Upon hearing the news that the Empress had issued an imperial decree to bestow a marriage upon her, Ye Wanrou came to the Zhou residence the next day.

"How did you end up getting your illegitimate daughter involved with Prince Huai?" She was very worried. If Prince Huai were to ascend the throne in the future, this illegitimate daughter who had married into the family would be in danger. Although this illegitimate daughter might not be able to touch their Chengjun Prince's Mansion, the emperor's heart is unpredictable. What if this illegitimate daughter really had that fate?

"Does your sister-in-law really believe that Prince Huai can inherit the throne?"

Ye Wanrou frowned: "At present, he does have the best chance. In the court, there is the Prime Minister and the Marquis of Chengen, and in the harem, there is the Empress and Consort De. The princes older than him have either gone or been disliked by His Majesty, and the younger ones are not as powerful as him."

"What if I said that the Empress and the Marquis of Chengen's family did not support him?"

"Could it be that you know something?" Ye Wanrou asked cautiously and nervously.

"Sister-in-law, we've all forgotten about His Highness Prince Ding. Prince Ding is the Empress's own grandson. How can a nephew be as close as a grandson?"

"But Prince Ding is young and has been away from the capital for a long time. There is no precedent in our dynasty for a prince to pass the throne to a grandson."

"The absence of precedent does not mean it will not happen. Everyone believes that Prince Huai will be the one to eventually inherit the throne, but why has His Majesty shown no intention of establishing a crown prince all these years?"

"You mean, the Empress is obstructing us?"

"The eldest prince sacrificed himself for His Majesty's country and was His Majesty's first son. His status in His Majesty's heart is different from that of the other princes. This is why the Empress has been able to sit firmly in the position of Empress for so many years."

"But if Your Majesty wants Prince Ding to succeed to the throne, why not appoint the legitimate grandson as the heir apparent?"

"Because even His Majesty is unsure."

Ye Wanrou still frowned: "This is just your guess after all. Besides, even if Her Majesty the Empress favors Prince Ding, it seems that Prince Huai has a better chance of winning at the moment."

"But he is certain that the Empress and the Marquis of Chengen are on his side, so the outcome is uncertain. What threat is there between an open enemy and a hidden enemy? Especially when you think that this enemy is your friend."

What you said makes some sense.

“Sister-in-law, Father and elder brother are often in court. Although they never participate in factional struggles, I think that with their keen senses, they should have noticed something.”

"I'll go back and ask them." Ye Wanrou felt that she might be worrying too much. Thinking about it carefully, it seemed that after hearing the news of the Empress's decree to grant the marriage yesterday, her father and husband did not seem to have any unusual reaction. At the time, she thought that the two of them did not take a concubine's daughter seriously.

Looking back now, how could my father not have a thorough understanding of the political situation, given that His Majesty was so suspicious and he remained His Majesty's most trusted confidant?

Even if Prince Huai were to actually ascend to that throne, how could a concubine possibly influence the court? She was just too anxious, only thinking about the unresolved grudges between her sister-in-law and the concubines, illegitimate sons and daughters in the household.

After figuring it out, Ye Wanrou relaxed completely: "So you deliberately created this situation, wanting them to be filled with hope, and then completely disappointed?"

"That's right."

"Why?"

Song Xia's eyes flashed with ruthlessness: "Because I suspect that when Yu Qing was born prematurely, they drugged her."

"What?" Ye Wanrou was shocked. "How could this be? And even the imperial physicians couldn't detect it back then."

"The world is vast, and there are some things that the imperial physicians haven't seen with their own eyes, so they can't judge them. All the witnesses and physical evidence from before are gone, but recently they've started actively working on that kind of medicine again. I'll find something to use against them."

Ye Wanrou was still puzzled: "Even if it's just suspicion, you can deal with them directly. Why do you need evidence?"

"It's an obsession. I want to completely destroy their conspiracy and I don't want this drug to harm anyone else."

Song Xia kept thinking that the Liu family had obtained the medicine again in their previous life. At that time, they harmed the heir of the Marquis of Yong'an. Now that Zhou Ying was to marry the Prince of Huai, who would they use the medicine to harm this time?

On the sixth day of the twelfth lunar month, Zhou Ying got married. The dowry of thirty-two loads seemed like a lot, but it was pitifully meager for a noblewoman in the capital. There wasn't much stuff in all the trunks.

When an ordinary woman gets married, her dowry is sent to the groom's house in advance to be displayed. But she was just a concubine and did not have such a privilege, so her dowry was carried behind her along with the others.

Liu Fangniang's eyes reddened with sadness, while Song Xia made sarcastic remarks from the side: "She should be content. Ordinary concubines don't even have dowries. They just come directly into the mansion in a small sedan chair."

Liu Fangniang was furious. Even if there were only thirty-two pallets, they could have been filled to the brim. But Song Xia was just putting on an act. Even the silks and jewelry were the most ordinary styles.

Moreover, she also learned that when other concubines and secondary concubines entered the mansion, in addition to the dowry on the surface, their families also contributed a lot of money in secret. Since the mansion was managed by the princess, apart from her Ying-jie, the other masters were not short of money!

Liu Fangniang was unaware that all the information she had gathered was deliberately given to her by Song Xia. Otherwise, with Song Xia now in charge of the Zhou family, where would she have gotten all this information? And how could just anyone possibly find out the secrets of the Prince Huai's residence?

Liu Fangniang could only keep comforting herself, "It's okay, His Highness Prince Huai has Ying'er in his heart. After Ying'er marries him, she'll have everything she needs."

Little did she know that as soon as Zhou Ying entered the mansion, the other concubines and secondary consorts humiliated her.

Zhou Ying appears intelligent and shrewd, but she has never experienced the real power struggles within a family. The Zhou family is small, and for the first ten years, she lived a pampered and carefree life. In the later years, although Song Xia tormented her, she only had the nanny teach her manners and restrict her movements. She was straightforward and open about her thoughts.

But what about the Prince Huai's mansion? These concubines and secondary consorts come from different families, and their experiences and methods are also different. In this era of many children and grandchildren, there are few powerful families like the Zhou family with so few people. They are all as shrewd as humans. Seeing her dowry, they know that there is no one who can support her. If they don't take action, they will really be letting her down. They have to let her know what role she plays in the Prince Huai's mansion.

Therefore, what should have been Zhou Ying's wedding night was instead interrupted by the arrival of Prince Huai. Instead, a steward came at midnight and told her not to wait any longer.

Zhou Ying's eyes immediately turned red with anger, and she was about to shed tears when a nanny from the Prince Huai's residence solemnly lectured her: "Your Highness, you must not shed tears on such a joyous occasion. People who don't know better will think that the Prince Huai's residence has mistreated you. From now on, you belong to the Prince's residence, and you must consider the reputation of the Prince's residence in everything you do."

Helpless, Zhou Ying could only endure it until the next day when she went to pay her respects to the princess, and she still had to listen to these people's ridicule.

“Sister Zhou, I’m so sorry. Rui-ge’er wasn’t feeling well last night, so the Prince stayed at my courtyard all night. You don’t mind, do you?”

"Sister, you're overthinking it. Why bother explaining? After all, the Prince's offspring are more important, don't you think, Sister Zhou?"

Zhou Ying forced a smile: "What the older sisters say is true."

"Alright." Only after they finished speaking did the princess speak to end the situation. It seemed like she was helping Zhou Ying out of a tight spot, but in reality, it solidified Zhou Ying's position in the palace.