Zhuang Lingyi herself was not qualified to sit here, but she was nominally the companion of Princess Zhenyang and the daughter of Duke Xian, so she followed her mother, Madam Zhuang, into the palace and could also have a seat here.
This is the advantage of having a strong family background, especially when Emperor Jianzhang suppressed the power of the Wang and Lin families and also wanted to win over other nobles. Compared with these two families, the Duke of Xian was slightly more neutral, which is why he had the dignity of Zhuang Lingyi.
Although Yao Niang felt a little sad about Wei Feng's death, she did not accept Zhuang Lingyi's accusation: "Madam Huang, you are too rude. How can we interfere with the emperor's order? Since you think you have a heart of a bodhisattva, why don't you lend a hand? As far as I know, you have made great military achievements and have close relationships with the Duke of Xian."
Zhuang Lingyi sneered: "Who doesn't know why the Lin family is like this? I am just the wife of a humble Hanlin scholar. Even you, the princess, can't do it, let alone me?"
Even now, Zhuang Lingyi does not think that her status is inferior to Yao Niang. She is the daughter of a duke, while Yao Niang was just the daughter of an assistant minister of the Ministry of Personnel. The two are too far apart, so when she looks at Yao Niang, she thinks that she is just someone who stole the dragon robe and does not look like a prince.
"Since you know that I am a princess, have you forgotten the distinction between superiors and inferiors?" Yao Niang looked at her and said.
Zhuang Lingyi smiled sarcastically. She thought that she was using her status to bully others for no reason. Yao Niang thought that she was picking on the weak and was too lazy to pay attention to her. It would be beneath her status to say more.
The two parted unhappily, but Yao Niang never thought of using her power to overpower others, because she and Zhuang Lingyi had never gotten along. Now she is already a princess, and Zhuang Lingyi can still be treated like this while her parents are still alive, but it may not be the case in the future.
Not to mention, her father Luo Zhizheng is currently serving as the Northern Literary Secretary and might be appointed to the Cabinet. It would be easy to deal with a Huang Daobin, so why should she show off her feelings and make the Duke of Xian complain about Gao Xuance?
But when she thought of Gao Xuance, she felt uncomfortable.
Zhuang Lingyi felt even worse, because she was superior to Yao Niang in every way. She was the daughter of a duke, while Yao Niang was just the daughter of a minister. They were not worlds apart, but there was a difference. Back then, Concubine Hong was very good to her, much better than Yao Niang.
The wife of the Duke of Xian came out and covered her chest and said to Zhuang Lingyi: "What happened to you today? You must have taken poison to dare to speak to the princess like that. I think it's the Princess of Chen. She has always been famous for her good temper in the royal family. If it's the Princess of An, I wonder how you will end up."
"It's said. We spoke very quietly at the time and no one heard us. Besides, they were guilty of this in the first place." Although Zhuang Lingyi was afraid in her heart, she still didn't think that Yao Niang had done anything to her.
To put it nicely, Princess Chen is just a woman in the deep palace. Can she deal with the Duke of Xian's Mansion?
Even the King of Chen may not be able to do it.
Little did she know that Yao Niang just wanted to find Gao Xuance to ask him clearly. Unfortunately, she came back too early and Gao Xuance was not at home at all. She had to take Chengyun to study first.
The child is now in the period of language explosion, so Yao Niang draws pictures and teaches the child to recognize them. Today, she is recognizing a rabbit. She points it to Cheng Yun and says, "Look, baby, this is a rabbit. The white one is a white rabbit, and the gray one is gray, so it is called a gray rabbit."
"White rabbit, white rabbit is beautiful." Cheng Yun said with a smile.
Unlike the calculation-filled Chengyun in her previous life, she takes care of her children personally in this life, and the children are very lively.
Gao Xuance didn't come back until dinner time. He was a very sensitive person, and as soon as he came back, he noticed that the environment at home was a little different.
Normally, Yao Niang would come out to greet him when she heard the eunuch's whistle, and then go in with him. She would tell him about many things at home and about Chengyun. Sometimes, when she was in a bad mood, she would not say these things and would just accompany him quietly.
Today, she was sitting quietly in front of the window, looking calm.
Gao Xuance quickly stepped forward and asked, "Have you had dinner yet? Why are you doing this here?"
Yao Niang stood up suddenly, looked at him and said, "You lied to me, didn't you? You didn't even ask anyone to look after Wei Feng and the others. Did you know that □□'s son is dead?"
