Chapter 245 He always treated Jiang Fenghua like a daughter?

Meanwhile, Jiang Fenghua went to Kunning Palace to pay her respects to the Empress.

The Empress was also somewhat surprised to see her enter the palace, "Why has Ruan Ruan come to the palace?"

“Your daughter-in-law came to the palace with His Highness the Crown Prince, thinking of trying on the dress for the investiture ceremony. I spoke with Father Emperor for a while this morning, but they had state affairs to attend to, so I thought I'd come to pay my respects to Mother Empress.” Jiang Fenghua wasn’t sure if the Empress knew what had happened in the front palace, but judging from the Empress’s expression, she didn’t seem to care much about what was happening in the court.

“It’s time to give it a try.” She then said to Granny Xi, “Go and call Lady Zhou from the Weaving Bureau. Tell her that the Crown Princess has come to the palace and ask them how far along the dress is. Bring it to Kunning Palace to try it on.”

"No need to trouble Lady Zhou, I'll try it on myself in a bit. Actually, Lady Zhou often goes to the Crown Prince's residence to take measurements." Jiang Fenghua said, "I just haven't seen Mother for a long time and wanted to come and keep you company."

Empress Cheng did not force her. She dismissed the servants in the palace and affectionately took her hand, saying, "Shang'er has finally taken a commoner as a concubine. Ruan Ruan, don't feel wronged. It's normal for men to have three wives and four concubines."

Empress Cheng was unaware of the real reason Ye Susu entered the palace, and thought that Xie Shang had indeed developed feelings for her during their time at the border.

She only felt that Jiang Fenghua was sensible and considerate.

"You're heavily pregnant now, so the safety of the babies is the most important thing. Giving birth to them safely is Ruan Ruan's most important task."

"Your daughter-in-law understands, thank you for your concern, Mother." Jiang Fenghua replied obediently.

"Your Majesty originally thought that since you're not feeling well these days, you should bring Minister Tang's daughter into the mansion first. But I didn't expect that Shang'er would take Ye Susu as a concubine. Does he think Your Majesty is meddling?" Empress Cheng complained to Xie Shang, as if indirectly criticizing Jiang Fenghua for not taking the initiative in this matter.

Jiang Fenghua listened quietly. Was this what Xie Shang said to the Empress?

"I know he just doesn't want to marry more women into his household, and he's using this as an excuse to appease me, or he's dissatisfied with the women I've chosen for him, which is why he disagrees." Empress Cheng wanted Xie Shang to go along with her wishes. "Everything your mother does is for his own good. His status is different now, unlike before when he could do whatever he wanted with whomever he wanted. But Shang'er still can't understand my heart as a mother."

"Mother, please don't think like that. The Crown Prince respects you very much, and he knows that you are doing this for his own good." In fact, Empress Cheng wanted to personally select a few women she could control to place around Xie Shang, just like when she selected Jiang Fenghua. The Empress hoped that they would be obedient and would often try to win over the relationship between the Empress and Xie Shang.

She was afraid that she wouldn't be able to control her son when he grew up.

"Su Tingwan has been placed under house arrest by Shang'er and has lost Shang'er's heart. Now there is only one concubine, Ye Liang, in the mansion, and Shang'er is indifferent to her. As the Crown Princess, Ruan Ruan will be the head of the harem in the future, so she should pay more attention to the imperial heirs." Empress Cheng wanted Jiang Fenghua to agree to let the women she had chosen enter the mansion.

“The Crown Prince has been studying and handling state affairs at Taihua Palace recently, so he probably doesn’t have much time to favor his concubines.” Since Xie Shang was unwilling, she didn’t want to be the villain. It seemed that the Empress was well aware of what was happening in the Crown Prince’s residence. Steward Cheng was the Empress’s person, so she naturally knew.

Seeing the Empress's cold expression, Jiang Fenghua explained gently, "Actually, I still want to respect the Crown Prince's wishes. His preference is the most important thing. If His Highness likes Minister Tang's daughter, he certainly can't neglect her. She should be a concubine, after all. But now my belly is so big, and I'm about to give birth. I'm really powerless to help."

