The Emperor looked at him for a long time, then suddenly laughed: "I was worried that you would have a boring life after marrying that lady from the Liu family. But now, you've got such an interesting one. Your household will be very lively from now on."

The wise king laughed as well: "Who says otherwise?"

"However," the emperor changed his tone, "in the end, the Liu family is in the wrong. That old fox Liu Wenyuan actually dared to play such tricks right under the noses of the royal family..."

"Your Majesty, please calm down," the Prince Xian said hastily. "Liu Wenyuan came to the mansion this morning to apologize, saying that he was unaware of the matter and that it was all due to the negligence of the women in the inner quarters. I think his attitude was sincere and not fake."

The Emperor scoffed, "Ignorant? A minister like him can't even manage his own daughter?"

Although he said that, his tone had softened considerably. He pondered for a moment, then said, "Very well, since what's done is done, I shouldn't interfere too much. It's just that Liu Chenchen's identity..."

"She said she was a nominal legitimate daughter," said the wise prince.

The Emperor raised an eyebrow: "Liu Wenyuan admitted it?"

"He wouldn't dare deny it," the Prince Xian said with a smile. "Now the whole capital knows that the eldest daughter of the Liu family has married into the Prince Xian's mansion. If he denies it now, it would be a crime of deceiving the royal family."

The Emperor nodded, a hint of appreciation in his eyes: "This girl knows how to leverage power."

He looked at Xiao Shiyan and suddenly said, "Shiyan, you've really struck gold this time. A woman with such courage and wisdom, if she had been born into a military family, would definitely have been a heroine. What a pity, you got such a good deal."

Xiao Shiyan lowered his head: "Your subject does not deserve such praise."

"If I say she deserves it, then she deserves it." The Emperor waved his hand. "Treat her well and don't let her good intentions go to waste."

Painstaking effort equals painstaking scheming...

"I obey your decree."

While the men were talking in the Qian Yuan Hall, the Princess Consort Xian had already led Liu Chenchen to the Empress Dowager's palace.

Unexpectedly, the Empress was also in the Empress Dowager's palace.

Of course, Liu Chenchen felt that the Empress might be waiting for them here.

"Your humble servant greets Your Majesty the Empress Dowager and Your Majesty the Empress." Princess Xian and Liu Chenchen bowed together.

"Get up quickly," the Empress Dowager said with a smile. "This is the bride? Raise your head and let me see you."

Liu Chenchen raised her head, her gaze lowered, her expression respectful.

The Empress Dowager looked her over for a moment and nodded: "A neat-looking child. What's her name?"

"Your Majesty, I am Liu Chenchen," Liu Chenchen said gently.

The Empress Dowager and the Empress exchanged a glance, both seeing confusion in each other's eyes.

How could they remember that the eldest daughter of Minister Liu was named Liu Qiongqiong?

Consort Shu frequently summoned them to the palace, and they had met each other twice.

How did Zehe become Liu Chenchen? Who is this?

They immediately understood. These women had lived in the deep palace for a long time and had seen all kinds of schemes and tricks. The winner takes all and the loser is a bandit.

They don't dislike scheming women, nor do they dislike simple and beautiful women; what they dislike most are foolish women who are foolish without even realizing it.

They didn't care who Liu Chenchen really was; as long as she was on the royal jade tablet, she would be the rightful wife of the royal family.

As for who this daughter-in-law originally was, it doesn't matter.

Most importantly, this is a family matter of the wise prince, and they have no need to interfere; they can only try to befriend him.

The Prince Xian was the Emperor's own brother, born of the same mother, and as the Princess Consort of the Prince, her status was naturally extremely high.

"Chenchen, what a lovely name." The Empress Dowager smiled and removed a jade bracelet from her wrist. "Here, this is my gift to you."

Liu Chenchen watched as yet another bracelet belonging to the Empress Dowager was put on her wrist, feeling somewhat speechless.

By the way, can't we get something else? Are the bracelets wholesale?

