Empress Yang furrowed her brows when she heard this. She was hesitant. "You mean … using the opportunity of the Crown Prince choosing concubines to put a few spies in?"
"Correct." Dou Xiyin couldn't help but move forward. She lowered her voice and said, "Aunt, the Emperor has three palaces and six courtyards. The Crown Prince also selects talented attendants. Which man in the world doesn't have three wives and four concubines? Cheng Yujin has the virtuous reputation of the Crown Princess, but in reality, she is a jealous woman. It has been almost a year, and she is still the only one with a title at the Crown Prince's side. Aunt, not to mention that she is the Crown Princess, even if she was in a commoner's family, this would be an extremely fierce and overbearing action. "
Empress Yang heard this and did not speak. It looked like she was thinking. Although young couples were said to be more intimate because of their first time and because they were newlyweds, it was very rare to not have a concubine after a year.
If it was like this in the families of normal officials, the men of those dukes, marquises, and counts had already had a concubine. Even if they did not make them official before marriage to give face to the main wife, after marriage, the main wife often had to give them official status. Other than the main wife, there were only one or two concubines. They were all considered clean, and these were concubines with official status. As for those who served the men in bed at night and continued to be servant girls during the day, they were not counted as concubines.
If the son of a family was clean and did not mess around with servant girls, it could be used as a capital to show off. However, Li Seung-kyung's situation was a bit scary. He had been married for a year. Empress Yang seemed to have never even heard of a palace maid that the Crown Prince occasionally slept with, much less a formal selection of talented attendants.
Empress Yang was not sure. She didn't know if Cheng Yujin was strict in governing the palace and had excellent methods of handling women, or if Li Seung-kyung truly had not favored anyone. Empress Yang didn't quite believe the last point, but in the Imperial Palace, quietly getting rid of a woman in bed without alerting anyone, Empress Yang knew that even she couldn't do it, let alone the Crown Princess who didn't have the power to govern the Imperial Palace.
Empress Yang was a little moved. In her opinion, there was no man who didn't like fresh things. There was no one by the crown prince's side. Most likely, it was because Cheng Yujin's defense was airtight, and the crown prince did not want to embarrass his official wife. If an outsider brought a fresh beauty to the front of the bed, could the Crown Prince refuse?
At that time, wouldn't a few of Empress Yang's men among the beauties open up a path in the Eastern Palace? As for whether these women could survive in the hands of Cheng Yujin … that was not within the scope of Empress Yang's concern.
Empress Yang hesitated and said, "This is indeed a way. However, ever since the Crown Princess entered the Imperial Palace, her actions and words have been flawless. Now that she is pregnant, if I give her men, I'm afraid others will say that I'm not compassionate. "
After all, Empress Yang was Li Seung-kyung's stepmother. In the past, she and the crown prince's birth mother, Empress Zhong, had some dirty dealings. Although Empress Dowager Yang cleaned up the mess and no one knew what happened in the past, Empress Yang still lacked confidence when she saw Li Seung-kyung.
Dou Xiyin said, "Aunt, you're thinking wrongly. You are the Empress, the crown prince's official mother. Now that the Crown Princess is pregnant, she can't serve the crown prince. For the sake of your children, what's wrong with sending someone to serve the crown prince? Besides, it was Cheng Yujin who was in the wrong. According to etiquette, the crown prince should have two maids, four talented people, and eight virtuous women. She was fierce and jealous, monopolized the crown prince, and wantonly suppressed the other palace maids who served him. By choosing concubines for the crown prince, you're clearly upholding etiquette and setting rules for the women. "
Empress Yang was gradually convinced and nodded, "What you say is reasonable. However, the crown prince said at last year's banquet that he wanted to respect the ancestral etiquette and wait until he is forty years old and has no legitimate children before taking concubines. Now that the Crown Princess is pregnant, if I give her to someone at this time, there will be suspicion of melon fields and plum plums. "
"Heh." Dou Xiyin laughed disdainfully and said, "Aunt, you believe this kind of words? No matter how good a man's mouth is, if a young woman is really sent to them, how could they refuse? "
Empress Yang's last trace of worry was dispelled and she said with emotion, "That's right, you're right. I was too overcautious. “
Cheng Yujin quietly stayed in Ci Qing Palace to nurse her pregnancy. Ever since her pregnancy was exposed at Prince Shou's wedding banquet in May, Li Seung-kyung took the opportunity to admit it. Cheng Yujin lived in seclusion and stayed in the Eastern Palace all day to nurse her pregnancy. Now that the entire world knew that the Crown Princess was pregnant, no one dared to say anything when she shut herself in.
