Although Fang Weichang had temporarily lost the title of Crown Prince, Shen and Fang Weichang still lived in the best Jiyue Tower on a daily basis. Shen was very excited at this time. She had been married to the capital for a long time, but had only met her family a few times.

"This time, mother, you must stay in Beijing well so that your daughter can honor you."

Only in front of her mother would Shen be much more gentle.

Mrs. Shen was already in her fifties, and she loved her only daughter very much. She regretted it very much: "What good is it to marry into such a noble family? If I had listened to me, I would have married into a scholarly family, and it would have been quieter. With our family background, it is not impossible."

"My brother and sister have both given birth, why are you saying this?" Shen didn't know what to say. None of those officials' sons would say that they would not take concubines, so forget it.

Even if they are willing, their families may not.

How could a young scholar be willing to marry a tigress? He would have been betrothed to a woman from a better family early on. Even if that weren't the case, he would still want to marry a virtuous wife.

Besides, Fang Weichang was very nice to her.

Mrs. Shen could see what her daughter was thinking, so she said, "It's just a few casual remarks."

"All officials have three wives and five concubines. For example, the Ruan family is a duke's daughter. When she marries into a family like the Shen family, I went there last time. They had better concubines. So what if they were treated so poorly? There are several layers of mother-in-laws above her, and they are very strict. They also let her manage the household, and they will blame her for anything that goes wrong." Shen was talking about the third daughter of Duke Hanhai. This girl had been in a tangle with Zhang Jingzhi and looked down on him. Later, she married into the Shen family, and her life was not very smooth.

Mrs. Shen had also been to the Shen family, and couldn't help but ask, "Are you talking about the young daughter-in-law with fair skin and a tall stature, but with a dull expression on her face, without a trace of a smile?"

"That's her." Shen nodded. "Each of them thinks they can turn over a new leaf, but let's see, it still doesn't work."

They all think they are special. Then what if Lady Ruan San thinks her sister is a pus bag and she goes in? A bastard's daughter is so picky.

Mrs. Shen smiled and said, "You are right, but how many people can understand this truth? Anyway, I am not listening to you talking about others. Today I met your mother-in-law, and she looks smart from the outside."

When talking about Xu, Shen gritted her teeth and said, "She is just a concubine. Fang Weijun is a worthless person who cannot be served at the main table. Fang Weiyan is just pretending. This position will return to our grandfather sooner or later."

"Don't worry, your father and I will find a way to deal with this matter." Mrs. Shen said to her daughter.

Shen heaved a sigh of relief: "With your parents here, I feel much more at ease."

Mrs. Shen also suggested taking her grandson to the Shen family to study, which made Shen even happier.

Why did Xu, a second wife, dare to act so arrogantly in the mansion? The most important reason was that she had a son and a daughter, and her son was very promising. Shen didn't know whether her husband could get the position of crown prince back, so she could only make two plans. If she could get it, that would be great. If not, it would also be great for her sons to take the imperial examinations.

At this time, Linglong came over. She was sent by Yu. When she saw Madam Shen, she immediately bowed. Madam Shen was a little unhappy, but still said with a smile: "Why are you here? What does your master want?"

"Madam, our master has always had dizziness and needs ginseng. Madam sent me to ask if you have any ginseng."

Shen was not happy at heart, thinking that Yu had no plan. If she wanted ginseng, she should ask Xu for it. Why would she do anything with her?

She asked back, "Why don't you go to the madam? I only have some ginseng slices here, not a whole root."

Linglong sighed, "I just went to the Madam's place, and she said that the ginseng in the mansion is for the old lady to take regularly."

This is obviously an excuse. Yu's husband was exiled and expelled from the family tree. Although he said everything was normal in the first few months, his true colors have been revealed.

But Shen was also thoughtful. She said, "In that case, I will pack some ginseng slices for your grandmother, saying that it will help her recover from her illness."

Although Linglong didn't get a whole ginseng, it was good to have ginseng slices, so she went back with many thanks.

