Yu Shu felt Xue Rong's fear and said softly, "No way, would Taixu dare to harm the heir to the throne? Although Cheng Dugong has never accepted the goodwill of the queen, he has never harmed the queen. Pregnant women should not be too worried. If the queen is really worried, we should be more careful and not use Fengtianzhai's tea and snacks. Let the spies in the palace keep an eye on Fengtianzhai in the future."

Xue Rong nodded, sighed, and whispered, "Ask someone to prepare some ginseng and deer antlers to send to Cheng Ying." Cheng Ying was no longer moved. She had to please him. In the past, Cheng Ying ignored her and the Feng family, but now there was a favored concubine in the harem. If the concubine also became pregnant, there was no guarantee that Cheng Ying would not get involved in the fight for the throne.

Seeing Xue Rong's tired face, Yu Shu helped her up and said distressedly, "Don't worry too much, Madam. Go to the bedroom and rest for a while."

"You should pay attention to Shang'er. She has a proud personality. Don't let her get into trouble." Xue Rong said worriedly.

Yu Shu nodded, but she felt more sorry for Xue Rong. Her queen really lived up to her role as a mother to her elder sister, and her heart was always thinking about the county lord.

After helping Xue Rong to sleep, Yu Shu came to the side hall and saw Xue Qingshang lying on the chaise longue, holding a soft pillow in her arms, still crying.

Yu Shu wanted to give some advice, but she didn't know what to say. The queen's heart and eyes were full of her sister. Every time she saw the county lord, she could tell at a glance whether the county lord had gained weight or lost weight. If she had lost weight or looked a little unwell, she would suspect that the county lord was not happy in the Jingyuan Earl's Mansion, and that the old marquis had promoted his concubine, which made the county lord very angry, so she asked the spies in the mansion to come to the palace to question her.

Because of this meticulous care, the county princess seemed to have never really grown up. Although the county princess also loved the queen, she had never put herself in the queen's shoes and thought about her situation in the palace over the years, nor could she really help the queen with her worries and problems.

Yu Shu had been serving Xue Rong in the Jingyuan Marquis's residence, and later followed her to the Qiandi and then entered the palace. She knew very well how difficult Xue Rong's journey had been. People outside believed that Xue Rong had been favored for so many years only because of her face, but little did they know that there was a selection every three years, and there was never a shortage of young and beautiful beauties in the palace. In order to secure her queen's favor, she had spent countless efforts behind the scenes to secure a place in this harem full of competing beauties.

After standing quietly in the side hall for a while, Yu Shu walked forward, handed Xue Qingshang a handkerchief, and said, "Your Highness was also heartbroken like the county lady in the past, crying bitterly. I still remember that Your Highness was in her twenties at that time, two years older than the county lady is today, and she was also in her prime."

Xue Qingshang raised her head upon hearing the voice, took the handkerchief and wiped the tears from her face, looked at the jade comb, and said with a nasal voice like she had cried, "Why don't I remember... Did my sister cry so bitterly?"

Yu Shu's face showed a look of reminiscence, and she slowly said: "You were still young at that time, and the eldest lady supported you in the mansion. She was always omnipotent in front of you, so how could she show weakness?"

Xue Qingshang started to remember things when she was seven years old. She had no memory of the first few years after her mother's death. From the time she could remember, her elder sister had been in charge of the household affairs and managed everyone in the mansion. None of the concubines her father had brought into the mansion dared to act up in front of her elder sister.

Xue Qingshang remembered that her elder sister married Emperor Mingzheng, who was still a prince, when she was in her twenties.

"Why are you crying, sister?" Xue Qingshang asked.

Yu Shu took out a box of ointment and gently applied it to Xue Qingshang's red and swollen eyes. She told the story slowly and calmly, "That year, the eldest lady went out of the mansion to check the accounts at our Bo's shop. She met a scholar. When the scholar was about to faint from hunger, he stopped in front of the eldest lady's carriage and said that his purse was stolen. If the young lady could give him a bowl of porridge, she would repay him in the future."

"The eldest lady asked me to buy a bowl of porridge for that man and gave him ten taels of silver. I still remember what the eldest lady said about the scholar blocking her car. It seemed unintentional, but it was intentional. He stopped the car and revealed that the person in the car was the daughter of the Jingyuan Marquis's Mansion. He also deliberately stopped him in the downtown area to attract people's attention. If the young lady did not give the porridge, people would say that the eldest lady of the Jingyuan Marquis's Mansion was mean and that the people of the Duke's Mansion did not respect scholars."

"What happened next?" Xue Qingshang asked.

Yu Shu smiled and said, "Later, the eldest lady asked me to check if the man's purse was stolen. If not, she would have someone secretly teach him a lesson. After I checked, I found that what the scholar said was true. Not only that, the scholar also had an old mother who was unable to walk. This time when he went to Beijing to take the exam, the scholar carried his mother all the way to the capital. His mother caught a cold after arriving in Beijing. The scholar's purse was stolen when he was getting medicine. The bowl of porridge that the eldest lady gave was also taken back to the dilapidated temple by the scholar and fed to his mother."

"When the young lady heard that the scholar was so filial and pitiful, she asked me to arrange for them to live in a farm on the outskirts of the city and to help the scholar take the imperial examination. The head of the farm said for years that the farm depended on the weather for food and asked the Bo's Mansion to reduce the rent every year. Later, the scholar secretly told me that the head of the farm had falsified the accounts and embezzled the output of the farm. The young lady went to the farm to check the accounts and tried the method taught by the scholar. As expected, the head of the farm was exposed. The 30% of the rent reduced by the Bo's Mansion was all pocketed by the head of the farm. The tenants were miserable. After the head of the farm was sent by the young lady, he couldn't find anyone available for a while, so the scholar volunteered to help the young lady manage the farm. The scholar was a real talent. Later, he gave the young lady many ideas, which improved the business of our Bo's Mansion's shop and turned around those shops that were losing money. After a few times, the young lady fell in love with the scholar."

Xue Qingshang asked curiously, "Who is that scholar? Why did my sister marry the emperor later?"

Yu Shu's face became very sad: "That scholar promised Miss that if he passed the imperial examination, he would go to the Bo's Mansion to propose marriage, and ride a tall horse to marry Miss in a grand manner."

"Did he not make the list?" Xue Rong frowned.

Yu Shu shook her head, "Not only did he pass the exam, he also won first place. However, the Second Prince wanted to move out of the palace at that time, and somehow he fell in love with the eldest daughter. On the day when the scholar passed the exam, he went to the Earl's Mansion to propose marriage. You know what kind of person the old Earl is. Even if the Second Prince is not favored, he is still a prince, and the old Earl agreed to the marriage right away."

Xue Qingshang bit her lip, looking reluctant. She had already guessed who the scholar was. Her elder sister had indeed had good taste when she was young. That man had treated her elder sister the same way for ten years and had also taken care of her over the years.

"Is this how my sister married the emperor?"

Yu Shu's smile hid sadness: "When the eldest lady was young, she was also very stubborn. How could she be willing to marry like this? She even thought about going to the Second Prince to break up the marriage, but the Earl refused and locked the eldest lady up. No matter how much she cried and begged, she had to marry the Second Prince as a concubine."

Yu Shu never said that what really made Xue Rong submit was that the old uncle used Xue Qingshang to threaten Xue Rong. If Xue Rong married Shen Tian, ​​Xue Qingshang's life in the uncle's mansion would never be easy. The old uncle had so many illegitimate sons and daughters. If Xue Rong hadn't been so clever, he would have wanted to help a concubine become his principal wife long ago.