"How can you have so many worries at such a young age?"

Concubine Yun turned her eyes and looked at Jiang Rao.

Her tone was filled with her usual indulgence. "Even if Empress Jiahe came here to find out something, her thoughts are so hidden that you and I can't guess. Since we can't guess, just beat her up every time she comes and make sure she doesn't get a happy ending."

As Concubine Yun spoke, she seemed somewhat disappointed and threw the fish food in her hand away in annoyance.

The surface of the water was broken into dense ripples, as if it was raining. The red and green carps were frightened and scattered at first, and then gathered again.

"In the emperor's mind, Xu Lanruo should be the queen of a country. Among all the concubines in the harem, no one is more suitable than her."

"Whether it's her personality or her family background, there is no one else in the palace who better fits the image of a queen in Emperor Zhaowu's mind."

Concubine Yun glanced at Jiang Rao.

Jiang Rao understood with just one look from her.

Jiang Rao returned to Jinling and found out after careful inquiry.

Empress Jiahe's father, the current head of the Xu family, retired from office eight years ago due to poor health.

He only had the empty title of father-in-law of the emperor. He spent his days at home tending flowers and plants, keeping things simple and low-key, and had been away from the vortex of power for a long time.

If the emperor hadn't tried to keep him, he would have been exiled.

The emperor must be satisfied in his heart that his relatives by marriage can be so sensible, even if he doesn't say it.

But Jiang Rao did not forget the Xu family assassins she met in Yecheng, nor did she forget Rong Ting's cautious attitude when he mentioned the Xu family.

A family that raises assassins...

No one would believe that their master would just be content to grow flowers and plants.

When Concubine Yun saw that Jiang Rao understood, she leaned beside her and sighed repeatedly.

She was just a concubine in the harem. Even if she showed her teeth and claws, most of the time she was just like a cat, scratching people's flesh but not hurting their bones.

She could not even be on an equal footing with Empress Jiahe in the palace. Even if she relied on Emperor Zhaowu's favor and could piss Empress Jiahe off to death, she could not do anything to the Xu family behind Empress Jiahe.

Concubine Yun sighed repeatedly, "I can't change Empress Jiahe's foundation. If one day she really becomes the empress dowager..."

She turned her head and looked at Jiang Rao, her tone a little serious, "Niannian, have you found the most beautiful coffin board I asked you to find?"

She said sadly: "It will be used when the time comes."

“…”

"You won't need it." Jiang Rao stuffed her fish food into Concubine Yun's hand, giving her something to do when she didn't know whether she was really sad or pretending to be sad.

Concubine Yun was indeed pretending to be sad. She giggled, "Niannian really loves her aunt. Auntie strives to live a long life and stays with her forever."

Jiang Rao turned her eyes away slightly and hummed softly, hiding the sadness in her eyes.

Although she had never dreamed of her aunt's final situation, her family had become like that, so how could her aunt be any better...

Her aunt had never even appeared in her dreams.

Jiang Rao not only didn't know whether her life would be good or bad in the future, she didn't even know whether she would live or die.

Although her “hmm” was light, it showed a rare stubbornness and willfulness. “It’s settled.”

"Look at how sad you are. I won't scare you with the coffin board anymore." Seeing that she seemed really serious, Concubine Yun changed her playful smile and said seriously with a smile, "Whether Empress Jiahe can become the empress dowager in the future is still uncertain."

"Even if she has a deliberate plan, the Seventeenth Prince is not the most outstanding among all the princes, whether in terms of literary talent or military strategy. Besides, the Emperor's mind is unpredictable, and who knows who he favors."

"Besides, didn't Nian Nian find a helper for my aunt?"

Jiang Rao raised her eyes.

"The Ninth Prince is now a very popular person."

Jiang Rao didn't understand for a moment, so Concubine Yun slowly explained to her, "Emperor Zhaowu is a man who cares about his reputation. You did a great job asking your father to write a letter of recommendation for the Ninth Prince, and you won a lot of favor from Emperor Zhaowu. But the Ninth Prince has disabled legs, and no matter how much Emperor Zhaowu appreciates him, the Ninth Prince will not..."

Jiang Rao understood, nodded and continued: "It will not affect their children's throne."

"Yes, in the end, he is at most a prince with real power. Many princes want to have a relationship with him." Concubine Yun smiled faintly and said, "Empress Jiahe is shooting herself in the foot."

"At that time, she made a big fuss about how difficult it was for the Ninth Prince to be disciplined and taught, to highlight how difficult it was for her to be a mother. This made other concubines think that the Ninth Prince and Empress Jiahe had been on bad terms for many years, and some of them wanted to win over the Ninth Prince to help their sons. But fortunately..."

"The Ninth Prince is on our side." Concubine Yun pulled Jiang Rao's hand. "Although he is a little cold to others, I heard from the palace maids that he is very well-behaved in front of you. He is not as weird and unruly as Empress Jiahe said, and he doesn't know right from wrong."

"When Queen Jiahe sees the child who grew up in her palace standing on the side of her mortal enemy... I can't wait to see that scene." Concubine Yun smiled and looked at Jiang Rao, "Niannian is really my lucky star, bringing me such a bargaining chip.

…

In the back garden, the swing is swinging high.

When Empress Jiahe reached this place, she heard a familiar voice in the back garden and ordered the palace servants to slow down.

