tallest building

Chapter 308 Be Alert

The eldest princess invited Consort Hui to come over for a talk, and Consort Hui gladly went.

"Your Highness is in a good mood today, and I happen to have some fresh bamboo shoots that they sent from the foot of the mountain. I've already given them to Zhang Ma to prepare," Consort Hui said with a smile. "Paired with five-year-old ham, green beans, and lotus root, it's fragrant and delicious with rice."

"Aren't the bamboo shoots old at this time of year?" the princess asked. "I usually only eat tender bamboo shoots in March."

“I know, they dug this out from deep in the mountains, it’s very tender,” Consort Hui said. “They wouldn’t dare put anything bad into Your Highness’s mouth.”

“I just heard them say they had some fresh, lively fish, and I’ve already had them make soup with dried mushrooms. The two dishes go well together,” the princess said. “The weather is nice today, let’s go out and enjoy the scenery. It’s time to have dinner when we get back.”

After saying this, she took Consort Hui's hand and left. Consort Hui couldn't help but feel a little strange. She felt that the Princess was unusually affectionate towards her today, unlike usual.

"Yingpei has been recuperating well on the mountain these days. She looks much better than when she first came up the mountain," the Princess said, sitting down on a chair in the shade of a tree.

Consort Hui immediately replied, "That's right, it's all thanks to Your Highness."

"Speaking of which, she has been married into the Dong family for three years now, but she still has no children. Why don't they think of a way to help her?" The princess usually never mentions these things, but today she took the initiative to ask.

Consort Hui naturally replied, "How could I not have any ideas? You could say I've tried every possible method."

“Then I’d like to ask, what is the reason? We are not ordinary families, we are royal princesses, we just want a child, is that not allowed?” the eldest princess said.

“Well, since Your Highness has asked, I’ll be frank. The truth is, the Prince Consort is never home, and the two of them can’t be together. How can they have a child?” Consort Hui was genuinely worried. “Yingpei can’t just act like a shrew and forbid him from going out.”

In fact, even without her saying it outright, the eldest princess knew that if the eldest princess had married someone else, she could naturally be bossy and domineering, but she couldn't do that after marrying into the Dong family.

“We still have to find a way to keep him here.” The princess laughed when she heard this. “Yingpei has been married for three years and has not taken a single concubine for Dong Gang. What man isn’t like a greedy cat? He’s bound to run off to other women.”

"So His Highness means..." If Consort Hui still didn't understand by now, she'd be a fool... "to have Yingpei arrange a concubine for him?"

"Isn't this just common practice?" the princess laughed. "Many families have used this method; it's nothing special. It's just to keep a man's heart. Besides, Yingpei needs to have her own child first, don't you think?"

“Your Highness is right, but this matter needs to be considered carefully.” At this moment, Consort Hui’s doubts were growing deeper, but she did not voice them. She simply said, “We are all praying on the mountain now, so we should finish up here first.”

"There's no rush, but we need to make plans early. I admit I'm being nosy, but if we don't plan to do this, then so be it. But if we really want to take in another person, we have to make sure we choose the right one. We have to make sure he can stay, otherwise it'll be a waste of time." The princess seemed to be implying something. "It doesn't have to be a noblewoman or a virgin, just someone Dong Gang likes and is interested in."

Hearing her say this, Consort Hui became even more suspicious. Had Wen Mingqian sent a message to the Princess?

Was all that seriousness she put on in front of me just a facade? Had she actually already fallen for Dong Gang?

Since he had already given her a hint, he asked the princess to confide in him.

“I was thinking that even if I were to take one in, I would have to choose someone whose background and origins I knew were clean.” Consort Hui began to probe in the opposite direction. “As for age, it would be best if she were younger than Yingpei, so that she could be more easily controlled.”

Sure enough, the eldest princess retorted after hearing her words: "Actually, I don't think we need to consider too much. The important thing is to achieve our goal. In ancient times, there were emperors who married widows, and they still had noble children. Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che, had a mother who remarried, and no one said anything bad about it!"

Moreover, I've heard that some families, suffering from a lack of offspring, even go so far as to marry women with children! They say this is more likely to bring in younger siblings, making it more cost-effective than marrying a virgin.” With her saying this, Consort Hui had essentially made up her mind that the Princess wanted to act as matchmaker for Wen Mingqian.

Of course she hesitated about such a thing. Putting everything else aside, her previous suspicions were enough to make her wary of Wen Mingqian.

If what she suspected was true, then Zhang Ma was actually Wei Fu, and Gong Chang'an was Shen Fu's biological son.

Wen Mingqian's motives were definitely not simple.

Now that Gong Chang'an has entered the palace as a companion to the emperor, if she were to become Dong Gang's concubine, wouldn't that lead to chaos within the Dong family?

His own daughter will also suffer misfortune.

Even if she was worrying unnecessarily, and Wen Mingqian didn't have any deeper schemes, he could still threaten her daughter.

The eldest princess is only relying on her noble status; she is no match for Wen Mingqian in terms of appearance, talent, or cunning.

At that time, Wen Mingqian will definitely be infatuated with Dong Gang, and she will definitely give birth to Dong's child (Consort Hui does not know that Wen Mingqian is no longer able to have children).

Men are always like this; they'll like whoever they like, and by extension, their children.

Although Wen Mingqian had given birth to Gong Chang'an, Gong Chang'an was not a burden in the ordinary sense.

He is a child prodigy and the last disciple of Master Zhuge. The Dong family will definitely treat him well, both publicly and privately.

And he will definitely stand up for his mother.

It would be too unfair to Wen Mingqian to only be a concubine in the Dong family.

There's another layer to it: Wen Mingqian is a favorite of the Empress and the adopted daughter of the Eldest Princess. If she isn't given a proper title, neither of them will agree.

Looking back now, I realize I was too naive, thinking that Wen Mingqian's words to my face had already revealed his true intentions.

In reality, her true intentions were not what they seemed; she didn't want to be secretive with Dong Gang, but rather desired a legitimate and open relationship.

"What's wrong with you? Why are you spacing out?" The Princess gently nudged Consort Hui when she didn't answer.

"Oh dear! I don't know what's wrong with me today. Maybe it's because I didn't sleep well last night? My head is a little dizzy and my mind is unsteady." Consort Hui quickly made an excuse. "Please forgive me, Your Highness."

“There’s nothing to forgive. Since you’re not feeling well, let’s go back.” The princess stood up.

"Thank you for your understanding, Your Highness. It's still a while before lunch, so I'll go back and rest for a bit." Consort Hui's mind was in turmoil, and she wanted to calm down and sort things out.

At the very least, we should prepare some words in advance to deflect the princess's words in case she brings it up again.