good season

Chapter 185 Phoenix Spreads Its Wings (Two chapters combined)

Aunt Quan continued, "Pu Jing was beaten and scolded by her stepmother before she got married. After she got married, she was disliked by her husband. After her husband died, her son was unfilial. She couldn't live at home, so she became a nun. She had been repressed for many years. When she finally had a chance to bully people, she couldn't stop. Wu Meiren, who came here with me, was beaten and scolded by her. She was so ashamed and angry that she hanged herself with a rope."

And then there's Pu Xuan. Don't be fooled by her sanctimonious appearance; she's incredibly greedy. The silver allocated by the palace every year should have been enough to make us live a life of plenty, but half of it was pocketed by Pu Xuan, which is why we're suffering so much.

"You'll see, next she'll have you send letters out of the temple and have your family send money and gifts into the temple. In the end, none of these will end up in your hands; she'll pocket them all."

Women who were selected to enter the palace through the imperial concubine selection process usually came from families with officials or other means, and they all had some wealth. Unless they were heartless families, they would not be able to bear seeing their daughters suffer in the temple and would try to send them money or gifts. Most of these gifts would end up in the hands of Pu Xuan and her confidants.

Women who have no family to send them gifts are often used as tools for bullying and venting.

Huiming was, after all, a princess. Even though those people in the palace treated her like dirt, she still had her older sister, Huixin. The two sisters depended on each other for survival. If Huiming asked someone to deliver a message to Huixin, Huixin would not ignore it.

Although Huixin's position was awkward, she was still a princess living a life of luxury.

Aunt Quan told Huiming these things to remind her that she might be the next person to be drained of blood by Pu Xuan.

Of course, before she becomes a blood bag, we must trample her underfoot, crush her dignity, and make her beg for a steamed bun or a hot meal.

As Huiming listened, her ears started ringing, and she could no longer hear what her aunt was saying after that.

She only knew that the suffering she had endured these past few days was just the appetizer, and that greater persecution was yet to come.

In the courtyard of Tianjing Hutong, Zhao Shiqing received a letter from her older sister, Zhao Yunnuan.

Zhao Yunnuan's letter was clearly well-thought-out. She told Zhao Shiqing that she was prepared, not only psychologically but also otherwise.

This includes physical strength, human resources, and financial resources.

Zhao Shiqing was stunned. No wonder her sister's letter was later than Nie's. It turned out that her sister was making preparations and making sure that she was capable of handling everything after arriving in the capital. That's why her sister wrote this letter to reassure her.

Zhao Shiqing strongly suspected that her sister would bring an army to the capital.

In fact, Zhao Yunnuan did prepare in this way.

For women from such backgrounds, marriage is a gamble—a gamble with fate, with politics, with their husband's family, and even with their own family.

Zhao Yunnuan felt that she was luckier than others. Firstly, she did not have parents who could control her fate. Nie Shi played a certain role, but the final decision was made by the emperor.

Secondly, she has an older brother and a younger sister who care about her and are wholeheartedly helping her. Although her younger brother is muddle-headed, he is kind-hearted and does not do anything malicious in secret.

Third, she has at least a year to prepare fully;
Fourthly, the Yan family does not appear to be a wicked family at least on the surface. We will only know their true nature after we get to know them personally. As for Yan Xia, we can tell from my sister's letter that he is good-looking and has good character. Zhao Yunnuan is confident that he is someone my sister can sincerely call "Hero Yan".

After the imperial edict was delivered, Lady Nie was radiant with energy, as if she had been injected with chicken blood. She even wanted to regain control of the inner quarters of the Prince's mansion, but Meng Xiaotang silently suppressed all her attempts.

Nie suffered in silence, feeling both resentful and aggrieved, and cried alone for a long time.

She suddenly realized that, apart from Granny Zheng, she had no one else to confide in or who could comfort her.

Her husband was dead, her most beloved son was far away in the capital, her eldest son was estranged from her, her eldest daughter was heartless, and as for her newly married daughter-in-law, she learned what it meant for a barking dog to bite.

And that adopted daughter who disappeared somewhere is an ingrate.

She used to have a younger sister named Nie Qionghua by her side, but now the grass on Nie Qionghua's grave has withered twice. As for the rest of her maternal family, they have almost completely severed ties with her since the death of Master Nie.

Times have changed. The officials' wives who used to fawn over her are now scrambling to get close to Meng Xiaotang.

It was at this moment that Madam Nie realized something: she really couldn't take back the Liang Prince's Mansion.

Just when Zhao Yunnuan was about to leave, Meng Xiaotang arrived. Zhao Yunnuan spent most of her time in the military camp and was not very knowledgeable about matters of the inner quarters. Apart from using forceful means to prevent Nie from leaving the house, she had no other tricks up her sleeve.

