Chapter 13 Su Tingwan Feels Wronged
The Su residence.
When Su Tingwan heard the news that Prince Heng had accompanied Princess Heng back to her parents' home, she seemed to freeze. "Ah Shang clearly promised me, how could he have gone to the Jiang residence? He clearly doesn't care about Jiang Fenghua, he promised to come and pick me up today..."
The wedding dress on the bed was the one he had chosen with her. Originally, a concubine could only wear a pink wedding dress when she entered the family, but he insisted on giving her the most luxurious bridal gown and the most grand and dignified wedding in the entire capital, which is why he spent a lot of money to order a bright red wedding dress.
The maid, Yinxing, said with heartache, "This is the second time the Prince has broken his promise. Today is Miss's wedding day. How can he just send a guard to say that he can't pick Miss up today and postpone the wedding? When will it be postponed? The young lady of the General's Mansion has already been wronged enough by being demoted from the principal wife to a concubine. How can the Prince treat Miss like this? She is just the daughter of a mere junior tutor. How can she be compared to Miss?"
"Stop talking and get out!" she yelled at the maid.
The maid left the room alone without saying anything more. In order to avenge her mistress, she took it upon herself to inform the Imperial Concubine about the matter, believing that the Imperial Concubine would surely stand up for her mistress.
Su Tingwan was heartbroken, tears streaming down her face. She sat upright in front of the bronze mirror, staring intently at her reflection. She believed herself to be very beautiful, no less so than the delicate young ladies of Shengjing City. A Shang disliked such pretentious women.
But the image of his wedding to Jiang Fenghua kept replaying in her mind; he anxiously held Jiang Fenghua in his arms, his eyes flashing with amazement and admiration…
Ah Shang had never looked at herself like that before.
Touching her exquisite makeup, she muttered to herself, "Is Jiang Fenghua really that beautiful? Can she be more beautiful than me? A Shang once said that I was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen."
She confidently encouraged herself, wiping away her tears, "No matter how beautiful she is, A Shang could never like her. I should believe in A Shang."
Su Tingwan walked to the bedside and began to put on her wedding dress. The bright red wedding dress was exquisite, and she was captivated by it. What woman doesn't dream of marrying the man she loves, especially when they are mutually in love?
Looking at herself in the mirror, she smiled seductively. "Ah Shang will be amazed when he sees me like this. He just hasn't seen me in my wedding dress. Today, I must marry into the Heng Prince's mansion on Jiang Fenghua's homecoming day. I will never give Jiang Fenghua and Ah Shang another chance to be alone. The person Ah Shang loves is me, Su Tingwan, not Jiang Fenghua."
Su Tingwan then summoned a guard from the Su residence and whispered in her ear, "Go find Prince Heng and tell him..."
Today, she wanted Jiang Fenghua to see for herself how much Xie Shang loved her.
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Meanwhile, in the palace, Consort Su received a message from her maid, Yinxing, and she was furious. "I never expected Jiang Fenghua to be so resourceful, managing to get Prince Heng to go to the Jiang residence and leaving Wanwan to wait alone. No, I must go and beg the Emperor again."
As she spoke, Consort Su, dressed in her finest attire, arrived at the Emperor's Chengqian Palace.
Entering the magnificent palace, Consort Su moved with graceful steps, like a blooming flower. She wore a gorgeous feather robe, light as mist, and ethereal as a fairy. "Your Majesty, I pay my respects."
The emperor's tone softened, "You've arrived, Qingqing. There are no outsiders here, so please dispense with the formalities!"
Consort Su rose gracefully. "Your Majesty, I have specially prepared some new kinds of pastries. Please try them."
The emperor smiled and said, "You're very thoughtful, my dear."
The emperor picked up a piece of pastry and was about to put it to his mouth when he suddenly handed it to Consort Su's lips with affection, saying, "My dear consort, you've worked hard making these pastries."
Consort Su's face was as beautiful as a peach blossom. She smiled and took a bite, immediately blushing. Only then did the Emperor casually taste two pieces. "Indeed, it's soft, sweet, and fragrant. Consort Su's cooking skills have improved!"
Consort Su's skin was as white as snow, so delicate it seemed as if it could be broken with a touch. Her slightly upturned eyes held a captivating charm, and her gaze seemed to hold a thousand emotions. Suddenly, she wrapped her jade arm around the emperor's neck. "Your Majesty has been busy with official duties and hasn't visited my Luanfeng Palace in a long time. I've missed you so much." She knew that the emperor had been sleeping with the newly arrived Consort Wang for the past few nights.
