good season

The surroundings were completely silent; no one dared to interrupt Fan Qiuyun.

This matter is no longer a private affair or a woman's jealousy; it is blatant deception of the emperor!
Even though Fan Qiuyun and the Third Prince were in love before she entered the palace, her status changed the moment she stepped through the palace gates.

She was not a young lady from the Fan family; she was a palace lady-in-waiting.

Following the rules of the previous dynasty, even the emperor had to grant a title to a female official if he wanted to have sex with her. That is to say, if a female official was favored by the emperor, she would no longer be a female official. The emperor would issue a separate decree to remove her from her status as a female official and grant her the title of a concubine.

If the emperor is like this, how much more so a mere prince?

The Third Prince actually had an affair with a female official in the palace. This was not just lust; it was a contempt for imperial and patriarchal authority.

All eyes were on Fan Qiuyun. Now that things had developed to this point, there was nothing left to be confused about.

Fan Qiuyun was able to stand here and speak, and Princess Jiayi did not stop her, nor did the other princesses object. Don't think they were just watching the show. If they hadn't figured out the Emperor's or even the Emperor Emeritus's intentions, this show wouldn't have happened at all!
A lady clutched her chest, thinking, "Oh no! Does His Majesty intend to kill the Third Prince?"

What should I do? My husband and eldest son are both on the Third Prince's ship.

Considering the previous Prince Jing, Prince Fuling, the Fourth Prince, and the Fifth Prince, what's wrong with having another Third Prince?

I regret it. Actually, there were signs all along. The one who was ordered to welcome the retired emperor back to the capital last time was not the third prince, but the seventh prince, who is said to be often by the empress's side recently!
This lady felt like she was going to vomit blood!
Princess Jiayi, who had been listening quietly, spoke up at this moment: "If that's the case, then why are you here? Have you been released from the palace? I can't believe you're already twenty-five years old."

Female officials could only leave the palace at the age of twenty-five. Of course, there were also those who were over twenty-five but never left the palace. This situation mostly occurred among female officials of higher rank. Once they had a high rank, they did not want to leave the palace to get married. Others were people that the empress had become accustomed to and was reluctant to let go of, so they stayed in the palace until they died.

However, regardless of the age, twenty-five was the threshold for female officials to leave the palace.

Fan Qiuyun shook her head: "I am only nineteen years old, not yet old enough to leave the palace."

Princess Jia'an interjected, "Nineteen years old? Then why did you leave the palace? Was it because you were pregnant? There's no such rule."

Fan Qiuyun smiled sadly: "As everyone knows, the Third Prince's wife has been in the manor for four years and has not yet given birth. There are no other concubines in the manor. Therefore, the child in my womb is the Third Prince's only child."

Before she could finish speaking, Feng Jiahe threw the teacup in her hand: "Nonsense! His Highness is in the prime of his youth and will surely have many children and grandchildren in the future. How can your bastard be the only one!"

Princess Jiayi's face darkened: "Third Prince's Consort, please have some self-respect!"

Feng Jiahe's eyes were fierce, her features distorted with anger, and she no longer resembled a pearl of the capital. But in the end, she did not continue to curse, but just glared at Fan Qiuyun.

Fan Qiuyun, however, was not afraid of her, showing no sign of sharpness, like a pitiful little white flower.

"Whether or not he is the only one, the child in my womb is the Third Prince's only child at present."

Of course, if you don't want the child anymore, it's just a matter of taking a bowl of medicine.

But some people can't bear to part with it.

Therefore, the Imperial Concubine arranged for me to be betrothed to the second young master of the Qiao family.

"what?"

Someone couldn't help but gasp, but immediately covered their mouth with a handkerchief.

The second young master of the Qiao family is the nephew of Consort Qiao!
Princess Jia'an burst out laughing: "Lady Fan, are you telling the truth? I can hardly believe it. What kind of aunt would put a green hat on her nephew, especially when it's on behalf of her own son?"

Only Princess Jia'an would say such things, after all, she was also a reckless person, and her mansion always had twenty or thirty male concubines.

Fan Qiuyun smiled sadly: "I am willing to swear on my life that everything I have said today is true!"

"If Your Highness still doesn't believe me, you can inquire whether the second young master of the Qiao family is getting married in ten days, and whether I am staying at the Qiao family's villa."

Before Princess Jia'an could ask anyone, Madam Yu spoke up: "I don't know where Lady Fan lives, but it's no secret that the Qiao family is going to do something. I suppose some of the ladies here have received wedding invitations."

Everyone fell silent for a moment, then Shen Shilang's wife stood up and said, "My niece-in-law did indeed receive it."

Madam Shen's nephew holds a fifth-rank official position, therefore her nephew's wife is not qualified to attend today's banquet, but she received an invitation from the Qiao family, while Madam Shen did not.