Seeing her go far away, Madam Shen said, "Your Dong'an Marquis's Mansion is a well-known family, how come you don't even have ginseng?"

Shen sneered, "It's just the mistress who is playing tricks. How could the family get to this point? It's just that her good daughter-in-law is pregnant, and she doesn't want to waste money, so the mistress used this as an excuse to cut a lot of expenses."

"Oh, the one who is pregnant is her biological daughter-in-law?" Mrs. Shen frowned.

"Exactly."

"Then do you think she has made up for it privately?"

"She's good at putting on a show."

Meaning that there is no evidence. Madam Shen said, "This is a cautious person. I would say you should not underestimate the enemy. A dam thousands of miles long is destroyed by an ant hole. This has been the case since ancient times. Although you have all kinds of tricks, Xu is in the upper hand now. No matter what, she is your elder. Your fourth brother and his wife are obviously not easy to deal with."

"Yes, I understand."

However, Mrs. Shen did think of a solution for her daughter.

Soon, Mi Niang learned that the Marquis of Dong'an had taken in a new concubine when he went out hunting. Although she was the daughter of a farmhouse family, her beauty could not be concealed by her reed-pinned cloth skirt. She also had a nice name, Mei.

Compared to others who had to be pregnant before being granted the title of concubine, Concubine Mei was a concubine as soon as she entered the family, and she had a gentle personality. Marquis Dong'an respected her very much, and even Mrs. Xu looked up to her.

Fang Weiyan was not surprised. In wealthy families, many sons were younger than their grandsons. It was nothing unusual.

Mi Niang was alarmed and said, "How come you have a concubine for no reason? Is it true that I am too young to act recklessly?"

What a coincidence, as soon as Madam Shen left, the Marquis took a second wife.

The Marquis of Dong'an had gone out hunting before, but never like this. It was icy and snowy, and people were frozen like black cats. All the girls from poor families had frostbite. The Marquis of Dong'an had seen all kinds of beauties. Madam Mei had a gentle temperament, but she was not beautiful at all. Not to mention compared to her, she was far inferior to Madam Xu.

"I think there must be something fishy."

Fang Weiyan smiled and said, "Why do you think so much? Even if she gave birth to eight or ten sons, they are still young and cannot compete with us."

The status of wives and concubines is clearly defined, with few exceptions.

Mi Niang shook her head: "You don't know the pros and cons here." Then she said: "It's okay if you don't know. Anyway, you only have me, so you don't need to know."

This little girl is so possessive of him now, so domineering, which makes Fang Weiyan say: "Yeah, you are right."

Aunt Mei was indeed impeccable. Although she was a daughter of a manor family, she was a better person than the others. However, Xu was afraid that Marquis Dong'an would find out that she was spying on his whereabouts, so she did not dare to investigate rashly.

It was another heavy snowfall, and Fang Weiyan had to get up early. He got up quietly and saw that Mi Niang was sleeping soundly, so he specifically instructed the servants: "Don't wake up your grandmother, let her sleep a little longer."

Xia Lian quickly responded, "Yes."

So when Mi Niang got up, she found that no one was around. She looked around and saw that only Xia Lian and Shu Xiang were sitting inside. "Hey, where's the Fourth Master?"

Xia Lian covered her mouth and laughed: "The Fourth Master specifically told us not to wake you up."

Mi Niang added: "You little rascals are getting better and better at teasing people."

After a while, Mother Tang came in person to distribute the monthly allowance of silver. The young ladies and concubines in the mansion received two taels of silver a month. After Mi Niang entered the mansion, she received four taels of silver a month according to the previous example. In addition, because she had a higher status, the old ladies and aunts sent her a lot of expensive utensils and supplements, and Xu gave her ten taels of silver a month from her private collection.

She grabbed a handful of money and gave it to Mother Tang: "Please send the money for me. I am not feeling well, thank you for your concern."

