Chapter 72

At the Hundred-Day Banquet, She Niang, representing the Prince of Qing's estate, presented the most lavish gift. She observed that the princess appeared far more subdued than before, realizing that her past confidence had stemmed solely from her family background and status. Once such external support vanished, she was unable to stand on her own.

Yet, the Prince of Qing's household remained intact, leaving She Niang puzzled as to the source of the princess's sudden inferiority complex.

It wasn't until She Niang saw Wu Ting's concubine that she understood. Previous descriptions of the concubine as exceptionally beautiful were somewhat exaggerated; rather, she was quite pretty among ordinary people, possessing a gentle and unassuming nature.

Her demeanor was evident in her walk and the way she deliberately concealed her neckline with a fur collar.

Someone like the princess expected respect even in intimate settings. She Niang, from her past life, knew that even Emperor Jianchang indulged in such pleasures, sometimes accompanied by two or three women.

Upon entering the room, the princess immediately began to weep and complain: "He used to visit my room a few times, but this entire month he hasn't come at all. That enchantress has completely ensnared him."

"Why are you so worried about this? You have the princess's allowance, the backing of the Prince of Qing's household, and now a son. In contrast, she relies on her beauty to please others—how long can that last? People are like this: the more you target someone, the more a man will protect them." Although She Niang wasn't an expert on men, she understood them quite well.

Seeing the wisdom in her words, the princess couldn't help but ask, "Sister-in-law, what would you do if my brother had a favored concubine?"

"To be honest, don't take my words too literally. If your brother truly had a favored concubine, there wouldn't be much I could do. You can't control others—just as you can't stop the rain or your mother from remarrying. Even if you could control someone's body, you might not win their heart." She Niang shrugged.

Strangely, while the princess disliked the idea of her own husband having a favored concubine, she felt her sister-in-law was too strict for not allowing her brother to have one, deeming her not virtuous.

Such double standards were common. Since She Niang was present, she advised: "What you should do now is not to quarrel with others, but also not to be too weak. Focus on managing your own affairs. I see that despite today's festivities, your family's concubine remains in the rear courtyard, which shows your husband understands propriety."

She feared the princess would pick fights she couldn't win, ultimately having to rely on her natal family for help.

After offering a few words of advice, She Niang was summoned by the Duchess of Britain for dinner.

As for Wu Ting's concubine, she wasn't actually a legitimate cousin but had sought refuge at the Marquis of Shouning's household. She had been pampered at home but learned to read people's expressions after being forced to rely on others.

Now, thanks to her, her father had purchased a low-ranking military position, and her younger brother was excelling in his studies. She resented her status as a concubine but also felt that fate was beyond her control.

The main wife was of noble birth and seemed ill-tempered, so she didn't know how she would be treated.

Aside from petty squabbles, the princess had no other strategies. As She Niang left, she merely told Nanny An to send word if anything significant occurred.

As for Li Ju, now the Prince of Qing, his youth attracted many seeking favor, a situation he was already accustomed to. However, his thoughts sometimes drifted to She Niang.

Although Wu Ting didn't particularly favor the princess, he held no ill will towards the Prince of Qing's household. Li Ju was a truly exceptional individual, talented and humble, devoid of any arrogance.

Li Ju, however, found it difficult to be genuinely friendly with Wu Ting. He had a premonition that if the Prince of Qing's household were to fall, he wouldn't even be sitting there today. Thus, the two exchanged few words, and it was only after the banquet concluded and he saw She Niang that his face brightened.

She Niang immediately sensed his preoccupation and quickly asked, "What's wrong? You can tell me if something's bothering you."

"Nothing much, it's just that people's attitudes seem to change with one's status," Li Ju said with a smile.

She Niang replied candidly: "To be honest, when my father was still a proper official, and I married into your family, many said I married above my station, implying I wasn't good enough. But if my status were lower—if I weren't from an official's family but just a commoner—no matter how beautiful I was, I doubt you would have married me."

Hearing this, Li Ju felt relieved: "You're right. Similarly, if I were just a servant or a poor man, we would never have met."

"Exactly. The princess and Wu Ting were married by the emperor's decree, so there was no affection to begin with. But from what I observe, neither seems the type to fight to the death. They'll naturally grow closer over time," She Niang said with a smile.

When they returned home, they heard that their second son had a fever. Their eldest son's nickname was A Heng, and the second was A Lu. They had considered naming him You You, from the phrase 'the deer bleat, eating the wild apples,' but She Niang thought animal names were cuter for their sons.

Hearing their child had a fever, both were anxious. A Heng, who had already started studying, was as resilient as She Niang. A Lu, however, was different. Hearing that Li Ju had also been frail as a child, the couple took extra care.

