“Yes, this is a joyous occasion. It’s not uncommon for an aunt and niece to share a husband; it’s quite a story,” Consort Xu said with a smile.
"I think this younger sister is just fine. She can come to the palace and keep me and Sister Wan company. Look, what a clever name!" Consort Fanghui said with a smile.
"You're quite mischievous, always playing around and having fun." Shu Zhongjing finally smiled.
The Cao family finally breathed a sigh of relief; they had been terrified, fearing the Emperor's wrath...
"Your Majesty, please hurry up, she's been kneeling for so long," Consort Fanghui said with a smile.
Shu Zhongjing looked at the expectant woman again: "Fine, since you are so sincere, I will bestow upon you the title of Beauty for the sake of Consort Zhen."
"Yes, Your Majesty, I thank you! Long live Your Majesty!" Cao Wan said excitedly.
"Good sister, from now on you can no longer refer to yourself as 'your subject' (臣女), you must refer to yourself as 'your concubine' (臣妾)," Consort Lixian said with a smile.
Cao Wan nodded shyly in agreement.
The Cao family also had to express their gratitude, as did Consort Zhen. After all, His Majesty had said to do so out of respect for her.
At this moment, she was filled with mixed feelings and didn't know what to do.
After waving them up, Shu Zhongjing said to the Crown Prince, "Since this girl says so, it's not appropriate for her to enter your residence. Your father will choose a better one for you. As for the girl from the Jiang family, she's quite good. How about sending her to you after the New Year?"
Shu Chengfeng rose and said, "Your Majesty, I first congratulate you on acquiring this beauty. I dare not contend with you. Thank you, Your Majesty."
Shu Zhongjing nodded in satisfaction.
He believed he had slapped the crown prince in the face, with roughly the same effect.
But in Shu Chengfeng's eyes, if he agreed to this move, he didn't care about being humiliated.
Slap in the face...
Face?
Is there something between them, father and son?
This war taught him that patience was useless. He wanted more.
The more composed he is, the more people feel that he has a tough time.
The Cao family was already disliked for their nepotism, and now they have an even more beautiful woman...
Tsk tsk.
This was the climax of the banquet, after which things gradually returned to normal.
When they returned to the manor late at night, Shu Chengfeng came to Yan Nangui's carriage again.
Yan Nangui was also fed up with this person; it was always like this anyway.
"It's very warm in your car, pour me a cup of tea."
Jiangxiang was already sitting to the side, but when he came in, he was kneeling.
She busied herself pouring him tea, then stepped back after setting it down.
Yan Nangui leaned against Shu Chengfeng and said, "Oh, I'm so tired."
"How tired are you? You haven't done any work." Shu Chengfeng put his arm around her.
"Sitting so rigidly is tiring, and my back aches," Yan Nangui said with a yawn.
"Shall I rub it for you?"
"No, I don't want to move. Let's leave it at that." Yan Nangui said with her eyes closed, "Congratulations, Your Highness."
Shu Chengfeng couldn't be bothered to respond to that.
Don't even think about the Cao family, and do you think he'd like the Jiang family? He still doesn't want them either.
"I can't compare to you." So, Shu Chengfeng sipped his tea, seemingly indifferent.
Yan Nangui didn't even bother to open his eyes, only letting out a sneer: "When you stop competing with me, that's when I'll have won. Oh, or maybe I'll have lost. That means you'll have forgotten about me."
"You're so cunning." Shu Chengfeng poked her cheek.
“Tch… ‘How filial! He even forgave his crime of cutting off his feet for his mother’s sake. He loved me so much that he forgot his own tastes to feed me.’ ‘He once drove my carriage in his sedan chair and once fed me leftover peaches.’” Yan Nangui murmured slowly.
"Pfft..." Shu Chengfeng spat out his entire mouthful of tea.
Fortunately, he turned his head in time and didn't spray either of them.
She hurriedly wiped the incense.
His Highness the Crown Prince rarely loses his composure like this, but when it comes to this woman…
The Crown Prince's twenty years of indiscretions are all contained in her.
Yan Nangui clicked his tongue: "Isn't it dirty?"
"You still dare to look down on me? You've got some nerve!" Shu Chengfeng pinched her chin.
Someone was so sleepy that they didn't even bother to move their chin while it was being pinched.
She only opened her eyes and glanced at him before closing them again.
Shu Chengfeng released her hand, lowered his head and kissed her hard on the lips: "With you constantly nagging me, how dare I treat you like that?"
"Who knows? Your family members are all ruthless," Yan Nangui said.
"Our family? Which family are you from?" Shu Chengfeng chuckled.
Yan Nangui ignored him and, swaying gently, fell asleep.
When she arrived at the destination and was woken up, she found that the person holding her had also dozed off for a while.
Shu Chengfeng stretched out his hands and got out of the car: "Let's go."
I pulled her down.
Shu Chengfeng spoke to the Crown Princess, and then everyone went into the backyard together.
Shu Chengfeng went directly to Jiyue Pavilion to spend the night.
It was unusually cold, so after I got back, I asked the kitchen to make a casserole dish.
The two of them cooked noodles in the hot chicken soup from the clay pot and ate them.
After washing up and lying down, he began to speak.
"This time, I should reward you properly," Shu Chengfeng said, stroking her long hair.
"So you're not being distant?" Yan Nangui said with a smile.
She knew from the start that as long as Cao Wan dared to speak up, the matter would definitely succeed.
Are there few people in the harem? One more is nothing.
Consort Zhen had enjoyed the Emperor's favor for so many years; which woman in the harem didn't despise her?
Now that her own niece is being brought into the palace to compete for her favor, I'm afraid everyone in the harem would be more than happy to agree. See, it's already done.
If he goes in, won't Consort Zhen be furious to death?
Shu Chengfeng didn't say anything more, but he understood what was going on.
This time, he should indeed remember her good deeds.
After all, he really hadn't thought of this method.
Cao Wan didn't immediately enter the palace. After returning to the Cao family, her status changed, and the Cao family members could no longer scold her.
Her grandparents were quite helpless, and hesitated for a long time before finally falling silent.
It's fine to just think about it, after all, His Majesty is still His Majesty, and His Majesty isn't that old.
They could only hope that the Crown Prince would fall from power, at which point Cao Wan might be able to give birth to a prince, and the Cao family would have a better chance of winning.
Back in the palace, Consort Zhen suffered severe chest pain upon returning home, but dared not call for the imperial physician.
Calling the imperial physician now is clearly a way of saying they're dissatisfied with His Majesty, isn't it?
It almost made her furious; she hadn't suffered such injustice in all these years.
What happened today was utterly humiliating...
I was so angry that I couldn't get up the next day.
In Fengxiang Palace, the Empress looked down and said, "What's wrong with Consort Zhen? She was so happy to hear that her niece was coming to the palace that she forgot to pay her respects?"
"Your Majesty, Consort Zhen sent word that she felt chest tightness this morning and was feeling unwell, so she asked for leave."
One of the eunuchs said.
The Empress scoffed, "Chest tightness? Are you trying to say you're angry?"
"Oh dear, no way! What a wonderful thing! From now on, Consort Zhen will have relatives in the palace. How can she be angry?" Consort Lixian thought to herself with great satisfaction.
"Yes, Consort Zhen is very kind-hearted. It's unlikely. Perhaps she's preparing something for her niece?" Consort Zhang Xin said with a smile.
Consort Zhang suffered two miscarriages in her early years, both related to Consort Zhen. It would be strange if she didn't hate her.
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