Chapter 272 A new concubine enters the Eastern Palace; the new concubine is quite special.
The Crown Princess sat on a magnificent phoenix palanquin, and Xie Shang followed her into the carriage. The carriage was large, and their child was peacefully asleep in a cradle.
Jiang Fenghua glanced at the child and felt that this child was different from the one in her previous life. Although babies are all similar, this child was not so troublesome, did not cry much, and slept after eating.
Xie Shang put his arm around her shoulder and saw that she was looking at the child with a gentle and tender expression. Did she really like children that much?
Surrounded by a group of palace maids and eunuchs on both sides, the carriage slowly headed towards the palace.
The guards stood straight in two rows, with crowds of people cheering loudly on both sides, saying, "The Crown Prince and Crown Princess are truly a loving couple."
"The Crown Prince is so good to the Crown Princess, the Crown Princess is so lucky!"
"..."
Ye Susu was originally sitting in another carriage with Su Tingwan. Su Tingwan had just made an excuse that she needed to use the restroom and ran to the Crown Prince's residence. After that, Ye Susu did not come out again.
The Crown Prince carried the Crown Princess into the carriage. Ye Susu secretly glanced at the carriage in front. Did Xie Shang really like Jiang Fenghua that much? What did Su Tingwan do to anger her, that made the Crown Prince dote on her so much?
It seems that with Jiang Fenghua around, no woman who enters the palace can hope to win Xie Shang's favor.
She touched her belly, secretly delighted. Luckily, she was smart, otherwise she would have lived a life like Su Tingwan. At least she had a child in her belly that Xie Shang acknowledged.
The Su family is a ticking time bomb; she has to find a way to shut them up. She doesn't know where Su Tingwan has been sent, but as long as she doesn't say…”
Ye Susu was extremely nervous. She knew that Su Tingwan was impulsive and easily provoked.
However, when Xie Shang and Jiang Fenghua came out just now, their expressions were normal. Su Tingwan should listen to her elder brother's instructions and not say anything reckless. After entering the palace, she must cultivate trustworthy people around her.
Su Xuan said he would give her money to build connections; hopefully he will keep his word.
At the same time, Xiao Yu was also standing in the crowd. He was about to take up his post, and his view was blocked by the crowd, but he could still see the beautiful woman he had been longing for and dreaming about.
He knew he never dared to hope that she would like him; he would be content just to see her from afar.
He would silently support her no matter what she wanted to do.
Jiang Jinyan had advised him not to like Jiang Fenghua and to give up on the idea. He was nothing but a poor scholar, and getting close to her would only harm her. She was destined to be Xie Shang's woman for the rest of her life.
But he couldn't help not liking her. From the first moment he saw her, he fell irrevocably in love with her. Once he liked her, he liked her, and he never regretted it.
So he worked hard to take the imperial examination and finally won the top scholar title, but he was still very far away from her.
He could no longer keep up with her pace; he only hoped that one day he could stand at a certain height and help her when she needed it.
Watching the phoenix carriage depart into the distance, Xiao Yu turned and left with a determined look in his eyes.
-
The imperial carriage entered the capital city, and Xie Shang first took Jiang Fenghua and the child to pay their respects to the Emperor and Empress.
Looking at his adorable grandson, the emperor was overjoyed. "Fenghua has rendered a great service to the Xie family. I will reward him handsomely."
Jiang Fenghua stood obediently to the side, and after receiving a pile of rewards from the Emperor and Empress, she moved back to Chenxi Palace.
As they walked, Granny Wang said respectfully, "His Highness the Crown Prince said that the Crown Princess should continue to live in Chenxi Palace. His Highness has already renovated Chenxi Palace to make the Crown Princess, the young master, and the young princess comfortable. The Crown Princess will definitely like it. His Highness always treats the Crown Princess differently."
Jiang Fenghua nodded, "Thank you for your trouble, Granny Wang. Which palace does the Crown Prince reside in?" Throughout history, there has never been a precedent for the Crown Prince and Crown Princess to live in the same palace. Even if Xie Shang told her all sorts of eloquent stories, she would only listen and not take it seriously.
"His Highness the Crown Prince lives in Chengguang Palace, which is the closest palace to Chenxi Palace," Granny Wang added. "The other concubines who entered the palace, Consort Tang, live in Yuxiu Palace, Consort Zhu in Yuling Palace, and Consort Song lives in Hanzhang Pavilion, which is in a more remote location. Concubine Ye's palace is also arranged in Zhongming Pavilion."
"Su... I've already settled Su Tingwan in. The Crown Prince said to send her directly to the laundry department. Her rank is still retained; it seems the Emperor didn't allow her to be removed from her position as a concubine. So she also has a residence in the Eastern Palace, the Sandalwood Pavilion, which is the furthest from the Crown Prince's Chengguang Hall."
Jiang Fenghua asked in confusion, "Why is it called Sandalwood Pavilion?"
"It was originally called Changfu Palace, but the Crown Prince said to change it to Sandalwood Pavilion." Granny Wang seemed to know the deeper meaning behind it, and added, "Sandalwood Pavilion and Sandalwood Courtyard are similar in meaning. Those who live inside will never be favored. Crown Princess, don't worry!" There's nothing inside. She'll have to endure this for a while. It was His Highness the Crown Prince's idea.
Jiang Fenghua listened silently. It seemed that the Emperor was keeping Su Tingwan's status as a concubine to show the Su family that there were no more Su family spies in the palace now, and the Emperor did not object to sending her to the laundry department to do hard work.
She said, "When you see Consort Su in the future, you should still know the proper etiquette. After all, she is still the Crown Prince's Consort, and you can't be careless about the proper manners."
"Yes." Granny Wang hesitated, then continued, "There's one more thing..."
Jiang Fenghua smiled and said, "Granny Wang is now the head steward of Chenxi Palace. Granny, please feel free to speak frankly. We are not outsiders."
Granny Wang knew she was exceptionally intelligent and outspoken. "Originally, there was another concubine who was going to enter the palace. After meeting His Highness the Crown Prince, she bluntly said that she did not want to enter the palace to marry him. The Empress was furious and wanted to punish her with a cane. It was His Highness the Crown Prince who pleaded for her and asked her why she wanted to enter the palace for the imperial concubine selection if she did not want to."
"She said she had no choice but to stay in the palace and was forced by circumstances. She would do anything to stay in the palace, but she would not become a concubine. The Crown Prince suddenly laughed at that moment, and in the end..." Granny Wang dared not continue.
Jiang Fenghua frowned and said in a deep voice, "Is Granny Wang trying to say that His Highness the Crown Prince treats her differently?"
Granny Wang said, "Alas, that's exactly what I meant. In the end, the girl wasn't made a concubine, but was instead appointed as a female official by the Crown Prince and made a palace maid. I can't fathom His Highness's thoughts. Isn't it strange that a daughter of an official enters the palace as a palace maid?"
"Which palace does she serve in now? Whose daughter is she?" Jiang Fenghua clenched her fingers. What did Xie Shang mean by this? Was he attracted to that girl? Did he want to play out a romantic and dramatic love story between a prince and a palace maid?
Judging from the pace of his later selection of concubines, it is very likely that he wanted to marry the girl, but she clearly rejected him. As the crown prince, he couldn't save face, so he had no choice but to arrange for her to be a palace maid.
"Her name is Lu Xuefei. She is the youngest daughter of Lu Yun, the Minister of Justice, and she serves in Chengguang Palace." She had already inquired about these things for her mistress. Since she would be following the Crown Princess in the future, Granny Wang would naturally think of everything carefully.
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