It wasn't that the Crown Prince didn't take Concubine Qin seriously, but rather that she was too arrogant. She constantly spoke ill of the late Empress, and the Crown Prince's biological mother was the Imperial Concubine. The late Empress had no regard for the Crown Prince's upbringing. Just because the Crown Prince respected the late Empress didn't mean he and the Imperial Concubine wanted to hear that kind of talk every day.
Concubine Qin always said that, as if the position of crown prince was given to the crown prince by the Qin family and the late queen.
The Imperial Concubine is a concubine, not a queen, but Concubine Qin always emphasizes the former queen. Then where does Concubine Qin put the Imperial Concubine, her mother-in-law?
The concubines in the palace are different from other concubines. These concubines have status and are of high birth.
What Concubine Qin did was equivalent to rubbing the Imperial Concubine on the ground, and was also consuming the favor left by the late Queen.
The Crown Princess did not go to the Imperial Concubine to say much bad things about Concubine Qin, and the Imperial Concubine also knew how much Concubine Qin valued the late Queen.
"How could such deep feelings come from a relationship they've never even met?" The Imperial Concubine thought Concubine Qin's respect for the late Empress was more like the moon in the water and the flower in the mirror. "It's just an act."
Everyone in the palace is a shrewd person. How many of them believe in Concubine Qin's affection for the late queen?
Concubine Qin's behavior made the emperor dissatisfied with her. Concubine Qin was not the former queen, and she was not the principal wife but a concubine.
The Imperial Concubine disliked Concubine Qin mainly because she kept mentioning the late Empress. Even Concubine Qin mentioned the late Empress frequently in front of the Imperial Concubine, which made the Imperial Concubine feel that Concubine Qin was using the late Empress's title to suppress her.
After a while, the imperial concubine no longer liked to see Concubine Qin.
"You should also take charge." The Imperial Concubine looked at the Crown Princess. "Don't let her get involved too much. You'll be the ones to be embarrassed."
"Yes." The Crown Princess certainly knew that it was embarrassing. This matter was not so easy to handle. It still depended on whether Miss Qin San understood the situation.
If Miss Qin San was ignorant, that wouldn't matter much. Princess Rongning wouldn't let Miss Qin San take care of too many things. How could Miss Qin San know so much?
The Crown Princess was not worried. Even if Miss Qin San was studious, it was unlikely that she would become very powerful all of a sudden.
As for the division of the Qin family, they didn't know what the details were, and they couldn't ask more.
The Imperial Concubine has always treated the Crown Princess well. After Concubine Qin entered the Eastern Palace, the Imperial Concubine did not treat Concubine Qin any better just because she was the niece of the former Queen.
"I don't know what you're thinking about all day long." The imperial concubine said. No one would think that if Prince Su could become the crown prince, then the illegitimate sons born to other concubines could become the crown prince.
That's because the current emperor has no legitimate son, so the emperor appointed his illegitimate son as the crown prince.
Previously, the crown prince was always the legitimate son of the empress, not the illegitimate son. Only when the emperor had no legitimate son would the crown prince be a illegitimate son.
What's the point of Concubine Qin being so arrogant? It doesn't matter that she's the niece of the late queen. Moreover, if Concubine Qin is so arrogant, if there's any problem with the Crown Princess or the legitimate son born to the Crown Princess, those people will definitely know that it's related to Concubine Qin.
After Miss Qin San returned to the Qin family, Miss Qin San also explained to Mrs. Qin Da about Concubine Qin's intentions. Concubine Qin was always like that, especially after Miss Qin Si entered the palace, she changed a lot.
"Just listen, you don't have to pay too much attention to it." Mrs. Qin said.
"That's right." Miss Qin San didn't think about paying much attention to Concubine Qin. She simply couldn't take care of so many things.
Of course, Second Master Qin and his family hoped that the First House would support them and that they would listen more to Concubine Qin. But Second Master Qin understood that when Old Master Qin was talking about splitting up the family, Old Madam Qin still supported him, which meant that they were unlikely to side with Concubine Qin.
No matter what tricks Concubine Qin plays in the future, the Qin family's main house will not interfere.
Time passed day by day, and soon it was the twelfth lunar month.
