the dismayed Princess and said, "Mother should return home first, the crown prince is still waiting outside the palace! Don’t make him worry."

At that reminder, the Princess remembered that her son was still waiting outside the palace. After such a long time, he was probably very worried.

"Then your mother will go out of the palace first, and I will come back to the palace early tomorrow morning to think of a way to get you home."

Du Yijin nodded.

After the Princess left, a palace maid led Du Yijin to the small Buddhist temple, and then left, leaving her alone.

Shangguan Ruixi had been waiting outside the palace for a long time and seeing no sign of the two, he was already extremely anxious!

The Empress Dowager wouldn’t be thinking up another way to torment Yijin, would she!

Yijin had a fever last night, and the wounds on her hand and head had not healed yet. How could she endure such torment?

Finally, the gate of the palace opened, and only the Princess came out. Shangguan Ruixi could not help but lean forward and look into the palace, but there was no sign of Du Yijin.

"Mother, where’s the Crown Princess?"

"The Empress Dowager has punished her by making her copy out Buddhist scriptures a thousand times. She will only be allowed to leave the palace when she is done."

"A thousand times? When will that be done?" Hearing these words, Shangguan Ruixi was on the edge of his patience. Can Yijin’s hands still function after copying a thousand times?

The Princess thought he was worried about not knowing how long it would take, so she said, "Let’s go back to the palace first, and think of a way to get Yijin back home as soon as possible tomorrow."

What could Shangguan Ruixi say? At this point, he was absolutely not allowed to enter the palace!

...

In the small Buddhist temple, there was no underfloor heating, not even a stove, the entire room was freezing.

Du Yijin shook her drowsy head, began grinding the ink stone, then painstakingly started copying out the Buddhist scriptures.

As the night deepened, the cold grew even more intense. Her feet on the ground and hands exposed to the air felt painfully cold, then her entire body seemed to freeze. Her head felt even heavier now.

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