The Empress was not Sheng Jingyu's biological mother; his biological mother had passed away long ago. However, the Empress treated him as her own son and had long since taken him under her name.
When Sheng Jingyu fell ill, the Empress nearly cried herself blind.
However, the Empress never liked Su Wenyuan, disliking her for being lame and petty. Therefore, she did not summon her immediately after the marriage, but left her out for a month.
Now they've suddenly summoned me, and I even want to meet the Emperor.
Su Wenyuan thought for a moment and asked, "Doesn't Your Highness need to go?"
Meng Qi replied, "His Majesty instructed the Prince to rest well and not to enter the palace, so only the Princess Consort is here."
Su Wenyuan curled her lip; it seemed they were going to cause her trouble.
The Emperor and Empress must already have a problem with her because of the fire, and the servants in the mansion were dawdling, making her late.
"Never mind, Yuexiu, just pick two hairpins and wear them on the way. We'll go check the kitchen then, since we're already late anyway."
She wanted to see if the kitchen had started making her breakfast yet.
Meng Qi led the way, and before they even went inside, they heard shrill laughter coming from within.
The one who was smiling was naturally the princess.
"This is the first time I've seen such a simple marriage. When a wealthy family takes a concubine, they have to prepare something. Our princess was brought in in a tattered sedan chair."
The old woman who was speaking was as thin as a monkey, with a pointed mouth and monkey-like cheeks; she looked like a difficult person to get along with.
“I’ve found out everything. When she was in the Prime Minister’s residence, the eldest daughter of the family wouldn’t let her go out! The kitchen would just send her cold and spoiled food.”
"Now that we're at Prince Chen's residence, we don't need to worry about her. She can live on her own! We don't want her to get spoiled and start taking advantage of us."
"She's already used to it. This morning she even had her maid fetch water for her. In the Prime Minister's residence, she always fetches water herself."
Su Wenyuan stood outside the courtyard, and her first reaction upon hearing these words was sadness.
Su Yuan took so much, but he couldn't bear to let the original owner live a better life? He deserved to spit it all out.
“Miss…” Yuexiu was about to cry.
Su Wenyuan took a deep breath, forced a smile, and said, "Damn Su Yuan."
Now that they've taken over the original owner's body, they can't just leave it at that. How old was Su Wenyuan when she lost her mother? How could they mistreat a child?
The old women in the kitchen were still laughing. Su Wenyuan strode in and asked coldly, "I do everything myself. What's the point of supporting you? How about I give you my position as princess?"
"Everyone says that the Prince Chen's mansion is a den of wolves and tigers, and that the servants have a hard time. But I think it's very easy for you. You wash the vegetable leaves one by one, and by the time you cook a dish, it will be next month, right?"
Su Wenyuan angrily rebuked him and then overturned the vegetable basin.
A few angry shouts temporarily frightened these people.
But the Emperor and Empress were waiting for her, so she didn't have time to say more.
"Go to the palace first." Su Wenyuan turned and left, and would deal with them when she returned.
Before she had gone far, the kitchen became lively, with the skinny old woman calling out first.
"Pah! What is this? She only entered the manor yesterday, without any formal betrothal or wedding ceremony, and she's already acting like a princess?"
"We've served the prince for years, do we have the right to criticize him?"
"Since she's not satisfied, she can cook for herself from now on and stop serving us. Does the prince really think he can kick us old servants out just because of a newlywed princess?"
Su Wenyuan heard these words clearly, and everyone around her heard them too.
When the news reached Sheng Jingyu's ears, he was not surprised at all.
The servants in the manor were used to being arrogant, but they never gave him any perfunctory treatment.
It's normal for her to be resentful of the new princess; Sheng Jingyu wanted to see how she would handle the situation.
In Chengming Palace, the Emperor and Empress had been waiting for a long time. The Emperor's face was ashen, and his brows were tightly furrowed.
"Your Majesty, Princess Consort Chen has arrived," a eunuch reported.
"Let her in," the Emperor said coldly.
The moment Su Wenyuan stepped inside, she felt as if two mountains were pressing down on her head, and the invisible pressure made her steps increasingly heavy.
Two pairs of eyes were fixed on her, and the atmosphere gradually became tense and oppressive.
As soon as Su Wenyuan knelt down, before she could even speak, the Emperor let out a heavy snort, indicating his displeasure.
Su Wenyuan acted as if she hadn't heard anything and calmly said, "Your subject..."
"Arriving so late? Even your father, as the prime minister, wouldn't dare to be so negligent!" The emperor challenged again.
Interrupting Su Wenyuan's greetings twice would have made an ordinary person tremble with fear and collapse to the ground.
However, Su Wenyuan remained calm and said, "Please forgive me, Father and Mother. Last night, the Prince Chen's residence caught fire. When I was saving the Prince Chen from the fire, I accidentally burned my leg. I was delayed in taking medicine this morning, and my movements are also quite inconvenient. It was not my intention to neglect you."
The Emperor and Empress exchanged a glance, both somewhat surprised.
The Empress smiled gently and said, "Waiting a little longer won't hurt. Is your leg injury serious?"
"The medicine has already been applied. With careful care, it won't leave a scar." Su Wenyuan glanced up at it.
The emperor was over fifty years old, but he looked very young. He sat upright in his chair, exuding an air of authority without being angry.
The Empress seemed gentle and kind, not like someone who would make things difficult for others, which was a bit unexpected.
"The fire last night, everyone outside says it was you who started it, Su Wenyuan, how dare you!" The Emperor's face turned cold, and he roared angrily, even the Empress trembled.
Su Wenyuan still didn't react, knowing he was going to interrogate her.
Just as she was about to explain, she heard the Empress sigh and say, "Princess Consort Chen, even if you are afraid and terrified, you cannot do something like arson. Fortunately, nothing serious happened. A sincere apology is all that's needed."
"???" Su Wenyuan looked at the Empress with a surprised expression.
You've praised her for nothing; she's gentle my foot!
Before she could even explain, the Empress had already taken the blame for her?
"Last night it was determined that the fire was an accident. Didn't Your Highness tell the Emperor and Empress? Or are the Emperor and Empress more inclined to believe the rumors from outside?"
A highly sarcastic question left the two of them somewhat bewildered.
"Su Wenyuan, how dare you be so rude!" the Empress said, feigning a reprimand. "Fortunately, His Majesty did not blame you."
Su Wenyuan had been watching the whole time, but the Emperor didn't think she was being impolite at all. It was only after the Empress reminded him that he showed his displeasure.
It seems that the conflict between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law is unavoidable. In the book, the empress looks down on Su Wenyuan because she is weak and incompetent.
Su Wenyuan deliberately acted tougher today, but the Empress was still dissatisfied.
It seems that disliking her for being weak was just an excuse.
"You say the fire was an accident, but why do people in the capital say you set it?" The Emperor had no intention of letting her off so easily.
He still found it strange that the Prince Chen's mansion would catch fire, and that Sheng Jingyu would be burned to such a state!
Su Wenyuan smiled faintly: "People in the capital are saying that I won't live past last night. Why doesn't the Emperor suspect that the Prince killed his wife?"
Su Wenyuan harbored resentment and even changed how she addressed people.
The emperor's expression changed, and he stood up angrily, saying, "How can such criticism be taken seriously?"
Who says he doesn't have suspicions? So many ministers from the court came last night, and they all suspected that Sheng Jingyu killed his wife.
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