Afterwards, Madam Liu visited each household with gifts to apologize, saying that if she hadn't been so greedy, so many young ladies' reputations wouldn't have been affected by her, and she felt extremely guilty.
But few companies were willing to buy into her scheme.
After all, their daughter's bad reputation has already spread, and if they want to find a good marriage partner in the future, she will have to marry someone from another place. Who would be happy about that?
Even if Madam Liu clarified, people could only spread the sensational news; few were willing to listen to such a boring clarification.
Madam Liu was anxious and upset. She had spent almost all of the gold bars given to her by the Dowager Consort, but she hadn't gotten any credit for her money.
Oh, what a terrible thing!
This incident caused quite a stir in the capital. Suddenly, the ladies who were originally not qualified to attend the banquet at the Prince of Yan's residence all held their heads high. "Thank goodness my family wasn't qualified," they thought, "otherwise, my reputation as a young lady would be ruined!"
The happiest person after this incident was undoubtedly Yuwen Wuji. After this event, many officials who were on good terms with the Prince of Yan's household fell silent.
"The Dowager Consort is getting old!" Yuwen Wuji sighed. Li Wei, who was standing nearby, sensed the joy in his voice and pushed the chestnut cake next to him forward.
"Your Majesty, you've been looking at these memorials for so long, why don't you try this chestnut cake!"
Yuwen Wuji didn't usually like eating these sweet and greasy pastries, but he was in a good mood today, so he tried one anyway.
The chestnut cake was sweet, soft, and chewy, with a perfect texture, which he really liked.
"This cake is delicious, here's a reward!"
Li Wei chuckled and said, "This was specially made for you by Consort Zhen."
When Consort Zhen was mentioned, Yuwen Wuji thought of his son.
Let's have dinner at Gyeongbokgung Palace tonight.
Li Wei exclaimed, "Yes, Your Majesty! This servant will immediately send someone to inform Consort Zhen of this good news!"
Yuwen Wuji was quite pleased, and then had someone summon Qingxu Zhenren.
"My lord, I have been taking the medicine for some time now, and with the health exercises you instructed me to do, I feel refreshed and invigorated. I wonder when I will be able to carry on?"
Master Qingxu stroked his beard and said with a smile, "Allow this humble Taoist to take your pulse."
Yuwen Wuji stretched out his hand, anxiously awaiting the result.
Master Qingxu withdrew his hand and smiled, "Your Majesty is in good health now and can act, but please remember to exercise restraint."
Yuwen Wuji was overjoyed and immediately gave one of his crane-shaped purple clay teapots to Qingxu Zhenren.
Master Qingxu accepted the gift without hesitation and then left.
That evening, Yuwen Wuji had dinner at Song Wenyue's place, and then favored a concubine who had been in the palace for a long time but had not served the emperor.
This concubine was handpicked by Yuwen Wuji. She had six older brothers, each with at least two or three sons.
In such a blessed family with many children, he wanted to have a son in one go. Even if it didn't work out, he would try a few more times.
When Consort Shu heard the news, she rewarded the concubine and moved her to a new palace. For a time, the concubine was incredibly popular and became the new darling of the harem.
Many people are speculating whether this talented woman will be able to conceive a son.
Song Wenyue found life incredibly boring. Ever since Song Yaozhu told her to be obedient, she hadn't done anything at all. Although there were occasional problems with the Sixth Prince's meals, she could always resolve them.
Song Yaozhu said, "Let the Fifth Prince and the Crown Prince fight first, but the Fifth Prince is still bedridden. How can they fight?"
Forget it, she can't interfere in the affairs of the court anyway, let Song Yaozhu handle it. As for the Fifth Prince, Consort Shu is keeping a close watch on him, there's nothing she can do about it.
Just as the capital was slowly returning to its former tranquility, the people the emperor had sent out returned, bringing with them... many young women!
These people were none other than the concubines that Shen Qingque had taken in, as mentioned in the previous rumors.
These girls were all leaving home for the first time to come to this bustling capital city. Seeing everything in the capital, they were filled with confusion, excitement, and nervousness. A mix of emotions mingled together, leaving only curiosity and longing for the new world, almost making them forget everything they had been told back home.
The carriage took them all to the Shen residence, but the gatekeeper of the Shen residence had not received any notification and dared not let them in.
When the gatekeeper went to find Yongle, Yongle looked completely bewildered: "When did our household have a concubine? Father's concubine?"
If Shen's father knew, he would probably be so angry he'd vomit blood.
The gatekeeper couldn't let them in, so the two sides were at a stalemate. Apart from Yongle, all the other elders of the Shen family were at the yamen (government office). Old Master Shen didn't concern himself with the matter at all, and a commotion broke out at the gate.
The onlookers couldn't help but gasp in astonishment: "Oh my, are these the concubines that the Shen family's son found in Jiangnan? Why are they all covered up so no one can see them!"
"Tsk, they don't have the background of a noble lady, but they're putting on airs! Aren't they all just concubines?"
"I didn't believe those rumors when I first heard them. I never expected them to actually come to our door! Why won't the Shen family let them in? Didn't Shen tell them to go back?"
"I don't think so either. You know how fierce his wife is, how could he let him take a concubine? If he took a concubine and kept her outside, without any evidence, his family could make a scene as much as they wanted. Bringing her back is just asking his wife to cause trouble for him!"
"Now that you mention it, I also find this strange. Shen isn't brainless; he wouldn't do something like this. And look at those girls, they're not wearing their hair in a married woman's bun! Could it be that someone deliberately sent them here to disgust us?"
"I don't know, let's see."
A group of people pulled out a handful of sunflower seeds from somewhere and started eating them while watching.
After making a fuss for about half an hour, Yongle finally remembered that there was such a thing, and that it was she who asked her uncle to bring the person to the capital!
She rushed out in a hurry, and when she saw the people standing outside, she glanced at them. The young ladies who were angry because they had been teased by the gatekeeper were all intimidated by her noble and dignified face.
"They don't even bow to the princess!" Granny Feng glared at the girls, thinking to herself that they really were from the lower classes and didn't know any manners. She had to remind them.
The young ladies then offered their greetings in a scattered manner, each displaying their own unique style. To Granny Feng, it was simply unbearable to watch!
When she first took over as a princess, she didn't behave this badly!
Oh my goodness, what kind of people has this son-in-law chosen! Even if his taste has declined, it shouldn't have declined this much!
Is this what they mean by "homegrown flowers don't smell as good as wild ones"?
Did I treat the county magistrate too rigidly, which is why my son-in-law is looking for someone outside?
At this moment, Granny Feng was caught in endless self-doubt.
Could it really be that I failed to teach the princess properly?
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