Upon hearing this, the Emperor realized that she was asking about Sheng Jingyu and Su Wenyuan, so he knew he didn't need to get involved.
If everyone agrees, why should he spoil the fun?
"Alright, Your Majesty, please put in the effort. I think this Princess Consort is quite good; she manages the household affairs well. If she is unwilling, Your Majesty should not force her. Taking a concubine on a newlywed's wedding day would make anyone feel embarrassed." The Emperor was still somewhat biased towards Su Wenyuan.
The Empress forced a smile and said, "Your Majesty, please rest assured."
She was secretly relieved that she had spoken with the Emperor beforehand.
Otherwise, if Su Wenyuan complains, the matter will fall through.
After the Emperor left, Granny Cheng frowned and asked, "What should we do next? If we ask the Princess, she will definitely not agree. Even if we ask the Prince, he will not agree."
Knowing beforehand that Sheng Jingyu wouldn't agree, Granny Cheng didn't even dare to ask and ran back to the palace.
The Empress chuckled and said, "Then we won't ask. I've already paved the way for those two girls; the rest is up to them. If they want to become concubines, they can't rely entirely on me!"
After a moment's thought, Granny Cheng finally asked, "Should I go again?"
"Go, take the gifts I sent. Everyone knows they're going to be concubines. If Jingyu doesn't marry them, how will they have the face to live?" The Empress covered her mouth and chuckled.
Yesterday afternoon, the Queen met the two girls, and neither of them were easy to deal with.
The gift had barely been delivered when it became the talk of the town.
Although there was no imperial edict or any other substantial action.
But these unspoken actions, one after another, proved the authenticity of the matter.
Everyone was speculating whether Su Wenyuan was hiding in her room crying at this moment.
But in reality, she was eating a chicken leg right under Sheng Jingyu's nose.
Since she was confined to her quarters, Sheng Jingyu moved the dining area to Zhuyue Pavilion.
Anyway, they're the only two vegetarians in the household, so keeping them together saves us the trouble.
As soon as the dishes were served, Su Wenyuan chased everyone else away and then took a bowl of chicken legs from Yuexiu.
Then Yuexiu served vegetables to Sheng Jingyu.
"The princess doesn't like these foods, but she's been eating them for several meals now. Does she have any complaints?" Sheng Jingyu asked knowingly.
She not only had complaints, but her resentment was so great that she was almost summoning ghosts.
But she certainly couldn't answer Sheng Jingyu's question like that, since she had already eaten the meat anyway.
If we say a few nice words to make Sheng Jingyu happy, we might be able to lift her confinement sooner.
"How could that be? I've already married the prince, so naturally I have to share his joys and sorrows. After enjoying a few days of happiness, it's only right that I eat vegetarian food now. Once the prince no longer has to be careful about his diet, there will still be good dishes."
He was speaking before he had even swallowed the meat in his mouth.
If Sheng Jingyu hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he would have been fooled by her.
"The princess seems to be enjoying her meal quite a bit..."
Su Wenyuan said, "Yes, no matter what we eat, we have to eat our fill, otherwise how can we compete with the new concubine?"
Upon hearing the words "concubine," Sheng Jingyu abandoned his plan to expose her.
If she hadn't stayed in the Prince Chen's residence as a princess, she wouldn't have fallen out with the Empress. She could have lived a carefree life with her dowry.
Now that I've offended Consort Wan, the Empress, and many other people, I might as well eat a little.
In the time it takes to eat a meal, her confinement period was reduced to five days.
The ban must be enforced, otherwise people will not learn their lesson. Can the palace be a place where people can be beaten at will?
Su Wenyuan had always harbored the idea of finding out information about the female lead, and repeatedly sent Yuexiu out to inquire.
Every time Yuexiu went out, she didn't bring back much news about the female lead, but she brought back more and more news about the two concubines.
On the first day, the Empress gave each of them a jade pendant, and on the second day, she gave them red fabric to choose from and even took their measurements.
On the third day, people from various prefectures began to come to curry favor with the two families, making their homes bustling with activity.
On the fourth day, the two went shopping together and made a show of themselves outside the mansion.
However, the Prince Chen's mansion remained tightly closed, without any movement. Sheng Jingyu neither attended court nor went to the palace to pay his respects.
Su Wenyuan didn't come out either, and stayed in Zhuyue Pavilion the whole time.
People outside are saying that Princess Consort Chen is unhappy and has been so angry that she has collapsed, which is why she is staying in Zhuyue Pavilion and not going out.
Prince Chen didn't want to refuse his two concubines, but he also had to coax the princess, to the point that he even skipped the morning court session.
"What nonsense! I'm grounded! I'd like to go out and see the world, but is there even a chance?" Su Wenyuan complained.
Yuexiu quickly reminded her, "Your Highness, please keep your voice down. The Prince hasn't even announced the confinement, so why are you shouting? Are you afraid others won't know?"
Su Wenyuan reluctantly said, "Alright then, didn't that quack doctor Hua Ling say that Your Highness doesn't need to abstain from certain foods anymore? I can eat delicious food tomorrow!"
"Yes, make some more for the Princess tomorrow. Now that the Princess can go out, we need to think of a way to get rid of those two concubines." Yuexiu was very anxious.
Su Wenyuan nodded perfunctorily; she wasn't the one who should be most anxious right now.
Those two girls are so flamboyant, but the Prince Chen's mansion hasn't made a statement yet; they're the ones who should be anxious.
The Empress should be anxious even before she makes a scene.
In the study, Sheng Jingyu was checking the accounts. It was still the same embezzlement case. He had protected the people he wanted to protect, but he also had to bring down a few of the Crown Prince's people.
Hua Ling sat opposite him, sighing.
“You used to handle these things in your room, but now you’re forced to hide in the study. How long are you going to keep up this act?”
Sheng Jingyu said, "It won't be long before the Crown Prince is short of these people and he'll definitely be anxious. We'll see how anxious he gets. As long as he makes a move, Consort Wan will follow suit. The Empress Dowager has been watching her for a long time."
Either the empress or the crown prince must fall for his eyes to have any value.
Hua Ling said again, "If you're going to pretend to be blind, then just pretend properly. Don't pretend to have dietary restrictions. I'll get a scolding from your princess."
Sheng Jingyu looked embarrassed and didn't offer any further explanation.
At first, he was pretending to be sick and weak, so he ate very little and very little, and from a distance, he looked like a sickly person.
Su Wenyuan has been taking good care of him lately, and he has actually gained some weight and his complexion has improved.
There was no other way, so he said again that she should avoid certain foods, and also to teach Su Wenyuan a lesson.
But everyone in this mansion favors Su Wenyuan.
I made her different dishes every day. At first, I would secretly deliver them to her, but eventually I just put them directly in front of her. They looked like vegetarian dishes, but they were actually made with meat, and they tasted incredibly delicious.
Seeing this situation, Sheng Jingyu gave up.
"Your Highness, those two young ladies have entered the palace and gone to Chengming Palace," Ye Shan reported.
Sheng Jingyu said, "Go and tell the Princess Consort that it won't be long before the Empress Dowager invites her to the palace."
As soon as Su Wenyuan finished speaking, they became anxious, and indeed they did.
The Empress was somewhat impatient when she heard the news.
"Su Wenyuan is really calm. Several days have passed and she hasn't asked anything. But the other two are getting anxious."
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