Chapter 18 The Heartless and Unfeeling Top Scholar
Three days later.
Shen Zhiyi and Ji Huaizhi arrived at the palace gate in a carriage, while the other ladies either went alone with their maids or with their daughters.
Only Lady Shen was sent by Lord Ji.
Ji Huaizhi helped Shen Zhiyi down from the carriage. Because Shen Zhiyi was pregnant, she had not attended any banquets, so this was the first time everyone had seen Lord Ji's wife.
Everyone knows she is a merchant's wife, and there is no one else in Lord Ji's household.
Everyone else thought that it was because Shen was jealous.
Of course, everyone also envied and was jealous of her.
After all, who wouldn't want to be with their husband for life?
But that's how times are.
Does this mean that these noble ladies are inferior to the daughters of merchants?
Therefore, it can only be said that Shen was jealous, lacked virtue, and did not socialize with her.
After helping her down from the carriage, Ji Huaizhi instructed Hongyin to take good care of her, then turned and asked:
Did you wear the amulet I gave you?
Shen Zhiyi smiled faintly: "Yes, I brought it, Butler Ji!"
Ji Huaizhi: "I'll take you inside."
Shen Zhi was surprised: "Isn't this a bad idea? Won't it have some impact on you?"
“What impact could it have? I happen to have something to discuss with His Majesty, and I might even see you at the Hundred Flowers Banquet later.” Ji Huaizhi entered the palace with her.
When you go in, take out the token that the emperor gave him before.
Everyone was surprised to see this.
"This time, Lord Ji can freely enter and leave the palace?"
"I don't think that's the main point. This time, Lord Ji really does love his wife very much, just like the rumors say."
"Yes, she's really lucky. I heard that when Madam Shen was pregnant and giving birth, there was no one else in Lord Ji's backyard."
The crowd's tone was full of envy.
Although people say that Shen is jealous, who doesn't envy her for having such a good husband?
Hearing what everyone was saying, Jiang Xinyue was practically dying of jealousy.
After getting married, she became like a resentful woman, filled with resentment.
"Madam, let's go in quickly, lest the Imperial Concubine keep us waiting," the maid behind her said cautiously to Jiang Xinyue.
"We'll wait then. Why go in so early and make ourselves a laughingstock?"
Jiang Xinyue's face was grim and her expression was somewhat frightening.
The maid lowered her head, not daring to say another word.
"What? Does following a master like me make you lose face?" Jiang Xinyue persisted.
"No, Madam, I was just worried that you would get tired standing at the palace gate for too long."
"Hmph!" Jiang Xinyue felt a pang of discomfort in her heart when she thought of how carefully Ji Huaizhi had protected Shen Zhiyi just now.
I thought she would become ugly and vulgar after giving birth, and even lose her figure.
In the end, he was rejected by Ji Huaizhi, that blockhead.
But to my surprise, she didn't change at all, she just got a little rounder, which made her look even more charming and cute, and her skin became even whiter.
But after she got married, she was worn down by the trivialities of domestic life and lost all her spirit.
The emperor prepared a maid who knew kung fu and a young eunuch who knew kung fu for Shen Zhiyi.
The young eunuch merely watched Shen Zhiyi at the Hundred Flowers Banquet.
Only the maidservants stayed by her side.
The main problem is that Ji Huaizhi is too long-winded.
Hearing Eunuch Su mention that Lord Ji had come to the palace made him uneasy, and he pointed behind his back:
"Why are you so inseparable from your wife?"
“Your Majesty, I am different from you. I only have this one wife. You have three thousand beauties in your harem, so you can’t understand my feelings.”
Upon hearing his words, the emperor joked, "How about I bestow two more beauties upon you?"
Ji Huaizhi shook his head.
"How dare you refuse me?"
"Your Majesty, having too many women in the harem is too troublesome and affects my ambition."
The emperor sighed, "It is indeed very troublesome. I can only occasionally go to the empress's place to find some peace and quiet."
After speaking, she looked at Ji Huaizhi and found him looking at her with a strange expression: "What's with that expression?"
Ji Huaizhi shook his head: "It's nothing."
When Shen Zhiyi arrived at the Imperial Garden, she was captivated by the sight of the hundred flowers.
The vermilion palace walls stretch endlessly, the yellow glazed tiles gleam, the imperial road is wide and flat, and the cobblestone paths on both sides are decorated with auspicious patterns such as birds paying homage to the phoenix and flowers blooming in wealth, making every step a scenic view.
Hongyin also found it very strange, but dared not look at it for too long.
They were afraid of bringing shame to the Ji family.
Shen Zhiyi rarely looks at flowers, but seeing so many precious flowers, plants and trees in the Imperial Garden still felt quite novel.
"The flowers in front of you are peonies, and the ones next to them are peonies. These two flowers complement each other in the Imperial Garden, and this is when they are at their most beautiful."
Hearing voices behind her, Shen Zhiyi quickly turned around.