The season gradually entered the rainy season. In the past few days, there had been several heavy rains in the capital and half of the time the sky was cloudy. When she woke up early this morning, the sound of rain could be heard outside the window. The raindrops fell from the blue glazed tiles to the stone steps, making a rhythmic sound.
In the afternoon, the rain finally stopped. The people in Ci Qing Palace let out a long sigh of relief. Lian Qiao hurriedly ordered the palace maids to open the windows and disperse the stuffy air in the palace.
Outside the house, the wind carried water vapor and blew against his face, cool and clear. Cheng Yujin leaned in front of the window to read a book. She had just turned a page when a palace maid reported that the Empress had sent someone over. Cheng Yujin's eyebrows jumped. She knew that she wouldn't be able to finish reading this book today.
Cheng Yujin simply closed the book and sat up, saying, "Summon."
The person who came was Empress Yang's capable mama. When Cheng Yujin saw this person, she already had a plan in her heart. It looked like Empress Yang was determined to bring her out this time. Otherwise, she wouldn't have sent an old and meritorious person that Cheng Yujin couldn't refuse.
Cheng Yujin knew that she had to make this trip, but on the surface, she acted as if she didn't notice. She asked with a faint smile, "It's actually Mammy Zhou. What virtue and ability did this consort have to make Mammy Zhou personally come?"
Mammy Zhou curtsied to Cheng Yujin, saying, "This old servant is afraid of the Crown Princess's favor. Crown Princess, the Empress is very concerned about your health, but it's not good to summon you to Kunning Palace. It's been raining often these past few days, and the path is slippery. If there's an accident on the road, it'll be the Empress' fault. The Empress is worried, so she specially sent this old servant to ask. "
"Many thanks to the Empress for her concern." Cheng Yujin stood up, saying, "This consort will naturally comply with the Empress' summons. How can I let the Empress send someone to ask me? Mammy Zhou, please lead the way. "
"But it just rained outside, and the path is slippery … …"
"It's fine. The Empress has something to ask of me. Even if it's raining, I won't dare to delay even if there's thunder and lightning. " Cheng Yujin smiled, "Besides, the Empress is in charge of the six palaces. The entire palace is under the Empress' control. Now that the Empress is summoning me, if there's a problem on the road like this, it's too improper. The Empress is the master of the six palaces, how can she make such a low-level mistake? "
Mammy Zhou couldn't speak. Hearing Cheng Yujin's words, Empress Yang felt like she was being roasted on the fire. How could she dare to let Cheng Yujin cause trouble on the road? Mammy Zhou laughed dryly in response. After leaving, Mammy Zhou was especially careful on the road. She was more worried than when she was pregnant. She was afraid that if she wasn't careful, this mistress would fall. If that happened, Empress Yang wouldn't be able to explain herself.
Cheng Yujin was pregnant right now, and it had just rained, so the people carrying the sedan were very careful. When the palanquin finally stopped at the entrance of Kunning Palace, the people on and off the palanquin wiped their sweat.
Cheng Yujin leisurely entered Kunning Palace. When she had just entered the palace, her sharp eyes had seen the sedan prepared by the qinwang fei. At this time, at this juncture, it was clear who was inside.
After she entered the palace, she found that Dou Xiyin was already there.
Cheng Yujin had just made a bow when Empress Yang quickly had a palace maid support her, saying, "The Crown Princess is pregnant, so there's no need to be so courteous. Quickly, sit. "
Cheng Yujin was just putting on an act. She didn't refuse and sat down on the armchair on the side.
Cheng Yujin could be excused, but Dou Xiyin couldn't pretend not to see. She stood and bowed to Cheng Yujin, "Greetings to the Crown Princess."
