Father, who is both a heir and a descendant, is still biased; the bound system has gone berserk.

"Fu'er, although we are engaged, the person I have truly loved all these years has always been Zhi'er."

"Fu'er, you need to be more sensible and give way to Zhi'er. I've always reserved the position of principal wife for Zhi'er. I will still love you just as much as you would as a concubine."

"At the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet tomorrow, I will ask my father for a decree to grant marriage to the three of us."

"Fu'er, Zhi'er and you are both legitimate daughters of the Marquis's family. It's the same for her to be the principal wife as it is for you, don't you think?"

……

"Yes, yes, whatever you say is right. If you like giving in so much, why don't you compete with the Crown Prince? You idiot!"

Ying Yufu was woken up by anger and slapped him hard across the face.

Snapped!

The second prince suddenly had a five-finger mark on his face.

The second prince stared at the girl opposite him, dumbfounded, his face filled with disbelief.

A bearded foreign merchant who was browsing through jewels on a nearby shelf heard the noise and suddenly turned his head to look this way.

His eyes were filled with the excitement of seeing gossip.

Ying Yufu rubbed her sleepy eyes and then remembered that she hadn't slept all night and had fallen asleep on the table in Huabaoge today.

However, thinking about the dream she had just had, in which her fiancé had another woman in his heart and even asked her to give up the position of the main wife to her cousin.

To become a concubine?

A concubine, isn't that just a secondary consort?

He wants me to be his concubine?

Perhaps the dream was too real, because Ying Yufu still felt a little uneasy about it.

Seeing that the girl's behavior was just unconscious due to being half asleep, the Second Prince rubbed his face, suppressing his anger, and remembered the purpose of his meeting with Ying Yufu.

"Fu'er, I heard that Aunt Huaxi will be attending your coming-of-age ceremony?"

The second prince frowned as he looked at the girl opposite him.

Across from her, Ying Yufu casually picked up a set of red coral jewelry and played with it. Upon hearing this, she looked up with a puzzled expression.

"Yes, that's right."

At this point, Ying Yufu's eyes dimmed somewhat.

If the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion has nothing to do, her maternal grandfather's family will also attend her coming-of-age ceremony.

"How can that be?" The second prince stood up excitedly.

"Why not? Grand Princess Huaxi and my mother are best friends. Grand Princess Huaxi has always treated me like her own child. Of course she will come to my coming-of-age ceremony."

The girl stared wide-eyed at her dark, moist eyes.

The Second Prince realized he had been too agitated. He calmed himself down and said, "Fu'er, now that the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion is in trouble, your high-profile behavior will inevitably draw criticism from outsiders."

Besides...did you even consider how your cousin would feel if you did this?

It's not that I'm worried about her being criticized by outsiders; what I really want is for her to consider her cousin's feelings!

Thinking back to the dream she had just had, Ying Yufu felt a surge of anger.

She retorted coldly, "What does my coming-of-age ceremony have to do with my cousin? Why should I consider her feelings?"

The Second Prince couldn't help but think of Ying Hengzhi's coming-of-age ceremony three months ago, where only a few close friends were present.

He went to ask his aunt Huaxi to be his guest of honor for Zhi'er, but his aunt Huaxi looked at him with the eyes of someone looking at an idiot, and then kicked him out of the Grand Princess's residence.

Now, it seems that Aunt Hua Xi is coming to Ying Yufu's coming-of-age ceremony.

How could Zhi'er feel good about this?

Even though the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion is already finished, why does Aunt Huaxi still come?

He couldn't help but look at the girl opposite him. She was delicate and cute, with crescent-shaped eyes that naturally carried a hint of a smile, and she looked innocent and harmless.

Fortunately, she was indeed very naive and usually listened to him. As long as he persuaded her properly and explained the pros and cons, she would definitely listen to him.

He said earnestly, "Fu'er, think about it. As daughters of marquises, if your coming-of-age ceremony is more grand than your cousin's, people will say that you are deliberately overstepping your cousin's bounds and disrespecting your elder sister."

"So?" The girl frowned, her gaze towards the man opposite her carrying a hint of something unusual.

The second prince was completely oblivious. He confidently declared, "Therefore, Fu'er, you should give way to your cousin and save face for her..."

Beside her, Ying Yufu's maid, Chong'er, changed her expression and used the same excuse again.

The second prince then instructed the young lady to defer to the eldest son's family.

Normally it would be one thing, but this is a young lady's coming-of-age ceremony!

Chong'er felt indignant on behalf of her young mistress. Why should the young mistress always have to give way to the eldest son's side? Whose fiancé is he anyway?

"Does Your Highness mean I should refuse Grand Princess Huaxi's invitation to my coming-of-age ceremony?"

Upon hearing Ying Yufu's question, Chong'er's face immediately turned red with anxiety, and she looked at her young mistress with great concern.

Our young lady is so easy to talk to!

The second prince's eyes lit up, his face beaming with joy. "Yes, that's exactly what I meant, Fu'er. You're so considerate and adorable! Zhi'er... your cousin will definitely know how wonderful you are!"

Ying Yufu, however, did not show any joy upon hearing his praise as usual.

Instead, he asked seriously, "But if we do that, it will offend Grand Princess Huaxi's good intentions, make her sad, and make her feel that I am ungrateful and disappointed in me."

