bookrandom Chapter 291 Stupid Things
Chapter 291 Stupid Things
Shen Tang did not call Prince Yu stupid, she just felt that Empress Xu loved her daughter too much. She also wondered why Empress Xu would share a little worry with the Emperor and anger so many noble ladies. It turned out that Empress Xu took on this reputation for her daughter, Princess Gu'an.
There is no doubt that the princess is of noble status, but when it comes to marriage, she may not be as easy to marry as the daughters of aristocratic families. The princess's husband does not have military power, nor will he hold any important position in the court. Apart from the empty title of princess's husband, he has no official career to speak of.
No one with ambition wants to marry a princess, and no one will want her if she is a stupid princess.
Princess Gu'an's lifelong event has not been settled yet, and Empress Xu is very anxious. If the news comes out at this juncture that it was Princess Gu'an who offered advice to the emperor, she will definitely be pushed to the forefront. Since the emperor has already made the decision on this matter, Empress Xu has to do it whether she is willing or not, and she can only take the blame for Princess Gu'an herself.
Those who knew Empress Xu would know that she was not so stupid and might think that it was the imperial decree that made it difficult for her.
It was precisely because Empress Xu protected her so closely that Shen Tang didn't know that this stupid thing was done by Princess Gu'an. If she knew, she would have asked Xie Guimo to remind Prince Yu directly.
There was no word from the palace about the purpose of this palace banquet. Many people speculated that it was to select a princess for Prince Yu. Previously, Prince Yu was overshadowed by Prince Qi, but now the situation is reversed. Those noble ladies who hoped that their daughters would catch the eye of Empress Xu dressed their daughters up, and as ostentatiously as possible, as long as they were decent.
All wives of officials of the fourth rank and above had to enter the palace, so there were many people from the Jingyang Prince's Mansion who had to go to the palace. The princess, the second wife, and the fourth wife all had to go, plus their respective daughters, so there were quite a lot of people entering the palace.
Shen Tang went to pay his respects the day before yesterday, but didn't see the old lady. He didn't go yesterday either. Today he had to go to the palace with them, so it was not convenient to wait directly at the gate, so he took Ginkgo to Wutong Courtyard.
From a distance, they saw Concubine Jiang and her daughter Xie Yan entering the courtyard. When Shen Tang entered the house and walked to the screen, they heard the Second Madam say with a smile, "It's been a while since I've seen Concubine Jiang dressed up. Is she going out of the house?"
Concubine Jiang smiled and said, "I will go into the palace with you."
As soon as Concubine Jiang said this, everyone looked at the princess at the same time. Although Concubine Jiang had a special status, she was just a concubine after all. Concubines were not allowed to attend palace banquets. Of course, this was not allowed, not by the palace, but by the princess.
Asking the concubine to attend the banquet together was clearly an insult to the princess. The princess looked slightly unhappy and asked, "Did the prince agree to let you go?"
Concubine Jiang said, "The prince has no objection to me going."
This was not a lie. She wanted to go to the palace to attend the palace banquet hosted by Queen Xu, and asked the prince to agree to let her go. The prince was annoyed by the harassment, so he pushed the matter to the princess. If the princess agreed, she would go. If the princess did not agree, she would stay in the palace.
This was originally the right of the princess as the mistress of the house, but the princess did not want to cause trouble between the prince and Concubine Jiang. The fact that Prince Jingyang had a concubine who was his cousin was known to everyone in Kyoto, and it could have been suppressed by the princess alone.
As long as the prince throws it to the princess, the princess agrees, without exception.
But that was in the past. A few days ago, Concubine Jiang was meddling in other people's affairs and was scolded by Shen Tang. If Concubine Jiang were to enter the palace, Shen Tang would be very disappointed.
The princess said coldly, "Agree means agree, disagree means disagree. What do you mean by no objection?"
In the past, the princess ignored Concubine Jiang. Now, when asked this question, Concubine Jiang was stunned for a moment and said, "The prince asked me to ask the princess for her opinion. If the princess agrees, then let me go..."
"I won't allow it."
A gentle yet resolute voice echoed in the room.
Concubine Jiang's face froze and she was furious.
The Second Wife said, "Sister-in-law was always allowed to enter the palace as a concubine in the past, why not today?"
The princess glanced at the second wife and asked, "Just because it was approved before, does that mean it must be approved in the future?"
The Second Wife didn't expect the princess to be so angry today. She laughed and said, "The prince has always valued the Jiang family and has never really considered the concubine a concubine. It was only because of the eldest sister-in-law's face that he asked the concubine to ask your opinion because he knew that the eldest sister-in-law would not disagree."
The prince's behavior can be said to be forcing the princess to exercise her rights as a mistress, or it can be said to be to save the princess's face. It depends on how everyone understands it.
The princess didn't say anything. Shen Tang couldn't help but say, "Second Aunt, what you said doesn't sound good at all. It's as if you're saying that father is hypocritical..."
The Second Wife's expression changed. "Don't misinterpret my meaning, Princess! How can I have any say in the Prince's affairs?"
She knew that the prince was not someone she could talk to, but she still talked a lot.
Shen Tang said, "My father is very straightforward. He probably thinks it is my mother's right to allow the concubine to leave the palace. He can't repeatedly go beyond my mother's control and indulge her. The concubine took my father's lack of objection as her consent. This is really disrespectful to my mother."
Concubine Jiang really never took the princess seriously. She and the prince were cousins since birth, so how could their relationship be compared to that of the princess, who came more than ten years later.
But it is one thing to feel this way in one's heart, but it is not okay for Shen Tang to say it openly. The principal wife is the principal wife, and the concubine is just the concubine. Blindly indulging the concubine will inevitably give the suspicion of favoring the concubine over the wife.
The Second Wife couldn't bear to see Shen Tang protecting the Princess. She said, "The eldest lady has reached the age of marriage. The prince has allowed the concubine to decide the eldest lady's marriage. Many noble ladies will be attending the palace banquet today. The concubine will go with them to check. The Princess has no reason to disagree."
When the prince and the concubine got into trouble, the Jiang family, relying on their kindness in raising the prince, wanted to make Jiang the concubine. The princess had only one thing to say, that is, she wanted the prince to give her the position of concubine, and simply divorce her, and give the position of principal wife to Concubine Jiang. The prince was caught in the middle and was in a dilemma.
The prince could not give the position of a co-wife, so he could only give other compensation. In addition to the betrothal gift that was no less than that of the princess, he also had the right to decide on the marriage of his children in the future. However, the Jiang family just refused to ask for it, and the princess was unwilling to spend this effort for her illegitimate children. There were few perfect marriages in the world, and Concubine Jiang had a special status.
If you interfere in the marriage between the second young master and the eldest daughter, you are asking for trouble. The princess will throw it to the prince. If Concubine Jiang and the Jiang family ask for this right, the prince will give it to them directly.
Since the prince did agree, it was difficult for the princess to object. Shen Tang said, "Since the concubine must enter the palace and do her part, mother, please don't stop her."
The princess was a little confused. Didn't the Crown Prince's wife disapprove of the concubine entering the palace? Why was she speaking in good words for her?
The second wife asked, "Do your part? What does that mean?"
Shen Tang looked at the Second Wife and blinked. "This palace banquet was held in such haste that we didn't hear any news beforehand. The time was also very tight. My husband guesses that this palace banquet is being held to commemorate the drought in Xuzhou and Changzhou. Empress Xu wants to share the emperor's worries and is calling on all the wives of officials to donate money for disaster relief."