Chapter 124 Some Families Suffer, Some Families Grieve
After listening, Shen Pingting thought for a moment and said, "Your Highness, please hear me out."
You and the Crown Prince's wife have only been married for a short time. If you kill her, His Majesty will surely arrange a new principal wife for you.
"If His Majesty bestows another marriage, it's hard to say whether it will result in enmity or friendship."
The eldest prince's lips curled slightly: "Then tell me, is Wei Ningyan a friend or foe?"
"Neither enemy nor friend," Shen Pingting replied calmly.
Upon hearing this answer, the eldest prince frowned and asked:
"Neither enemy nor friend?"
Shen Pingting continued, "Her mind wasn't on the First Prince's residence at all, but on the Prince of Shou'an."
Therefore, as long as she remains in the capital and His Highness does not continue to make things difficult for her, she is neither friend nor foe.
Upon hearing this, the eldest prince smiled, a slight smirk playing on his lips.
"But she has already set off to claim her fiefdom."
My aunt discovered that she had laid a hand on Xie San Niangzi.
My aunt's intention was to have her granted land.
Shen Pingting suddenly understood, and after thinking for a moment, she said:
"In that case, Your Highness, what arrangements do you intend to make? I will fully cooperate."
The eldest prince suddenly turned gloomy: "I heard that she also brought eight beauties with her, each with a different figure, and she is preparing to present them to me."
Your looks are probably not even a fraction of hers, so what are you going to do?
Shen Pingting smiled faintly upon hearing this: "Then I would like to congratulate Your Highness on the acquisition of your beautiful wife."
Then she continued, "I came here to take care of Your Highness because Consort Shu valued my loyalty and ability, nothing else."
On the way here, the old nanny kept teaching me to look at the household's account books, land deeds, shops, and so on...
Therefore, a concubine is not someone who serves others with her beauty; her role from the very beginning is to be the prince's assistant and right-hand woman.
The eldest prince sneered, "You're not worthy of being called an arm."
Shen Pingting nodded in agreement: "I am new here and have many shortcomings. I hope Your Highness will give me more guidance in the future."
Even if I am not Your Highness's right-hand woman, I will still be Your Highness's most loyal servant.
Upon hearing this, the eldest prince's gaze darkened slightly, and he stood up and walked outside.
Shen Pingting quickly got up and saw the eldest prince to the gate of the courtyard before slowly turning back.
Her personal maid, Dongcao, followed her in and suddenly noticed two dark blue finger marks on her mistress's chin under the lamplight.
"Miss, your chin..."
Shen Pingting reached out and touched her chin, instantly feeling a sharp pain before she came to her senses.
Then calmly said, "It's okay, just go get some medicine and rub it on for me."
Upon hearing this, Dongcao went to get the medicine and then came over to massage Shen Pingting's chin.
"The eldest prince shows no mercy to women, he's too ruthless..."
Shen Pinting smiled and said, "Silly Dongcao, I was never Xiangyu, so it's right that he doesn't pity me."
"Then what are you?" Dongcao asked.
"It's an informant, a subordinate, a spy, an advisor, a butler... in short, it's not Xiangyu."
Dongcao seemed to understand.
Despite the pain, Shen Pingting said calmly, "Only after today's ordeal have we truly entered the Crown Prince's sights."
The Crown Prince's Consort will be arriving in just over ten days.
If we can successfully keep the Crown Princess in check, His Highness will rely on us more.
Only in this way can the concubine live a better life in the mansion.
Dongcao felt even more distressed after hearing this.
What kind of day is this?!
...
As the saying goes, some families are saddened while others are troubled.
The eldest prince is having a hard time here, and the Prince Rui of the Northern Border is having an even worse time here.
Since the Emperor's decree of grace was issued, various factions within the Northern Kingdom's palace have been eager to make their move.
Prince Rui had five sons, ranked according to the virtues of benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness.
The Prince Rui's Mansion has been unusually lively lately.
Xiao Ren, the eldest son of Prince Rui, was born to his principal wife and was deeply loved by Prince Rui. His status in the Northern Territory was second only to Prince Rui.
However, this also fostered his arrogant and boastful nature, making him look down on his brothers.
The second son, Xiao Yi, was an introverted man who always had a blank expression, and almost no one could read his mind.
