Favored concubine deposed empress? I'll seize your throne and marry you to a powerful minister.

Wei Rong said, "I remember a cousin named Wantang? She was beautiful and had a captivating singing voice."

The Feng family has two daughters of marriageable age, both of whom Wei Rong had met at Xiao Heng's coronation ceremony. The Feng Wantang mentioned here has a similar personality to Feng Zuyi, but in her opinion, she is even more cunning than Feng Zuyi.

"What exactly are you trying to say?"

What good is being beautiful? Xiao Heng didn't appreciate it. Fearing that her maternal relatives would hold high positions in the harem in the future, she even wanted to remove her from the selection process.

"Although the imperial concubine selection is imminent, Your Majesty should not forget one thing. Every year at the beginning of the year, the palace expands and recruits eunuchs and maids. When the old maids who have reached the age leave the palace, new maids will naturally come in. This part will be handled by your concubine."

At this point, Feng Zuyi guessed what she meant and frowned: "You want my niece to come to the palace as a maid? Are you crazy?"

This is absolutely outrageous!

With the Empress Dowager's influence, her daughter from the Feng family will be an outstanding figure wherever she goes. To enter the palace as a maid would be a laughingstock!

"Why is Mother in such a hurry?" Wei Rong said calmly, picking up a piece of fruit to eat. "At the palace banquet, His Majesty publicly offered to betroth my cousin to the Prime Minister. Even if Ling Xianru refused, it's likely that no one will dare to propose marriage to her in the short term."

This is precisely what angered Feng Zuyi even more; outsiders would probably suspect that her daughter in the Feng family had some hidden illness.

The emperor refused to accept her, and the prime minister refused to marry her.

"Speaking of which, doesn't my cousin want to enter the palace herself? Being a court lady-in-waiting would at least make her a half-official. If she has the means, she might be able to impress His Majesty in the future."

Feng Zuyi was, after all, Xiao Heng's mother, so Wei Rong used veiled language.

But in her heart, men can never escape lust, and Feng Wantang just happened to be good-looking.

At this point, Feng Zuyi seemed to have taken it to heart, her expression softening.

She had risen through the ranks through hardship and struggle, so how could she not understand that emperors had no true feelings?

Shen Mingxiu is currently favored, but it's hard to say who the emperor will favor tomorrow.

Wasn't Wei Rong once the apple of Xiao Heng's eye?

The late emperor was amorous and had countless concubines. I myself was also born a concubine, yet now I sit firmly in the position of Empress Dowager.

"Your Majesty is an elder in this palace. You know the rules of the palace better than anyone else. That's all I have to say."

She treated it as casual conversation, took a sip of tea, and then got up to say goodbye.

Feng Zuyi suddenly stopped her: "Actually, I've thought about it. Why not betroth Tang'er to Ling Xianru? He's no simple man, and he's highly regarded by the Emperor. If Tang'er marries him, she'll at least have the position of a principal wife. What do you think?"

The image of Ling Xianru's devilishly beautiful face appeared in his mind again.

He was indeed second only to the emperor, wielding immense power, and could sway Xiao Heng's decision with just a few words, as if he were born with a talent for political maneuvering.

If what he said at the palace banquet is true, his shrewdness and unwavering devotion would certainly make him a good match.

A woman's life is nothing more than seeking a husband's love and a peaceful life.

But after thinking for a moment, she said, "I don't think so."

"......"

I don't know if she meant that Ling Xianru wasn't very good, or that the idea itself wasn't very good.

However, Feng Wantang was proud and, upon hearing that Xiao Heng had pushed Ling Xianru to her at the palace banquet, she was furious and wrote a note to complain, saying that she had liked her cousin since childhood.

After listening to Wei Rong's analysis, Feng Zuyi was very swayed.

Wei Rong stopped there, offering no further advice. After leaving Cixi Palace, Qiaoyu, however, couldn't resist her curiosity.

"If His Majesty insists on bestowing this marriage, will the Prime Minister agree?"

"No," Wei Rong said decisively. "He may seem indifferent to everything on the surface, but he is actually very shrewd. He is valued by His Majesty because of his clean background. So far, there has been no factional strife around him. He appears to be completely loyal to His Majesty and would not marry a woman from the Feng family to arouse suspicion for no reason."