"Princess Shou, please rise." Cheng Yujin only swept a glance at Dou Xiyin and then didn't pay any more attention. Her gaze stopped on Empress Yang, "I's body is not well and has neglected you. Please forgive me, Empress."
"No matter." Empress Yang said, "You are pregnant with the Crown Prince's first child. If it's a boy, it will be the eldest grandson of the di emperor. Your belly is so precious, so it should be raised with great respect. It's best to save these formalities. "
Cheng Yujin smiled, "Thank you, Niangniang, for your understanding. It's just that the Crown Prince told me that he feels that children are fated. It doesn't matter if it's a boy or a girl. The Crown Prince doesn't force it. The Empress keeps saying that it's a boy, but I don't know what to do. "
Empress Yang's mouth twitched unhappily. As expected, even if a tiger was vegetarian, it was still a tiger. Cheng Yujin hadn't left the house for half a month, but her mouth was still so impenetrable. Empress Yang remembered that she had important matters to attend to today and ignored Cheng Yujin's checkmate. She continued, "The Crown Princess is right. Right now, the most important thing for you is to take care of the baby. Everything else is meaningless. It's just that the Crown Prince is the foundation of the country and cannot be neglected. The Crown Princess has been sick these days, so it's not convenient for her to serve the Crown Prince. How did you arrange for her to serve the Crown Prince? "
Oh, she even reached her hand into her room? Cheng Yujin brushed aside the foam on her tea. She had no interest in drinking tea and put the teacup back on the table, "I just entered the palace. I'm young and inexperienced. I only found out today that in addition to serving in the harem, the matter of serving in the Eastern Palace was also arranged by the Empress?"
Empress Yang was the stepmother. How could she arrange for her stepson to sleep with any woman? Empress Yang's expression was ugly. She quickly said, "Of course not. Ben gong is in charge of the six palaces, but the Eastern Palace is not part of the harem. Which woman the Crown Prince favors is up to the Crown Prince to decide. "
"Oh." Cheng Yujin nodded and smiled at Empress Yang, "That's good. I thought that all these years, the rules that I read from the history books and laws were all wrong. When the Empress said that just now, I mistakenly thought that the Empress wanted to arrange concubines for His Highness. I wrongly blamed the Empress. Please punish me, Empress. "
Empress Yang's words were in her throat, but she was suddenly blocked by her words. Empress Yang couldn't breathe and her expression was very strange. Dou Xiyin was anxious when she saw this and quickly interjected, "Empress, didn't you say that you prepared a personal servant for the Crown Princess? Now that the Crown Princess is here, if you don't send her off now, when will you? "
Dou Xiyin's words exposed the truth. Empress Yang had no choice but to continue, "That's right. Ben gong did find a few suitable people to help the Crown Princess with her worries. Come, have those good girls come up and kowtow to the Crown Princess. "
Kowtowing and offering tea was a necessary etiquette for a concubine to meet the main wife. Only when the main wife accepted the tea would the identity of the concubine be truly recognized. Similarly, once she accepted someone else's offer of tea, even if she was unwilling, the main wife had to pinch her nose and accept it.
Four lively beauties walked out of the side hall. Each had their own merits. When they saw Cheng Yujin, they all knelt at her feet, "This servant greets the Crown Princess."
Their brows were delicate and pitiful. Cheng Yujin didn't panic when she saw them and said, "The Empress and Princess Shou are also here. Is it proper for you to only greet me? Do you want to offend your superiors and disrespect the Empress? "
The four beauties were shocked. They never thought this would happen. They had already been instructed by the Empress and naturally knew that they were going to be sent to the Crown Prince. The four of them were all moved and when they came up to greet her, they used all of their means. They already knew that the Crown Princess wasn't a good person, but some of them didn't care and even rubbed their palms together. However, they never thought that before their seductive path had even begun, they would fall here.
They didn't dare to admit the crime of disrespecting the Empress. They looked at each other and then quickly kowtowed to the Empress and Dou Xiyin, "This servant doesn't dare. This servant greets the Empress and Princess Shou. "
Empress Yang had originally planned on sending these four people to Cheng Yujin. She had even thought of using both the carrot and the stick, but she didn't think that she would see a row of delicate beauties kowtowing to her. Empress Yang's heart skipped a beat and her feelings were hard to describe.
