With Gao Qi dismissed from office and sentenced to exile, this matter came to an end. Although Zheng An was punished, he ultimately preserved the Zheng family. Regardless of whether Li Jiancheng liked it or not, she remained the Crown Princess!

As Li Jiancheng cupped his hands in farewell, Li Yuan suddenly called out to him, “I have seen the Buddhist scriptures that Consort Ji copied by hand. Her handwriting is elegant and neat, quite excellent. Have her copy more Buddhist scriptures in the future, and as for other matters… think less about them!”

Li Jiancheng’s heart trembled as he lowered his head, saying, “Your son obeys the command!”

On this day, Huanxin happened to be paying respects to Lady Lin at Zhaoqing Palace. On the way to admire chrysanthemums in Shanglin Garden, she heard about this matter. After ordering palace servants to inquire carefully, everyone was astonished.

Lady Lin adjusted the silk scarf on her arm and said coolly, “The Eastern Palace is quite lively. Not long after Chengzong’s incident, another such matter has occurred.”

Huanxin bent down to pick a thousand-petaled chrysanthemum to play with in her hands, “What does Your Ladyship think – was this matter truly the doing of the Zheng clan, or is someone crying thief while being the thief?”

Lady Lin gazed at Huanxin with a half-smile, “What about you?”

Huanxin flicked away a small insect crawling on the petals with her finger, laughing, “This concubine is not familiar with the Crown Princess, so how could I say?”

Lady Lin slowly walked to the pavilion and sat down, saying gently, “Though you are not familiar with the Crown Princess, you are more familiar with Jirong than anyone else. There are no outsiders here, so speak freely.”

“Yes.” Huanxin responded, watching the palace servants who were salvaging the remaining lotus from Taiye Pond, “Jirong has a meticulous mind. Back in the Governor’s residence, she played Chunxiu like a fiddle. Several times I tried to deal with her, but she escaped every time. To say that such a person would fall victim to the Crown Princess’s harm is truly hard to believe.”

Lady Lin nodded slowly, saying solemnly, “Your thoughts align with mine. A woman who could be so ruthless as to harm her own biological son is truly frightening.”

“Unfortunately, even with all her scheming, she only managed to have Marquis Zheng demoted to Earl Zheng. She gained no real advantage, and the Crown Princess position didn’t become vacant. Judging by His Majesty’s attitude today, I fear that even if the Crown Princess truly commits an offense in the future, he would not allow the Crown Prince to elevate her to the principal position.”

“I have followed His Majesty for many years and know well that though his temperament is gentle, deep down he still values family background greatly. The Ji family are commoners – she might serve as an Eastern Palace side consort, but as for principal consort…” Lady Lin shook her head and uttered two words, “Very difficult!”

On Taiye Pond, whenever the palace servants filled a boat with remnant lotus, they would row to shore, unload the remnant lotus from the boat, then row back to the pond to continue salvaging. Judging by the quantity of remnant lotus in the pond, it would probably take several days to clear it all.

“She may not be unaware of this reasoning, but based on my understanding of her, she won’t give up so easily.” Regarding Huanxin’s words, Lady Lin smiled sweetly, leisurely smoothing her skirt, “Since she likes it, let her hit a few more walls. We’ll just watch the excitement.”

Huanxin smiled and then said, “Consort Ji’s intentions don’t surprise me. What surprises me is Noble Consort Wan. Hasn’t she always been close to the Ji family? Why did she speak up for the Crown Princess this time?”

At her words, Lady Lin also frowned. It was indeed strange. Lady Wan had always treated Jirong kindly and looked upon her with favor, yet in this matter, she actually spoke up for the Zheng family. It was truly bizarre.

After pondering for a moment, Lady Lin looked toward Ji Chun, “The people at the Imperial Study – did they truly say this?”

Ji Chun bowed respectfully, “This slave questioned two of them, and their answers were identical. There should be no falsehood.”

Lady Lin curved her slender fingernails, gently tapping the rim of the teacup handed to her by a palace servant, saying hesitantly, “Could it be that Consort Ji did something wrong and angered Noble Consort Wan, so this time she turned to help the Zheng family?”

Huanxin frowned, “Forgive this concubine’s directness, but Noble Consort Wan’s scheming runs deeper than Consort Ji’s. If it were just a small matter, it shouldn’t be enough to make her turn against her like this.”

Lady Lin nodded, thinking, “But recently, aside from selecting beauties for His Majesty, there has been nothing unusual at Shangyang Palace.”

“Selecting beauties?” Huanxin asked in surprise, “His Majesty has only just ascended the throne not long ago, and Noble Consort Wan is already busy selecting palace maidens for His Majesty?”

Liuxia interjected, “Noble Consort Wan moves quite quickly. As early as June or July, she was already planning to select beauties for His Majesty. It was only because the Crown Prince was defeated in battle at that time, Gaocheng was captured, and His Majesty was troubled, that this matter was postponed. Now seeing that Xue Ju has died suddenly and His Majesty plans to send troops again, this matter has been brought up again.”

Lady Lin sipped her tea and said quietly, “Though Lady Wan enjoys His Majesty’s favor, she is getting older after all, and with no children, this favor might disappear at any time. Her position is actually less secure than mine and Consort Xian’s.” The Consort Xian she mentioned was the former Fourth Madam, Lady Cui. After Li Yuan ascended the throne, he conferred upon her the title of Consort Xian, ranking her alongside Lady Wan and Lady Lin as first-rank consorts. Besides having a daughter like Lady Lin, she had also recently given birth to a prince.

Liuxia said, “Before His Majesty ascended the throne, this slave heard that Noble Consort Wan consulted famous physicians to regulate her body, probably wanting to have another child.”

Ji Chun scoffed, “She should look at herself – at her age, how could she possibly bear children? What wishful thinking.”

Lady Lin said coolly, “It’s precisely because she recognized this point that she put her mind to selecting palace maidens. As long as one or two of the beauties she selects gain His Majesty’s favor, her position will be much more secure than now.”

Huanxin nodded while asking with concern, “Has Noble Consort Wan made things difficult for Your Ladyship?”

Lady Lin smiled, “Though she has always found me displeasing, since I now hold the same first-rank status as her, she doesn’t dare do anything for the time being. You need not worry.” Speaking thus, she looked her over, “Speaking of which, you’ve been married to the Prince of Qin for almost half a year now. Why is there still no movement in your belly?”

Huanxin’s cheeks reddened at her words as she said quietly, “How would this concubine know about such things? I suppose… when it’s meant to happen, it naturally will.”

Lady Lin smiled with pursed lips, “You’re already a married woman, yet you still blush when such matters are mentioned. I was thinking of having an imperial physician regulate your body to help you conceive sooner.”

Huanxin grew even redder at her words, wringing her sleeves, not knowing how to respond. Lady Lin stopped teasing her and turned to ask, “How is the Princess Consort of Qin?”

Huanxin composed herself and said, “After two months of rest, the Princess Consort’s body has recovered without major problems, but… the pain of losing a child probably still weighs heavily on the Princess Consort’s heart.”

Lady Lin sighed, “That’s natural. When you have time, counsel the Princess Consort more. She’s still young – there will surely be more children in the future. She shouldn’t be too sorrowful.”

Huanxin bowed, “This concubine understands. Thank you for Your Ladyship’s concern.”