Speaking of the Duke of Jin, he is actually a weirdo.
His title of Duke of Jin was hereditary, but it was true that the Ximen family had produced many capable people in those days. He himself was a military general and had won a great victory in the Battle of Nanjun. Since then, he has retired and has been content to be the Duke of Jin.
But it does not mean that he has no ambition. He does have it, but the victory was actually due to the old lady's proper deployment of troops. He knew that he had no military ability, so he retired at the right time in order to preserve his own merits and reputation.
The Duke of Jin had a certain amount of power, but his descendants were not so powerful. In order to form cliques and factions, he did not hesitate to climb up even though he knew that the Prime Minister's Mansion was now a rat crossing the street.
The Duke of Jin is a powerful character, not in the battlefield, but in conspiracy and scheming.
It was also because of this that he was able to consolidate his position and become a force that few people in Beijing dared to offend.
By marrying into the Prime Minister's Mansion, he wanted to use Prime Minister Xia as a stepping stone to get closer to the Queen and Grand Tutor Liang.
Naturally, Prime Minister Xia wanted to marry Ximen Xiaoyue, because the power of the Duke of Jin was extraordinary, and being able to form an alliance with the Ximen family would be a great help to him.
Moreover, Ximen Xiaoyue's previous husband died on the battlefield. As a military hero's wife, she has a high reputation. Now he really needs someone with a good reputation to wash away the filth in his mansion.
When Ximen Xiaoyue married him, she only asked for the status of a co-wife and did not require him to divorce Yuan. This was a relief for him because at this juncture, it was impossible for him to divorce Yuan.
As for divorce, it is even more impossible.
Xia Wan'er was very opposed to marrying Ximen Xiaoyue, so the old lady specifically asked her to talk.
"Do you know why the prince doesn't come now?" The old lady asked with narrowed eyes as she ordered Aunt Cuiyu to make tea.
Xia Wan'er stroked her cheek and said hatefully, "I know. That little bitch ruined my appearance. The prince hates me, so I won't come."
The old lady shook her head gently, "No, no, when the prince marries, appearance is secondary, the most important thing is family background, the reputation of the prime minister's mansion is now in disrepute, and your marriage has not yet been approved by the empress dowager, and the queen has not issued an additional decree to prepare for the wedding."
"Grandma, what should we do?" Xia Wan'er was extremely anxious. "Will the Queen cancel this marriage?"
The old lady said coldly: "I will not allow this to happen."
She raised her sparkling eyes and stared at Xia Wan'er, "So, this is why your father wants to marry Ximen Xiaoyue."
"My granddaughter still doesn't understand. Please explain it to me, grandma." Xia Wan'er asked hurriedly.
The old lady said suddenly, "After Ximen Xiaoyue married, she became your legal mother. You should not only respect her as your mother, but also have a good relationship with her. Whenever you go out for social events, you and her should be kind and filial. She is a few years older than you. I tell you, you should not just call her mother superficially, but you should truly respect her as your legal mother and let everyone know that the Duke of Jin's mansion is your support and your mother's maiden home."
Xia Wan'er immediately understood, "Grandmother, what you mean is that Ximen Xiaoyue is marrying here to support me and stabilize my marriage and my position as the Crown Princess?"
"That's right. Ximen Xiaoyue is a smart person. She won't make things difficult for you. She will get along well with you because she also needs a crown princess to stabilize her status and reputation. You are using each other, do you understand?" the old lady warned.
Xia Wan'er nodded and said happily: "Granddaughter understands."
"With your family background as a prime minister and the Duke of Jin as your mother, the queen will reevaluate your value. Even if the crown prince dislikes your appearance, the queen will not cancel the marriage. Your position as the crown princess is still as stable as Mount Tai."
Xia Wan'er touched her cheek and said aggrievedly, "But, my granddaughter doesn't want the crown prince to dislike me, and there must be other ladies and concubines in the East Palace. How can my granddaughter fight against them with her appearance? Grandmother, do you have any solution?"
The old lady held her hand and patted the back of her hand gently, "Silly child, when you get married and become the Crown Princess, you will hold great power. What woman can compare with you? As for who wants to stand out, you can just give them a hard time. Everything is still under your control. What are you afraid of?"
Xia Wan'er nodded, "Grandmother is right. As long as I am the Crown Princess, it will be difficult for anyone to stand out."
The old lady still looked at her, "However, we cannot rule out the possibility that your mother will do something after Ximen Xiaoyue gets married. You should keep a close eye on her or go and warn her in person. If you still want to live a good life, it's best not to cause trouble."
Xia Wan'er immediately stood up and said, "Don't worry, grandma. I will go and explain it to her. If she doesn't cooperate, she will have no place in this prime minister's mansion."
The old lady's face slowly showed a smile, but her eyes narrowed, "Okay, grandma is old, and can't plan for you for long. With Ximen Xiaoyue's help, I hope she can help you ascend to the throne, and bring honor to our Xia family!"
Xia Wan'er's blood boiled at the old lady's words. She knelt down and kowtowed politely, "Grandmother, I will never forget your kindness in promoting me today. If I can ascend to the throne, I and the Prime Minister's Mansion will prosper together."
This is exactly what the old lady wanted to hear. If one prospers, all prosper; if one suffers, then she, Xia Wan'er, is not a member of the prime minister's family.
After Xia Wan'er left the old lady's yard, she took everyone directly to the elegant room in the back garden.
Madam Linglong, who used to be so arrogant, now sat in the yard with a dejected look on her face. She was still dressed luxuriously, with heavy makeup on her face, and her lips were painted particularly red, so bright and juicy that they looked as if they were stained with blood.
Shuyu stood behind her and massaged her back. There were several blue and red palm marks on Shuyu's face, which showed that she had been beaten a lot in recent days.
Seeing Xia Wan'er coming, Madam Linglong's eyelids fluttered, "Oh, isn't this the second young lady of our Xiangfu? There are poisonous snakes lurking in this back garden, you'd better stay away."
Xia Wan'er looked at her with disgust on her face, but she suppressed her dissatisfaction, hoping to coax her. If she couldn't coax her, she would make other plans. "Are you used to living here, mother?"
Madam Linglong snorted, "I'm used to it. How can I not be used to it? This back garden is beautiful, with a lake in front and a bamboo forest in the back. There are exotic flowers and plants in the yard, and there are people to serve us. We have no shortage of food and drink. How can it be bad?"
Xia Wan'er squatted down and held her hand, "Mother, I had no choice but to do this. Father was furious. If I continue to help you, I'm afraid I won't have a good life. If I can't protect myself, how can I let you live a good life in the future?"
Madam Linglong looked at her half-believingly, still remembering the ruthlessness on her face that day, "Really? You also dislike me as your mother, right?"
"The grace of giving birth to a child is more important than anything else. Mother, shouldn't I be ashamed to death for saying this?" Xia Wan'er said.
Madam Linglong looked at her and saw that her face was sad, as if she really had her own reasons. What's more, what she said made sense. Now Xia Huaijun hated her. If Wan'er helped her, both mother and daughter would be in trouble.
"You really haven't forgotten mother?" she asked.
"Of course not. Mother and Linlin will always be Wan'er's relatives." Xia Wan'er gently leaned her head on Madam Linglong's knees. "Only you two are the closest to me."
(End of this chapter)