Who was sending who … … Empress Yang quickly stopped and said, "Crown Princess, the Eastern Palace still doesn't have a servant. You are pregnant and can't waste your energy. It won't be easy to find a woman with a clean background and good character in a short period of time. This consort was worried about you being tired, so this consort found four people for you. This consort has already investigated the backgrounds of the four of them. They are all very gentle and filial, so they can serve the Crown Prince well. When you are bored, they can help you relieve your boredom. Crown Princess, what do you think? "
Empress Yang's words were filled with etiquette and human feelings. Cheng Yujin couldn't avoid it no matter what. Dou Xiyin revealed a smile after hearing this and calmly looked at Cheng Yujin.
"I appreciate the Empress' kindness." As soon as Cheng Yujin's voice fell, Empress Yang and Dou Xiyin's eyes clearly lit up. But Cheng Yujin's tone changed and she suddenly asked, "Empress, I have something I don't understand. As a woman, should she listen to her parents' orders or her husband's orders? "
Empress Yang suddenly became vigilant. Although she didn't understand why Cheng Yujin mentioned this, her intuition told her that Cheng Yujin was setting a trap. Empress Yang thought about it and then cautiously said, "Follow the father at home, follow the husband when married, follow the son when the husband dies. Everyone should be filial to their parents. The wife should follow the husband, the son should follow the mother. Therefore, the parents-in-law and the husband will not have any differences. Listening to one's parents and listening to one's husband is the same. "
Empress Yang thought that she had covered all aspects of her speech and avoided all the traps. Empress Yang couldn't fall for the same trick twice. If Cheng Yujin still used the original method and wanted to use her words to counterattack, then she was too naive.
But Empress Yang didn't think that Cheng Yujin would still reveal a slight smile when she heard this. Empress Yang saw Cheng Yujin smile and her hairs unconsciously stood on end.
Cheng Yujin smiled and said, "The Empress is truly wise. After the Empress said this, I suddenly understood."
Empress Yang was confused by her words. She was a bit panicked and a bit angry. She couldn't help but frown, "What did you say?"
Cheng Yujin said, "Just as the Empress said, a son should be filial and a subject should be loyal. Your Highness the Crown Prince is both a son and a subject. Naturally, you should follow the decrees of your ancestors. The founding ancestors said that a man can only take a concubine when he is forty and has no children. Your Highness the Crown Prince respects your ancestors and has already told qie to set an example and follow in the footsteps of your ancestors. The Empress is kind to me and I am very moved. Therefore, I should be filial to my elders. Your Highness the Crown Prince said that he can't take a concubine before he is forty and has no children. If I act on my own and take someone back, wouldn't that be disobeying the ancestors and making Your Highness the Crown Prince unfilial? "
Empress Yang's brows furrowed even tighter as she heard this. She realized that she had fallen into a trap. She clearly thought that Cheng Yujin would use her words to make a fuss. But even though she knew, she still couldn't avoid it.
Because when Empress Yang followed Cheng Yujin's train of thought to answer the question, she had already fallen into a trap. If Empress Yang said that a woman had to listen to her husband, then Cheng Yujin would say that the Crown Prince didn't want to take a concubine and she should listen to the Crown Prince. If Empress Yang said that a woman had to be filial and choose between her husband and parents-in-law, then Cheng Yujin would bring out the founding emperor and use the excuse that she and the Crown Prince had to follow the laws of their ancestors or not take a concubine.
Empress Yang understood that Cheng Yujin didn't plan on taking the person away from the beginning. So no matter what Empress Yang said, Cheng Yujin had prepared an excuse. Empress Yang even said that it was better to be filial to her elders. Because this way, Empress Yang would also be involved. Empress Yang could use her seniority to suppress the Crown Prince, but she didn't dare to say that the founding emperor was wrong.
Empress Yang's mood was very hard to describe. She had just said that a person wouldn't be tripped twice in the same place. In the blink of an eye, she had fallen into the pit again.
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