Chapter 108

Zhao Youcheng and Li got married at the end of November. At that time, the date of Jiashan Linpen was very close.

Although the Prince of Lu's Palace was not far from the Princess's Palace, they still had to go there by carriage, which was always unsafe. In addition, Zhao Youcheng's wedding would definitely cause a lot of noise in the Prince of Lu's Palace. In order to avoid any accidents, Jiashan did not attend the celebration of the two.

But in order to prevent people from gossiping, Zhan Yue went there.

Although Zhan Yue did not introduce Li to her in detail when he came back.

Come to think of it, Li was just an ordinary woman.

This was the first time Jiashan and Li had met each other. In his previous life, Zhao Youcheng married Wei, the sister of Wei An, the transport officer of the Salt Transport Department.

Jiashan didn't have much dealings with the Wei family, but today, she is sure that Li's abilities must be stronger than Wei's.

Jiashan knew Shuxian's temperament very well. She was stubborn, arrogant and willful. Apart from Concubine Zhuang, she rarely listened to other people's advice. Today, she was persuaded by Li and accompanied Li to visit him. Li's eloquence and ability were like a glimpse of a leopard in a tube.

When Li and Shuxian arrived, Zhan Yue was sitting by the bed, carefully feeding Jiashan a bowl of red bean and water chestnut soup.

Jiashan is still in confinement after childbirth and doesn’t like oily food. So the red beans in the soup were cooked very badly. Red beans and water chestnuts are good for nourishing qi and blood. Jiashan has to drink a bowl of soup every day these days and is a little tired of it.

So Zhan Yue had no choice but to feed her himself without any hesitation.

Seeing this scene, Li and Shuxian were stunned for a moment.

Li reacted a little faster, looking away for only one second. Shuxian, on the other hand, kept staring at the two of them, with a look of humiliation and unwillingness.

After Zhan Yue fed Jiashan the last mouthful of porridge, he stood up calmly and greeted the two of them.

Li smiled calmly and said, "I have heard for a long time that the emperor's sister and the prince consort are in love. It seems to be true. It really makes people jealous."

Li was already the Princess of Lu, a member of the prince's family. It was not appropriate for Zhan Yue to stay with her for a long time. After nodding, he obediently left the inner room.

Shuxian's eyes followed Zhan Yueyuan silently.

Jiashan pretended not to see Shuxian.

Since the Princess of Lu was so kind, Jiashan couldn't afford to be so rude to her, so he smiled and said to her, "When you married the Prince of Lu, I should have gone to the mansion to congratulate you, but I was not in good health. Now I have to trouble you to come and see me first, I am really ashamed."

Princess Lu smiled at her with a gentle look in her eyes: "What are you talking about, sister? My sister was about to die at that time, so how could the prince and I be surprised?"

Princess Lu had a typical face of a lady from a wealthy family. She looked dignified and gentle. There seemed to be a kind of warmth in her expression, and when she spoke to people, it was as if they were in a spring breeze.

Jiashan thought: Zhao Youcheng got a good deal for nothing by marrying such a wife.

Jiashan was just about to follow her lead and have a few more friendly exchanges with her when Shuxian finally spoke.

She covered her mouth and laughed, "My sister is so delicate when she is pregnant. If something goes wrong when she goes to Prince Lu's mansion, how can my elder brother and sister-in-law take the responsibility?"

Jiashan slowly raised his eyes and glanced at her indifferently.

Princess Lu next to her looked a little helpless, and said with a smile: "The Second Princess is just concerned about the Royal Sister, there is no extra meaning."

Princess Lu took the initiative to smooth things over for Shuxian, and Jiashan didn't want to argue with her. He just said calmly, "I know Shuxian's temper very well. I won't take her words too seriously."

Princess Lu forced a smile, as if she was afraid that Shuxian would accidentally bump into Jiashan again. She smiled and said, "Sister, can you let me take a look at the little prince? I heard that he will weigh 7.7 jin when he is born. I have never seen a child this heavy."

Jiashan smiled and said, "Of course you can."

Xuan Ge'er was just born, and he spent ten hours out of twelve hours a day sleeping. Fortunately, this child was a deep sleeper and could not be easily awakened. When the nurse picked him up from the bed, she just fiddled with his arms and legs for a while, and then went back to sleep.

