The Dong family's sudden move completely baffled everyone.
Why? Did you hit your head?
No matter what, the Prince of Qi is still a prince. Why would he marry a concubine who killed his wife and the legitimate daughter who was killed?
If the King of Qi were to feign pitifulness, he might not get his wish.
Everyone can only think about what he's after; marrying a murdered legitimate daughter must mean he has a grand scheme.
It's impossible that the Crown Prince had a savior, and that Prince Qi had some connection with the murdered legitimate daughter.
What's even more interesting is that the Dong family had connections with both the Marquis of Jianchang and the Marquis of Jianping.
Many people are watching the Crown Princess.
Huan Yue held his head, it hurt.
Di Baose saw her feigning innocence and said, "Just bear with it."
The saint is here, what is she pretending for?
Princess Huayang was also confused. She saw that the Dong family and Marquis Jianping, Chen Zuo, had reached an agreement, but her father, the Emperor, had not given his approval.
Lady Dong was bewildered; why did the emperor disagree?
The emperor chuckled: "My own son, and I don't even have the power to decide anything about him?"
Did the Dong family decide to just go through the motions by asking him to come?
Although she was given the title "Blue Moth" at the time, she did indeed have a reputation.
Does the Marquis of Jianping's household now have a reputation for favoring concubines over wives? Does it give the impression that people today support favoring concubines over wives?
Chen Zuo hurriedly apologized, saying, "I have failed in my duty to educate my son."
The Crown Prince suggested to his father, "Shouldn't Chen Yansheng be dismissed from his post?"
The emperor glanced at his son and said, "Fine, dismiss him, and his son Chen Ke is also dismissed and allowed to return home."
Oh wow!
Those watching the commotion inside the Linde Hall all felt that the Chen family had offended the Crown Prince.
Chen Yansheng was appointed as the Vice Minister of War. Thinking about it, it doesn't seem surprising. The other Vice Minister, Xin Di, was Dong Xu's son-in-law. Wasn't the Ministry of War controlled by the Dong family? Chen Yansheng had to be dismissed; he couldn't stay a moment longer.
Otherwise, if the Dong family were to use the Ministry of War, wouldn't there be a day when war breaks out?
As for Chen Ke, that's another story.
Let's start from the beginning.
Chen Zhun, courtesy name Yansheng, is forty-one years old this year.
His grandmother arranged for him to be surnamed Meng.
You Guinian was a member of the Chen family in his early years and later prospered. However, his family declined after a few generations.
So a woman named You approached Chen Zhun, and that's how they started an affair.
Chen Zhun married Meng, and You gave birth to their eldest son, Chen Ke, whose position was even more secure than Meng's.
Over the years, You had four sons and three daughters, making her position in the Chen family as secure as a rock.
Moreover, Chen Ke is quite capable! He passed the imperial examination four years ago and is now (before being dismissed) a Hanlin Academician.
The position of Hanlin Academician is extremely important, especially since Chen Ke is young. Many people speculate that he will be able to enter the cabinet and become the youngest Grand Secretary before the age of thirty.
Unexpectedly, instead of a marriage decree being granted, the young Grand Secretary died first.
Especially since Chen Ke had offended the Crown Prince, the hope was too slim.
The more young people in Sheng'an were oppressed by Chen Ke, the more his reputation for favoring concubines over his wife spread.
Finally, the fire was put out.
Chen Ke's second younger brother is said to be very capable, and may become the top scholar in the provincial examination next year.
Chen Ke's three half-sisters are also very capable, but they are burdened by the reputation of favoring concubines over wives, otherwise they would definitely surpass Miss Pei.
Chen Zhun's first wife, Meng, gave birth to a daughter, Chen Zhi, and a son who was said to have mental disabilities.
Those who are not mentally sound are even less likely to be favored, so the Marquis of Jianping's mansion is basically controlled by the You family.
The fact that favoring a concubine over one's wife is something people love to talk about is that the You family naturally turned their fortunes around thanks to the You clan or the Marquis of Jianping's mansion.
Chen Ke's maternal uncle became a third-rank general.
As you can imagine, Chen Zhun was the Vice Minister of War, although his rank was lower than that of his brother-in-law.
Therefore, Chen Zhun had to go back. Calling Chen Yansheng was useless; Chen Ke already had several sons, and he wanted to go back to enjoy his grandchildren.
Chen Zuo was utterly humiliated. The You family had been in the family for decades!
