Beside her, a pretty girl with a graceful figure gently rolled up her sleeves and replied nonchalantly, "Of course she has the right to put on airs. She's the legal wife, the Princess Consort. What are we? We're just a bunch of lowly concubines that she doesn't like."
Another girl with a face full of disdain, "Pfft, she's just flirting and seducing men. Does she think everyone is as shameless as her?"
"That's right!" Another slender girl chimed in, "I heard that His Highness has always been virtuous and rarely interacts with other women. Once His Highness has a wife, he'll be able to distinguish between good and bad. Let's see how long she can keep up her arrogance."
A beautiful girl with a hint of arrogance said, "How can a remarried widow be worthy of being a Princess Consort? What a joke!"
A girl holding a mirror to look at her own beautiful face sneered, "It doesn't matter what you say. She's just lucky. Her status rose with the tide, and she's already a Princess Consort. Now she's like this even before we've seen her. Who knows how we sisters will treat her in the future."
A charming girl holding a handkerchief to shield her head from the sun said, "The Prince Residence belongs to His Highness, not her. It's not up to her to do whatever she wants!"
Gong Nichang and Yuwen Ruyu's statuses were relatively high among this group of women. Most of the fathers of the women present were subordinates of the two former marshals. Out of habit, the moment they arrived, everyone made way for the two of them with the shade.
The two of them didn't have to worry about being exposed to the sun, but they could still hear the mutterings around them. The two of them exchanged glances from time to time, but didn't dare to say anything. Miao Yi's indifference towards them was still etched in their hearts.
Gong Nichang was still young, so it wasn't too bad.
Yuwen Ruyu, on the other hand, was a little more sensible. This kind of gossip behind someone's back was what a group of rich and powerful children used to do when they had free time. It would be abnormal if a group of women didn't ridicule and talk behind someone's back.
She could empathize with these people. Which of them wasn't a young lady from a wealthy family? Which of them wasn't flattered by others? Which of them wasn't used to seeing their wives and concubines fighting for their father's favor at home? Due to the environment they lived in, they had to fight for it if they wanted to be above others. Many of them were probably unwilling to be inferior to others and coveted the position of Princess Consort. They were ready to roll up their sleeves and fight Yun Zhiqiu for it. Now that everyone was unfamiliar with the situation, they could only behave themselves.
Fighting for favor in the inner courtyard was not the same as in the officialdom. There were not many rules and restrictions, and one did not need to climb up step by step. As long as one could win the favor of the Wangye, it was normal for one to reach the sky in a single step. Just from the gossip around her, Yuwen Ruyu could imagine that there were many people who were not easy to deal with. She had already understood the nature of some of these people when they were still friends.
At the same time, she could imagine that even if the maiden's family had declined, as long as it was necessary to fight for favor, the maiden's family would still give their full support. Once it was successful, it was not impossible for the maiden's family to make a comeback, or to fight for a better future for the maiden's brother. With the maiden's family in power outside, the Wangye here would naturally look up to them. This was a matter of mutual benefit. The reason was simple. If someone's maiden's family became the Marquis, the Wangye couldn't just ignore the life or death of this concubine.
Not to mention Yuwen Ruyu, even Gong Nichang had recently been frequently instructed by her maiden's family to teach her some tips on fighting for favor in the inner courtyard, so that she could make full use of the advantages of her youth.
In the main hall of the courtyard, Yun Zhiqiu sat on a chair with his legs crossed. In his hands was the list of the group of concubines outside and their backgrounds.
The list had been compiled by Yun Zhiqiu before he returned. At this moment, Fei Hong was sitting on the other side of the tea table, watching Yun Zhiqiu's reaction from time to time.
Snow had returned from outside. Yun Zhiqiu stared at the list and asked, "What's the reaction outside?"
Snow replied, "Your Highness, some of them are quiet, but there are also quite a few who are whispering to each other impatiently. I don't know what they're saying, but I don't think it's anything good."
Sitting below, Lin Pingping secretly stuck out her tongue. She could tell that Snow was displeased with the concubines.
Murong Xinghua couldn't help but look at Snow as well.
In reality, most of the women present were on Yun Zhiqiu's side. They were a little displeased with Miao Yi taking in so many concubines. His Highness didn't lack women to serve him, so why did he need so many of them? Would he even be able to handle all of them?
They all understood why Miao Yi had no choice but to take in these concubines, but they still felt uncomfortable. They couldn't wait for Yun Zhiqiu to teach those women a lesson.
"It's only been two hours, and you're already getting impatient?" Yun Zhiqiu scoffed, then asked, "Has His Highness arrived?"
Qian 'Er replied, "Not yet."
"Then let them continue waiting. We'll talk about it when His Highness arrives," Yun Zhiqiu said coldly. Still staring at the jade archive, he said, "Murong."
"Here!" Murong Xinghua stepped forward to receive the order.
Yun Zhiqiu said, "Pass on my orders. Mobilize a thousand of my personal guards here and have them keep an eye on the place. If anyone dares to be disobedient or leave the garden without permission, capture them immediately. Break one of their legs and throw them into the dungeon for a year without any medical treatment!"
"This …" Murong Xinghua broke out in a cold sweat. Was it appropriate to break the legs of His Highness' concubines? He was a little hesitant and didn't dare to agree.
Yun Zhiqiu raised his eyes abruptly and asked, "Hmm?"
