Quickly wear salted fish, she won by lying down

Chapter 1449 A Maid's Fate 22
After hearing that the other concubines had so little private money, Linlang's confidants were even more willing to follow her, unlike the others who would try to transfer to someone else if they found their mistress unsuitable.

Although Linlang wasn't particularly favored, she was at least a concubine, which was better than being a selected concubine or even a maid without a title. Moreover, she had a son who would have a title in the future. After Prince An passed away, she could separate her household and become the mistress of her own household. In addition, she was very wealthy, and the rewards she received for following her were more than those for other maids. So, naturally, her confidantes wouldn't run away.

Of course, this is a treatment reserved for trusted confidants. Others, according to Linlang's investigation, who performed only averagely, would receive ordinary treatment. However, Linlang would not mistreat them, as long as they were not worse than others.

Because of Linlang's protection, the Prince's heir has never died, even though some people have been targeting him. Since the heir is alive, no one is targeting Linlang and the child. After all, the heir is still there, so what's the point of targeting others if not the heir?

Linlang ignored the people vying for the title of heir and instead focused on teaching her child well. This was because the royal titles in this world were not directly bestowed but required an examination. Although the examination was relatively simple, there was a minimum guarantee of obtaining a title by being downgraded three ranks.

However, a prince's son who performs well in the assessment can obtain the title of duke, but if he does not perform well, he will be demoted three ranks and will only have the title of viscount.

A duke can be passed down for four generations, while a viscount can only be inherited for one generation, after which he becomes a leisurely member of the royal family, receiving only three taels of silver a month for living expenses.

As sons of princes, Linlang naturally didn't want her own child to have a miserable future, so she naturally taught her child well.

Of course, more importantly, the emperor was indeed good to Prince An. He had privately told his trusted chief eunuch that he would grant Prince An's sons a promotion and a title. In other words, if Linlang's child passed the exam and obtained the title of duke, the emperor could grant him a title of prince if he really wanted to. Although a prince is not a prince, it is still quite good. You should know that this was originally a privilege reserved for the legitimate sons of princesses.

Furthermore, the status of a prince and a duke is completely different.

Seeing that as long as one gets an excellent grade, one can be granted the title of Prince, Linlang naturally wanted her child to do even better.

Even if she couldn't get a promotion and a fiefdom, Linlang would still try her best to get her son into a top-ranking family, so that he could at least be granted the title of Duke.

Speaking of which, Linlang is quite lucky.

She gave birth to the child after Prince An had established his heir. By then, Linlang was already quite old, while Prince An was about ten years older than the original owner of this body, and Prince An was even older.

By the time the child is twenty and takes the imperial examination, Prince An will be fifty or sixty, while the emperor will be seventy. Even if Linlang extends his lifespan a little, he will soon be nearing the end of his life.

The emperor had previously considered granting a higher rank to the children of Prince An, but he had never implemented it. However, when Linlang's child passed the imperial examination and indeed achieved an excellent rank, receiving the title of duke, the emperor, on his seventieth birthday, not only granted a general amnesty but also promoted all of Prince An's children by one rank, making Linlang's son a prince.

Aside from Linlang's son, among Prince An's other sons, only one achieved excellent grades and was promoted one rank to become a Prince of the County. The others did not achieve their desired promotions, and although they were happy to be promoted one rank, none of them became Princes of the County.

As for Linlang, her status rose with her son's. When Prince An saw that her son had passed the imperial examination and become a prince, he promoted her to the rank of concubine. You see, after the previous concubine passed away due to old age, Prince An, fearing trouble, had not applied to the court for a new concubine. This time, seeing that his two sons had become princes, he felt that it was not good for the mother of a prince to still be a concubine, so he promoted the mother of both of them to the rank of concubine.

This naturally pleased Linlang, since being a concubine meant better treatment, and who wouldn't like that?

Although I've had a comfortable life all these years, who wouldn't want to live a better life?

Because of the good fortune of Princess An, who is so kind and gentle, Linlang has been able to live such a good life. Therefore, Linlang has also helped Princess An to improve her health. After all, if Princess An were to pass away, what would happen to Prince An's remarriage? Linlang is willing to bet that Princess An is already the best, and no one else will be better than Princess An. Linlang does not want to change people, so naturally she has to protect Princess An.

Therefore, Princess An's health has been good over the years, so the family has not changed her. After all, the Emperor has already bestowed great favors upon the An family. They already have a Prince and a County Prince, so what more could they ask for?

It was because of the emperor's 70th birthday that a general amnesty was granted. The former wife of the Duke of Zhenguo, who had returned from the border with her child, was furious to hear that Linlang had become a concubine and her son had been enfeoffed as a prince. She was also furious that she and her son would separate from the prince after he passed away and she would be called the Dowager Princess of the Prince.

This is also normal.

Anyone who falls on hard times and then hears that someone they used to look down on has now become someone of high status would find it hard to accept.

When she was in a position of power, she warned the original owner of this body and the other maids to be content with their lot, to recognize that they were destined to be maids, and not to dream of rising to the top or becoming superior to others.

Now that she's at the bottom of society, she doesn't think that way anymore. She constantly fantasizes about rising up again and crushing Linlang under her feet once more.

Unfortunately, it's impossible, since it's only possible if the second prince ascends to the throne.

But... the emperor lived too long, and the second prince died of old age first. So the throne is definitely not going to the second prince's branch of the family. After all, the emperor's son is still alive, so it is definitely the emperor's son who will succeed to the throne. It is impossible for the emperor's grandson to succeed to the throne.

Even the former wife of the Duke of Zhenguo couldn't understand how things had turned out this way.

She's a time-traveling woman, shouldn't she be the chosen one, living the best life?

What happened? In this feudal and backward era, she couldn't even manage a lowly maid who was trampled in the mud. In the end, she made that maid the Dowager Princess of the Prince, a position even higher than her previous wife of the Duke of Zhenguo. On the contrary, she herself became a person of the lowest social class.
How could such an absurd thing happen in the world!
To be honest, she already harbored some resentment towards the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion. After all, if it weren't for the people from the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion using poison to get Consort Wang to poison those people in the palace, the emperor wouldn't have dealt with Consort Wang and the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion. She could have continued to live a life of wealth and luxury. So, her misfortune was entirely due to the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion.

At this moment, the former wife of the Duke of Zhenguo's heir may have completely forgotten that she was the one who first sent people to cause trouble for the Prince of An's mansion, and in the end, the Prince of An took notice of her and dealt with the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion. If she hadn't insisted on stirring up trouble for the Prince of An's mansion, the Prince of An would never have gotten involved in the palace intrigue, and the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion would not have been in trouble.