Concubine Cen didn't want to be like this at all, but she had no choice but to perfunctorily deal with Old Lady Cen. Old Lady Cen knew her daughter was perfunctorily dealing with her, but she could do nothing about it. She could only say this a few times, as she couldn't go to the palace every day, so she could only do it occasionally.
They couldn't let the emperor think that the Cen family members always came into the palace, which would seem very unruly.
After Old Lady Cen left, Concubine Cen asked the palace maids around her to see where the emperor had gone, as she wanted to go find the emperor.
"The emperor is still in the imperial study." The palace maid came back quickly.
Concubine Cen took the soup to the outside of the imperial study. The eunuch saw Concubine Cen and asked her to go back.
"I...I want to see the emperor." Concubine Cen was not willing to leave just like that. She wanted to see the emperor, talk to him about the Cen family, and talk about her efforts over the years.
Concubine Cen has made a lot of sacrifices over the years, and this is what she thinks. She believes that after the Queen passed away, she also helped manage the harem. She did so much, and even if she didn't have any credit, she had worked hard.
The emperor cannot treat the Cen family like that. The emperor must give the Cen family an explanation.
But who is the emperor? Why would the emperor need to give an explanation to the Cen family?
The chief eunuch said that Concubine Cen had arrived, and the emperor was not very happy.
"Did she give you money?" the emperor raised his eyebrows.
"No." The eunuch said hurriedly. Concubine Cen did give him silver, but he didn't accept it, which was a hot potato.
The chief eunuch knew that Concubine Cen would never get up, but that didn't mean the emperor didn't have feelings for her. He did this because he didn't want to offend the Cen family too much.
"Are you afraid of the Cen family?" asked the emperor.
"The Cen family is the most powerful." The eunuch did not answer directly.
When the emperor heard this, he understood what the eunuch meant: he was also afraid of the Cen family. That was exactly what happened; the emperor had been wary of the Cen family since he first ascended the throne.
"Do you know how the queen died?" asked the emperor.
"He died of illness." said the eunuch. Many people in the palace knew this.
"He was crushed by the good reputation of the virtuous concubine." The emperor and the queen were a couple who shared hardships. He respected the queen very much in the past and never thought of deposing her, but many people said that he wanted to depose her.
Some people even only recognized Concubine Xian, and when they entered the palace, they would see Concubine Xian first.
The emperor knew about this, but he could not stop those people. He had just ascended the throne and did not have that much power, and the old ministers were just taking advantage of their seniority.
The emperor could only endure it and wait for the opportunity to come. He would never let Concubine Xian go. The emperor once did not want Concubine Xian to have children, but he understood that if Concubine Xian did not have children, she could still adopt a child. They might still feel that the royal family was too wary of them, and they might have other actions.
The virtuous concubine had a child, but the emperor did not ask anyone to teach the third prince so many things. At most, he told him not to fight for those things. But the third prince would not listen to the emperor. At most, the emperor would scare the third prince and arrange some people around him.
The era of Concubine Cen is really over.
When the imperial concubine learned that Concubine Cen had gone to deliver soup to the emperor again, she sneered.
"Has she forgotten what she said before?" The imperial concubine asked, "She once said that if so many people were bringing soup to the emperor, and he couldn't drink so much, it would be a waste."
At that time, Concubine Cen also spoke about being frugal, reducing the expenses in the palace, saving money for the emperor, and sending the saved money to other places, such as to those poor beggars and those displaced children.
Concubine Cen's words sounded very nice at the time, and no one else dared to refute her.
The imperial concubine did not refute it. This matter itself was a good thing. It was just that the Cen family liked to do superficial work. Who knew where those things went?
Fortunately, it wasn’t Concubine Cen who was in charge of those things, it was just a matter of saving money.
"Princess Cen has gone there several times to send her off, and even went in person," said the nanny beside her.
"She can give it because she is virtuous. Others give it to win favor, which is different." Doesn't the imperial concubine know that the virtuous concubine is notorious for her double standards?
"Has the emperor seen her?" asked the imperial concubine.
"No," said the nanny.
"That's right. The Emperor doesn't have the time to see her." The Imperial Concubine asked, "Do you think she will cry?"