She remembered seeing the same thing in TV dramas she used to watch, whether it was modern or ancient times, everyone was wearing bracelets.

Liu Chenchen was inwardly complaining, but she quickly curtsied and said, "Thank you for the Empress Dowager's gift."

The Empress also bestowed upon him a red gold and kingfisher feather hairpin, and said with a smile, "Now that you have married into the royal family, you are a member of the royal family. In the future, you must serve your parents-in-law well, be a good wife and mother, and not let down the royal family's favor."

"Your subject will remember," Liu Chenchen replied respectfully.

After exchanging greetings, the two sat down in the Cining Palace.

Liu Chenchen kept her head down and listened to the three people above her talking the whole time.

As for the other concubines, they did not need to pay their respects.

What is the status of the Princess Consort Xian? What are their statuses?

The only people she could bow to were the Empress Dowager, the Empress, and the Emperor.

As for the other concubines, she merely nodded in greeting, while they themselves bowed to her.

By the time we left the palace, it was already noon. The sun was shining brightly, warming us comfortably.

The Prince Xian and Xiao Shiyan have disappeared.

Only Liu Chenchen and Princess Xian were in the carriage.

Looking at Liu Chenchen, the Princess Consort praised her, "You did a good job today."

Liu Chenchen was taken aback for a moment, then quickly said, "Thank you for the compliment, Mother."

Princess Xian said calmly, "The Empress Dowager and the Empress are both discerning people. The fact that you were able to pass their test shows that you do have some ability."

She paused, then continued, "From this day forward, you are the rightful Crown Princess of the Prince Xian's Mansion. Your name is already on the imperial register, and no one can shake your position. But you must remember, this position didn't come easily; you must live up to it."

"I understand," Liu Chenchen said solemnly. "I will certainly live up to Mother's expectations."

Princess Xian nodded and said nothing more.

Liu Chenchen felt a sense of relief. She knew that the Princess Consort's words were tantamount to formally acknowledging her identity. From now on, she was Liu Chenchen, the Princess Consort of the Prince Xian's Mansion, and no one would dare to question her anymore.

Back at the Prince's residence, after lunch, just as he was about to lie down and rest, Chun Ya came in to report: "Princess Consort, the Minister's residence has sent some things over, and they are waiting outside."

"What is it?" He stopped what he was about to do, and quickly tidied himself up. "Take it to the outer room."

Winter Snow at the door rushed out to announce.

Chun Ya stepped forward to help Liu Chenchen straighten her clothes: "It's said...it's said to be a supplement to your dowry." Her hands moved skillfully, but her voice was cautious as she answered.

Liu Chenchen raised an eyebrow and walked to the outer room.

Several large boxes were laid out on the ground, and the steward of the Minister's mansion was waiting there.

"This humble servant greets the Crown Princess." The steward hurriedly bowed, no longer daring to be as casual as he was in the mansion.

He spoke with much greater respect: "Master sent me to deliver these things, saying... saying that in the rush, some things were forgotten."

When Liu Chenchen opened the box, she found it contained fine silks, gold and silver jewelry, and a box of silver notes.

A rough estimate puts it at least five or six thousand taels.

With the addition of the 63,000 taels from Liu Qiongqiong's dowry, she now has nearly 70,000 taels of silver in her hands.

She immediately understood what was going on; he was afraid that his words this morning had upset her, so he came to make amends.

Since they've delivered what she wanted, there's no need for her to go against the Minister's mansion. Minister Liu is clearly someone who prioritizes profit above all else.

Now that she is the Crown Prince's wife, she will naturally be treated well in the future, and will even take the lead in suppressing Li's nonsense.

Falling out with the Minister's family would do her no good. Not only would she lose a legitimate backer, but she would also be branded as unfilial. She wasn't about to make a losing deal.

"Please thank Father for me." She said calmly, "I've accepted the gifts."

The steward breathed a sigh of relief and then withdrew to return to his residence to report.

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