Meng Qi was surprised at first, then nodded in understanding.
"As for the fifth brother, we believe the prince wants to use him as a cover to target the fourth brother."
That's right, they had analyzed these things before, and now it was just through Wang Boyuan's incident that it was further confirmed that the prince had different concerns about some things than others.
――――――
A few days later, it was Princess Yong'an's birthday. This year, the Queen held a grand birthday banquet for Yong'an and invited the daughters of the wealthy families in Beijing and officials of the third rank and above to celebrate together at the "Hundred Flowers Garden" in the city.
Everyone knew the Queen was using this opportunity to secure a marriage for Yong'an. So, every family was trying their best to show off. While men couldn't go, every family had daughters, and even if they didn't, they probably had daughters among their relatives and friends. Whoever could win Yong'an's favor would have taken a step forward.
Because the guests attending Yong'an's birthday banquet were all Yunying's unmarried group, Meng Qi sent the gifts to the palace two days in advance. Not surprisingly, she heard that Fanghua was angry again because of the clothes and jewelry made for Yong'an's birthday, and she severely criticized the Queen in front of the Emperor.
However, an accident happened on Princess Yong'an's birthday. Because of her leg problem, Fanghua did not walk like other young ladies from aristocratic families, but took a horse-drawn carriage. However, it turned out to be overturned at the foot of the mountain. Fortunately, Zhou Zheng, the third son of Prince Shen's Mansion, came to her rescue.
For a moment, some were happy and some were sad. Just when everyone thought that the third young master of the Zhou family would become Fanghua's consort, the emperor conferred the title of Princess Zhenru, who was previously unfamiliar to people, and married her to Zhou Zheng.
When Meng Qi heard the news, she was so happy that she couldn't even straighten her back. Meng Wan tapped her forehead and said, "I'm not as excited as you are."
Meng Qi sat up straight. "I'm really happy for you. I want to see how your fake mother-in-law can show off in front of you. She's obsessed with marrying her son and daughter off to wealthy families. Especially since she's set her sights on Zhou Zheng and Yong'an. Oh, she's really bold."
Meng Wan was also amused, "What's going on with that Princess Zhenru?"
"you do not know?"
"Your second brother-in-law only said a few words. I heard that her father once saved the emperor's life?"
Meng Qi hummed, "The Emperor was once attacked by a black bear while hunting. If it weren't for Princess Zhenru's father, the Emperor would have been... I heard that her family were originally peasants. Because of this, her uncle was given an official position, and the whole family relied on her for a living."
Meng Wan understood. "Princess Zhenru's uncle and other relatives were very unpleasant to eat. You don't know that once the marriage decree was issued, no matter how unhappy Mrs. Hu was, she had to hold it high and show her gratitude to the emperor. Mrs. Zhenru's family made so many demands at once that Mrs. Hu's face turned green with anger. She even forgot to pay us respects for a while."
Meng Qi asked with a gossipy look on her face, "Oh? Did they empty the Hu family's savings?"
Meng Wan smiled. "I don't know what it is exactly, but I know that Mrs. Hu hasn't been in a good mood these past few days. She's been so busy that she hasn't even had time to pay attention to my second sister. Hey, have you seen that Princess Zhenru? What does she look like?"
Meng Qi said with a smile, "After all, she's not as pretty as you."
"Go away! Who's asking you this?" Meng Wan pushed Meng Qi. "Princess Fanghua is truly capable."
Hearing this, Meng Qi said seriously, "That's right. Some of the prince's arrangements would never have gone so smoothly without her help in the palace. There are some things that even Concubine Lian can't do."
Meng Wan sighed, "The Emperor is a man who cherishes the past. Princess Fanghua's biological mother has been gone for so long, but he is still so kind to her. This is truly a first among the many princes and princesses."
Meng Qi leaned close to Meng Wan and whispered, "The affection they've had since childhood is one thing, but there's another. I heard that Princess Fanghua's biological mother is a very discerning person. She played a significant role in the relationship between the Emperor and the late Empress Dowager."
Meng Wan turned to look at Meng Qi in surprise, "Oh? So that's the reason."
Meng Qi nodded. "Her attitude and approach to this matter are completely different from Empress Jiang's. So, look at the Crown Prince and Fanghua now? The Crown Prince is just a man. If he were also a princess, who knows what the situation would be like."
Meng Wan understood that the Crown Prince was merely the eldest son of the legitimate wife, and the Emperor had no other options. For years, the other princes had ignored the Crown Prince, taking advantage of the fact that he was not in the Emperor's good graces.
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