Her steps became much lighter as she entered the back garden silently. Seeing the Fourth Prince pushing the Seventeenth Prince on a swing, her face instantly turned cold and she stopped two steps away from the swing.

The seventeenth prince jumped down from the swing in dismay, lowering his eyes and not daring to look at anyone, "Mother."

The Fourth Prince stood behind the Seventeenth Prince and asked, "Aunt, why are you here?"

Empress Jiahe walked up to the Seventeenth Prince and asked him coldly, "If you continue to waste your time like this, you will be no match for that cripple!"

The Seventeenth Prince's expression became even uglier. He lowered his head deeply, with his chin almost touching his collar.

There was a hint of hatred towards Rong Ting hidden in those dull eyes.

Queen Jiahe said nothing more.

She asked the maid to take the Seventeenth Prince back to the Jinxiu Palace, then turned to look at the Fourth Prince, "I asked you to go and bring Little Seventeen back, why did you bring him here?"

The Fourth Prince had a slight embarrassment on his face.

I had just come back from picking up my seventeenth brother from the Bailu Academy and passed by Xiangnan Palace. Concubine Ning was playing on the swing with her nine-year-old daughter and Princess Heran.

The seventeenth prince, who had been hanging his head and looking tired all the way, raised his eyes at this moment and stared at the mother and daughter for a long time.

There was a hint of envy in his eyes.

He begged him to take him to play on the swing for a while, so he brought him to the back garden.

"Just playing on the swing for a while. My brother is in the academy and is tired from studying..."

"He complained of being tired, but did others complain of being tired?" Empress Jiahe's expression was icy. "Your seventeenth brother is still young, so don't tempt him to indulge in fun and neglect his studies. If he develops a habit, he won't be able to change it in the future."

The fourth prince nodded awkwardly.

"It just so happens that I have something to tell you."

After returning to Jinxiu Palace, Empress Jiahe ordered all the outsiders to leave, leaving the Fourth Prince behind and said to him, "I know how Rong Ting got into Bailu Academy."

The Fourth Prince's gaze became sharp.

"Do you remember that Nanny Ji found out that Fourth Master Jiang of the Ning'an Marquis's Mansion was in Yecheng during the winter. It was he who helped Rong Ting get rid of Wang Zhou, who I carefully selected and placed by his side."

The fourth prince shook his head, "But this news is not right. Jiang Xingzhou told me personally that he came back from Jiangnan."

"The man in Yecheng who secretly helped Rong Ting

Whether it is Jiang Xingzhou or not is not the point for now. I just learned today that it was Jiang Xingzhou's letter of recommendation to Rong Ting that gave him the opportunity to meet Yan Nanxun in private. ”

"After only meeting once in private, Yan Nanxun accepted him as his personal disciple..."

The Fourth Prince was about to ask Rong Ting how he acquired his real talent and knowledge, but seeing that Empress Jiahe was particularly unhappy about this, and remembering her comparison between Rong Ting and Little Seventeen, he did not dare to continue talking about this point.

He changed the subject and said with a frown, "My ninth brother has received the help of Fourth Master Jiang, so I'm afraid he will be a little difficult to deal with."

"What are you worried about?" Empress Jiahe sneered, looking unconcerned. "The Ning'an Marquis's Mansion will eventually fall into the hands of Master Jiang. Fourth Master Jiang..."

"He is just a scholar with beautiful calligraphy and painting. He has a reputation but no real power. His ability is only enough to send Rong Ting to Bailu Academy."

When she found out that it was Fourth Master Jiang who was helping Rong Ting, Empress Jiahe heaved a sigh of relief, "There's no need to deal with such a useless person."

"The emperor likes his calligraphy and paintings so much. If we openly become his enemy, he will be unhappy. What's more, Concubine Yun has a close relationship with Fourth Master Jiang's legitimate wife. It is possible that Concubine Yun is using Fourth Master Jiang's letter of recommendation to provoke me." Empress Jiahe was a little jealous. "It's a pity that Qin Yun seems lawless, but she is actually a smart person. I went to her place today, but couldn't get a word out of her."

The fourth prince was worried again.

Empress Jiahe glanced at him and said, "I've told you not to worry, so what are you worrying about? Everyone knows that Jiang Xingzhou is lazy and has no chance of inheriting the Ning'an Marquis's Mansion."

The Fourth Prince felt relieved when he heard what Queen Jiahe said.

He glanced around and found the hall empty.

There was no sign of Yuying, nor was there any sign of Nanny Ji.

The Fourth Prince knew that Yuying had been driven out of the palace and was temporarily kept in the Xu Mansion, waiting for the opportunity to return to the palace.

But I don’t know where Nanny Ji is.

He was still thinking about the rebellion of Nanny Ji that Empress Jiahe had mentioned to him, and asked, "Where is Nanny Ji?"

Empress Jiahe drank her tea calmly and remained silent for a long time.

After finishing her tea, she raised her eyes and said, "It's the middle of the night and it's rainy. Remember to stay away from the well in the cold palace in the West Garden."

An answer that has absolutely nothing to do with the Fourth Prince's question.

The tone was light and nonchalant.

The fourth prince felt cold all over.

Nanny Ji spent almost her entire life serving the Xu family and had been with Empress Jiahe since before she got married.

He thought that Nanny Ji's rebellion was not

Before the matter is thoroughly investigated, Empress Jiahe will at least not deal with her too quickly because of Nanny Ji's many years of service.

Unexpectedly, in just a few days, the old servant became a ghost at the bottom of the well.