The Empress's face instantly lit up with joy, and then she looked at Ruan Ruan's belly, "Then Ruan Ruan, don't worry about this matter for now, your mother will take care of everything."

"If the Empress Dowager wants to bring a concubine into the palace for Shang'er, Ruan Ruan, don't have any ideas. You know that men are fickle. Two years ago, he insisted on marrying Su Tingwan, but what happened after that? He was still inseparable from you, Ruan Ruan. Now, a year later, he has taken a fancy to a commoner and made her his concubine. In the future, once she enters the palace, he will inevitably take several more concubines."

Empress Cheng's voice also became kind and gentle, "Your mother truly treats you as her own daughter. Now that you are pregnant, you have the upper hand, and you have won in this respect."

In particular, from now on, any woman who is allowed to enter the household will be welcomed into the household by the mistress herself. She will remember your kindness. However, if a man seduces a woman into the household on his own, she will be arrogant and will not respect the mistress.

There are a few who know how to seduce and even dominate your affections, so Ruan Ruan, your mother is telling you all this entirely for your sake.

Look at Su Tingwan, she's the one Shang'er likes, isn't she? When has she ever truly respected you, her mistress? I heard that concubine Ye Liang doesn't even come to pay her respects to you. She probably thinks Shang'er is having an affair with him outside and has won Shang'er's favor. She's also a bit arrogant. You need to find a way to suppress the arrogance of a woman like that...

"I can tell from the first glance that your mother is an honest and dutiful woman. She is also favored by your father, so she doesn't know the intricacies of the palace. I understand the principles and rules of marrying into the royal family better than your mother. In the future, if Ruanruan has any questions, she can come to ask her mother. Her mother treats you like her own daughter!" Empress Cheng continued to ramble on.

"Yes, Ruanruan remembers. Ruanruan knows that Mother Empress truly cares about Ruanruan," Jiang Fenghua said gently, like an obedient little wife.

In fact, Empress Cheng also knew that it was better to win over Jiang Fenghua than any other woman, since she was Xie Shang's favorite at the moment.

Empress Cheng wasn't sure if she had heard her, and continued, "I heard that Princess Yu wants to divorce Xie Yu, you know about that, right?"

"I ran into my second sister-in-law last time, and she mentioned it briefly. I haven't seen her in a long time, and there's been no news about her. I thought she was just joking. Does Mother know about this too?" Jiang Fenghua was also puzzled, as she hadn't inquired about it.

"It even reached the Emperor's ears. Xie Yu didn't agree, and after hearing this, Consort Yan went to the Emperor and cried her eyes out, refusing to agree to the divorce and saying that she hadn't had any children in seven years and wanted to divorce her." Empress Cheng sighed, "I don't know where Luo Ziqiong got the confidence to say to the Emperor that it was impossible to divorce her and that she just wanted a divorce."

"And then, what did Father say?"

"Naturally, there was neither divorce nor separation." Empress Cheng said coldly, "I don't know what's wrong with Luo Ziqiong. There is no such thing as separation for women who marry into the royal family. The royal family only has widowhood. She is too unrealistic. She thinks that she can exchange merit for freedom. Fortunately, this matter has not been spread, otherwise the Luo family would have lost face big time."

Jiang Fenghua secretly clenched her fingers. The Emperor would definitely not agree. Such a thing would damage the royal family's reputation. In her previous life, Luo Ziqiong was divorced after Xie Shang ascended the throne. Prince Yu wanted to divorce his wife. Although Xie Shang was the Emperor, he could not support Prince Yu's wife. So Xie Yu directly kicked Luo Ziqiong out.

A woman being driven away by her husband is truly humiliating.

It's really hard to be a woman, and even harder to be a royal woman. I wonder how Luo Ziqiong has been these past few days. Xie Yu knows she wants a divorce, and who knows how he'll torment her!