In the main courtyard of the Marquis's residence, Madam Wu, accompanied by a maid from the palace, greeted the old lady, presented her with some fabrics and pastries prepared by the Empress, and then quickly led the maid back to her own courtyard.
Madam Wu couldn't help but complain to her mother-in-law, "Mother, look at my sister-in-law, she seems to be afraid that others won't know that the Empress is her own daughter."
"Even when a palace maid comes, she wants to keep her by her side and not let anyone else say a word!"
After saying that, she casually flipped through the fabrics, opened the box to look at the pastries inside, and pouted in disgust.
"These ingredients aren't new tributes this year! And these pastries don't look as good as those from Baiyunjian."
"The imperial chefs in the palace are really not making any progress. They make the same few dishes every year. Don't the nobles in the palace get tired of eating them?"
Old Mrs. Wu rubbed her temples, feeling utterly helpless with her two daughters-in-law.
One is not shrewd or generous, the other is sharp-tongued and gossipy.
It seems the Wu family used up all their good fortune on their grandchildren; one became an empress, and the rest were truly...
She quickly said, "Alright, stop talking and pick out two bolts of fabric to take back."
Madam Wu finally dropped her disdain, happily rummaged through the items, and then had her maid carry away two bolts of silk.
At this moment, Madam Wu had no time to argue with her sister-in-law; she asked the nanny with an incredulous look on her face.
"What did you say? Her Majesty the Empress told me to find a way to retrieve it..."
She had only uttered half of her sentence when the nanny pressed down on the back of her hand, promptly stopping her from finishing her sentence.
The old woman looked around and, seeing that no one was in the room, lowered her voice and said, "Madam, it's best not to talk about this loudly. Be careful, walls may have ears."
Madam Wu blushed.
For a mistress to be reminded like this by a servant makes her seem stupid!
The nanny, fearing that Madam Wu would be angry, explained, "Madam, as you know, that family dotes on that girl. Even the one who is away on military missions treats her like his own daughter."
"If the news gets out, not only will Her Majesty the Empress not get what she wants, but our family will also have many more enemies. Therefore, we must be extremely careful about this matter."
Madam Wu understood this principle, which made her even more anxious. She asked, "Her Majesty the Empress must also know these things, but why does the family need to take action?"
"Now that the old Marquis is still alive, where would her father and I find any manpower?!"
The old woman was also annoyed. She was getting involved in the Empress's and her family's messy affairs, and if she didn't handle it well, she would be disliked by both sides.
She steeled herself and explained in a low voice.
"Madam, Her Majesty is in a position where countless eyes are watching her. Just because you've been going to the palace more often lately, some people are saying that Her Majesty is in the royal family but her heart is with the Wu family."
"Besides, even if Her Majesty has some manpower, they are all in the palace. That girl doesn't come to the palace often, and when she does, it's to see the Emperor. She can't find an opportunity at all."
"So, I guess I'll still need my family to lend a hand."
"Your Majesty is not young anymore. These past few days, the girl has recovered, but Your Majesty has started having headaches again. She didn't sleep a wink last night."
"If we don't get rid of that girl soon, Her Majesty's health might not be able to withstand this kind of torment. What if she's able to conceive and give birth to a prince in the future, but her health..."
Madam Wu frowned, clearly showing her affection for her daughter and that she had been persuaded.
The nanny pressed on, saying, "If Your Highness gives birth to a prince soon, he will surely be the crown prince and inherit the throne. Our Wu family will also be able to enjoy wealth and honor for a hundred years."
"Your Majesty's haste in taking action is not only for yourself, but also for the Wu family. After all, whoever inherits the throne in the future, Your Majesty will be the Empress Dowager, and will have no worries about wealth and status!"
Madam Wu found the idea reasonable and finally nodded.
"Alright, I'll discuss this with Master when he returns. You go back first and tell the Empress to take good care of her health."
"Yes, Madam. Her Highness has it tough in the palace; thankfully, our family is there to offer strong support." The nanny quickly added, then rose to take her leave…
At dusk, Master Wu returned from outside, looking very unwell.
As soon as he entered the mansion, he heard that the Empress had sent someone to deliver something, so he instructed his attendant to go to the main courtyard to give a greeting, and then went straight to his own courtyard.
Hearing the commotion, Madam Wu came out to greet them.
The couple entered the house and waved away the maids and servants who were serving them.
While helping her husband change into his everyday clothes, Madam Wu explained what had happened.
She was afraid her husband wouldn't believe her, so she emphasized it very strongly.
"My lord, it's absolutely true! When that girl was sick, the lady ate and slept well, and her headache disappeared."
"But after that girl recovered, our Empress immediately relapsed into her old ailment. She didn't sleep a wink last night and looked extremely haggard."
"Whether it's true or not, we have to try. Otherwise, if Her Majesty's health deteriorates, how will she give birth to a prince?"
"Empress Dowager has no sons and will remain Empress Dowager, but what will become of our Wu family?"
"No need to say anything more, leave this to me."
To everyone's surprise, Master Wu agreed immediately.
Now it was Mrs. Wu's turn to be full of surprise.
"Sir, this matter is very dangerous. Would you like to reconsider?"
Master Wu waved his hand and said, "When we go out to the banquet today, some people will mention establishing a crown prince, and they will all be on the side of the Imperial Concubine and the Second Prince."
"Now that the Imperial Concubine is favored and the First Prince died young, the Second Prince is effectively the eldest son. I couldn't help but retort a couple of times, arguing that the eldest son of the legitimate wife should be ranked before the eldest son.
"But they said that establishing the legitimate heir is not wrong, but there must also be a legitimate son!"
"Isn't this basically saying that Your Majesty can't have children?! Now, as long as Your Majesty can get pregnant, we'll try every method imaginable!"
Madam Wu suddenly realized what was going on, but she still asked, "The Li family and the Marquis of Xinting are not easy to deal with. It won't be easy to capture Princess Kangle to extract her blood. The Empress can't help us either. What about the manpower in our manor..."
"Don't worry, Father is getting old. He handed the token to me a few days ago. Now, all the people in our Marquis's mansion, whether they are in the open or in the shadows, are under my command." Master Wu's expression became more arrogant.
For so many years, the Wu family, as the Empress's maternal clan, has been looked down upon by others because they have not received much imperial favor.
Just like today, if the Empress were favored, or if the Marquis's mansion were at its zenith, how would those people dare to discuss the establishment of a Crown Prince in front of him?!
It's time for the Marquis of Jiangning's mansion to show its teeth and establish its authority!
The crown prince of Tianwu must be born from the empress's womb and must be the grandson of the Marquis of Jiangning!
"You don't need to worry about it, I'll take care of it."
After uttering those words, Master Wu hurriedly went to his study in the outer courtyard, where his trusted advisor was already waiting...
Unbeknownst to them, someone in the Broken Gold Beach was already secretly plotting against the Li family's precious treasure.
With only a few days left until the end of the month, the full-moon celebration for chubby little Yuan Yuan is just around the corner.
Although the Li family had already arranged to host a banquet at the Earl's Mansion in the city, the ingredients, such as chicken, fish, meat, and eggs, still had to be transported from the village.
Moreover, it was impossible for everyone in the village to go to the Earl's mansion for the wedding banquet, so Old Lady Li ordered two pigs to be slaughtered and a banquet to be held in the village a day in advance.
We'll host all the villagers from Xincun, Ercun, and Dahuaishu, and have a lively celebration together...
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