When Zhou Ying heard that her stepmother had been summoned to the palace, she knew it was for her marriage to Prince Huai.

It didn't matter that Prince Huai was almost twice her age, nor did it matter that she couldn't be his principal wife; being able to marry Prince Huai was already a blessing for her.

After all, this is Prince Huai, who is most likely to ascend the throne! Countless women in the capital would like to follow Prince Huai without any status or title, but he only saw her once and wanted to take her into his household.

Zhou Ying frequently looked outside the courtyard, wondering if her stepmother would cause trouble after entering the palace.

She then sneered, "Probably not. My stepmother doesn't have the confidence to defy Consort De and Prince Huai."

The thought of no longer having to be mindful of her stepmother's opinions after marrying Prince Huai filled her with excitement.

I bet my stepmother never imagined this day would come. Now, even if she wanted to deal with me again, it's too late.

From then on, she no longer needed to worry about her brother being sabotaged in his imperial examinations, nor did she need to worry about her aunt being bullied in the mansion.

Even after Prince Huai ascends the throne... once she officially becomes the imperial concubine, she can find a way to get Prince Huai to depose Song Xia and elevate her concubine to the position of empress.

What does it matter if she's a county princess or the Prince Cheng's mansion? A new emperor brings a new court. If she were to give birth to another prince, she could make Song Xia and the Prince Cheng's mansion disappear from this world without anyone daring to say anything.

Zhou Ying's smile grew wider and wider, attracting the attention of the old nanny who kept glancing at her. If she knew what Zhou Ying was thinking, she would probably laugh her head off.

If becoming emperor meant being able to do whatever one wanted, the Hong Dynasty would have been overthrown long ago.

It is true that a new emperor brings a new court, but Song Xia and the people of the Prince Cheng's mansion are all members of the imperial family. How can you, a mere concubine, just depose them as you please?

Prince Cheng is currently at the height of his power. Although he doesn't have much real power, his heir is the commander of the Imperial Guards. Even if he is dismissed in the future, would you dare to take his life so easily?

If a crime is fabricated arbitrarily, do you think the other members of the imperial family and the censors will stand idly by?

As for Song Xia, she was the principal wife, and the idea of ​​deposing her and promoting a concubine was a challenge to orthodox etiquette! The principal wife of Prince Huai was the first to disagree.

After all, if Prince Huai does as you wish, wouldn't the next one to be deposed be the Empress?

Moreover, the reason Prince Huai would take you in is because he values ​​your stepmother Song Xia and the Chengjun Prince's Mansion behind Song Xia, not you as a person. How could someone who aspires to great things easily make a mistake for a woman and easily shake the loyalty of the court officials?

It can only be said that Zhou Ying has been oppressed for too long, and now that she is about to gain power, she is being too complacent. Instead of thinking about these things, she should be worrying about how to survive peacefully under the scheming of those women after she enters the Prince Huai's mansion.

Prince Huai was a favorite to seize the throne. As the son of Consort De, and with his aunt, the Empress, as his principal wife, he was the granddaughter of the current prime minister. He also had two concubines: one was the niece of the Minister of Personnel, and the other was the daughter of the Governor-General of the Yellow River.

The remaining four concubine positions were filled by the illegitimate daughter of the Southwest Governor, the illegitimate sister of the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, and the legitimate daughter of the City Guard Commander. None of these women came from families with power levels below the third rank.

The position of concubine that is now vacant was previously held by the illegitimate daughter of the Vice Minister of Revenue, who died in childbirth just three months later.

Zhou Ying was a concubine's daughter. Although her father, Zhou Yongli, was also a second-rank official in the Ministry of Rites, he was often reprimanded by the emperor and therefore did not have much responsibility for the Ministry of Rites. Moreover, the Ministry of Rites did not have the same influence in the court as the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Rites, and the Ministry of Revenue. So once she entered the mansion, she was the lowest-ranking concubine among those with official ranks.

Whether she has the luck to survive among these cunning women and gain the favor of King Huai is unknown.

Song Xia had taken this into consideration, so from the moment Zhou Ying came into contact with Prince Huai, he had always been in a state of watching the show.

Did she think life would be better after marrying Prince Huai? How naive.

The backyard of the Prince's mansion is not a place to stay. You're not the principal wife, and there are six people above you!

Relying on Prince Huai? Prince Huai is busy with countless affairs of state, how could he possibly care about trivial matters in the inner palace? Moreover, the women in Prince Huai's inner palace were all women whom Prince Huai had painstakingly married, why would he punish them for you?

Zhou Ying, even if Prince Huai ascends the throne, my Song Xia and the Chengjun Prince's Mansion will not be afraid of you, especially since Prince Huai ultimately lost.

Let you go crazy for the last two years, let you suffer in the Prince Huai's mansion with all your longing, until finally all your longing is completely dashed, the scene will be quite spectacular.

Song Xia sat in the carriage with her eyes closed, resting. Did Zhou Ying still think that being betrothed to Prince Huai would bring her a large dowry?

Ha, she's just a concubine's daughter. Even if she marries into the family, she'll still be a concubine's wife. She's dreaming.

When she returned to the mansion, Zhou Yongli and Zhou Shuqing were already waiting in the front yard. Zhou Yongli looked excited, presumably because Zhou Shuqing had told him the truth beforehand.

"What did Consort De say?"

Seeing his nervous expression, Song Xia replied calmly, "It's nothing. I just asked about Ying'er's marriage and then intended to ask the Empress to bestow a marriage upon her."

Zhou Yongli's breathing became light: "To whom should it be bestowed?"

Looking at Zhou Shuqing, who seemed to have victory in his grasp, Song Xia sneered that Zhou Yongli was not as calm as a concubine's son.

"There's no doubt about it, it's the Prince Huai you've been waiting for."

"It's really true!" Zhou Yongli exclaimed incoherently. "Wow, wow, Shu-ge'er... you and Ying-jie'er have really... really made your father proud!"

Upon hearing Song Xia's words, Zhou Shuqing finally revealed a genuine smile, and the ambition in her eyes was no longer concealed.

Song Xia acted as if she hadn't seen anything and continued to say expressionlessly, "It shouldn't be long before Her Majesty the Empress's decree comes down. The palace's intention is that Ying'er is of age and it would be best if she got married soon."

"Good, good, good!" Zhou Yongli said "good" three times in a row. The sooner the better, because delays could lead to unforeseen changes. So many people were eyeing the position of Consort Huai! He never expected it to fall to Ying'er. It was truly a blessing from their ancestors. He knew that his and Fangniang's child would be good.

Song Xia shook her head inwardly. Weren't they afraid something might happen if they were all so impatient? No matter how precocious Zhou Ying was, she was only fourteen years old. Why was the average lifespan of women in feudal dynasties so low? Getting married and having children at a young age and not being able to survive the ordeal was a major factor.

They only think about climbing the social ladder and getting rich and powerful, and they can even ignore the threat to their lives. There's no one like them.

She sighed to herself, unaware that Zhou Shuqing had completely misunderstood her low spirits.

Zhou Shuqing felt a sense of triumph at this moment, and looked at Song Xia with a smug look in her eyes.

Do you also know what it means to feel lost and afraid?

It's no use. His Highness Prince Huai personally instructed that the Empress will issue a decree, and you can no longer control the fate of my brother and me.

Oh, stepmother, why did you do this? If you had treated us siblings better before, if you hadn't targeted our aunt, perhaps we could have given you a peaceful end. But since you never treated us like human beings, we won't be polite to you.

And your legitimate son, Zhou Yuqing, should have been dead long ago.