When Yao Niang came out, she took off her cloak and asked the maid to help her hold it. After meeting Yu, she told her about the encounter with Prince Chen who gave her the cloak today. Yu was very happy for her daughter.

"Your father has never been so considerate to me. You know, a man of the status of the Prince of Chen can be so considerate. It's really a blessing for you. Many men are unwilling to listen to a woman's words. It's great to have a man who can listen to you." Yu said with some envy.

When Yao Niang was fat and stupid, I always thought that if a woman became beautiful, many men would love her.

In fact, getting along between men and women is a science, and it is not just a matter of appearance.

At least the Prince of Chen seems to be knowledgeable and interesting, which is much better than many other people. Her father, for example, is not very nice to talk to, and her mother has to coax him very carefully. Fortunately, her mother is not the kind of person who can get angry easily, otherwise she would have been angry to death long ago.

Not to mention other people, just look at his eldest brother in the family, who falls in love with every girl he meets. As for his second brother, although he is not as eccentric as his eldest brother, he also had several romantic affairs before getting married because of his outstanding appearance. Shi Yu simply avoided him, not to mention Luo Jingfa from the second house, who was openly having an affair with Yu Yan.

Therefore, Yao Niang felt very sweet on the road, but she was also afraid that after she got married, she would become the same as the women at home.

This is probably what all girls would worry about. In June, Cheng Shaojin and Wang Yuanshuang got married on the same day. Perhaps they didn't want to go back and forth to hold the wedding in the palace.

Yao Niang went to the Cheng family to congratulate Cheng Shaojin one day in advance. Cheng Shaojin had a copy of "Cai Gen Tan" in his hand. Her room was full of red, and there were several maids sent by the inner court standing in the room.

Although they all grew up in the palace, being a companion and being a princess are different. Don't think these people are kind just because they are all older women. Anyone who says a few words in front of the concubine will suffer.

"Sister Luo, come in and sit here." Cheng Shaojin was very happy.

Yao Niang congratulated her and said, "Sister, I wish you a long and happy marriage. I don't know how your family is doing now. I know you are very strict at home, so I don't dare to come here."

Cheng Shaojin pulled her to sit down, and then said to the maids, "This is Miss Luo, also my good friend. Let's talk about poetry. Please go and have some tea, maid."

These people knew that Yao Niang might also marry into the palace next year and become the Princess of Chen. Chen Wang was the most beloved son of His Majesty and was of course different from others.

After the maids left, Cheng Shaojin pinched Yao Niang's face and said, "I'm sorry to make you suffer."

"Who isn't? I haven't been able to go out much lately." Yao Niang smiled bitterly.

Cheng Shaojin nodded: "I have also heard about your family's affairs. We all knew your third sister before, but we didn't know she passed away so early."

Yao Niang sighed, "Yes, my third sister passed away when my third brother-in-law just passed the imperial examination and was very proud of his youth. We all felt sorry for him. Well, on your big day, let's not talk about these things. You know that my sister Zhuang, who used to live with me, married a scholar who passed the imperial examination this year, which is what she wanted."

"How can you get what you want? I heard that her family had originally planned a very good marriage, but it had not been finalized yet and it was still a tacit agreement back then. Now that Miss Zhuang is married, who knows what will happen in the future." Cheng Shaojian was not optimistic.

People like Zhuang Lingyi rely only on their social status. But if a man could abandon his ancestors' marriage so quickly to marry down like this, he must not be a firm person. It is hard to say what his future will be like.

Yao Niang frowned: "How did you know that, sister?"

Since the groom's family is tacitly known in the hometown, how did Cheng Shaozhen know this? Cheng Shaozhen said with a smile: "Don't forget, Xu Qingrong has a good relationship with her."

It turned out that it was Xu Qingrong who said that Zhuang Lingyi had always been close to Xu Qingrong because Concubine Lin was the empress. It was even very likely that Zhuang Lingyi would marry one of the second and third princes. But now she has become like this. No wonder Xu Qingrong no longer takes her seriously.

The most interesting thing is that Zhuang Lingyi actually sent an invitation to invite her over. Although Yao Niang and Zhuang Lingyi lived in the same room, she had been oppressed and squeezed out by Xu Qingrong for several years. How could she possibly come to visit? She just asked someone to prepare a generous gift and send it over as a courtesy.

But seeing all this, Zhuang Lingyi was a little dissatisfied: "Does Luo Yaoniang look down on me? Why didn't she come after I posted the invitation?"

"I guess she's putting on airs on purpose." The maid beside her complained.

Zhuang Lingyi is the daughter of the Duke of Xian. She used to have the highest status among the companions in the palace. But now, because she married a scholar, not only did Yao Niang not come, but even Xu Qingrong, who she thought had a good relationship with, did not come. Cheng Shaojian and others only sent gifts.

The wife of the Duke of Xian said, "You, I told you a long time ago but you didn't want to listen. If you were to marry the eldest prince now, do you think they would come?"

"So what? My daughter is marrying a scholar, and their family is not as chaotic as the royal palace. Besides, the real power is in the cabinet now. Maybe my daughter can become the Prime Minister's wife in the future." Zhuang Lingyi would never say such self-boasting words before, let alone mention that finding a young man with a bright future is better than anything else.

The wife of the Duke of Xian said, "You are already 26 years old. You should think that there are very few men who are not married at the age of 26. It seems that we forced you to marry. You are reluctant but you insist on marrying. You are the legitimate daughter of the Duke, but no one likes you. You want to come home——"

Although she loved her daughter, she still felt that Huang Daobin was a problematic person considering that the wife of the Duke of Xian had lived to such an old age. But her daughter was obsessed with him. Now there were many Miss Luos who were inferior to her, and even Cheng Shaojin could marry the Prince of Le'an. Everyone had a higher status than her.

