Chapter 56 Various Disagreements Between Sisters-in-Law
Xie Shang asked him why he, who was clearly very talented, did not enter officialdom.
He avoided answering, saying, "If Your Highness trusts me, I can help you persuade Lai San. If he is willing to help, it will be much easier and faster than Your Highness running around blindly."
Xie Shang remained silent, wondering if Jiang Jinyan could completely convince him.
Jiang Jinyan added, "If Your Highness trusts me, Your Highness can make a list, and I guarantee that I will find them all within two months."
Xie Shang picked up a pen and drew something on the paper. After Jiang Jinyan looked at it, his expression turned cold.
Afterwards, Jiang Jinyan went to see Lai San.
Lai San had already been subjected to severe torture, but Xie Shang still hadn't gotten much useful information out of him until he saw Jiang Jinyan and cried out, "Master Jiang, please save me!"
He then looked at Xie Shang beside him and said repeatedly, "Even if I had a hundred times the courage, I wouldn't dare to rob the imperial tombs."
“If you cooperate, I can plead with His Highness Prince Heng on your behalf; otherwise, the title of ‘Master Thief Lai San’ will be lost from the martial arts world forever,” Jiang Jinyan said in a deep voice.
Lai San thought for a moment before saying, "With Master Jiang as my guarantor, I will definitely cooperate. I know that some of these items were bought by wealthy merchants from the south..."
Xie Shang frowned. "They dare to buy and sell even royal items. They're incredibly audacious."
“In fact, there are many people who dare to buy royal items, and some even resell palace items at higher prices on the market. This kind of thing happens all the time,” Jiang Jinyan explained.
Xie Shang wasn't shocked; instead, his face flushed. Such things always happened because those in power were embezzling from their own positions, or because officials were holding their posts without doing their jobs.
Afterwards, Xie Shang went to the palace alone to see the emperor. Xie Shang secured an opportunity for Jiang Jinyan, and it remains to be seen whether he will live up to his promise.
Jiang Jinyan is right. There are some things that are not suitable for the royal family to handle, as doing so would be counterproductive.
Jiang Jinyan is willing to be his hands, but we'll see if he has the ability to do so.
Xie Shang remained calm and observed the situation; the matter between him and Jiang Jinyan did not affect his relationship with Jiang Fenghua.
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On this day, the palace held a grand banquet. The emperor issued an edict ordering officials of the third rank and above, along with their families, to attend the banquet. He also issued a special edict ordering students of the Imperial Academy to attend the banquet together and welcome the envoys from the Chaoxi Kingdom.
Kunning Palace was almost overflowing with people, as the court ladies who had entered the palace all came to pay their respects to the Empress.
Jiang Fenghua and Su Tingwan also dressed up in their finest attire and entered the palace.
As soon as they arrived at the palace gate, a beautiful young woman blocked their way. "Oh my, when did such a beautiful woman arrive at the palace?"
She was surrounded by seven or eight women, who chimed in, "Now that Princess Yu says so, she really is a beautiful and charming woman!"
"With such beauty, which man wouldn't take a second look?" Princess Yu said sarcastically.
When Prince Yu was beaten, Princess Yu inquired about it. In the end, the story reached her ears that Prince Yu was infatuated with Princess Heng, which is why Prince Heng beat him up. It took more than half a month for Prince Yu's injuries to heal.
Instead of being angry at her own man for philandering, she blamed Jiang Fenghua for being too beautiful and seducing Xie Yu, which is why she said those sarcastic things today.
Jiang Fenghua straightened her back, neither humble nor arrogant, and was about to speak when a steady voice suddenly came to her ear, "The beauty you are talking about is the new bride of the Fifth Prince, Jiang Fenghua, the youngest daughter of Jiang Shaofu. You should call her Princess Heng."
The Third Princess Consort spoke up when she saw the Second Princess Consort leading a group of people surrounding the Princess Consort Heng and gossiping about her.
She walked up to Jiang Fenghua with a smile and said to her, "The Fifth Princess Consort has never seen me, but I have seen the Fifth Princess Consort. On the day you married the Fifth Prince, I was standing not far from the brazier. I was really worried at the time. Fortunately, the Fifth Prince always puts the Princess Consort first and did not let you get hurt."
Let me formally introduce myself. I am Yuan Wenqiang, the wife of the Third Prince.
Jiang Fenghua naturally recognized her. Among all the princesses, perhaps only the Third Princess was kind-hearted. She smiled and said, "Fenghua greets Third Sister-in-law."