The virtuous concubine used to like to criticize the concubines for crying out loud and saying they were being unreasonable. The imperial concubine thought that the virtuous concubine was just trying to make everyone think she was good, so she told them to stop crying and solve the problem first. Regardless of whether the problem was solved or not, no one could say it wasn't solved.
If others said that Concubine Xian had not solved the problem, then Concubine Xian would definitely have other things to say and give her another lecture. However, because Concubine Xian was a daughter of the Cen family and the emperor had visited her more often, the concubines would naturally side with Concubine Xian.
Those concubines who praised the virtuous concubine now have nothing to say, and each of them is like a quail.
"They're just jumping around." The imperial concubine didn't go over. She didn't care what the virtuous concubine did, because the emperor had already appointed Prince Su as the crown prince.
In the northwest, two days before Princess Zhaoyang and Liu Yanjing's wedding, He Xiyuan came. He Xiyuan didn't want to attend Liu Yanjing's wedding banquet, but to see Liu Yulian.
"So much food?" He Xiyuan saw all the food and all the different kinds of cakes and pastries, and he thought they were delicious. He knew without hesitation that Liu Yulian had put a lot of thought into Liu Yanjing's wedding. The Liu family didn't have that much money, so they could only come up with more ideas.
"Eat some." Liu Yulian said, "It tastes pretty good."
"You've done so much." He Xiyuan sighed, "Are you tired?"
"Not bad." Liu Yulian didn't feel particularly tired. She just felt it was worth it. She hoped that those people would like it. As long as someone liked it, then it would be worth it.
"It tastes great." He Xiyuan tasted a jelly, "There's fruit pulp inside."
"Yes, I made some jelly with fruit pulp on it." Liu Yulian said, "These things have been put aside and can be served directly when the time comes."
Liu Yulian thought that these pastries were almost done and there was no need to bother with other things.
"The rest depends on the others in the mansion." Liu Yulian said with a smile, "There's no need to prepare so much."
"Your hand..." He Xiyuan saw a small cut on Liu Yulian's hand. He had good eyesight and quickly saw it. "What happened?"
"I was accidentally injured before, and the wound has healed." Liu Yulian said.
"It must be very painful." He Xiyuan looked at Liu Yulian and felt that his sister Lian must be in pain. He wanted to come back earlier, but he didn't know how to cook, and there were others to do the shopping.
"It doesn't hurt." Liu Yulian said.
"I can't even blow it for you." He Xiyuan muttered.
"It's not a burn." Liu Yulian said with a smile, "It's just a small wound, nothing serious, don't worry."
"It's a small wound, but it's still a wound." He Xiyuan said, "We should pay more attention to it."
"Okay, I'll be sure to pay attention." Liu Yulian nodded.
"You are engaged to me," He Xiyuan said, "so you can't hurt her casually."
Liu Yulian looked at He Xiyuan. He Xiyuan was not a domineering prince, but she thought he was quite good the way he was. She just wanted a simple partner, not a complicated one.
It is not good if a person is only capable of being overbearing and does not know how to care for others.
"How have you been lately?" Liu Yulian asked.
"It's just like that." He Xiyuan said, "I always miss you from time to time."
Liu Yulian's cheeks turned slightly red. She didn't expect He Xiyuan to say that.
"Aren't you here to help with the work?" When Liu Yanjing arrived, he saw He Xiyuan talking to Liu Yulian. Was He Xiyuan here to help with the work, or to see his fiancée?
"I'm coming." What else could He Xiyuan say? He could only say to Liu Yulian, "I'll come to see you later."
"It will be dark soon, so pay more attention and look for something." Liu Yanjing said.
"You're getting married soon." He Xiyuan asked Liu Yanjing if he could stop caring about so much. Liu Yanjing should just think about his own fiancée and not worry about other people's fiancées or what they do.
"Even if we get married, I'm still your biological brother." Liu Yanjing looked at He Xiyuan with a half-smile, "Do you want to feel the power of your brother?"
Liu Yanjing thought to himself, if you say so again, believe it or not, I will let you get married later.
"Whatever you want to do, let's do it together, quickly." He Xiyuan felt the threat from Liu Yanjing, it was too difficult.
How come Sister Lian has such a brother? Can this brother change?
He Xiyuan turned to look at Liu Yulian, "Let's go first."
"Go ahead." Liu Yulian nodded.
