When the news reached the princess's mansion, Danruo was eating hot pot with Lin Hancheng. She was very happy to hear the news and was busy preparing gifts to welcome her uncle back to Beijing.
When the news reached the palace, some were happy and some were worried. Originally, the imperial concubine wanted to delay and watch the palace banquet, so how could she not attend? Now that she had her brother to back her up, the emperor did not dare to do anything to his own child at this time.
The prince and the queen conspired, but they could not come up with a good solution.
The Queen comforted her, "Fortunately, Mother acted quickly back then. The Imperial Concubine only has one daughter in her life, no prince. Even if the General is a master of war, he can only be our dog. When the time comes, you can find a crime and get some evidence to deal with him, and then train your own confidants to take over the military power.
"I think Pei Shang, the commander of the Imperial Guards who oversees the capital, is a good person. However, he has no weaknesses. He is not greedy for money or lustful. He is deeply affectionate towards his deceased wife and is devoted to raising her children."
The prince thought, "Then I will marry his daughter and tie him to our side."
The Queen thought it was all right: "But Commander Pei has three sons and one daughter, and the daughter is the youngest, probably only six years old. You can just take her into the Eastern Palace and become a concubine."
The prince nodded. All the wives and concubines in the Eastern Palace were used to win over power. The Crown Princess was Prime Minister Su's sister, so he did not support his sister Ye Lingyi to marry Prime Minister Su. That would not only waste the opportunity to plan Ye Lingyi's marriage, but also interfere with Prime Minister Su's career. Then the Crown Princess he married would be useless.
Regardless of everyone's thoughts, the emperor sent a stream of rewards to the Imperial Noble Consort's palace and Princess Rong'an's mansion.
In this atmosphere, the New Year's Eve palace banquet began.
When Dan Ruo arrived, everyone's eyes were fixed on her bulging belly. They had heard from members of the royal family that Princess Rong'an was diagnosed with pregnancy at the emperor's birthday banquet, but no one had ever seen the princess show up.
After all, the princess was pregnant and no one except her relatives dared to visit her rashly.
This time, it was confirmed that the pregnancy was real, and everyone was sighing about the princess's turbulent first half of her life.
Her favor in the boudoir was still there, but it was used to arrange marriage with a merchant family. Something unexpected happened on the wedding day. The son-in-law was of low birth and old, so it was difficult for him to have children.
Unexpectedly, after the marriage, the fact that the prince consort doted on the princess became known throughout the capital, and the princess even had a child, and the princess' uncle's family became prosperous.
Many people can only stick to this point of merchants to balance their own hearts.
After all, there are constant disputes among wives and concubines in high-ranking families, and there are probably not many women in the entire court who can get the wholehearted love of their husbands.
After Dan Ruo sat down with the help of Lin Hancheng, Ye Lingyi beside him snorted coldly, "It is said that older men are more caring, and it seems to be true."
Dan Ruo counterattacked without hesitation: "Sister is still single, yet she's full of love and affection. No wonder she hasn't gotten married after being offered two opportunities. I'm afraid if the Emperor hears about it, the Empress will inevitably be implicated."
Ye Lingyi's face flushed red. Thinking of the beatings and scoldings his mother had given him recently, he finally became a little more obedient and didn't dare to look at where Prime Minister Su was sitting.
But Prime Minister Su was walking towards her step by step with a wine glass in his hand. Ye Lingyi's heart was in her throat. Could it be that she had finally impressed Prime Minister Su and he was proposing to her?
Amid Ye Lingyi's great anticipation and nervous mood, Prime Minister Su stopped steadily at Danruo's table.
Prime Minister Su actually came over to toast Lin Hancheng. "The imperial court has provided disaster relief many times in recent years, and the head of the Lin family has always been the one who took the lead in donating the most among the people. I am deeply grateful. Today, I am honored to meet you, my son-in-law, and I have come here to make friends with you."
Lin Hancheng responded with neither servility nor arrogance, "Your Excellency, thank you for your compliment. The Lin family is simply doing what they should do."
From beginning to end, Prime Minister Su never even glanced at Ye Lingyi.
After Prime Minister Su left, Ye Lingyi felt like she was about to tear the handkerchief in her hand into pieces. She felt so sad that she cried and complained in a low voice, "You're already married, why does he still only have eyes for you?"
The news reached the ears of Lin Hancheng and Danruo next door. Lin Hancheng covered his face with his sleeve and held Danruo's hand.
He had never craved power as much as he did now. His status would become a weapon for others to attack the princess, and with Prime Minister Su's presence, Princess Rong'an was incredibly beautiful and naturally had many followers. He was so lucky to have married the princess, and he couldn't let himself be inferior to these people. He had to find an opportunity.
Dan Ruohui held his hand and soothed his anxiety.
"The Imperial Concubine has arrived!" As the eunuch shouted loudly, the Imperial Concubine's bulging belly could be seen even though it was covered by thick autumn and winter clothes. Everyone was suspicious, but they all bowed and did not dare to ask.
The smile on the prince's face froze for a moment and then immediately recovered.
Ye Lingyi knocked over the wine jug on the table. She knew that she was not as beautiful as Dan Ruo, but she was proud of having the support of the Crown Prince. Now, if the Royal Concubine gave birth to a prince, even she, a princess who didn't care about worldly affairs, knew that it would be a huge threat to the Crown Prince.
A lot of wine spilled out, but seeing that the emperor and empress were about to arrive, if she left the table to change clothes, it would be even worse. She could only sit there in her wet skirt, fortunately she could use her cloak to cover it.
Seeing the Imperial Noble Consort was pregnant, Lin Hancheng felt that the opportunity he had been waiting for had arrived. With the Lin family's wealth and the military power of the General's Mansion, the Imperial Noble Consort might not be without the strength to compete.
The expressions of the other concubines changed a lot. In the past three months, the imperial concubine not only did not allow them to pay their respects to her, but she also did not show up in public on weekdays. When some concubines went to pay their respects to her, she just said that the imperial concubine was sick and would not see outsiders.
The concubines privately speculated that the Imperial Noble Consort might be dying of illness and might not survive the winter.
I didn't expect that she was actually in the palace to take care of her pregnancy. It seems that there will be trouble in the harem again.
"The Emperor has arrived! The Empress has arrived!"
Everyone saluted. The Imperial Noble Consort was heavy and had to be supported by palace servants. She was definitely a step behind in the salute and attracted a lot of attention in the crowd.
The Emperor saw this and said hurriedly, "Noble Consort, please excuse me."
The Imperial Concubine stood up straight and said with a smile, "Your Majesty, I am over five months pregnant and I wanted to give Your Majesty a surprise."
Dan Ruo took the lead, "Congratulations, Father. Congratulations, Father."
The ministers hurriedly responded, "Congratulations, Your Majesty!"
The emperor laughed heartily and said, "I am very pleased. Very happy, very happy."
The queen forced a smile and said, "Congratulations to the emperor and sister."
The entire palace banquet revolved around the great victory of the general who defended the country. The emperor specially allowed the general to return to the capital to report on his work. The queen and the prince had fake smiles on their faces the whole time.
Ye Lingyi was wearing wet clothes and had a high fever when the treatment was almost over. She called out Prime Minister Su's name in a daze. The Queen explained that Ye Lingyi was drunk, and then had someone forcibly help Ye Lingyi down to sober up.
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