Chapter 66 Jealousy
Princess Anshun frowned. "Apart from your usual visits to the military camp, you shall stay in your own courtyard and shall not go out. As for the mistake you made today, I will make a note of it and deal with it when the Prince returns."
Wen Kehao seemed lost in thought and did not react upon hearing the outcome of the investigation.
He was already indifferent, but now he was even colder than ice.
Previously, Princess Anshun had been quite indulgent towards him because of his kindness to Wen Zhiming. Now that their brotherly relationship had changed, Princess Anshun no longer found him as agreeable as before.
"You may leave. Your sister-in-law and I still have things to discuss."
"yes."
Wen Kehao didn't even look up before getting up and walking out.
Meng Lingge wasn't sure if it was just her imagination, but she felt that Wen Kehao glanced at her out of the corner of his eye as he passed by.
That glance was full of meaning.
There were warnings, resentment, and even jealousy.
The warning and resentment were clear to Meng Lingge, but why was Wen Kehao jealous of her?
Before she could figure out why, Princess Anshun came over affectionately and pulled her to sit beside her. "Lingge, my punishment of Wen Kehao was too lenient. Do you blame your mother in your heart?"
Last time, Wen Weizhu falsely accused Meng Lingge of having an affair and instigated the princess to catch them in the act.
This time, Wen Kehao had deliberately hired a fake fortune teller with the intention of driving Meng Lingge out of the palace.
Both of these things were big mistakes.
Princess Anshun punished Wen Weizhu with a beating and confined her to her quarters for half a year, while Wen Kehao was only confined to his quarters and was allowed to enter and leave the military camp as usual.
This punishment is not just lenient, it's downright insignificant.
Meng Lingge was indeed puzzled, but she still said gently, "Mother has her reasons for doing this, how could Lingge dare to blame her?"
Princess Anshun smiled faintly, "It's not that I don't dare, but that I can't. I won't hide it from you, I have no choice but to do this. In this generation of the Anshun Prince's Mansion, there are only two sons, Mo'er and Wen Kehao, and Mo'er's situation is not good. So although Wen Kehao is not the legitimate son, he is different from Wen Weizhu. If I do anything to him, others will suspect that I am suppressing the illegitimate son for Mo'er. If they know that it involves you and Mo'er, this suspicion will become certainty, and they may even suspect that I am deliberately framing him and using any means necessary."
She stood up, somewhat helplessly, and continued, "I don't care if others suspect Mother, but your father is not in the capital. If someone distorts the facts and it reaches his ears, affecting his condition and mood on the battlefield, that would be a terrible thing. Furthermore, if Mo'er's condition continues to be poor, in two years at most, the position of heir will have to be given to Wen Kehao. Such a large royal palace will eventually need someone to take over, and besides Mo'er, Wen Kehao is the most likely candidate."
Therefore, not only should Wen Kehao not be severely punished, but his mistakes should be covered up as much as possible before the prince returns.
Meng Lingge was unaware that the position of heir could be transferred, and she was at a loss for words regarding her own status.
Just as she was feeling melancholy, Princess Anshun's mood had recovered. She looked at her and smiled, "However, now that Mo'er has married you, if you can give birth to a son or daughter in the next two years, I can stop this matter. Once Mo'er has his own child, the position of heir will naturally not be Wen Kehao's."
She leaned closer, pressed her lips to her mouth, and asked softly.
"There are no outsiders here. Tell your mother if you've been feeling unwell these past few days, such as being unable to tolerate the smell of meat or feeling nauseous."
Meng Lingge was still thinking about Wen Kehao when Princess Anshun suddenly brought up the topic of her. She lowered her head in embarrassment and said, "Mother, no."
She wondered if Wen Zhiming was too idle during the day, as he was always full of energy at night, which made her feel shy when she thought about it.
She was not using contraception, but there were no signs of pregnancy at the moment.
Princess Anshun smiled gently and said, "It's because I'm too impatient. It's only been a month or two, how can it be so fast? I was just mentioning it casually. Please don't feel pressured, take your time. I've waited for so many years, there's no rush for this last year or two."
Meng Lingge knew that Princess Anshun was trying to comfort her; if she weren't in a hurry, Princess Anshun wouldn't have brought it up at all. Let alone Princess Anshun, even she herself felt anxious upon hearing that the position of heir apparent would be transferred to Wen Kehao.
The look in Wen Kehao's eyes today—if he were the heir apparent, he would never let her go.
However, getting pregnant is not something she can do just because she wants to, and she can't make any promises.
Princess Anshun, knowing her embarrassment, offered her some snacks and then changed the subject, saying, "You're quite clever, child. On the contrary, I trusted Wen Kehao too much and almost fell for his trick. But you said earlier that you had your maids mix your birth date and time among them, but we were all together at the time and didn't see you instruct them. How did you get them to cooperate with you in front of everyone?"
Meng Lingge explained, "When my third brother brought Zhong Shensuan into the manor, my husband saw it and told me. I always felt that my third brother was somewhat hostile towards me, so when my husband told me that my mother would summon me for fortune-telling, I instructed Dongqing to be careful. Dongqing has served me for many years and knows my birth date and time. She knew it was fake when I wrote the first one down. When I asked her to summon the other maids to provide their birth dates and times, she guessed my intention and had one of them fill in my birth date and time. With a warning first and tacit understanding later, we were able to deceive my third brother and Zhong Shensuan."
Dongqing chuckled from the side, "Miss and I have the best chemistry, so she takes me with her wherever she goes."
Princess Anshun nodded. "I see. But what if Dongqing doesn't understand your meaning this time, or what if the fortune teller Zhong chooses a different birth date and time than yours? How will you deal with that?"
Meng Lingge paused for a moment and said, "Actually, as long as Zhong Shensuan and Third Brother thought that the first birth date and time was mine, they had already lost. Because they had already used the worst possible outcome on this birth date and time, and no matter which one they looked at afterward, it would not be worse than this one. So no matter which one they chose afterward, whether Dongqing understood my meaning or not, they would not be able to achieve their goal."
Princess Anshun thought about it and realized that it was indeed true.
As long as they use all their methods on that fake birth date and time, they won't be able to use the same methods to deal with Meng Lingge's real birth date and time.
The reason Meng Lingge went to such lengths to hide her birth date and time among the maids was simply to better expose their schemes and then enjoy the process of their defeat.
Watching them mistakenly believe they've succeeded, then make a fool of themselves, and finally bring them crashing down from their pedestals is far more interesting than simply announcing their defeat.
Princess Anshun looked at Meng Lingge with a hint of apology, "You've only been married for a little over two months, and first Wen Weizhu slandered you, and now you've been schemed against by Wen Kehao. Your mother has had too many peaceful years and has become quite dull-witted, being deceived twice. If it weren't for your integrity, cleverness, and caution, you wouldn't have been able to escape. Your mother also bears some responsibility for this; ultimately, it's because I didn't trust you enough. It's your mother's fault."
Meng Lingge quickly comforted her, "This is not Mother's fault. Mother was only thinking of the young master, and it's inevitable that her concern made her confused and susceptible to others' treacherous schemes. Speaking of which, I also have my faults. There's something I've been keeping from you for a long time..."
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