Unfortunately, the Zhang family was too tactless. They were probably addicted to relying on nepotism. Even when Chen was still a prince, Prime Minister Jiang wanted to send people to his residence.
Shen Shi naturally disagreed at first, as he had promised Ji Ying'er to be his only love for life, and taking another woman would be a betrayal of his promise.
However, Prime Minister Zhang insisted, saying every few days that he was overworking himself and his body might not be able to take it, and proposed that his daughter come to the mansion to take care of Shen Shi.
At that time, when the struggle for the throne was at its most intense, it was precisely the time when Prime Minister Zhang was needed to help. Logically speaking, it shouldn't have been a big deal to arrange a marriage, but he still gritted his teeth and refused.
Anyway, with Consort Zhang as his protector, as long as he is still her nominal son, Prime Minister Zhang is his maternal family, and there is no reason for him not to support him.
But later he secretly executed Consort Zhang. In order to gain the trust of Prime Minister Zhang, he had no choice but to agree and give his daughter the status of a concubine. A sedan chair was used to carry her into the house.
At the time, he and Ji Ying'er were still enjoying their sweet time together. Chen Shi repeatedly assured her that he would never touch that woman, which prevented Ji Ying'er from committing suicide.
However, their relationship gradually cooled down as other women entered the palace.
After ascending the throne, Shen Shi found the Zhang family extremely annoying, but after all, they were old ministers who had helped him to the throne, so he treated the Prime Minister's Mansion with utmost kindness and loyalty.
Unfortunately, the tree may wish to remain still, but the wind will not cease. After Shen Shi successfully ascended the throne, Prime Minister Zhang felt that he had become a pillar of the state, and even the emperor had to give him some face.
This old man in his sixties no longer cared much about affairs of state; all he did was think about sending people into his palace.
Prime Minister Zhang did not expect that things were different now. Shen Shi had become the emperor. Putting aside the grudges of the previous generation, just to consolidate his power, he could not let them have their way.
One daughter isn't enough, they want to send more? This harem isn't the prime minister's garden.
Furthermore, if a prince with Zhang family blood were to appear, coupled with Prime Minister Zhang's widespread influence throughout the court, the world might descend into chaos.
Therefore, Shen Shi initially refused the daughter sent by the Zhang family, but when he saw that refusing was ineffective and that Prime Minister Zhang was still up to no good, he simply issued an edict to deduct a month's salary.
A month's salary was nothing to Prime Minister Zhang; he didn't care about the money. But the Emperor's personal decree to punish him expressed his displeasure and subtly reminded Prime Minister Zhang: You have crossed the line.
Shen Shi's attitude was already out in the open. He thought that at this point, Prime Minister Zhang would have to back down. However, to his surprise, the Zhang family had no intention of stopping.
Although Prime Minister Zhang no longer openly sent people to him, behind the scenes, his trusted confidants repeatedly petitioned the emperor to fill the harem.
Over the years, Shen Shi had come to understand Prime Minister Zhang's character well. Such a cautious and prudent person, repeatedly wanting to send women to him, clearly had other ulterior motives besides the obvious goal of bearing a prince.
With the idea of luring the snake out of its hole, Shen Shi agreed to let Zhang's daughter enter the palace, and also took in several daughters from noble families.
Among the newly acquired women, one was the daughter of the Marquis of Zhenbei, whom Shen Shi bestowed the title of Imperial Concubine with a wave of his hand.
When this news came out, everyone was stunned.
Prime Minister Zhang's daughter was a concubine when His Majesty was still a prince, and after ascending the throne, she was only granted the title of Consort. How come the daughter of the Marquis of Zhenbei became a Noble Consort as soon as she entered the palace?
You must know that the Prime Minister and the Marquis of Zhenbei are old enemies of decades. Could it be that His Majesty intends to give the Prime Minister a warning?
The news that Shen Shifeng, the Marquis of Zhenbei, had made his daughter a Noble Consort caused a great stir and spread like wildfire.
The daughter of the Marquis of Zhenbei, who was sent out of the palace, was named Qi Zhenzhen.
Since she entered the palace, the once peaceful harem has turned into chaos.
Consort Qi showed no restraint whatsoever, spending her days either beating and scolding palace maids or making sarcastic remarks to the other concubines, her arrogance practically written all over her face.
Unfortunately, the emperor doted on her, so even if others wanted to complain, they couldn't do anything about it.
Shen Shi's favor towards Consort Zhang was so great that even Ji Ying'er, who rarely left her home, had heard about it.
The thought of those rumors made Ji Ying'er's heart clench with pain, feeling as bitter as if she had spilled a soda.
"It is said that Consort Zhang was exceptionally beautiful, which made His Majesty particularly fond of her. I'm even a little curious about this rumor. Is Consort Zhang really that beautiful?"
Ji Ying'er nestled in Shen Shi's arms and asked, her jealousy evident in her tone. She glared at Shen Shi fiercely, giving him an expression that said, "If you dare to say yes, you're dead."
After a moment of reflection, Shen Shi realized that Consort Zhang was undoubtedly beautiful; the Marquis of Zhenbei couldn't possibly send him an ugly woman.
Qi Zhenzhen's attitude towards him was strange, like an actor's attitude towards the audience. Chen Shi always felt that she was hazy and unclear.
Shen Shi initially thought it was a sense of mystery, a unique quality of Qi Zhenzhen. But once he was out of control of the original plot, Shen Shi realized that this was the female lead's halo!
During the time Ji Ying'er was deep in thought, she waited for his answer, but seeing that he remained silent for so long, she gradually became frustrated.
Could it be that Shen Shi really likes Qi Zhenzhen?
Just thinking about this possibility makes Ji Ying'er feel like she's suffocating with sadness. Right now, she doesn't care about anything except Shen Shi. If she can't even have this person's love anymore, what will she have left?
Ji Ying'er was extremely frustrated, but she didn't even have the courage to ask Shen Shi if he had changed his mind.
There was no way around it; she loved the man in front of her too much. If the ending was destined to be tragic, then let it be delayed.
After a long internal monologue, Ji Ying'er's thoughts finally returned to normal.
At this moment, he had only one question: "Ying'er, have you ever met the Marquis of Zhenbei? What does he look like?"
Shen Shi's words were quite nonsensical. Ji Ying'er exclaimed in surprise, then thought about it carefully before nodding.
I saw her once at the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet. As for her appearance... I think she was alright... but I was only six years old then, so I don't remember her very well.
Hearing the words "not bad" made Chen feel quite happy.
However, before he could be happy for long, Ji Ying'er, who had been frowning, suddenly had a flash of inspiration: "That's right! I remember now, Princess Yunhui went to ask the Empress Dowager to issue an edict to arrange a marriage between herself and the Marquis of Zhenbei. The person who could win Princess Yunhui's favor must be extremely handsome."
Princess Yunhui is the eldest daughter of the late emperor. She remains unmarried and lives a life of seclusion in a temple.
In her youth, she was a stunning beauty, renowned throughout the capital. It is said that she remained unmarried because she had such high standards that she never found anyone she liked.
Unexpectedly, she had a past relationship with the Marquis of Zhenbei. When she heard this, she was very surprised. "Aunt actually had feelings for the Marquis of Zhenbei and even asked the Empress Dowager to grant her a marriage. When did this happen? I grew up in the palace and I have never heard of this before."
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