After returning from Princess Zhenyang, Yao Niang found a book to read. It would have been fine if she hadn't read it, but she was so encrossed in it that it was almost dinner time. Bai Ying came to urge her, "Princess, it's already 3 pm, it's time for dinner."

"It's already this late." Yao Niang put down the book and felt that this place was more comfortable than being at her parents' home.

She had been a widow for many years in her previous life and was accustomed to living alone. She was not used to too lively scenes. At her mother's house, she had to help Yu Shi frequently. There were many people at home, so she had to be careful all the time.

Bai Ying nodded: "Princess, come and eat soon. You didn't eat much at the princess' place at noon. Don't be hungry."

Yao Niang touched her belly and said, "I didn't realize it until you told me. But now it's true. I think I'm really a little hungry."

Bai Ying and Bai Zhi came over to serve Yao Niang with meals. The palace mainly ate seasonal dishes. In August, the main dish was crabs, so today they were eating crabs. The palace also had corresponding fruit wine from the sea oil, and Yao Niang enjoyed the meal very much.

After dinner, Yao Niang chatted with the maids. The Prince of Chen had four maids serving him. Since she was married to the Prince of Chen, she naturally had to ask him about his preferences: "What does His Highness like to use?"

These palace maids also wanted to get close to Yao Niang. In fact, they didn't know much about him. Some said that he liked to eat mutton, while others said that he usually liked to eat vegetarian food...

It doesn't matter what they eat, but from what they say, the Prince of Chen is difficult to get along with, and they almost have to obey him. Of course, those who don't obey have been kicked out long ago.

After Yao Niang finished washing up, her husband had not returned yet. Of course, she could not go to bed early. As a wife, she had to wait for her husband to come back.

At this time Gao Xuance came back with a lot of thoughts. In his previous life, he did not participate in politics so quickly. Soon because his father was seriously ill, he was tried several times and later escaped from the palace. He had no idea about the situation of the country.

I went to the Ministry of Revenue today and found out that there is not much money left in the inner treasury. Not only that, it is almost gone. My father is not a pioneering king, so it is useless to save money blindly. But this is not a bad thing either.

What ministers fear most is that the emperor will punish them. If the emperor does not punish him, many famous ministers will emerge.

However, there might be a war in the border areas, and the Ministry of Works needs to allocate money to manufacture weapons. In the past few years, there have been floods everywhere, and even the emperor's treasury only has 12,000 taels of silver left. How can we fight a war without money?

The Donghu and Myanmar in the southwest are eyeing us covetously. In addition, the people of Hebrew also want to form an alliance with the Donghu. I don't know how worried my father is.

He frowned and pushed the door open. Seeing Yao Niang coming to greet him, he threw away all the thoughts in his mind. Seeing that she had already changed into pajamas, he couldn't help but say, "Next time you don't have to wait for me. If you are sleepy, just rest first."

Yao Niang smiled and said, "I rested during the day, so I'm not very sleepy at night. But why is Your Highness up so late?"

Gao Xuance said: "They are just some external things, nothing serious."

Yao Niang helped him take off his outer clothes. When she was about to take another step, Gao Xuance stopped her and said, "I'm going to take a shower in the second room first, and then I'll come to talk to you. You go to bed first."

"Um."

It seems that Gao Xuance is indeed as she said, he has servants to serve him and is unwilling to do the work of a servant.

After a while, Gao Xuance's hair was tied up with only a jade hairpin. He saw Yao Niang resting her chin on her hand in a daze, and felt very sympathetic in his heart: "Sister Yao, how was your day at home today?"

Yao Niang thought for a moment and said, "I will go to pay my respects to my mother in the morning, then accompany the princess, and then read at home."

Even when he was talking to Yao Niang, he was very attentive. When Yao Niang asked whether she should pay respects to Mother every day, Gao Xuance thought about it seriously and said, "Second sister-in-law goes there every day. Mother doesn't really like it. Women in the palace are different from mothers-in-law outside. Mother is the queen after all, and sometimes she needs an accompaniment. You should go there every two days, and don't go empty-handed. I have your belongings in my private storehouse, and you can take whatever you like."

"But in this way, will others say that my filial piety is not as good as that of my second sister-in-law? Mother has always loved you, and I can't hold you back." Yao Niang knew that it was Old Lady Dou, and that Jiang and Ren, who were so old, still had to visit their parents every morning and evening.

