Selling wife for fame? Kick out the scumbag and marry the new emperor to enjoy the harem of favors

Chapter 207

Consort Liu hurriedly opened her eyes and saw Xie Jiu holding Consort Zhuang's wrist, stopping her from hitting someone.

Consort Zhuang was naturally furious, but Xie Jiu remained calm.

“Your Highness, this is Baohua Hall, a place for prayer. If Your Highness were to strike someone here, all the gods and Buddhas in the hall would be watching and would be displeased to see Your Highness’s violent temper. If we were to refuse Your Highness’s request, wouldn’t that be inappropriate? Therefore, we beg Your Highness to calm down.”

After she finished speaking, Consort Zhuang snorted coldly and shook off her hand.

"Your mouth has always been so eloquent. Not only do you bewitch the Emperor in the palace, but you also dare to stir up trouble outside the palace. Xie, don't think that just because you have gained some favor from the Emperor, you can do whatever you want. Let me tell you, when my father and brothers were serving the Emperor, you didn't even know where you were. This kind of friendship is something you can never catch up with. Don't think that your little tricks will affect the Emperor's trust in my Yongyi Marquis's family!"

Xie Jiu was somewhat baffled by these words.

When did she ever lay a hand on Consort Zhuang's family?

But judging from Consort Zhuang's appearance, she didn't seem to be talking nonsense, which made Xie Jiu very suspicious.

However, Consort Zhuang was clearly furious and didn't want to say anything more to Xie Jiu, so she turned and left.

Seeing this, Xie Jiu frowned, gave Liu Cairen a wink, and the two of them left Baohua Palace without lingering any longer.

Poor Sun Baolin, Consort Zhuang went inside to pray for blessings, and she dared not follow. Seeing Xie Jiu leave, she stood at the door for a while before leaving as well.

I wanted to pray for blessings, but it didn't work out.

She felt very wronged, and for some reason, Consort Zhuang's words kept lingering in her mind: some people are already concubines, some are talented women, but she is the only one who is about to give birth and is still just a concubine.

"Late Autumn, do you think the child will blame me? Blame me for not knowing how to please the Emperor, for not knowing how to compete for his favor, which is why he was born just a little Baolin's child?" Sun Baolin said in a low voice.

"No, what child would dislike their mother? Baolin is overthinking it. Besides, the Emperor has already said that he will promote Baolin after she gives birth," Wanqiu comforted her.

Sun Baolin tugged at his handkerchief. “Even if I were promoted, I would only be a concubine. My rank is so low that I can’t keep my child by my side.”

"Didn't Baolin ask the Emperor to raise the little prince until he's six months old? Baolin, you should think of a way to take advantage of the Emperor's affection for the child and curry favor with him. Who knows, if the Emperor is pleased, he might even promote you beyond your rank. There's always a way." Wanqiu kept comforting her, afraid that she would overthink things and harm her health.

It's unclear whether Sun Baolin listened or not, but he didn't respond.

Meanwhile, inside Jingming Palace at that time.

When Xie Jiu returned, he saw Qing Fang waiting in the room, as if she had something to report. However, when she got closer, she saw that Xie Jiu looked displeased, so she asked a question first.

"What's wrong with Your Highness? Did the Empress deliberately pick a fight with you again this morning during the morning greetings?"

Otherwise, why would she have returned so late? Qingfang pondered.

Chunrong shook her head. "No, Your Highness and Consort Liu just went to Baohua Palace and ran into Consort Zhuang. She was very rude to them, and her words seemed to imply that Your Highness had plotted against her family. But Your Highness has no entanglement with the Zhuang family."

Unexpectedly, after Chunrong said that, Qingfang suddenly realized what was going on and quickly replied.

"Your Majesty, this servant knows what happened!"

Xie Jiu turned around with surprise. "Speak quickly." "Last time, Your Majesty asked me to investigate why General Du had made merit but had not been rewarded. Your Majesty suspected that someone had taken credit for him, and it turned out to be true. I found out that it was the Marquis of Yongyi's nephew, who is also Consort Zhuang's cousin, who took credit for General Du's merit."

"Following Your Majesty's instructions, after discovering this matter, I immediately notified the Du family and used my connections to expose it. The Censorate learned of it and reported it to the Emperor. This morning at court, General Du reclaimed his rightful military merit and received personal praise from the Emperor. However, because of this, Consort Zhuang's cousin..."

Qingfang didn't finish her sentence, but everyone could guess what she meant.

Claiming military merits without authorization is a crime punishable by law and can also implicate one's family.

After all, if he weren't the Marquis of Yongyi's nephew and his cousin Consort Zhuang, who would dare to do things for him and attribute the credit to him?

Upon hearing this, Chunrong's face showed annoyance. "From this perspective, it was the Zhuang family that acted unjustly first. The military merit originally belonged to General Du, and it was only right to take it back. Consort Zhuang's accusations make it seem as if we owe her something."

Hearing Chunrong's words, Xie Jiu lowered his eyes and slowly sat down.

"It's not necessarily that Consort Zhuang was in the wrong and spoke ill of me. I think she was probably misled by her family. Otherwise, given her personality, if she knew that her family had really caused trouble and had even reached the Emperor, she would have panicked and stayed in Yanqing Palace. Why would she have gone out to pray for blessings and dared to speak to me like that?"

Consort Zhuang may seem fierce, but she is actually quite timid.

When they're in the right, they're so arrogant they practically hold their chins to the sky; when they're in the wrong, they immediately tuck their tails between their legs. It's not that they're lawless.

Upon hearing this, Chunrong thought about it and realized it made sense, and then she clicked her tongue in amazement.

"If Consort Zhuang is deceived by her family like this, she may easily run into trouble in the future."

Neither side is completely honest with each other.

Xie Jiu lowered her eyes. "This has nothing to do with us. By the way, has Du Qian shown any reaction since he found out that I helped him regain his military merit?"

"Old Madam Du was very grateful, but when General Du saw me, he didn't say much. He just stayed by my side quietly until I finished talking with the old lady. Only then did he see me off from the mansion with the old lady," Qingfang answered truthfully.

"That's a good thing, it means he's not so resistant to me anymore." Xie Jiu smiled.

After all, according to previous reports, Du Qian is a person who hates evil as if it were his enemy. If he disliked Xie Jiu, he would not have been willing to talk to Old Madam Du and Qingfang.

After saying that, he added, “This trip to Dingzhou has shown me that he is quite capable. Such a talented young man should not be overlooked. The Emperor also seems to have a good impression of him. I need to think of a way to help him advance further.”

Chunrong and Qingfang exchanged a glance, remaining silent and waiting to be instructed to carry out their tasks.

However, this matter still needs to be planned slowly, so let's put it aside for now. Right now, around noon when it's almost lunchtime, news came from Chengming Palace that Xie Jiu should go over and serve the meal.

Although Xie Jiu was surprised that she was being called at this hour, she didn't hesitate and changed her clothes before heading to Chengming Palace.

It couldn't be anything bad, after all, the little eunuch who came to deliver the message was all smiles.

Sure enough, upon arriving at Chengming Hall, before he could even pay his respects, Zhao Xingjin pulled him to the desk.

"Look, these are things from Dingzhou. Those foreigners have acquired a lot of gunpowder, and someone in the military camp has used it to develop a new weapon. The blueprints are here. The weapon is newly made and not yet very stable. After testing, it will be taken to the firing range to demonstrate to me. It is said to be extremely powerful."