Tianliangyuan

Chapter 254 Married a Good Wife

Zhao Yue comes from a prominent family; what good things hasn't she seen?

Consort Liu had a rough idea of ​​Zhao Yue's purpose in coming, but she still wanted to tease her a little.

Zhao Yue was also quite interesting; she would cling to Consort Liu and act coquettishly like a child.

"Originally, I was going to have the Prince come to ask you for it yesterday, but unfortunately His Majesty assigned the Prince a mission, so the Prince left the capital yesterday. I had no choice but to come myself."

"Oh, so you don't want to see your mother, the imperial concubine?"

Zhao Yue chuckled, then gently patted her mouth with her hand: "It was your daughter-in-law who misspoke, please forgive me, Mother."

"Okay, let's talk."

Zhao Yuelai explained her intentions and specifically emphasized that it would be best to find a nanny who was knowledgeable about nutrition for pregnant and postpartum women.

“I do have such people around me, but when Lady Jiang entered the palace a few days ago, didn’t Consort Jiang make any arrangements for her? If I were to let you take her back directly, I don’t know if Consort Jiang would be suspicious.”

"Probably not. The Prince has already spoken to the Jiang family, and Madam Jiang will try her best not to leave the residence until the delivery."

Consort Liu nodded: "That's how it should be. But she's not one to stay still. Can you really control her?"

Consort Liu wasn't questioning Zhao Yue's abilities, but rather reminding her that Jiang Ning was a troublemaker and might not be easily controlled.

"Don't worry, Mother, your daughter-in-law will make the arrangements properly."

Consort Liu was very satisfied and patted her hand: "You've thought things through. I didn't misjudge you. With a wife like you by my son's side, I can rest assured."

Zhao Yue could sense that Consort Liu genuinely liked her.

After Zhao Yue left the palace, the old nanny beside Consort Liu looked puzzled: "Although the Princess is generous and kind, she must know how powerful Consort Jiang's backer is. Why would she still try to protect her child? Is it just for show, to avoid suspicion being placed on her if something happens in the future? If so, is it inappropriate for Her Majesty to send someone to her side?"

Consort Liu's smile faded slightly, and her eyes held a hint of coldness.

“What do you know? My daughter-in-law is very clever! She has been taught by a famous family. She is already a royal consort, so naturally she should consider the interests of Prince Zhong. If Madam Jiang can give birth to a son, both Grand Tutor Jiang and Consort Jiang will surely support my son with all their might in the future.”

The old woman's eyes widened; she truly hadn't considered this possibility.

Consort Liu took a deep breath and said with deep feeling, "She is indeed a daughter raised by a noble family. You only see the immediate benefits, while she sees things much further ahead. If I hadn't been in the palace for so many years, I'm afraid I would have thought the same as you. Indeed, knowledge and confidence limit our vision."

The old woman knelt down with a thud: "This servant is guilty, please punish me, Your Highness."

Consort Liu shook her head: "Get up. You are doing this for my sake. But I can see that Zhao Yue is truly plotting for the sake of the Prince Zhong's mansion. I hope that Jiang Ning can be smarter and not be used by others again, and more importantly, protect her child."

It was only when Consort Liu heard that Zhao Yue wanted to hire a nanny that she suddenly realized Zhao Yue's intentions.

Originally, she thought Zhao Yue was just there to put on a show.

But after talking with her for a while, I realized how far-sighted she was.

Consort Jiang had been favored by the emperor for many years, but she had no children. Her daughter was quite favored by the emperor, but she was just a princess and had no chance of vying for the throne.

Jiang Ning married the Prince of Zhong; although she was a concubine, she was still a royal woman.

If the Prince of Zhong ascends to the throne in the future, Jiang Ning should also be granted the title of Imperial Concubine.

In this way, the glory of the Jiang family will continue, so who will care about concubines anymore?

In the palace, apart from the empress, who wasn't a concubine?

Even Consort Jiang, whom everyone fawned over, was just a concubine, wasn't she?

This is because men have different social statuses. For example, even a maidservant who washes feet by the emperor's side has to be treated with respect by outsiders.

Consort Liu understood that her family was weak and dared not confront the Qu family, so she had always been cautious over the years.

Now that her adopted son has a chance to compete, she naturally has to cooperate fully.

Xu Zhaozhao soon learned about the Zhongwang Mansion and also knew that Zhao Yue would probably arrange for Jiang Ning to give birth smoothly.

So what if Jiang Ning was reborn?

Her upbringing and education determined the perspective and scope of her thinking.

If Jiang Ning were the Princess Consort of Zhong, she would certainly not allow such a threat to exist and would definitely find a way to cause a miscarriage.

But Zhao Yue is different.

She has a broad perspective; she knows exactly who to ally with and who to utilize.

In Xu Zhaozhao's words, Zhao Yue is very good at resource integration.

"Fine, since Zhao Yue is willing to let her give birth to this child, let's wait and see. I also want to see how far Jiang Ning can go."

Emperor Yong'an is currently in good health, but there is a strong call in the court to support the crown prince.

In fact, Emperor Yong'an was also worried.

Of the princes who had come of age, only these two were truly capable.

However, Emperor Yong'an was unwilling to appoint such a powerful crown prince.

To put it bluntly, it was the emperor's paranoia.

Although he was still robust, the princes were younger and stronger than him.

How could an emperor be willing to have an ambitious and powerful crown prince by his side during his prime?

So he still wanted to postpone it.

The solution was to assign different tasks to the princes, allowing them to assess each other's abilities.

The entire court of civil and military officials could naturally see this as well.

However, regardless of who was more capable, the court officials still had more support for Prince An.

The principle of establishing the eldest son as heir is followed, and the eldest son is naturally given priority. Only after the entire line of heirs has been extinguished will the birth of a son born out of wedlock be considered.

This is the main reason why King Zhong always found it difficult.

The Empress has two legitimate sons.

Although the other one is still young, he is also the legitimate son.

For those officials who valued etiquette and law, no matter how young the legitimate son was, he had to be established as the heir apparent, and the established order of etiquette and law could not be disrupted.

Being the eldest son of a concubine only grants him the title of "eldest," which is extremely difficult.

Xu Zhaozhao decided to put the Jiang family aside for the time being, since if the crackdown was too obvious, it might attract speculation and probing from all sides.

With her father and second brother both on the battlefield, it's best to keep things quiet for now. If someone suddenly targets the Marquis's residence, Xu Zhaozhao might not be able to protect it on her own.

"How's the situation in Lantian County?"

"Reporting to Miss, the construction of the County Princess's Mansion will be quite complicated due to the regulations. Even if it can be completed this year, it will probably not be until the end of autumn."

"Oh? Didn't you say it would be quick?"

"The magistrate of Lantian County saw that you were making great efforts to build Yunqi Mountain Villa, so he specially allocated some of his troops to help you."

Xu Zhaozhao laughed: "He does have a good eye."