Gao Xuance thought for a moment and said, "No, I think my second sister-in-law is pregnant, so my mother will definitely exempt her from paying respects, so you don't have to compare this."

Since Gao Xuance said so, Yao Niang naturally agreed.

After finishing the serious business, Gao Xuance stroked her hair gently again: "What book did you read today? Tell me about it."

"I'm reading a very interesting book, written by the great scholar Fu Shen. It tells the story of how when he first passed the imperial examination, six hundred taels of silver a year were not enough. I used to think that these famous scholars were all very ethereal, but after reading this book, I realized that they were just like ordinary people like us. There's also a book about flower cultivation, saying that orchids are most tranquil in summer."

"Really? I also have a collection of Fu Shen's poems here, and there is a line in it that I like the most..."

The two of them got along quite well. Gao Xuance was very focused when talking to Yao Niang, without any perfunctory attitude.

Fortunately, Yao Niang saw that it was getting late, so she said, "Your Highness, let's go to bed. You have to get up early tomorrow."

Gao Xuance nodded.

Compared to the scene with Yao Niang and the others, Mu Wantong felt that her husband was a little stupid. She liked his kindness, but also felt that he was too good.

"Fourth Master, you are such a kind person. Unfortunately, if this continues, my mother and I will be bullied." Mu Wantong simply couldn't believe it. The Third Prince, Prince Chen, had already started his errand, but her husband hadn't assigned any yet.

It is not even necessary to mention that Prince An was originally the last one to be conferred the title. The people in Prince Chen's Mansion could directly transfer materials from the Emperor's inner treasury. Everyone even called him Prince An. She originally thought he was also Prince An, but later found out that he was Prince An.

People in the palace are just yelling at each other, but in reality the Fourth Prince is treated much less than the Third Prince.

The fourth prince looked at his lame foot and shook his head. "You know, I don't want to wade into muddy water. I'm not afraid to tell you the truth. My eldest brother is the eldest son. If he takes the throne, I will definitely support him. Most of the ministers in the court also support my eldest brother. But my third brother..."

"There's something wrong with the word 'Chen' in 'Prince Chen'. If we don't get the relationship between superiors and subordinates right at the beginning, it will be difficult in the future." Mu Wantong has always disliked Prince Chen.

First, the prince was indifferent when he saw the bully bullying her. How could such a person become the emperor? He has no kindness at all.

Mu Wantong was originally very happy that her husband was accompanying her, but when she heard that Prince Chen was about to take office, she began to worry. Moreover, today the Emperor sent someone to personally deliver his riding uniform to Prince Chen, but her husband had nothing.

This was simply unimaginable for the pampered Mu Wantong. There was actually such a biased person, and this person was the emperor, and she couldn't blame him.

Even when she went to Concubine Yan's place, she saw that Concubine Yan's bedroom was far inferior to that of Concubine Hong. This unbalanced feeling made her feel uneasy.

Therefore, she tried hard to please her husband, but the Fourth Prince did not dare to do so and even advised her: "We should stay away from these things. It is up to the Emperor to decide who will take that position. We should just be loyal to the Emperor. Why bother getting involved in such things?"

Mu Wantong curled her lips.

But she said that she got up early the next day, and Gao Xuance was there. Seeing Yao Niang wake up, he smiled and said, "Why don't you sleep a little longer? I have to get up so early because I have to attend court today."

"How can it be that the husband gets up early every day while the wife sleeps in every day?" Yao Niang made a gesture to get up.

Gao Xuance had no choice but to let her do what she wanted, but he still said, "I will accompany you back home tomorrow, don't worry. Since you are going to pay your respects to my mother today, you should accompany her for me. But if you feel unwell, come back and rest."

"Well, don't worry." Yao Niang felt that although Gao Xuance didn't accompany her every day, he was very serious when talking to her and even went out of his way to accompany her for entertainment. She didn't feel uncomfortable at all, but very comfortable instead.

Gao Xuance tapped Yao Niang's nose and said, "Speaking of you, you are my wife. Since ancient times, wives are equal, just like me."

Yao Niang smiled embarrassedly.

The palace maids just thought that Prince Chen was really amazing. He could coax anyone he wanted to and make them obey him, especially those he liked, whether it was the emperor, the concubine or even the princess. He was the most perfect son and husband.

But to these servants, he was not a perfect master. But the princess was very kind and not the type who liked to cause trouble.

