Chapter 218: Taking a Concubine for the Crown Prince

Seeing Jun Zechen remained silent, Ling Yue felt a little uneasy and called out softly, "Aze?"

Her voice was soft and careful.

Originally, Jun Zechen was only planning to deviate from the original track a little bit so that Ling Yue would not feel too surprised all of a sudden. But now he was a little curious about what Ling Yue wanted to do.

"Does Yue'er really want me to take a concubine?"

Jun Zechen raised the corners of his mouth slightly and smiled gently, but the smile did not reach his eyes.

Ling Yue felt relieved when she saw Jun Zechen was still asking for her opinion, but the goal still had to be achieved.

"Aze, as long as you have me in your heart, I don't mind how many concubines you have."

Ling Yue also responded to Jun Zechen with a faint smile, a smile that seemed sincere but also anxious.

"It's my fault that I can't fulfill my promise to you, but if you insist, go and tell the Queen Mother. I'm sure the Queen Mother will have a better impression of you."

Jun Zechen narrowed his eyes, his narrow and long pupils showing shrewdness, as if he was considering Ling Yue carefully.

But...will the Queen Mother really be happy?

When Ling Yue saw that he agreed, a smile immediately broke out on his face.

"Aze, I will tell my mother and I won't bother you from handling government affairs."

Jun Zechen looked at Ling Yue's back with a deep and complicated gaze, and began to unconsciously turn the ring on his hand.

If Ling Yue were reborn, what he would want in this life is power.

Ling Yue was very happy when she mentioned that her mother's impression of her would improve. Was it because she wanted to please her mother?

After all, even though she ascended to the throne in her previous life, her virtue was not worthy of the position, and her mother took away her empress's seal. In addition, Jun Zechen did not treat her specially afterwards, and she did not even have any attachment to the entire harem. Many high-ranking concubines with noble family backgrounds in the palace would ridicule her.

It is understandable to let him take a concubine in advance in this life to please the Queen Mother.

"An Shun, what is the Crown Princess doing recently?"

Jun Zechen suddenly asked.

An Shun did not notice anything unusual about the prince and answered truthfully.

"Your Highness, the Crown Princess has summoned the two maids you assigned to manage the deaf these past two days. I heard that the Crown Princess is preparing to manage your backyard herself."

An Shun said that he was happy for His Highness.

His Highness likes the Crown Princess, but the Crown Princess is not capable enough and has not managed the affairs of the Eastern Palace well before. The Crown Prince doesn't mind, and An Shun can't say anything.

Now the Crown Princess is willing to take the initiative to learn and do it, so that she can become the Queen who is the mother of the country in the future and be worthy of His Highness.

“That’s a big change.”

There seemed to be a hint of sarcasm in Jun Zechen's tone, and his voice was soft, but cold.

"What did your Highness say?"

An Shun didn't hear the prince's murmur for a moment and asked in confusion.

Jun Zechen waved his hand to indicate that it was nothing.

An Shun also immediately lowered his head and stopped disturbing His Highness's contemplation.

Although Jun Zechen was annoyed by women, he had become accustomed to it after being on the throne for decades.

Like his father, he was not the kind of person who could investigate the affairs of the harem clearly.

After all, as an emperor, if he only dealt with the affairs of the harem, he would probably have exhausted all his energy long ago. How could he still handle state affairs?

He really didn't have the mood to care about the calculations among the concubines in the harem, from the high-ranking concubines and noble concubines to the minor concubines and maids.

Ling Yue is willing to learn how to manage such matters, but some things cannot be changed through learning.

In her previous life, Ling Yue was the empress for her entire life. Even though Jun Zechen did not pursue her misconduct in the first ten years, she was still unable to take back the empress's seal from her mother in the following decades.

Originally, Jun Zechen thought that if she behaved herself throughout her life, he would let her become the queen and then select some docile concubines to be included in the harem.

Unexpectedly, Ling Yue would cause trouble for him and even want him to take a concubine.

Jun Zechen sneered softly, stopped thinking deeply, and calmed down to start handling government affairs.

On the other side, Ling Yue hurriedly went straight to Kunyi Palace.

"Your son pays homage to your mother."

Ling Yue bowed respectfully, with his head lowered and his body slightly bent.