What does this mean?
Even though the Qiao family is low-key, they are still the maternal family of the Imperial Noble Consort. Yet they only invited low-ranking officials and not high-ranking officials, which can only mean that the Qiao family did not want to make a big fuss!

After leaving the palace, most female officials would find a good marriage, and their husbands' families would be proud to marry them. However, the Qiao family wished that as few people as possible would know about it, which only shows that they had something to hide!
Princess Jia'an raised an eyebrow and said with a smile, "Then I understand. Lady Fan, please continue."

This means believing Fan Qiuyun, believing not only that Fan Qiuyun was pregnant with the Third Prince's child, but also that Consort Qiao had cheated on her own nephew.

Fan Qiuyun burst into tears: "What else can I do? I can only accept my fate! I am not pregnant yet, so there was no rush. But for some reason, the marriage was brought forward, so I was secretly sent out of the palace and moved into the Qiao family's villa."

After I moved into the villa, I had people to take care of me, including the Thirteen Protectors. They served me very well.

But to my utter surprise, today, a group of people suddenly arrived. They stormed into the manor, dragged me into the street, and not only verbally abused me, accusing me of adultery, but also beat and kicked me, even causing me to lose my child!

Everyone was shocked. Fan Qiuyun had miscarried, and today at that?

Princess Jiayi gave a wink, and Granny Bai came over, picked up Fan Qiuyun's wrist which was hidden in her sleeve, and after a moment said to Princess Jiayi, "Your Highness, Lady Fan did indeed miscarry recently and is very weak. It is only thanks to Lady Fan's good health that she has been able to hold on until now. Even so, if she does not take good care of herself, she will probably have difficulty having children in the future."

Fan Qiuyun smiled sadly upon hearing this: "Thank you for taking my pulse, Granny, but my life is as fragile as a reed. I have no future, and whether I have children or not is no longer important."

Although the ladies present were all women and disapproved of Fan Qiuyun's actions, they couldn't help but sigh inwardly upon hearing this.

Those with daughters at home wished they could go home immediately, grab their daughters by the ear, and warn them never to follow in Fan Qiuyun's footsteps, not only losing face for themselves but also bringing shame upon their families.

But then again, if Fan Qiuyun was beaten in the street and suffered a miscarriage, who else could have done that?

Everyone turned to look at Feng Jiahe. She bit her lip so hard it bled, and the taste of blood filled her mouth. She knew that from this day forward, she would no longer be the enviable Third Prince's Consort.

She might even lose her title as the Third Prince's consort.

The prince will not divorce his wife, much less divorce her.

They'll only end up widowed! Feng Jiahe doesn't know if her father can protect her this time.

Today's banquet was hosted by Jiayi Changgong, and she wouldn't let her banquet be dull.

She asked, "Lady Fan, is there anything else you'd like to say?"

Fan Qiuyun's gaze shot towards Feng Jiahe like an arrow: "Third Prince's Consort, you sent people to do what happened today, didn't you? Why did you do this? I'm about to become a member of the Qiao family. Even if I'm pregnant with the Third Prince's child, it won't threaten you. My child will only have the surname Qiao. He can only have the surname Qiao. And you are still young. You have plenty of opportunities to bear children for the Third Prince."

My child and your child are destined to be complete strangers for life.

If that's the case, why did you still kill him? Why?

Fan Qiuyun suddenly became aggressive, and Feng Jiahe could no longer suppress her anger. She hissed, "Stranger? Member of the Qiao family? Nonsense!"

If they were truly strangers, why not just abort the pregnancy? Why let Young Master Qiao become a father unwittingly?
You got married while you were pregnant just to keep this child!

"You only married into the Qiao family so that the child could return to the royal family; it would be easier to do that that way!"

The people present were all women from the inner quarters of the palace. With the help of the Third Prince and Consort Qiao, it wouldn't be difficult for Feng Jiahe to do what she said. Even the Imperial Son-in-Law Xiao could bring his two-year-old concubine's child back to the mansion, let alone a prince!

Fan Qiuyun could only smile bitterly: "What the Third Prince's Consort said is not something I dare to think about. Ever since I became pregnant with that child, my belly has not been my own, my life has not been my own, and of course, my child is not my own either. His life and death, his stay and his departure, his future are not things that I can decide."

Third Prince's Consort, you've blamed the wrong person and harmed the wrong person!
If you can make someone abort my pregnancy today, what about tomorrow, or the day after?
Other women will become pregnant with the Third Prince's child. Can you possibly kill them all?
Third Prince's Consort, you have an extremely powerful family, so you have the confidence to make the princes childless, right?

