As they were talking, Xiao Zhuzi came over. He was in a hurry, and Zhao Shu guessed that he had come about the Empress. In front of Qiu Tong, she asked, "Has there been any news from the palace?"
Xiao Zhu glanced at Qiu Tong and saw that she was also listening intently. Zhao Shu did not hide from her. After considering for a moment, he picked out what he could say and said, "Yes, Prince Hui and others have submitted a memorial saying that the Crown Prince is past the age of marriage. As the saying goes, one should settle down and start a family. They have asked the Emperor to select a consort for the Crown Prince."
After saying that, he glanced at Qiu Tong again and continued, "Lin Daxue and others sent a list, all of whom are daughters from ordinary families, and their talents are also average. The Empress is not satisfied..."
He paused here, his meaning clear: Emperor Mingde intended to completely isolate the Empress Dowager from the center of power and force the Empress to choose sides.
Today, the Empress was forced to choose sides, so the next step should be the Prince Yong's residence. Zhao Shu waved her hand, "Go down."
Xiao Zhu had something to report, but Zhao Shu told him to go down, so he didn't go far. He stood with Xiao Guozi and waited quietly for Zhao Shu.
"Ah Jun, what do you think we should do?"
"Don't rush. The world is about to be unified. The Crown Prince is too much of a target and a target for all the princes. It's feasible for him to retire temporarily. Don't make any rash moves. As long as the Crown Prince doesn't make any mistakes, no one can depose him, not even the Emperor. The most important thing now is for us to preserve our strength and not give the Emperor a chance to weaken us. That's the same as being invincible. Sometimes, it's necessary to suffer some losses and hardships. Remember, you must stay calm."
Zhao Shu spoke with utmost seriousness, looking directly into Qiu Tong's eyes as if she wanted to etch every word into her heart.
“That’s what my father said too,” she said.
She's still too young. After all, she's just a woman confined to the inner quarters. It's already good enough that she can see the pros and cons of things; we can't expect too much.
Zhao Shu nodded. "Don't worry, nothing will happen."
She had no choice but to believe.
After seeing Qiu Tong off, Zhao Shu immediately returned to Qionghua Courtyard. Xiao Zhuzi hurriedly relayed the full news: "Consort Ning has been banished to the Cold Palace. Consort De, along with the Imperial Noble Consort and the Noble Consort, have banded together to deal with the Empress. Now, the Empress is finding it very difficult to move forward in the palace."
"Why doesn't Consort De align herself with the Empress?" If Consort De were smarter, she would stand on the Empress's side. If she were to defeat the Empress, she would be no match for Consort Yi and Hao Shumei.
Xiao Zhuzi said, "Actually, the Consort and the Empress have been in contact in secret. However, the Consort only wanted to use the Empress to get rid of Consort De and Imperial Noble Consort. This time, however, there was a rift between the Emperor and the Empress Dowager, and the Consort and Consort De dared not disobey the Emperor."
Zhao Shu nodded, "These women fight each other to the death every day, but it's not easy for them to unite against a common enemy at critical moments. Keep an eye on them and don't let any news slip by."
“Princess…” Xiao Zhu Zi wanted to ask, “Aren’t you going to do something?”
Zhao Shu understood what he meant and shook her head. "It's not the right time yet. Let's wait. Whoever steps forward now will be in trouble. We'll wait until they're both exhausted before we try to take advantage of the situation."
"By the way, send a message to Father, telling him not to return to the capital and to stay in the Northeast as long as possible, understand?" She would definitely not give Emperor Mingde a chance.
Yongwangfu will not stand with this team.
The wise people did not take any action at the moment, and the imperial decree of marriage was indeed issued the next day.
Qiu Tong is the Crown Princess, while the concubines, including Liang Di, are all daughters of noble families or from collateral branches. Their status is not too high, but it is not low either.
Seeing the long list of names, Zhao Shu sighed, wondering how many of these women would survive.
The concubines who were originally slated to be of higher status have now been replaced. It seems that the Crown Prince doesn't think he will be in power for long and is unwilling to let his children of higher status enter the palace.
However, this is also good, as it allows us to see the true colors of many people. However, the biggest loser in this matter is the Empress, who has allowed the Empress Dowager to see her true colors.
However, the empress was not wrong either. She chose her husband, so how could she be wrong?
At the same time the imperial decree of marriage was issued, Zhao Shu also received an order from Emperor Mingde, commanding the Yongwang Mansion to find a handsome man to rival the handsome men of Duolita.
Holding the imperial edict, Zhao Shu carefully examined it many times before chuckling, "Go, bring Zhen Qizhong to me."
Zhao Shu had been keeping Zhen Qizhong hidden away, hoping that one day she would be able to use him. Sure enough, she was able to use him now.
Hesitation was kept relatively hidden, and it was five days later when Zhen Qizhong was brought before Zhao Shu.
Having been imprisoned for a long time, Zhen Qizhong had lost a lot of weight, but she looked even more pitiful.
"How was it? Did the girl I prepared for you serve you well?" Zhao Shu asked slowly and deliberately.
Zhen Qizhong glared at Zhao Shu and tried to pounce on her, but was blocked by Xiao Guozi. He was weak and no match for Xiao Guozi, so he could only glare at Zhao Shu and say, "Kill me!"
“I am not the kind of person who would take a life lightly. You have not broken the law, so why would I kill you? Besides, even if you have broken the law, there are laws and regulations in the court to punish you. I don’t have time to deal with you.”
Her smile was extremely calm, but it sent chills down Zhen Qizhong's spine and made him tremble in his heart. This woman was too terrifying!
"What? You resent me? I treated you well, even found you beautiful women, and you hate me? I've never seen such an ungrateful person. Have you ever seen anyone treat a prisoner so well?"
Xiao Guozi and Chu Chun exchanged a glance, and both said, "This servant/This servant has never seen you before."
Zhao Shu smiled and said, "Let Shengxia dress him up and show him to the Emperor tomorrow. With such good looks, he's probably no less handsome than Dorita."
In fact, in terms of physical beauty, Zhen Qizhong is not as good as Dorita, but his pure and innocent temperament is far superior to Dorita's. With a little dressing up and makeup, he should be able to look much better.
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