"late……"
"Don't be late, let's go quickly." Liu Yanjing interrupted He Xiyuan. If He Xiyuan continued, then He Xiyuan would not have to do anything else.
Liu Yulian watched He Xiyuan and Liu Yanjing leave and chuckled. "Brother is still like this." As for whether she could see He Xiyuan later, that depended on her brother's mood.
In the county town, Su Qiuya and her husband hadn't received the invitation from the eldest wife yet. They knew that the eldest wife would probably not send an invitation again. They had inquired about other people and found that some of them had received invitations. It was unlikely that the eldest wife would wait until the day before Liu Yanjing's wedding to send an invitation.
"Do we really need to give gifts?" Su Qiuya felt a little aggrieved. The eldest wife ignored them, and they were rushing to give gifts. What would others think of them?
Anyway, with so many people going to give gifts, those people may not know that they did not go to give gifts.
Su Qiuya felt upset. If she didn't give a gift, others might say something. If she gave a gift, she would feel that it was a waste.
"Just send it off." Aunt Qing said. She didn't want to be looked down upon by the eldest wife. They were capable of preparing gifts, but the eldest wife didn't dare to invite them.
"I'll do whatever my mother says." Liu Yanbo didn't have any thoughts. If his mother said to give it to him, then so be it. They didn't need this little bit of money, the main thing was to not let others talk about them.
If something can be solved with a little money, then it’s not a problem.
"In a few days, I'll be going to the provincial capital to take the exam for the scholar degree," Liu Yanbo said. "There's no need to delay other things for this little thing."
"Okay." Su Qiuya just said that. She had already prepared the gift, but she didn't know whether the people in the eldest house would accept it. "What if they don't accept it?"
"It doesn't matter whether you accept it or not, we'll give it to you." Aunt Qing thought that those things were not a problem. She couldn't let others think that she was stingy, nor could she let others think that Liu Yanbo was stingy.
After hearing what Aunt Qing and Liu Yanbo said, Su Qiuya listened to them and asked someone to bring the things over when the time came.
"Come with me." Aunt Qing said, "People are always different when they go back."
Aunt Qing thought that since the eldest wife didn't invite her, she wanted to go and take a look.
"Forget it," Liu Yanbo said, "If you go there and get wronged, what will you do?"
Liu Yanbo didn't think that the people in the first house would be nice to Concubine Qing. Concubine Qing was originally a concubine, and those people didn't treat concubines that well. They only talked about the difference between legitimate and illegitimate children.
"Why not?" Aunt Qing asked, "I'm not afraid of being wronged. Haven't I suffered enough injustice in the past?"
"Wait for a while, until my son passes the exam. That will at least be better." Liu Yanbo said, "What if something happens in the meantime? Will my son still be able to pass the exam?"
Liu Yanbo was mainly worried that the people in the first house would not let him take the exam, as the first house had the ability to do so. For example, those people would make him sick before the exam, which he had encountered before.
It was just that he wanted to take the examination for a Tongsheng degree when he was in the capital.
So far, Liu Yanbo still thinks it is someone else's problem and does not think it is his own problem.
"Okay, then I won't go." Aunt Qing was afraid that her son would not be able to take the imperial examination, so she decided not to go to the Liu family's main house.
They wanted to be proud of themselves, and they didn't need a little time. They had been able to endure it all the time when they were in the Marquis' Mansion, so they could endure it now, too.
"Look at the third room. If they are going, they will go to send them off. If they are not going, let the fourth room... It is unlikely that the people from the fourth room will go." Aunt Qing said that the people from the fourth room only knew how to act like quails and were useless.
The fourth wife didn't dare to ask for favors from the first wife too often, nor did she know how to do anything else.
Aunt Qing believed that the Fourth House was destined to be a farmer and that it was impossible for the Fourth House to rise to prominence. With someone like Liu Yanqing, his children would not be able to achieve anything either.
"I'm afraid it's impossible for people from the fourth room." How could Liu Yanbo not know that people from the fourth room would refuse.
Liu Yanqing wasn't that good at all. Liu Yanbo thought the people from the fourth house weren't as good as the people from the third house. The people from the third house would listen to the people from the second house, and the fourth house was just stupid. They were all illegitimate children, so they should stick together.
But Liu Yanqing didn't know how to form a group at all. He just messed around in the countryside.
