***
"Your Majesty, Prime Minister Zhao said that Miss Zhao is a young lady who rarely leaves her home. They dared not trouble Your Majesty and could not accept such a grand gift, so they returned all the gifts."
Yongshou Hall.
In order to plan Jingshuo's marriage, Empress Dowager Cheng collected some items from her own treasury and sent them to the Zhao family. However, the Zhao family returned the items in full within half a day.
The chief eunuch, who returned with gifts, also relayed the Zhao family's words to Empress Dowager Cheng and Jing Shuo.
After listening for a long time without saying a word, Empress Dowager Cheng was the first to lose her temper. She took it as an insult from the Zhao family, threw down her cane, and fell back into her wheelchair, roaring.
"The Zhao family hasn't even gotten close to them yet, and they're already acting like royalty? They're humiliating me, humiliating me for being a cripple, thinking that I, a good-for-nothing, am unworthy of their daughter, aren't they?"
"Get out! Throw all your stuff out! Haven't you seen enough of my embarrassment in the palace? How dare you humiliate me with things that were returned to you?"
After being injured, Jing Shuo's temperament became even more gloomy and unpredictable. He would often lose his temper and throw away whatever was at hand.
Those guarding inside were either so frightened that they knelt on the ground, or they knelt down one by one to pick up the debris that had been thrown on the ground.
"Alright, you've finally managed to get out of bed. What if you aggravate your injury? Will you still have to support your leg?" Empress Dowager Cheng couldn't stand it anymore and slammed her hand on the table to calm Jing Shuo down.
Empress Dowager Cheng sought out many renowned doctors specializing in bone setting for Jing Shuo's leg injury. Although they initially said there was no possibility of him ever standing up again, Empress Dowager Cheng instructed them to spare no effort in his treatment.
Finally, with each day of treatment, a glimmer of hope appeared. The doctor said that if the patient could overcome the initial physical pain, exercise their legs to prevent them from atrophying, and use crutches, they would still have a chance to walk.
Jing Shuo could not suppress his anger, and his anger was rising: "Grandmother, I have been harmed by Jing Lu, and Father Emperor not only did not speak a word of justice for me, but now he has allowed a subject to humiliate me."
"You think you can just return our gifts like that? I can't even get angry?"
Empress Dowager Cheng waved her hand, dismissing the people in the hall, and then remained calm and composed.
"What's there to be afraid of? The Zhao family's return of the gifts is their business. Your father hasn't issued any imperial edict to them yet, so it's difficult for Empress Dowager Zheng to make Jinglu marry Zhao Nianfu."
“Father is biased. The one in the Longevity Palace is his biological mother. Jinglu has known how to please him since he was a child. Father’s silence now is not necessarily for my sake,” Jingshuo said self-deprecatingly.
Empress Dowager Cheng sneered: "Even if she is your biological mother, your father can guard against her with ease. I have dealt with her for decades and know her personality very well."
"Back then, relying on her shared hardships with the late emperor, she actually coveted my position as the Crown Princess after returning to Jing Kingdom."
"Because she had consummated her marriage with the late emperor in the Jade Kingdom, but was never listed in the imperial genealogy, she became spoiled and refused to enter the Eastern Palace, wanting to waste the position of Crown Princess."
“All the hard work I put into serving the late emperor’s parents over the years was not in vain. How could the two elders just send me away because they only care about her affection for the late emperor?”
"Instead, she issued an edict urging the late emperor to have a child with me as soon as possible. She got anxious and eventually agreed to come to the Eastern Palace even though she had no official status."
"Unfortunately, my body is really uncooperative. Even though the late emperor stayed at my place every day, I was still unlucky enough to have a child. She got pregnant first."
"After giving birth to the current emperor, she wanted to use the child to replace me. Fortunately, my parents-in-law are still discerning and clear-headed. The Cheng family is still a prestigious family in Jing Kingdom."
"In the end, she couldn't compete with me, and she had no choice but to submit to me for the sake of her son."
Therefore, Empress Dowager Cheng knew that Empress Dowager Zheng was by no means a peaceful person, and that she must have quarreled with Jing Huaixu over Jing Lu's marriage to Zhao Nianfu.
Empress Dowager Cheng put aside her memories and continued to comfort Jingshuo.
"If your father really wanted Jinglu to marry Zhao Nianfu, he would have issued an imperial edict long ago, but he didn't. He probably would have already made a scene."
"The palace is still quiet. Your father must have a backup plan that he hasn't used yet. He's going to catch her off guard in the end."
"Grandmother, I don't understand what you mean." Jing Shuo's anger suddenly subsided, and he could vaguely sense that his father might be biased towards him this time.
Empress Dowager Cheng picked up the teapot beside her, poured herself a cup, and drank it, then smiled wryly.
"Your father always has to take care of the Crown Prince, but the Longevity Palace doesn't care. Naturally, your father will choose to favor the Crown Prince. It's ridiculous that they want to use the marriage of a prime minister's daughter to boost Jinglu's position in the court."
"So as long as we can be patient and wait, you will eventually get the Zhao family's daughter. Once those parents see their daughter marry you, will they still dare to be arrogant? Why put up with a moment of anger?"
After Jing Shuo understood, he felt even worse.
"It turns out I still benefited from the Crown Prince's good fortune. Father Emperor didn't want Jinglu to become a threat to the Crown Prince, and thought I was the most useless one, so he gave me the Zhao family's daughter."
When Empress Dowager Cheng heard Jing Shuo say this, she was speechless, for indeed, that was the truth of the matter.
But Empress Dowager Cheng no longer cared, because she had heard about the Crown Prince's invitation to Xiange, which meant that the girl had some tricks up her sleeve.
Even though the Cheng family has declined, they still have some influence. If they were to enter the Eastern Palace in the future and have a son or daughter, they would surely treat the Cheng family as their own family.
Empress Dowager Cheng also hoped that Jingshuo would quickly become more mature and be a good imperial uncle, so that at least they could support each other in the future and things could not get worse and worse.
...
When Xiange received the invitation from the Crown Prince, she was merely sending the Cheng family the illusion that she could establish a connection with the Crown Prince, and that she would then become a regular visitor to the Crown Prince's residence.
It would be easy for Yue Jiang to find an opportunity to bring Xiange to her side, so Xiange didn't need to stay for too long when she first entered the East Palace.
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