After seeing Gao Xuance off, Yao Niang took a good nap before getting up to pay her respects to Concubine Hong.

She came very early. When Concubine Hong saw her coming, she looked lazy. Fortunately, Yao Niang smiled and said, "Mother, my daughter-in-law brought a lot of food with her dowry, including a lot of new glutinous rice flour. I will make you some glutinous rice balls, okay? It's so early, you should rest for a while."

With her daughter-in-law here, she couldn't be lazy, but Yao Niang advised: "Mother, you should lie down on the couch. His Highness told me that you have worked hard for a long time for our marriage."

The younger daughter-in-law spoke more pleasantly, and Concubine Hong could not help but nod.

Yao Niang went to the concubine's small kitchen and made sweet-scented osmanthus and black sesame glutinous rice balls. Luo Zhizheng taught her how to make these glutinous rice balls. Sometimes Yao Niang felt that Luo Zhizheng really had the capital to be proud. As the saying goes, a gentleman stays away from the kitchen, but her father can actually cook delicious food so well.

The dishes of sweet-scented osmanthus and black sesame glutinous rice balls and crispy mountain cakes were taught by his father, and Yao Niang really thinks they are Luo family's specialties.

She changed into a half-worn set of clothes, which was not fake at all. She first added warm water to the glutinous rice flour in small amounts, then added cold water, kneaded it into the glutinous rice ball skin, and then filled it with black sesame filling.

She did everything very seriously until the dish was ready.

Xu Qingrong who was outside didn't know anything yet. She was shocked when she saw Yao Niang coming out in person carrying food. She thought that judging from her appearance yesterday, she didn't seem to come to pay her respects, so why did she come again today?

"My sister-in-law is here."

"Yes, second sister-in-law, have you had breakfast? When I got up in the morning and saw that there was nothing to do, I made some food for mother." Yao Niang said with a smile.

Xu Qingrong's smile froze. She had not expected this.

But she was pregnant, how could she dare to eat food from outsiders? Yao Niang just asked casually.

Concubine Hong had a bowl of glutinous rice balls. Actually, she didn't like glutinous rice balls because they were too sweet and made her teeth hurt. But Yao Niang's glutinous rice balls were delicious, soft but sticky, with a strong black sesame filling but moderate sweetness, and the fragrance of osmanthus and the sweet aroma of wine. Wine is a good thing for women, and Concubine Hong couldn't help but finish the whole bowl.

She didn't expect Yao Niang's cooking skills were so good, and she was very happy: "This bowl of sweet-scented osmanthus and black sesame dumplings is the most delicious dumpling I have ever eaten. How come your cooking skills are so good?"

"As long as mother is happy." Yao Niang's face was flushed.

Concubine Hong liked her for this. She couldn't help but think that it was no wonder that her son liked Yao Niang so much. She never showed off, nor did she deliberately use her craftsmanship to promote her fame, but she was very dedicated in doing things.

Xu Qingrong felt sad to see how close Hong Guifei and Yao Niang were, but Hong Guifei didn't care about it because every time Xu Qingrong came, it was just for her own reputation. She never even gave her a purse, needle and thread, or a Buddhist scripture. How could she be like her daughter-in-law who would cook for her personally?

Yao Niang didn't think too much about it. After serving Concubine Hong, she and Xu Qingrong accompanied her in morning prayers. Seeing that the scriptures were a little old, she couldn't help but smile and said, "If mother doesn't mind, I'll copy another one for you."

Anyway, she had nothing to do. The Prince of Chen was not building a palace outside now. She usually took care of some household chores and was ordered around by the eunuchs and palace maids. She was very free.

"I'm glad you have the intention. I'm just sorry to bother you."

"What are you talking about, mother? The prince has repeatedly told me to accompany you. If you have any inconvenience, you can come to me."

These words sounded better than singing, and Xu Qingrong was so angry.

Normally, she would have gone back after paying her respects, but Luo Yaoniang seemed to be prepared to stay with Concubine Hong forever. It was already difficult for her to get up early, and she was pregnant, so she was inevitably tired.

When Consort Hong saw Xu Qingrong's expression, she said quickly, "You should focus on taking care of the baby. Your sister-in-law has come home now, and it's a good thing she'll be with me. You should take good care of the baby, and that will be your filial piety to me. Ge Qing, bring my white jade Guanyin over and give it to Consort Zhou."

