Chapter 156 Kneeling to Serve Tea to the Mistress

Dujuan's eyes widened: "Huh? You didn't consummate the marriage?"

"No, no."

"this……"

Du Juan choked up, and after a long while, she said, "No wonder Granny Chai said something was wrong. Did she realize that you two hadn't consummated your marriage?"

Shen Wantang nodded. Granny Chai was married and had two children, so she could naturally tell whether they had actually consummated their marriage. However, although Granny Chai saw through it, she still helped her cover it up.

For her, as the Crown Prince's consummation wife, consummating the marriage would silence many gossips, which would be advantageous to her. As long as it benefited her, Granny Chai would spare no effort to help her.

Du Juan felt sorry for her: "Princess Consort, you've really been wronged to marry the Prince. He's really gone too far! You should give him a talking-to. He can't go on like this. You're the mistress of the house, how can he be so disrespectful to you!"

Shen Wantang smiled and said, "The Crown Prince's desire to take Chu Yanluo as a concubine is not a new idea. He even wanted to marry her before. Didn't we already know that? I'm already very lucky to be able to marry into the Prince's mansion. We shouldn't be too greedy."

"How can this be considered greed? The young master is your husband, he should treat you well! Even if he takes a concubine, you should give your consent. Now he's living in separate courtyards from you and taking a concubine, what will people outside think of you!"

Shen Wantang suppressed her smile and sighed softly.

It seems that people are all the same; insatiable desires are a common problem. Many people do not understand the principle of knowing when to stop, or perhaps they do understand it, but putting it into practice is as difficult as climbing to the sky.

Before she married into the family, Dujuan was overjoyed, thinking that even if Xiao Qingyuan had someone he loved, it would be a great blessing for him to marry into the royal family.

But now? This girl has long forgotten her original state of mind and has started making demands on Xiao Qingyuan, trying to put him in a bad light.

"Dujuan, we can't have too high expectations of others. The only thing we can do is to stick to our own principles."

Du Juan asked, bewildered, "Princess Consort, what do you mean by this?"

"I only want the title of Crown Princess and the power to manage the household. Xiao Qingyuan's heart never belonged to me before, and I will never want it again. So let him dote on whichever woman he wants. I won't lose myself over such a small matter, and I certainly won't get angry because he dotes on other women. It's not worth it."

Du Juan's eyes went from confused to complicated.

She looked at Shen Wantang, admiring her calmness and rationality, but also feeling inexplicably sad. Her young lady had suffered too much in the past, which was why she was so clear-headed now. Her birth mother died early, her father was unreliable, her stepmother was harsh, her elder sister suppressed her, and even the nanny in the mansion could give her attitude at will. She had never had a good day.

Now that she's married, she's not angry even though her husband is unreliable, and she's not jealous at all even though he has other women.

If it were someone else in this situation, not crying would be the least of their worries.

The night passed quickly.

The next day, the wind, rain, lightning, and thunder continued.

Despite the inclement weather, Shen Wantang went to pay her respects to Princess Ning without fail.

Princess Ning was listless today. After seeing Shen Wantang, she asked Granny Quan to give her a waist token.

Shen Wantang took it and saw that the pure gold waist tag had a large "御" (Imperial) character engraved on it.

"Mother, what's wrong...?"

"Tang'er, this is a waist token bestowed by His Majesty. The Prince and I each have one. From today onwards, mine is yours. With this waist token, you can enter and leave the palace without any notification and can travel freely. Even if you want to see His Majesty, you only need to tell the head eunuch."

Holding the waist token, Shen Wantang suddenly felt as if it weighed a ton: "Mother, your daughter-in-law is young and inexperienced, and there is nothing important for her to do in the palace to meet the Emperor. You should keep the waist token. If something really happens, your daughter-in-law will definitely go to the palace with you, so you won't need this."

"Take it. My health is deteriorating day by day, and I can't manage too many things anymore. Yuan'er has been bewitched by a vixen and lost his mind. There will inevitably be trouble in the manor in the future. With this token, you can go to the palace to ask for help when necessary."

Shen Wantang hurriedly said, "Mother, don't say that. I'll prescribe a few more doses of medicine for you. If you take good care of yourself, you'll definitely live to be a hundred!"

Princess Ning felt somewhat gratified to see how filial her daughter was.

A slight smile appeared on her face: "You can still live, but your energy is not as good as before, so the manor will have to rely on you in the future. Keep the waist token safe, even Qingyuan doesn't have one."

Shen Wantang hesitated for a moment, but finally accepted the waist token.

She had just put away her waist token when the curtain was lifted, and Xiao Qingyuan pulled Chu Yanluo in.

The smile on Princess Ning's face vanished instantly. She glanced at the two people's tightly clasped hands and felt utterly disgusted.

Holding hands in public is one thing, but now that they're right in front of her, they're still being so affectionate. Are they trying to disgust her, or are they trying to disgust Shen Wantang to death?

Thinking of this, Princess Ning was afraid that her daughter-in-law would be angry, so she quickly glanced at her. Then she found that Shen Wantang seemed to be much calmer than her. Her good-for-nothing son walked in so intimately with a vixen, but Shen Wantang's expression did not change at all. She was calm and composed as if she had not seen anything.

Shen Wantang was indeed very calm at this moment because she had already anticipated that even if Xiao Qingyuan had brought Chu Yanluo in today, she would not have any emotional fluctuations.

They were true love in their past life, so naturally they will be in this one too.

As long as Chu Yanluo doesn't do what Mu Ge did and instigate Xiao Qingyuan to make Princess Ning so angry that she vomits blood, Shen Wantang will allow her to stay in the Ning Prince's residence.

After all, getting rid of Chu Yanluo is not as simple as getting rid of Mu Ge. Xiao Qingyuan is deeply in love with her, and getting rid of Chu Yanluo will probably require paying a considerable price.

"Mother, I've brought Yanluo to pay her respects."

Xiao Qingyuan held Chu Yanluo's hand tightly, as if afraid that she would be taken away. "Since the Crown Princess is here, I will say it all at once. I plan to take Yanluo as my concubine. From now on, she will be my woman, and my only woman."

Princess Ning had anticipated this, and she sneered, "You may wish to enter the Prince's mansion as a concubine, but once inside, you must abide by the rules!"

Xiao Qingyuan frowned: "What rules does Mother want her to follow? Are you deliberately making things difficult for her?"

"Me, make things difficult for her? Does she deserve it?"

Princess Ning said coldly, "A concubine should act like a concubine. The Crown Princess, the mistress of the house, is right here. Shouldn't a concubine kneel down and serve tea to the mistress? Only when the mistress of the house drinks her tea can she be considered a true concubine. Otherwise, she is nothing!"