The court physician was quickly summoned and prescribed a Great Blue Dragon Decoction to expel the cold.

After the wet nurse administered the medicine, She Niang went to freshen up, still worried: "In the future, we can't both attend banquets. One of us must stay to look after the children. If you're home, check on them often, and I'll do the same."

"Are you saying the servants aren't doing their job?" Li Ju frowned.

She Niang waved her hand: "We can't accuse them without evidence. I'm not saying they're neglectful, but it's better if we're around."

Li Ju nodded: "You're right."

After two days, when A Lu's fever subsided, She Niang finally relaxed.

A Heng, returning from school, said happily: "Mother, I heard little brother is better."

"Yes, he's much better now, so I can rest easy. How about you? Your father has been asking about your studies lately, so I haven't had the chance," She Niang asked while holding A Lu.

A Heng smiled: "The teacher's lessons are what you already taught me. I understand them."

"I've put aside some snacks for you. Have a little to tide you over, but don't eat too much. We'll have dinner together when your father returns," She Niang said.

The servants brought a few dishes. A Heng ate two and yawned, saying he was tired. Knowing he was still young, She Niang had someone take him to the inner room to rest.

Someone came in to report that the eldest daughter-in-law of the Zhang family was celebrating her daughter's first birthday. She Niang sent Qiu Ju to arrange the gift and decided not to attend in person.

Several maids and older women in the room remarked: "They say Miss Wang, our cousin, had an unfortunate fate, but she's pulled through."

"Birth, aging, sickness, and death are part of life. Yet some blame others. Young Master Zhang is talented and virtuous. Now transferred from the Hanlin Academy to the Imperial College, his future looks bright."

As they spoke, someone from the Pei family arrived. It turned out her uncle had been promoted to Transmission Commissioner. She Niang gave a reward and said: "I'll mention it to our prince later."

Her uncle's promotion was partly due to his own merits and partly due to the new emperor's favor. She Niang set the matter aside for now.

Soon, Li Ju arrived. Since A Lu was better, everyone ate heartily.

After the children left, She Niang listened as Li Ju said: "Today I went to the Prince of Xiang's residence. Your young uncle has inherited the title, and Li Jue didn't have much to say to me."

"Did the emperor say anything? You know I've never involved myself in the Prince of Xiang's affairs. Even my grandmother, now Dowager Princess, never speaks of old matters in front of her former masters." She Niang was worried that with the new emperor, the Prince of Xiang's household might change hands. She had previously discussed this with Dowager Consort Hua to avoid future repercussions.

Li Ju shook his head: "I don't know what the emperor is thinking, but a young prince without deep roots is easier to manage than one with established influence."

"That's true. By the way, I heard the emperor is holding a consort selection?" She Niang asked.

Li Ju smiled: "That's normal. The emperor is in his prime."

She Niang nodded: "Since our household owns a bank, should we set up a silk shop? It would bring in more income."

"No, no. Our family is small. If people found out, they'd accuse us of competing with the common folk for profit," Li Ju said.

Since he put it that way, She Niang didn't insist.

However, her own dowry shops were beyond the household's interference. The next day, she summoned her dowry attendants, explained her intentions, and handed over the savings she had accumulated over the years.

The capital buzzed with excitement as everyone speculated about whom the emperor would choose as empress.

Fortunately, the Pei family no longer had girls of the right age, so She Niang enjoyed the peace. Aside managing household affairs, she spent more time with her two sons.

Additionally, the Dowager Consort had recently caught a cold, so they all went to visit her.

The empress dowager in the palace also had a cold, but Yi Niang wasn't assigned to nursing duties. She could only follow the crowd, kowtow outside the empress dowager's palace, and leave.

Unfortunately, someone stopped her—a consort of the former Emperor Yin, surnamed He.

Yi Niang thought to herself that she had saved her once, yet she had the audacity to impersonate her identity. Back when she was under house arrest, she never saw any sign of her.

But then the person said, "Pei Zhaoyi, our Consort He has something extremely important that she wishes to entrust to you to deliver to the emperor."

Hearing this, Yi Niang became skeptical yet curious, so she went inside.

In less than an incense stick's time, she was utterly horrified to learn that the deceased Emperor Yin had left behind an edict ordering that Li Ju, the son of the Prince of Qing, be adopted and appointed as crown prince.

Yi Niang immediately urged her not to leak the news, saying she would deliver it to the emperor herself. But after taking the edict, she returned to her palace and, under the pretense of brewing tea, burned it directly.

