The Empress Dowager comforted her, saying, "It has been a year since Prince Yong passed away, so please do not grieve too much, Madam Shao."

Consort Shao was Emperor Xianzong's favorite concubine, and her eldest son, Prince Xing, had once competed with the late emperor for the position of crown prince.

Now, two of his three sons have died and the family line has ended, leaving only the frail and sickly King Xing and his only son.

If the lineage of Prince Xing is also cut off, then the glory and favor that Consort Shao enjoyed in the palace will all be in vain.

Wang couldn't help but shiver.

His gaze fell on Yanruo again, as if he could see her in her bleak old age, leaning against the incense burner and sitting there until she died.

He chuckled inwardly.

I'm really starting to feel like I'm regressing.

Lu Xingjian has no children.

If Yanruo gives birth to the eldest prince, she will gain the upper hand and the position of crown prince will be hers.

In any case, the situation is very promising.

Yanruo's fortune is definitely better than that of Consort Shao.

Su Wanwan then looked at the Grand Princess of Yixing behind the Grand Princess of Chun'an, her tone gentle.

"When the Princess of Chongqing was alive, she always praised the deep sibling bond between Prince Hui and Princess Yixing. Is everything still well in Junzhou?"

Princess Yixing burst into tears instantly.

Princess Yixing was a tragic figure in the palace. She was honest and gentle, but her mother died when she was only thirteen, leaving her to rely on her seven-year-old brother, Prince Hui.

Later, when Prince Hui was about to go to Junzhou to assume his fiefdom, knowing that he would never see his sister again, he specially requested permission to give two properties under his name to his sister.

Because princesses and princes of the Great Liang Dynasty were different, not only would their annual stipends be stopped after their death, but their entire residence would also be handed over to the imperial court.

For princesses, accumulating more land for their descendants was their greatest pursuit.

This can also be seen as a memento left by Prince Hui for his sister and nephews.

The Ministry of Revenue rejected the request at the time.

It was Princess Chongqing, the eldest sister, who reported this matter to the Zhou family and mediated between them. With the emperor's special approval, this sibling relationship was finally fulfilled.

The care and love from her older sister and younger brother made Princess Yixing feel the subtle sibling affection within the royal family.

She wiped away her tears, her voice choked with emotion:

"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. Everything is fine in Junzhou."

Her husband, Huang Cheng, was utterly hopeless. Over the years, she had lived without dignity, always subservient and cautious, afraid of bringing shame to the royal family again.

I am truly grateful to be comforted by the new empress.

Empress Su was much more approachable than the previous Empress Xia.

Empress Xia only knew how to flatter Empress Dowager Zhang and the domineering Grand Princess Chun'an, and never looked down on her, a weak old princess who couldn't even control her husband.

Princess Chun'an, who was standing in front of Princess Yixing, was furious.

You, Su Wanwan, are you just ignoring me?!

She rolled her eyes dismissively, her tone sarcastic and cutting:

"It's been almost three years since Prince Hui died, hasn't it?"

These words were no less than a knife to the heart of the Grand Princess of Yixing.

There was not a shred of sibling affection between them.

Princess Yixing's eyes reddened, and she trembled with anger. Just as she was about to argue with Princess Chun'an, she saw Su Wanwan's concerned gaze and instantly sobered up.

Today is a joyous day to celebrate the new empress, and she must not cause trouble or quarrel, lest she embarrass the empress.

Su Wanwan smoothed things over, saying, "It's time to start making arrangements for the succession of the Prince of Hui's heir."

The Grand Princess of Yixing quickly curtsied and said, "Your Majesty's advice is correct."

I felt much lighter and even more grateful.

The Great Liang Dynasty has lasted for more than a hundred years, with numerous regional vassal kings.

As kinship ties grew increasingly distant, the princes found it easy to encounter obstruction from local officials and officials from the Six Ministries when they tried to accomplish anything.

Without spending money to bribe officials, progress could be quite slow.

Now that the Empress has spoken, if there are any delays or obstacles in the succession, she can turn to the Empress for help.

Princess Chun'an's face turned even uglier.

Su Wanwan is of a higher status than her, so if she were to criticize her, it would be extremely disrespectful.

She couldn't bring herself to speak rudely or display the grandeur of her status as the Grand Princess.

So many noblewomen, both inside and outside the court, were watching.

It's obvious to everyone that Princess Chun'an is no longer favored by the new empress.

Those who are used to praising the powerful and belittling the weak will probably look down on her even more.

Princess Chun'an was a little flustered, fearing that everyone would kick her when she was down and push her down when she was in trouble.

At this moment, Princess Rong, who had been silent all along, spoke up.

She smiled enigmatically: "Your Majesty the Empress has chosen a truly auspicious date for your wedding."

"Unlike me back then, my wedding day was February 12th, which happened to fall within the Spring Prayer Day when slaughtering was prohibited. The wedding banquet was incompatible with the slaughtering ban, and the banquet almost turned into a vegetarian feast, which was a disgrace to the royal family."

His words made the atmosphere tense again after it had eased.

Everyone secretly observed Su Wanwan's expression, waiting for the big show to begin.

After all, the unrequited love between Su Wanwan and Prince Rong was a widely circulated story back then, so it wouldn't be hard not to know about it.

Why did Prince Rong have to choose such an inauspicious date for his wedding, during the Spring Prayer period when slaughtering was prohibited throughout the country?

It's clear that someone is deliberately making things difficult for us.

Besides Su Wanwan, who serves Zhou Shi, who else would deliberately make things difficult for her, and who would have the ability to do so?

Su Wanwan smiled slightly:

"I just remembered that back then, Empress Xiaosu Zhou reminded Prince Rong to choose another date, but it was Prince Rong who insisted on choosing the wedding date."

"If the Princess Consort is still angry, she should go back to the Prince's residence and settle accounts with His Highness Prince Rong."

His words carried a hint of sarcasm, which made everyone laugh and chatter, thus lightly dismissing the matter.

"So it was His Highness Prince Rong's own idea, then we really can't blame anyone else."

"That's right, it seems that there will be no shortage of quarrels when Prince Rong and his wife return to the palace."

Princess Rong was furious that the boomerang had hit her instead of her, and her face turned ashen with rage.

She understands the principle that the winner takes all.

The fact that she can still enjoy the status of a princess and has not been imprisoned in the Imperial Clan Court is a testament to the emperor's magnanimity and mercy.

But she was, after all, the daughter of a military general, and she had a certain amount of spirit.

I'd rather die standing than live on my knees.

She had no intention of kneeling and begging for her life.

Some people deliberately changed the subject to liven up the atmosphere: "Today is the ninth day of the second lunar month, the first day of the imperial examination, a truly joyous day."

"I always said that Her Majesty the Empress is blessed with good fortune, and that we should also benefit from the wisdom and talent of the Wenqu Stars."

"That's right. The Su family is a family of scholars. I'm afraid the young prince will be a literary star incarnate."

The atmosphere grew increasingly lively.

This quickly diluted and completely dispelled the unpleasantness caused by Princess Rong and the Grand Princess Chun'an.

The lady-in-waiting announced: "The auspicious time has arrived. Please take your seats, distinguished guests."

The ladies of the court and the noblewomen were all led to the banquet hall at the Meridian Gate.

Su Wanwan looked somewhat dazed.

Just six months ago, she was subjected to public criticism here.

The people are still the same.

However, due to her changed status, many more people were willing to speak up for her.

This is probably one of the benefits of becoming empress.

At least on the surface, there will be many more people willing to curry favor with you.