Chapter 230 Emperor Xiao Jing's Schemes

Consort Die's face turned ashen, her previous arrogance gone.

Upon seeing this, the old lady of the Duke of Anguo quickly tried to smooth things over.

"In the end, the most law-abiding person in the entire capital is Madam Shen."

Look, the imperial family has already bestowed such a great favor upon you, yet you don't need it. If Madam Shen hadn't brought it up today, we would have all forgotten about it.

"Come, Madam Shen, sit with me."

As she spoke, the old lady of the Duke of Anguo pulled Shangguan Jin to sit down next to her.

Shangguan Jin also sat down next to the old lady of the Duke of Anguo.

It's good to sit at the same table as this old lady; you can just eat whatever she eats.

Although Shangguan Jin knew that tampering with the food at the palace banquet was the stupidest thing to do.

But she didn't want to overestimate the intelligence of this Butterfly Consort...

The other ladies quickly chimed in, and then took their seats.

Yes, everyone knows that the Emperor bestowed a great favor upon the wife of the Duke of Dingguo.

Previously, whenever they met with the Empress Dowager and the Empress together, Madam Shen always followed suit and bowed without any special treatment...

It seems they really don't take this Consort Die seriously, since they suddenly brought it up today.

However, after glancing at the Linde Hall, everyone seemed to understand something.

Lady Qi, the wife of the Duke of Qi, did not come; Lady Ding, the wife of the Duke of Ding, did not give her any face; and even Lady Huangfu, the head of the Eight Marquises, did not come.

This Consort Butterfly...

Everyone exchanged knowing glances, and then continued to flatter Consort Die.

Consort Die felt a lump in her throat. She glanced at Shangguan Jin and saw her smiling as she spoke to her grandmother, which made her even angrier.

"Madam Shen, when I sent out the invitation, I also sent one to Princess Pingning."

"Where is Princess Pingning?" Consort Die continued to ask.

Shangguan Jin smiled and put down her wine glass.

"Thank you for your concern, Consort Die."

Because when the Empress's invitation arrived, Princess Pingning had already made plans to go to Bao'en Temple to pray for blessings.

We cannot be careless when it comes to matters concerning the Buddha.

"I thought to myself, fortunately, Princess Pingning is not yet married, so I alone can represent the Duke of Dingguo's mansion," Shangguan Jin said neither humbly nor arrogantly.

Bao'en Temple? The moment Shangguan Jin mentioned the name Bao'en Temple, Diefei immediately thought of the time she knelt on the path behind the temple...

"Pray for blessings? For whom are you praying for blessings? Doesn't my Eighth Prince deserve a few more days of postponement from Princess Pingning?" Consort Die persisted.

Shangguan Jin glanced at Consort Die.

Has this little girl been spoiled by Emperor Xiao Jing to the point of being arrogant and ignorant?

They've already suffered a loss at their own hands once, why would they do it again?

Seeing that Shangguan Jin's smile had faded, the old lady of the Duke of Anguo subconsciously felt something was wrong.

"Things before Buddha cannot be taken lightly."

"Consort Butterfly..."

The old lady of the Duke of Anguo wanted to continue to smooth things over.

To everyone's surprise, Shangguan Jin calmly said, "Pray for the Great Yu, and pray for the Weiyuan Army in the North."

"Your Highness, is this enough?"

Butterfly Princess...

Even if she had the guts, she wouldn't dare say that praying for the Weiyuan Army of Dayu wasn't as important as the Eighth Prince's 100-day celebration...

Seeing that Consort Die was at a loss for words again, the Dowager Lady of the Duke of Anguo quickly followed up on Shangguan Jin's words.

"That's right. Princess Pingning cares deeply for Dayu. This is a great act of kindness."

Madam Shen, this old woman offers you a toast.

Shangguan Jin then picked up her wine cup again and toasted the old lady of the Duke of Anguo.

Diefei bit her lip hard.

