The eunuch hesitated for a moment and said, "It's the princess."
The scene was plunged into an indescribable atmosphere, with everyone looking at each other.
The officials of the Cheng'en Mansion were shocked, right? It was supposed to be a prince, how could he become a princess?
What’s the use of a princess if she can’t inherit the throne?
Mu Wanqing's lips curled up slightly. You guys were so wild, and now you've failed.
Duke Cheng'en's head was buzzing, greatly stimulated, "How is this possible? There must be a mistake. The imperial physician said that the queen is pregnant with a prince."
His eyes were red, and he shouted angrily, "Your Majesty, please check who did something? Someone must have replaced the prince, and they are jealous."
The emperor's face darkened. "This is ridiculous. Every concubine has countless servants around her. The empress dowager is in charge of the birth of a child. Who dares to do anything under her nose?"
Because he had few children, the empress dowager was particularly concerned about him and would personally watch every birth.
Not only did he lend out the experienced old maid to take care of the pregnant concubine, but he also made sure the baby was born safely.
Moreover, the emperor also sent several secret guards to protect him in the dark.
With so many eyes watching, nothing can be hidden, let alone trying to replace the prince with a cat.
Whether it's sleeping with the emperor or giving birth, the royal family has a strict set of procedures that don't give anyone the opportunity to tamper with the procedure.
Don’t take the story of the cat replacing the prince in the opera seriously. How can it be that simple?
"Resign."
The emperor stood up and left. Duke Cheng'en stood there in a daze, his eyes going dark. How could this happen?
He had already figured out how to win people's hearts, how to accumulate strength, and how to cause trouble by using the Second Prince's name.
But what's the use of a princess? Ahhh, he was going crazy.
Mu Wanqing rolled her eyes and said sarcastically, "Congratulations to Lord Cheng'en for having a granddaughter. But why are you looking so sad? Don't you think it's unlucky?"
His previous complacency has now become a joke. He wonders how many people are laughing at him in secret.
Lord Cheng En never expected this to happen, "Mu Wanqing, shut up."
He lost control, staring at Mu Wanqing with bloodshot eyes, but Mu Wanqing was not afraid of him. "You should control your facial expression. Giving birth to a princess is a great joy. Even if you are unhappy, you have to hold it in. Do you think your life is too long to cause trouble to the royal family?"
As if a basin of cold water was poured down on him, Duke Cheng En shuddered, "You...you...of course I am happy. The princess was born to my daughter, and she carries my family's blood. We are royal relatives. How can you compare with me?"
He is just strong on the outside but weak on the inside. He speaks tough but is actually weak inside.
Mu Wanqing smiled and stabbed, "Oh, you look so ugly when you force a smile."
"Hahaha, today is a good day, a good day."
Amidst the laughter, she turned and walked out, and Cheng Engong clenched his fists in anger.
A group of people gathered around and said, "Mr. Cheng'en, when will I return the money I lent you? I need it urgently."
"How could I owe you money?" Lord Cheng En was angry and annoyed, "It was obviously a gift from you."
In order to get in touch with the Cheng'en Mansion, these people gave gifts, flattered, and used every trick in their book.
But now, the prince has flown away, and they immediately turned against each other.
"It was borrowed. It was a full thirty thousand taels of silver. You don't want to pay it back, do you?"
Duke Cheng'en was furious. This was a mean person who was taking advantage of someone's misfortune. He was as arrogant now as he was humble when he was kneeling and licking him before.
Another official also came over and said, "Lord Cheng'en, it's time to return the famous painting you borrowed to appreciate last time. My old lady likes it very much and she always talks about it."
Although the Cheng'en Mansion is an in-law family, it has no real power, and their greatest support is the Queen.
But a queen without children is nothing to be feared.
"Lord Cheng'en, I'll go get that one-meter-tall red coral bonsai later. My in-laws specifically requested this as a birthday gift."
Lord Cheng En's face was red, and he pointed at these people in anger, his hands shaking, "You...you are such heartless villains."
These officials said, can they be blamed for this? It was clearly the Cheng'en Mansion that was lying and insisted that it was the prince.