"Don't stand on ceremony. We are all royal daughters-in-law, of the same generation. There's no need for such formalities. It's others who should be so proud as to have us bow to them." She said this to the ladies-in-waiting around the Second Princess, so they wouldn't gossip with her.
Upon hearing this, everyone blushed and hurriedly said, "Greetings to the Third Princess and the Fifth Princess."
The Third Princess said magnanimously, "There will be a banquet in the palace today, and with so many people talking, you must not embarrass your husbands."
Upon hearing this, everyone readily agreed, exchanged greetings, and then departed.
Seeing that everyone had left, the Second Princess said to the Third Princess, "Third Princess, you have quite the presence. You've got the whole palace under your thumb."
"Second Princess Consort is joking. As a royal wife, I am only doing my duty," the Third Princess Consort said. "I have heard more or less about what Prince Yu has done in the palace. After hearing it, my prince felt ashamed, as if his skin had been peeled off. He was very uncomfortable."
"Yuan Wenqiang, you're uncomfortable every time you see me if I don't go against you, aren't you!" The Second Princess was furious.
The Third Princess Consort ignored her and pulled Jiang Fenghua by the hand, heading towards Kunning Palace.
Su Tingwan walked to the Second Princess's side, "Second Princess?"
The Second Princess glared at her, naturally recognizing her as someone Xie Yu often scolded as an unruly wild girl, but today she appeared graceful and well-mannered.
"You, a mere concubine, don't you know how to bow before me, the Princess?" The Second Princess also learned from Xie Yu that Consort Su had deliberately plotted against him that day, using him as a pawn, all for the sake of her niece.
Su Tingwan clenched her fingers. Her learning of etiquette these past few days had not been in vain. She gave a slight curtsy and said gently, "Why should the Second Princess Consort bother with them? With the Third Prince's lame legs, he can't possibly compare to the Second Prince."
Thinking about it this way, the Second Princess Consort's mood did indeed improve a lot. Xie Xuan was born lame, and he was destined to be out of the running for the throne. Yuan Wenqiang married the lame prince, and she didn't cry herself to death but was instead smug.
"Miss Su has married the Fifth Prince as she wished, and I haven't congratulated you yet." The Second Princess decided to put aside the matter of Consort Su framing Prince Yu and first build a good relationship with Su Tingwan. "She stole your position as Princess Consort, and you're not happy about it!"
Su Tingwan felt her thoughts were seen through, and she was so angry that she gritted her teeth. "The Emperor has decreed this marriage, and I dare not disobey the imperial decree." She was not convinced, she was simply not convinced.
"Sigh, what a mess! You and Prince Heng are clearly in love, yet you've been forced to separate and relegated to the position of a concubine. You've really suffered." She sighed, "Since it's a marriage ordained by the Emperor, there's nothing you can do but be a coward for the rest of your life."
Su Tingwan blushed even more. She would not be a coward. Xie Shang had been back at the manor for several days, staying at Lan Yue Pavilion every day, as if he had forgotten her. Did he still remember their vows of eternal love? She was determined to make Xie Shang see Jiang Fenghua's true colors with his own eyes.
At this moment, Xie Ling'er, dressed in a pink dress, gracefully walked over. "Fifth Sister-in-law, I'm here."
"Ling'er, don't call me that." Su Tingwan said coquettishly.
"I already said last time, I only recognize Sister Wan as my fifth sister-in-law." Xie Ling'er blurted out, "You are my fifth sister-in-law."
The Second Princess Consort saw the intense hatred in Su Tingwan's eyes and said, "I still need to pay my respects to Her Majesty the Empress, so I won't keep the Consort and the Ninth Princess from chatting any longer."
Seeing that she had left, Xie Ling'er said, "Sister Wan, don't talk to her too much. She's very scheming."
Su Tingwan naturally understood the Second Princess's provocative intention. She wanted to sow discord among her, and she could also use her to deal with Jiang Fenghua. She said, "I think the Second Princess is quite nice! She's kinder than the Third Princess."
“Sister Wan, you are simple-minded and grew up on the frontier. You don’t know about the scheming and backstabbing in Shengjing. The Second Princess doesn’t like anyone. If she suddenly smiles at you, you should be careful. These are all things my mother taught me. You should learn from her.” The Ninth Princess said.
Su Tingwan nodded slightly, "Then let's go and pay our respects to Her Majesty the Empress!"
"There are too many people in Kunning Palace, it's not our turn to pay our respects. There's a banquet being held in the palace today, it's very lively, I'll take you to see it." The Ninth Princess pulled Su Tingwan away, and really didn't go to pay her respects to the Empress.
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