bayedsolid Chapter 868: Concerning the Concubine Teng?
Chapter 868: Concerning the Concubine Teng?
"Hitting you is too lenient! Now go back! From now on, you are not allowed to leave the courtyard without my permission."
Why would the Empress issue such an edict? Perhaps Lady Lu couldn't understand, but how could the Duke of Dingguo, a mere official serving in the court, not understand?
The Empress and the Emperor were deeply in love, and the Empress's intentions were likely the Emperor's as well.
It can only be said that Lady Lu has been too restless these past two years, which angered the Empress. Even though she saved her life, the Empress is no longer willing to tolerate her.
Fortunately, the Lu family has another daughter who married into the family as the principal wife of Prince Su. With her help, their daughter's life should not be too difficult.
Moreover, if her daughter is healthy, she might give birth to a child soon and have a chance to dethrone Sun Ruomei from the position of principal wife, allowing her to take the throne.
Of course, the Duke of Dingguo could not say his thoughts directly.
Upon receiving the imperial decree, the Sun family was naturally both excited and somewhat worried.
After all, when Sun Ruomei marries into that family, she will have a formidable concubine as her rival.
"Don't worry, you'll be marrying into the Prince's household this year, while Lu Xiaoxiao won't be able to marry into the Prince's household until next year. As long as you work hard and get pregnant with the Prince's child as soon as possible, you'll be fine."
Sun Ruomei blushed. "Yes, Mother, I understand."
"Ruomei, Ruoxiang is not in the capital, so you are my only daughter. Don't worry, although our Sun family is not as powerful as the Lu family, we are not people who can be bullied. If anyone bullies you in the future, just tell them. Your mother will naturally protect you."
“Mother, I know that if I were not a daughter of the Minister’s family, I’m afraid I wouldn’t even be able to sit in the position of the heir’s concubine.”
Sun Ruomei is a clear-headed person.
In this respect, Madam Sun had to admit that she was truly clever.
"Good child, we are all family. From now on, your mother will take care of everything for you and will never let you be bullied."
Sun Zhengyang arrived at that moment. A servant went inside to report, and Madam Sun raised her hand to allow him to enter.
"Why did you come here? Is something important?"
"No, Mother, it's nothing. I just heard that my younger sister has some good news, so I came to offer my congratulations."
Sun Ruomei blushed. "Brother, you're making fun of me again!"
Sun Zhengyang wasn't particularly embarrassed. "I've heard about the arranged marriage. Mother and sister don't need to worry. Even if Consort Lu enters the family, she won't be able to cause any trouble."
Madam Sun was taken aback. "What do you mean by that?"
"Mother, I have been getting close to the Crown Prince recently and I know that the Duke of Dingguo's mansion does not have the Crown Prince's intentions. Moreover, the imperial decree only says that Lu Xiaoxiao will enter the family next year, but it does not say when. Don't worry, I will talk to the Crown Prince another day and try to delay Lu Xiaoxiao's entry into the family. It would be best to delay it for another year until my sister safely gives birth to an heir for the Crown Prince."
Sun Ruomei's face turned so red it was almost as if it could bleed.
They're already thinking about having children before the marriage is even finalized.
Madam Sun smiled and said, "That would be wonderful! Then you should put in more effort, as she is also your sister."
"Yes, Mother. Then I'll take my leave. Oh, by the way, when I came over just now, I heard someone say that it seemed to be my uncle and aunt. They're talking to Father in the front hall right now, do you see?"
Madam Sun's face darkened. She thought Sun Ruomei was about to rise to prominence and wanted to quickly reconnect with her daughter to prevent their relationship from becoming estranged in the future.
As for that sister-in-law, she's probably hoping Ruomei will win her over so that her two daughters might find a good husband in the future!
"Well, Ruomei, you've just received the imperial decree. You should go back and freshen up and change your clothes first. I'll go check on you and tell you that you'll be going to the East Palace to talk to the Crown Princess tomorrow."
"Mother, is this inappropriate?" Sun Ruomei was a little unsure.
"Is there anything wrong with this? Go ahead."
Sun Zhengyang glanced at his younger sister, then helped Madam Sun up, and together they went to the front hall.
Just as Madam Sun had predicted, their arrival was naturally for no other reason than...
What Madam Sun didn't expect was that when Sun Ruomei arrived, the tone of the conversation among that group of people changed somewhat.
"Ruomei, your mother knows you've always been a sensible child. Even though you've been adopted by your eldest brother, we can't just give you no dowry at all."
Madam Sun, unsure of what she was trying to say, immediately refused, "No need! Now that she is the daughter of the Minister's family, her dowry should naturally be borne by us. If you are so inclined, you can give her the dowry that her mother originally received. That was originally rightfully hers."
These words made the second wife, Madam Xu, look slightly darker. Although she came from a good family, who would ever complain about not having enough money?
Madam Xu was still thinking of trying to persuade her, but her husband said, "That makes sense. Sister-in-law is right. All the things that Madam left behind should belong to this girl."
Hearing this was somewhat reassuring, and Madam Sun nodded. "Alright, you can go back and check. The nanny next to Ruomei is the same nanny who accompanied her mother in her dowry years ago. The dowry list has already been given to Ruomei. If you don't know which ones are which, just take the list and check."
This is a subtle hint to Mr. Xu not to try anything clever.
Upon hearing this, how could Mrs. Xu dare to do it again?
"Sister-in-law, you're too kind. There's a list kept in the manor, so there's no need for that."
Xu said this with a hint of heartache.
If Sun Ruomei had not been adopted, then these things would have remained in their household. Even if Sun Ruomei got married in the future, it would be very easy for her to cut back on some of them.
Unfortunately, they can no longer make decisions about their marriage; even the wedding ceremony will take place at the Minister's residence.
Sun Zhengyang glanced at his uncle. He was an upright man, but sometimes his thoughts were a little too honest.
"Alright, it's getting late. Cousin and sister-in-law, why don't you have dinner here?"
As soon as Minister Sun spoke, Madam Sun quickly added with a smile, "Yes, let's all do it here. It'll be a celebration for Ruomei."
"In that case, I'll have to trouble you, sister-in-law."
However, after a few rounds of drinks, while the men were fine, things became a bit awkward for the women.
The reason was simple: this Xu woman actually brought up the matter of the concubine who would accompany the bride in front of Sun Ruomei.
This was something that Madam Sun found hard to accept!
We only received the imperial decree today, and this Xu family comes to our door to talk about this. Isn't this just deliberately trying to cause trouble?
This second wife is indeed a second wife; she has gone too far!