How could the princess be worth investing in? They could only minimize the loss.
As for whether the queen will give birth again and whether it is possible for her to give birth to a prince, that is a matter for the future.
If there really is a prince, he will kneel down and beg for forgiveness with a shameless face.
In the Queen's bedroom, the Queen Mother was holding the chubby baby and looked a little disappointed.
It's a girl. Alas, what the emperor needs most at this time is a son.
Having only one prince is not safe; the more princes the better.
The weak voice of the queen came from the inner room, "Where is my child? Bring him here so I can see him."
"Is the Queen awake?" The Queen Mother handed the little princess to the maid and said, "Be careful and hold her tight."
No matter how regretful she is, this is her granddaughter, so there is no reason not to love her.
The queen woke up from a coma and forced herself to sit up, looking at the pink baby in her arms. The child was well taken care of in the womb, with thick hair and a rosy little mouth.
Her heart was filled with joy, and all the hard work in October was worth it.
This is her future support, and she also has a son to rely on. Who would dare to look down on her in the future?
She touched the child's hands and feet lovingly, and her whole body was shining with the radiance of motherhood.
"This child is so good-looking. His mouth and nose look like the emperor's, and his forehead looks like mine. I have never seen such a good-looking child."
The maid at the side echoed, "That's right, the little princess is a beautiful beauty."
The queen's hands froze, and she looked up in disbelief, "What little princess? Say it again."
The maid was stunned. She didn't know? "You gave birth to a little princess."
The queen fainted after giving birth to the child with great effort and knew nothing.
She reached for the diaper with trembling hands, pulled it open and saw...it was a girl.
Her eyes went dark, as if struck by lightning. "This is not my child. I gave birth to a little prince. Where did you dogs hide my little prince? Hand him over and I'll spare your life."
"How dare you? Go and call the Ministry of Punishment to investigate this matter."
"Give me back my prince. Give me back my prince."
The queen waved her hands so excitedly that she almost dropped the baby in her arms. Fortunately, a palace maid caught the baby in time.
The Queen Mother couldn't stand it any longer, "Queen, stop making trouble, you gave birth to a princess."
The queen could not accept the cold reality. She firmly believed that she gave birth to a prince and would not accept any rebuttal.
"Mother, the imperial physician said..."
Seeing her self-deception, the Queen Mother couldn't help but frown, "The Imperial Physician is not a god. As long as the child is not born, the gender cannot be determined. Queen, you are not allowed to mess around. Get well soon and continue to have children for the royal family."
If it doesn’t work this time, there’s always next time. There’s always time.
The queen's face was distorted. "I don't believe it, I don't believe it. Take this child away. I don't want to see her."
She stared at the baby with hatred in her eyes, as if the baby was the murderer of her father.
The emperor saw this scene and his face darkened. "Queen, what nonsense are you talking about?"
The hysterical queen's eyes lit up as if she had seen a savior, "Your Majesty, you came at the right time. Our little prince has been stolen..."
You can never wake up a person who pretends to sleep. The emperor looked at her coldly and said, "Mother, I will raise this child in your palace from now on. Please take care of him."
Since she doesn't want to see the child, just grant her wish.
The Queen Mother glanced at the Queen and sighed silently, "Okay, if one is raised, then two are also raised."
The eldest princess's mother died during childbirth, so she was raised by her mother since she was born.
Having one more legitimate princess wouldn't be a big deal.
She felt lonely in the palace, and raising children could bring her fun and help her pass the time.
The Queen Mother took the child away, and the Emperor left in anger. The Queen felt heartbroken and burst into tears.
After that, she fell seriously ill. When she was out of confinement, she knelt down and cried, begging the emperor to return the little princess to her.
Although she is not the son she longed for, she is a daughter after all, born after ten months of pregnancy, which is better than having no son at all.
The emperor ruthlessly refused, saying that her character was not suitable for raising children.
The queen completely collapsed and fell ill due to the shock.
The Cheng'en Mansion was bitten back by the officials and fell into a state of disgrace.
Mu Wanqing knew all of this, but never got involved.