Looking at the procession behind the woman and the phoenix hairpin in her hair, I immediately realized who she was:
"Your humble servant greets Your Majesty the Empress. May Your Majesty enjoy boundless blessings and peace."
"Get up. The banquet hasn't started yet. I'm just taking a stroll." The Empress exuded elegance in every gesture. "I just happened to see a beautiful lady admiring the flowers here."
"Thank you, Your Majesty the Empress."
The Empress spoke softly and gently, yet her demeanor exuded majesty.
"Are you here at the palace for the Hundred Flowers Banquet? You look unfamiliar. If I'm not mistaken, you must be Lord Ji's wife?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The Empress smiled and stepped forward to take her hand: "I knew it. I guessed it when I saw the maids beside you."
"Yesterday His Majesty was complaining to me, saying that Lord Ji cherishes you dearly."
"I was afraid you would be bullied on your first visit to the palace."
Shen Zhiyi lowered her head, somewhat embarrassed, not expecting that Huaizhi and His Majesty had such a good relationship.
“Huai Zhi is overthinking things. I have already told him that.”
The Empress covered her mouth with a handkerchief and chuckled, "Why would you say that? Who in the capital doesn't envy you, Lady Shen?"
"You know what, the more His Majesty interacts with him, the more often he comes to sit here in my palace."
At this point, the Empress realized she had said too much and changed the subject: "Next time you come to the palace, bring your daughter with you. I haven't held a little girl in ages."
"Yes, it is our Shuyang's good fortune to be remembered by Her Majesty the Empress."
When Jiang Xinyue arrived at Consort Jiang's palace, her expression was still very unpleasant.
Consort Jiang doted on her younger sister: "What's wrong? Is there someone in the palace who's too blind to bully you?"
"Who else could it be?" Jiang Xinyue didn't even bow, and sat down directly next to Consort Jiang: "The appearance of Ji Huaizhi's wife is disgusting."
Consort Jiang frowned: "You don't mean you're still thinking about that Ji Huaizhi, do you?"
"I'm not thinking about her, elder sister." Although Jiang Xinyue sometimes disliked this older sister, she also knew that she cared about her.
Seeing her, I couldn't help but feel aggrieved and my eyes welled up with tears: "Why does she, the daughter of a merchant, live so well?"
“Ever since I married Zhang Changsheng, the problems in the backyard have been giving me a headache.”
"But what about her? That blockhead Ji Huaizhi actually didn't take any concubines for her sake, and didn't even have a maidservant."
She didn't want to talk about her husband's shameful affairs. When she first married into the Zhang family, the family of Imperial Censor Zhang, she never expected that Zhang Changsheng would have a son by a concubine before he even married a legal wife.
This made her very angry.
The Zhang family knew it was a shameful matter, so they didn't make it public.
Considering that his legal wife hadn't even given birth to their eldest son yet, while he already had a son born out of wedlock, wasn't this a slap in the face to the Prime Minister's mansion?
Consort Jiang always knew that her younger sister was competitive and wanted everything to be the best.
She must have suffered a lot of grievances after marrying him because of her fiery temper.
"Those matters in the backyard are none of your concern. If they really disobey, they'll be sold off." Consort Jiang said casually.
"She was lucky to find a good man, but she was also unlucky because men who venture out into the world are prone to bringing trouble to their families."
Thinking of what the eunuch had said, Consort Jiang guessed that it was Ji Huaizhi who had angered her father.
Not daring to touch Ji Huaizhi, they prepared to teach the Shen family a lesson.
Jiang Xinyue did not understand what her elder sister meant.
Consort Jiang's gaze fell on the servant beside her: "Why has someone else been replaced? Was the previous servant not satisfactory?"
Jiang Xinyue was furious when this was mentioned, her expression suggesting she wanted to tear Qiaolian to pieces.
"That girl betrayed her master; I'll beat her to death one day!"
"Xinyue, this is not the Prime Minister's residence."
Seeing her so impatient, Consort Jiang couldn't help but raise her voice: "If you dislike or hate someone, don't show it on your face."
"It's not good for you if others see it, and it will make people you dislike wary if they see it."
"You need to learn to conceal it and deliver a heavy blow to her when no one knows."
"Do you understand?"
Looking at her elder sister's appearance, Jiang Xinyue suddenly understood why her father had sent her to the palace.
"But I hate Shen Zhiyi and I despise Qiaolian."
"I also hate Ji Huaizhi. If he hadn't refused to marry me, I wouldn't have married that scumbag Zhang Changsheng!"
"Xinyue!"
Consort Jiang's tone was stern!
Jiang Xinyue was startled. She glanced at her elder sister and realized that she was really angry and stopped talking.
Consort Jiang was indeed quite tired.
I've said so much to her, but she didn't seem to listen to a single word?
"There are many people and many eyes in this palace. A single word could lead to your utter ruin. Fortunately, this is my palace. If someone else heard this, it would definitely be a serious crime of disrespect!"
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