But Gao Xuance said, "I've said that success leads to failure. It's my father who makes the decision. Even if I say something, others may not listen to me. Instead, my subordinates will think I'm a woman."
"But you shouldn't have lied to me?" Yao Niang was very angry.
Gao Xuance saw that her face was red with anger, so he immediately stepped forward and said, "I just want you to feel better. You are a kind-hearted person. If I didn't lie to you, you would definitely worry about your friends."
Yao Niang pushed him away: "I know you are doing this for my own good, but I am not a person who makes trouble for no reason. I hate it most in my life when people deceive me."
"Okay, I will never hide anything from you in the future." After being pushed away, Gao Xuance suddenly felt empty. He didn't want to lose her, so he promised immediately.
After hearing Gao Xuance's words, Yao Niang looked at him straight in the eye and said, "Remember what you said today. If you lie to me again, I will never talk to you again."
"I mean it."
Gao Xuance smiled happily and held her hand and assured her: "Don't worry, I won't lie to you about anything."
He coaxed her for a long time, and only when he saw Yao Niang smile did he breathe a sigh of relief: "Let's go, let's go eat, you haven't eaten yet?"
Only then did Yao Niang nod.
After dinner, Gao Xuance went to the study. He didn't know how Xiao Yao Niang knew about it, so he called the palace maid who followed Yao Niang and asked her everything.
After asking clearly, he narrowed his eyes and said, "Are you talking about the daughter of the Duke of Xian being disrespectful to the princess?"
"This is what happened. Our princess has always been good-tempered and never quarrels with anyone. But this Madam Huang has provoked our princess time and time again, and even said that the princess..." The palace maid thought that Zhuang Lingyi was rude, so of course she said what she said.
Who would have thought that the more the Prince listened, the more his brows furrowed: "So it was her."
He had heard Zhuang Lingyi say bad things about Yao Niang before. At that time, Yao Niang was still studying in the palace.
He waved his hand, signaling the palace maid to leave, feeling extremely resentful.
He achieved great things, although it was for the sake of establishing a lasting foundation and realizing his own ambitions, but he would never let his family be bullied, otherwise, what kind of rebirth would this be?
It was night, and the two were getting ready to go to bed. Gao Xuance saw that Yao Niang refused to tell him any of her grievances, and thought, could it be that because he lied to her, she felt that he could not be trusted?
This is a difficult situation.
Yao Niang never thought about Zhuang Lingyi at all, because since Zhuang Lingyi entered the palace and was disliked by Princess Zhenyang and Concubine Hong, she had already won. Now Zhuang Lingyi was just using Wei Feng as an excuse to exclude her.
She is now only the Princess of Chen. Her mother-in-law, Concubine Hong Guifei, has always disliked people as powerful as Mu Wantong. She certainly would not quarrel with Zhuang Lingyi on the spot, otherwise it would damage her own dignity.
What's more, it's useless to tell Gao Xuance about these things, as the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law is very delicate.
Originally, she had shown off her skills in front of Concubine Hong last time because Emperor Jianzhang was seriously ill. She had done extraordinary things in extraordinary times, and now of course she had to redeem her impression.
"Why don't you rest yet?" Yao Niang asked him.
Gao Xuance smiled and said, "No, nothing."
"Then let's go to bed. There are so many people here today, and I'm really tired from all the socializing. Cheng Yun is pestering me again when I come back. Tomorrow I have to pay my respects to Mother with my second sister-in-law."
After saying that, she yawned.
Gao Xuance saw that her eyes were almost closed, and said distressedly: "Then go to sleep quickly."
He originally wanted to vent her anger without telling Yao Niang. In his opinion, he should give her a warning, but if he told Yao Niang, she would definitely not agree. She had plans and means, and even gave the eldest prince and his mother a final blow in the end, but she was the kind of person who would attack others passively.
In other words, if someone doesn't treat her badly first, she won't take the initiative to take action against anyone.
This kind of woman is worthy of being the one he likes, who can shield him from arrows without hesitation. Even if they were not husband and wife in the previous life, she will still be kind to him. She is a gentle and kind person with affection and loyalty.
He was very conflicted. It was rare that he would not lose sleep over other things. He was even confident about the antithesis between the Donghu people, but he always had to think more about Yao Niang's affairs.
It would be easy to coax her, but he didn't dare lie to her.
Therefore, when Yao Niang got up in the morning, Gao Xuance had not gotten up yet. He smiled and said, "Sister Yao, I heard that someone said something rude to you yesterday. I want to teach them a lesson for you."