After that, tea and snacks were served, and Tang's mother said hurriedly, "Madam told you to take care of yourself and be busy during the New Year holidays. I heard that the Empress was ill, so our Madam has to go back to the palace."

"The Queen is ill. Is she seriously ill?"

This is nonsense. If the illness is not serious, no women will come to the palace to visit.

Mother Tang felt bad. She almost forgot that Fourth Grandma was also a member of the Ruan family, so she said tactfully, "I don't know about that. Our wife heard about it from our eldest aunt, so she came to the palace to pay her respects."

The two chatted casually for a few more sentences.

After Mother Tang passed away, Mi Niang realized something was wrong. Empress Ruan's health had never been so bad before.

When she was the Imperial Consort, the Empress was merely deposed but still alive and well.

But it is normal to think so. This is not like in the previous life when she protected Queen Ruan and tried her best to fight with Concubine Cui, and finally defeated her.

Otherwise, with Concubine Cui's cruelty, she is not herself, she will take people's lives at any time.

Although Queen Nguyen disliked her very much in those days, she finally gave her a way out. On this day, Mi Niang fried a copy of the Buddhist scriptures for the first time.

Kunning Palace

Liusu was halfway through feeding the medicine when she could not help but secretly cry. The queen had not been in good health recently. She had lost a lot of weight and even coughed up blood. Although she kept it a secret and said it was an old illness, it was true that she could not get up. Therefore, many people went to Concubine Cui to curry favor with her.

Zheng Dou Niang was afraid that Liu Su would upset Empress Ruan, so she took the bowl and fed her herself, saying, "Your Majesty, next spring, your favorite gardenia will bloom. It will be so beautiful. You also said that you would wear the flower in your hair for me."

"No, Dou Niang, you don't have to coax me with words. I know my body is absolutely not in good condition." Queen Ruan smiled weakly.

“My queen…”

"Listen to me. I don't mind, but as for Furou, I have already asked for permission to marry the son of Marquis Jinxiang. As for you, if the emperor won't let you go, I will beg him in my will. If it really doesn't work, you and Liusu can go to Li Zhaoyi. She is my cousin and now she is pregnant. She is the head of a palace after all."

Hearing Queen Ruan speaking as if she were giving instructions for her final resting place, the maids in waiting could not bear it any longer.

Zheng Dou Niang forced a smile: "Your Majesty, don't say that. Just take the medicine well and it will be fine." In fact, she also knew that Your Majesty only had a year at most to live, and even if she gave her the best herbs, it would be useless.

She looked at the silly girl Zhou Furou. She was lucky because she had the Empress's help in marrying her.

It's a pity for myself...

In the end, the Queen couldn't win over the Emperor.

In the evening, Queen Nguyen sent Zhou Furou to visit Li Zhaoyi. Although Queen Nguyen had no intention of taking someone else's child away, she was now in poor health, so she went to visit Fan Yuzhen more often, so that even if she passed away in the future, they would have a good home.

Fan Yuzhen has been taking good care of her pregnancy recently, but she knew what Lady Cheng'en meant, and she was very frightened. When she saw Zhou Furou coming over, her expression remained unchanged.

"Thank you again, Her Majesty, for coming to see me. When Her Majesty is better, I will definitely go to pay my respects to you."

Zhou Furou had been in the palace for a year and had learned a lot. She sat down and said, "Our queen asked you to take good care of your baby."

Do you want to have a baby and take good care of it? If you do, will I pass the baby on to you?

Humph, I can only have my child if you stay in bed.

Fan Yuzhen smiled and said, "You have come here with great difficulty. Please bring some of the scriptures I copied to the Empress. This is also my prayer for her."

Because Fan Yuzhen had a small kitchen, she also specially sent some cakes for Zhou Furou to take to the Empress Dowager for her to taste.

Zhou Furou looked at the cakes and scriptures and thought that Li Zhaoyi was an honest person.

So he quickly agreed.

Fan Yuzhen added: "I heard that you are going to marry the son of Jinxiang Hou. I would like to congratulate you in advance."

