Jiang Yuanmo curled her lip dismissively, "What's so good about Fukang? Arrogant and domineering, she doesn't act like a girl at all."

"So this is the girl you found?" Anqing jumped up and down in anger, recalling what he had seen during the day. "She didn't even greet me and my sister-in-law during the day. Is this the kind of girl you described?"

"She's just shy!" Jiang Yuanmo glared at his sister, standing up from the ground on his own. "I don't understand, why do you all look down on Yun'er so much? Just because she's a commoner? Our Empress Dowager was also a commoner, but she became the Empress and the Empress Dowager!"

"You heartless wretch! How dare you mention your imperial grandmother?!" Jiang Mingyun and the Empress had just calmed down when they came out of the palace.

Upon hearing Jiang Yuanmo's words, he was so angry that he immediately grabbed a vase and smashed it over there!

His face turned bright red with anger as someone swiftly dodged his attack. His eyes blazed with fury, startling the surrounding palace maids so much that they dared not even breathe.

Pointing at Jiang Yuanmo's nose, her voice was icy and sharp, "Your imperial grandmother may have been of commoner origin, but she was still from a family of scholars. Her family background was impeccable. What did you bring back? A martial arts practitioner who only knows how to brandish swords and spears and engage in fighting all day long! Does she even deserve to be compared to your imperial grandmother?!"

The Empress always doted on her children, especially the fourth prince.

With her unrestrained personality, she naturally paid more attention to things. Now, he was so angry at her words that she burst into tears; she wasn't like an emperor.

She spoke more tactfully, considering the girl's feelings, "Mo'er, really, what am I supposed to say to you? That girl's background is unknown. You only know that she was a person from the martial arts world who saved you, but do you know where she lives, how many parents and siblings she has, or whether she is married?"

"Besides, if she were an honest commoner or a peasant girl, you could marry her as you please." She helped the emperor sit down. "But Fukang was your aunt's fiancée before she passed away. She did so much for your father. To wait for you to settle down, Fukang is already nineteen years old and still unmarried. What about your actions now? Where does that leave your father?"

"I!"

Jiang Yuanmo's voice was hoarse, and he felt heartbroken seeing the Empress's red-rimmed eyes.

But he was unwilling to let the girl he liked become his concubine, so he just stubbornly refused to say anything.

The crown prince couldn't stand it anymore and glared at his brother. "Who told you to get up? Kneel back down! You're in your mid-twenties, why don't you use your brain when you do things? Do you think we're just an ordinary wealthy family, where you can marry whomever you want?"

He pointed in the direction of the former dynasty, "Regardless of whether what you did was right or wrong, have you ever considered how the ministers of the former dynasty would view that girl? How would the people of the world view her?"

"You brought her to everyone without any scruples, did you ever think about what might happen if someone with ulterior motives saw it?"

Jiang Yuanmo had never thought of that before; if he had, he wouldn't be kneeling here now.

He could only turn his head away and avoid looking at anyone present. He couldn't win an argument, and fighting was out of the question. His greatest crime would be implicating his mother.

Just as the stalemate reached its conclusion, a young eunuch rushed in and said, "Your Majesty, Your Highness. The Crown Princess has sent word that she is asking when His Highness will return to the residence. The maidservant who came said that the Crown Princess is pregnant."

"Is that really true?!"

The eunuch dared not speak carelessly, "It's true. They said it was Imperial Physician Wang who personally examined the pulse."

"Your Highness, don't linger here. Go back quickly; Wan Ting's health is the most important thing."

Imperial Physician Wang was the head of the Imperial Physician's Office, specifically responsible for taking the pulse of the Emperor and Empress. Since he confirmed the pregnancy, he couldn't be wrong.

The Empress, not caring about Jiang Yuanmo for a moment, hurriedly came down from upstairs and pushed the Crown Prince toward the door.

Jiang Yuanling was also eager to return home. He couldn't help but worry about the eunuch who had just reported that the Crown Princess had almost been hit by a horse.

But the current situation...

He hesitated, glancing at Jiang Yuanmo kneeling on the ground. "Mother, I..."

"You don't need to worry about what's happening here." Seeing his hesitation, the emperor waved his hand. "The Crown Princess's pregnancy is more important. Go back quickly, Wang Fu, and take that thousand-year-old ginseng from the foreign tribute from my private treasury. Give it to the Crown Prince to take back."

He then stood up and glared coldly at his unfilial descendant, saying, "You will kneel here today until you are clear-headed. Then you can speak to me again."

A day passed, and Jiang Yuanmo remained kneeling in the main hall, refusing to give in.

He returned with a woman, but the news of his intention to annul the engagement had somehow leaked out. It caused a huge uproar, and all the noble ladies in the capital were laughing at Fukang.

"What's the use of a high status? In the end, won't you still be dumped by the Fourth Prince?"

“If I were the fourth prince, I wouldn’t want her either. She’s arrogant and domineering all the time, taking advantage of her status to do whatever she wants. How can someone like that be worthy of being a prince’s consort?”

At a certain lady's flower-viewing banquet, Princess Fukang sat in the head seat, yet she couldn't escape the gloating glances that kept sneaking peeks at her.

There were also whispers among the people, and Xu Nian, who was sitting next to her, frowned as she heard them.

She tried to get up, but Fukang stopped her, saying, "Don't worry about them. They're just sour grapes; they're probably envious of my status."

“You’re not worried at all.” Ever since Fukang helped her save the villagers, their relationship has progressed rapidly. “If I had known that the woman the Fourth Prince brought was like this, I should have knocked Anqing unconscious and let them go. Then none of this would have happened today.”

Fu Kang nearly spat out a glass of wine. He thought he was already quite audacious, but he never expected there was someone even more outrageous beside him.

She rolled her eyes, somewhat speechless. "Alright. Even if you knock Anqing unconscious, Jiang Yuanmo is still going back to the palace."

She thought for a moment, "Didn't you owe me something before?"

On that day, Fu Kang, who had promised to save the villagers, didn't leave empty-handed. She asked Xu Nian for a favor, though she hadn't thought of it at the time.

Now that Jiang Yuanmo has returned and caused this trouble, it's a perfect opportunity to take advantage of the emperor's guilt and say, "I want to marry Jiang Yuanqing. Go and tell the emperor for me to break off the engagement with Jiang Yuanmo."

"Cough cough!" This time it was Xu Nian's turn to choke. Her eyes widened, and she coughed up tears. "Who do you think you're going to marry?!"

She truly hadn't expected that Fukang could be so brave!

These days, with nothing else to do, she's been calculating the fates of these princes. Some are good, some are bad, but the one most likely to become emperor is Jiang Yuanqing.

This Fukang, his eyes are so sharp?!