Chapter 300 The Crown Prince Who Has the Overall Control

Granny Wang told the Crown Princess what she had learned from Granny Xi. She was also very flustered, saying, "I just felt that this matter should be told to the Crown Princess."

Jiang Fenghua nodded, "Please thank Granny Xi on my behalf. I will remember her kindness. Granny Wang has also worked hard."

Granny Wang said, "The palace is heavily guarded. If what Granny Xi guessed is true, how did she get out of the palace?"

"The Su family has long had hidden sentries throughout the palace. Consort Su has been favored for more than ten years, and her power in the palace should not be underestimated. What difficulty would it be to replace her? Besides, no one usually goes to the Cold Palace. If it weren't for this twist of fate, I'm afraid no one would ever know that she has left the palace."

"What should we do now? Should we tell His Highness the Crown Prince?" asked Granny Wang.

"Isn't the Empress going to help Ye Susu and Su Tingwan? Then let her talk to the Emperor herself. We shouldn't get involved. After all, Consort Su was banished to the Cold Palace by order of the Emperor. I'm just the Crown Princess, and I can't interfere that much."

Granny Wang said, "That's what I think too. The Crown Princess has been wronged by the matter in the Eastern Palace. The Empress's temper is really fiery. In this palace, the only person who dares to yell at the Emperor is the Empress."

Jiang Fenghua naturally knew that the Emperor and Empress did not get along. Since the Empress was too idle and did not want to live a good life, then let her be disliked by the Emperor again. She had only helped her in the past to improve her relationship with Xie Shang. Now even Xie Shang did not listen to her. It seems that Xie Shang was not wrong to let Consort Su sit on the position of Empress Dowager in the previous life.

Jiang Fenghua then asked, "Even though Mother has a bad temper, Father tolerates her so much. It seems that Father truly loves Mother! However, ever since I married the Crown Prince, every time I see Father and Mother, I feel that their relationship is not good."

Although Granny Wang hadn't always served Empress Cheng, she had known a little about it after so many years in Kunning Palace. "Her Majesty the Empress is the daughter of the Duke of Cheng, so her status is naturally noble. Back then, she was also exceptionally beautiful and talented, and men naturally liked such a noble lady. When too many people like her, trouble is bound to happen. Besides the Emperor liking the Empress, there are other people who also like her. But she is, after all, the Empress, the mother of the nation. How can she like someone other than the Emperor? If the Emperor knew, he would definitely be uncomfortable."

Don't be fooled by a man's abundance of women, even if he has a harem full of them. Men are petty; no matter who it is, he won't allow his woman to have feelings for someone else. This is a major taboo, otherwise, there will be endless arguments.

Jiang Fenghua nodded. So that's the reason. Empress Cheng was not the emperor's first wife, but his second wife. The emperor was much older than the empress. Empress Cheng was one of the most beautiful women back then, so it was normal for her to have admirers.

"As for other matters, we servants don't know. After the Empress gave birth to the Crown Prince, all the people in the palace changed. More than 20 years have passed. The Empress has a bad temper and has replaced several groups of people. Things have changed a lot. I heard that some people were even secretly executed. No one dares to mention these things anymore. The Crown Princess knows this and doesn't touch His Highness the Crown Prince's sore spot. That's how she can stay safe in the palace."

Jiang Fenghua in her previous life was unaware of these matters. She also believed that the Emperor favored Consort Su, firstly because of the Su family's power, and secondly because Consort Su was indeed a beauty. It is true that men all like beautiful women.

If she weren't pretty, Xie Shang wouldn't have been attracted to her.

If there were no other reason, Empress Cheng's temper was such that the Emperor both loved and hated her, which was quite remarkable.

Ever since the Emperor learned that the Empress had someone else in her heart, it's hard to say whether he still deeply loved Empress Cheng. If he truly loved her, would he have left her unattended for twenty years? Such love is terrifying.

It's likely that the Emperor felt Empress Cheng had someone else in her heart and didn't want to get close to her, so he deliberately tormented her. Furthermore, Empress Cheng's maternal family had lost its power, and she was just right for the position of Empress, which would ensure that she and the person in her heart could never be together for the rest of their lives.

The heart of an emperor is indeed unfathomable, cold and ruthless.

In his past life, Xie Shang did not love her. He could be indifferent to her, leaving her in the harem and ignoring her completely. He was truly cold-hearted.

A man's indifference and ruthlessness torment a woman. Consort Yan was not bad-looking when she was young, but what happened to her later? She was left alone in her room and almost went crazy. She would bite anyone she could get her hands on and was willing to risk everything. Such a life is truly terrifying.

-

A large group of people arrived at the West Suburb Camp. It was Jiang Fenghua's first time visiting such a military stronghold. It was heavily guarded, and she had to pass through many checkpoints to get in.

Xie Shang had been busy at the western suburban camp these past few days. As soon as he arrived, General Peng and his men came to greet him: "Your humble servant greets Your Highness the Crown Prince."

He said, “I am not here on official business today, General Peng, there is no need to be nervous. Let everyone go about their business. I want to take the Crown Princess to visit the Western Suburbs Camp, so I would like to ask General Peng to be her guide.”

"Yes," General Peng replied respectfully.

He hadn't expected the Crown Prince to bring a woman to the military camp, and not even bother to hide it. He'd heard that the Crown Prince doted on this Crown Princess, so it seemed the rumors were true.

He couldn't help but become even more cautious.

At this moment, Jiang Jinyan arrived in a great hurry after receiving the news, "Your Highness, Your Highness's Consort."

"Since you're here, come with me."

"Yes." Jiang Jinyan was puzzled as to why Ruan Ruan had come, but judging from her attire, he seemed to have guessed it.

Jiang Fenghua gave him a reassuring smile, and seeing that her elder brother had brought Yuanyuan and Qiuqiu from the Jiang family, she said happily, "Did His Highness ask you to bring Yuanyuan and Qiuqiu?"

"I was worried that you wouldn't be used to riding the horses in the military camp, so I had your elder brother bring these two fine steeds from home."

"Your Highness is indeed very thoughtful." She stroked the horse's head with great affection. "It's been a long time, do you still recognize me?"

The horse affectionately breathed warm air on her, as if greeting her, "Just like before, my round one, big brother's ball."

"Alright, choose whichever you prefer. They all seem to like you anyway." Jiang Jinyan, however, was a little worried. Was Ruan Ruan being too bold? How could she let the Crown Prince know she could ride a horse? Did the Crown Prince know anything else?

The crown prince in front of her was definitely not someone Ruan Ruan could control. In just a few months, he had already recruited students to serve him, and the crown prince was even secretly investigating officials in various prefectures and counties. On the other hand, he was also holding a martial arts examination. This series of actions was not just to select an outstanding martial arts champion, but to build a strong army for his use.

Opinions on this matter were divided throughout the court, but the Crown Prince's determination remained unwavering. He seemed to have been prepared all along, and was going all out to seize the position of Crown Prince. Jiang Jinyan knew that he would become an outstanding ambitious man in the history of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

However, Ruan Ruan's gamble paid off. Jiang Jinyan recently felt that Xie Shang was moving in the direction Ruan Ruan hoped for. However, neither Ruan Ruan nor the Jiang family were the ones pushing the Crown Prince forward; the only one who could do that was to push him forward.

He can control the whole situation.