The harem is too complicated; the empress, a lazy bum, wins by doing nothing.

Chapter 428 (Extra Chapter 2: The Grand Wedding)

Jiang Yuyan shouted, his eyes bloodshot and unfocused, his face turning deathly pale in an instant, "You mean, everything I have was given to me by Jiang Yuxian?"

"That was not what I meant."

Shen Qingwan's tone softened, and her voice dropped considerably. She lowered her eyes slightly, and the sudden pressure on her face made her wince in pain.

Jiang Yuyan pinched her cheek with one hand, forcibly lifting her head so that her gaze was level with his. "We met on the same day as him, and I can give you everything he can give you. So why is it that you only ever have eyes for him?"

Shen Qingwan seemed not to understand what he was saying, and her brow twitched.

She didn't want to understand what he was saying, but somehow she understood every single one of them.

But she still asked incredulously, "What...what are you saying...?"

Jiang Yuyan suddenly let out a cold laugh. His heart felt as if it were being squeezed tightly, causing him unbearable pain. He closed his eyes, and warm tears welled up in them: "Why is it that, from childhood to adulthood, whatever he wanted, Father Emperor would have it brought to him without him even lifting a finger? But what about me?"

Jiang Yuxian let go of her hand and staggered two steps. "No matter how hard I try, what I want, I will never get."

“So…” Shen Qingwan raised her reddened eyes, her palms icy cold and trembling uncontrollably: “Just because he likes me, you want to take him away?”

Jiang Yuyan remained silent for a while. Just when Shen Qingwan thought he had tacitly agreed, he suddenly turned around and said, "Shen Qingwan, you don't actually think that only Jiang Yuxian loves you, do you?"

After saying this, he turned and left.

Shen Qingwan was completely stunned.

What did he mean by what he just said?
You don't think that Jiang Yuxian is the only one who loves you, do you?
She stared blankly in the direction Jiang Yuyan had left for a long time before slowly lying down. But when she thought of Jiang Yuxian, who was also having a sleepless night like her, her tears flowed uncontrollably again.

Because of the wedding celebration tonight, the mansion was still brightly lit even though it was past midnight.

Jiang Yuyan walked out of Shen Qingwan's room and stood in the courtyard for a while before he managed to suppress the surging emotions in his heart.

"Third Prince." Wu Jixiang looked at him with concern and asked cautiously, "Are you alright?"

Jiang Yuyan took a deep breath and slowly opened his eyes.

"Third Prince, General Pang just sent a message saying that the Fourth Prince has succeeded. The Sixth Prince has too many guests coming and going in his mansion these past two days, so it's not easy to make a move right now, for fear of leaving any clues. Please wait patiently."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuyan let out a cold laugh.

Wait a minute?
When?
When his father passes away, will the position of crown prince be handed over to someone else?

What a powerful general! What audacity!

They actually chose to send such messages during his wedding to give him a warning.

His original task was to secretly monitor the Sixth Prince's collusion with former officials and their factionalism. Now that the Sixth Prince is having close ties with former officials, he's the one saying, "Wait a minute..."

When he has arranged everything and left no evidence, then?
A faint, flickering light flashed in Jiang Yuyan's lifeless eyes, and his hands clenched into fists at his sides.

After a long while, he finally spoke, "Go to Consort Pang's place."

Wu Jixiang was taken aback. He stared at Jiang Yuyan with a hint of heartache in his eyes. "Third Prince, today is your wedding day with the Princess Consort. Why don't we wait until tomorrow?"

Having followed Jiang Yuyan around since childhood, how could he not know the priorities involved?

On his wedding night, Jiang Yuyan abandoned his principal wife to favor his concubine. This served two purposes: firstly, it confirmed that he was infatuated with beauty and did not value Shen Qingwan's birth when auspicious clouds filled the sky and a monk symbolized her riding a phoenix on a cloud; secondly, it also helped to keep the powerful general under his control.

Let him know that even though he has a wife in the household, he still only favors his daughter.

That position of Fujin (a high-ranking official's wife) was merely a last resort, a move born out of desperation. But in doing so…

I'm afraid this lady will have a hard time living in the mansion from now on.

Others may not know, but he has followed Jiang Yuyan for many years, so how could he not understand his thoughts?

The Third Prince truly liked this Miss Shen.

He put in far more effort into this marriage than he would into eliminating a prince.

"Now even you're trying to instigate me?"

Jiang Yuyan shouted sharply, his eyes bloodshot and unfocused, his face turning pale and colorless in an instant.

Wu Jixiang trembled with fear and knelt down on the ground. "This servant knows his mistake. Please forgive me, Third Prince."

Jiang Yuyan took a deep breath. "Get up."

at the same time.

Consort Pang was in low spirits because the new wife had come to the mansion today. She listlessly picked up a pair of scissors and started trimming the lamp wick on the table.

The orange candlelight faintly reflected the tender scene of the Third Prince and Shen Qing.

Her heart ached as if it were being stabbed.

She had always thought that the position of Fujin (a high-ranking wife) was hers, but now, a woman from a humble family had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

The Shen family moved from Rongcheng to the capital.
If she had known that one day such a person would stand in her way, she would have made her father kill her on her way from Rongcheng.

Just like that beautiful concubine in the mansion.

What good is it if the Third Prince likes her? She's been dead for so long, yet the people in the mansion still call her Consort Li. Does that mean they can really bring her back to life?
Thinking of this, Consort Pang curled her lips into a cold smile. Consort?

Queen?

She would be best off living until the day the Third Prince ascends the throne!
What kind of thing that crawled out of some remote, impoverished place dares to climb over her head and try to take her away?

"Consort, the Third...the Third Prince is here!"

Xiang'er ran in from outside, panting.

Upon hearing this, Consort Pang's hand holding the scissors paused heavily. She asked incredulously, "What did you say?"

Xiang'er clutched her chest with one hand, panting heavily, "The Third...Third Prince is here, Consort, why don't you hurry up and leave?"

"How could that be?" Consort Pang frowned. "Today is the wedding night of the Third Prince and his wife. Why would he come to my room?"

"Consort, it's true, I saw it with my own eyes." Xiang'er seemed even more anxious.

Seeing that she said it three times in a row, and it really didn't seem like she was joking, even though she thought it was impossible, she still put down the scissors in her hand and slowly stood up.

Sure enough, a candlelight appeared from afar, growing clearer and clearer until it could clearly illuminate the profile of the man walking at the front.

Is it really the Third Prince?

Did he really come?

Consort Pang's heart skipped a beat. Overjoyed and weeping, she hurried to the door, curtsied, and bowed...