Chapter 56: Be careful with your words. The Emperor treats his nephew Lu Bingzhi better than he treats me...

Lu Bingzhi's eyebrows twitched, and a hint of warmth flashed in his eyes. He said to Cui Lingyan, "Go home early. You have to go back to Ningshou Marquis' Mansion tomorrow. I'll ask Guanyan to prepare the gifts for you. You don't have to worry about it."

Cui Lingyan smiled and nodded in agreement, secretly breathing a sigh of relief. Her words just now were somewhat intended to speak well of Princess Chun'an, hoping to leave a good impression on Lu Bingzhi. Sure enough, these words were particularly pleasant to the ears of Lu Bingzhi.

At this moment, Cui Lingyan was somewhat grateful for the dream she had. If she hadn't had that dream, how would she have known Lu Bingzhi's true identity? It was possible that she had said something inappropriate at the time that made him unhappy.

Thinking about this, Cui Lingyan followed Lu Bingzhi straight to the palace gate.

......

Zhaoyang Palace

When Concubine Shu heard the report from the palace maid Yurui, her face immediately became gloomy.

"Lu Bingzhi is only the emperor's nephew. The emperor has given him such a generous reward, even under the pretext of a wedding ceremony. It is truly excessive. Is his glory as a prince really going to overshadow the other princes in the palace?"

"Your Majesty, by acting this way, you truly have no regard for my son's dignity at all."

As Concubine Shu was speaking, she noticed Yu Rui hesitated, as if she had something else to report. Her eyes grew fierce, and she scolded, "Report anything else you have to say. How dare you deceive me?"

Yu Rui had served her own madam for many years and knew that although she appeared to be well-tempered outside, she would often scold and punish her subordinates in private. Seeing the imperial concubine scolding her like this, Yu Rui's face turned pale and she fell to her knees, apologizing, "I dare not lie to your madam. I also heard that the Crown Prince and Cui went to Huayang Palace after leaving the Qinzheng Palace. I heard that it was the Emperor's order that the wife of Duke Dingguo be temporarily staying in the palace and that the Crown Prince, his cousin, should take Cui to see her."

"I heard that the wife of Duke Dingguo was very generous and sent quite a few gifts."

When Yu Rui mentioned the words "Lady of Duke Dingguo", she felt a little uncomfortable. Princess Chun'an was obviously staying in the palace for a short time, so she could just call her by the title of princess. But her own queen privately preferred to hear them, the subordinates, call Princess Chun'an "Lady of Duke Dingguo".

Perhaps, in the Imperial Concubine's mind, the fact that Princess Chun'an married Duke Dingguo, who was more than ten years older than her and had no children in the past few years was a scandal in the palace.

Yu Rui felt more than once that the Queen's temper had become increasingly extreme over the years, and she held a grudge against those related to the late Queen. She was truly possessed by some kind of demon.

Yu Rui kept this to herself, not daring to speak. She also regretted not having spent more money at the Imperial Household Department to arrange for her to serve other concubines elsewhere. She had thought Zhaoyang Palace was a good place, and that serving the Imperial Concubine was a respectable job. Little did she know that after all these years, following such a master, she hadn't gained anything good at all, but instead endured daily bullying and had no guarantee of a future.

Seeing that the imperial concubine's face turned ashen and became uglier and uglier, Yurui lowered her head and held her breath, waiting for the imperial concubine to smash the teacup on the table on her head.

The door creaked open, and Nanny Duan came in with a bowl of tranquilizing medicine. Seeing the situation inside the hall, she said to Yu Rui, "Go out. I'll serve the Empress here."

Yu Rui breathed a sigh of relief, kowtowed to the imperial concubine, and then stood up to leave.

Nanny Duan handed the tranquilizing medicine to the imperial concubine and said gently, "Didn't the imperial physician tell you to be less angry? If you don't remember, aren't you harming your health? The Second Prince still relies on you as his mother."

Nanny Duan had been serving the imperial concubine since she was a child and had quite a bit of face in front of the imperial concubine. Hearing what she said, the imperial concubine Shu's eyes turned red and she suddenly burst into tears.

"It's not that I forgot the imperial physician's words and didn't take my health seriously, but I truly feel wronged. The Emperor treats his nephew, Lu Bingzhi, more kindly and attentively than he treats my own son. Today, Lu Bingzhi brought Cui to the Qinzheng Hall to pay his respects. I heard that the Emperor gave him quite a few gifts and sent them to the Duke of Wei's residence."

"Mammy, the Emperor just beat Ze'er's eunuch to death. Some in the palace have long speculated that the poisoning was ordered by the Second Prince, Ze'er. Outsiders say the Emperor is partial to Ze'er and won't investigate further. But now the Emperor is rewarding Lu Bingzhi like this. Anyone with a discerning eye can see that this is compensation for his nephew, Lu Bingzhi."

"Can't the Emperor be partial to his own sons for once? Who is Lu Bingzhi? To put it nicely, he's a minister; to put it bluntly, he's just a servant of the royal family. How could he possibly go beyond Prince Ze'er? The Emperor is clearly tearing my heart apart with a knife. He's deliberately humiliating me, wanting to make me miserable, and using Ze'er to avenge me for killing that bitch."

Concubine Shu spoke without restraint, and she even pronounced the word "bitch" clearly. Nanny Duan's face changed drastically, and she said sternly, "Your Majesty, be careful with your words!"

She looked around, opened the door and looked towards the corridor. Seeing that there was no one there and the palace maids had all stayed away, she breathed a sigh of relief.