"How could that be? Fu'er, didn't you say it yourself? Aunt Huaxi and your mother are best friends. How could she be angry with you?"

Besides, your aunt Hua Xi didn't even come to your cousin's coming-of-age ceremony, so I don't think she considered your mother a close friend.

"Your Highness, what does my cousin's coming-of-age ceremony have to do with my mother? Grand Princess Huaxi is on good terms with my mother, not my cousin's mother, is she?"

Upon hearing this, the Second Prince frowned. He felt that Ying Yufu was not as easy to coax as usual today.

He looked at her with disappointment: "Fu'er, you and your cousin are both legitimate daughters of the Marquis's family, what's the difference between you?"

Although you are not born of the same mother, your father inherited two families, and you and your cousin are blood relatives of the same father…”

"You and the Crown Prince are born of the same father, so why did you always speak ill of the Crown Prince to me before?"

The foreign merchant next to him turned his head and looked over, his eyes filled with curiosity about what bad things he had said about the Crown Prince.

"Your Highness is clearly engaged to me, from childhood to adulthood, yet you always seem to care about my cousin's feelings. Could it be... that Your Highness intends to enjoy the blessings of having two wives?"

Ying Yufu asked curiously, but felt disgusted inside.

Because of that dream, she already had the answer in her heart, and now she was asking this question to confirm her dream.

The second prince's eyes flickered slightly. He neither answered directly nor denied it, but instead adopted a serious and earnest expression:

"Fu'er, now that the entire Zhenguo Duke's mansion is full of criminals, you and your mother should keep a low profile even more."

If I were to marry your cousin as well, it would actually make you stand out less. I'm doing this all for your own good!

"So, Your Highness wants to take my cousin as a concubine?" The girl raised an eyebrow slightly.

Beside her, the maid Chong'er could hardly believe her ears.

The Second Prince actually wants to take a woman from the First Wife's family as a concubine.

A hint of unease flashed across the Second Prince's face. He figured he would have to make her know and accept it sooner or later anyway, so he might as well take this opportunity to make it clear.

Fortunately, Ying Yufu's personality is easy to manage; he just needs to coax her a little and she'll be fine.

So he said in an even gentler tone, "Fu'er, I think that since Zhi'er and you are both legitimate daughters of the Marquis's family, and she is the eldest sister, it would be more appropriate for her to be my principal wife, after all, there is an order of seniority."

Previously, because of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, Zhi'er was always very careful in front of you.

If you were to surpass your cousin and become the principal wife now, people would surely say behind your back that you were bullying your cousin. This would be bad for you, for your mother, and for the reputation of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion!

He acted as if he was thinking of her best interests.

Ying Yufu slowly widened her eyes. "You know about seniority? You know about seniority too? Then when you were talking badly about the Crown Prince to me, why didn't you show any respect to your elder brother?"

"Fu'er, don't be unreasonable."

Still being unreasonable?

Because the current empress and her mother were on good terms, the empress had arranged a marriage between her and the second prince since she was a child.

However, the marriage agreement made since childhood and the bond they grew up with turned out to be nothing more than a well-prepared piece of shit that was not only stinky but also forced into her mouth!

Yesterday, news came from the border that my maternal grandfather, the Duke of Zhenguo, was defeated at the border and went deep into the enemy camp. His fate is still unknown.

The great general's maternal uncle also had his right arm severed by the enemy and fell into a coma due to serious injuries.

Meanwhile, in the capital, my second uncle, who is the Minister of Personnel, was implicated in a case of embezzlement of disaster relief funds three days ago and is now in prison.

I heard that during the morning court session today, half of the officials impeached my grandfather for being greedy for merit and reckless, which caused him to miss a crucial opportunity in the war.

Some even said that the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion was arrogant and plotting a rebellion.

However, the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion is already second only to the emperor, so why would it need to be greedy for merit and make rash advances?

As for the claim that he was arrogant and plotted a rebellion, and that the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion was loyal and devoted to serving the emperor, these are all baseless rumors.

Furthermore, my maternal grandmother came from the wealthiest family in Jiangnan, a family so rich that it could rival the wealth of a nation. How could my second maternal uncle possibly embezzle disaster relief funds?

When the devastating news arrived yesterday, she and her mother were so worried that they couldn't sleep all night.

Overnight, everyone in the capital said that the once-powerful Zhenguo Duke's Mansion was finished.

Ying Yufu knew that the Second Prince's current treatment of her was merely a choice made after careful consideration.

She glared fiercely at the Second Prince and roared, "Cang Mingze, you're a piece of shit! I won't eat you!"

Anyone who wants to eat it can eat it!

"Pfft! Cough cough cough cough!"

The foreign merchant let out a tremendous cough.

A follower, also dressed as a foreigner, hurriedly stepped forward, patting the foreign merchant on the back and offering him water.

Ying Yufu glanced in that direction. "Chong'er, let's go!"

"Hmph." Chong'er passed by the Second Prince and gave a light hum.

The Second Prince watched as the master and servant stormed off in a huff, his expression darkening slightly.

"Fu'er, I'm doing this all for your own good. Being able to enter the Second Prince's residence as a concubine is already a blessing for you."

"Seven days later, at the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet, I will petition my father for a decree to grant us three a marriage. Then, you will be able to enter the Second Prince's residence and be with me!"