The capital of the Great Zhou was not as chaotic as Princess An said; everything seemed to have returned to order.
However, the commotion in the harem has always been directed at Zian.
Zi'an was extremely annoyed, but he had no choice but to deal with it first.
When she went to the palace to pay her respects that day, the Empress Dowager gave her another difficult question.
"Ajie has made great contributions to our Great Zhou. Children are particularly important to his family. Since your marriage, you have not been pregnant yet. I have discussed with Concubine Jin and think that Ajie should have two concubines. But Ajie has not come back yet. It would not be good if we do not ask for his opinion. So we put it on hold for now. However, the palace should also take in some people. Therefore, we will send some people to the palace first. If they can give birth to boys in the future, they will be made concubines. What do you think, Zi'an?"
Concubine Jin also came in to pay her respects today. After hearing this, she looked up in astonishment and wanted to say a few words in defense. However, when she met the Empress Dowager's sharp and majestic eyes, she swallowed the words that were about to her lips.
Before Zi'an could say anything, the Princess of Prince Li said calmly, "The Empress Dowager is really lenient. I have been married to the Third Prince for so many years, but I have not given birth to a son or daughter. Doesn't the Empress Dowager have to fill a few people for the Prince Li's mansion?"
Princess Li did not give her any face. After being married to the third brother for so many years, she had learned from him to some extent. If she was unhappy about something, she had to speak it out.
The Empress Dowager glanced at her and said coldly, "There are three types of unfilial behavior, and the worst is to have no offspring. If a virtuous wife does not give birth to a child within a year of marriage, she should arrange for a concubine for her husband."
She didn't mention Prince Li's wife directly, but this was a very accurate rebuttal, because Prince Li did not have any concubines or mistresses in all these years.
However, everyone knew that it was not that Princess Li was unwilling to let him marry, but that he was unwilling.
Upon hearing this, Princess Li said calmly, "I have always been an unvirtuous person. This matter is well known to everyone."
The Queen Mother laughed sarcastically, "I didn't say that, but it's good that the princess has such self-awareness. Your prince is a conservative person. If I were to reason with him, I'm afraid my lips would be worn out, and I still wouldn't be able to convince him, so I don't care too much."
She shifted her gaze back to Zi'an's face, "If you don't have any objections, I will start to select. Don't worry, I can't say that my vision is the best, but I won't just send people to your house without reason."
Zi'an raised his head and said slowly, "Thank you, Queen Mother, for your concern for the palace. I am a woman and I don't know anything. Everything depends on the prince. Taking concubines is a big deal. Zi'an dare not make the decision on his own. The prince will be back soon. How about the Queen Mother tell the prince when the time comes? Maybe it will be more satisfactory for the prince to choose by himself."
The Empress Dowager said nonchalantly, "It's just a small matter, but he has to make the choice himself? As a mistress, don't you have any sense of responsibility? How can you support the affairs of the palace in the future?"
Zi'an spread his hands, "Don't we have the Empress Dowager? The Empress Dowager makes decisions for the palace even on matters like concubines, so it doesn't matter if Zi'an is useless."
The Queen Mother laughed strangely, "Does this mean that you agree with my proposal?"
"This is the decision of the Empress Dowager. Zi'an dare not disobey."
Proposal? Decision!
Zi'an was too lazy to argue with her. If she wanted to send people into the mansion, then let her do it. If the Seventh Prince liked her, there was nothing he could do about it.
If you don't like it, just wait for him to get rid of it.
The Queen Mother smiled slightly when she heard this, "The princess is considerate and can be a virtuous wife. In that case, I will start to select one."
Zi'an didn't say anything. Her attitude was very clear: I don't care about anything, so you can do whatever you want.
The Empress Dowager felt that she was asking for trouble, so she said calmly, "You all should go back. I have something else to do."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and left.
After they left the house, Princess Li said to Zi'an, "You shouldn't disagree. She doesn't know who she will put in your house."
Zi'an said with a smile, "It's okay. It's useless even if you come. Old Seven is not at home. If you come, at most you can get an extra bowl of rice. The palace is not so poor that it can't afford this meal."
"You should give her a good scolding, so that she won't always use chicken feathers as a token of authority." Princess Li said bitterly.
Zi'an laughed even more, "No need, why bother getting angry with her? She's our elder after all. If we offend her, we'll be asking for trouble. It's better to let her do whatever she wants. Anyway, as long as it doesn't hurt us, we won't care."
"Yeah, at least she's eyeing the title of my mother-in-law, it's really aggrieved."
After returning to the palace, the nanny told Zi'an that Prince Liang had arrived early in the morning and was now waiting in the yard.
Zi'an strode in quickly, and indeed saw King Liang sitting in the pavilion drinking tea. When he saw her coming back, he said with great joy, "I came here to ask for a reward."
Zi'an said with a snort, "Ask for a reward? My reward is not that easy to ask for."
"This time, there will definitely be a big reward." King Liang said with a smile.
"Hurry up and tell me!" Zi'an sat down. "I'm feeling upset. Tell me some good news to calm me down."
"What's the matter? Are you angry with me again?" asked King Liang.
Zi'an rolled his eyes at him, "So everyone knows that she will make me angry."
"Isn't it? She targeted you before you came back. All those were just bluffs. Now that you're back, you're the one being punched." King Liang said.
"I'm so unlucky." Zi'an snorted, rolling his eyes and glancing at him, "Are you going to tell me your good news or not? If you don't, I'll go back to eat. I've been standing all morning and I'm hungry and tired."
"What are we having for dinner? I am the host today and have asked Jufulou to prepare a banquet. I would like to invite you, Liuliu, Lingli, and my aunt to have dinner together to celebrate."
"What are you celebrating?" Zi'an couldn't help but be curious.
"There's a letter from Beimo. Do you want to read it?" King Liang took out a letter from his sleeve pocket and waved it in front of Zi'an.
Zi'an perked up, "Quick, let me see."
Prince Liang threw the letter to her and said, "You don't need to read it. There are only two things. The first is that Qin Zhou has been rescued and is planning to bring him back to the capital. The second is that Rouyao has been found and is now on her way back to the capital from Nanjun. When the time comes, she will return to the capital with the emperor's uncle."
Zi'an suddenly opened the letter and read it quickly, reading every word clearly. She covered her mouth with tears leaking from the corners of her eyes, "That's great, that's great, Rouyao is fine."
King Liang asked mischievously, "Should I give you a reward? Is this news worth a reward?"
Zi'an said excitedly, "Rewards, just tell me what you want."
King Liang said with a smile, "How about you pay for today's meal?"
Zi'an stood up and said, "Don't eat at Jufulou, eat at the palace. Call everyone over, and invite Lady Chen as well. I will cook for you myself."
"You cook for me yourself?" Prince Liang said bitterly, "If I give you another piece of good news, can we go to Jufulou to eat?"
(End of this chapter)