Huan Yue was practicing calligraphy in his study.
Xie Zhou was reading a book while thinking about maritime trade.
The history of maritime merchants is very long.
(For example, "The grass market welcomes goods from the river, and the ferry bridge taxes merchants from the sea." Another example: "Their ships were all built by wealthy families, and the men who sailed them were called 'young men.' Each ship was well-supported and strong by its owners, with forty or fifty men on each ship. They would travel south to Qiongzhou to carry goods such as rattan and betel nuts, and east to Chaozhou to carry salt, all of which yielded tenfold profits.")
High profits, but also high risks.
Han Oumo is a special case, but she gets lost too, doesn't she? The important thing is that she knows how to do some things.
Xie Zhou asked his wife, "What do you think of the maritime merchants?"
Huan Yue looked at him coldly.
Xie Zhou's bones melted; his wife asked him to kiss her first, just one kiss.
The maidservant was standing at the door with tea in her hand, unsure whether to go in or not.
Xie Zhou gave him another kiss and sat quietly by the window.
The maidservant stole a glance and, sure enough, he was the refined scoundrel the Empress had described. She put down her tea and said, "He Jing is causing trouble because of He Yuexian."
Xie Zhou waved.
The maidservant slipped away. What's so special about He Yuexian? He Jing probably wants to get beaten up again.
Could it be that he or He Yuexian could casually discuss matters in the palace? Could it be that He Jing has become too comfortable living on the estate and has lost his sense of propriety?
**
The Shicui Hall is quite lively right now.
Xie Zhu, the newly appointed Prince of Yan, had nothing better to do, so he came over to do this with his third sister.
Nobody cared about him.
Xie Zhu knew he was just going to tacitly approve. But if things escalated, it would be a serious matter.
He wasn't after anything in particular. Since the imperial edict had been issued, no one was vying for it for the time being.
Xie Zhu was just helping his third sister. His third sister was so gentle and kind, so he should do some of the work.
Find some reliable people, and he himself needs reliable people too, to get rid of the Cui family.
Princess Yongmu was amused to see Liu Lang so busy running around.
Fortunately, there was no rush. Princess Yongmu tidied up the east and west wing rooms first.
Xie Zhu wants to use the west wing, as if he wants to take root here.
Anyway, he's on one side and the princess is on the other.
He was only ten years old, so there wasn't much need to avoid suspicion. The women of the Eastern Palace also had their own quarters; he just needed to stay in the back hall and not wander around.
Princess Yongmu will be keeping an eye on him. Actually, it's probably the same in the harem.
The plan is to build a greenhouse in the east wing, but it won't be a whole vegetable garden, just a small one.
Di Baose sat playing in the thatched hut; the hut and the season were beautiful.
Looking at the trees outside the hall and the blue sky, it was as beautiful as a painting!
Meng Pingting went to find Di Liangdi.
Di Baose looked at her, wondering if something was wrong.
Meng Pingting asked shyly, "Does this concubine... abandon Your Highness?"
Di Baose nodded: "It's none of our business. The place and the people are right here. If His Highness doesn't care about the people outside, he can come whenever he wants."
Meng Pingting felt that His Highness spent every day in Qing'e Palace.
Di Baose glanced at her: "Do you know what His Highness and Her Majesty are talking about? It seems they're discussing maritime trade, do you understand?"
Meng Pingting's face turned pale; she really didn't understand maritime business. So, she decided to give up on it.
There was a hint of that, but Meng Pingting understood, and then smiled and said, "Miss Chen's news has reached me."
Di Baose blinked.
Meng Pingting spoke cautiously, after all, Consort Di was powerful and unreasonable: "You know, I don't have that much ability. It was deliberately passed on to me."
Di Baose nodded: "Chen Fengnu or Chen Zhen?"
Meng Pingting smiled and said, "Chen Zhen. She probably meant she wanted to inquire about the Crown Prince's Palace, but she also felt that it wasn't easy for me to do it alone."
Di Baose said, "You think I'd let you betray your own people?"
Meng Pingting quickly knelt down.
Di Baose waved her hand, not caring whether people knelt or not, as long as they were honest.
