Chapter 155 From Daughter-in-Law to Mother-in-Law
Xie Shang didn't press her further after hearing her say that. The Great Zhou Dynasty placed great importance on etiquette, and he was pleased that she was being filial to her mother.
To make Jiang Fenghua more comfortable, Xie Shang ordered someone to bring a low stool to the bedside. Her belly wasn't big, and sitting on the stool didn't tire her out. Aoxue and Lianye were waiting in the outer palace, and he also ordered someone to bring them over, as she was in a special situation and needed someone to take care of her.
He would inform his father of these palace rules and ask him to make an exception.
He saw that Jiang Fenghua took good care of his mother, and he was very pleased to have married such a virtuous and dignified wife.
Physician Wang personally went to write the prescription and prepare the medicine.
As soon as the person left, Granny Xi suddenly stepped forward, knelt before Xie Shang, and begged for forgiveness. "It's all my fault for not taking good care of Your Highness. I'm guilty. I tried to comfort Your Highness and tell her to relax, but she said she always felt guilty..."
Her eyes were urgent, as if she had something to say, yet also as if she dared not say anything. Seeing this, Xie Shang said, "Granny, you might as well speak your mind. Why would the Empress Dowager be so foolish? Who does she feel guilty towards?"
Granny Xi knelt on the ground and said in detail, "The Empress received a letter from her maternal uncle saying that Old Madam Cheng was dying. However, Her Highness's status prevents her from leaving the palace at will. She needs to inform His Majesty before she can leave. His Majesty and Her Highness's relationship has finally improved a lot. She doesn't want to create further estrangement between her and His Majesty because of the Cheng family, so she has been keeping quiet and holding it in. As a result, Her Highness is always depressed."
Madam Cheng has indeed been ill for a long time, and the weather is getting colder and colder. The letter said she might not make it to the New Year. The Cheng family also wanted to use the mother-son relationship between Madam Cheng and Empress Cheng to build connections.
Jiang Fenghua blinked, pretending not to know, and then suggested, "After all, Grandmother Cheng is the Empress Dowager's mother. As a daughter of the Cheng family, she knows that Mother is not in good health, and it is only natural for her to be sad and upset for her. Go and talk to Father Emperor, and he might be able to make an exception."
"No," Xie Shang also objected.
Jiang Fenghua fell silent. Xie Shang said, "There are some things that Ruanruan shouldn't know. You take good care of the Empress Dowager. I will handle this matter."
Jiang Fenghua obediently replied, "Yes." She didn't care what secrets they had. Having achieved her goal, she was overjoyed. Next, it was time to deal with Su Tingwan.
Xie Shang naturally knew what had caused the estrangement, but so many years had passed, his father probably wouldn't mind anymore!
Xie Shang rejected his own idea. His father would definitely mind. No man could tolerate his woman wanting to cheat on him, especially since he was the emperor. Now that his father had finally accepted his mother back, she was bothering him again because of the Cheng family. He was afraid that his father and mother would become estranged again.
After leaving the palace, he had no choice but to go to the Cheng family on his own.
Soon the news of the Empress's illness reached the ears of all the princes, princesses, and princes.
Although the Empress was not their biological mother, she was still their legal mother. Disrespecting one's legal mother was considered unfilial, and unfilial piety was a serious crime.
So everyone rushed to the outside of Kunning Palace.
Seeing that everyone had arrived, Jiang Fenghua knew the show was about to begin. She appeared gentle and tender, seemingly very worried about the Empress's illness.
The emperor also put aside state affairs to take a look, asked the same question as Xie Shang, and punished the palace maids for their poor service, which frightened everyone so much that they dared not raise their heads.
After exchanging greetings, the emperor, preoccupied with state affairs, left Kunning Palace, instructing only that the empress be well cared for.
Jiang Fenghua waited obediently to the side, but felt cold inside. For the emperor, the reason he could sleep in the same bed with the empress again was not because he loved his wife so much, but because the empress aroused his interest and reminded him of the empress's charm when she was young. Even in middle age, she maintained such a beautiful figure, and the lustful emperor wanted to conquer her again, so he could indulge her and pamper her.
But if the Empress offends him, he can also ignore her and torment her.
He was the supreme emperor, and he was used to women flattering and obeying him, nothing more. So there was not much affection between the emperor and empress.
She sensed the emperor's coldness. She had long known that the imperial family was the most ruthless place, but these were just her lamentations. She knew that Xie Shang would be the same in the future.
Only those who live carefree lives will not get hurt.
She had long anticipated that she would follow the same path as the Empress, but her path was completely different. She would firmly hold Xie Shang's heart and rise to power by stepping on Su Tingwan and the Su family.
If one day they find out that the wealth and luxury they enjoyed in their past life were destroyed by her in this life, I wonder if they will regret all the harm they have done to her.
The road ahead is long and arduous, but as long as she proceeds cautiously, it is not entirely invincible. She is determined to see them crawling on the ground.
Here, the princes tried their best to show their filial piety, even though it was all insincere. They made sure to put on a good show before leaving, leaving only the princesses to guard outside Kunning Palace.
Jiang Fenghua sneered inwardly, laughing at the hypocrisy of these people, including herself.
In the end, deciding who would stay in the palace to care for the ailing patient became a major headache for everyone.
Xie Shang's original intention was to keep Jiang Fenghua, because she was the most suitable candidate. She was sensible and filial, and she could handle anything well. He was completely at ease with her. However, she was pregnant at the time, and he could not put such tiring work on her.
It would be even more impractical to have other princesses attend to the sick, since the empress is not their birth mother, and who would be willing to do their best?
Currently, there are only two women in his palace: Wanwan and the Princess.
He considered that if Wanwan were to enter the palace, she and his mother would not get along, and it might upset his mother, so that wouldn't be a good idea either.
If no one is left in the palace, and no one in the vast royal family can serve her wholeheartedly, the Empress of the Great Zhou Dynasty will likely become a laughingstock.
The actions and behavior of the royal family serve as a model for all people.
At this moment, the Empress slowly woke up after taking the medicine. Her face was pale, her lips were not a good color, and she looked very weak. "Shang'er."
"Mother, how are you feeling?" Xie Shang asked with concern, holding her hand.
Empress Cheng said with great difficulty, "I am fine. You are all busy and don't need to gather here. Go back. Granny Xi can take care of me."
The Empress was quite tactful in her speech. Despite being so ill, she said it was nothing to worry about, that the children were too busy to take care of their stepmother, and that the servants should take care of her. No matter how you looked at it, this didn't seem right.
"Your Majesty is kind and does not want to trouble your daughters-in-law, but I must still abide by the rules of etiquette. As the Book of Rites says, 'Serving and caring for one's parents is the same as serving one's own parents.' I must also do my best to serve them, as that is the duty of a daughter-in-law." Jiang Fenghua was gentle and obedient. In her previous life, she had truly memorized the Book of Rites by heart, and was therefore deeply influenced and persecuted.
The Book of Rites (Liji Neize) is too harsh and unfair to daughters-in-law, so daughters-in-law all want to become mothers-in-law, and then they continue to torment their daughters-in-law, generation after generation.
This life, however, became Jiang Fenghua's most powerful weapon.
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