Chapter 194 Women Who Flock to It

Empress Cheng then showed Jiang Fenghua some portraits and named each one as the daughter of an official.

After looking at them, Jiang Fenghua recognized some of them. It seemed that she was really preparing for the selection of Xie Shang's concubines. "The women that Mother has chosen are really beautiful, but aren't their family backgrounds too ostentatious? They are all from noble families. How could they all be willing to marry the prince as concubines? If Mother proposes marriage like this, I'm afraid she will offend the officials!"

"It is their blessing to be able to become Shang'er's concubine." Empress Cheng was somewhat arrogant. Once their son became emperor, they would be eager to send their daughters into the palace.

Jiang Fenghua felt very uncomfortable. When she summoned her mother to the palace, she had also acted with such high-handedness. She was already very fortunate to be able to marry her son and become a princess.

Before choosing her, Empress Cheng had not seen what she looked like. Her first consideration was that she had a clean family background and would not cause trouble for Xie Shang. After seeing her, she thought she was beautiful and refined, and would definitely attract her son to take away Su Tingwan's place in Xie Shang's heart.

She had planned everything out, but she hadn't asked the other person if they were willing to marry her son.

Jiang Fenghua didn't want to interfere with Empress Cheng. If she wanted to cause trouble, let her be. She wouldn't be satisfied until the Emperor deposed her as Empress. But she was Xie Shang's mother, and she wanted to nip any external factors that might affect Xie Shang's rise to power in the bud.

"Your Majesty is right." She chatted for a while, picking up a portrait. "Zhu Zhenzhen, I remember she is the youngest daughter of Imperial Censor Zhu. She is only fourteen years old and has not yet come of age. I saw her once before. The girl was innocent and naive. Madam Zhu doted on her. I'm afraid she would not want her daughter to be a concubine."

"Tang Qianran is the daughter of Tang Jinrong, the newly appointed Minister of Justice. General Tang is temporarily serving as the Minister of Justice, which is quite a high position and great power. He once declared that his daughter would not be a concubine, and many people heard this. I heard that a marriage proposal has already been made for her. The other party is the son of Lu Tingwei. They have been childhood sweethearts. If the Empress Dowager wants Miss Tang to be the prince's concubine, she is afraid that she will offend both the Tang and Lu families at once."

"Qiao Xuan'er, the granddaughter of Grand Commandant Qiao, seems to be only fourteen years old..."

"Ruan Ruan is not satisfied?" The Empress's eyes turned cold instantly. These were all candidates she had prepared to choose as her son's princess. She had thought it over and over before deciding to marry the daughter of a junior tutor first.

She disagreed because their families were of higher social standing than hers.

In fact, Grand Tutor Jiang's official position was already quite high, and he could directly liaise with the emperor. However, compared with military generals, he did not have much real power. People who wield the pen are different from military generals; they simply have different duties.

Empress Cheng was never entirely satisfied.

"Your Majesty, I dare not be dissatisfied, but I feel the timing is wrong, it's too early. The Prince is currently fighting a war outside, the outcome is uncertain, and the situation is perilous. Yet we are in Shengjing, welcoming all his concubines into the Prince's residence. Has Your Majesty considered what the Emperor will think? Your Majesty has always been careful and cautious in everything you do, all for the sake of the Prince's benefit, hasn't she?" Jiang Fenghua kindly advised her, hoping she wouldn't lose her head. Xie Shang is not yet the Crown Prince, and everything is subject to change.

Empress Cheng's eyes showed horror. Although she knew the outcome, the result was still unclear, and she had indeed acted too hastily.

She had been living in fear and trembling for so many years, all for the day when Xie Shang could sit in that position, and then she could finally hold her head high. Su Qingqing had lost, and she felt that her feud with the Su family had also dissipated.

As for the feud between the Cheng and Su families, Empress Cheng ranked it after Xie Shang. As long as Xie Shang could become emperor, she was willing to put everything else aside for the time being.

Su Tingwan made a firm promise that Xie Shang would definitely become emperor, and she believed it without a doubt. She felt that her son was just that capable and should be the crown prince and emperor. She had been waiting for this day for more than twenty years.

Empress Cheng's voice softened, "What Ruan Ruan means is that these young ladies are exceptional in terms of character, appearance, and family background. If they are engaged to or married to someone else, they will miss out. Your Majesty is also thinking of Shang'er's sake."

She then said softly, "Ruan Ruan, actually, the Empress Dowager is trying to win over officials for Shang'er's sake. As his wife, you should know the weight their fathers carry in the court."

Hearing this, Jiang Fenghua felt like vomiting. Anyone who didn't know better would think she was looking for a daughter-in-law for herself. The mother-in-law was dragging her daughter-in-law along to help her husband take a concubine, and she even had to give her opinion. Luckily, Xie Shang didn't hold any weight in her heart, otherwise she would have been furious.

She and Consort Yan are exactly the same. In front of her pregnant daughter-in-law, she arranged for her son to marry another woman. If she disagreed, she would be accused of being jealous. Now she is talking about winning over the court officials. Wasn't it precisely to avoid the emperor saying that she was trying to win over the court officials when she married her?

Things change so fast!

She said, "If Mother were to actually marry them all now, it would be to harm the Prince. If word gets out that the Prince is forming cliques and engaging in corrupt practices, what would Father think? If the Emperor knew that Mother was secretly courting important officials, I fear that the relationship that Mother and Father have worked so hard to build would be jeopardized by unfounded suspicions."

If Empress Cheng didn't know Xie Shang would become emperor, she would think Jiang Fenghua was right. However, she really couldn't be too ostentatious.

"Fortunately, Ruan Ruan reminded the Empress Dowager, otherwise Shang'er would have been in trouble."

Jiang Fenghua smiled and said, "As the prince's wife, I should naturally consider things more thoroughly for him. If Your Majesty really likes these women, you can find an opportunity to call them into the palace and ask them what they think. If they also like the prince, and the prince likes them, it's not too late to bring them into the mansion after the prince returns to the capital! This way, Your Majesty's ultimate goal can be achieved."

"That's fine then. Mother, let's not mention taking a concubine for Shang'er for now. Let's talk about it when Shang'er returns safely!" She was so happy that she lost her mind.

Jiang Fenghua had given her so much advice, hoping she wouldn't get carried away and think her son was now the emperor.

Empress Cheng was also a selfish person at heart. It's not entirely true that she loved Xie Shang. She wanted to control Xie Shang and bind their mother-son relationship to secure her position as Empress and Empress Dowager. She didn't want Xie Shang to escape her control.

On this day, Empress Cheng indeed held a plum blossom appreciation banquet, inviting ladies and young women from prominent families to attend.

Jiang Fenghua's belly grew bigger and bigger, and she had little interest in selecting concubines for Xie Shang, because these women would all enter the palace one after another after Xie Shang ascended the throne.

She used this as an excuse to avoid attending the plum blossom viewing banquet.

In his previous life, Empress Cheng first selected some good and noble concubines for Xie Shang to enter the mansion. Their families were not of high status, and there were a lot of beautiful women who were grateful to the Empress. However, none of them won Xie Shang's heart. He doted on Su Tingwan.

In this life, the Empress directly abandoned the respectable woman from a poor family background and chose the daughter of a high-ranking official in the court. It seems that she truly believed Su Tingwan's words!