Although there was this rumor, no decree was issued. Zhou Furou shook her head quickly with a blush on her face: "Empress Zhaoyi, please stop teasing me."

When Zhou Furou left, Fan Yuzhen gave her some reward and asked the chief palace maid to see her off.

Fan Yuzhen was even more upset. When she entered the palace, she followed the empress's lead in everything, but the empress never considered her. Now, she wanted to promote the female officials around her and even arrange a marriage for her.

It's really ridiculous.

You were originally given another year to live, but if that’s the case, then you should just die quickly.

Fan Yuzhen shuddered again at the thought. She looked at herself in the mirror and couldn't help but wonder if she was too vicious.

But then, she patted her belly and said, "Don't blame me. If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for taking my son away, and Concubine Cui. I will not let any of you go."

Because the Empress in the palace was not in good condition, Xu was afraid that something unexpected would happen. She would not be able to hold a wedding during the national mourning period. All happy events cannot be full of twists and turns, especially marriages. If there are too many twists and turns, the couple will have a bumpy life after marriage.

Although this is superstition, everyone always hopes for a "good" and smooth journey.

Therefore, Xu discussed it with Madam Jian, and also consulted with Jian Ningchu's stepmother. Madam Jian deliberately said to Jian Ningchu's father: "The old lady of the Marquis of Dong'an is my elder sister, and Fang Si's wife is my granddaughter. Ningchu will not suffer if she marries into the family."

In fact, although Jian Ningchu is the eldest granddaughter of the Jian family, she was delayed in marriage because of mourning for her mother. Moreover, her dowry was limited. Although Mrs. Jian was generous, she would not prepare a dowry specifically for her.

She has no biological brothers, so being able to marry into a family of relatives is a rare benefit.

For example, although Mrs. Jian’s own granddaughter Jian Yuehua married into the Yuan Fu family, her life was not necessarily so comfortable!

There are some wealthy and powerful families who only care about their social status and are not good people. If the two families have conflicts over their children, then it is not a marriage but an enmity.

Moreover, Fang Weijun had a great chance of succeeding to the title, and the Marquis of Dong'an was a family of iron and steel with a red-lettered iron certificate, otherwise why would the Shen family marry their daughter to him?

Of course, he could not inherit the title, and the one who inherited the title was Fang Weiyan, who was Fang Weijun's biological brother. It was impossible for Fang Weiyan to treat his younger brother unfairly, so he lived in peace.

If a person does not ask for anything else but peace, he will be better than many people.

Of course Jian Ningchu was willing. Although she had never met Fang Weiyan, she had met Mi Niang. Although she was shocked at first sight, her demeanor and words were unforgettable. The person she married must be very good. Similarly, Fang Weijun, as Fang Weiyan's younger brother, must be a good person.

Both families were wealthy, but they got engaged quickly and tacitly.

Fang Weijun was of course very happy, for she had heard from others that the daughter of the Jian family was not only virtuous and well-behaved, but also very pretty, and very similar to her fourth grandmother.

He had met his fourth sister-in-law before. Of course, uncles and sisters-in-law were not allowed to meet casually, but his fourth sister-in-law was already extremely beautiful. If his own wife was as beautiful as her, he would have nothing to ask for.

On the day of the engagement, Mi Niang also arrived at Xu's place early. Xu said angrily, "Why do you come here? You should take good care of yourself."

"Madam, today is a good day for my fifth brother. Although he will be married next year, engagement is a big deal. How can I not come? Don't worry, I came in a warm sedan chair. Besides, the doctor also told me to walk more."

Xu smiled happily: "Your fifth brother is so happy that you, as his brother and sister-in-law, are so supportive."

Quite a few people came today, including those from the Jinxiang Marquis' Mansion, Xinling Marquis' Mansion, Hanhai Duke's Mansion, Cheng'en Duke's Mansion, as well as other relatives' in-laws, the Nanping Earl's Mansion, etc. Mi Niang is now pregnant and came out to greet everyone.