However, when it comes to handling affairs, he is cautious, thorough, and strategic.
The third brother, Xiao Li, appears to be a playboy who indulges in eating, drinking, and having fun, but in reality, he is vengeful and vindictive, like a venomous snake.
The fourth brother, Xiao Zhi, is as his name suggests, the most brilliant mind among the brothers. However, he was poisoned when he was a child. Although the poison was cured, he lost his sight.
The fifth son, Xiao Xin, was the youngest, possessed the highest martial arts skills, and was the most skilled. He served by Prince Rui's side daily and enjoyed the prince's deep trust.
However, they were brave but lacked strategy.
However, the fifth brother listens to the fourth brother more, and the two have a good relationship.
The whole thing started with the Edict of Grace, which the eldest brother originally thought would make the entire Northern Territory his own.
Of course, if the Northern Frontier gains power and seizes the throne, I will become the Crown Prince.
But now, not to mention the whole world, even the northern border will be divided equally among his brothers.
Xiao Ren had been holding in his anger for months and was annoyed by everyone.
He drank heavily at home every day, which made Prince Rui very dissatisfied with him.
Upon hearing this, Mr. He Run, Prince Rui's chief advisor, couldn't help but marvel at the brilliance of the plan.
Mr. Herun, whose original name was Zhang Herun, was a former official during the reign of the late emperor.
Zhang Herun was Xie's junior fellow apprentice, and the two of them were both students of the great Confucian scholar Feng Zongwen.
Feng Zongwen once said that Zhang Herun and Master Xie were his two most outstanding disciples.
The two men harbored mutual resentment from the school days all the way to the imperial court.
When the late emperor was on his deathbed, Master Xie had already become the grandson of the crown prince, and is now the tutor of the crown prince.
In the end, in order to pave the way for Prince Rui, the late emperor actually gave Zhang Herun to Prince Rui.
Old Master Xie had advised him, but Zhang Herun thought that since Old Master Xie already had a position in the court, he, as the junior apprentice, had to find another way to make a name for himself.
Therefore, he agreed to follow Prince Rui and came to the Northern Border.
Over the years, he has wholeheartedly assisted Prince Rui, and has governed the northern border with great political harmony and social stability.
He is now the chief strategist under Prince Rui.
The reason why Mr. Xie retired early was because of Zhang Herun.
Someone in the imperial court impeached Master Xie and Zhang Herun for their relationship, saying that the two were colluding.
In a fit of anger, the old Grand Tutor requested permission from the emperor to retire.
The emperor tried repeatedly to persuade him to stay, but in the end, Master Xie still retired.
Later, the emperor also found out that there was indeed no contact between Master Xie and the Northern Border, but it was too late.
Over the years, the emperor has felt quite guilty towards Master Xie.
Especially after the Xie family came up with the idea of the "Decree of Grace," the emperor felt even more indebted to Old Master Xie.
After hearing about this policy of granting favors, Zhang Herun pressed for details about who came up with the idea.
After learning that it was Grandpa Xie, he remained silent for a long time.
Then they started thinking of a solution, but after much thought, they finally realized that this plan had no solution.
Especially after seeing the behavior of the eldest son, Xiao Ren, they felt that this plan was even more vicious.
Xiao Ren was very dissatisfied with this decree, and his temper became even more irritable and violent.
Prince Rui tried every means to persuade him, using both kindness and threats, to stop him several times, but all to no avail.
Of the five brothers, only the fourth brother was blind, but he was the most clear-headed.
This scheme is insidious and there is no way to counter it.
However, he was powerless to help his elder brother with his unstable emotions.
The only solution was to unite with the second brother, hoping that the two of them could persuade the third and fifth brothers not to clash with the eldest brother.
But the third brother holds grudges, and the fifth brother is brave but reckless; simply trying to persuade him won't work.
Sure enough, the first to clash with his eldest brother Xiao Ren was the third brother Xiao Li.
Xiao Ren was drunk when he met Xiao Li at the door. Xiao Li greeted him politely.
To everyone's surprise, Xiao Ren scoffed:
“You little brat, you dare to compete with me for the position.”
Xiao Li's biological mother was of low status; she wasn't even a concubine, but merely a maidservant of Prince Rui.
Xiao Ren's words, "You little bastard," struck a chord with Xiao Li.
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