Yao Niang was confused at first, but after hearing what he said, she came to her senses: "Why do you have to do this? If the emperor continues to let you lead the army, you have to build a good relationship with the people of the Duke of Xian. A gentleman's revenge is never too late, not to mention that she is just a lip service. The King of Chuzhuang was at the meeting because his favorite concubine Xu Ji was accidentally molested while dancing. In a panic, she pulled out the rope on her helmet and told King Zhuang of Chu was naturally very angry, and Tang Jiao, who had violated Xu Ji's rules, was also very scared. But King Zhuang of Chu suddenly ordered everyone to remove their hair bands, and everyone drank. Tang Jiao was very happy and grateful. Once, when King Chu was in trouble, it was Tang Jiao who broke through the siege and saved him. King Zhuang of Chu wanted to reward him, but he said that the monarch had already rewarded him when they were desperate.
"Although I don't quite understand the ambitions and ambitions in your heart, I know. The Duke of Xian is a founding hero and now has considerable influence in the army. He can be considered a descendant of a loyal hero. If you quarrel with the Duke of Xian because of us girls, and then have any disputes with the Duke of Xian's mansion, it would be my fault. Your Highness, you don't have to worry. Zhuang Lingyi is stubborn and only relies on her status. But the so-called status is just an external thing. If you rely on the mountain, the mountain will fall, and if you rely on the water, the water will flow. I have already predicted her fate, so you don't have to vent your anger for me."
If she were the queen, she wouldn't have to seek revenge on anyone in the future. As long as someone knew who had been disrespectful to you, they would vent their anger on your behalf with just a look. Why use a butcher knife to kill a chicken?
高玄策聽到這裏，慶幸自己沒有欺騙她，反而被她的深明大義感動了。
君王不可因個人喜好而決定用人之策，高玄策雖然只是王爺，但他有志于為君，當然心胸不同。
可他還是覺得有些對不起她：“瑤娘，跟着我讓你受苦了。”
“沒什麽受苦的，只要王爺您能夠得償所願，我就心裏歡喜的緊。”瑤娘笑。
高玄策心疼：“你也太懂事了。”
他這麽一說完，瑤娘卻兇巴巴的道：“您看我是很講道理的，所以日後無事就不要總瞞着我了，或者不把我當一回事，一次兩次我或許會聽你解釋，可狼來了的故事您也是知道的，我不是吓您，若等哪一天你把我騙多了，從此我們夫妻情分就盡了。”
“好好好，我知道你的，你看我這一早上不就同你說了嗎？我以後絕對不會欺騙你的。”高玄策豎起三根手指作發誓狀。
瑤娘柳眉一豎：“別糊弄我，我不說假話的。”
“知道了，小的絕對不會了。”
……
這日她和徐青容一起坐着肩輿給皇貴妃請安去，承運則是坐在瑤娘身上，到了坤寧宮後，承運就興奮起來，洪貴妃則聽到孫子的聲音，連忙讓人抱到身邊。
“有沒有想祖母啊？祖母可是盼着你過來。”洪貴妃越看承運是越喜歡。
承運點頭：“可想了。”
瑤娘也道：“昨兒吃的一種果泥，就和我說要給祖母吃呢。我說你父王早有孝心，早就送到你祖母這裏了。”
洪貴妃問起：“是送的那一筐林檎嗎？聽說是洛川之地送來的，也怪道味道不同，我看汁水四溢，承運若是喜歡，就拿去吧，我年紀大了，少吃這些的。”
瑤娘擺手：“哪裏就要母妃這裏的孝敬，家裏盡有他的。”