The Jingning Marquis's Mansion received some things that Liu Yanqing had sent over. Liu Yanqing's family didn't have that much money, so it was unlikely that they would have someone send something specifically, so they could only bring it over. The things that Liu Yanqing had sent over were things that could be kept for a long time, such as dried fruits, rather than things that could not be kept for a long time.
"These things again." Father Liu thought that Liu Yanqing would know how to send these dried fruits and other things.
"It's good that he can deliver it." Liu's mother didn't think there was anything wrong with Liu Yanqing sending these things. The northwest is so far from the capital. If someone was specially sent to deliver the things, how much money would be spent on the journey?
Liu Yanqing only wanted the caravan to bring some things with them, but it was not a good idea to bring too many things with them.
Liu Yanqing's family doesn't have that much money, and Liu's mother doesn't expect Liu Yanqing to send so many things to the family. That's unrealistic.
Although Liu Yanqing also sent dried fruits and other things last year, it was nothing.
Liu's mother felt that Liu Yanqing was thoughtful. After all, if it were someone else, they might not necessarily send anything.
"If you say it's good, then it's good." Father Liu thought to himself, what can he say? He has no status in this family.
Father Liu accepted it well, and he didn't think about how high his position would be. After his house was searched once, he became even more indifferent to these matters.
The things in the house were not earned by him. If he had earned the things in the house, he would have said a few more words.
Father Liu didn't think much of his illegitimate children. They didn't care about his well-being at all, and they just messed around. Liu Yanqing was relatively good, but the other illegitimate children were more troublesome than Liu Yanqing, and none of them were as sensible.
"That's enough," said Liu's mother. "Otherwise, why ask for so much? We already said that they don't need to pay any more tribute money."
It's just a few dollars, and there's no use for them. It's better to let the children take it themselves.
It was impossible for Liu's mother to distribute the things in the house to her illegitimate sons, but those illegitimate sons did not have to take the filial piety money, which was her kindness to them.
"I think the fourth one is the one we sent things to." said Father Liu.
"The fourth daughter is about to give birth, so it's only natural to send some gifts over," said Liu's mother. "Someone brought some gifts over a while ago."
Mother Liu had already made arrangements, so there was no need to wait for Father Liu to talk about these things.
Lin Xiaowan was pregnant, and she was pregnant with Liu's father's grandson. Liu's mother knew this, and since they had not severed their relationship with the Fourth Branch, Liu's mother would not hesitate to send the Fourth Branch gifts.
"When we returned to Beijing, I had some small clothes made and brought them along," said Liu's mother. "These things are all usable, and I also gave away some silk and satin fabrics. There are also silver lockets and bracelets. We're unlikely to be there for the baby's third-day bath, nor for the baby's full moon, so we had to give more."
Mother Liu was ready. "It's about time they delivered it."
"That's good." Father Liu had nothing to say. His wife always arranged these things properly.
In Shiyuan Village, Liu Yanqing received some things sent from the capital. He looked through them and found them quite good.
"They've also sent some stuff over." Liu Yanqing had originally thought that since they were all back in Beijing, his family wouldn't be able to take advantage of them. Who could have imagined that the eldest wife's family would prepare so many things for them? Although they were mostly for the children, Liu Yanqing was very satisfied.
With these things sent by Dafang, they can spend less money and don’t have to spend so much money on buying things.
"Take a look." Liu Yanqing took out the small clothes.
"It's quite good." Lin Xiaowan said, "How could they give you useless clothes? Naturally, they gave you better clothes, and the fabrics are all excellent."
"Yes." Liu Yanqing said, "They also want to save face."
Liu Yanqing thought that those talented people would not send such bad things, and the people in the big house were quite nice.
The gifts they sent to the eldest wife weren't that great; they were simple, not particularly expensive. Compared to the gifts from the eldest wife, Liu Yanqing felt that the gifts from their family were a bit underwhelming, but so what.
That’s just a token of their appreciation!
"What do you mean by face?" Lin Xiaowan said, "They were exiled with us, and they've suffered, too. How much is face worth? Can it make life easier?"
Lin Xiaowan really didn't think that face was a good thing. The eldest wife wasn't doing it for face at all. They just cared about the child in her belly. Lin Xiaowan really thought that Liu Yanqing's mother was very good. After so many things happened between the other wives, the mothers of other families might not care about these things.