She did not form cliques or stir up trouble, but only focused on her career, which made the emperor particularly satisfied.
Mu Wanqing's food court became an instant hit, making huge profits like a money-making beast, making people jealous.
As more and more diners came, it became a check-in landmark in Beijing. Mu Wanqing ignored the opposition and took advantage of the victory to open three chain food courts in three prosperous locations in Beijing.
Exactly the same decoration, exact same business model, exact same layout and food.
Once these three stores are opened, the whole city will be perfectly connected.
These food courts, together with the previous watch shops, toy stores and perfume shops, earn enough money to pay the salaries of all officials and support one-fifth of the country's population.
The common people in the capital all benefited from this. Almost every household had no idle people. Some of them went to work in workshops or in food courts as maids.
The large amount of ingredients needed for the food court is purchased from farmland in the suburbs of Beijing and radiates to the surrounding areas.
The capital city has undergone tremendous changes. There are no beggars on the streets anymore. All of them have been taken to farm, and the smarter ones have gone to work in workshops.
As long as you are willing to work hard, you can have a bowl of steaming hot meal.
This left all the civil and military officials dumbfounded. Her ability to make money was simply incredible.
It has been heard for a long time that she has boosted the economy of Xiliang, but many people do not believe it. It is not uncommon to see people using her tactics to gild themselves and gain political capital.
But I saw with my own eyes that Mu Wanqing injected a stream of fresh blood into the capital city in such a short period of time, which brought changes to the capital city from top to bottom.
The officials from the Ministry of Revenue were completely convinced by Mu Wanqing. They looked at her as if she were the God of Wealth and wanted to worship her.
Mainly, she gave too much.
Everyone in the Ministry of Revenue has a grain and oil certificate, which can be used to collect rice, flour, oil, sugar, salt, meat, and cloth every month.
Occasionally, she would give out face cream and fragrant baby milk powder. The wives and elders in the family all loved Princess Qingping so much that they asked the men to follow her and do their jobs well and not cause any trouble.
If these benefits are lost, I will be very angry with you!
On this day, a group of people came over and said, "Princess Qingping, let's talk."
Mu Wanqing understood what was going on as soon as she saw it, and raised her eyebrows, "What are you talking about?"
Before, other departments were particularly jealous of the Ministry of Revenue’s welfare and tried every means to get fair treatment. However, the emperor did not express his opinion. He only said that it was agreed at the beginning that the company would be registered under the name of the Ministry of Revenue, and that the Ministry of Revenue would have full control over the operation, and half of the profits would go to the Ministry of Revenue.
You can also follow this idea and generate more income for the court.
The question is, if they have the ability to make money, would they need to make so much money?
They put pressure on Mu Wanqing, but she refused to listen. Her family was in Liangcheng and she had no weakness, so she refused firmly.
Well, just go and cry poor, play the favor card, and try every trick in the book.
Mu Wanqing was really fed up with them, so she put forward conditions, requiring the ministers and left and right vice ministers of the five ministries of Personnel, Rites, War, Punishments, and Works to bow to her and sign an agreement.
It's very simple, just make them recognize her as the boss and follow her lead.
The main reason is that I am fed up with them stirring up trouble behind my back and I want a relatively harmonious environment.
This made the arrogant officials very angry. They refused to agree and scolded her, saying that she did not know the difference between high and low and had no sense of shame and was a traitor and lawless person.
How old are you and how old are they? How can you be so embarrassed to ask such a question?
Mu Wanqing doesn't care. She has already put forward her conditions. It is up to you whether you agree or not.
Now the pressure shifts to them.
The Minister of War could no longer bear it. The people below were filled with resentment. He said shamelessly, "We want to join you."
Not only were his subordinates crying with envy, but even he was envious.
Mu Wanqing was particularly generous to her subordinates. It was said that they received a big gift package and double salary during the Chinese New Year.
"Puff." Mu Wanqing suddenly remembered a saying, if you can't beat them, then join them. "You guys are well-informed. You chose this time to come to me. If you come any later, you won't even get to drink soup."
The Minister of Justice's eyes lit up, "Are the rumors true? Are you going to make another big move?"
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