The young eunuch quickly looked up and whispered, "Your Majesty, something terrible has happened! The Emperor has ordered Consort Shu to arrange the selection of consorts for the princes!"
"What?"
Xu Jinlan stood up abruptly, her anger, which had just subsided, flared up again.
"Well, well, what a vixen she is! After all her scheming and jumping around, she finally managed to win the Emperor's favor! She actually dared to choose a concubine for my son; I think she doesn't want a peaceful life anymore!"
As she spoke, Xu Jinlan angrily turned to leave, but Hongmei grabbed her arm.
"Your Highness, where are you going?" Hongmei asked anxiously, she was truly exasperated by Xu Jinlan's temperament.
"What else can I do! Of course, I'm going to find that vixen. I have to let her know that I can't stop her from finding a wife for her son, but if she dares to interfere with my son's marriage, I'll take her life!"
Hongmei hurriedly pulled Xu Jinlan back, "My dear Your Majesty, why are you so impulsive! Haven't you considered that this might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us!"
Xu Jinlan was taken aback. "What good opportunity?"
"Of course, this is a great opportunity to build our power!" With that, Hongmei forcibly pulled Xu Jinlan to sit down in a chair and patiently said, "Your Highness, think about it, if our prince can find a princess with a powerful background this time, wouldn't that be a great thing for us?"
"Hmph! How could such a great opportunity fall to us! That vixen would surely choose one for her son first!"
The thought of Hu Qianyu gaining the Emperor's trust and getting this job made Xu Jinlan feel nauseous and uncomfortable.
"Your Majesty, it's precisely because Consort Hu is in charge that we can have a good discussion! If she really has to choose all the good things, then we'll go to the Emperor and complain about her unfairness; if she tries to pretend to be fair, then we can just go along with it and choose the best family for our prince first! In short, no matter what we do, we're guaranteed to profit! Your Majesty, don't you think so?"
Xu Jinlan thought about it seriously for a long time before nodding slightly, "After hearing what you said, it seems like we're not at a disadvantage!"
"Of course we won't lose out! And most importantly, we can use this opportunity to give the East Courtyard a good beating. I reckon that Consort Shu will definitely be carefully selecting the best one for her son. As long as we get the news and choose that one, they'll have to suffer in silence, but they can't say anything! This will be very beneficial for our prince's selection as crown prince in the future!"
Xu Jinlan immediately nodded, "Yes! Moreover, if she takes a fancy to someone else, we can also use some tricks to make her end up with nothing."
Thinking of this, Xu Jinlan smiled smugly. In her heart, as long as she could make that guy from the East Courtyard suffer a setback, sometimes it didn't matter if she had to lose some money herself.
"Okay, Hongmei, let's go see those girls tomorrow, and then I'll have my dad go out and find out about their backgrounds. We must get ahead of everyone else and snatch the best ones for me!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Hongmei smiled slightly at Xu Jinlan, thinking that this concubine selection competition was going to be quite a spectacle.
The next morning, Lan Linxue felt like she hadn't even woken up properly when Shuanghua dragged her out of bed to go to the morning court session.
Lan Linxue felt a little weak lately.
Although his injuries had healed, he still felt like he couldn't sleep well every day because of the ordeal with his father.
So even though the morning court session had already started, he still stood to the side, grumpy from just waking up, with a gloomy face and not saying a word.
Lan Shanyang glanced at Lan Linxue and knew she must have slept poorly and was still fuming. He didn't say much, acting as if he hadn't seen her, and gave her the instructions for the day as usual, specifically instructing the Ministry of Works to repair the prince's courtyard as soon as possible so he could move in.
At the same time, an imperial edict was officially issued today to confer upon Lan Xiuyuan the title of Prince Cheng. A separate residence will also be arranged for him in the capital.
Both were originally princes, but Lan Linxue was a prince of the first rank, while Lan Xiuyuan was a prince of the second rank, which immediately created a distinction between the two classes.
Lan Xiuyuan's expression turned somewhat unpleasant, but Hu Tianyong remained all smiles, seemingly extremely satisfied with the Emperor's arrangement.
When the court session ended, Hu Tianyong specifically called Lan Xiuyuan aside and whispered, "The Emperor's reward is a great favor. Lan Linxue is a deposed crown prince, destined to remain a prince for life, while you are the best candidate to become crown prince! Those who achieve great things do not concern themselves with trivial matters!"
After saying that, Hu Tianyong smiled and walked away with his colleagues, but Lan Xiuyuan's expression changed, becoming cheerful and bright.
After the court session ended, Lan Linxue went straight to the Imperial Study at the back.
The guards saw that he had walked away without any orders, and no one said anything, acting as if they hadn't seen anything at all.
The Emperor gave the order last night: treat the Crown Prince the same way you treated him before, and forbid anyone from speaking out.
So, Lan Linxue used to be like this, half-dead, going wherever she wanted, and she still is now, going wherever she wants.
Lan Linxue walked to the door of the Imperial Study, and without waiting for anyone to announce her, she reached out and opened the curtain herself, striding inside.
Quan Jing is preparing breakfast for Lan Shanyang.
This was Lan Shanyang's habit; he always ate after the morning court session. Lan Linxue knew his father's habit, so he came to freeload a meal openly and legitimately.
Still looking unwell, Lan Linxue walked over and sat down next to Lan Shanyang. She stared blankly at the various dishes that were served.
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