Chen Zhao brought Li Chaoyun to pay their respects, and then signaled his uncle and aunt to leave first.
Shen Zhixiu took Su Qingyu by the hand and entered Qingyuanju, with Shen Zhao and Li Chaoyun two steps behind.
No matter how they compete behind the scenes, everyone will do their best to show off.
When entering the room, Shen Zhixiu also talked to Shen Zhao about the Ministry of Personnel's evaluation.
The old lady smiled even more brightly when she saw that the uncle and nephew were getting along well.
When Shen Zhiheng came to pay his respects, he said a few words and then coughed four or five times.
The old lady was worried and asked him to ask the imperial physician to take a good look, but Shen Zhiheng obviously didn't take it to heart.
Ever since the day of New Year's Eve when Shen Zhao mentioned Chen and the old lady got angry, Shen Zhao never dared to mention the matter again.
Today is the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the Lantern Festival. He just thought about it in his heart for a while but didn't say anything.
He now put all his thoughts on supporting the crown prince. Even on nights when the couple should have been spending time together, he spent most of his time discussing these matters with Li Chaoyun.
After breakfast, everyone sat in the hall with the old lady, drinking tea and chatting.
Li Chaoyun suddenly spoke up, "There have been a lot of rumors about Third Aunt in the capital these days. Uncle, do you want to send someone to quell the rumors?"
The old lady raised her eyelids and glanced at Li Chaoyun.
"Rumors? What rumors?"
"I haven't heard of that."
Then he turned to look at Aunt Hua, "Do you know?"
Aunt Hua shook her head and said, "I don't know. I haven't left the house much these days."
In fact, Nanny Hua had heard about it a long time ago, but because the matter involved Su Qingyu, she ordered that no one was allowed to gossip in front of the old lady.
So those words didn't reach the old lady's ears at all.
Seeing that the old lady didn't know, Li Chaoyun said in panic, "Did I say something wrong?"
Su Qingyu glanced at Li Chaoyun, then smiled and looked at the old lady, "Mother, people outside are saying terrible things about me. They say I don't allow the Third Master to take a concubine, and that I'm jealous."
The old lady was stunned at first, then her face darkened.
"That's outrageous."
Seeing this, Li Chaoyun continued with a smile, "Don't be angry, Grandma. Those people may have misunderstood. Third Aunt is so sensible, she would definitely not do that."
"In my opinion, in order to quell the rumors, why don't you help Uncle San choose two people?"
Logically speaking, it was not the niece's place to interfere in the affairs of her uncle's room. Li Chaoyun was a princess of the royal family, so she wouldn't be ignorant of such a small rule.
But she just wanted to give Su Qingyu a hard time today, so she didn't care about that. She took advantage of the old lady's anger to settle the matter.
Just as I was waiting for the old lady to speak, I heard her say, "I'm talking to those people out there who are gossiping. How ridiculous! What does it have to do with them whether Zhixiu takes a concubine or not?"
"These people are really meddling in other people's affairs before they even figure out their own business."
Li Chaoyun blushed at the old lady's words. She felt like they were alluding to her.
A few days ago, Shen Zhao drank too much and slept with a maid in Hanshuiyuan. She was so angry that she sold the maid.
It seems that this matter has spread to Qingyuanju, and the old lady is not very happy.
Li Chaoyun wanted to explain, but he heard the old lady talking to Su Qingyu in private.
"Qingyu, don't worry about what others say. Just do what you think is right."
The old lady knew clearly that her son had fallen in love with her. So she was overjoyed when Su Qingyu refused to allow him to take a concubine, which showed that she also took Zhixiu seriously.
If Su Qingyu could only be a qualified third wife of the Shen family, kind and generous, and concentrate on taking a concubine to expand the Shen family, she would still have to worry about her son.
Li Chaoyun felt unbalanced. They were both taking concubines, so why couldn't she do that? Could Su Qingyu just do as she pleased?
To put it bluntly, it's because Shen Zhixiu holds a high position, and Su Qingyu has a say in the family.
Thinking of this, looking at Shen Zhao again, he felt even more useless.
*
The palace banquet for the Lantern Festival begins in the evening, and the banquet is still held in the Hall of Supreme Harmony. After the banquet, everyone will move to the Imperial Garden to admire the Lantern Festival lanterns.
After lunch, Su Qingyu began to take a shower, change clothes, put on makeup and comb her hair.
While choosing jewelry, the eunuchs in the palace came to convey the order of Concubine Xian, and Mr. Xuan Zhou went into the palace together to take Concubine Su's pulse.
Su Qingyu knew that Su Xiangling had taken the bait.
The people from the Shen family who entered the palace today were Shen Zhixiu, Su Qingyu, Shen Zhao, Li Chaoyun, and Mr. Zhou.
The original invitation was for the old lady, but because she had not been in good health recently, she politely declined.
When they arrived at the palace gate, the others changed to sedan chairs and went to the Hall of Supreme Harmony. Mr. Zhou was taken away by an eunuch from the Eastern Palace, who said that Concubine Su was waiting.
The palace was still filled with the joy of the New Year, and big red lanterns were hung outside the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
When Shen Zhixiu and his wife got off the carriage, many people looked over, most of them were looking at Su Qingyu.
There have been a lot of rumors in the capital these days, all saying that Madam Shen San is jealous. When Elder Shen drank a flower wine, she showed her displeasure in public.
There are quite a few witnesses to this incident, and several censors from the Six Departments Corridor spoke very seriously.
Furthermore, after more than half a year of marriage, the Third Lady of Shen was still not pregnant, and Elder Shen had not taken a concubine. Furthermore, Elder Shen had previously said that he was henpecked, so the rumors spread, solidifying Su Qingyu's reputation as a jealous and henpecked woman.
Young unmarried ladies naturally envy Su Qingyu. Who doesn't want to be together forever, especially with someone like Elder Shen?
But the older ladies didn't think so. They privately said that Su Qingyu was just relying on her youth to become spoiled. In two years, perhaps the Shen family's west courtyard would have to be expanded.
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