Or do you want to adopt a child from your maternal family and raise it yourself, or even directly use a child from the Feng family to impersonate your own child?

That's too harsh a statement!
Feng Ke's daughter wanted to make the Third Prince childless, not to mention she wanted to use a son of the Feng family to impersonate a grandson of the emperor. What is this? This is treason!
As expected of a female official, her words were like knives, each one piercing Feng Jiahe.

A mere female official, with just a few words, could not possibly shake Feng Ke's position in the court, but she could certainly make the emperor dislike the Feng family more.

With these princesses present, what Fan Qiuyun said today will reach the emperor's ears verbatim.

For a long time to come, whenever the emperor sees Feng Ke, he will think of the Feng family's attempt to make the Third Prince childless.

Without the support of the Feng family, would Feng Jiahe, a woman, have the audacity to kill a member of the royal family?
Feng Jiahe's face was as pale as paper, her lips moved, but she couldn't utter a single word.

It wasn't that she was afraid, but that she knew that whatever she said would be wrong now.

Rather than saying that more mistakes are more likely, it's better to keep quiet.

Princess Jiayi sighed and said, "I see that the Third Prince's wife doesn't look well. Someone, escort the Third Prince's wife back to her residence to rest."

Without further hesitation, Feng Jiahe stood up, curtsied to the princesses, and then quickly left without looking back.

Princess Jiayi summoned a eunuch: "Lady Fan has just had a miscarriage and is in a weak state. You must personally go to the Imperial Hospital and ask a doctor specializing in feminine medicine to examine Lady Fan."

Imperial Medical Academy!
Princess Jiayi continued, "Lady Fan is not old enough to leave the palace yet, so she should not leave. Therefore, she is still a person in the palace. You should go to the palace again. Sigh, never mind, I will go myself. You can't do this."

Everyone was shocked. First, the Imperial Hospital was ordered to treat Fan Qiuyun, and then the Princess wanted to go to the palace herself.

She went to the palace in person; was she going to the Shenxing Division?
Of course not, she's going to see the Empress!
Even though Consort Qiao was a high-ranking imperial consort, she could not surpass the empress in the imperial harem!

Princess Jia'an had finally encountered something even more outrageous than her own actions, so she naturally wouldn't miss this golden opportunity.

“Elder sister, I’ll go with you,” she said, then looked at Wan Ruyi and Princess Jianing. “Eldest elder sister, third sister, are you going?”

Both of them shook their heads.

Princess Jia'an knew they wouldn't go; one was as innocent as a blank sheet of paper, the other loved to feign virtue and gentleness, and then there was Jia Rou, who aspired to become a nun. But this also showed that none of the Emperor's daughters were normal (I'm not normal, and everyone else is).
Now that things have come to this, it's time for this banquet to end.

Someone said, "Where's Princess Huixin? Did she leave early?"

But how could that be?

Even if Princess Huixin is not valued, she is still a princess, and she cannot leave quietly.

Zhao Shiqing was also puzzled. She had noticed Princess Huixin leaving, but she never returned. She had a feeling that something might have happened somewhere she couldn't see.

Princess Jiayi frowned; she knew what Princess Huixin was thinking.

Where is my beloved eldest son?
Don't let that girl outsmart you!
She subconsciously looked at Zhao Shiqing. This was the daughter-in-law she had chosen at first sight. How beautiful, how lively, how likable! Most importantly, her son liked her!

"Granny Bai, you will personally lead the search, do you understand?"

This was a double entendre, and Granny Bai understood it perfectly.

Granny Bai accepted the order and left. She returned a moment later and whispered a few words in Princess Jiayi's ear. Princess Jiayi's eyes flashed with anger, but in an instant, she looked worried: "Huixin is not feeling well and has already returned to the manor!"

In reality, Princess Huixin and Granny Ding, along with the maids and eunuchs they brought, were all locked up in a courtyard in Yunzhong Garden.

The Emperor Emeritus has decreed: No one may be released without an imperial order.

Princess Huixin will not be able to leave that courtyard until Zhao Guanyue's identity is revealed to the world.

The banquet for the women ended early, and there were some changes on the men's side as well.

Two princes came today, the Third Prince and the Seventh Prince. However, as soon as the Third Prince arrived, he received news that Fan Qiuyun had been beaten in the street and miscarried. The Third Prince couldn't sit still. After exchanging a few pleasantries, he made an excuse to leave, thus perfectly missing Fan Qiuyun.

The seventh prince was young, and seeing that the third prince had left, he followed him.

After the two princes left, Zhao Guanyue emerged from the elegant residence in the woods and appeared before everyone with Xiao Zhen.

A short while later, Yan Xia and Deng Tuo entered the elegant residence in the woods and met the Emperor Emeritus. (End of Chapter)