If I wait for Liu's father to send it, I don't know when it will happen, and Liu's father may not even remember this matter.
Men are generally like that, they think these things are trivial. Usually, it is women who take care of these things.
"You're right." Liu Yanqing said, "I won't say anything, okay?"
"What's the point of saying it or not?" Lin Xiaowan put the small clothes on the table. "Mother must have known that our needlework wasn't that good, so she simply had the clothes made. There are several sets of clothes here, big and small, all different. It shows how much she put in."
Liu Yanqing had not noticed how different these clothes were before. After hearing what Lin Xiaowan said, he flipped through them and found that the sizes of these clothes were indeed different.
"Really." Liu Yanqing took a closer look. "The fabric is pretty good, isn't it? It's very soft, much better than my hands."
Liu Yanqing looked down at his hands, which were so rough. "Should I do less work? If my hands continue to be like this, how will I hold a child in the future?"
"Why can't I hug you?" Lin Xiaowan raised her eyebrows. "I can hug you through my clothes."
"Don't we still have to bathe the child?" Liu Yanqing asked, "Even if you bathe the girl, what about the boy?"
"..." Lin Xiaowan really didn't expect that Liu Yanqing still wanted to give the child a bath, but why did she feel that Liu Yanqing didn't want to do more work?
In the capital, Su Qiuya took Liu Yanbo to her grandfather's house.
Su Qiuya's maternal grandfather's family was quite good. Her maternal grandfather was originally a minor official, not a high-ranking official. But at least he was an official. The capital city had many officials, so how could there be so many high-ranking officials?
It's just that Su Qiuya's grandfather was old and had resigned from his official position. Su Qiuya's uncle worked in the Hanlin Academy. The Wei family had officials, while the Su family was just a merchant.
This is also why Master Su did not make things difficult for Su Qiuya and always went along with her. Madam Su saw Master Su's attitude towards Su Qiuya, so of course she could not treat Su Qiuya too badly in public.
"It's good that you guys are back in Beijing." Old Master Wei sighed, "Originally, I was wondering when you guys would come over."
Su Qiuya and the others have gone to the Mei family, why haven't they come to the Wei family yet?
At that time, Mr. Wei wondered if something had happened. He knew that his granddaughter Su Qiuya was not indifferent to him as her grandfather, so Su Qiuya must have been delayed by something.
"There were some things going on at home, and I didn't want to trouble my grandfather and uncles, so I waited for a while." Su Qiuya explained. She was also afraid that she would not be able to hold back and cry in front of her grandfather.
Su Qiuya first settled some matters at the Su family, then went to the Mei family. She had originally wanted to go to the Wei family first, but Aunt Qing was thinking about the second young master Mei's wife. So Su Qiuya had no choice but to go to the Mei family first. They also needed time to do things, so it was inevitable that they would be delayed for a few days.
"It's okay." Old Master Wei said, "If you need anything, just come over and talk to your uncles. They will always help you."
Old Master Wei had already told his sons to help Su Qiuya more. Su Qiuya's mother only had one biological daughter, Su Qiuya, and no other children. It was okay for those people to help Su Qiuya more, as they were not expected to help many people.
"I know, you are always so nice." Su Qiuya knew this, so she didn't want to tell her grandfather everything, nor did she want her uncles to help her all the time.
Her uncles were all married and had children, so if they always helped her, she was afraid that her aunt, cousins, and sisters would be dissatisfied.
Su Qiuya knew that Madam Su always did a good job of putting on a good show. Without catching any evidence against Madam Su, how could Su Qiuya let these people go and say something bad about her? That was unrealistic.
Her aunts are not fools, they won't stand up for her at will.
Su Qiuya knew that her aunt would ask her some questions, and they would first make a judgment to see whose fault it was. If it was the Su family's fault, then they would help Su Qiuya. If they thought it was Su Qiuya's fault, they would not say much to Su Qiuya, but they would not go to the Su family to say anything unnecessary.
Su Qiuya has known since she was a child that she can't always rely on others to survive, and she has to stand on her own feet.
"What's going on between you and the Marquis of Jingning's Mansion?" asked Old Master Wei.
