Chapter 912 Could it be that the Empress also came to Hundred Flowers Lake to catch her husband in adultery?
Ao Xue frowned, somewhat angrily saying, "Shu Yan is now the daughter of the Prince of Kang, and is considered a member of the royal family. How can she be so close to Qin Yunyan? Which side are they trying to take? What are they trying to do now?"
"Aren't there plenty of members of the royal family who betray their own side? None of them are easy to deal with." Jiang Fenghua scoffed. Now she finally understood why the Great Zhou Dynasty was so easily conquered by the Northern Xiao Kingdom. It was because the Xie family members were not united, and they schemed against each other, fighting for power and profit.
She then said to Ao Xue, "No matter what they want to do, send people to keep a close eye on them."
Ao Xue was also helpless and sighed, "The Emperor values family ties the most, but they all insist on going against him and hurting his feelings. The Emperor has always tried his best."
Ao Xue felt some sympathy for the Emperor, who had now been summoned by Prince Kang to uphold justice.
Jiang Fenghua remained silent. It was precisely because Xie Shang valued family ties so much that they became even more unrestrained.
Ao Xue said, "The Emperor only has the Empress as a trustworthy relative now. If the Empress doesn't help His Majesty, no one else will. The Emperor will have to deal with Prince Kang and Princess Kang all by himself."
The Empress is unaware that the Hidden Divine Camp is now targeting the Earthly Fiend Sect. Master Gongsun and the other generals in the camp have gone to great lengths to investigate the Earthly Fiend Sect; they are hiding far too well.
Jiang Fenghua's heart tightened suddenly. From the moment Xie Shang took that position, he had been prepared to face the wind and snow, and she believed he could handle it.
Jiang Fenghua could only have Aoxue send people to keep an eye on Qin Yunyan and Shu Yan to see what tricks they were up to.
She guessed: It's nothing more than two stupid women teaming up again to seduce Xie Shang. Qin Yunyan is trying so hard to seduce Xie Shang, she must be crazy to want to enter the palace! Does she think she can sit on the throne of the Noble Consort like in her previous life?
Hongxiu walked over to Jiang Fenghua and told her about the outcome of the dealings with Prince Kang and Consort Chang. As Jiang Fenghua expected, in the end, Xie Shang asked Prince Kang to marry Chang Mingxiu as a concubine, which naturally made Princess Kang unwilling!
Xie Shang also said some high-sounding words, "Since they are mutually in love, why doesn't Uncle Kang marry her and bring her into the manor so that they can be together legitimately?"
He's really bad at being a peacemaker. Why isn't Ruan Ruan coming in yet?
Princess Kang stared in shock, her eyes wide with utter fury. "Your Majesty claims you didn't cover anything up and are completely selfless. Is this how an emperor should act?"
Xie Shang added, "I was thinking that Aunt Wang has been serving Uncle Wang all by herself all these years. The Kang Prince's residence is indeed too quiet. It would be more lively with more people around."
He would only say that from a man's perspective. If Chang Mingxiu hadn't been one of the late emperor's concubines, Prince Kang would probably have taken her back to his residence long ago.
Chang Mingxiu was naturally delighted to hear this. She had no desire to be a concubine and live a life of widowhood for half her life. Now that she was out of the palace, she didn't care how Xie Shang tried to manipulate Xie Kang; she would stick with Prince Dingkang for the rest of her life.
Xie Yang did not publicly acknowledge Chang Mingxiu as his mother, but said, "Your wet nurse has served in the Prince's mansion for many years, and you have worked hard. With Uncle Kang taking care of you from now on, I can rest assured."
Xie Yang was utterly humiliated when he said this; he had actually asked his mother to be with another man.
Finally, Xie Shang added with a smile, "It is truly a joyous occasion for my uncle to take a concubine. I am overjoyed. Let the Ministry of Rites get started on the arrangements!"
Throughout the entire process, Prince Kang remained silent, like a turtle hiding in its shell, neither denying nor agreeing, like a wooden puppet who hadn't been weaned, obeying only the emperor's orders.
Of course, given his current situation, he has no reason to refute it.
The Yuezhi were furious and made a scene, threatening to leave Shengjing and return to the Northwest. She angrily said, "Since he wants to take a concubine, I'm leaving."
Jiang Fenghua had already agreed with Xie Shang that one would play the good cop and the other the bad cop. Naturally, she would speak up for "her own people," and at this moment, Princess Kang was one of her own people.
She walked up to Princess Kang and pulled her aside, whispering, "Aunt, don't be angry. If you really leave, wouldn't you be falling right into that woman's trap? I saw the whole thing and found it rather strange."
Yuezhi was still angry. "She's riding all over my head! How can I not be angry? The Empress hasn't encountered any other women trying to seduce the Emperor, so of course she can't empathize with you."
Jiang Fenghua's acting was also good; her eyes suddenly turned red, and she lowered her head, biting her lip, and suddenly became very quiet.
When Yuezhi saw that she was silent, she looked into her eyes and asked, "Why are you crying?"
Jiang Fenghua wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, pretending to be very happy, and said with a smile, "Aunt Wang's clothes are all wet, go and change your clothes first!"
She then asked Hongxiu to fetch her cloak and drape it over Princess Kang.
Princess Kang was being helped away by her attendants, and she had no choice but to leave first. Fortunately, Jiang Fenghua was prepared and said with concern, "Your Highness, my clothes are too small for you to wear. Fortunately, you can barely put on this cloak that you carry with you. Although the weather is getting warmer, the lake water is still cold at night. Please take care of yourself and don't catch a cold."
She added, "Aunt Wang, please calm down. We women who marry into the royal family all have a hard life. Go and find out which prince only married one woman into his household. Who doesn't have three wives and four concubines? Aunt Wang, don't get angry. It's not worth getting upset."
Hongxiu angrily interjected, "Princess Consort Kang may not know this, but just now the Emperor was playing music and singing on a boat with the daughter of a wealthy merchant. He was having a very pleasant time. My Empress's life is not much better than the Princess Consort's."
When Hongxiu exposed the matter, Jiang Fenghua quickly stopped her, saying, "Shut up! How dare a servant like you gossip about the Emperor?"
Hongxiu quickly shut her mouth, "This servant knows she was wrong."
The master and servant worked together very well. Jiang Fenghua originally wanted to get closer to the Yuezhi. Since the Yuezhi were close to Xiao Shang, she needed to understand the relationship between the northwestern natives and the Northern Xiao Kingdom. After all, knowing your enemy is the key to victory.
Yuezhi then recalled that when she boarded the ship earlier, a beautiful woman dressed in white and exquisitely made up seemed to have disembarked from it.
She glanced at the woman again; she was dressed very beautifully.
She then looked at Jiang Fenghua's attire, which was plain and simple, and very understated. She said, "Could it be that the Empress has also come to Baihua Lake to catch her in the act of adultery?"
Jiang Fenghua smiled faintly, "I'm used to it. Aunt Wang, there's no need to be surprised. It's normal for a man to have many women. His Majesty is the emperor, so it's not an exaggeration for him to have three thousand beauties in his harem."
That's how women are; once they discover someone is just as miserable as they are, or even worse, they start to empathize.
The Yuezhi cursed, "Men are all the same. Even with the Empress being so beautiful, the Emperor still keeps seeking out other women."
"He's the emperor, so it's to be expected," Jiang Fenghua said calmly.
The Yuezhi would definitely not allow Xie Kang to marry another woman, not even if he became emperor.
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