“我也知曉是他的一片孝心。”洪貴妃慈愛的看着承運。
徐青容見狀嫉妒非常，還得保持平靜，她的女兒身子骨還弱，輕易不能見風，更何況女子和男子不同，郡主和王子也不同。
只聽洪貴妃問起瑤娘：“我聽說老三有意請封承運為世子，是麽？”
瑤娘趕緊道：“兒媳同他說過，承運才一歲，年紀也太小了，還是大些更穩妥呢，母妃也替兒媳勸勸殿下才好。”
看來這并非是瑤娘的意思，洪貴妃是知曉這位兒媳很能沉得住氣的，她那個時候并不知道建章帝是假裝中毒，還好沒有跳出來争權奪位，這都是這位兒媳婦的功勞，過後她卻完全不提起自己的功勞，甚至在兒子面前都沒說過。
洪貴妃也因為這次得體的表現，如今徐娘半老了，讓皇帝即便有更多新寵的情況下，還對她一如往昔。
這一點就是她另一個兒媳徐青容比不上的，徐青容總想從自己這裏得點什麽，名聲以及抗衡周王的籌碼。
因此，洪貴妃還是同意兒子的看法，反而對瑤娘道：“我看承運就很好，封為世子也很應該，早日定下名位，對承運也是好事。”
“這……”瑤娘故作為難。
洪貴妃笑道：“這事兒還得聖上同意呢，我們婦道人家也并不懂。”
其實就是洪貴妃沒有任何意見了，瑤娘在心裏也松了一口氣。
兒子早一步封了世子，宗法地位就早定了，若是大皇子當年就被封了世子，何必要行此道？
徐青容見這麽小的孩子就要被封為世子，這樣弟妹的位置就更穩固了，她眯了眯眼，心道這羅氏果然是好算計。
請完安之後，承運不願意回去，瑤娘只好帶着他到禦花園中玩。
白英等人一出來就恭喜瑤娘：“咱們小王子終于要被封為世子了。”
“好了，且不必說那麽多，你們最緊要的是保護住承運的安全。至于其他，不必多言。”瑤娘叮囑。
白英又道：“那黃夫人那裏……”
“放心，大人不與小人争。”瑤娘意有所指。
殊不知，莊令儀正和陸氏在吃酒，二人因為魏鳳的死，反而關系緊密。
陸氏道：“莊姐姐你就不怕得罪宸王妃嗎？宸王現在如日沖天，可不是我等得罪的起的。”
“出了一口惡氣，就是死了也值得，來哦，這是我家庖廚所制的菊花酒，咱們對飲一杯。”莊令儀豪爽笑道。
“現在也唯獨只有姐姐你有這樣的氣魄了，我是佩服不已，不日我将随我們侯爺去安州了。”陸氏幽幽一嘆。
公公宣德侯害怕自家也被皇上清算，憂憤而死，興安公主與驸馬更是在家中惶惶不可終日，雖說建章帝對興安公主賞賜如常，但是大家都知曉到底還是不同了。
宣德侯世子沈亮承襲侯爵，被封為宣德侯，他很聰明的選擇了外放，并私底下發展自家産業。
莊令儀道：“我倒是想求外放，可惜我家那位你也是知曉的，對功名所求太多，對女人也是來之不拒，我如今只盼着守着我的兒子過日子罷了。”
黃道賓婚前有童養媳，婚後登堂入室，當着憲國公的面，他也只是道納個妾而已，莊令儀把他無法。
所以，她還巴不得外放，自己跟黃道賓去外任。
陸氏卻道：“這怕是難了，他是翰林，肯定是想留在京中的。”
京官可比地方官強多了，但凡讀書人，能任文官是不願意任濁官的。
莊令儀也沒想到自己找的這位，當年明明是翩翩少年郎，怎麽就利欲熏心了，短短幾年，她就覺得可悲。
丈夫寵妾滅妻，她自己的兒子反而不如妾侍的孩子受寵。
“是啊，他肯定是想留在京中的，在這裏他是如魚得水，我也不怪他。不怕妹妹笑話，他這個人寵妾滅妻，待我也就頭一年我們柔情蜜意，現在我——”莊令儀不好再多說什麽。
陸氏了然道：“姐姐這樣的女中君子，固然品行高潔。可是您不能主動自絕于人，否則家中就都讓給別人了。還有，您的嫁妝那麽多，黃家族人不少，您可得好好的把嫁妝看好。”
莊令儀含笑點頭，很是感動。
和陸氏道別後，莊令儀準備回到家中，想起家裏的仆人除了她的，就不少是黃家奴仆，這些人雖然有的被她收買，但也有不少圍繞在那個寵妾白氏身邊。
白氏若是生的姿容不俗也就罷了，偏偏白氏只是生的端正，頂多勉強算秀麗，可黃道賓就是很喜歡她，每每假裝公平，其實心都偏的不行。
無論是家世才情容貌，她是樣樣不如自己，卻偏偏能獲得丈夫的心。
明明她找的就是清清白白的讀書人家，不想嫁到皇室勾心鬥角，卻終于走到了這一步。
不鬥不行，不争也不行。
回到途中，她遇到了宸王出行，所有人都要為他讓路，莊令儀也一般。
路人們議論紛紛：“這是三皇子的車駕吧？他可是有神弓手之稱，又打贏了勝仗，真是不一般啊。”
“難得啊，比那個大千歲好多了。”
……
莊令儀垂眸，在一旁的奶母魯媽媽道：“小姐，當年你明明可以嫁給宸王的，可你不貪圖這份榮華富貴，現在反而還受黃家那群田舍奴的氣。”
“罷了，莫說了，魯媽媽。”莊令儀心道至少自己還是大婦，白氏還不得受她管着，黃道賓面上還得尊敬自己，公婆和黃家族人還要供着她。
不似羅瑤娘，婆婆得供着，丈夫得小心服侍着。
但很快就被打臉了，因為宸王直接請封長子為世子，須知親王之子須滿十歲才能請封，宸王卻是另辟蹊徑。
他說的也極其有托孤之意：“兒臣只願受父皇驅使，此孺子年歲尚小，按照祖制該滿十歲才封世子，但兒臣怕将來就藩在外，不能讓父皇見到他受封場景。”
宸王打了勝仗，卻封無可封，除非封太子，建章帝正在發愁此事，沒想到高玄策就提起此事。
建章帝心道，之前都說宸王貴不可言，但玄策卻并非如此想，反而是想就藩。
而宸王長子正是他的皇長孫，建章帝也頗喜歡這個孫子，這孩子天生一股聰明氣，看起來伶俐貴重，不似俗人。
“受封世子也不過是早晚的事情，你既然上了折子，朕讓宗人府議定就是。”建章帝笑道。
高玄策連忙又磕頭謝過，父子二人還共同用膳，高玄策還哭了一場：“兒臣養兒方知父母恩，每次看到承運才知道父皇對兒臣是何等用心，恐怕兒臣自己都做不到對這孺子如此。”
聽了這話建章帝比吃了蜜水還甜。
他這幾個兒子中，論親近，的确是宸王同他最親近，對自己毫無私心，日夜兼程趕回來救自己，明明帶了兵馬回來，卻不擅動兵馬。
若非自己趕到，恐怕早被大皇子拿下了。
從福寧殿回去，高玄策就對瑤娘道：“咱們兒子封世子的事情，父皇已經答應我們了。”
“其實早封晚封也沒什麽區別啊，我是很相信你的。”瑤娘擰了帕子給他擦臉。