The nurse was afraid of disturbing his sleep, so she carefully held Xuan Ge'er in her arms and showed him to Princess Lu and Shuxian. Princess Lu said happily, "He really has grown up well!"

Shuxian was not going to go over at first, but after a moment, she couldn't help her curiosity and glanced sideways.

When Princess Lu saw what she did, she smiled and took out a small jade disk from her arms and tied it around Xuan'er's neck.

Although the jade disk was not large in size, it was made of the finest mutton-fat jade and was engraved with delicate coiled dragon patterns. It was obviously an antique.

"When I entered the palace a few days ago, my mother specifically told me to give this to the young master," Princess Lu said with a smile, "My mother couldn't leave the palace, so I had to borrow the flowers to offer to the Buddha."

When they heard that it was Concubine Zhuang who asked her to deliver it, Jiashan and Shuxian raised their eyebrows.

In fact, at the third-day baptism ceremony a few days ago, all the female relatives gave gifts, including Concubine Zhuang.

Whether Princess Lu was really "borrowing flowers to offer to Buddha" or wanted Jiashan to do good to Princess Chengzhuang, it at least proved that she was indeed a smart person.

Speak the truth to real people and speak lies to ghosts. Jiashan naturally chooses to say the nicest things.

She smiled brightly and said, "I appreciate Concubine Zhuang's kindness. When I enter the palace in the future, I will definitely go to Chengqian Palace to thank her."

Princess Lu smiled and said, "My dear sister, you are too polite."

Only the smile on Shuxian's face looked particularly forced.

After leaving the princess's mansion in Jiashan, Shuxian's temper suddenly became irritable.

She followed Princess Lu into the carriage. Her good temper lasted only for a moment before she began to lose control. She sneered and said, "The Queen's sister-in-law insisted on bringing me to the Princess's residence today. I wondered why."

"I wanted to give her gifts," Shuxian raised her eyes and said coldly, "The emperor's sister-in-law has already married my brother, but now you are trying to please both sides. Isn't it too late?"

Shuxian's words were full of thorns, but Princess Lu was even better at cultivating her qi. She calmly stared at Shuxian with her beautiful eyes and asked lightly, "Princess, do you know why the eldest princess is so favored by His Majesty?"

"She is the legitimate daughter of the late empress." Shuxian answered without thinking.

Princess Lu shook her head and said softly, "If it is for this, your majesty will show more pity than love to the eldest princess."

"No emperor would be willing to see his children doing whatever they want while he is still in power." Princess Lu's tone was flat and straightforward, but there was a power in it.

She said: "After Crown Prince Xiaohuai was deposed, Your Majesty was able to stand out from the other princes, so you must not be incompetent."

"Brothers quarreling with each other is not what your majesty wants to see," Princess Lu said solemnly, "The princess has already annoyed father because of the enclosure issue. If her relationship with the eldest princess and her sister becomes weak, father will only dislike her even more."

Shuxian's face changed color slightly, and she bit her lip without answering. It was obvious that Princess Lu's words hit the nail on the head.

During this time, Zhao Youze became more capable and Jiashan successfully gave birth to a son. Concubine Zhuang and Zhao Youcheng were already busy with their own affairs and had no time to care about her.

At the family banquet that day, Emperor Zhanghe humiliated her in front of her husband, the Prince of Zhongyi. Although the Prince of Zhongyi did not say anything on the surface and still respected her as a princess in private, the feelings between the couple were already as thin as water.

Shuxian's life is getting harder and harder.

Princess Lu's honest advice was unpleasant to the ear. After experiencing the ups and downs of human relationships during this period, Shuxian had more or less understood the difference between good and bad. She slowly sat up straight and said in a somewhat gentle tone, "I understand."

After sending Shuxian back to the princess's residence, Guanyin, the maidservant of Princess Lu, said softly, "This second princess is really not a little bit inferior to the eldest princess."

Princess Lu gave Guanyin a warning look and said gently, "If there is a gap, we will slowly teach her. We are not afraid of people making mistakes, but we are afraid of them not changing their ways. As long as they are willing to change, they can still be saved."

