Quickly wear salted fish, she won by lying down

It's quite normal that the two people supporting Princess Qingyang didn't let Linlang, who was watching Consort Cai, pour water for her.

It's a joke. Even a fool could see that this mother and daughter are up to no good. So Fourth Grandmother is right. Who would dare to take care of Princess Qingyang? What if the valuables in the storeroom are stolen?
Putting everything else aside, the Crown Prince's Consort has prepared two thousand taels of silver as a dowry for Princess Qingyang, including one thousand taels of gold ingots and one thousand taels of silver ingots. What if Consort Cai is shameless and steals one or even several gold ingots? How will they explain it to the Crown Prince's Consort then?

Consort Cai and her daughter were furious because Linlang and the Prince Zhou's wife had sent people to guard them so closely that they couldn't find any opportunity to make a move. The Qingyang County Princess stopped pretending to be sick, drank the water poured for her by a nanny, and pretended to be cured. She stopped clutching her stomach and complaining of pain and began to check her dowry.

Perhaps because they hadn't managed to steal any money, they were in a bad mood, and then the two of them started nitpicking about the dowry that the Crown Prince's wife had purchased.

As a result, the manager's wife directly said, "The young ladies in the manor are all bought this way. The ones bought for you are exactly the same as the ones bought for others. Why is it that no one else has said anything, but you are the only ones making a fuss?"

Normally, the steward's wife wouldn't speak to a county princess like that, but the mother and daughter were clearly here to cause trouble. The thought that these two had almost caused them to lose their valuables and that they would be punished by the Crown Princess made them angry with the mother and daughter.

Princess Qingyang was still young, and when she was teased like that by the head maid, her face turned red and then pale again. Consort Cai, being older and thick-skinned, immediately retorted, "Even if the items are exactly the same, who knows if the quality is the same? If the quality is different, the value will be very different."

The head maid said, "Her Highness bought exactly the same items; she didn't tamper with them. If you don't believe me, you can ask the shopkeeper of the jewelry store."

Consort Cai said, "Those are all people who have a good relationship with the Princess Consort. They will definitely stand on the Princess Consort's side. Even if they have done something wrong, they will not tell the truth."

When the head maid heard Consort Cai say this, her face darkened, and she said, "If that's how you put it, then there's nothing I can do. Go and talk to the young master. Anyway, our princess has a clear conscience."

Consort Cai sneered, "You even brought up the heir apparent? Don't think I'm afraid of you. Just you wait and see! Humph!"

He made some harsh remarks and then left.

But in reality, all she did was make threats.

It wasn't that she didn't dare to tell the Prince of Zhou; someone like her wouldn't dare to say anything.

After he finished speaking, the Prince of Zhou frowned unhappily and said, "Everyone else's things are handled by the Princess Consort. No one questions this or that. If everyone questioned things like you and made a scene in front of me, then the Princess Consort and I wouldn't have time to do anything else but prove the quality of the things you've bought. Besides, I've seen the things the Princess Consort bought for Qingyang, and I didn't see anything wrong with them."

The Crown Prince's wife was not one to leave any leverage over others; she considered everything carefully. One key point was that everything, from the dowry to the betrothal gifts, was prepared and reviewed by the Crown Prince. Firstly, as the children's father, it was natural for him to inspect them; secondly, it was to ensure the Crown Prince's approval, preventing any objections from arising. After all, the Crown Prince had seen everything and had no objections. If you had objections, you were going against him, and how could the Crown Prince accept disagreements? He would only think you were difficult to deal with.

For example, right now, the Crown Prince of Zhou finds Consort Cai a bit difficult to deal with.

With such a fine dowry, she still found fault with it, she was really nitpicking. Luckily, the Crown Princess let him see it and there were no problems, otherwise he would have really been fooled by this woman.

Because he felt that Consort Cai was making trouble for no reason, the Prince of Zhou was naturally displeased. So for a long time afterward, he didn't look for Consort Cai. As time went by, he really forgot about her. After all, there are plenty of gentle and considerate women in the inner palace. Who would want to find fault with someone?

Moreover, Consort Cai's eldest daughter is already fifteen years old and about to get married, which means that Consort Cai is not young either, she is over thirty years old, and her beauty is not so good anymore. As beauty fades, love wanes, and coupled with the fact that he thinks she is not a good person, it is quite normal that the Prince of Zhou no longer goes to her.

When Consort Cai saw that the Prince of Zhou's heir was no longer visiting her, and that she would receive no extra rewards besides her monthly allowance, she felt as if the sky had fallen. She then regretted that she shouldn't have gone to the heir to complain about the dowry the heir's wife had given her daughter. If she had known that the Prince of Zhou's heir had reviewed it, she certainly wouldn't have bothered with it. The Prince of Zhou's wife always made sure the heir reviewed it quietly, without any fanfare. As a result, some fools like Consort Cai, unaware of this, would go to the Prince of Zhou's heir to make a scene over the dowry or betrothal gifts, only to be discovered by the heir to be of poor character and subsequently neglected, ultimately regretting their actions.

Consort Cai was neglected by the Prince of Zhou, which also affected Princess Qingyang. The Prince of Zhou heard that Princess Qingyang had argued with her mother about the matter, and he wondered if Princess Cai had instigated Consort Cai. As a result, he also disliked this daughter.

There's no way around it; people in this era have many children, both sons and daughters. With so many children, they become less valuable. If they encounter someone they don't like, they simply don't like them. Unlike modern people, who only have one or two children and treat them all like treasures, having to endure it even if they don't like them, the Crown Prince of Zhou in this era doesn't need to endure.

Although Princess Qingyang is about to get married, in theory, even if the Prince of Zhou no longer likes her, it shouldn't affect her.

However, they were father and daughter after all, and she still felt a deep affection for her father. Seeing that her father disliked her because of this matter still made her feel a little sad.

Furthermore, girls who are favored by their fathers can sometimes get money from the Prince of Zhou. But for someone like Princess Qingyang, it's estimated that when she goes back to her parents' home, the Prince of Zhou won't give her any money. Her only assets are her dowry and her annual salary. Unlike the favored ones, who would have more assets, Princess Qingyang would feel sad thinking about how her future private savings wouldn't be as much as her sisters'.

Soon it was time for Princess Qingyang to get married, and she married reluctantly.

What should have been a joyous occasion has turned into this mess. No wonder Princess Qingyang is not happy. But they brought this upon themselves, so who can they blame?
While Linlang's performance during Consort Cai and her daughter's antics wasn't exactly outstanding, her strength lay in her obedience. The Crown Prince's wife instructed her to guard against Consort Cai and her daughter's theft and to always have someone by their side. Linlang dutifully complied, keeping a close eye on them no matter what they did. This pleased the Crown Prince's wife, who felt that although her young daughter-in-law was young, her obedience made her an excellent young woman. (End of Chapter)