A few days later, Su Wanwan finally understood what Lu Xingjian meant by "being wronged".
The eunuch in charge of the Jiazi Treasury was reinstated.
The investigation into the Jiazi database was ultimately unsuccessful.
This is practically a slap in the face to Su Wanwan.
Of course, it also slapped Emperor Lu Xingjian in the face.
She let out a soft sigh of relief, hoping that the internal and external offices would be built as soon as possible so that she could have her own staff.
As for the location of the overseas branch factory, which has been undecided for a long time, she has her own ideas.
"How about we use the Rong Prince's residence?"
Prince Rong was, after all, a prince, and his residence was located on Shiwang Street outside Dong'an Gate.
Prince Rong has gone to Changde to assume his fiefdom, and he will never be able to return to the capital in his lifetime. His mansion will definitely be taken back.
The Imperial Observatory had already calculated the date for Prince Rong's enfeoffment, and he would set off after the Empress Dowager's birthday celebrations.
Lu Xingjian pondered briefly: "Then I will have Prince Rong pay his respects at the imperial mausoleum tomorrow and leave as soon as possible."
The news of Prince Rong's departure from the imperial mausoleum and the day he took up his fiefdom spread almost simultaneously.
The first to lose their composure was the Qingyun Marquis's mansion.
Lady Qingyun and Lady Changning, Su Wanwan's maternal grandmother, went to the palace together to complain.
"When Empress Dowager Xiaosu had just passed away, the Zhang family allowed their servants to commit violence and forcibly seize our family's estate in Baodi. The late emperor even condoned the Zhang family and gave all our estate to them."
"They said that after Prince Rong takes up his fief, he will give our family Prince Rong's Fengrun estate."
"As a result, Prince Yong passed away last year without an heir. When Princess Yong returned to the capital, she asked the Empress Dowager for Prince Rong's Fengrun Fields, and the Empress Dowager actually agreed. Isn't this a direct slap in the face to our Zhou family?"
"Your Majesty, you must stand up for the Zhou family!"
Prince Yong was the eighth son of Emperor Xianzong and the eighth uncle of Lu Xingjian. His fiefdom without a son was abolished.
Su Wanwan frowned.
A thought suddenly flashed through her mind. She asked:
"I remember that Prince Yong's mother, Consort Shao, was from Jiangsu and Zhejiang?"
"That's right. It's said that her family was extremely poor, but she was sent to the palace to serve because of her beauty. Consort Shao was very favored back then and was given the title of Consort Chen." After all, Lady Qingyun was from the older generation and knew the court situation during the reign of Emperor Xianzong very well.
The Wang family, a prominent family in Jiangnan, and Consort Shao—a thread she had never noticed before was now connected.
That's why the shrewd Empress Dowager Wang granted the widowed Princess Yong a farm.
She suddenly felt overwhelmed.
The Wang family had cultivated their influence in the palace for over twenty years, and behind them stood powerful and influential families from Jiangnan.
They're just hiding now; they're not so easily defeated.
Su Wanwan immediately nodded: "The late Emperor said that the Zhou family is in the right in this matter. I will go and ask the Emperor to handle this matter."
Lady Qingyun breathed a long sigh of relief, then made another request, albeit one she found difficult:
"Wanxiu is a very honest girl, and she still talks about going to the palace to serve."
"Since Her Majesty the Empress is pregnant, it is time to select a few people to serve the Emperor."
"What does Your Majesty think of Wanxiu?"
Su Wanwan paused slightly, then looked at her maternal grandmother, Madam Chen, the wife of the Marquis of Changning, without showing any emotion. "What does Grandmother think?"
Ms. Chen was a little embarrassed, but she also said earnestly:
"Your Majesty, it is only natural for family members to help each other in the palace."
Su Wanwan smiled gently: "It would be unseemly for Wanxiu to serve the Emperor after losing a finger."
“If the two maternal grandmothers are willing, why not select a talented and beautiful girl from the younger generation of the Zhou family and send her to the palace for the Emperor to choose for himself.”
Lady Qingyun's eyes flickered, and she said, "Since that's the case, I would like to ask Your Majesty to grant me a marriage."
"Please speak."
“There is a commander named Xiao Bin in Weizhou Guard, who is of the fourth rank. He is from Jinling and is a reliable and down-to-earth person.”
"Wanxiu said that if she cannot enter the palace, she wants to marry Lord Xiao."
"If the Empress could bestow a marriage upon us, that would be quite respectable."
Su Wanwan's breathing stopped for a few moments, and her mind went blank.
There was no response for a long time.
Upon hearing these words, He Ying's expression changed, filled with indignation.
Why should Zhou Wanxiu marry Guard Xiao if she can't enter the palace?
Is Guard Xiao a garbage collector?
The Lady of Qingyun Marquis and the Lady of Changning Earl looked at each other in bewilderment. He was just a fourth-rank military officer. Could they not even grant him a marriage decree?
Seeing this, Heying served a plate of lychees:
"These are fresh lychees from Guangdong and Guangxi provinces. They were planted in pots after bearing fruit and were transported north by boat. They were just brought to the palace as tribute, so that they could be presented to the Imperial Ancestral Temple."
"Ladies, please have a taste."
Lady Qingyun and Lady Changning were honored to have a lychee to taste.
When Empress Dowager Xiaosu was alive, the Zhou family was occasionally fortunate enough to be rewarded with fresh lychees by the palace.
In recent years, it's become so rare that even a fresh lychee leaf can't be found.
Now, I'm actually benefiting from Wanwan's fame.
Lady Qingyun's eyes flickered as she tried to salvage the situation:
"Your Majesty, if the matter of bestowing a marriage is too difficult to arrange, then let's just forget about it."
There's no need to trouble Her Majesty the Empress over such a trivial matter; we'll have plenty of opportunities to ask her for help in the future.
Su Wanwan finally regained her composure.
"Marriage is a matter of mutual consent. Lord Xiao was once my bodyguard. He is a very opinionated person, so it would be best to ask for his opinion on this matter. It is not appropriate for me to interfere rashly."
Lady Qingyun smiled and agreed, "That makes sense."
...
The palace was just as lively as it was last year on the Empress Dowager's birthday.
Having experienced the Empress's poisoning incident during the Empress's birthday celebration, the ladies of the court and the palace were much more cautious this time, only offering their congratulations from afar.
Madam Wang accepted everyone's congratulations with a kind expression, but her gaze towards Su Wanwan was filled with distance.
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