"Then don't look for the fourth room." Su Qiuya said, "You can let anyone go. It's just a delivery, and at most you'll get some money."
In Shiyuan Village, Liu Yanqing didn't know what the people in the second house thought. He didn't run to the first house so early. He himself had no ability and didn't know what to do.
If he went, he would just eat and drink.
So what is he going to do? Wouldn't that just be an eyesore?
"Wait until the day they get married," Liu Yanqing said. "They don't need our help. If you go, you might even be able to carry the water jar."
"What?" Lin Xiaowan raised her eyebrows. What was this person talking about?
"I mean, you're more capable than me, more capable than I am." Liu Yanqing said, "But you're not a woman, how can they have the nerve to ask you to do heavy work? As for your cooking skills...we can eat by ourselves, and the main house has hired a chef, so there's no need for you to do anything."
Lin Xiaowan rolled her eyes. Of course, she couldn't rush to the kitchen. The people in the main room were more powerful. She wouldn't be able to help even if she went. It would be fine to go on Liu Yanjing's wedding day.
"You're really becoming more and more talkative." Lin Xiaowan said.
"No, no." Liu Yanqing said, "I'm telling the truth."
"I think you are thick-skinned." Lin Xiaowan wanted to take out her rolling pin again. How could Liu Yanqing be so talkative?
"We don't need to send too many gifts this time. Just something you made yourself will do." Liu Yanqing said, "Something good will do. The second and third houses weren't invited, so if we send too much, it won't be very good. After all, we are the fourth house."
This was the first time Lin Xiaowan heard someone say this. It was obvious that Liu Yanqing didn't want to give more gifts, and he gave so many reasons.
"What I said are all great principles." Liu Yanqing said, "Think carefully, don't be short-sighted and strong..."
The next moment, Liu Yanqing was pinched on the arm by Lin Xiaowan.
"Hey, could you please stop pinching people?" Liu Yanqing said, "I didn't say anything wrong. I was just saying simple things. These are all great principles. If you don't believe me, go out and ask. That's how it is. Our family is poor. How could we have so much money? The eldest wife didn't even think about giving us extra money."
"Talk less." Lin Xiaowan knew that their family was poor and she didn't plan to prepare too many gifts, but when Liu Yanqing said that, she felt something was wrong.
Lin Xiaowan didn't care whether the first wife had invited people from the second and third wives, or whether the people from the second and third wives had prepared gifts. Since she didn't go, it was useless.
"Just take care of yourself." Lin Xiaowan thought that they just needed to take care of their own families.
"Yes, I just take care of myself." Liu Yanqing nodded. "How can I have so much ability to control others? I am younger than them. How can they listen to me? They will only think that I don't listen to them."
"..." Lin Xiaowan had to admit this. The second and third houses did feel that the people in the fourth house were disobedient.
Why should the people from the fourth room listen to the second and third rooms? If the fourth room listened to them, it would never have received the invitation from the first room.
"Think about it." Liu Yanqing said, "Don't take my..."
Don’t dig out all the money I hid, Liu Yanqing wanted to say, but he paused halfway through. He decided not to say these words on his own initiative.
Liu Yanqing wondered what delicious food he could have. He looked at Lin Xiaowan and thought, if they had a child sooner, they could invite the eldest wife. The gift from the eldest wife would surely be excellent, and they could get some benefits.
"What are you looking at?" Lin Xiaowan felt that Liu Yanqing's eyes were not right.
"I didn't see anything." Liu Yanqing said, "I just wondered why we didn't have any children yet. If we didn't have any children, how could we invite the eldest wife and have a wedding banquet?"
“…” Lin Xiaowan was speechless.
"They will be returning to Beijing by then. If we don't go with them, how will we ask for gifts? No, how will we invite them?" Liu Yanqing muttered, "But it doesn't matter whether they come or not, as long as the gifts are there."
Lin Xiaowan didn't want to listen any further, and Liu Yanqing didn't feel ashamed. She even said what she was thinking. She had never seen such a shameless person.
"How can I be so shameless?" Liu Yanqing said, "I'm such a well-behaved kid, shouldn't I be able to accept some gifts?"
"Are you well-behaved?" Lin Xiaowan didn't think so. This person was not well-behaved at all when it came to hiding his private money.
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