Keeping such a thing would only bring disaster. As long as it didn't exist, no one would know.

But how to prevent this news from spreading? She needed to come up with a plan.

Just as Yi Niang was thinking of a solution, the old Marquis of Xinan passed away.

She Niang and others had to personally visit to offer condolences, not only because of Shun Niang's connection but also due to the Marquis of Xinan's status.

The Marquis of Xinan was a family with an imperial iron warrant, different from ordinary families. Otherwise, Nian Niang would not have gotten this marriage back then, accepting a secondary wife role.

When they arrived at the Marquis of Xinan's residence, all the titled women had gathered around the old Madam of Xinan and Shun Niang. Shun Niang was now rightfully the marchioness, and her status was naturally different.

When she saw She Niang, she moved to pay respects, but She Niang stopped her: "There's no need for such formality between us sisters."

Shun Niang rubbed her forehead: "Fifth Sister, you don't know—this is my first time handling such matters, and I'm most afraid of making mistakes. Those servants below are just waiting for me to slip up. I had to steel myself and didn't sleep at all last night. I'm dizzy and exhausted, but I can't stop."

As fellow household mistresses, they were all too familiar with such troubles.

Don't think that servants lack thoughts or schemes—many are just waiting for their masters to embarrass themselves. If a master loses power, some servants even look down on them.

Take Li Xing, whom Bai Shi raised. Many used to flatter him, but after the Prince of Chongning's mansion ran into trouble, Li Xing was struck from the family registry. Those below often looked down on him, and it was only after She Niang scolded them a few times that things improved.

So, she advised Shun Niang: "Don't overexert yourself. This funeral will last at least forty-nine days—you can't keep burning the candle at both ends every day. Save your strength, or you might fall ill."

Shun Niang found She Niang's words thoughtful and comforting.

Just then, the people from the Duke of Yingguo's residence arrived. She Niang naturally didn't need to rise—as a Princess, though young, she held a noble status. The commandery princess followed behind her mother-in-law, and after they entered, everyone began conversing.

A moment later, it was said that the Pei family and the Marquis of Dingbei's residence arrived together, and Li Niang also arrived elegantly.

Old Madam Pei had always been close to Shun Niang. The grandmother and granddaughter found a chance to talk, and Old Madam Pei naturally brought up matters in the palace: "That Yi Niang isn't favored—to this day, she hasn't even been promoted to a higher rank. The few bolts of imperial satin she was given aren't even vibrant in color."

Mentioning Yi Niang made Shun Niang somewhat uncomfortable.

Back then, young and ignorant, she had been momentarily bewitched and mentioned Yi Niang's name in front of the Prince of Jin, leading to Yi Niang being selected as his concubine. Now, though Yi Niang had become a Zhaoyi, Shun Niang had found excuses not to visit her in the palace several times.

As for Yi Niang, if she wanted to silence He Biyun, she could only rely on the emperor. But to see the emperor, she had to truly compete for favor for the first time, and she was somewhat at a loss.

She worked through the night sewing a sachet filled with medicinal herbs and entrusted someone to deliver it to the emperor. Unfortunately, it was intercepted by Noble Consort Liu, who remarked scornfully, "Even someone like Pei Zhaoyi is now competing for favor? It seems the imperial consort selection has frightened them out of their wits."

"Should this sachet be delivered to the emperor?" a palace maid asked.

Noble Consort Liu said, "Forget it. She's never been particularly favored. If I make things difficult for her too, some will accuse me of being domineering. Besides, when the third prince was unwell and the physician was delayed, Pei Zhaoyi did help look after him for a few days."

Emperor Jianchang was someone who valued old connections. It was rare to see Yi Niang send something, so he naturally went to see her.

Yi Niang didn't mention Emperor Yin's edict but only spoke of how He Biyun had taken her place, escaped midway, and even entered the palace as a consort. Now, when they met, not only did she not apologize, but she even scolded Yi Niang.

Although Emperor Jianchang didn't particularly like Yi Niang, he knew she was an honest person whose character was absolutely trustworthy. So he said, "Consort Xu and the others have already died for Emperor Yin. Since that's the case, and this person conducts herself so disgracefully, there's no need for her to remain in the palace and cause more trouble."

Thus, he sent someone to deliver poisoned wine. He Biyun had originally thought to follow Emperor Yin's instructions and pit the emperor against the Prince of Qing's mansion. Instead, she met her own end. With one cup of poisoned wine, she succumbed completely.

When She Niang later entered the palace to see Yi Niang and heard her quietly recount this, she was profoundly grateful. Back then, she had only merely sent some tokens but never expected to receive such an unexpected repayment.