"Understood!" Murong Xinghua hurriedly accepted the order and left.
Fei Hong smiled bitterly to herself. She had finally gotten to know the group of Misses well enough these past few days. She could only hope that His Highness would arrive soon. Otherwise, if things continued to drag on like this, some of the Misses might just fling their sleeves and leave. With the Princess Consort's temper, there would definitely be more than one or two of them with their legs broken.
Yun Zhiqiu then said, "Pang Xiaoxiao, Gong Nichang, and Yuwen Ruyu, have the three of them come here."
Back in the small world, she had already asked Fei Hong about the situation of the group of women. It was understandable that they had the temper of a Miss, but the problem was that every Miss had someone backing them up. It was normal for the family to give advice to their own Miss. She had to first get rid of the three Marshals' daughters to prevent them from stirring up trouble. As for the rest, she would deal with them if they dared to come out. This place couldn't tolerate so many Miss' tempers. She had to change the habits they had developed before they got married. Otherwise, this family wouldn't have peace in the future.
Miao Yi's concubine situation this time was a little special. Not only did he marry so many of them at once, they were basically all the daughters of influential families. It was a little different from other concubines who only cared about their looks. With so many people with strong personalities, if they didn't know how to restrain themselves, what would happen if they gathered together? There would probably be trouble every day.
Soon, Pang Xiaoxiao, Gong Nichang, and Yuwen Ruyu were brought in. The three of them were obviously a little nervous as they bowed in unison. "Pang Xiaoxiao, Gong Nichang, and Yuwen Ruyu greet the Princess Consort!"
"There's no need for formalities." Yun Zhiqiu motioned to help them up, then stood up and walked over to the three of them. He looked them up and down, then walked around them and stopped in front of Yuwen Ruyu. "Little Sister Yuwen, this is the first time we've met. I do know your older sister."
"Yes. My older sister mentioned it before, and Your Highness has given me some pointers." Yuwen Ruyu replied politely. The Yun Zhiqiu of the past had no right to give pointers to the Marshal's daughter.
Yun Zhiqiu smiled but didn't say anything. He took a step forward and looked at Gong Nichang. Seeing this young girl who hadn't even matured yet, he couldn't help but reach out and caress Gong Nichang's pretty face tenderly. He clicked his tongue and said, "You're as tender as a flower that hasn't even bloomed yet. Your Highness has really committed a sin!"
Gong Nichang was extremely nervous. She thought she was going to be chased away, but how could she leave with the heavy responsibility of her family? In a moment of desperation, she suddenly said, "Your Highness, in the secular world, I could already have children at this age." What she meant was that she wasn't young anymore.
As soon as these words came out, everyone present was shocked. Gong Nichang herself blushed and lowered her head.
Yun Zhiqiu was stunned for a moment. After seeing that the girl had made a slip of the tongue in a moment of nervousness, he immediately burst into laughter. After covering his mouth to calm himself down, he nodded and said, "Okay, okay, okay! Okay, I'll remember it. I'll definitely persuade Your Highness to reconsider this matter later. But little girl, we can put aside the matter of having children for now. Can we talk about this matter when your body is a little more mature? "
Gong Nichang was so embarrassed that she couldn't show her face.
The others present also couldn't help but hold back their laughter. However, when they looked at Gong Nichang again, they already had a slightly favorable impression of her. They all just took her as a pitiful girl who didn't belong to the ranks of other women outside.
Taking another step forward, Yun Zhiqiu walked in front of Pang Xiaoxiao and said, "I heard that you've been serving Your Highness while I was away?" There seemed to be a hidden meaning in his words.
Pang Xiaoxiao didn't know what these words meant. Facing Yun Zhiqiu's half-smiling eyes, she was also extremely nervous. "If there's anything I've done wrong, please point out, Your Highness. I'll definitely correct it."
"We're all sisters. There's no need to be nervous." Yun Zhiqiu smiled and comforted her. She swept her gaze across the three of them and extended her hand, saying, "Sit!"
After the three of them sat down obediently and tea was served, Yun Zhiqiu said, "There are too many people in the household now. I can't handle everything on my own. If you don't mind, you three can stay by my side and listen to me from now on. Let's keep in touch."
She wanted to win over these three first. In the future, if there were people from any faction who were disobedient, in order to avoid a collective backlash from this faction, she would let the retired marshal resolve it. As long as it wasn't a collective backlash, individual people wouldn't be able to do anything. She knew that she had to buy time for Miao Yi to settle down the entire southern army. Once Miao Yi completely assimilated the entire southern army, the influence of the person behind these girls would disappear. Naturally, they wouldn't dare to harbor any ill intentions.
"As you command, Your Highness." Yuwen Ruyu and Pang Xiaoxiao quickly stood up and responded. They knew that Yun Zhiqiu was going to give them special treatment. In the end, it was all thanks to her maiden family's influence. Gong Nichang didn't understand what she meant, so she simply stood up and agreed with her.
Outside the courtyard, Miao Yi went straight to the garden and stopped at the entrance. He swept his gaze across the women in the garden, but didn't see Yun Zhiqiu anywhere.
Some of the women in the garden were hiding under the shade of the trees, while others were hiding in the pavilions. Those who couldn't find a place to hide were holding up umbrellas. Some were sitting, some were leaning, and some were chatting with each other.
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