Chapter 9: It Turned Out to Be a Trap!

In Grace's memory, Aunt Ning always indulged the original protagonist, accommodating her in everything, which made the original protagonist and her aunt as close as mother and daughter. They shared everything, and several times when Aunt Ning suggested moving out to another house, the original protagonist's tantrums, supported by the whole household, always kept her from leaving.

Back then, only the eldest aunt, Madam Xing, didn't intervene. Aunt Ning explained that Madam Xing was just straightforward and didn't genuinely want them to leave. However, the original protagonist never took this to heart.

Grace pondered these past events within the marquis's household. Facing Aunt Ning's inquiry, she replied, "Aunt, you're overthinking. I'm still myself."

Aunt Ning was even more surprised, "You used to call me 'Auntie.' Why are you calling me 'Aunt' now?"

Grace was momentarily stumped. She quickly shifted the topic, "You said I was acting strange. Why don't you mention that the Empress Dowager is acting strange?"

"The Empress Dowager? What's strange about her?" Sure enough, Aunt Ning's attention shifted.

"Look, today I made such a huge mistake, yet she didn't immediately order my father to be punished."

Grace was just making an offhand remark, but Aunt Ning, hearing this, surprisingly said, "Of course, it's because of the Huayue Banquet incident."

"The Huayue Banquet?"

Since leaving the palace, she had heard this term quite a few times. "What happened at the Huayue Banquet?"

"It's court politics," Aunt Ning seemed reluctant to elaborate. "I heard the Empress Dowager has been summoning the Marquis several times lately. Her detaining you is likely just a ruse."

Grace, a fan of melodramatic soap operas, immediately sensed something unusual, "Aunt, that sounds quite significant."

Not that she was overthinking it, but a widowed, beautiful Empress Dowager and a strong, widowed general... Even in real history, a scenario with a widowed empress dowager and a commanding general isn't unheard of.

Moreover, considering Empress Dowager Lu's Mary Sue persona, it's hard to say whether there were any lingering feelings from when the Marquis followed the emperor in their youth, leading to sparks flying now that both are widowed.

If that's the case, it does add some spice...

So, the Empress Dowager detaining her was to use her to influence an old flame?

"Even if I told you, you wouldn't understand," Aunt Ning interrupted her thoughts.

But how could such gossip be left untold? Ready-made novel plotlines like this – she didn't traverse time just to miss out!

"Please, Auntie, tell me more about this 'ruse'!"

"Children shouldn't meddle in adult affairs."

Am I not an adult? She was already this foolish before, and now she's not allowed to ask questions? Are they planning to keep the original protagonist a fool forever?

Grace couldn't understand the logic of the "gentle and virtuous" Aunt Ning from the original protagonist's memory.

"But it's okay to tell you," Aunt Ning continued after a few sips of tea, "Recently, Left Minister of Rites, Shi En, was impeached for using the Huayue Banquet to amass wealth. The emperor was furious and wanted to punish him, but the Empress Dowager wanted to protect him.

"However, the evidence against Shi En was conclusive. Many ministers supported the emperor's decision to punish him, including those usually loyal to the Empress Dowager, like Grand Scholar Zhang Che, who remained silent on the matter."

Grace was puzzled, "What does this have to do with my father?"

Aunt Ning put down her teacup, "Your father was the foremost supporter of the emperor's decision to punish Shi En."

"..."

"Interestingly," Aunt Ning continued, "the Empress Dowager has always been the most fair and just, but this time, for some reason, she's completely contrary, opposing the emperor and insisting on keeping Shi En. Given this, your situation should not have been so easily resolved."

Grace sat up abruptly...

What's going on? The Empress Dowager, opposing her own son, insisting on protecting a minister guilty of a serious crime?

Has the sharp-witted heroine lost her mind?

No, whether the Empress Dowager is in her right mind or not, the fact remains that her "ruse" wasn't the soap opera drama Grace imagined but involved court politics. She, a mere commoner, traversed time straight into a political conflict?

"So, you're saying my father has become the Empress Dowager's political enemy?"

"Calling them enemies might be too harsh. The Empress Dowager and the emperor are, after all, mother and son. They just have a disagreement on this matter."

Aunt Ning found a more appropriate way to phrase it.

So, they have a conflict, right?

It means the Marquis is supporting the emperor, opposing the Empress Dowager. The Empress Dowager and her son, who should be on the same side, are now in opposition, and the Marquis supports the emperor's decision to punish the corrupt official. Hence, the Marquis has become a disobedient minister in the Empress Dowager's eyes!

Grace braced herself and began to carefully recall today's events...

Miss He knew the original protagonist had offended the guests yet still invited her. What was her intention? And why did the Empress Dowager choose such an occasion to bestow rewards? Her intentions were probably not simple either.

Think about it, the incident happened at that exact moment, and after it happened, the palace attendants didn't report back to the Empress Dowager first but directly took her to the palace.

Such preemptive actions in front of the sharp-witted Empress Dowager don't make sense unless explained by them following her prior orders.

Thinking this way, her earlier suspicion of being framed was indeed correct, and the one who framed her might very well be the Empress Dowager herself. When she knelt to receive the decree, most of those surrounding her were palace attendants delivering the decree. Who's to say one of them didn't push her?

Ah, the cunning woman!

For the first time, Grace felt the profound scheming of the Mary Sue heroine!

So, the whole thing was a trap by the Empress Dowager. The original protagonist was too easy to manipulate, so the Empress Dowager fabricated a charge to bring her into the palace to coerce or intimidate the Marquis. The plan was foolproof until Grace's unexpected arrival disrupted it!

This unexpected element ruined her plan!

Knowing Grace's identity as a time traveler, the Empress Dowager might have wanted to kill her to silence her, but since she is the Marquis's daughter, any action against her could have unpredictable consequences. Thus, she chose to release her, not because Grace's lies were convincing or moving, but because of the potential fallout from harming her!

No wonder the Marquis went straight to the Qianqing Palace to see the emperor, and everyone assumed the emperor would save her!

A minister's daughter being taken because he supported the emperor – of course, the emperor would intervene!

Grace instinctively touched her neck. She had genuinely thought she had fooled the Empress Dowager, not realizing that the Empress Dowager had not only seen through her but also turned the situation to her advantage, and had the audacity to extort a meal from her in the process?