Lady Hanhai was familiar with Mi Niang, and hurriedly said, "Oh, how many months have you grown old? You can't tell when you wear this big coat."

Mi Niang specially untied her cloak. Everyone saw that her belly was round and her face was rosy. They thought that she was probably pregnant with a girl. Since ancient times, if a mother was pregnant with a boy, her face would be ugly and have butterfly spots, but if she was pregnant with a girl, there would be no change, and she would even be very beautiful. Moreover, the saying that a pointed belly means a boy and a round belly means a girl has been deeply rooted in people's minds.

But considering that she was her first child, it was inconvenient to say anything.

Lady Hanhai said kindly, "I think Mi Niang is pregnant with a boy. The last time we went to Queyun Temple, the nun there was good at physiognomy and said that you have the appearance of a boy."

This is also the reason why Lady Cheng'en wanted Mi Niang to give birth to a child for Queen Ruan.

Mi Niang smiled and said, "It doesn't matter whether this first pregnancy is a boy or a girl. Of course, a boy is good, but if it's a girl, it's also fine if she blooms first and then bears fruit. My mother-in-law told me the same thing."

Everyone praised Xu for being a good and open-minded mother-in-law. Of course, Xu was embarrassed and praised her daughter-in-law for her ability to speak.

The wife of Duke Qi was also here with her daughter-in-law. She was Jian Ningchu's mother-in-law in her previous life. This woman looked polite outside and was talking to Xu. When she heard that Fang Yaqing was in charge of the banquet, she took Fang Yaqing and gave her a pair of bracelets with good water content. Mi Niang thought to herself that something was wrong.

Furthermore, Lady Xinling Hou kept praising Fang Yaqing, which made Xu even happier, as her daughter's affairs were also a concern for her.

Now that my youngest son is engaged, the next step is my daughter's marriage.

When Mi Niang returned to her room at night, she mentioned today's events to Fang Wei Yan: "I think the wife of Duke Qi and the wife of Marquis Xinling are both interested in Ya Qing."

"The most promising person in Xinling Marquis's family is Gu Wangshu. The other princes are okay, but nothing special. However, it is true that their family is rich. Unfortunately, our family is not short of money. Without money, we are just rich idlers. Whenever the family is divided, the one who inherits the title will get seven parts, and the sons will get three parts. Xinling Marquis has quite a few sons, so it won't work. As for the Qiguogong Mansion... it has an average relationship with our family. I don't think it will work. I will talk to mother about this." Fang Weiyan said.

These two families have had problems to begin with, unlike the girl from the Jian family, who cannot be faulted. The Jian family is also doing well at the moment, and Lord Jian has a very good reputation as an official.

"I feel relieved now that you say that." Mi Niang said with a smile.

After the two fell asleep, they didn't expect that the funeral bells seemed to be ringing continuously from the drum tower in the middle of the night...

Mi Niang was also awakened. Fang Weiyan counted and said, "There were tens of thousands of them in total. I'm afraid something happened in the palace."

"Could it be the Queen..."

As they were talking, someone came in the morning and said, "Fourth Master, no one is allowed to move around now. The Empress in the palace has passed away."

Mi Niang and Fang Weiyan looked at each other. They had never thought that it was Queen Ruan who had passed away. When Mi Niang was the Imperial Concubine in her previous life, Queen Ruan was still alive in her forties. Now she was only in her twenties...

Fang Weiyan was thinking that in his previous life, it was said that it was Empress Dowager Ruan who caused her sister, Empress Ruan, to be deposed and then she took the throne. But now Empress Dowager Ruan was in her house, so how come the Empress died so early? Maybe, Mi Niang didn't harm her at all, but protected her instead.

Mi Niang thought to herself, Lady Hanhai said today that the Empress wanted to ask for permission for her maid Zhou Furou to marry the Prince of Jinxiang. Now that she is dead, can Zhou Furou still get her wish?