Chapter 87 Chapter 87 "I'm targeting you...
"Why would I target you? Tell me, when I gave you this porcelain pillow, do you want the Empress to use it tonight, the porcelain pillow or the soft pillow given by His Majesty?" Princess He Yi asked with her eyes wide open.
Anyone with a discerning eye could see that Princess Heyi was trying to embarrass Hua Qingzhi, but the question was so tricky that it was difficult to answer. Furthermore, Princess Heyi was a popular candidate for the Third Prince's consort, and her father held considerable power. Even if others wanted to help, they wouldn't dare offend the Princess.
Empress Wen looked at Hua Qingzhi, her face hesitant to speak. She was the elder and the queen mother. If she got involved in the bickering between her younger daughters, she would be lowering her status.
Seeing Hua Qingzhi's hesitation, Jiang Wan stepped forward and said to County Lady He Yi, "County Lady, soft pillows are different from porcelain pillows. They need to be washed and aired regularly to stay clean. Using them every day will only wear them out. Your Majesty, since it's a gift from His Majesty, naturally cherishes it and won't bear to use it every day. Summer is rainy, and it will take several days to wash and dry this pillow. A porcelain pillow would be a good alternative."
This reply was flawless and didn't offend anyone. Hua Qingzhi quietly gave her a thumbs-up. The Queen smiled with satisfaction, and even the ladies watching couldn't help but look at her a few more times.
Only Princess Heyi was choked and could neither move forward nor retreat, her little face flushed purple.
However, Jiang Wan had no intention of letting her go. "I heard that His Majesty gifted the Third Prince a jade flute during this year's Lantern Festival. And today, the County Lady gifted the Third Prince a red lotus flute. What's the meaning behind this?"
As soon as these words came out, everyone around was shocked. Even Hua Qingzhi nervously pulled Jiang Wan and whispered, "This, this is not good, right?"
After all, she is the county lady and may very well become the third prince's consort in the future. If the relationship between the two can be repaired, it would be better than offending her, right?
But Jiang Wan shook his head gently and reminded her, "Azhi, since you brought me to this Hundred Flowers Banquet, I can't back out. You don't have to give in to her."
Hua Qingzhi understood what she meant, and after a moment of shock, she stopped objecting. She only vaguely guessed that Jiang Wan was plotting to overturn the verdict, but she didn't know who was the culprit who had wrongly accused Duke He. From the sound of it, the Minister of Personnel was also involved?
Then the reason why Princess Heyi targeted her was not just because of jealousy among girls.
Looking at the county lady, she was so angry after hearing Jiang Wan's words that she threw the manners of a noble lady to the back of her mind and pointed at her nose and started to scold her.
Just before she could begin to curse, the Third Prince stood up and glanced at Princess Heyi. His gaze was cold and terrifying, not as if he were looking at a childhood sweetheart, but rather at a useless tool. Princess Heyi shuddered at the stare, swallowing back all the vicious words she had in mind, and lowered her head in grievance.
The Third Prince stood up, bowed to Hua Qingzhi, and said with a smile: "He Yi is ignorant, I hope Miss Hua will forgive me."
Since the Third Prince had personally intervened, Hua Qingzhi decided to withdraw while she was ahead: "The sisters were just joking, Your Highness, don't take it to heart."
"Look how nervous the Third Prince is," Empress Wen said with a smile. "Go drink your wine. This porcelain pillow is a favorite of mine. From now on, the celadon for the harem will be sourced from Qingjiangju. I'll report this to the Empress Dowager and have the purchasing agent from the Imperial Household Department come to your shop tomorrow to negotiate the price."
She looked at Jiang Wan with a smile: "Miss Jiang, please give me a reasonable price for my sake."
Jiang Wan had never expected to be able to obtain the qualification to directly supply the imperial palace so easily. She was surprised and delighted, and quickly bowed and saluted: "Your Majesty, please be kind. I will do my best to ensure that every piece of porcelain is to your liking."
The aristocratic families all used the imperial palace as a guide for their purchases. Winning the direct order from the imperial court not only increased their net profit by ten thousand taels of silver, but also meant that Qingjiangju had completely opened up a sales channel for its expensive porcelain. From now on, the aristocratic mansions in Lin'an would prioritize purchasing celadon from Qingjiangju.
The moment Jiang Wan bent down, he heard a pleasant system sound.
"Congratulations to the host for winning the first direct supply order to the palace and receiving 200 points."
"Congratulations to the host for successfully opening the sales route for expensive celadon and earning 300 points."
"The average daily revenue of all stores under the host's name has reached 18,000 taels of silver, topping the list of private commercial stores, earning 500 points."
"Host's current remaining points total: 2160. Friendly reminder: When the host's remaining points reach 3000, the system will unlock a surprise gift package. Please keep working hard."
When Jiang Wan heard about the gift package, she was stunned for a moment, then called customer service to inquire, but they said they didn't know either. There were over ten thousand traversers bound to the system, but the number of those with over three thousand points could be counted on the fingers of one hand.
Customer Service: "I don't know. I'm a new graduate and haven't reached 3,000 points yet. You're the one with the shortest time and the highest points. But I heard from a colleague that there are six people in our system who have reached 3,000 points, and all six of them have disappeared."
Jiang Wan: "Disappear? What does that mean?"
Customer Service: "Every time traveler has their personal information, points, and redemption data registered in our system. Even for deceased travelers, their records are preserved. But the records of those six people have disappeared from the system—it's as if they never traveled through time."
Jiang Wan was stunned. Before she could think about the meaning behind this, the voice of the Third Prince brought her back to reality.