"Since I'm married to Prince Lu, I'm on the same boat with Consort Zhuang in the palace." Princess Lu looked at the sunlight coming through the curtains and said softly, "Whether it's the Second Princess or the Marquis of Pingyang, they can't stay out of trouble in the future."

"Helping her is helping myself." Princess Lu said, "The Queen and the Prince have no time to take care of this sister. If I don't supervise her, I'm afraid she will get into trouble again."

Guanyin sighed softly and said, "Thank you for your hard work, Princess."

Guanyin thought that after the girl got married and became a princess, she would be able to enjoy a peaceful life. But she didn't expect that she would be more worried and busy than before in the palace.

Seeing what Guanyin was thinking, Princess Lu smiled indifferently. Her mother had long told her that if she wanted to be in a high position and hold supreme power, she had to work a hundred times harder and sweat more than others.

The story of previous generations planting trees and later generations enjoying the shade is, after all, just a story.

Princess Lu took a sip of tea slowly. Her breathing was neither fast nor slow, and her expression was very calm.

A few days later, when Jiashan was able to go out and walk, he took Xuan Ge'er to the palace to see Emperor Zhanghe.

Sure enough, the conspicuous jade on Brother Xuan's neck immediately attracted his attention. Before Concubine Zhuang could claim the credit, Emperor Zhang He picked up the piece of jade and looked at it for a few times. He smiled and said, "Where did such a delicate jade come from? It looks like an ancient relic from the pre-Qin period."

Jiashan's eyelashes fluttered slightly, and she smiled and replied, "Father, you have good eyesight. This was given to me by Concubine Zhuang."

Emperor Zhanghe then raised his eyebrows and looked at Concubine Zhuang, saying, "It's rare that you are willing to give up your love."

In the past few months, Concubine Zhuang was implicated in Shuxian's affairs and suffered imprisonment. Emperor Zhanghe blamed her for not being able to educate her daughter, and she has not set foot in Chengqian Palace for many days.

Seeing that Emperor Zhanghe was so friendly to her, Concubine Zhuang quickly forced a smile and said, "Xuan'er is your majesty's first grandson. When I see him, I am also happy from the bottom of my heart."

"So, after Xuan'er was born, I specially asked my brother to go to the Qilian Mountains to find a piece of beautiful jade," Concubine Zhuang took the initiative to shake Xuan'er's hand and said with a smile, "I hope this jade can accompany Xuan'er to grow up to be a handsome young man, so that his grandfather and mother can be proud of him."

Emperor Zhang He sneered, and the smile on his face became even deeper.

He said, "Well said."

After a while, Emperor Zhanghe thought for a moment and said in a deep voice: "It has been half a year since Shuxian got married. You should give her some ginseng supplements from the palace, so that she will not be looked down upon by the Loyalty Earl's Mansion."

Concubine Zhuang bowed and replied in a voice as soft as the spring breeze in March: "Yes, I thank you on behalf of Shuxian."

Jiashan watched the scene calmly and did not say a word from beginning to end.

But after returning home, she said to Zhan Yue alone: ​​"Zhao Youcheng is really lucky to marry such a good princess."

Zhan Yue was teasing Xuan Ge'er. Upon hearing this, he smiled and said without raising his head: "If you lose something in one place, you will gain something in another. This shows that the ancient saying has its own truth."

From the moment Princess Lu gave Xuan Ge'er the jade disk, Jiashan guessed what they were planning. This is also the subtlety of this plan.

Even though my father never said it explicitly, he definitely didn't like his sons and daughters fighting with each other.

Concubine Zhuang took the initiative to bring the jade disk as a gesture of goodwill. If Jiashan had not given it to Xuan'er when he entered the palace, she would have been the one who suffered in front of Emperor Zhanghe.

Jiashan changed his clothes and lowered his eyelids silently.

Since Emperor Zhanghe had greeted Shuxian, it was natural that the Loyalty and Righteousness Marquis's Mansion had to express its attitude as well.

Whether it was of his own will or not, the Prince of Zhongyi stayed in Princess Shuxian's mansion for a month straight since then.

Everyone thought Shuxian was about to get pregnant, but unfortunately, when Jiashan heard news about Shuxian again, it was that Shuxian had a miscarriage.