Back in the room, she said to Concubine Shu with deep emotion, "My dear Majesty, I know you feel wronged and hate the late Empress, but you can just think about these things in your heart, how dare you say them out loud? You know that she has become a thorn in the Emperor's side. If these words were to reach the Emperor's ears, how could Majesty have a good ending? Even the Second Prince is being implicated by you. How can you, as a mother, bear this?"

Listening to Nanny Duan's words, Concubine Shu knew that she had spoken without thinking and felt a little regretful, but she did not want to admit it. She only said bitterly: "There are only Nanny and me here. If Nanny doesn't say it, how can outsiders know? Now when I get angry, those palace maids have already hidden far away. Even if I shout louder, no one can hear it. Nanny, do you think that I am still the same as when I first entered the palace? Although this Zhaoyang Palace is still called Zhaoyang Palace, and I am still Concubine Shu, the emperor's heart towards me is still the same as when he canonized me. "He kept saying he wouldn't let me suffer any injustice, saying that bitch was magnanimous and virtuous, and that even if I entered the palace, she wouldn't say a word of disapproval. She even said that Ehuang and Nvying shared the same husband. I thought that bitch was just that in the emperor's heart. I never thought that when she was alive, the emperor would be willing to hurt her heart and slap her, the empress, in the face, and let me enter the palace and gave me the title of imperial concubine. But after she died, the emperor seemed to have changed, and realized that he cared about his first wife!"

"What am I then? Am I a joke? Over the years, the Emperor has felt regret and anger, and has taken it out on me. I only have the title of Imperial Concubine, but no favors at all. Every concubine in the harem laughs at me behind my back. Because of this, Ze Ge'er is laughed at by the other princes. Some even gossip about how I entered the palace back then, and some even say that I forced her to death. Now it's just retribution."

"How cruel the Emperor is! He allowed these rumors to slander me, and he also ignored me and refused to give Ze'er face. If he had known this would happen, why would he have welcomed me into the palace and even favored me?"

Listening to her own queen's increasingly outrageous words, Nanny Duan reached out to cover her mouth and said sternly, "Your Majesty, please think about the Second Prince and leave him a chance to live!"

"Do you think the Emperor can't kill you?"

Concubine Shu stopped talking immediately and her face turned pale.

The hall was suddenly so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

After a while, Concubine Shu looked at Nanny Duan with a choked sob, "Then Nanny, tell me, what should I do? Now everything I do is wrong. The Emperor is also angry with Ze'er because of the poisoning. I don't ask for anything else, I just ask the Emperor not to be annoyed with Ze'er. But the Emperor didn't like Ze'er because of me, and now that the poisoning has happened, the Emperor is even more..."

Her tears fell, her heart filled with fear and confusion. She only had the status of a noble concubine, but no favor. Not only could she not help her son, but she would also implicate him.

Sometimes she even wondered, if it had been her who had died earlier, would the Emperor, remembering her kindness, have treated her the same way as that woman, cherishing the son she left behind and wanting to give everything to Ze'er? Instead of being like this now, where both mother and son had become thorns in the Emperor's side, being abused and humiliated by others?

Nanny Duan felt sorry for her when she saw her like this. She thought for a long time before speaking, "These days, I've been thinking about how to make things better for Your Majesty and the Second Prince. After much thought, I'm thinking, Your Majesty, find a powerful in-law for the Second Prince. The Second Prince is weak now, and you can't offer much help. It would be better to raise his status through marriage."

"The Emperor now has three princes. Even though he hasn't been particularly close to the Second Prince because of the Empress, he has treated the other princes equally over the years. It's hard to say which one he likes more. His mind isn't on them. If there are any who he truly favors, it's Princess Chun'an, now the wife of Duke Dingguo, and his nephew, Lu Bingzhi."

"If that's the case, then it makes no difference in the eyes of the court officials. I think many people would want their own daughters to be the Second Prince's consort."

"Your Highness, please don't mention this matter to the Emperor. Instead of going before the Emperor to seek his approval, it's better to go directly to the Empress Dowager. The Empress Dowager is the Second Prince's grandmother, so how could she not be concerned about the Second Prince's best interests? If you go to her house and ask for help, the Empress Dowager will certainly take it to heart. Then, you, the Imperial Concubine, can hold a flower viewing banquet in the palace and invite the noble ladies from the capital to come in to meet them. You'll naturally be able to pick someone you like."

After hearing what Nanny Duan said, the sadness on Concubine Shu's face became less severe, and there was a little more anticipation in her eyes.

Yes, she can't help her son here, so it would be better for her to choose a wife of higher status for her son.

Thinking of this, Concubine Shu couldn't help but think of her natal family, the Cheng'en Mansion. The mansion had clearly tacitly allowed her to enter the palace, but since that bitch died and the emperor no longer favored her, the mansion felt that her entry into the palace was a scandal. Even the old lady and her father were blaming her, saying that if it weren't for her, things wouldn't have turned out like this.

Even in these years, the mansion was not close to her. Apart from sending some silver and money to the palace every year, they didn't care about her and Ze Ge'er's life or death at all.

As Concubine Shu thought about this, she felt more and more aggrieved.

Suppressing these thoughts, she nodded and said, "Mammy, you are right. The Emperor hasn't shown any favoritism towards any of the princes yet. Our Ze'er may not be without a chance. Even for Ze'er's sake, I have to stand up. I can't continue to complain and make a fool of myself."

As they were talking, a palace maid came in hurriedly and reported, "Your Majesty, the Second Prince is drunk and making a scene in Mingde Hall. It's said that the Second Prince kicked a maid in the chest, causing her to vomit blood and faint!"