"My Queen Mother likes this porcelain pillow, but I only have eyes for this beautiful woman." He stared at Hua Qingzhi with a sticky look. "I think Second Miss Hua is quite pretty and well-mannered. I really admire her. Second Miss Hua, are you willing to come into my palace... and become a concubine?"
Marriage in the Great Zhou Dynasty followed the orders of the parents. If one truly wanted to marry someone, one would ask the elders to act as a matchmaker and go to the girl's home to discuss the marriage. One would never ask the girl directly in public.
The first half of this remark was merely flirtatious, but the second half was a blatant humiliation. While the Third Prince might very well be the future Crown Prince, he was only twenty-one and had no title or nobility. Even though His Majesty loved him, he had never publicly mentioned his intention to appoint a Crown Prince.
The Wenyuan Earl's Mansion is a hereditary earldom. This generation of Wenyuan Earl does not interfere in state affairs, but he is proficient in antique appraisal, calligraphy, painting, poetry, music, and Taoism. He has students all over the country and has a very high prestige. He was also a strong candidate for the Grand Tutor.
During the Great Zhou Dynasty, the Grand Preceptor, known as the teacher of all students, held no specific duties, but selection criteria were extremely stringent: not only must one be proficient in writing, language, and the arts, but one must also be highly respected, have high moral character, and have a large student body. While not responsible for specific government affairs, they served as both the emperor's personal advisor and the tutor of all the princes and princesses, exerting a significant influence on government. Wenyuan Bo, who preferred a leisurely life, voluntarily withdrew from the competition, resulting in the title of Grand Preceptor being bestowed upon the current Master Wenwei.
Hua Qingzhi is the only legitimate daughter of the Bo family's generation. Her status and position are more than enough to make her a principal wife, but the third prince wants her to be a concubine. Isn't this a humiliation?
It wasn't just Jiang Wan; everyone else present could see it too. She could hear a few noble ladies nearby whispering, "This Third Prince is too protective of County Lady Heyi. It was clearly the County Lady who was disrespectful first."
"Yes, it seems that they have a good relationship. The candidate for the prince's wife is probably the county lady."
"The royal family's marriage proposal cannot be refused. Miss Hua Er has really become a concubine. She is bound to suffer setbacks. What a pity."
Although Hua Qingzhi volunteered to help her overturn the case, Jiang Wan still felt guilty in this situation. She had long seen that the Third Prince had little affection for the county lady, especially since she had just made a fool of herself.
He made things difficult for Hua Qingzhi simply because of her, because of He Wanrong, Shen Jianqing, and Wen Shen, because they found clues about training private soldiers.
But the Third Prince was His Majesty's eldest son, and he was subject to the emperor and his subjects. The distinction between the emperor and his subjects came first, and even a First-Class Imperial Consort had to pay her respects to him, otherwise it would be considered contempt for the imperial power.
It's a bit like in a famous Qing palace drama, where the arrogant and domineering first-rank general has to bow when he meets the noble lady.
In principle, women from aristocratic families are not allowed to refuse royal marriage proposals.
Hua Qingzhi's face changed drastically, and he tugged at Jiang Wan's sleeve helplessly. Jiang Wan held his hand soothingly, his brain working rapidly, trying to find a solution.
Seeing them at a loss, Empress Wen spoke up, "My dear, even if you like a girl, you should ask His Majesty for permission. You are not ashamed to talk about whether you like her or not, or whether she is beautiful or not, in front of so many girls."
"Your Majesty, I was right. I was anxious," the Third Prince admitted respectfully. "I thought I should ask Miss Hua's opinion, but I was abrupt."
After saying that, he turned back to look at Hua Qingzhi. He admitted his fault, but the question had already been asked, so how could he not answer it? He said he was respecting the girl's wishes, but in reality, Hua Qingzhi couldn't refuse at all.
However, these few words gave Jiang Wan some time to think, and she whispered in Hua Qingzhi's ear for a few seconds.
Hua Qingzhi heaved a sigh of relief after hearing this, bowing and saying, "Your Highness, since ancient times, marriage has been decided by parents. If the imperial decree grants marriage, whether as a wife or a concubine, I will obey."
This only meant obeying the imperial decree, not rejecting or agreeing to it. The Third Prince said this only to humiliate her and damage her reputation, not to truly marry her. Even if he requested the imperial decree, Hua Qingzhi's status would only be that of a principal consort, and the Minister of Personnel's residence would be very unhappy.
Moreover, by using the imperial edict to pressure the other party, the Third Prince would not be able to find fault with the marriage again. Hua Qingzhi could have gotten away with this.
The wine glass floated down the water to the next noble lady. Hua Qingzhi and Jiang Wan sat down, looked at each other, and breathed a sigh of relief.
The two of them simultaneously reached out for the roast duck on the table, eating and drinking to calm their nerves.
After eating and drinking, Jiang Wan glanced at the sundial. It was two quarters past noon. Shen Jianqing should have sealed off the Fulai Inn and its various strongholds, interrogating the private soldiers about their location. Her mission was to keep an eye on the Third Prince and prevent him from receiving any advance warning.
Initially, this task was assigned to Empress Wen. However, the Empress was the host of the Hundred Flowers Banquet and could not leave at will, which would have made it difficult to respond if an emergency arose. Hua Qingzhi's willingness to bring Jiang Wan into the palace provided an extra layer of security.
For example, at this moment, Jiang Wan noticed a palace maid carrying cakes towards the Third Prince. A young eunuch, head bowed, brushed past the maid and deliberately bumped into her shoulder.
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