Chapter 391 Those who can laugh are all thanks to their good bellies.
Tang Qianran then said to the palace maids, "All of you, step back. Consort Zhu is a sickly beauty now; she could be blown away by a gust of wind. Stay away from her so that if she gets seriously ill, she won't blame me. I won't be able to explain myself then, and I don't want to be a liar."
"Yes." The palace maids then helped Tang Qianran walk towards Chenxi Palace, one on each side.
Tang Qianran thought: So this is what it feels like to get promoted. No wonder Song Qing stretches her neck so long when she walks now.
Zhu Zhenzhen stared at her back as if she wanted to bore a hole through her. The Crown Prince had promised her the position of concubine, but now Tang Qianran had taken it away.
The quota for the Crown Prince's concubines is full; if the young ladies of the Eastern Palace were to compete for it, they would only be able to obtain the rank of Liangdi.
She was a concubine of high rank, but Gao Liangyuan was one rank below her. Gao Liangyuan, relying on the fact that she was pregnant and being somewhat arrogant, never took her seriously.
It was all because of the child. Her father also blamed her for not protecting the child properly, which caused her to miss the opportunity. She was clearly taking care of her health, but for some reason, she just couldn't get pregnant. In fact, the Crown Prince had only touched her a few times, so it was understandable that she couldn't get pregnant. However, to outsiders, she seemed to be very favored.
Today she was so angry that she didn't even go to pay her respects to the Crown Princess, and went back to Yuling Palace alone to throw a huge tantrum.
The trusted nanny quickly came over to persuade her, "Why bother arguing with such a vulgar woman, Your Highness? Now that His Highness the Crown Prince dotes on you, let's try to get pregnant as soon as possible. In the future, it's uncertain who will be noble and who will be lowly. After all, the Crown Prince is not the Emperor yet, so his rank is not high enough. In the future, everything depends on who has the last laugh."
"Those who can laugh are those whose bellies are fertile. Granny, please think of a way to conceive a royal heir." She was truly afraid of what her father would say. The family had paved the way for her, but she herself was not worthy and stumbled even on a smooth road. Now even a concubine could make fun of her. What hope could she have in the future?
And how did she manage to return safely from the palace that day when the Crown Princess left?
The old nanny also offered a suggestion: "I heard that the whole palace is preparing for His Highness the Crown Prince's birthday banquet. There will be many people and eyes on that day. If any of the pregnant ladies accidentally miscarry, that will be quite a show. Why should you come back and be upset like this?"
"What can you do, Granny Wang? She takes such good care of the young ladies that she wouldn't dare to slack off even for a moment. She wouldn't let anything happen to them," Zhu Zhenzhen asked.
"I've heard that the little grandson of the Emperor in Chenxi Palace has already learned to walk. The Crown Prince's birthday banquet is also the first birthday celebration for the imperial grandsons. On that day, it will surely be a lively and extraordinary occasion. The banquet will also be held in the Imperial Garden, where there are strange rocks and bumps and bruises are inevitable," the nanny said.
Zhu Zhenzhen also wanted to go to Chenxi Palace. Even if the Crown Princess was not there, the servants in Chenxi Palace would not allow anyone to get close. When it came to the first birthday celebration of the little princes, the palace maids and nannies would probably keep a close watch, and no one would dare to get close.
The nanny continued, "Today, Your Highness should have been polite in paying respects to the Crown Princess. It's not appropriate for Your Highness to come back in such a huff. The mistress of the Eastern Palace is still the one from Chenxi Palace."
Zhu Zhenzhen was very indignant. "I just can't stand Jiang... that fair and just smiling face of hers. It's all fake. Wasn't she also fooling around with the Crown Prince in Taihua Palace in broad daylight that day? The Crown Princess is also seducing the Crown Prince. She usually pretends to be aloof and self-important."
Ha! It's nothing special.
On the surface, she was punished by her father, but behind the scenes, it was His Highness the Crown Prince who was punished; she didn't even get a scratch.
She was insanely jealous of the Crown Prince's favoritism towards the Crown Princess. Every concubine in the Eastern Palace went to Taihua Palace to curry favor with him, and the Crown Prince kept any concubine there to serve him in bed. But no one did, except for Jiang Fenghua.
That night, the Crown Prince clearly came to her bedroom, but he only had the imperial physician examine her in various ways, without even touching her.
Zhu Zhenzhen thought of the Crown Prince, who was handsome and dashing. She was in love and wished that such a man would also have her in his heart and eyes.
Only a man of the Crown Prince's looks and temperament could match her. Even though she could sense that the Crown Prince was often just going through the motions, she still fell hopelessly in love with him.
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At Chenxi Palace, the young ladies all bowed and greeted the Crown Princess. Jiang Fenghua glanced at everyone present and, sure enough, did not see Zhu Zhenzhen. If this happened a few more times, the rumors that Zhu Zhenzhen was arrogant because of the Crown Princess's favor would reach Xie Shang's ears.
Xie Shang knew Zhu Zhenzhen was no good, yet he still gave her face many times. After so many times, the Zhu family must have seen the Crown Prince's sincerity long ago!
She exchanged pleasantries with the ladies without showing any emotion, then asked with concern, "Why haven't I seen Consort Zhu?"
In an instant, a cacophony of voices emerged: "Yesterday he played the zither for His Highness, and he probably played until late, so he didn't get out of bed."
Gao Qingtong said, "I saw her go out this morning. Later, I don't know what happened, but she went back in a huff. When I came out, I only heard the sound of bowls breaking. I don't know if she was still not fully recovered and went back to bed because she felt unwell halfway there."
Tang Qianran would naturally not admit that she was the one who drove people away; she had wanted to do so for a long time.
After Gao Qingtong finished speaking, she added, "That night, His Highness accompanied Consort Zhu to have the imperial physicians treat her illness all night. When I brought His Highness morning tea, I saw that His Highness was asleep on the table, and Consort Zhu was just lying in bed resting." This meant that even when the Crown Prince went to Yuling Palace and entered Consort Zhu's main room, he did not take off his clothes and get into bed.
Gao Qingtong glanced at Jiang Fenghua.
Jiang Fenghua's face was originally expressionless, but after being looked at deeply by her, she felt that she was conveying Xie Shang's message to explain what happened that night.
So what if they didn't sleep together? They'll sleep together sooner or later. Jiang Fenghua will definitely not let herself feel resentful. There are so many women in front of her, she can't bear it.
The ladies understood after hearing Gao Qingtong's explanation, but because of Zhu Zhenzhen's father's official position, they did not dare to speak ill of her openly, and they were very polite to her when they saw her.
Tang Qianran was not afraid of her. Her father was the Minister of Justice, and she was pregnant with the emperor's child. She was already a concubine, and she would be content if she could become one of the four concubines when she was granted a title in the future.
At this moment, Zhu Zhenzhen arrived gracefully. She walked up to Jiang Fenghua and bowed respectfully, saying, "This concubine greets the Crown Princess. I am late, and I hope the Crown Princess will forgive me."
Then she coughed lightly, indicating that she was really sick.
Jiang Fenghua smiled and said, "I heard that Consort Zhu has been ill these days. Since she is ill, she should take good care of herself. I have already spoken with Granny Wang to exempt her from the daily greetings. I only hope that she will recover soon."
Granny Wang hurriedly said, "The Crown Princess did mention this to me this morning, but I was so busy I forgot. Please forgive me, Crown Princess. I was just about to send someone to Yuling Palace when Your Highness arrived..."
Jiang Fenghua then said, "Consort Zhu, please sit down. Since you're here today, chat with the ladies. It will lift your spirits and help you recover faster."
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