Chunhua followed the princess into the carriage and waited for the carriage to drive away for a while.
"Princess, aren't you worried that the principal wife might take the opportunity to kill Consort Zhong?"
Pei Zhi slightly raised her eyelids and looked at Chunhua, seemingly not understanding the meaning behind Chunhua's words.
"The Fifth Prince's residence is now under the control of the principal wife. What if Consort Zhong gives birth safely, but the principal wife worries that the consort will try to take the child from her and seize the opportunity to make a move..."
Pei Zhi: "So?"
“She is a concubine, and Yan Xinyue is the principal wife. She has the right to decide the life and death of the concubine.”
"But the Fifth Prince is gone, so aren't you still the one who calls the shots in the manor?"
"Why should I have the final say?" Pei Zhi said with a disdainful tone, "The Prince's residence is a mess. What benefit would I get from taking on all of this?"
Pei Zhi has too many things to prepare, so she can just leave this mess to Yan Xinyue.
Chunhua suggested, "With the Fifth Prince away, taking care of orphans and widows can earn you a good reputation."
Pei Zhi leaned back on the cushions. "Yan Xinyue is the principal wife. It's perfectly legitimate for her to raise the child. No one can say anything about it."
"Besides, the Yan family made a big scene by breaking ties with Yan Xinyue before. Now that she's staying in the Prince's residence to raise her child, how do you know that outsiders won't say that I'm kind-hearted and giving her a way out?"
Chunhua knew she had said too much. "This servant was just worried that the princess might offend the empress, since the concubine is, after all, from the empress's maternal family."
"she?"
Pei Zhi sneered. Once the Zhong family is in trouble, the Empress will be too busy taking care of herself to care about the life or death of a married illegitimate daughter.
Pei Zhi guessed that Qin Xiangyang should be back soon.
Before Pei Zhi went to the battlefield, she left several letters for Qin Xiangyang.
Following Pei Zhi's instructions, Qin Xiangyang set off within a few days to complete the tasks Pei Zhi had assigned him.
After calculating the days, Qin Xiangyang should be almost there by now, even though Yuan Chengyu delayed his return journey.
It wasn't that Pei Zhi was cunning; before heading to the border, she had already guessed that upon her return, she and the Empress would fall out.
The Fifth Prince is doomed to die, and the bond between her and the Empress will be severed.
For the Empress, if she could make use of her adopted daughter, they would develop a deep bond as mother and daughter.
If she cannot be used by the Empress, the Empress will not show her any mercy.
Before Pei Zhi got married, she also lived in Changqiu Palace for a period of time.
Spending every day with the Empress, Pei Zhi was able to learn some clues about things, even though the Empress tried to avoid them.
Pei Zhi returned to the princess's residence, had dinner, and took a nap. The next morning, news came from the prince's residence.
Consort Zhong suffered a difficult childbirth, and in order to save His Majesty's grandchild, she had to undergo a cesarean section to deliver the baby.
After giving birth to a daughter, Consort Zhong passed away.
Pei Zhi asked Chunhua to find a longevity lock from the storeroom and send it over. She also asked Chunhua to remind Yan Xinyue not to be too perfunctory in handling Consort Zhong's funeral arrangements.
Pei Zhi held the book and murmured, "My daughter is doing quite well too."
When Yuan Chengyu entered the room, he heard this sentence.
"What's so good about having a daughter?"
Pei Zhi looked up at Yuan Chengyu, who explained, "I saw the door wasn't closed, so I didn't knock."
Pei Zhi nodded slightly, gesturing for Yuan Chengyu to come and sit down.
Yuan Chengyu took out a letter from his pocket. "Xie Qi asked me to give this to you."
Pei Zhi opened the letter in front of Yuan Chengyu.
The envelope was a bit thick. When unfolded, it contained a letter and a stamp.
Xie Qi first said that he already knew and that he would arrange for the thirteenth prince to become a disciple.
He also asked Pei Zhi if she needed him to investigate the Zhong family.
That's the good thing about working with smart people.
Xie Qi could know what Pei Zhi was thinking.
In addition, Xie Qi also gave Pei Zhi a list.
The list contained the names of officials, including those who had been sent to local posts and ministers who were still in the capital.
Pei Zhiru can request any services from the people whose names are mentioned in the letter.
Write a letter, affix your seal, and these people will help Pei Zhi make this happen.
Pei Zhi read the letter without intending to hide it from Yuan Chengyu.
Yuan Chengyu could read the contents of the letter clearly.
Pei Zhi picked up the small seal, not expecting that such a small seal would be so useful.
Yuan Chengyu's expression was complicated, with a mix of bitterness and a sense of crisis in his heart.
Xie Qi, that beast, is far too clever!
He had only just agreed to cooperate with the princess when he immediately revealed everything to her.
He truly told the princess everything he owned.
Yuan Chengyu was initially quite pleased with himself, as he was standing in front of Xie Qi.
Judging from Xie Qi's current trend, he will soon surpass her in the princess's heart.
Yuan Chengyu said in a cool tone, "Since Xie Qi was able to write this list, he must be confident. Princess, you should keep this list safe."
Pei Zhi looked up at Yuan Chengyu and put the things away in front of him.
Yuan Chengyu pondered whether any of his father's former subordinates, who had been working there all these years, could be of any use.
"You don't need to overthink it. I will always be wary of him."
Even if Xie Qi showed his sincerity, Pei Zhi would still remain wary when cooperating with a smart person.
Yuan Chengyu said happily, "Does the princess mean that she has no suspicion of me anymore?"
Pei Zhi simply smiled and remained silent.
If Yuan Chengyu's opinion made him feel better, then Pei Zhi didn't bother to refute it.
Pei Zhi only trusts herself.
She would remain wary of everyone else, no matter who they were, though the degree of wariness would vary.
Yuan Chengyu had lunch with Pei Zhi at the princess's residence and discussed matters of the court with her.
"After Consort Gao died, His Majesty seemed to feel sorry for the Fourth Prince and promoted him."
"Feeling sorry for you?"
Pei Zhi couldn't believe that an emperor who held the power of life and death would care about his own child.
It's nothing more than a tactic of checks and balances.
With Consort Gao dead, Emperor Pei did not want the Empress to have too much power.
The promotion of the fourth prince to an official position left the ministers still unable to fathom Emperor Pei's intentions.
The position of crown prince has been vacant for so long, and the ministers have been urging him for so long, but Emperor Pei has still not appointed a candidate.
The ministers thought that Emperor Pei was hesitating.
In reality, Emperor Pei was merely stalling for time.
Pei Zhi understood that Emperor Pei did not want to establish a crown prince.
Emperor Pei was reluctant to give up the throne, and even his own son was not willing to let his son covet it.
"The adoption of the thirteenth prince was handled simply. The prince was still young, so the empress took him directly to her side to raise him."
"Once Grand Secretary Xie becomes the Thirteenth Prince's tutor, the political landscape in the court will likely change."
If Grand Secretary Xie becomes the Thirteenth Prince's tutor, it will indirectly tell everyone that the Xie family has become the Thirteenth Prince's support.
Yuan Chengyu reminded Pei Zhi, "I'm afraid His Majesty might overthink things then."
Their supreme ruler was a very suspicious person.
Pei Zhi suddenly asked, "Qin Xiangyang should be back soon, right?"
Yuan Chengyu followed Pei Zhi's words, "They should arrive around this evening!"
Pei Zhi chuckled, seemingly amused by Yuan Chengyu's precise grasp of Qin Xiangyang's whereabouts.
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