When the Queen saw the Crown Princess coming, she was surprised but soon regained her composure.

After the Crown Princess married into the Eastern Palace, she would almost never come to see her without her summons.

"Get up, I wonder what the Crown Princess wants to do today?"

"Mother, I want to take a concubine for Your Highness."

Ling Yue raised his head, with a hint of seeking credit in his eyes.

The queen, who was drinking tea elegantly, paused when she heard this.

Hmm? Has the Crown Princess changed her personality?

The Queen cast a scrutinizing gaze upon Ling Yue, trying to see through her thoughts.

Then she smiled gently and asked, "When will the Crown Princess take a concubine for the Crown Prince?"

"Of course, the sooner the better. Previously, it was because I was ignorant that Your Highness had no heir for two years. Now that I have come to my senses, Your Majesty can issue an imperial decree to allow the young ladies of the noble families to enter the palace and participate in the election."

Seeing the Queen's unusually gentle expression, Ling Yue felt that what he had done satisfied the Queen, so he added fuel to the fire and made his attitude clear.

The queen's heart sank, but she remained calm on the surface.

"Does the Crown Princess dislike Consort Su?"

The queen's smile seemed gentle, but there was a hint of temptation in her tone.

Ling Yuesi didn't notice the change in the Queen's expression at all and looked confused.

"Mother, I have never had any dealings with the concubine, and I have never caused her any trouble. Why do you ask this?"

Her brows wrinkled slightly.

Could it be that the concubine had already taken the empress as her backer as soon as she entered the Eastern Palace? Could it be that the daughter-in-law that the empress mother had always been satisfied with was Su Jingyao?

"I am just asking casually. If there is none, that is the best. Does the prince know that you are here today to select beauties for him?"

The queen sat upright, looking at Ling Yue calmly.

"I came to see you after consulting the Crown Prince."

Ling Yue responded obediently and meekly, folding her hands in front of her.

"I am very pleased with your generosity, but I have other things to do in the palace recently. There is no rush to select beauties for the crown prince. Let's wait a month or two."

She didn't know why the Crown Princess suddenly became so "magnanimous" today. Some people didn't know about the things between her and the Crown Prince, but as a mother, how could she not know?

If she was truly magnanimous, she would not have prohibited the Crown Prince from taking a concubine for two years. However, three days after Concubine Su entered the palace, she, the Crown Princess, blatantly took a concubine for the Crown Prince and even prepared to use her name to select a beauty for the Crown Prince. Didn't this completely offend the Su family?

The queen lowered her eyes, blocking out the darkness in them.

The Crown Princess never considered her status and position in her actions. She only had love in her heart and her eyes were only on the three acres of land in the backyard. She never saw the overall situation clearly.

When Ling Yue heard her mother say that she couldn't make a choice in the near future, a flash of disappointment flashed across her eyes.

Could it be that she couldn't change the time when those concubines entered the palace?

In their previous life, An Jinyan and the others entered the Eastern Palace two months after Su Jingyao married into the Eastern Palace.

So, in the next two months, can she only watch Jun Zechen and Su Jingyao being affectionate like she did in her previous life?

When he thought of this, the smile on Ling Yue's face suddenly became stiff and extremely unnatural.

"In that case, I will take my leave first. There is no need to rush to select concubines. I came here today just to express my attitude to my mother. I was unable to give birth to a royal heir for the Crown Prince in the past two years and did not take a concubine for him early. It was my fault. Now, I just want to make up for it."

Ling Yue suppressed the resentment in his heart and tried to keep his voice steady.

"Well, it's good that you think this way. As the Crown Princess, the most important thing is to be tolerant."

The Queen looked at the Crown Princess with deep eyes and spoke earnestly.

There was a warning in his eyes, as if he wanted to tell the Crown Princess that she must not only accommodate the royal heir, but also the crown prince's other women.

"Yes, I will obey your instructions. I am sorry for disturbing you today. I will take my leave now."

After Ling Yue bowed and left, he began to think non-stop.

What should she do?

Jun Zechen currently likes her, so why not give it a try in the next two months?

Let the newlyweds deal with Su Jingyao after they enter the palace.

There was a hint of determination in Ling Yue's eyes.