She hadn't been this angry in a long time.

Since entering the palace, apart from being ridiculed by her aunt for the first few days, everything has been going smoothly for her.

She became pregnant less than two months after entering the uterus.

She also gave birth to a son.

Even the Duke of Anguo's mansion has to treat him like royalty now, doesn't it?

Who could have known that she still wouldn't get anywhere at the Duke of Dingguo's mansion...

This is so frustrating...

Consort Die really wanted to indulge herself for once.

So what if we punish the Lady of Dingguo?

She is a royal concubine of the Tian family, the birth mother of the prince of Dayu, so why can't someone be punished...?

Seeing the growing anger in Consort Die's eyes, the Dowager Lady of Anguo was worried that she would do something even worse.

"Your Majesty, is the Eighth Prince hungry? I heard him crying." The old lady of the Duke of Anguo asked solemnly.

Consort Die only snapped out of her reverie when the Eighth Prince was mentioned.

"Granny, quickly check if the Eighth Prince is hungry!" Consort Die hurriedly looked at the Eighth Prince.

The old lady of the Duke of Anguo breathed a sigh of relief, then smiled apologetically at Shangguan Jin.

The Anguo Duke's mansion has been in quite a turmoil lately; we can't afford any more complications...

Everyone at the palace banquet had their own little thoughts about what they were eating.

After they finished eating, the ladies surrounded the Eighth Prince and said auspicious words to him.

It's nothing more than saying things like "a full forehead, a square jaw, and extreme wealth and nobility"...

Shangguan Jin also took a closer look at the Eighth Prince.

It was chubby and fast asleep with its eyes closed, while its rosy little mouth was making sucking motions.

It's like I'm still breastfeeding in my dreams...

......

After leaving Linde Hall, Shangguan Jin immediately spotted Eunuch Hu, who had been waiting not far away.

"Madam Shen, Her Majesty the Empress invites you to have a seat," said Eunuch Hu respectfully.

Even if Eunuch Hu hadn't said anything, Shangguan Jin would still have taken a trip to the Empress's palace.

In other people's eyes, she was already on the Empress's side, so how could she not make a detour to the palace after all this trip?

As Shangguan Jin walked, she chatted casually with Eunuch Hu.

Unlike others who inquired about the Empress's mood, she instead asked Eunuch Hu how he was feeling lately, and whether his leg still ached...

Before long, they arrived at the Queen's Palace.

Shangguan Jin smiled at Empress Xu and was about to bow when Empress Xu helped her up.

"I dare not accept your courtesy today. Please rise, lest you embarrass me," Empress Xu said with a smile.

Shangguan Jin understood; the news of what happened at Linde Hall had still spread.

It seems that Consort Die has really lost face...

"We can't give a grand gift, but we must give a small one."

As she spoke, Shangguan Jin gave Empress Xu a curtsy.

Empress Xu smiled and shook her head, but she was extremely pleased inside.

"You're still the same as before, impossible to find fault with."

"I've called you here today because there's something I need to tell you," Empress Xu said with a smile.

Shangguan Jin's heart tightened. Could it be that she was planning to act as a matchmaker for Shen Qingjun?

Last time I was just making empty promises to Empress Xu. What? Does the Empress want to eat the cake now?

"I wonder what Her Majesty the Empress wants to say?" Shangguan Jin asked in a low voice.

"His Majesty wishes to arrange a marriage for the Seventh Prince. Let me speak with you about it," Empress Xu said.

“The Seventh Prince? The Seventh Prince is only fourteen!” Shangguan Jin hurriedly said.

"That's right! She's fourteen, not young anymore. The prince's wife will definitely need to be settled as soon as possible."

"His Majesty said that he was afraid the Seventh Prince would be resistant, so he selected a few candidates first," Empress Xu said.

"How many more candidates are there?"

Shangguan Jin was even more surprised; this really was a selection of imperial concubines!