By this time, Xiao Lin had taken advantage of Gong's efforts to conceive, and during the years of her health problems following the birth of her son, she had gradually taken control of the affairs of the mansion. Although some of this fell into Li's hands thanks to Nanny Hai's help, she didn't mind. Holding real power was more important than anything else. Now, all she needed was the title of legal wife.
Then, she continued to wait, waiting for a full year after Gong's death, waiting for the Lin family to find an intermediary to persuade Prince Rui, but she received another emperor's marriage. This time, the marriage was to the daughter of the Huainan Marquis, a long-established aristocratic family in the capital.
Xiaolin was completely dumbfounded. She had no idea what Li was thinking of her, but Wu was clearly mocking her. Although Wu was a concubine, she was the daughter of the prince, and her father held a legitimate job.
Ever since Wu came into the mansion, he had been competing with her openly and covertly, just waiting to sit in that position to impress Wu. But now, all hope is gone.
Mrs. Lin would come to the palace once a month under the pretext of visiting her grandson. Prince Rui was a kind-hearted man and would always let Xiao Lin receive her. Mrs. Lin would bring Xiao Lin's concubine with her every few months, giving the Lin family enough respect.
Mrs. Lin told Xiao Lin everything she had learned about Meng Qi. Xiao Lin was so excited that she couldn't sleep well that night. With such a reputation and such a past, how could the prince be satisfied? It was okay if he wasn't satisfied. If he wasn't satisfied, he still had a chance.
The aunt was right. If one or two others couldn't hold their positions firmly, who knew if this Meng would be able to hold on to it? Putting aside the fact that the prince would definitely not be happy, even if he didn't care, within the inner house, those who arrived first had far more advantages than those who arrived later.
Thinking of this, Kobayashi was filled with fighting spirit again.
"Concubine, Liunian is back." Mother Lu said.
Kobayashi hummed and elegantly picked up the small sweet white porcelain bowl on the table, which contained sweet almond soup.
In order to show that she did not enter the palace as a concubine by relying on her elder sister's influence, Xiao Lin was very concerned about other people's opinions of her and her daily behavior. She could not bear to hear people say that she was the illegitimate daughter of the Lin family.
"Concubine, I just came back from Jinmo Residence. Concubine Li means that everything will be subject to your arrangements."
Xiao Lin nodded in satisfaction. This was the good thing about Li. She knew her background, and although she had been promoted to concubine before her, she hadn't dared to surpass her. Especially in the past two years, although they shared the responsibility of managing the palace, she had always taken the lion's share and was the one who got the most money.
"Should I go to Yinyan Pavilion?" Mother Lu asked.
"Go tell her we'll meet at Jing'an Garden in 25 minutes."
Mother Lu asked somewhat awkwardly, "Shouldn't we ask the concubine's opinion?"
"Her? She's not worthy. If you want to go, go. If you don't want to go, then figure it out yourself."
After saying that, Xiao Lin stood up and said, "Liunian, bring over the bright red dress that I made this year."
Mother Lu stepped forward and said, "Concubine, the color of that dress is too bright. I'm afraid if the princess sees it, she will..."
Xiao Lin raised her eyebrows and said, "What are you afraid of? That was a reward from the prince. If I make clothes and wear them out, it will be a honor for the prince. How dare Meng say a word of disapproval?"
After hearing this, Mother Lu went to see Liunian, who shook his head at her.
Wu from Yinyan Pavilion heard the message from her subordinates and slammed the table fiercely. "What do you mean, little Lin? You didn't even ask for my opinion before going to the princess. Two quarters of an hour? This woman has been here for almost a quarter of an hour. How can she still make it in time?"
"Concubine, are you going?" Jinzhi asked cautiously.
"Go, how can I not go? Both of the concubines went, but I didn't go, which made Xiao Lin proud. Humph, she went there just to watch the fun, and when she saw that the prince didn't like the princess, she got so excited that she couldn't keep her composure."
Jinzhi didn't dare to respond, thinking to herself, you are also an impatient person, but you are talking about others.
"I just saw Aunt Bai go out. I don't know if she went directly to Jing'an Garden or Huamu Garden."
"She? Xiao Lin's lackey, she must have known Xiao Lin's arrangement long ago, and now she has gone to Huamu Garden to wait." Wu slammed the table angrily and ordered the maid to change her clothes.
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In Jing'an Garden, Meng Qi washed up comfortably, changed into casual clothes, leaned lazily on the big kang by the window, and slowly reviewed what happened in the palace today.
From the emperor's attitude, it can be seen that it doesn't matter to him who becomes the Princess Rui. Today's visit is just a routine one. The short and standard hairpin in the box explains it all.
Gao Zhan's attitude today is very intriguing. It is obvious that he was reprimanded by the emperor, and it should be related to the prince.
Since the Crown Prince had been with the Emperor, helping him handle government affairs, he had been in charge of the Ministry of Revenue. The Minister of Revenue was Empress Gao's brother, which meant that the Crown Prince was only in charge in name only and had no say in the specific affairs.
Gao Zhan has a close relationship with the Minister of Personnel Xu Yinghong. It is said that the two families originally wanted to marry their children to each other, but gave up because they were afraid of making it too conspicuous.
Gao Zhan came out with a dark face. After they left, the emperor summoned Xu Yinghong to see him. There must be something going on.
Meng Qi guessed, could it be that the prince decided to do something, Gao Zhan disagreed, and the matter was put in front of the emperor, forcing Gao Zhan to make the arrangements?
If this is possible, Gao Zhan's face would be extremely dark. When he left, he didn't even take Song Chengze seriously.
What was it? Meng Qi rubbed his forehead, trying to think of what important things had happened in the Ministry of Revenue or the Ministry of Personnel at this time in his previous life, but he couldn't remember anything at all.
Yes, at that time she was lamenting her bad luck, and her eyes were only on the backyard of the palace, thinking about dealing with Song Chengze's annoying concubines, which gave Song Chengze a headache.
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