The emperor understood immediately and put his arm around her slender waist. Although Su Qingqing was much older than Consort Wang, she still retained her charm and had a unique allure...
Soon the emperor embraced her, and they were lost in the boundless tenderness of the moment.
Afterwards, Su Qingqing, with her alluring eyes and slender fingers resting on the emperor's chest, said, "Your Majesty has met Wanwan. She went to the border with her parents when she was young and suffered a lot. She only returned to Shengjing City three years ago. Now she is seventeen years old and of marriageable age. As her aunt, I naturally have to take good care of her."
The Emperor pretended to have forgotten that Consort Su had asked him to arrange a marriage between Prince Heng and Su Tingwan a few days ago, and said, "General Su's beloved daughter's marriage is naturally not to be taken lightly. Whichever young man my beloved consort has taken a fancy to, set about arranging it!"
"Your Majesty!" Consort Su cried out, turning her face away and feigning anger. "Your Majesty is truly forgetful and has not taken me to heart."
In the imperial harem, whichever concubine the emperor favored more would be more prominent in the court. This seemed to be an unspoken signal, clearly indicating that in the emperor's mind, Consort Su could neither be too arrogant nor too neglected.
The emperor, still somewhat unsatisfied, held her chin. The beauties who had just entered the palace were still too inexperienced compared to Consort Su. "My beloved consort, your purpose in coming today is not what it seems. I have fallen for your trick."
Consort Su quickly changed her expression, "Your Majesty, I really miss you. Wanwan's parents are both at the border. If she is to get married, I will naturally make sure that Wanwan has a grand wedding."
The emperor's eyes darkened slightly. Whether it was his wife or concubine, whether they enjoyed a high position or not was entirely up to him.
She pleaded again, "Your Majesty, about what I told you last time, Wanwan is in love with Prince Heng. Please grant me a decree! Just to save face for me, please bestow Wanwan upon Prince Heng as a concubine. I beg Your Majesty to grant her wish!"
When Consort Su first came to ask for the position of Princess Consort, and then came to ask for the position of Consort of the Secondary Consort, the Emperor could not possibly refuse to give the Su family face. He finally relented and said, "Then let the Imperial Observatory select a date, and my beloved consort can go and make the arrangements!"
"Your Majesty, I thank you for your grace. There is no better day than today. Today is an auspicious day for marriage. I will go and make the arrangements immediately." Having achieved her goal, she respectfully bowed to the emperor and left Chengqian Palace.
Knowing the Su family's plans, the emperor summoned Eunuch Cao and asked, "Where did Prince Heng go today?"
"Today is the Princess Consort's homecoming, and the Prince should have accompanied her to the Jiang residence," said Eunuch Cao.
A strange light flashed in the emperor's eyes. "My son is quite capable!"
Eunuch Cao dared not utter a word, and then ordered his apprentice Wuxin to bring in the toiletries so that he could personally attend to the emperor's washing.
Wuxin is seventeen years old this year, and Eunuch Cao is very good at using him. In fact, except when he is in front of the emperor, Eunuch Cao will let reliable people do things for him.
Consort Su's request for an imperial decree was something that even Wuxin had taken to heart.
This matter naturally did not escape the eyes of Empress Cheng. She said, "Shang'er went to the Jiang residence today, which is in accordance with the rules. Your Majesty is truly confused. Su Qingqing went to sell meat once and didn't even care about etiquette. Send the Minister of Rites to talk to Su Qingqing about the rules. A concubine wants to have a grand wedding..."
Granny Xi quickly advised, "Your Highness, please calm down. The Minister of Rites can only go to the wedding banquet. If things get out of hand, it will ultimately be detrimental to our Prince. It will only make people laugh at the Heng Prince's Mansion. If Your Highness goes and upsets the Prince, he will resent you. Since Your Highness has entrusted this matter to the Heng Prince's Consort, you should leave it alone. Whether she enters the mansion or not, this matter must be suppressed. Let that person who wants to show off go!"
Empress Cheng was persuaded to stop. If she let people cause trouble, it would only make her son a laughingstock in the end.
Neither left nor right suited her; she felt like someone was choking her. But what could she do? Her son liked that other girl.
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