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

Chapter 430 (Extra Chapter 3: The Grand Wedding)

Yes!

The overall situation is still uncertain.

Although the Third Prince was not the Emperor's most beloved son, with the help of the Song family, he was able to win over many officials in the court.

If one day...

If the Third Prince really ascended the throne and became the Emperor, then the Empress would be nearby.

Would the Empress still care about imperial favor?

If she were to show even a small favor to this wife when she first entered the household, she wouldn't have to worry about not being able to use her to climb the social ladder in the future.

Her demands weren't high; she just wanted to be a Noble Consort, or even an Imperial Noble Consort, a rank slightly higher than that of Lady Pang!
Consort Song's eyes lit up, and she instantly felt an inexhaustible surge of energy.

When she arrived at the residence of the principal wife, even though she had already comforted herself, she couldn't help but feel a pang of bitterness when she saw the walls covered with flamboyant "double happiness" characters.

She originally thought that the position of the principal wife would be hers.

She always thought that as long as she could bring down Consort Pang, no one would stand in her way anymore.

Who would have thought that a member of the Shen family would suddenly appear out of nowhere?

To her even greater surprise, when she arrived at the main wife's door, not only were all the concubines in the mansion there, but even Consort Pang was there.

"Oh, what wind has blown our Consort Pang Fenjin here today? I thought you weren't coming," Consort Song said sarcastically.

Consort Pang couldn't suppress the sneer on her lips, which was also a bit smug. "I didn't want to come so early, but the Third Prince woke me up before dawn. He said he was going to Huguo Temple and told me to sleep a little longer before he left. But after talking for so long, I'm exhausted and can't fall back asleep."

Upon hearing this, Consort Pang's expression stiffened for a moment, but only for a moment. "Indeed, you should have come earlier. There are many affairs in this household, neither too many nor too few. Over the years, Consort Pang has had to serve the Third Prince and manage the affairs of this large family. Now that the First Prince has arrived, Consort Pang can finally take a break."

"Sigh... who can argue with that!" Consort Pang couldn't help but sigh. "I'm just born to worry. I was thinking that since you entered the household yesterday, I quickly handed over the keys to the storeroom and other things to you this morning. But the Third Prince actually told me to keep them for now. I don't know what to do."

Upon hearing this, not only did Consort Song's expression freeze, but even the concubines who were watching the commotion from the sidelines also froze.

After the principal wife entered the household, the power of managing the household was still in the hands of the concubine.

Last night was supposed to be the main wife's wedding night, but the Third Prince stayed in Consort Pang's palace instead, and now he won't even let her relinquish her control of the household affairs...

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Zhen'er walked to Shen Qingwan's bedside once again. "Madam, it's time to get up. The concubines and maids in the manor are all waiting outside to pay their respects to you."

"Let them go back."

Shen Qingwan did not open her eyes, but simply said calmly.

Zhen'er looked troubled. "Madam, today is the first time that the concubines in the manor have paid their respects to you. If they can't even see you, it would be against the rules to send them back at this time of year. They might bring this up again in the future."

Shen Qingwan wasn't sleepy; she hadn't slept much at all that night, and dawn broke in a daze.

She thought about what Zhen'er had said: matters of face can only be avoided once in a while.

Even if she doesn't see them today, they will still come tomorrow. "Help me wash up."

"Yes, Fujin."

Meanwhile, those waiting outside were already getting impatient.

One of the concubines, seeing the unpleasant expressions on the faces of Consort Pang and Consort Song, couldn't help but speak up.

"What's wrong with the Princess Consort? Is she feeling unwell? Why hasn't she gotten up yet at this hour?"

"Who knows if they're up or not? Maybe they are up, but they're deliberately not letting us in, just making us wait here."

"Is the Fujin trying to set rules for us? When there were only Consort Pang and Consort Song in this household, our family was harmonious. Now there's another Fujin."

"Whether this consort is easy to get along with or not is all fate. After all, she was personally betrothed by the Emperor and is the principal wife. We concubines have no choice but to be respectful," Consort Song said resentfully.

"Heh." Consort Pang sneered, "What's wrong with all you sisters? Before, back in the manor, you were all so eloquent, but now that the new wife has entered the household, can't you even speak anymore? Are you going to ruin the rules of this manor because of her, the newcomer..."

"what are you saying?"

Before Consort Pang could finish speaking, Shen Qingwan came out of the room.

She glanced at everyone, walked up to Consort Pang, and slapped her across the face.

“What this concubine said is quite right. Now that I’ve entered the household, I naturally can’t break the rules of the manor. Is it a rule you established a few days ago when you first entered the manor that a concubine is gossiping about the principal wife?”

Consort Pang was completely stunned by the blow. She covered her burning cheek with one hand and looked up in disbelief, "You actually dared to hit me?"

"So what if I hit you? Do I have to pick a day to hit you?" Shen Qingwan said dismissively.

Consort Pang slowly lowered her hand from her cheek, straightened up, gritted her teeth, and said, word by word, "Do you know who I am? How dare you hit me?"

"I don't care who you are!" Shen Qingwan sneered. "In this mansion, besides the Third Prince, is there anyone more powerful than me, the wife of the Third Prince? If what you said today gets out, do you want the Third Prince to be accused of favoring his concubine over his wife? You want the salt official to impeach the Third Prince before the Emperor and ruin his career? Then go ahead and do it!"

After Shen Qingwan finished speaking, she turned to the others and said, "We've all met today, so let's just forget about it. From now on, we can skip the morning greetings; I can't get up that early."

After saying that, she didn't give anyone a chance to speak and turned back into the house.

Consort Pang was still in a daze until the curtain closed.

It took Consort Song a while to come to her senses. She took a deep breath and felt inexplicably refreshed.

"Oh dear, I got up too early and I'm a little sleepy. I'll head back now." Consort Song touched her hair, pretending nothing had happened, and turned to walk towards her bedroom.

She left, and the concubines who didn't know whether to stay or leave also dispersed one after another.

Only Consort Pang remained, standing motionless in place.

"Your Majesty, let's go back too, they've all left." Xiang'er said with a worried expression.

After waiting for a while and seeing that she didn't react, Xiang'er tugged at her sleeve again, "Consort, let's go back first. When the Third Prince comes, she will definitely support you."