But Meng Xiaotang was different. She was someone who had truly escaped death in the inner quarters of the Marquis's mansion, and she lacked neither means nor courage.

More importantly, she is no longer a naive young girl. She is calm and resolute, yet smooth and straightforward. Such a person is easy to like, yet she can control the situation and keep order. As long as Zhao Tinghan can hold his position as Prince Liang, Meng Xiaotang will definitely be his pillar of support.

In other words, if Meng Xiaotang hadn't been framed back then, she would definitely have been the ideal wife for any wealthy and powerful family.

With Meng Xiaotang like this, it's no wonder that the Nie family was defeated in just one round, and didn't even have the courage to fight again.

Now, Nie Shi only hopes that Zhao Tingxuan will return soon. As long as Zhao Tingxuan comes back, she will have someone to rely on.

When Zhao Yunnuan learned that it was her own mother, Nie Shi, who had first suggested that she be changed into a hostage, she no longer had any intention of giving Nie Shi a second glance.

My younger sister said to Nie Shi's face that even if Nie Shi died, she wouldn't care.

Zhao Yunnuan smiled bitterly. She wanted to say those words too, but she couldn't.

However, once she arrived in the capital, returning to Liang was harder than climbing to heaven.

She couldn't interfere in the affairs of the Liang Prince's Mansion, and even after Nie Shi died, she couldn't come back.

Changing her perspective could be a good thing for her.

Zhao Yunnuan knew very well that even though she and her brother trusted each other, and even though her sister-in-law Meng Xiaotang was married into the family with her help, she still held military power. In the eyes of the world, she was a threat to her brother. Even if her brother didn't think that way now, who could know what would happen in the future?

It would be better to leave now, while the bond between siblings and sisters-in-law is at its strongest, and relinquish her power and go far away.

On the third day after receiving the imperial decree, Zhao Yunnuan handed over the Imperial Guard to Zhao Tinghan.

Zhao Tinghan was heartbroken. He had finally returned from the capital, but his younger sister was leaving and would have to live a secluded life in the inner quarters. His spirited and capable sister would now have to be mindful of her parents-in-law's feelings even when she stepped out of the house.

Zhao Tinghan felt that he had wronged his younger sister. If he hadn't come back, his second brother wouldn't have left. If his second brother hadn't left, the Nie family wouldn't have retaliated against his two younger sisters. Now his younger sister had run away from home, and his older sister was going to be a hostage. A perfectly good family had fallen apart just like that.

That night, Meng Xiaotang held Zhao Tinghan in her arms, letting him cry until his clothes were soaked.

This is a man who was separated from his family from a young age and lacked maternal love. Only Meng Xiaotang knows how much he longs for the warmth of a family, the love of his parents, and the affection of his siblings. But when he finally returned home, it was at the cost of his father's death, and the maternal love he fantasized about remained just a fantasy.

Fortunately, the brothers and sisters were close, but this happy period did not last long. One married far away, and the other ran away. Although Zhao Tingxuan would be able to return soon, with Nie Shi around, how good could the relationship between the brothers be?

Meng Xiaotang gently comforted her, "While there's still time, let's prepare more dowry for our eldest sister and find a way to gather more people to help her in the capital. With money and people, she can manage things with ease. As for our younger sister, although she's still young, she's reached marriageable age, so we'll prepare her dowry in advance as well."

Fortunately, Madam Nie wouldn't concern herself with these matters, so let her, as the sister-in-law, make the arrangements.

Meng Xiaotang liked and was grateful to her two nuns. Without them, she would not have been able to come to Liang, let alone marry into the Liang King's mansion as his principal wife.

Zhao Yunnuan had some idea of ​​what the couple was thinking, so when Meng Xiaotang told her, she did not refuse.

At the same time, she also got involved herself.

Zhao Tinghan personally selected all the people she gave her. They included men and women, young and old, scholars and warriors, some in the open and some hidden. Only a small portion of them would come to the capital with her dowry, while the others would enter the capital in batches as ordinary people.

Not long after, Zhao Shiqing met the first group of people who went to the capital to be the vanguard.

They were a middle-aged couple, the man named Han Da and the woman named Liu Chunhua. They had come to Beijing to visit relatives, who were native Beijingers and a real family.

On an ordinary day, Zhao Shiqing met Han Da and Liu Chunhua, who had come specifically to kowtow to her and brought another letter from Zhao Yunnuan.

Zhao Yunnuan told her that more people would come to the capital from Liangdi. Some would try to settle down in the capital, while others would live in nearby counties. These people did not have any tasks for the time being; they were just getting familiar with the capital. So if Zhao Shiqing needed anything, she could ask them to do it at any time.

Zhao Shiqing was quite happy; she now had someone under her control.

