Chapter 2685: Come On

The Crown Princess finished eating the grapes from her plate, wiped her hands, and then asked, “Go ahead, what brings you to me?”

Mingda replied, “Can’t I come to see my sister-in-law just because I miss you?”

“No, you lot always come for a reason. Now with so many interesting people and things outside, you specifically came to find me?”

Mingda and Manbao exchanged a glance with Changyu and had no choice but to confess the truth.

Upon hearing it was related to the emperor’s expedition, the Crown Princess became a bit more serious. “This matter isn’t too difficult.”

So the group moved to the garden of Wude Hall.

At this time, the palace banquet hadn’t started yet, but the afternoon sun wasn’t too harsh, so many people were in the garden enjoying the flowers and strolling around.

The Crown Princess, supported by a palace maid, led Mingda and the others slowly toward the most beautiful pavilion in the garden, where seats and cushions were arranged, and several ladies were chatting.

Seeing the Crown Princess and the two princesses, they immediately stood up to salute and vacated the best seats.

After sitting down, the Crown Princess asked with a smile, “What are the ladies talking about?”

“Discussing this year’s trending clothing.”

“Oh?” The Crown Princess said with a smile, “I find the braided flower style popular in Jiangnan quite beautiful. If peonies are woven into the fabric, it would indeed be splendid and magnificent.”

“They do exist, but they’re too intricate. A weaver might not finish a single bolt in two years. So far, only a few have been seen in the capital, created by multiple weavers working together for a year.”

Changyu perked up with interest, “I heard there were a few bolted in the tribute this year.”

“A few bolts, indeed,” the Crown Princess laughed, “There were only three in total, and the emperor gave them all to the empress.”

However, the empress always advocated thrift and didn’t use them herself, nor did she let her daughters use them.

The Crown Princess touched her belly; being pregnant, she was gifted one bolt, while the remaining two were kept in storage. According to the empress, one was to be sent to Prefect Wei’s place, and the other, she wasn’t sure who would benefit from it.

Such treasures, when the empress doesn’t permit the Imperial Family to use them, are often awarded to meritorious courtiers.

Especially after Prince Gong “fell from favor.” In the past, if he whined to the emperor before the empress’s share, the emperor would have given it all to him.

Such was the emperor’s affection for him.

Manbao listened to them talk about fabrics, from weaving techniques to embroidery, from Su embroidery to Shu embroidery, then about this year’s popular jewelry styles in the Shu region, and then those in Jiangnan, finally returning to the capital’s local fashion trends…

Manbao was dizzy just listening.

After a long, long time, the topic finally turned to this expedition. Manbao, resting her face on her hand, listened, without a hint of enthusiasm left.

This was one reason the women in the pavilion were so eager to please the Crown Princess at this moment.

With the emperor going on an expedition and the Crown Prince acting as regent, the Crown Prince’s position would only grow more secure after this event. Currently, they saw no one who could contend with him.

If it were a few years ago when the Crown Prince hadn’t had any children yet, these women would only show superficial respect to the Crown Princess, just doing enough not to make mistakes, even avoiding sitting with her for too long for fear their husbands, fathers, or brothers might be labeled as factions of the Crown Prince.

But now, there were not many concerns.

Present here, those closely related to the expedition were the Crown Princess and Zhou Man.

Such discussions about regency were somewhat sensitive, so despite trying to win the Crown Princess’s favor, they didn’t want to dwell on this topic for too long. Hence, their attention shifted to Zhou Man.

No one present was a stranger; who hadn’t consulted Zhou Man for a medical issue once or twice?

So they warmly engaged Zhou Man, “We heard Lord Zhou will personally accompany His Majesty on the expedition?”

Manbao said, “That’s the wish of His Majesty and Director Xiao.”

Everyone sighed and comforted her, “Lord Zhou, you will surely return safely.”

“Accompanying His Majesty should be safe. Don’t worry.”

The well-informed Crown Princess and the others: … She’s not worried at all; she requested to join the expedition herself.

“No wonder you’re worried about Lord Zhou. Even Auntie was quite worried about Uncle in front of the Empress,” Changyu said, “Because of this, Auntie insisted on donating a hundred thousand coins, claiming it was to bless the soldiers of the Eastern Expedition, but we all know it’s primarily for Uncle.”

Mingda laughed, “In such matters, it’s better to believe than not, isn’t it? Even our wise and rational mother has us pray all night in the palace out of concern for Father.”

The pavilion ladies eagerly asked, “How do you do it?”

“Did you invite the immortal Laozi or the Buddha?”

“Shouldn’t we pray to Lord Guan? Neither Taoism nor Buddhism handles warfare, right?”

Manbao said, “When praying for blessings, there’s not much to worry about that, naturally praying to seventy-two deities, paying respects to each one.”

Women: “Makes sense.”

Then one woman hesitantly suggested, “Why don’t we pool some money for a ritual for the Eastern Expedition Army as well?”

This way, they wouldn’t fall behind; if the State Duchess did it, and the Empress did it too, wouldn’t it be odd if they didn’t?

Manbao: …

Even Mingda was taken aback; how did it turn into organizing a ritual?

Manbao couldn’t help but ask, “Are you really going to worship deities?”

Women: “Didn’t Lord Zhou say to pray to each of the deities?”

“Then why not pray to me?” Manbao sat up straight, adjusted her official robe, sat cross-legged on her seat, and said solemnly, “When you pray to deities, you’re unsure if they protect the Eastern Expedition, if they fulfill your wishes. But praying to me, you’re certainly aware I’m doing my utmost to heal and protect the army, and you can count the lives saved. How about that?”

The women were stunned but then burst into laughter. One lady sitting closest to Zhou Man reached out to pinch her cheek, laughingly saying, “Lord Zhou, if I didn’t know your character, I would think you’re soliciting bribes.”

Manbao: I am soliciting bribes. Don’t think otherwise. It’s true. Throw more money my way.

The Crown Princess laughed, “I think Lord Zhou makes a fair point. Praying to her is better. But you won’t get our money for free.”

She chuckled, “Our money must all be used for the Eastern Expedition Army. That’s the true merit. So, I will donate some incense money to you, but you must use it to buy medicinal herbs, fabric, and other items for treating and saving the wounded. Later, keep track to see how many lives my money has saved and how much merit has accumulated.”

She touched her belly and laughed slightly, saying, “Consider it a blessing for this child, mentioning her name later.”

Manbao asked, “Have you named her yet?”

The Crown Princess replied, “I have. I’ll quietly tell you later.”

Upon hearing this, others started pondering. A lady from a wealthy family was the first to say, “If that’s the case, I’ll donate too, for my boy’s merit. I’m not asking for much, just hoping he makes progress next year and studies well.”