Although her second son was not very close to her, Xu Qingrong was carrying her first grandson, so Concubine Hong still valued him very much.

Xu Qingrong knew, of course, that the baby in her belly was the most important, but her younger brother and sister-in-law stole all the limelight today, so she was resentful. Moreover, she was also a girl from the Xu family, so she was extremely jealous.

Since she became pregnant, her husband's legitimate favorites and the woman he had before she entered the family have all made her feel uneasy.

Sometimes Yao Niang wondered why everyone in the palace was vying for favor. Treatment was one aspect, but the most important thing was to be respected by others. If you had no power or status, no one would respect you.

Although the Prince of Chen is obsessed with power, the advantage is that he is especially favored by the Emperor and his wife, and she is always treated the best.

Yao Niang accompanied Concubine Hong just to keep her company and did not ask about anything. If Concubine Hong felt sleepy, she would leave, which made Concubine Hong feel much more comfortable.

On the way back, she happened to meet Mu Wantong who had just come out of Concubine Yan's place, so the two of them walked together as a team. When they arrived at the prince's residence, Yao Niang casually invited Mu Wantong to visit, and Mu Wantong came over with the intention of finding out more.

The layout of the third and fourth rooms are similar, but the furnishings are very different. For example, Yao Niang comes from a scholarly family, so the four rooms are mainly elegant, while the fourth room is more gorgeous, which is in line with Mu Wantong's former identity as the daughter of the King of Zhennan.

"Fourth brother's wife, let's come in and talk." Yao Niang smiled.

Every time Mu Wantong saw Yao Niang, she felt that she was particularly virtuous and gentle, and she looked very approachable. However, she was too beautiful and too weak in character. If such a woman were to defeat Prince Chen, she would be afraid that she would not be able to support the family.

The servant brought the tea over, and Mu Wantong smiled as soon as she drank it: "This is Half Tower Small Orchid Flower. In the past, this tea was called "Lao Nu". In Yang Lingzhi's "Luoyang Jialan Ji", it is said that only tea is not good, and it is made into a slave with milk. This Half Tower Small Orchid Flower has a strong tea flavor and is durable and tasty."

"This is what our Third Master usually likes to drink. I heard from my sister-in-law that you like lighter flavors. Then I guess Fu Yao Xian Zhi is suitable for you." Yao Niang knew that Mu Wantong was deliberately showing off, so she had to deal with it seriously.

"Fuyao Immortal Ganoderma?" Mu Wantong didn't understand.

Yao Niang smiled and said, "This tea is as beautiful as a fairy. Jingdezhen, Jiangxi, was called Fuliang in ancient times. It is emerald green in color, has a strong orchid fragrance after brewing, and has a bright soup color. It tastes very refreshing and sweet. This tea is similar to Wuzi Xianhao in Shaanxi, but Wuzi Xianhao's soup color is emerald green, which is very suitable for my sister-in-law."

This was really because her father liked very elegant teas, and Yao Niang was usually very filial to Luo Zhizheng, so she was very knowledgeable around her. Moreover, she also grew up in the palace, so naturally she would not really pretend to be a country bumpkin in front of her.

Mu Wantong originally wanted to show off, because during the time she came to Beijing from Yunnan alone, she had seen many women from official families who were not as knowledgeable as her, and even her own husband was not as knowledgeable as her. She couldn't help but think highly of herself in her heart, but she didn't expect Yao Niang to know so much.

This made her feel a little uncomfortable. She had thought that Luo was a gentle person, but she didn't expect that he liked to show off.

Yao Niang actually brought these two types of tea bags and wanted to give them to Mu Wantong.

The things from the Luo family may not be that expensive, but they are very exquisite. Even the tea paper is made of exquisite Buddhist leaves.

Soon, Mu Wantong mentioned the festival gifts, and Yao Niang smiled and said, "It has already been prepared. We, as daughters-in-law, must do some needlework as a gift."

Seeing that Yao Niang had already started to manage the household, Mu Wantong naturally began to take over the housework on the day she entered the house. However, most of the people were replaced by her own, and she was even very wary of the palace maids, especially the beautiful ones. However, Yao Niang was not like that. Instead, the beautiful ones served her.

"Third sister-in-law, you are alone at home all day long. If you have any problems, you can talk to me." Mu Wantong felt that Yao Niang was too stupid and would definitely suffer. At the same time, she also sympathized with her because her newlywed husband was only busy with official business.