Meng Pingting stood up, knowing that Di Liangdi was relatively decent. Therefore, she dared to say, "I'm afraid her ambitions are far greater."
Di Baose sneered: "The Earl of Jianping is naturally quite ambitious. Chen Zhun is useless, but his son is capable. Chen Kuang is also quite capable, having already risen to the position of a regional governor. It's not surprising that Chen Zhen has such ambitions."
Meng Pingting nodded: "Empress Dong, I'm afraid..."
The fact that they are willing to accept Chen Fengnu means that they still have faith in the Chen family and the You family.
Otherwise, would Chen Fengnu's behavior be acceptable? However, Meng Pingting, being only a concubine, dared not casually discuss the Empress.
Di Baose didn't care. Even the Qing'e Palace didn't care. The Empress's affairs were the Emperor's business, but the Eastern Palace had to be careful.
A palace maid ran over to deliver a message: "The Meng family of the Marquis of Jianping has passed away."
Meng Pingting was surprised and exchanged a glance with Di Liangdi.
The Chen family quietly ordered Meng's death so that You could be made the official wife.
I never bothered with it before because it wasn't the right time.
Meng Pingting is considered a niece of the Meng family, so we should observe a period of mourning for her. This means she should observe a five-month period of mourning.
Moreover, Chen Zhun is nothing now, so Meng's funeral was also simple.
Perhaps Chen Zhun simply wanted to bury her, and then have a grand funeral with the You family later.
Whether things will turn out as desired remains to be seen. Does the death of Lady Meng mean the end of the marriage, or that the favored concubine's neglect of the wife? Was the wife gone, or was she simply eliminated?
If you want to handle it well, you can get away with it if others don't mind. Meng's son probably won't care either.
But if others want to argue, then the facts are the facts.
Yesterday, Chen Zhen dared to provoke the Crown Prince. Is no one in the Chen family keeping an eye on her?
Meng Pingting realized something was wrong: "Chen Fengnu is registered under the Meng family name, making her a legitimate daughter. When her stepmother dies, she is sentenced to three years of mourning. People like Chen Ke and Chen Yin also have to be sentenced to three years of mourning, so Chen Yin's chances of passing the imperial examination the following year are gone."
This is detrimental to both the Chen family and the Qi Prince's Mansion.
It would be inappropriate for the King of Qi to break off the engagement at this time. If it were delayed for three years, he would be too old.
Meng Pingting blinked: "Even if Prince Qi doesn't want to marry her, in three years, Chen Fengnu will be too old, and it would be unfair to him if he didn't marry her."
How will they compete for the throne in the future?
Di Baose thought for a moment: "On the surface, it doesn't seem like the Chen family did it."
That's just on the surface; in reality, who knows what their true intentions are?
Meng Pingting said in a very low voice, "It won't have as much of an impact on the second wife's family."
Di Baose nodded.
If Chen Zhen were to replace Chen Fengnu at this point, Chen Zhen, being a legitimate daughter, would be far superior to Chen Fengnu.
Although Chen Fengnu's efforts were in vain, the You family is not doing well now.
Besides, the You family wants to turn the Chen family into the You family, so why aren't the other two branches of the Chen family making a move?
Sunny also lowered her voice: "Madam Meng doesn't seem to have that kind of determination, unless she's forced into a corner again."
Meng Pingting said, "I can't ignore my son unless something happens to him."
It's not impossible. Chen Zhun had four powerful illegitimate sons and had long since grown to dislike his legitimate sons.
If the servants do something else, or if the other two households do something shady...
As for whether the other two families will target the mentally challenged, don't overestimate their morals.
Sunny said, "If the second wife were more ruthless, she could kill Madam Meng, get justice for her, and help her take care of her son. Perhaps that would be better than her taking care of him herself. As for whether she actually did take care of him, who knows?"
If Madam Meng had that ability, she wouldn't have lived such a miserable life.
Di Baose ignored it and went about her own business.
I'm always busy with my own things.
Meng Pingting watched, wondering if Di Liangdi was going to make another dress.
Di Baose needs to prove himself!
Sunny was happy to help.
Meng Pingting also helped, gossiping as she asked, "Where's Annie?"
Sunny smiled sweetly: "It's kept indoors."
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