Gao Xuance shook his head: "How can that be possible? If the title is legitimate, then the words will be justified. If you have the title of a crown prince or not, all treatments are different. When I was ten years old, I was even named the King of Linjiang. How can my son be worse than me?"
Yao Niang asked, "If you ask for a title like this, will Father think you are greedy?"
That was exactly what she was worried about.
Gao Xuance said, "You are wrong. You act wise and courteous every day, which wins people's hearts. That's when father will be really worried. Before the battle, Qin general Wang Jian specifically asked the king of Qin for a reward to defile himself, so the king of Qin was relieved. People without quirks should not be befriended, because they have no deep feelings. People without flaws should not be befriended, because they have no true spirit. I have desires, and it's a good thing that the court doesn't think of me as well as my second brother."
"Yes, I heard that my second brother will be sent to do the disaster relief this time, is that right?" Yao Niang asked.
Gao Xuance nodded to her and said, "That's right. My second brother is also good at doing these things. It's just right for him to do it. I don't have to argue with him about everything. It's just that you mentioned it, so I'll go and congratulate you."
Yao Niang smiled and said, "Why do you need to go? I have already prepared a lot of gifts to send over. Don't worry."
It was a rare opportunity to see her brother get such a prestigious job, but not only was she not jealous, she immediately prepared a generous gift and sent it to him. This shows how open-minded this wife was.
She truly is like a mother who rules the world.
Little did they know that at the Luo family, Luo Zhizheng saw the news that Yao Niang asked Yu to bring back, and could not help but sneer: "How dare the wife of a mere editor in the Hanlin Academy bully my daughter."
Since ancient times, county officials are not as good as the current managers. If you tell Prince Chen, Prince Chen will at most warn the Duke of Constitutional Mansion, but it will have no effect on Zhuang Lingyi and the Duke of Constitutional Mansion.
"Yao Niang is right about this. In the officialdom, the emperor may not have a prime minister or some party leaders who can command people. Because his position is given by the higher authorities and evaluated by the Ministry of Personnel. Tell her next time you enter the palace, I know what to do."
Upon hearing this, Yu said happily, "The old man is really good to Yao Niang."
"Nonsense, is this your daughter?" Luo Zhizheng said unhappily.