What? Don't you have guards?
Zhao Shiqing: Don't mention them anymore. They're only useful when they're fighting, and they're useless otherwise. And right now, there's no chance for them to fight.

So now, besides Xiuxiu who can disguise herself, the people who can help Zhao Shiqing the most are Niqiu, Xiaoyao, and Xiaoguai.

While Zhao Shiqing was still basking in the joy of having someone available, a major incident occurred at the Feng residence, just half a city away.

The fifth young lady, Feng Yalan, who was in the process of getting married, has run into trouble!

Although it was called a marriage proposal, the two families had already exchanged betrothal gifts, which meant that the marriage was already considered settled.

The third prince twice refused the crown prince's invitation and closed his doors to guests. Feng Jiahe also stopped receiving guests, but this "guest" did not include her family members.

Especially Feng Yalan, who was discussing marriage with Yang Shengqiu.

Originally, Feng Jiahe looked down on her half-sister. In fact, back in her maternal home, she had schemed against Feng Yalan and her third aunt in order to benefit her mother.

But now Feng Yalan's status is different. Both the Third Prince and her father want to give Yang Shengqiu an important position, so Feng Jiahe has to give this half-sister some face.

They might even need to mend their relationship.

So, on a sunny afternoon, Feng Jiahe invited Feng Yalan to her residence, accompanied by the Princess of Qingchuan, as well as Lang Yuyu and Fan Qiuyun.

The sisters met and chatted intimately for a while. Feng Jiahe deliberately tried to get close to her, and Feng Yalan was also very clever and sincerely tried to please her. It was a display of deep sisterly affection. Even the arrogant Princess Qingchuan and Lang Yuyu were more affectionate towards Feng Yalan than before.

Later, a maid ran in excitedly and said to Feng Jiahe, "Congratulations, Your Highness! The Phoenix Feather Tree has finally blossomed!"

Feng Jiahe was overjoyed. The Phoenix Spreading its Wings was a famous variety of chrysanthemum, and it was also part of her dowry, a gift given to Feng Ke by someone else.

However, since this pot of chrysanthemums arrived at the Feng family, it has never even sprouted a single bud. When Feng Jiahe married into the Third Prince's mansion, she brought this pot of phoenix feathers with her.

The Third Prince was also a lover of chrysanthemums. He found an old eunuch from the palace who was skilled in tending chrysanthemums to take good care of Phoenix Zhenyu. Just two days ago, Feng Jiahe saw that the buds had formed and was still regretting that it happened at this time. If it were any other time, she would definitely have held a special flower appreciation party.

However, it was estimated that it would take another three or four days to bloom, but unexpectedly, the Phoenix Flying Feathers bloomed ahead of schedule today. Feng Jiahe immediately invited the women to go to the garden to admire the flowers.

At the same time, the Fifth Prince also arrived at the Third Prince's residence. The Third Prince was somewhat displeased: "We are in the eye of the storm right now, why did you come here?"

The Fifth Prince scoffed, "Third Brother, even if I don't come now, everyone knows we're the best of friends. Besides, if I don't come here, people will think my brothers can't stand to see you doing well."

In the past, the Fifth Prince's remarks would have only made the Third Prince think he was brainless, but he wouldn't have been offended.

He wished all his brothers were brainless.

But now, these words sounded particularly harsh to him.

You guys just can't stand to see me doing well, can you?
There is no kinship in the royal family, only infighting and fratricide. Where is there any true brotherly love and respect?

"Alright, since you're here, then..."

Before he finished speaking, the Fifth Prince's servant, Changming, was seen peeking inside through a small part of the curtain.

The Third Prince was so angry he wanted to explode. This Fifth Prince not only had no manners himself, but all his subordinates followed suit and had no manners at all.

The Fifth Prince also saw Changming and shouted, "Changming, who gave you the audacity to spy outside the door?"

Upon hearing this, Changming lifted the curtain and came in, kneeling on the ground with a thud: "Third Master, Fifth Master, even if I had the courage of a wild dog, I would not dare to spy on you two masters."

The Third Prince frowned, but the Fifth Prince burst into laughter and kicked Changming: "You brat, you can't even speak properly. That's the courage of a bear and the courage of a leopard, but in your mouth it's the courage of a wild dog."

Changming hurriedly said, "I'm just a lowly servant, and I only dare to be as bold as a wild dog. Master, are your feet tired? I'll do it myself."

As he spoke, he slapped himself twice across the face.

The Fifth Prince waved his hand: "Alright, alright, stop with the act. What do you want from me?"

Changming: "I just heard from the ladies in the manor that the phoenix flower of the Third Prince's wife has blossomed. This is a very good omen. I have come to congratulate the Third Prince on behalf of the ladies."

(End of this chapter)