Liu Yanbo went to talk to Su Qiuya's uncles. When Su Qiuya talked to Grandpa Wei, she asked the others to leave first, and then Su Qiuya said a few words to Grandpa Wei.
Su Qiuya couldn't let Mr. Wei think that Liu Yanbo was anything less than a good person. She only glorified him, saying that Concubine Qing had misunderstood the Liu family's first wife, believing that they had manipulated the exams to prevent Liu Yanbo from passing. Concubine Qing had gone to the first wife to cause trouble, and the first wife then severed her relationship with the second wife.
"It shouldn't be just that." It was impossible for Old Master Wei not to hear that Su Qiuya was concealing something. He was afraid that there was a lot more to it.
If it was only Concubine Qing who did something wrong, Marquis Jingning would be unlikely to break off the engagement with Liu Yanbo. Marquis Jingning could have directly dealt with Concubine Qing.
Old Master Wei quickly realized what was going on. Most likely, Liu Yanbo, like Concubine Qing, misunderstood the Marquis of Jingning's mansion. He had also done something to harm the Liu family's eldest wife. Otherwise, the Liu family's eldest wife wouldn't have severed her relationship with Liu Yanbo.
"Your husband wasn't very good at studying to begin with," said Old Master Wei. "Remember when you got married and came home? Your uncle also tested him on his studies, and he didn't answer very well."
Mr. Wei's eldest son was in the Hanlin Academy, having passed the imperial examination himself. Mr. Wei was a capable man, and after he had tested Liu Yanbo, he felt that Liu Yanbo was not as outstanding.
But Master Wei couldn't say these things in front of Su Qiuya, nor could he say that Liu Yanbo was not good enough in front of him. If Master Wei said that, wouldn't it make Liu Yanbo angry and make him dissatisfied with Su Qiuya?
"Yes, he passed the imperial examination and ranked last." Su Qiuya already knew this. "Before, I didn't know that, so I thought the people from the first house were bad, just like them."
"I think the people in Jingning Marquis' Mansion are pretty good," said Old Master Wei. "Although I haven't spent much time with them, I can tell from what you said."
Old Master Wei didn't want his granddaughter to think bad things about the Jingning Marquisate. They hadn't done anything wrong to them; they were the ones who were at fault.
"Yes." Su Qiuya said, "I already know, I'm not that stupid. They didn't bother with us. If they had, we wouldn't be able to stay here."
At the Su family, Qing Yi Niang did not follow Su Qiuya and the others to the Wei family. Qing Yi Niang did not want people to say that she was a concubine. When Qing Yi Niang was at the Su family, Madam Su invited Qing Yi Niang to have tea.
"I'll trouble you to take good care of Qiuya." Madam Su said, "My stepdaughter can be a little stubborn sometimes, but she's a very kind person."
When Aunt Qing heard what Madam Su said, she knew in her heart that Madam Su didn't like Su Qiuya that much. Su Qiuya's attitude towards Madam Su was not that good, and Aunt Qing didn't think Madam Su was that magnanimous.
"That's right. Being able to manage the shop well and make money is not a good thing." Aunt Qing said. Even though Su Qiuya was full of the smell of money, Su Qiuya still oppressed her as her mother-in-law.
Neither Madam Su nor Aunt Qing said anything bad about Su Qiuya. They chatted about those things, but they both knew that the other did not like Su Qiuya. It was enough for them to know that if both of them did not like Su Qiuya, they would always find a chance to deal with her.
Meanwhile, Feng Guanjing and her husband moved out of the Feng family. They had no choice but to move out. Feng Guanjing's mother had talked to her several times, and Second Madam Feng had even paid for a house for Feng Guanjing. How could Feng Guanjing continue to stay in her parents' home? She had no choice but to move out.
"This shop isn't very big, but it can accommodate three or four small tables," said Madam Feng. "If you think it's too small, you can modify it. The empty yard in the back is indeed bigger."
"Let's leave it at that for now." Feng Guanjing also felt that the shop in front was a little small, but with so little money, how big a shop could they buy, not to mention the place to live. "Mother, thank you for your help."
"You guys stay here first, and when you make some money, you can move out." Mrs. Feng felt bad. She had given her daughter a lot of money to let these people move out. She couldn't possibly give her daughter more money. Where would she get so much money to support her daughter after she got married?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