The Grand Princess of Nankang came over and said, "Ms. You comes from a good family. She is virtuous and upright, and she is good at supporting her husband, raising her children, and managing her household."
Huan Yue came over to greet the Grand Princess: "Born into a respectable family, yet she disobeyed traditional female virtues, seduced her betrothed, and willingly degraded herself. Chen Ke is born with original sin. Treating concubines as wives and illegitimate children as legitimate children—is this how the Chen family runs its household?"
The patriarch spoke up: "Since the Marquis of Jianping is incapable of managing a household, his title should be demoted."
The Emperor decreed: "The Marquis of Jianping is demoted to the rank of Earl."
Huan Yue left.
No matter how powerful the You family is, they should first clarify their own position.
A concubine cannot become a wife, just as a subject cannot usurp the throne. If she were truly so honest, she wouldn't have been suppressing the original wife.
Huan Yue had no sympathy for his first wife; she had no feelings for him. But if a concubine wanted to cause trouble, then he had to speak up.
Many mistresses have risen to power; no matter how capable they are, can they deny that they have committed immoral acts?
The Grand Princess of Nankang chased after Huan Yue, yelling, "You family!"
Huan Yue turned around and shoved his fist in her face: "You're just cheap! You're such a cheap bastard!"
Princess Yongqing said, "When Lady Meng first entered the household, Lady You gave birth to a son, and countless people sympathized with Lady Meng. Lady You was aggressive and gave birth to another son the following year, leaving the original wife with no place to stand."
Huan Yue chimed in, "If your Chen family thinks Meng is unworthy, you can choose not to marry her. Why humiliate her like this? If husband and wife are heartless, they can divorce. Killing someone is just a matter of a head falling to the ground! How dare a shameless concubine put on a virtuous facade!"
Chen Ke is promising and can petition for a title for his birth mother.
The You family is waiting for a complete turnaround.
The Chen family wouldn't allow Meng to take the lead, and You was just a concubine.
For example, no one from the Chen family came to the palace banquet because Chen Ke's wife wasn't qualified.
But when You's sons grew up, she became the old lady.
Others don't care too much about her identity.
It was the Chen family themselves who brought out their legitimate daughter today.
So everyone was confused while watching the play.
Since the Chen family wanted to keep their first wife and legitimate daughter hidden, why bring them out at this time?
Does she think it's perfectly normal to favor a concubine over one's wife? Is Lady You taking this too seriously?
The Grand Princess of Nankang, being rather eccentric, shouted again, "What did Chen Ke do wrong?"
Our ancestors said, "You were born into the wrong belly."
Princess Pingyang assessed the situation and said, "The one to be betrothed is the eldest granddaughter of the Marquis of Jianping."
The Crown Prince's wife thought she was stupid: "A woman from such a family is not worthy of being a consort."
Lady Dong was bewildered and asked the Emperor, "Is Miss Chen not suitable?"
The emperor was very kind: "I'll give you ten days to think it over carefully. During these ten days, you will copy the 'Rules for Women' at Yongcui Palace."
No one dared to utter a sound. The Empress was utterly humiliated.
However, the Dong family should think things through carefully before making such a hasty decision.
It's impossible for the Chen family to have a good relationship with their legitimate daughter.
The concubine's daughter of the Chen family is even more unworthy to become the Princess Consort of Qi.
Some people reacted quickly, wondering if this was a way for the legitimate daughter to pave the way for the illegitimate daughter?
That's probably how the Pei family operates.
Huan Yue stopped worrying about it.
No matter what kind of daughter-in-law Dong finds, she's determined to cause trouble.
Believing she'll change is less reliable than believing a dog can change its nature and eat shit.
The banquet wasn't over when the dancers came to perform.
Huan Yue recalled the story of the dancer who rose to power and felt that anyone who could dance should not be underestimated.
Look at that posture, how flexible her waist is.
Di Baose felt that her waist might not be as flexible as Huan Yue's, and it seemed that His Highness was staring at her intently.
Di Baose nudged Huan Yue, "Your Highness has really taken a liking to someone else."
Huan Yue nodded. Anyway, the Eastern Palace was ready and people could come in at any time.
Di Baose thought about it and agreed. Whether or not she got in wasn't her business. It could also be used as a reward.
If Di Chang were to accept various rewards and gifts, there would be no way to force him to accept them if he truly refused.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
