Jiang Changning wanted the Queen Mother to forget her, but that was impossible.
After the Queen Mother argued with the Queen, she felt even more chest tightness and shortness of breath, so she simply ignored the Queen and said, "Chun'an, things are unpredictable, beauty fades and love fades."
The queen sneered, making it seem as if the emperor was not lustful.
Compared to Prince Jin, the Emperor probably likes beauty more.
Isn't it because of Jiang's beauty that the emperor tried his best to bring her into the palace
They all disregarded propriety, righteousness, integrity and shame. You should know that in public, Jiang was the minister's wife, and in private, Jiang was her younger brother's sister-in-law.
As for why the empress dowager did not keep Jiang in the palace for the emperor during the selection of concubines, but instead wanted to make Jiang the emperor's woman after she became the Princess of Jin, it was because the empress dowager wanted to use this opportunity to humiliate the Prince of Jin.
"Empress Dowager, a wife is equal to her husband." Jiang Changning said with a smile.
What is left unsaid is: Only a concubine would worry about the fading of her beauty and the fading of her love; a wife never relies on her beauty to secure her position.
The Queen Mother served the emperor with her beauty, but later she lost her favor to a younger beauty and was forced to move south.
If it weren't for the Chenglong incident, the late emperor would have forgotten her long ago.
"Being a wife and being a concubine are different." The queen said with a smile.
Being despised by her daughter-in-law, the Queen Mother was about to explode with anger. She didn't want to see the Queen's hateful face again. "I'm tired. Everyone, please leave."
The Queen and Jiang Changning bowed, "I, your daughter-in-law, take my leave."
After leaving Fushou Palace, Jiang Changning smiled and said, "Thank you, Queen, for accompanying me."
The queen smiled and said, "Princess Jin, you are welcome. We hit it off right away. When Princess Jin comes to the palace, please come and sit in my palace."
"I will definitely come to bother you some other day," Jiang Changning replied with a smile.
After some insincere greetings between the two, Jiang Changning got on the sedan chair and headed for the palace gate.
After walking a short distance, the sedan chair stopped again.
Jiang Changning raised her eyes and saw that it was Zhuang Qingyan who stopped her this time.
After getting off the sedan chair, Jiang Changning bowed and said, "Greetings to Mr. Zhuang, I wish you the best."
As a lady of the first rank, she does not need to kneel to greet a lady of the fourth rank or below.
"Greetings, Princess Jin. Long live the Princess." Zhuang Qingyan bowed in return.
"The talented person has lost weight." Jiang Changning said.
Zhuang Qingyan pulled the corners of her mouth and smiled, "It's not easy to live in the palace, how can I not lose weight? Princess, are you doing well?"
"There are many concubines in the mansion." Jiang Changning couldn't say that he was living a happy life, as that would be a nuisance to Zhuang Qingyan.
Zhuang Qingyan sighed and said, "Life is hard for women no matter where they live."
"Talent, do you have anything to say? Do you want me to take it to the old ladies?" Jiang Changning didn't want to get caught up in the sadness of life with her.
"How did the fifth sister become a concubine in the princess's mansion?"
"The princess chose it."
Zhuang Qingyan smiled bitterly and said, "The royal family has made the decision and no one can refuse it."
Jiang Changning pursed her lips and said nothing. There was no need for her to respond.
"Princess Jin, please tell my parents that I am doing fine in the palace and not to worry. Please take care of yourself too," said Zhuang Qingyan.
"I'll tell Saito."
"Thank you very much."
"You're too polite."
"Take care, Princess." Zhuang Qingyan called the palace maid who was standing not far away, then turned and left.
Jiang Changning got on the sedan chair and continued towards the palace gate.
After walking for a while, she was stopped again.
The person who stopped her this time was Lü Xiujie. Wearing a light green palace dress, Lü Xiujie was as weak as a cabbage, and there was no trace of blood on her palm-sized face.
After getting off the sedan chair again, Jiang Changning bowed and said, "Greetings, Lady Rou. May your presence be with you forever."
