Chapter 291 Stupidity
Chen Tang did not call Prince Yu stupid, she just felt that Empress Xu loved her daughter too much. She also wondered why Empress Xu would share a little worry with the Emperor and anger so many noble ladies. It turned out that Empress Xu took on this reputation for her daughter, Princess Gu'an.
There is no doubt that a princess has a noble status, but when it comes to marrying well, she may not be as easy as the daughters of aristocratic families. Her husband does not hold military power, nor does he hold any important position in the court. Apart from the empty title of husband, there is no official career for her.
No one with ambition wants to marry a princess, and no one will want a stupid princess.
Princess Gu'an's lifelong event has not been settled yet, and Empress Xu is very anxious. If the news comes out at this critical juncture that it was Princess Gu'an who offered advice to the emperor, she will definitely be pushed to the forefront. Since the emperor has finalized the matter, Empress Xu has to do it whether she is willing or not, and she can only take the blame for Princess Gu'an herself.
Those who knew Empress Xu would know that she was not so stupid and might even think that it was the Emperor's will that made it difficult for her.
It was precisely because Empress Xu protected her so closely that Chen Tang didn’t know that this stupid thing was caused by Princess Gu’an. If she knew, she would have directly asked Xie Guimo to remind Prince Yu.
There was no word from the palace about the purpose of this palace banquet. Many people speculated that it was to select a princess for Prince Yu. Previously, Prince Yu was outshined by Prince Qi, but now the situation is reversed. Those noble ladies who hoped that their daughters would catch the eye of Empress Xu dressed their daughters up in the most ostentatious way possible, as long as they were decent.
All wives of officials of the fourth rank and above had to go to the palace, so there were many people from the Jingyang Palace going to the palace. The princess consort, the second wife, and the fourth wife all had to go, plus their respective daughters, so there were quite a lot of people going to the palace.
Chen Tang went to pay respects the day before yesterday, but did not see the old lady. He did not go yesterday, and he had to go to the palace with them today. It was not convenient to wait directly at the gate, so he took Ginkgo to Wutong Courtyard.
From a distance, I saw Concubine Jiang bringing her daughter Xie Yan into the courtyard. When Chen Tang entered the house and walked to the screen, I heard the Second Madam laughing and saying, "I haven't seen Concubine Jiang dressed up in a long time. Is she going out of the house?"
Concubine Jiang smiled and said, "I will go to the palace with you."
As soon as Concubine Jiang said this, everyone looked at the princess at the same time. Although Concubine Jiang had a special status, she was just a concubine after all. Concubines were not allowed to attend palace banquets. Of course, this was not allowed, not by the palace, but by the queen.
Asking the concubine to attend the banquet together was clearly an insult to the princess. The princess looked slightly unhappy, "Did the prince agree to let you go?"
Concubine Jiang said, "The prince has no objection to my going."
This was not a lie. She wanted to go to the palace to attend the banquet hosted by Queen Xu, and asked the prince to agree to let her go. The prince was annoyed and pushed the matter to the princess. If the princess agreed, she would go. If the princess disagreed, she would stay in the palace.
This was originally the princess's right as the mistress of the house, but the princess did not want to cause trouble between the prince and Concubine Jiang. It was known in Kyoto that Prince Jingyang had a concubine who was his cousin, and it could not be suppressed unless the princess did it.
As long as the prince throws it to the princess, the princess will agree, without exception.
But that was in the past. A few days ago, Concubine Jiang was meddling in other people's affairs and was scolded by Chen Tang. If Concubine Jiang were to enter the palace, Chen Tang would be very disappointed.
The princess said coldly, "Agree means agree, disagree means disagree, what do you mean by no objection?"
In the past, the princess ignored Concubine Jiang. When asked this question now, Concubine Jiang was stunned for a moment and said, "The prince asked me to ask the princess what she thinks. The princess agreed and let me go..."
"I won't allow it."
The gentle yet firm voice echoed in the room.
Concubine Jiang's face froze and she was furious.
The second wife said, "My eldest sister-in-law was always allowed to enter the palace as a concubine in the past, why is she not allowed today?"
The princess glanced at the second wife and asked, "Just because I allowed it before, do I have to allow it in the future?"
The Second Madam didn't expect the princess to be so angry today, so she laughed and said, "The prince has always valued the Jiang family, and has never really regarded the concubine as a concubine. It was only because of the face of the eldest sister-in-law, and knowing that the eldest sister-in-law would not disagree, that he asked the concubine to ask your opinion."
The prince's behavior can be said to be forcing the princess to exercise her rights as a mistress, or it can be said to be to save the princess's face. It depends on how everyone understands it.
The princess didn't say anything, and Chen Tang couldn't help but say, "Second Aunt's words don't sound good at all, as if she's saying that Father is hypocritical..."
The second wife's face changed, "Princess, please don't misinterpret my meaning! How can I have any say in the prince's affairs?"
She knew that the prince was not someone she could talk to, but she still said a lot.
Chen Tang said, "Father is straightforward in his actions. He probably thinks that it is Mother's right to allow the concubine to leave the palace. He cannot go beyond Mother's control and indulge the concubine again and again. The concubine took Father's lack of objection as her consent, which is really disrespectful to Mother."
Concubine Jiang indeed never took the princess seriously. She and the prince were cousins since birth, so how could the relationship between them be compared to that of the princess, who came to the throne more than ten years later.
But it is one thing to feel this way in one's heart, but it is not okay to be said openly by Chen Tang. The principal wife is the principal wife, and the concubine is just the concubine. Blindly indulging the concubine will inevitably be suspected of favoring the concubine over the wife.
The Second Madam couldn't bear to see Chen Tang protecting the Princess, so she said, "The eldest lady has reached the age of marriage. The prince has allowed the concubine to decide the eldest lady's marriage. Many noble ladies will attend the palace banquet today. The concubine will go with her to check. The Princess has no reason to disagree."
When the prince and the concubine got into trouble, the Jiang family, relying on their kindness in raising the prince, wanted to make the princess a co-wife. The princess had only one thing to say, that the prince should give her the position of co-wife and simply divorce her, and give the position of principal wife to concubine Jiang. The prince was caught in the middle and was in a dilemma.
The prince could not give the position of a co-wife, so he could only give other compensation. In addition to the betrothal gift that was no less than that of the princess, he also had the right to decide the marriage of his children in the future. However, the Jiang family just didn't ask for it, and the princess was unwilling to worry about her illegitimate children. There were few perfect marriages in the world, and Concubine Jiang's status was special.
If you interfere in the marriage between the second young master and the eldest young lady, you are asking for trouble. The princess will throw it to the prince. If Concubine Jiang and the Jiang family ask for this right, the prince will give it to them directly.
Since the prince did agree, it was difficult for the princess to object. Chen Tang said, "Since the concubine must enter the palace and do her part, mother should not stop her."
The princess was a little confused. Didn't the Crown Prince's wife disapprove of the concubine entering the palace? Why was she speaking in good words?
The second wife asked, "Do your part? What does that mean?"
Chen Tang looked at the Second Madam, blinked his eyes and said, "This palace banquet was held in a hurry. We didn't hear any news beforehand, and the time was very tight. My husband guessed that the palace banquet was held this time to commemorate the drought in Xuzhou and Changzhou. Empress Xu wanted to share the emperor's worries and called on all the wives of officials to donate money for disaster relief."
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