Yao Niang thanked her for her kindness, and then said, "Don't worry, Third Master will talk to me every day when he comes home. I'm worried that if I don't do anything, it will be difficult to talk."

"Then, third sister-in-law, did you prepare the holiday gifts yesterday? How come so quickly?" Mu Wantong was preparing to take out her dowry, because the Fourth Prince's inner treasury were all given by the emperor, and they were just ordinary items, nothing special. And she wanted her husband to stand out, so of course she wanted to prepare a better gift.

Therefore, Mu Wantong, who was about to leave, couldn't help but ask.

Yao Niang shook her head and said, "These were all prepared by the Queen Mother, because our Third Master had not yet married, and everything was taken care of by the Queen Mother. Otherwise, the Mid-Autumn Festival is just a few days away, and how could they have prepared it?"

After hearing this, Mu Wantong felt that Concubine Hong was very thoughtful, but her mother-in-law, Concubine Yan, was not so good. Apart from other things, Concubine Yan also wanted her to show respect to her and always acted like a mother-in-law.

Although her husband is a prince and treats her very well, she is at a loss as to what to do with her mother-in-law. Therefore, Mu Wantong said enviously, "I really envy you, Third Sister-in-law. I have to prepare everything myself."

Yao Niang felt that Mu Wantong was a person of true character, but it was difficult to respond to this, so she said, "In that case, if you need my help, please ask. This palace festival gift is very important."

As the two were talking, a young eunuch came in with a cage and said, "Princess, the prince asked someone to buy a snow-white Persian cat for you to play with."

Yao Niang's eyes lit up: "This cat is so cute."

The young eunuch was still young and cheerful, so he quickly said, "The prince also said that the cat has two sets of clothes, and asked me to bring them to you."

The cat's clothes were also very exquisite, one set was a festive red, and the other was a lake blue, which was particularly beautiful. Yao Niang didn't expect her husband to be so considerate. On the one hand, she asked Bai Zhi to reward the little eunuch with money and a plate of snacks, and then she and Mu Wantong watched the cat together.

In fact, Yao Niang just thought it was pretty, but Mu Wantong loved cats especially. She even said to Yao Niang, "I have ten cats in Yunnan. My favorite is a orange cat. It's a pity that I have to go to Beijing and leave it in the palace."

She suddenly envied Yao Niang because a caring husband is so important. Even if Prince Chen is not nice to everyone, he is very good to his wife.

Yao Niang didn't expect Mu Wantong to change from teasing to snooping to envy. She didn't know why she changed, so she said, "Since you like this cat, why don't you come over to play with it more often."

Mu Wantong forced a few laughs. When she returned, she mentioned the matter of raising cats to the Fourth Prince. The Fourth Prince said, "You can't raise cats and dogs casually. Don't you know that in the past, Concubine Liao was caught by Concubine Zhuang's cat and became a mortal enemy of Concubine Zhuang. It's easy for something to go wrong. What's more, the Second Emperor's wife is pregnant. Look at this..."

"Then why did the third sister-in-law raise her?" Mu Wantong felt that her husband was too timid.

The Fourth Prince was helpless. He and Concubine Yan had been surviving in the cracks for many years, relying on being cautious and careful. His mother could not compare with Concubine Hong, and he could not compare with his third brother.

…

Yao Niang didn't know about these things. Gao Xuance still came back very late. He saw that Yao Niang was already asleep, but the candlestick beside the bed was still lit for him, which moved him very much.

Looking at the person on the bed in the light, she was not very peaceful while sleeping, with her arms stretched out from the quilt, revealing a white chest. Gao Xuance couldn't help being tempted by her, so he leaned over and held her in his arms. Yao Niang just opened her eyes, and when she saw it was him, she leaned into his arms without any defense.

Gao Xuance couldn't help it, and his clothes, which were as thin as a cicada's wing, had been taken off long ago. Yao Niang was still responding to him at first because she was really too sleepy, but later she felt more and more comfortable, so she turned over and lay on top.

Gao Xuance suddenly felt like she was living in her previous life. No matter what, she seemed to have to take control of the initiative. Even though she was no longer the same person in this life, her habits remained the same.

"Mother Yao..."

"Hey, I'll do it."

The spring scene in the room is all hidden in the dragon and phoenix tent.