"Greetings to Princess Jin. Long live the Princess." Lu Xiujie returned the greeting.
"I wonder what your Excellency wants me to do?"
"I am just a humble noble, how can I be qualified to tell Princess Jin what to do?"
Jiang Changning lowered his head and curled his lips. If that was the case, then why did he stop her sedan chair
"Here is one hundred taels of silver. Please give it to my aunt, and ask her to go to the temple and ask a senior monk to perform a ritual for my son. This will end the mother-son relationship between us." Lu Xiujie handed Jiang Changning a purse with a sad face.
Xiaochun took the purse and opened it. "Princess, it's one hundred taels of silver."
"The princess is really cautious." Lu Xiujie said.
"No matter how much money it is, it should be counted in person to avoid trouble in the future." Jiang Changning said with a faint smile.
"Your Highness is right. I'll leave this matter to you, Your Highness."
"Don't worry, I will definitely pass it on." Jiang Changning paused, "Please accept my condolences and take good care of yourself."
"Thank you for your concern, Princess. It's very troublesome." Lu Xiujie also left with the palace maid.
Jiang Changning got on the sedan chair again. No one should be able to stop her, right
This time, he arrived at the palace gate smoothly. He walked through the corridor and arrived outside the palace. He got on the carriage and leaned on the brocade cushion. Only then did he really relax. "Let's go back to the palace."
After returning to the palace, Jiang Changning arranged for Xiulan to go to the Zhuang family, and Xiaochun took people to Xie's house.
After changing clothes, he went to Liuxuanyuan to pay his respects to the Concubine Dowager, and then returned to Rujingyuan.
Thinking of what happened in Fushou Palace, Jiang Changning couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Prince Jin rushed back to his palace in a hurry. Although he knew that Jiang Changning had left the palace safely, he was still worried because he didn't see him.
When he heard her clear laughter as soon as he entered the room, King Jin couldn't help but laugh. He hurried into the room and asked, "Ningning, what are you so happy about?"
"Eternal Day." Jiang Changning happily threw herself into his arms.
King Jin hugged her and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Do you know which painting the Queen Mother asked me to appreciate?" Jiang Changning asked with a smile.
"The Queen Mother has collected many famous calligraphy and paintings. Just pick one at random. Anyway, summoning you to the palace to appreciate famous calligraphy and paintings is just an excuse."
"The palace maid brought out the "Pine and Crane Longevity Painting."
The King of Jin was stunned for a moment. "The Pine and Crane Longevity Painting? Is it the one we presented at the Qianqiu Banquet?"
Jiang Changning pursed his lips and smiled and nodded, "It's that one."
King Jin laughed in silence, "This is really a joke."
"That's why I'm not afraid of god-like opponents, but I'm afraid of teammates who are like pigs." Jiang Changning laughed, "Plus, the Queen Mother said something unpleasant, which made the Queen Mother so angry that she didn't even bother to criticize me and drove me and the Queen away together."
"Why did you think of asking the Queen to go with you to meet the Queen Mother?" Prince Jin asked with a smile.
"I didn't look for her. She came here on her own initiative." Jiang Changning described her entry into the palace truthfully.
The King of Jin was thoughtful. Judging from the Queen's behavior today, it can be seen that the Queen has also seen through the Emperor's ugly thoughts and is obstructing the Emperor.
"The Queen could use this to her advantage."
Jiang Changning agreed, "I think so too."
In the palace, the emperor finally sent away those nagging old clan members and rushed to Fushou Palace, but Jiang Changning had already left.
Not only did she not see the beauty, the Queen Mother also angrily scolded the Queen, "She actually told me that a downtrodden phoenix is worse than a chicken. What's the matter? She is not comfortable living in Qiyuan Palace. Does she want to stay in Qianxi Residence?"
Qianxiso was the most remote courtyard in the palace, where concubines who had made mistakes were imprisoned. Making the empress live in Qianxiso meant that she would be deposed.
Of course, it's just a meaning. It's not so easy to depose the mother of a country, especially the queen, who has the support of the Suiguo Mansion and some old ministers.
(End of this chapter)