Although Wei Rong felt that Xiao Heng's suspicions would eventually fall on Ling Xianru.

Qiaoyu nodded honestly: "I also think it's unlikely, since he doesn't like Feng Wantang."

"You silly girl, do you even know what liking someone means? You can get married even if you don't like them, it just depends on whether they want to or not."

Despite this, Qiaoyu insisted on her opinion: "He doesn't need to rely on the Feng family, and I think the Prime Minister should be someone who follows his own heart."

Wei Rong was somewhat surprised and glanced at him sideways, saying, "You know him very well? And it sounds like you even have a good impression of him?"

"Oh dear," Qiaoyu stuck out her tongue, "I just felt that his attitude towards Her Highness didn't seem hostile."

It's no wonder Qiaoyu thought so; even Wei Rong thought this person was very strange.

Now that she has caught him in his affair with Shen Mingxiu, he should be wary of her.

But he insisted on offering his terms himself, saving everyone the trouble of negotiation, and his attitude was baffling.

He was eager for Wei Rong to have something on him.

Thinking about it again, this person is as cunning as a sunflower seed. It's hard to say what he's plotting or if he simply thinks Wei Rong poses no threat to him.

But Wei Rong should indeed thank him for what happened to Yun Sheng and Cai Yue.

She was clear about her grievances and decided that she would thank the Prime Minister next time she saw him.

However, we didn't get to see each other for a short period of time.

I heard that the Prime Minister went to Yiling on behalf of the Emperor to inspect this year's agricultural planting situation.

Yiling is the largest grain-producing area in Dajing, and spring plowing is of utmost importance every year. Xiao Heng visited it in the first year of his reign, and afterwards, Ling Xianru took over the task.

Wei Rong was busy with the expansion project for several days, and before she knew it, it was the end of January.

As expected, Feng Zuyi handed in Feng Wantang's calling card.

Adding more palace maids was a minor matter. Wei Rong lifted her eyelids and added Feng Wantang to the list. The list was reviewed by Xiao Heng, who was busy with many affairs of state and did not bother to look at it carefully. He simply wrote a word of approval.

Even Feng Zuyi had to admit that Wei Rong's decisive and efficient work style left no room for criticism.

With the Empress Dowager's help, the Imperial Household Department quickly arranged for Feng Wantang to serve before the Emperor.

However, everything must be done step by step. Feng Wantang was initially responsible for miscellaneous tasks that did not involve getting close to the emperor, such as changing tea and grinding ink, and managing the internal affairs of the palace.

Therefore, Xiao Heng did not notice it for a period of time at the beginning.

At the end of January, when the first peach tree blossoms, spring plowing also comes to an end.

Ling Xianru sent a message back to the capital, saying that Yiling would be trying out a new variety of grain this year, which would have a higher yield and a shorter harvest time.

Xiao Heng was overjoyed and, taking advantage of this happy occasion, invited the palace concubines to Yichun Garden to admire the flowers.

Although it's called flower viewing, there are very few flowers blooming in early spring, with only peach blossoms in bloom.

Wei Rong waited in the pavilion in the middle of the lake for the water in the stove to boil, intending to brew a pot of spring tea.

Bored out of his mind, he asked Qiaoyu, "Has the Prime Minister not returned to court yet?"

"Yes, Yiling is a long way off, it will take almost a month to travel there. What's wrong, Your Highness?"

Wei Rong looked into the distance and saw Xiao Heng with his arm around Shen Mingxiu's waist, breaking off a peach blossom and tucking it into her hair, which drew envious gasps from the concubines following behind.

"I envy him," Wei Rong said sincerely, "for roaming freely between heaven and earth."

There's no need to be confined to this palace; all you see and hear are just a few things happening within these palace walls.

You need to be calculating and wary.

Qiaoyu comforted her, "Didn't His Majesty promise Your Highness that he would take you outside the palace when spring comes?"

Men, especially emperors, are best left unsaid, let alone the emperor Xiao Heng.

"Your Majesty," Qiaoyu leaned closer to her, "for us, the world is about to change."