After they finished getting ready, the two went to the front courtyard and were led into the palace by a palace maid.

When the palace maid saw the princess come out, she quickly bowed to her.

"Your Highness, the Empress Dowager did not summon you to the palace. She only told Madam Jiang to come over for questioning."

The princess smiled faintly.

"It's alright. I haven't visited the Empress Dowager in a long time anyway, so it just so happens that I'm going to the palace with Madam Jiang now."

Seeing that the princess had spoken, the palace maid could no longer refuse and could only nod and lead the two away.

Jiang Yuwei was a little nervous at this moment. She hadn't had much contact with the Empress Dowager, but she could tell that the Empress Dowager doted on Qinglan very much.

The Empress Dowager's decision to summon me to the palace at this juncture must be because Qinglan said something to the Empress Dowager that negatively impacted her impression of me. Now, she wants to send me to the palace to give me a good talking-to.

Jiang Yuwei looked at the princess's calm expression, and her original tension eased.

Along the way, Jiang Yuwei had many wild thoughts. Soon, the three of them arrived at the palace. The palace maid took out a token and handed it to the general guarding the gate. After the general looked at it, he let the palace maid in.

The palace maid led the princess and Jiang Yuwei through a maze of twists and turns to the Empress Dowager's palace.

As soon as Jiang Yuwei entered the hall, she saw the Empress Dowager reclining on the edge of the couch, stuffing grapes into her mouth. She glanced at her and quickly bowed, saying:

"Your Majesty, what brings you to the palace?"

The Empress Dowager remained silent and did not allow Jiang Yuwei to rise, continuing to eat her grapes. Seeing this, the Princess Consort naturally understood the Empress Dowager's meaning and quickly smiled and bowed to her.

"Your Majesty, I've been sickly all this time and haven't had a chance to come to the palace to see you. Today, your maid went to Prince Jing's residence and said that you wanted to summon Lady Jiang to the palace for questioning, so I shamelessly followed along."

As she spoke, the princess instructed her maid, Wang Ma, who was following behind her, to present the gifts she had prepared earlier.

"Your Majesty, do you like these white jade cloisonné bracelets?"

The Empress Dowager glanced at the contents of the box and smiled faintly.

"Your Highness, you are so thoughtful. You are ill yourself, yet you still think of me. Come, sit next to me so you don't tire yourself out."

The princess smiled and glanced at Jiang Yuwei, then reached out and pulled her up, together walking to sit down next to the Empress Dowager.

"With Madam Jiang taking care of my health, I've definitely improved a lot. A few days ago, the Prince sent a message from the border asking how I was doing. I told him it was all thanks to Madam Jiang, and the Prince was very happy to hear that. He even specifically told me to thank Madam Jiang properly."

As she spoke, the princess took the pair of white jade bracelets out of the box and placed them on the table.

"Look how clear and translucent this jade is. It was specially ordered by the Prince to be brought back for you from the frontier. Only someone with your temperament can wear this jade."

The princess took the opportunity to pull the Empress Dowager's hand and put a bracelet on her wrist.

"Look how well the Empress Dowager has maintained her hands. She looks very beautiful wearing this bracelet. What do you think, Madam Jiang?"

When Jiang Yuwei saw the princess ask this question, she quickly smiled and nodded, saying:

"Indeed, the Empress Dowager's skin is so delicate and fair, it's perfect for wearing such a translucent bracelet."

Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager withdrew her hand and smiled faintly.

“I’m getting old, this bracelet doesn’t fit me.”

As she spoke, the Empress Dowager took the bracelet off her wrist and placed it on the table.

Upon seeing this, the princess quickly put the two bracelets back into the brocade box.

"I think the Empress Dowager looks good in anything. This is, after all, a token of the Prince's goodwill, so please accept it."

The Empress Dowager waved her hand, signaling the maid beside her to put the bracelet away, then looked at Jiang Yuwei.

"You are General Ning's wife."

Jiang Yuwei quickly stood up, bowed, and said, "Yes."

The Empress Dowager waved her hand impatiently.

"Since the Princess Consort has asked you to sit down, there's no need for you to stand up. I've called you here today to discuss Qinglan's marriage to General Ning."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuwei's face stiffened, and then she sat down again.

The Empress Dowager did not look at Jiang Yuwei; she simply lowered her head and wiped her fingers with a handkerchief.

"Now that General Ning has only one wife, you will be the one to take care of their wedding. General Ning is a man and doesn't understand many things. You should help him marry Qinglan in a grand and respectable manner."

Jiang Yuwei gripped the hem of her skirt tightly with her fingers, but kept her head down and didn't say a word.

When the Empress Dowager saw that Jiang Yuwei did not reply, she slightly raised her head, a hint of anger flashing in her eyes.

"What's wrong? Shouldn't you be the one to handle this?"

Seeing this, the princess quickly reached out and gently nudged Jiang Yuwei, then smiled and said:

"Of course, of course. Your Majesty, rest assured, I will also be there to help. I guarantee that Princess Qinglan will marry into the General's Mansion in a grand and glorious manner, and I will never allow anyone to find fault with her."

Jiang Yuwei gave a wry smile.

"The Empress Dowager has probably forgotten that I am now General Ning's concubine. I have no right to arrange the marriage of a principal wife. General Ning also has a birth mother who is raised in the General's Mansion. My mother-in-law will arrange the marriage for the princess."

As she spoke, Jiang Yuwei chuckled softly.

"Oh, by the way, Princess Qinglan must have been so busy chasing after General Ning that she hasn't met General Ning's birth mother yet, has she?"

Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager abruptly threw the handkerchief in her hand onto the table, raised her eyes, and glared at Jiang Yuwei.

"What are you saying? When did our Qinglan ever chase after General Ning?"

Jiang Yuwei curled her lips into a cold smile.

"Isn't that so? Are we not allowed to speak the truth anymore? I remember that day when the general and I rejected Princess Qinglan's request in front of everyone in the main hall. Now, after all the twists and turns, we still have to marry her. Hahaha, it's just fate playing tricks on us."

Seeing Jiang Yuwei's erratic behavior, the Empress Dowager grew even angrier and pointed at her nose, scolding her:

"You really are a jealous woman who can't tolerate others. I think Qinglan is absolutely right..."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuwei immediately stood up and looked at the Empress Dowager.

"Whatever Qinglan says is taken as gospel, and can be believed without any consideration. Now that Qinglan has made a mistake, others have to cover for her. Since the Empress Dowager protects Qinglan so much, others naturally cannot say a word against it."

As she spoke, Jiang Yuwei stepped forward and angrily said:

"Then I would like to ask the Empress Dowager, does Qinglan have the right to act arbitrarily and destroy other people's families? Does Qinglan have the right to have people poison and harm ordinary people?"

Seeing this, the princess quickly got up and pulled Jiang Yuwei away, preventing her from going any further.

Seeing this, the Empress Dowager, sitting on the soft couch, felt a sharp pain in her heart and quickly covered her chest with her hand, saying excitedly:

"What nonsense are you spouting? Qinglan was clearly framed by you. You ruined her reputation. She only came to me to complain because she had no other choice. I saw that she was interested in General Ning, so I thought I would help her get together with him..."