Quickly wear salted fish, she won by lying down

Chapter 1618 Substitute Bride 22
So, although Third Master Jiang verbally agreed to Princess Qinghe's request, he still came to ask her for money every now and then. He spent about the same amount each month as before. At this rate, it wouldn't be long before Princess Qinghe's private savings were depleted.

However, this was none of Linlang's business. As long as the Dowager Consort Qinghe did not ask her or the Prince of Qinghe to give her more money from the public funds—that is, to openly ask for money instead of secretly taking advantage of her—Linlang would not care about her petty affairs.

Although her private savings should have been divided equally between Prince Qinghe and Third Master Jiang, she favored Third Master Jiang and only gave them to him, so there was nothing that could be done about it.

Leaving aside the fact that Linlang gained control of the household due to the Qinghe Dowager's self-destructive actions, the news of her pregnancy reached Li Sanniang, who was already married and was surprised to hear it.

You know, she died mysteriously after marrying the Prince of Qinghe for two lifetimes without ever getting pregnant. So how come Li Linlang got pregnant so easily after marrying him?
Could it be that Li Linlang won't die after marrying into the family, and will actually enjoy wealth and luxury? That's not what she wants to see. After all, Li Linlang can live well, but not better than her.

Although she was confident that her family would prosper in the future, they weren't yet, so naturally she didn't want to see Linlang living a better life than her.

Sensing something was amiss, Li Sanniang, under the guise of visiting her pregnant sister, came to see what was going on with Linlang.

When Linlang saw Li Sanniang come to her door, she thought to herself that she hadn't even dealt with Li Sanniang yet, and Li Sanniang had delivered herself to her doorstep first. It was just in time, as one of the murderers who killed the original owner, Granny Jiang, was about to be in trouble. As for the Dowager Consort Qinghe, she had already entered the small Buddhist hall. Although she hadn't suffered enough yet, she figured that after Master Jiang had squandered all her money, she would be penniless and powerless. Compared to her former glory, she wouldn't be living a very happy life. Now, only Li Sanniang was left to deal with, and she had time to settle things with her.

However, it might be necessary to wait until she gives birth before making a formal move. After all, she's quite busy right now, managing the household and giving birth, and doesn't have the time to cause trouble for Li San Niang.

Although I don't have the time to cause trouble for Li Sanniang right now, I can start investigating her first. Once I understand her weaknesses, I can take advantage of those weaknesses to deal with her when I have the time.

When Li San Niang saw that Linlang was indeed pregnant, she was surprised. She had thought that Linlang had been married for a year and hadn't gotten pregnant yet, so she was faking it and then having an abortion a few days later so that her in-laws wouldn't be unhappy about her not being pregnant after a year.

So, she really was pregnant? This surprised Li San Niang. She wondered how she could have gotten pregnant after marrying the Prince of Qinghe twice without it happening, while Li Linlang got pregnant right after marrying into the family? How did she manage that? After all, the Prince of Qinghe didn't seem to like that kind of thing and only visited her once a month. How could she have gotten pregnant? Unless Li Linlang was naturally fertile, if that were the case, Li Linlang was very lucky.

Logically speaking, Li Linlang should have been killed by the person in the shadows by this time, since that's when I died. How come Li Linlang is still alive when her time comes? So, the person in the shadows only hates me and not Li Linlang, right? This conclusion is infuriating.

Unable to understand the reason, Li San Niang could only mutter to herself, wondering what exactly was going on.

Furthermore, she discovered that the Prince's Mansion is currently managed by Linlang as its housekeeper.

What's going on? How come she was always the housekeeper of that old witch, the Dowager Consort Qinghe, when she was in the Prince's mansion, but now she's the housekeeper of Linlang? Speaking of which, she really hated that old witch, the Dowager Consort Qinghe, both times she married into the Prince's mansion.

They look down on her background and don't give her the power to manage the household, fine—but if they look down on her background, why did they propose marriage to her in the first place? And now that she's married into the family, they look down on her background again. This old woman is really annoying—and she's always squeezing the royal family's property for her beloved youngest son. She's so fed up with that old hag.

She wasn't one to suffer injustice, so when she saw that the Dowager Princess Qinghe hadn't given her the power to manage the household after she married into the family, she went to ask for it herself.

Naturally, she didn't get what she wanted. The Dowager Consort Qinghe completely ignored her. On the contrary, she scolded her, saying that she had been in the household for almost a year and still hadn't given birth. She told her to have a child first before bringing up the matter of managing the household. Otherwise, how could she be qualified to manage the household if she didn't even have a child?

She was ostracized by the Dowager Princess Qinghe and wanted to ask the Prince of Qinghe for help, but then she died.

When she entered the Prince's mansion for the second time, she immediately asked Prince Qinghe for the right to manage the household. However, it seems that things were moving too fast back then, and there was no affection between the two of them. Prince Qinghe did not agree to support her, and in the end, she was left alone and naturally failed to obtain the right to manage the household.

Twice in a row, she was told she married into the Prince's mansion but didn't even have the power to manage the household. This was also the reason why Li San Niang didn't want to marry into the Qinghe Prince's mansion in this life—because the Qinghe Prince's mansion was too difficult to deal with. Now, seeing that Linlang was not only pregnant but had also successfully obtained the power to manage the household, she was naturally surprised. She wondered how Linlang had obtained the power to manage the household from the Qinghe Dowager Princess, who held onto that power so tightly. Could it be that the old woman had told the truth, that as long as one got pregnant and gave birth, one could obtain the power to manage the household? With that annoying old woman's personality, could she really keep her word?

Furthermore, how did Li Linlang persuade the Prince of Qinghe to help her? After all, if the Prince of Qinghe hadn't stood up for her, Li San Niang didn't think that Li Linlang was weak and alone, and that the Dowager Princess of Qinghe would have obediently handed over the management of the household to her.

Just as she was pondering this, Prince Qinghe walked in, carrying several packages. He handed them to Linlang and said, "You said you had no taste in your mouth, so I went to the street and bought you some candied fruit. See if it's something you like."

Linlang took it, opened it, and saw various plums, dried apricots, dried peaches, raisins, and other things inside. She immediately nodded and said, "These are all things I like to eat."

He immediately picked it up and started eating, continuing to talk to Li San Niang while eating.

When the Prince of Qinghe returned to his wife's home, he had met Li San Niang before and knew that she was Linlang's third sister. So when he saw her now, he said, "Then you continue talking with your third sister. I'll go ahead."

He left right then and there, leaving Li San Niang looking shocked.

No wonder Li San Niang was shocked. In her two previous lives, when had the Prince of Qinghe ever cared about her like this? She would only see him once every ten days or half a month. Every day, apart from attending court, he would stay in his courtyard, tending to his flowers and plants, and would not pay any attention to her at all. How could he talk to her like this? What's wrong with this damned Prince of Qinghe? How come his personality has changed after Li Linlang married into the family?
However, if Prince Qinghe is so good to Linlang, then it would be reasonable for him to stand up for her and ask the Dowager Princess Qinghe for the right to manage the household.