My daughter is still stubborn and refuses to change her ways.

She didn't know that the Duke's Mansion would not always be so prominent. Who would protect her when her parents were gone?

Men know how to gain fame and climb up the social ladder, and they also want to marry the daughters of high-ranking officials. But why is it shameful for women to want to marry into a higher position? Even daughters always think so.

Ordinary people do not necessarily have a dull life, and the lives of the rich and powerful are not necessarily complicated.

Seeing her mother sad, Zhuang Lingyi could not help but kneel down and kowtow: "Mom, I do not envy others' wealth and glory. Ordinary days may be simple and plain, but as long as the two of us are together, I am happy. In the future, I will not be by your side to serve you. I wish you peace, happiness and good health."

After all, she was her own daughter, so Lady Xian Guogong couldn't bear to blame her.

Furthermore, after getting married, Zhuang Lingyi and her husband were in love, and the wife of the Duke of Xian no longer said anything. Zhuang Lingyi felt more and more that her choice was right.

But after the marriage, Zhuang Lingyi became the wife of a seventh-rank editor in the Hanlin Academy. The gap was not obvious at first, and she even felt very calm about it. Only when she occasionally mentioned Luo Yaoniang, whom she knew in the palace, Huang Daobin's eyes lit up.

"You're not talking about Minister Luo's daughter, are you?"

Zhuang Lingyi nodded. "Yes, she is the daughter of Luo Zhizheng, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. She has lived with me for several years. We were both studying together at the time under Princess Zhenyang. She is not very similar to her father."

Because Luo Zhizheng had a good reputation in the court, he listed his in-laws as part of the inspection during this major inspection and directly dismissed them, which won unanimous praise from the literati.

Zhuang Lingyi believes that Yao Niang is not like her father, meaning that Yao Niang is not an upright person at all. Instead, she is very cunning and her mind is full of how to climb up the social ladder. She has no backbone or dignity at all.

Huang Daobin heard this and knew that his wife was a daughter of a duke, and had a lot of experience. Hearing her words, he was surprised and asked, "Does that mean this Miss Luo is the one who was betrothed to the Prince of Chen?"

Zhuang Lingyi forced a smile and nodded.

"That means the emperor must value the Luo family more." Huang Daobin seemed to feel that there was a way to rise to the top.

His family was considered a well-known local family in Jinjiang, Fujian, but he had no support in the court. Anyone who served in the Hanlin Academy for the rest of his life would of course have to find a backer in the officialdom, and the Ministry of Personnel was the only one that could compete with the Cabinet.

Zhuang Lingyi saw that Huang Daobin was thoughtful, and felt that Huang Daobin seemed too keen on economics and official career. Of course, she also knew that after getting married, she had to make more plans for her husband, but she always felt a little sad that now she even had to make friends with the Luo family.

Kunning Palace

Gao Xuance came to pay respects to Concubine Hong. Concubine Hong's own daughters-in-law had not yet entered the palace, but she had to work hard for the Ninth Prince and the First Prince, so her back and waist were naturally sore. Although she didn't need to do many things herself, she always had to keep an eye on some things and couldn't make any mistakes, otherwise outsiders would think it was intentional.

"Mother, are you tired? Your son will find a palace maid who knows how to massage you." Gao Xuance said with concern.

Concubine Hong waved her hand and said, "No need, no need. I was thinking that your second sister-in-law will marry into the palace at the end of the year, and your wedding will be arranged next year. I don't know why, but I am always worried."

As expected, mother and son are connected by heart. Starting from the end of this year, my father's health will weaken and he has been on the verge of death several times. This is why even my mother let herself escape.

In his previous life, because Lin became the empress and used the people she relied on to poison him, Concubine Hong had no intention of arranging his marriage and she just wanted to catch the person who poisoned him.

Even in his previous life, he didn't have an engagement because there was no suitable candidate and he never thought about that matter.

Since Lin was not crowned as the empress in this life, her status was already in jeopardy, and even more people from below turned to Concubine Hong. Therefore, Lin's work was not going smoothly. He practiced Taoism in his previous life and had been exposed to many pharmacological factors, so he also avoided some of them, and his life was temporarily safe.

"Mother, don't worry, your son will protect you well." Gao Xuance said seriously.

Seeing her son being so serious, Concubine Hong smiled and said, "You, your mother asked you to come here today, and picked two people to serve you." She especially emphasized the word "serve", to put it bluntly, she meant to teach a woman how to deal with human affairs.

The second son had sent two girls there two years ago, and both were accepted. One of them was particularly favored, so Concubine Hong still had great confidence in her own judgment.

Anyway, these palace maids have low status and they can never affect the status of the future princess.

After Gao Xuance's rebirth, he had never thought about women. Now when he heard his mother mention it, he was a little surprised.

Seeing her son, who always had a good grasp of the wisdom, in such a daze, Concubine Hong couldn't help but smile and said, "You've grown up now. You can't let yourself suffer."

As the saying goes, a gift from an elder cannot be refused. Almost everyone would not object, nor would they dare to object, and would accept it. However, Gao Xuance thought of Yao Niang. They had no communication in their previous life. At first, they even slept in separate rooms. Later, she locked herself in that small dark room with him every day and night because she wanted the child to enter the palace as a wet nurse...

The thought of it frightened him, and he immediately shook his head: "No, mother, my mind is now fully focused on doing things for my father, so there is no need."