Chapter 591: Using the Prince’s Strength to Counterattack
Fu Laiqing was so angry that his glares were raised. He thought that Emperor An was a shameless old man. He was so old and still wanted to rape his cousin. How could a young girl like Qiaoqing enter the palace to serve that wrinkled old man?
Even Cao Dejiang, who was standing by, was filled with anger, thinking that the Queen Mother was sick and confused.
Xiao Yan, on the other hand, remained relatively calm. He only frowned and asked, "Did the Queen Mother tell you directly?"
Madam Fu's face turned grim. "She didn't say it explicitly, but she hinted at the fact that Your Majesty had few children and that the concubines in the harem looked lifeless. I didn't understand what she meant at first, but then she suddenly changed the subject and started praising Qiaoqing for her beauty and vitality, and asking about her marriage."
"I sensed something was amiss, so I said the Xu family had already arranged a marriage for Qiaoqing and had chosen someone they liked. But the Queen Mother said it wouldn't count without an engagement, and that a girl as beautiful as Qiaoqing should have a better future."
The Empress Dowager had some interactions with Old Madam Fu in the past, and she also took good care of the Fu family after Old Master Fu passed away, so the Empress Dowager summoned Old Madam Fu and she went.
Who would have thought that the empress dowager was actually acting as a lobbyist for Emperor An, asking Mrs. Fu to tell her daughter-in-law to inform the Xu family of the palace's intentions.
Old Madam Fu managed to hold back several times and not lose her composure on the spot, but she became depressed after leaving the palace.
She glanced sideways at the brocade box on the table beside her. The lid of the box was not opened, but the outside was outlined with gold lacquer, which looked very exquisite.
"This is what the Empress Dowager had given to Qiaoqing before I left the palace. She told me that Qiaoqing and Aqing's mother had gone to the Cheng'en Marquis' Mansion today, and asked me to give this set of jewelry to Qiaoqing as a gift when they return. Big brother, do you know what this means?"
Cao Dejiang's face looked extremely ugly, and even Fu Laiqing understood the Queen Mother's intention in giving this thing to him.
The palace knew everything my cousin did.
They were determined to have their cousin enter the palace.
Fu Laiqing said angrily, "The Queen Mother is forcing me to do this. How old is Qiaoqing? How old is Your Majesty? There are so many concubines in the harem, aren't they enough for Your Majesty to enjoy?"
"Besides the Crown Prince, His Majesty has seven or eight other princes. Not to mention the eldest prince who was born with a disease and the fourth prince who died, there are the fifth and sixth princes, as well as the young ninth prince. How can he be considered childless? They are clearly looking for an excuse to force Qiaoqing into the palace."
"Grandma, this cannot be agreed to!"
Not to mention that the imperial concubine and the four concubines are all in the palace, the prince is already an adult, and the other princes and concubines are not easy to mess with. Emperor An himself is a shameless and despicable person, and it seems that he has one foot in the coffin.
If Qiaoqing became his concubine, her life would be ruined.
Madam Fu's face turned grim. "I know this isn't something we can agree to, but if the palace issues an order explicitly for Qiaoqing to serve in the palace, will the Xu family disobey? Besides, do you think your mother and the others would refuse such a request?"
Fu Laiqing's face froze.
His mother has always been a dull person, and his father is not very ambitious either. They both have limited vision and are only thinking about how to make the Fu family more prominent so that they can make further progress in the capital.
They even wanted to plot his marriage, hoping that he would "climb up the social ladder" and marry a princess or a princess, let alone a girl like his cousin.
If she could be sent to the palace to be an empress, the Empress Dowager and Emperor An would show her some favor.
Given his father and mother's foolish nature, they might be the first to step forward and persuade the Xu family to agree...
Cao Dejiang also knew the temper of his nephew and his nephew, who were really hopeless. Otherwise, his sister would not have sent Fu Laiqing to the Cao family for education so early out of worry. She was just afraid that the two of them would teach Fu Laiqing to be corrupted.
Cao Dejiang said in a deep voice: "Aqing's parents cannot interfere in this matter, but as for His Majesty..."
He turned his head and looked at Xiao Yan:
"How do you think we can stop His Majesty from thinking about this?"
Xiao Yan stroked his sleeves and looked up, saying, "He wants the Xu family girl to enter the palace simply because he thinks her father, Xu Suihong, is in the Ministry of War."
"After Xi Weifang was executed, the position of Minister of War is still vacant. We pushed the Left Vice Minister Yan Bai into this position, but he is unwilling to hand over the Ministry of War to him, so we urgently need someone from our own team."
"Besides, everyone in the capital knows about Lord Cao's relationship with the Fu family. The Xu family is inextricably linked to the Fu family. Both the Cao and Fu families have long since run out of unmarried women. That's why he set his sights on the Xu family, hoping to use this to control you. If anything happens to the Xu family, Master Fu and his mother will be implicated. Naturally, you won't stand idly by then."
Emperor An was so anxious that he came up with this shameless and stupid move.
Xiao Yan pondered for a moment: "Since the palace hasn't issued an order yet, and the Queen Mother hasn't told the old lady explicitly, there's still room for maneuver."
"I remember Xu Suihong has a pretty good personality, not the kind of servile person. Old Madam, you can go find him directly and explain the pros and cons of this matter to him."
"If he loves his daughter, then have him arrange a marriage for Miss Xu as soon as possible. If the palace asks about it, just say that when they consulted someone to calculate the fortune before the ceremony, they said that the elders in the mansion had prayed for their marriage, but they had to keep it secret for six months before making it public. Even the Fu family didn't know about this."
"If Xu Suihong doesn't love his daughter that much and doesn't want to confront the palace for Miss Xu, then go find the Crown Prince."
Madam Fu frowned: "Crown Prince?"
Xiao Yan hummed, "Old Madam, you should know about the dispute between the Crown Prince and His Majesty. They are always in a situation where one is stronger and the other is weaker. The Crown Prince is now even more powerful than His Majesty. If His Majesty regains power, the Crown Prince will be the first to suffer. He doesn't want to see His Majesty have the opportunity to win over the Xu and Cao families."
Although the prince's methods are sometimes crude, he can still defeat a master with his random punches.
As long as he can stop Emperor An from gaining power, the prince will do his best to prevent the girl from the Xu family from entering the palace.
Mrs. Fu seemed to be thinking about something when she heard this.
Xiao Yan said, "Old Madam, you can first contact the Xu family to see what their plans are."
Madam Fu nodded: "Okay, I'll go to the Xu family later."
No one else could interfere in the affairs of the Xu family's daughter. After all, she was not a girl from the Fu family or the Cao family. Although she was close to them, her marriage was not decided by them.
Old Madam Fu knew that it was great that Xiao Yan could come up with such an idea. She sighed, "The Queen Mother has really changed. Back when she was not yet empress, she looked down upon those who schemed against women like this."
Cao Dejiang shook his head upon hearing this: "The Imperial Palace is a melting pot filled with the most filthy things in the world. Even the most honest person would find it difficult to maintain their composure once inside, not to mention that the Empress Dowager is your Majesty's biological mother."
Emperor An was in a difficult situation, so the Empress Dowager would naturally not sit idly by and allow others to seize the power of them, even if that person was her grandson.
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